Custom Batch

Custom Batch

What is Custom Batch 

A custom batch is a standard report used to capture information for multiple sites. A batch report utilizes an existing input table or file and assigns a search area to the input locations. The search areas then gather information by custom variables, such as demographics, selected by the user for each site in the original input table or file. 

Use Cases for Custom Batch 

  1. I am looking to determine what the number of white-collar employees falls within 1 and 3 miles from each of my open store locations. 
  2. I would like to find the name of the nearest Chicken competitor, a count of chicken competitors and number of college students within a 3- and 5-minute drive from our prospective locations. 
In this article we’ll review in detail how to create a batch report step by step. Before we dive in, let’s get an overview of the Batch Report process.  

The Four Main Steps to Creating a Custom Batch 

1. Add Sites  

There are three options to add input sites to a batch report: 
  1. Select sites manually on the map 
  2. Upload an Excel or CSV file containing your sites of interest 
  3. Choose and filter a data set within your Sitewise Pro account 

2. Add Study Areas  

Enter multiple Drivetime or Radius study areas around each site to bring in information. If the sites you chose are polygons, entering a study area is unnecessary.  

3. Adding Variables  

For each analysis site chosen, you can run demographics within each study area and various options for generating information based on the point layers you have access to within your account.  

4. Output  

For smaller batches a download link will appear on screen, and for larger batches you will receive an email with the link. The report generates in Excel format and has one line for each site, and one column for each variable selected within each study area.  


Accessing the Batch Report Wizard  

There are two ways to access batch reports in Sitewise: 

Through the Settings Menu 

  1. In your Sitewise Pro account, click on the Settings icon  to display the settings menu.   
  2. Click on Batch Reports.  
    A screenshot of a computerDescription automatically generated
  3. The right-hand panel will change to show the Batch Report Wizard. 

Through the Smart Report Wizard 

  1. Select the Start a SmartReport Wizard icon located on the top menu bar. 
  2. In the Choose a Report Wizard dropdown, navigate to Batch Report, click to select this option, and click Next. 
    A screenshot of a reportDescription automatically generated
  3. The right-hand panel will change to show the Batch Report Wizard. 

Adding Input Data 

Let’s pick the sites to run the Batch Report on. There are three options to add sites: 

Add Sites Manually 

  1. Click on the map to add locations.  
    1. Use the zoom and pan functionality to move around the map, placing new sites by clicking on the map. Drag a pushpin to move its location. 
  2. Add a location by address.  
    1. If you know the address of a site, enter the address into the text box and click on the magnifying glass to locate the site. Once located, verify that the pushpin was placed correctly, and drag the pushpin to move the site.  

Upload a File of Sites  

  1. If you know the address of all sites, this is a great option 
    1. The file must be in either Excel or CSV format  
    2. Sitewise can Geocode your point data in two ways:  
      1. Through separate fields for Address, City, State/Province, Zip/Postal Code and Country.  
      2. Through geographic latitude and longitude coordinates contained in fields.  
  2. Click 'Upload File of Sites'
     
  3. Select Choose File.  
    1. Navigate to your CSV or Excel file. 
    2. Click on the Upload button. 
  4. The Geocode dialogue box will now appear, and you will have two options:
    1. If your data does not have reliable geographic coordinates, use the dropdowns to select the appropriate fields for Address, City, Zip/Postal Code, State/Province, Country and uncheck the use latitude/longitude if available checkbox.  
      1. The Address Field must be filled, otherwise the geocoder will not process the file. If no address is available, select the smallest geography available to be the address for the most accurate site match. 
    2. If your data has geographic coordinates, use the dropdown boxes under Latitude and Longitude to select the appropriate fields in your location file.  
    3. Select Geocode. 
  5. Your locations will now show up in the Batch Report Wizard. Before moving to the next step, you can review your sites and verify that they were correctly geocoded.   
    1. Click the Magnifying Glass icon next to a record to zoom into a site.  
    2. If the site isn’t in the correct location, drag the pin to move it.  
  6. Once you have finished with your sites, you can now add sites manually or continue by selecting Next.  

Use Existing Layer 

  1. Use the Layer dropdown box to select a layer in your account to run the Custom Batch Report on. 
    1. Setting a Filter: If you want to filter the layer to only include specific locations, select the Filter button. You can set multiple filters on any field within the layer. 
    2. Setting the Name Field: Use the drop-down to pick a field within the layer. This field will be used to identify each site within the output file.  
  2. Once you’re satisfied with the sites you have added as input data, click Next.   
Info
When adding sites, you might run into a limit on the number of sites you can run the Custom Batch report on. If this is the case and you need to run it on more records than the limit, please reach out to Sitewise Support.

Add Variables to the Output  

Custom Batch allows you to compute a wide range of statistics for each site selected. If you have any questions as to what is or isn’t possible, please contact Support and one of our analysts would be happy to walk through your request. Here are the basics to adding demographic and layer variables to a Custom Batch report.  
  1. Under the Select a Report drop-down menu, select Custom Batch.  
  2. Selecting Desired Variables.  
    1. Open the Select Batch Variables dialogue box by clicking the Variables button. 
       
    2. If you have a pre-saved Variable Set, please skip step 5.b. 
  3. How to add a demographic variable: 
    1. Click on the Add a Demographic Variable Icon  at the top right. 
    2. In the Select a Data Variable dialogue box, navigate to the desired variable by choosing a Category from the dropdown and navigating through its variables.  
    3. Click the number or percentage associated with the variable to highlight it in orange.  
    4. If you want to group multiple variables and sum them (Age 35-65, for example), hold the SHIFT key on your keyboard and select all the variables you want to sum together  
      1. Make sure each variable is highlighted orange. Alternatively, add each variable in the range individually and sum the values in the Excel output.  
    5. Click Select a Data Variable.  
    6. The variable is now added to the variable list. 
    7. It’s helpful to edit the variable names to something descriptive. This will prevent any confusion when reviewing the report output. Click on the newly added variable to expand it and edit the Name text box.  
  4. How to add a custom variable based on a layer within your Sitewise Pro account.   
    1. Click on the Add a Variable from a Layer Icon  to open the Add Layer Attribute dialogue box.  
    2. Select a layer from the From Layer dropdown menu.  
    3. There are three options in the Add dropdown menu: Count, Nearest, or Sum. 
      1. Count: this will count the number of records within that layer that fall within each study area.  
      2. Nearest: this option will create a text output of the nearest point within that layer to the target site. Use the Of Attribute dropdown menu to determine which Attribute will show in the output (example: Store Name, or Store Number).  
      3. Sum: compute the sum of a numeric field for each location within the study area. For example: If you want to compute the total sales to customers within a study area, choose From Layer: Customer Spottings, Add: Sum, Of Attribute: Sales.  
  5. If you plan on repeating this analysis again, you can save the chosen variables as a Variable Set. This allows you to load them back in whenever you want.  
    1. To save a Variable Set:  
      1. Click on the Save Icon  
      2. Enter a descriptive Name  
      3. Save Options allows you to either Save a Copy which saves a new variable set, or Overwrite the Variable Set you have loaded.  
    2. To open an existing Variable Set  
      1. Click on the Load Variable Set Icon  and click on the variable set you want to load.  
  6. Include Benchmarks: This option allows you to select census geography to compare the results of each record. It will output another set of columns in the output for each variable, using the benchmark as the study area.   
    1. Turn on the Include Benchmarks checkbox 
    2. Click within the text box  
    3. Select however many you would like from the list that appears.   
  7. When satisfied with the list of chosen variables, click Close to return to the Batch Report Wizard.  

Adding Study Areas and Running the Batch Report  

A screenshot of a computerDescription automatically generated

  1. Custom Batch allows you to enter multiple circles and/or drivetimes.  
  2. For multiple distances or drivetimes, separate each entry with a comma.  
  3. If you are using a polygon layer as your input sites, you do not need to enter a study area size. 
  4. Use the dropdown beside the input boxes to specify which unit you want to use to create study areas.   
  5. Click the Include Input Columns checkbox to include all the columns from your input sites in the output. Otherwise, only the Name field from the first wizard page and the site coordinates will be included.   
  6. Once satisfied with the sites, variable set, and study areas, fill out the Batch Name and Send Results to Email text fields. Click Run.  
  7. A download link will appear in the bottom right-hand side of the internet browser for smaller batch requests. A copy of the link will also be sent to the email you entered in the Send Results to Email text field. 
    A white and black textDescription automatically generated
  8. A download link may not appear for larger requests, instead you will receive an email containing the download link once the batch has finished processing.  

    • Related Articles

    • Report History

      Sitewise keeps a record of all reports previously run within your account to ensure easy access in the case the data may be required in the future. Use Case I forgot to add my email address to the report I ran, and it never appeared in the bottom ...

    • Using the Settings Menu

      The gear icon on the top right-hand side of the screen houses Sitewise‘s settings menu. This menu contains advanced settings and other account features. In this article we’ll touch on each of the options listed in the menu below. Current ...

    • Rank Reports

      Rank reports are used to pull detailed demographics and variable data within a specified geographic area. Use this tool to run a report to pull demographic information, such as population count, for all CBSA's in the United States or to pull a list ...

    • SmartReports

      What is a Smart Report In today’s data-driven market, it is vital for your organization to be able to quickly review any potential site for the characteristics that matter! That’s why Sitewise created Smart Reports—a custom built, decision-making ...

    • Standard Profile Reports

      Export various categories of demographic variables, based on study areas, from the Profile tab to either PDF or Excel formats for use offline. All variables within a selected category will be visible in the report, including a map showcasing the ...