Exception Reports
Identify and address business issues proactively with AI-powered exception detection. Budget overruns, overdue items, anomalies, and more.
Exception Reports surface issues that need your attention—automatically. Instead of manually reviewing every invoice, contract, and budget line, Muin’s AI continuously monitors your data and highlights what’s exceptional: budget overruns, overdue items, unusual patterns, and approaching deadlines.
What Are Exception Reports?
Exception Reports focus on what’s wrong rather than routine data. They answer:
- What’s over budget?
- What’s overdue?
- What looks unusual?
- What’s missing?
- What’s expiring?
Think of it as a smart assistant that only interrupts you when something needs attention.
Exception Categories
Budget Exceptions 💰
Items that exceed budget thresholds.
Detects:
- Spending over 90% of budget (warning)
- Spending over 100% of budget (critical)
- Rapid spending acceleration
- Category-level overruns
Example exceptions:
Marketing: 125% of budget (Critical) $25,000 spent of $20,000 budget
IT Services: 95% of budget (Warning) $19,000 spent of $20,000 budget - approaching limit
Overdue Items ⏰
Invoices, tasks, and obligations past their due dates.
Detects:
- Invoices overdue by 7+ days (warning)
- Invoices overdue by 30+ days (critical)
- Tasks past deadline
- Payments not received
Example exceptions:
INV-2025-0823: 45 days overdue (Critical) Invoice from Acme Corp for $12,500 [View Invoice →]
Annual compliance review: 3 days overdue (Low) Task assigned to John Smith
Anomalies 📊
Patterns that deviate significantly from normal.
Detects:
- Spending spikes (2+ standard deviations)
- Unusual volume changes
- Seasonal deviations
- Trend breaks
Example exceptions:
Unusual spending spike: Office Supplies (High) Spending 3.5x higher than typical monthly average $7,000 vs $2,000 average
Volume anomaly: Document uploads (Medium) 85% increase in uploads compared to baseline
Missing Data ❓
Expected information that’s absent.
Detects:
- Missing required documents
- Incomplete vendor profiles
- Unfilled mandatory fields
- Gaps in records
Example exceptions:
Missing vendor W-9 forms (Medium) 3 active vendors are missing W-9 documentation [View Vendors →]
Expired/Expiring Items 📅
Contracts, certifications, and licenses that need attention.
Detects:
- Already expired items (critical)
- Expiring within 7 days (high)
- Expiring within 30 days (medium)
- Upcoming renewals
Example exceptions:
Contract: Vendor A Service Agreement expired 5 days ago (High) Annual service agreement needs renewal [View Contract →]
Certification: ISO 9001 expires in 25 days (Low) Annual certification renewal required
Threshold Breaches ⚠️
Custom rules that have been violated.
Detects:
- Custom metric thresholds
- Policy violations
- SLA breaches
- Compliance rules
Viewing Exception Reports
Access the Report
- Navigate to Reports → Exception Reports
- View the current exception summary
- Filter by date range if needed
Report Layout
The exception report displays:
Header:
- Date range analyzed
- Total exception count
- Critical count (if any)
- Generated timestamp
Summary: AI-generated text highlighting the most important issues.
Categories: Expandable sections for each exception type with:
- Count and severity breakdown
- Individual exception cards
- Deep links to source data
Severity Indicators
| Severity | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Red | Immediate action required |
| High | Orange | Address soon |
| Medium | Yellow | Review when possible |
| Low | Blue | Monitor/FYI |
Using Deep Links
Each exception card includes links to source data:
- [View Invoice →] Opens the specific invoice
- [View Vendor →] Opens vendor profile
- [View Contract →] Opens contract details
This enables quick investigation without searching.
Filtering and Date Ranges
Quick Filters
| Filter | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Last 30 Days | Recent month (default) |
| Last 90 Days | Quarterly view |
| Custom Range | Specific dates |
Filter by Category
Click category headers to show/hide specific exception types.
Clear Filters
Click Clear to reset to default view.
Exception Thresholds
Muin uses configurable thresholds to determine severity.
Default Thresholds
| Threshold | Warning | Critical |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | 90% of budget | 100% of budget |
| Overdue | 7 days past due | 30 days past due |
| Expiration | 30 days until | 7 days until/expired |
| Anomaly | 2 std deviations | - |
Customizing Thresholds
Contact support to customize thresholds for your organization’s needs.
Acting on Exceptions
Investigate
Click any exception to view full details and linked documents.
Resolve
Take action through the linked item:
- Pay overdue invoice
- Renew expiring contract
- Update missing data
- Adjust budget allocation
Dismiss
Some exceptions may be expected or already handled. Note these for your records.
Export
Export the exception report for:
- Team meetings
- Executive summaries
- Audit documentation
- Historical tracking
Scheduling Exception Reports
Automatic Delivery
Set up regular exception report delivery:
- Navigate to Reports → Schedules
- Click Create Schedule
- Select Exception Report
- Configure:
- Frequency (daily, weekly, monthly)
- Recipients
- Include empty reports or skip
Recommended Schedules
| Role | Frequency | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Finance Team | Daily | Catch issues early |
| Operations | Weekly | Regular review |
| Executive | Weekly/Monthly | Summary oversight |
Export Options
PDF Export
Professional document with:
- Cover page and summary
- All exception categories
- Charts and counts
- Deep link URLs
Excel Export
Spreadsheet with:
- Exception data in rows
- Category breakdown sheets
- Pivot-ready format
- Raw data for analysis
CSV Export
Simple format for:
- Import to other tools
- Custom analysis
- Data integration
Chat Commands
Generate exception reports via chat:
You: "Show me exceptions for last month"
Muin: "Exception Report for December 2025:
Found 15 exceptions requiring attention.
🚨 2 Critical: Budget overrun (Marketing),
Invoice 45 days overdue
⚠️ 5 High: Expiring contracts, budget warnings
📋 8 Medium/Low: Missing data, minor overdue items
[View Full Report] [Download PDF]"Other commands:
- “What’s overdue?”
- “Show budget exceptions”
- “Any expiring contracts?”
- “Generate compliance exception report”
Best Practices
Daily Review
Start your day with the exception report to:
- Catch overnight issues
- Prioritize your day
- Address critical items first
Don’t Ignore Warnings
Medium severity today becomes critical tomorrow:
- 95% budget usage → 105% next week
- 7 days overdue → 37 days next month
Use Deep Links
Don’t just note the exception—click through and resolve:
- View the actual document
- Take action in context
- Mark as resolved
Track Patterns
Recurring exceptions indicate systemic issues:
- Same vendor always late? Renegotiate terms.
- Budget category always over? Adjust allocation.
- Department always has missing data? Improve process.
Troubleshooting
No Exceptions Shown
This means:
- Everything is within thresholds (good!)
- Date range may not include relevant data
- Verify data exists in the system
Exception Not Cleared After Action
Exceptions update when underlying data changes:
- Pay the invoice → overdue clears
- Renew contract → expiration clears
- May take up to 24 hours for recalculation
Deep Link Not Working
- Document may have been deleted
- You may lack permission to view
- Try searching for the item directly
Related Documentation
- Business Reports Overview - All report types
- Workflow Settings - Configure monitoring thresholds
- Vendor Compliance - Vendor-specific exceptions