Common fields used in reporting

Graphite provides your teams with data in two ways:

1. Via an Excel export on the Suppliers or Customers page
2. Via the public API

What you need to know

The information available via the export is limited compared to the API. The export never includes bank account numbers or documents, and takes into consideration your permissions before including any restricted tax information. To include restricted tax information you would need to authenticate via 2FA prior to running the export.

If you are interested in seeing the full scope of data, integrating the Public API into your own reporting tools will give you the most robust reporting capabilities. Learn how to create and manage APIs >

Important note: While the user interface only shows 4 connection stages, the onboarding process has 5 stages in which activities and tasks are completed. These are: Invite (NSJ), Accept (supplier survey), Review (formerly collaborate), Connect, Connected, and Disconnected.

Using the Export

Even when using the Public API, it is important to familiarize yourself with the Export. The Suppliers Export includes multiple tabs, which corresponds to the data model in Graphite. Understanding the data model will make it easier to create custom reports or manage integrations.

1. Glossary - The first tab in the Export is a list of all q/a pairs that are included in your configuration. It includes both network questions and internal use questions that are specific to your company. Column B refers to the "answer key" and column C refers to the "label" of each q/a pair. Use the "answer key" as a reference for all other tabs in the Export.
2. Connections - The connections tab is common across all configurations. This tab includes one record for each connection, and the columns in this tab include the connection data that is not part of a "multiple" or table. This tab also includes start and end dates as described in the "Other Fields" section below.
3. Tabs for multiples - Each configuration may have a different set of tabs included in the export. These refer to any instance of "multiples" or tables as part of the connection. The information that ties a record from the Connections tab to any of these multiples is the Connection ID. Common tabs include Locations List, ERP Records, and Topic Reviews.
4. Tasks - The tasks tab includes any task that has been created for your company. It does not include tasks for the counterparty (i.e. the supplier). It includes the name of the task, the start and end dates, who completed the task, whether the task was assigned to an individual or a group of users, and in the case of a group of users, it includes the name of the user group who was assigned the task.
5. Task Status - This information is used to track change of status for tasks. For example, if you want to track when a task went on hold, this tab would provide that information. You can tie the status of a task to the task details by using the Task ID on both the Tasks and Task Status tabs.
6. Approvals - This tab includes the evidence of all "approval" tasks, including who completed the task and any comments added. 

Other Fields (not displayed in the Glossary)

There are a handful of other fields that are not included in the Appendix, but they are important when generating reports that are based on time.  

Note: your configuration may include other fields that are critical to you. This table outlines the most common fields used by most of Graphite's customers.

Source	Answer Key	How to use it
Connections	Supplier_Is_Legacy	This allows you to identify which suppliers were part of a Legacy bulk upload.
Connections	Invite start date	The NSJ was started but not completed or approvals are still pending. The invitation has not yet been sent.
Connections	Accept start date	Accept start date means that the NSJ has been completed and the connection has moved to "Accept". It doesn't distinguish between an invitation sent to a supplier & a non-network, nor does it account for any bounced invitation emails.
Connections	Collaborate start date	This is when the invitation has been submitted for review. 1. The supplier submitted the info for review 2. Or, the non-network has been submitted for review.
Connections	Connect start date	This is when the invitation moved from Review to Connect. In general, this indicates that all topic reviews and validations are complete.
Connections	Connect complete date	Suppliers are considered connected when this field is not null. This date indicates when the supplier moved from Connect to Connected.