Build a compelling email dashboard#

Five Timberline jobs build the same shape of email, and it is the most reusable thing in the whole demo. The idea: the message body is the report; the attachment is for whoever wants to go deeper.

Three principles first#

There is no single right layout; it varies with the report and the audience. Three principles matter more than the template:

• Put screenshots of the relevant information in the body so a reader can glance and get an overall understanding of the data.
• Use AI insights as a summarized starting point for people to think about their data. A starting point for thought, not a conclusion.
• Do not make it too wordy, or it gets skipped, but do include what helps at a glance so the reader knows what the email contains.

The recipe below is a worked instance of those three, not a fixed template.

The recipe#

The two worked examples#

Board Packet: the visual version:

Hi Sarah, Please see attached the Executive Board Packet for your review. Below is a summary of the key KPIs and Overall P&L. [screenshot of the KPI band, A5:N14 at 50%] [the SummaryPL range as an HTML table] Thanks! Finance Team

Sales Rep Scorecard: the AI version:

Hello Thomas King, For the Region: APAC your total team attainment is 90.8%. [generated paragraph naming the top and bottom three reps, in a management-review voice] Attached is a detailed review. Thanks!

Both are personalized per burst. Every manager's mail carries their own attainment number and a paragraph about their own team.

How to build one#

1. Give the workbook the pieces. Create named ranges for the things the email needs: the recipient address, the greeting name, any headline cell, and the range you want to show as a table. Put the lookups on a hidden sheet if they are plumbing rather than content, the board pack keeps all of this on its hidden data sheet.
2. Point Email to at the address range rather than typing an address. This is what makes the burst self-addressing.
3. Write the body, inserting variables where you want values. Three kinds matter:
   • a cell value for prose and headline numbers,
   • a cell value as an HTML table for a small tabular block,
   • a screenshot of a range for anything with formatting or conditional color you want preserved.
4. Parameterise the subject so the recipient can tell which slice this is: {Region}-Board Packet beats "Board Packet".
5. Add an AI insight if the report has something to say, see Check out the AI features.
6. Test / preview, then run and read the result in the demo inbox.

Choosing between a screenshot and an HTML table#

Both appear in the same board-pack email, which is not an accident:

A screenshot is an image: it always looks exactly right and never reflows. An HTML table reflows and stays selectable but loses complex formatting. Board Packet uses a screenshot for the KPI band (which is styled) and a table for the P&L summary (which is not).

The board pack renders its screenshot at 50% scale as JPEG, tuned for email clients rather than for print. That is a reasonable starting point.

What makes these good, and what to avoid#

Good:

• The first line names the recipient and the second gives them a number. Nobody has to open anything to learn whether they need to care.
• The subject line is parameterized, so a manager with three regions can tell the mails apart.
• The commentary is about their data, generated per burst: not a static paragraph.

Avoid:

• A wall of attachments and no body. That is the pattern this replaces.
• Very wide ranges as HTML tables: they reflow badly. Screenshot those instead.
• Putting everything in. Two visual blocks is plenty; the attachment carries the rest.

Related#

• What bursting looks like
• Check out the AI features