Choosing the Right Reporting Tool. Brenda Arnold Jeff Smith

Transcription

1 Choosing the Right Reporting Tool Brenda Arnold Jeff Smith

2 Session Objectives Help your organization get the maximum return on investment in Microsoft Dynamics GP by making you aware of its powerful reporting tools and helping you choose the right one to meet your needs.

3 Key Decision Factors How many people need the information? Are the data consumers on premise? Is the data consumer specific? How often is the data required? Are the data consumers also Dynamics GP users? Are all of the data consumers employees of the firm?

4 Key Decision Factors Have I provided this information to someone else already? How complex is the reporting requirement? What skills do you have on staff? What is the nature of the data?

5 Available Reporting Options GP Report Writer Smartlist/Smartlist Builder Excel Reports/Excel Report Builder Management Reporter SQL Server Reporting Services Reports Analysis Cubes Business Portal Business Analyzer

6 GP Report Writer

7 GP Report Writer Over 600 out-of-the-box reports Requires GP Concurrent User License Many of these reports are being duplicated with SQL Server Reporting Services, Excel or Word (forms) Commonly used for: - Business forms - Modifying existing reports Required for usage of Word templates

8 GP Report Writer Ease of use = Moderate to Difficult Common User = Technical User In the Real World: - Adding aging buckets to Payables and Receivables Trial Balance reports - Adding text to Sales Invoice on who to call for billing questions - Moving fields on the check document to fit preprinted check stock

9 SmartList/SmartList Builder

10 SmartList/SmartList Builder Widely used query and reporting tool Simple Requires GP Concurrent User License Drill-down functionality to GP data Easy integration to Excel and Word Smartlist Builder can report on data from multiple sources

11 SmartList/SmartList Builder Ease of use = Easy to Moderate Common User = All Users In the Real World: - Research sales activity per territory - Clean up customer or vendor master list - Chart of accounts across all entities - Account balances across all entities

12 Excel Reports/Excel Builder More than 200 built into Dynamics GP 2013 Publish to Network Share or SharePoint Refreshable GP license not required

13 Excel Reports/Excel Builder Ease of use = Easy to Moderate Common User = Financial Analyst In the Real World: - Inventory levels in pivot table - Customer addresses for a mail merge - Excel power users needing access to GP data - Use for detail behind pivot tables and charts

14 Management Reporter

15 Management Reporter Financial statement reporting tool Flexibility to provide reports for internal and external review Replaced FRx Includes drill-down functionality Designer and viewer licenses available - May be separate from GP license

16 Management Reporter Ease of use = Moderate Common User = Controller/Financial Analyst In the Real World: - GAAP Financial Statements - Board and Executive Committee Financial Package - Company Consolidations - Budget vs. Actual - Departmental performance analysis

17 SQL Server Reporting Services More than 250 built into Dynamics GP 2013 GP license not required Web Browser Access Reports Highly Customizable Reports Provides ability to pull data from multiple sources (i.e. companies, data sources)

18 SQL Server Reporting Services Reports Security is based on Active Directory Reports can be easily exported to Word, Excel,.pdf or image files Universal tool that is not GP specific If connected to exchange, reports can be e- mailed on a schedule

19 SQL Server Reporting Services Reports Requires knowledge of Dynamics GP tables Requires resources familiar with SQL Server and SSRS to develop and maintain reports

20 SQL Server Reporting Services Ease of use = Moderate to Difficult Common User = Financial Analyst/ Controller/Transactional User In the Real World: Reports - Inventory Stock Status Report - Historical Aged AR Trial Balance - Fixed Asset Depreciation Detail - Project Time by Employee

21 Analysis Cubes GP License Not Required Leverages Excel Pivot Table Functionality Design Access in GP or in Excel Easily drill down on data Publish to SharePoint

22 Analysis Cubes Analysis Cubes on youtube.com

23 Analysis Cubes Ease of use = Moderate Common User = Financial Analyst In the Real World: - Identifying Trends - Quantity sold by sales rep

24 Business Portal GP License not Required Browser-Based Inquiries Dashboards Requires SharePoint (WSF Minimum) Publish Reports Workflow functionality availability Internet Access to Information

25 Business Portal Ease of use = Moderate Common User = All Users In the Real World: - Company Intranet - Open payables for vendor - HR Self Service - Time Entry

26 Business Analyzer GP license not required Available for both GP and non-gp users Highlights SQL reporting Services Reports Can place on GP Home Page for Metrics

27 Business Analyzer Ease of use = Moderate to Difficult Common User = Technical In the Real World: - Home Page Metrics - KPIs for Executives - Dashboards published on monitors throughout the office and warehouse

28 Reporting Tools Report GP License Required Ease of Use GP Report Writer YES Moderate to Difficult SmartList/SmartList Builder Excel Reports/Excel Builder Management Reporter YES NO to run YES to Create May be separate but requires license Easy to Moderate Easy to Moderate Moderate SSRS Reports NO Moderate to Difficult Analysis Cubes NO Moderate Business Portal NO Moderate Business Analyzer NO Moderate to Difficult

29 Q&A Questions and Answers Brenda Arnold, Jeff Smith,