XBRL Software vs Managed Services vs Hybrid Reporting: Which Model Is Right for Your Team?

XBRL managed services can help reporting teams reduce preparation workload while retaining review and approval control.

Preparing an XBRL or Inline XBRL report is not only a software decision. Organizations must also decide how the reporting work will be managed, who will be responsible for preparation, and how much specialist support the internal team requires.

Some organizations have the expertise and capacity to manage reporting internally. Others prefer an external team to prepare the report, while their own team focuses on reviewing and approving the final output. In some cases, responsibilities are shared.

The right approach depends on internal expertise, reporting workload, filing complexity, governance requirements, and long-term reporting goals.

Three Ways to Manage XBRL Reporting

Although providers may structure their services differently, organizations generally manage XBRL reporting through one of three practical approaches.

Internal Preparation

The organization uses XBRL software to prepare and manage the report through its internal reporting team.

This approach provides direct control but requires sufficient knowledge, resources, and time to manage data preparation, validation, review, and submission requirements.

Outsourced Preparation

An external specialist prepares the XBRL or Inline XBRL report, while the organization reviews the output and provides final approval.

This can reduce the preparation workload for internal teams while maintaining oversight of the reporting process.

Shared Preparation

The organization and an external provider divide reporting responsibilities.

This can help teams retain internal involvement while receiving additional support for complex tasks, new reporting requirements, or periods of increased workload.

What Should Organizations Consider?

Before selecting an approach, reporting teams should evaluate:

An experienced team may prefer to manage reporting internally. A team with limited capacity may require specialist-led preparation. Organizations building internal expertise may benefit from a shared approach.

How Ez-XBRL Supports These Reporting Approaches

Ez-XBRL supports different levels of client involvement through three flexible engagement models: Self-Service, Managed Services, and Hybrid.

These are Ez-XBRL’s engagement models. Other providers may use different terminology or divide responsibilities differently.

Comparison of Ez-XBRL’s Engagement Models

Self-Service: Prepare, Review, and Manage Reporting Internally

Under Ez-XBRL’s Self-Service model, your team manages the reporting process using Integix for report preparation and XOR for structured review, validation, and approval.

Integix supports Inline XBRL and regulatory reporting preparation by enabling teams to:

Integix also applies agentic AI-driven automation to activities such as identifying table structures, retaining and reapplying prior-period tags, managing roll-forward and draft updates, and identifying validation issues that require review.

XOR complements the preparation process by enabling teams to:

Together, Integix and XOR allow internal teams to prepare, review, validate, and approve reports within a controlled reporting environment.

Self-Service may be appropriate when your organization has sufficient reporting expertise, internal capacity, and a preference for managing the complete reporting process directly.

XBRL Managed Services: Ez-XBRL Prepares, Your Team Reviews and Approves

Under Ez-XBRL’s Managed Services model, Ez-XBRL prepares the report while your team reviews and approves it.

This approach may be suitable when:

Managed Services reduce the internal preparation workload without removing client oversight. Using XOR, your team can review the output of the managed services process in a clear, human-readable format, examine validation results, track changes, provide comments, and manage approvals before submission.

Your team remains involved in confirming the underlying information and approving the final output.

Learn more about Ez-XBRL’s reporting services.

Hybrid Model: Share Reporting Responsibilities

Ez-XBRL’s Hybrid Model divides responsibilities between your internal team and Ez-XBRL.

The exact division of work can be adjusted according to:

For example, you may manage data preparation and internal review while Ez-XBRL performs XBRL tagging, validation, and technical quality checks. Alternatively, Ez-XBRL may prepare the initial report while you assume more responsibility in subsequent reporting periods.

The Hybrid Model may be suitable for organizations that want to retain internal involvement while accessing specialist support where required.

How XOR Supports Review and Governance

XOR can support review and approval workflows across all three engagement models.

XOR enables organizations to:

This helps internal teams maintain visibility, traceability, and governance regardless of who performs the initial report preparation.

Which Ez-XBRL Model Is Right for Your Team?

Choose Self-Service if you have trained resources, predictable capacity, and want direct control.

Choose Managed Services if deadlines, limited expertise, or filing complexity make internal preparation impractical.

Choose Hybrid if you want to retain control of selected activities while obtaining specialist support elsewhere.

Across all three models, organizations benefit from:

For a broader explanation of structured reporting, visit XBRL International.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are XBRL managed services?

XBRL managed services involve an external specialist preparing the XBRL or Inline XBRL report, while the reporting organization reviews and approves the final output.

What is the difference between XBRL software and managed services?

XBRL software allows an internal team to prepare and manage reporting directly. Under a Managed Services model, the provider prepares the report while the client retains review and approval responsibility.

What does Integix do?

Integix is Ez-XBRL’s agentic AI-driven regulatory reporting preparation solution. It helps teams convert source documents and data into XBRL or Inline XBRL reports, apply and retain tags, identify table structures, run regulatory validations, manage draft and roll-forward updates, and prepare reports across multiple regulatory frameworks.

What does XOR do?

XOR is Ez-XBRL’s review, collaboration, and approval solution. It allows reporting teams to review XBRL and Inline XBRL reports in a human-readable format, examine tags and validation results, record comments and approvals, compare versions, and maintain a comprehensive audit trail.

What is Ez-XBRL’s Hybrid Model?

Ez-XBRL’s Hybrid Model is a shared-responsibility approach in which reporting activities are divided between Ez-XBRL and the client, with flexibility to adjust or transition the model over time.

Can an organization change its engagement model?

Yes. An organization may begin with Managed Services, move to a Hybrid Model as internal capability develops, and later transition to Self-Service. The level of support can also increase if reporting requirements become more complex.