Web Development
The Data Lab
The Data Lab is the client reporting platform we built for My Marketing Agency. A report the team built by hand each month is now a live dashboard every client can log into.
My Marketing Agency built every client's performance report by hand each month, pulling GA4, Meta and Shopify numbers into spreadsheets and slide decks. We built them The Data Lab, a live reporting platform with AI recommendations they now share with every client.
~NZ$45,000 of agency time back per year
Across roughly 25 clients, a monthly report took about 2.5 hours to build by hand. That is around 750 hours a year. Valued conservatively at NZ$60 an hour, that is about NZ$45,000 of team time returned. On top of that: fewer copying mistakes, and room to win more clients without adding a person just to keep up with the reporting.
The problem
What was actually broken
My Marketing Agency offered performance reporting as part of its service. Clients loved seeing where their spend went, but producing the reports was a manual grind.
- GA4, Meta Ads and Shopify numbers pulled by hand into spreadsheets every month.
- Charts and a slide deck rebuilt from scratch for each client.
- Recommendations written by hand, client by client.
- A static PDF emailed out, with no way for clients to explore their own numbers.
Why it mattered now
Reporting was both the selling point and the bottleneck. Every new client added another full day of manual reporting to the month. The service could not grow without either turning away new business or hiring just to keep up with the spreadsheets.
The approach
How we approached it
We turned a manual service into a product. First we learned exactly how the monthly reports got made, then we built The Data Lab around that.
- 1
Follow a month of reporting
We sat with the team and traced every step, from pulling GA4, Meta and Shopify numbers to building the charts and sending the final deck. We found where the time really went.
- 2
Design the client dashboard
A private dashboard each client logs into by invitation, with numbers and charts they can filter and explore themselves. The report stops being a file and becomes something live.
- 3
Give the agency one place to run it
One place to add and manage clients, connect their GA4, Meta and Shopify accounts, and see reporting across every client.
- 4
Add AI recommendations
We turned each client's numbers into specific recommendations using the agency's own rules, grouped into what needs attention, what to watch, and what to double down on.
The solution
What we built
With The Data Lab, My Marketing Agency shares a live dashboard with every client and spends a fraction of the time producing it. The reporting runs itself, and clients can check their own numbers whenever they want.
Live client dashboard
Headline numbers, where visitors come from, how many of them buy, and revenue over time, all filterable by date range.
Invite-only client logins
Clients get an invite link, set up an account, and see their own live reports. No more static PDFs to chase.
AI insights and recommendations
A three column view of what needs attention, what to keep an eye on, and what to double down on, written automatically from each client's numbers.
Agency admin view
The agency adds clients, connects their accounts, and sees reporting across every client from one place.
Numbers that update themselves
GA4, Meta Ads and Shopify feed straight into the dashboard, so the numbers stay current without anyone exporting a spreadsheet.
Education mode
Plain English explanations alongside each number, so clients understand what it actually means.
Before & after
From manual to automatic
Before
After
GA4, Meta and Shopify numbers exported and pasted into a spreadsheet, then totalled by hand.
A live dashboard showing headline numbers, where visitors come from, how many of them buy, and revenue over time.
A monthly slide deck rebuilt by hand and emailed out as a static PDF.
An always on dashboard clients log into themselves. No deck to rebuild each month.
Recommendations typed out by hand in a doc, client by client.
AI recommendations grouped into needs attention, keep an eye on this, and double down.
Client numbers scattered across spreadsheets and exports, with no single place to see them.
One admin view listing every client, their connected accounts and their status.
Every client emailed their report by hand, one at a time, month after month.
A branded email goes out automatically every Tuesday to every client: here are your numbers and here is what changed.
Anthony has been an absolute legend in helping us build The Data Lab. We're genuinely excited about the clarity it gives our clients, but just as importantly, it's been a complete game-changer for our own team. The feedback from our clients has been heart-warming: they finally feel in control of their data.
The impact
What it changed
The Data Lab gave the agency a product it can grow with, and gave its clients a sense of control they did not have before.
Return on investment
Around 750 hours of reporting handed back every year.
That is roughly 750 hours a year returned across the client base, worth about NZ$45,000 in time alone, plus a reporting product clients actually enjoy using. For an agency that sells on its reporting, the build pays for itself well inside the first months and keeps paying.
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About us
We turn your goals into AI and software that actually works
A team of product engineers based in Queenstown, NZ. We work with you to understand the problem first, then build the right thing — not just the possible thing.
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