Who this is for. Anyone with SmartResearch access: analysts, managers and finance leads. Access. Included for everyone at an organization whose subscription covers SmartResearch, whatever their role. No permission needs to be assigned. See the Roles and Access Reference.
Most surprising answers are scope, not error. SmartResearch answers the question it was given, against the data it was pointed at, over the period it was told to use. When a figure looks wrong, one of those three is usually different from what you assumed.
Work through the checks in order. They are arranged so that the cheapest and most common explanations come first.
1. Check the instance
The SmartFlow Instance selector decides which system of record and mailbox the answer came from. A tenant can carry many instances with similar names, and the wrong one gives a correct answer about the wrong data.
If the instance shows No Connections in the instance table, it cannot answer from data at all. See SmartResearch Instances.
2. Check connection health
Select Connection sync status. If a connection has stopped syncing, the answer reflects data as of the last successful sync rather than now. If it reports that connections are not visible to your account, the scope is narrower than the instance suggests, which is an access question for a Super Admin.
3. Check the period
Every answer states its reporting window. Compare it with what you assumed. A single figure can combine two periods: a DPO can use a trailing 90-day billing denominator against a point-in-time payables balance.
Your Default time range applies to any question that does not state a period. Last 30 days and Last 12 months answer the same question differently, and neither is wrong.
4. Check the entity scope
Default entities narrows which entities are counted. A scope narrower than you expect returns fewer rows rather than an error, which is why it is easy to miss.
5. Check the metric definition
Where the answer cites a Metrics Studio definition, the formula is published in the catalog. When a figure disagrees with a report, comparing the two formulas usually settles it faster than tracing the data. Check the validation status too. It describes the definition, not the answer.
Two things catch people out here. For Days Payable Outstanding, Days Sales Outstanding and the Collection Effectiveness Index, confirm whether your own report uses a cost of goods sold basis: these metrics use a billed basis, so the two will not agree. And check Version history on the metric for a recent formula edit, which explains a figure that changed without your scope changing.
6. Check who is asking
Access differs by role, so two people can ask the same question and see different totals. That is the system working as intended, not a fault.
Implausible figures
SmartResearch flags results it cannot reconcile with normal ranges rather than presenting them flatly. For example, a DPO of 4,074.9 days is returned with an explicit caveat: that a healthy DPO is usually 30 to 60 days, that the result almost certainly reflects a data quality issue rather than operational reality, and that recent bill posting and open AP composition should be reviewed before the figure is used for cash planning.
Treat that caveat as the answer. The calculation is correct; what it is measuring is not what you assumed. The problem is upstream, in the source data.
Failed steps
Expand the reasoning trace. A step can fail and be retried automatically, and both attempts are listed with timings. A failure followed by a successful retry is not a reason to distrust the answer. A failure with no successful retry is.
Summary of checks
When a figure looks wrong, work through the checks; each row says what a mismatch means and who puts it right.
Check |
What a mismatch means |
Who fixes it |
|---|---|---|
Instance |
Right answer, wrong data. |
You, by selecting the correct instance. |
Connection sync status |
Stale or invisible data. |
Super Admin. |
Reporting window |
The period was defaulted, not chosen. |
You, by stating the period or changing the default. |
Default entities |
Scope narrower than intended. |
You, in Business Context. |
Metric definition |
The formula measures something else. |
Metric owner, in Metrics Studio. |
Role |
Access legitimately differs. |
Super Admin, if the access is wrong. |
Source data |
The figure is right and the data is wrong. |
Whoever owns the upstream system. |
Get help
Where the answer is still wrong after these checks, use the negative feedback control on the answer, which can raise a support ticket, and gather the question, the instance, the reporting window and the sources before you report it. For more information, see Auditoria Support.
Related information
For more information, see Read an Answer.
For more information, see User Preferences.
For more information, see Metric Validation Status.