Job one-report-lineage-map-from-source-to-number-checked-by-queries · revised 12 October 2026
Show where every number in one report comes from, and check each figure by query
For one report with up to 15 figures, a map from each number back to its source tables and steps, with every figure recomputed from those sources by a query you can re-run.
You might be seeing
- Nobody can say which tables feed a headline figure
- Answering 'where does this come from?' means asking three people
No passwords, keys, card details or admin invites needed to start.
What usually happened
Lineage tools cover a whole warehouse; this job traces one report. What a buyer needs for one report is smaller: for each figure, the sources and steps behind it, checked by recomputing the figure from those sources. A fluent description of lineage that is not recomputed is a guess.
Who it’s for: Finance or analytics lead who is asked 'where does this number come from?' and cannot answer quickly.
Usually starts when: A board or audit question about one figure takes days of digging through queries, sheets and dashboards.
The result: For one report with up to 15 figures, a map shows each figure's source tables, columns and transformation steps. A query for each figure recomputes it from its listed sources to the value the report's own query gives on your copy, within the tolerance you set. What could not be traced is listed.
Check whether this job fits
Answer these without sending files or logins. Nothing is submitted unless you choose to contact us.
What you get
- The lineage map for each figure
- The recomputation queries and their output
- The list of untraced parts
- The 5-figure check, recorded
- Run steps
Included
- One report or dashboard with up to 15 figures
- The queries, views, formulas and models behind them, which you provide as text
- A map per figure: sources, steps and the final calculation
- A recomputation query per figure, run on a read-only copy
- A list of what could not be traced, and a check on 5 figures you pick after the draft
Not included
- Rolling out a lineage or catalogue platform
- Changing any query, table or report
- Deciding which figure is right
- More than 15 figures without a larger quote
- Personal data
How we know it’s done
Agreed with you before work starts. Each check produces evidence you keep.
Each figure recomputes from its listed sources to the value the report's own query gives on the copy you send, within the tolerance you set in writing.
Evidence: The recomputation table.
For each figure, the report's own query is run on the copy; the row count and subtotal at every step named in the map match the report's own intermediate results, and our recomputed figure equals the report's own figure.
Evidence: The step table beside the report's own output.
Every table and column named in the map exists in the copy; a script checks each reference.
Evidence: The script output.
You pick 5 figures after the draft is done; all 5 trace and recompute correctly.
Evidence: Your 5 picks and their recomputations.
What could not be traced is listed with the reason, and none is left out.
Evidence: The untraced list.
No query, table or report of yours is changed: checksums of the supplied text are identical before and after.
Evidence: The checksum comparison.
Sign-off. You inspect the map, the recomputation table and the untraced list, and sign off in writing. Payment follows sign-off.
If it fails. If the held-back test is not passed, you do not pay for this fixed scope. You keep the results, the failures and the test set, and we agree whether to stop or re-quote. No surprise work.
When it fits, and when we stop
It fits when
- One report whose queries, views or formulas you can give us as text
- A read-only masked copy to recompute figures on
- A named person who reads the map and the untraced list
- No personal data in the copy
We stop and tell you if
- The report is built by hand-edited screenshots with no source
- Only production access is available
- Figures depend on systems you cannot describe
- You want the figures changed
What could go wrong
The job reads copies you send and writes files. It changes nothing in your systems, so there is nothing to revert. Our copies of your files are deleted when the job ends.
Scroll the table sideways to read it all.
| Risk | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| The map describes a path that is not the one the figure takes. | Each figure must recompute from its listed sources to the value the report's own query gives on your copy. A figure that does not is reported as untraced. |
| A hidden manual step is missed. | Anything that cannot be traced is listed, and your person adds known manual steps. |
| Your files go to a model provider outside your control. | Before any file is shared we name the provider, its country and its retention terms in writing. Entry jobs run on redacted, synthetic or public copies, or on your own provider account with a key you hold. |
A separate automated reviewer checks the map and the recomputation queries before hand-over and does not mark the 5-figure check. A named person on your side picks the 5 figures after the draft and signs off. No person on our side is included unless your agreement names one, and at launch the work is largely automated.
How we deliver
We arrange the work and independent review, then show you the result against the agreed checks. You keep authority over your systems.
- Agree the report, the figures, the tolerance and the severe errors
- Receive the query text and the read-only masked copy
- Trace each figure back to its sources and steps
- Recompute each figure from its listed sources by query
- Independent review of the map against the recomputation
- Hand over the map and queries; delete our copies
This is a one-off job, not emergency cover or a subscription. We confirm eligibility, the price, a start window and a delivery date before you accept, and work starts only after inputs, a secure handoff route and permissions are in place. Model usage up to a cap agreed in writing is included, and an enquiry creates no charge or booking.
Need to keep it working?
Want more reports traced? Each further report is quoted separately.
Ongoing work is separately scoped and quoted: no monitoring, response-time guarantee or automatic subscription is included in this job.
Explore an ongoing managed lane, or mention the responsibility you need in your enquiry.
What you can check
This is a new service. We have not delivered this job for a client yet.
Other ways to get this done
- Data catalogue and lineage platforms track lineage across a whole company for a licence fee. This job traces one report and checks it.
- If you use dbt, its built-in lineage graph shows models; it does not recompute your reported figures.
Questions
Is this a lineage platform?
No. It traces one report and checks each figure by recomputing it.
What if a number cannot be traced?
It goes on the untraced list with the reason. We do not guess.
Do you change my queries?
No. We only read them.
Send an enquiry
Send us
- Which report, how many figures and what builds it (SQL, dbt, a spreadsheet)
- The two figures people ask about most
- No real records, personal data or credentials in the first enquiry
Later, once you agree
- The queries, views or formulas as text, by an agreed secure route
- A read-only masked copy
- A named person who reads the map
- A written cap on model usage
You keep your report, your data and every decision. We work on text of the queries and a read-only masked copy that you provide by an agreed secure route, return a map and queries, and delete our copies when the job ends. We change nothing.
Email fallback: open your mail app
If website submission is unavailable, review and send the fallback email yourself. An email fallback is not a website receipt. Or write to hello@syntheticindustry.ai with “one-report-lineage-map-from-source-to-number-checked-by-queries” as the subject.