> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.coupler.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.coupler.io/sources/category/other/bluetally/best-practices.md).

# Best Practices

## Recommended setup

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Join Assets and Employees in Coupler.io</strong></td><td>Rather than exporting them separately and doing a VLOOKUP, use the Join transformation in Coupler.io to link assets to employees via the assignment field. This gives you a single clean table ready for reporting.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Set your start date to cover your full asset history</strong></td><td>BlueTally filters data by start date, so if you set it too recently you'll miss older records. For a complete inventory export, set the start date to the earliest date you started tracking assets in BlueTally.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Use Append for multi-account setups</strong></td><td>If your organization runs multiple BlueTally accounts (e.g., by region or subsidiary), add each as a separate source in the same data flow and use the Append transformation to consolidate them into one dataset.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Data refresh and scheduling

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Match refresh frequency to your assignment change rate</strong></td><td>If assets are assigned or returned infrequently, a daily or weekly refresh is usually sufficient. For active IT environments with frequent equipment moves, consider a more frequent schedule.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Always do a successful manual run before scheduling</strong></td><td>Coupler.io requires a completed manual run before you can set a schedule. Use this run to verify record counts and field values look correct before automating.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Performance optimization

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Pull only the entity you need</strong></td><td>If you only need asset data for a warranty report, don't add the Employees entity to the same data flow — it adds unnecessary load and columns you won't use.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Use Aggregate for summary dashboards</strong></td><td>If you're building a Looker Studio dashboard showing asset counts by category or department, use the Aggregate transformation in Coupler.io rather than pulling the full asset list and aggregating in the dashboard tool.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Common pitfalls

{% hint style="danger" %}
**Don't rely on BlueTally as your reporting layer.** Field values like category names and status labels are freeform in BlueTally. If your team hasn't enforced consistent naming, your reports will reflect that inconsistency. Standardize values in BlueTally before building dashboards on top of the exported data.
{% endhint %}

{% columns %}
{% column %}
**Do**

* Set the start date to the earliest point in your asset history for complete exports
* Join Assets and Employees in Coupler.io for unified reporting
* Standardize category and status values in BlueTally before exporting
* Test with a manual run and verify record counts before scheduling
  {% endcolumn %}

{% column %}
**Don't**

* Use a recent start date when you need full inventory history
* Manually merge asset and employee exports in a spreadsheet when Join can do it
* Assume deleted or archived assets will appear in your export
* Build dashboards on inconsistent freeform field values without cleaning them first
  {% endcolumn %}
  {% endcolumns %}


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