Overview of reporting in Microsoft Dynamics GP
This article includes a brief overview of the Report Writer functionality within Microsoft Dynamics GP.
No matter how carefully and accurately you enter and post transactions, without reports, your accounting data is of limited value. When stored in Microsoft SQL Server data tables, your data is something like books in a library that don’t seem to be stored in a clear order and whose titles are in code. Microsoft Dynamics GP provides a number of ways to quickly access your data in useable formats, in addition to giving you multiple ways of designing the exact reports you need. Here is some background information on how reports work in Microsoft Dynamics GP.
The following information refers to Report Writer reports. Report Writer is a tool that is included with Microsoft Dynamics GP. You also can install the SQL Reporting Services reports, which use the reporting tool for the SQL Server database. See the System Setup Guide for information about installing SQL Reporting Services reports.
While a report might appear to be a simple listing of numbers and some text, reports are made up of two parts that work together to present information in a useful form.
A report layout determines the type of information that can be included on that report, as well as where each piece of information appears on the page. The report layout does not specify sorting criteria or ranges of information, such as accounts, inventory items, or customers. That information is specified in a report option, which can be saved and reused to make printing reports that show specific information, sorted in specific ways, fast and easy to print.
You can create as many report options for a report layout as you need, but Microsoft Dynamics GP comes with many report layouts and report options already defined. To see examples of some predefined reports that have been printed using the sample data, refer to the sample reports.
However, if your business needs a report that is not among the predefined reports, there are a number of options that can help you. Modified versions of the predefined reports are available in the Reports Library
. These reports have been modified based on the requests of customers. To see samples of the modified reports or download them to use in your own business, see the Reports Library. To use a modified report, you’ll need to download a report package.
When you create a new report or modify an existing report, that report layout is stored in the reports dictionary. The reports dictionary is created when Report Writer is accessed for the first time. All the reports you modify or create with Report Writer are stored in the reports dictionary.
In addition to Report Writer or SQL Reporting Services reports, you can use Crystal Reports for Microsoft Dynamics GP to design new reports for Microsoft Dynamics GP data using the industry standard Seagate Crystal Reports.
Glossary
| • | Modified report - A modified report uses a predefined report as a starting point, but includes modifications that were made in response to customer suggestions. There are many examples of modified reports available. You can view samples and purchase the modified reports to print with your own data after you import the modified report into your reports dictionary. |
| • | Predefined report - A report that already is laid out. Microsoft Dynamics GP includes many predefined reports. You simply need to define a report option and print the report. |
| • | Report layout — The layout of a report determines the type of information that can be included on that report and also where each piece of information appears. However, a report layout doesn’t determine what specific information will appear on the report; within Microsoft Dynamics GP, you must define a report option to specify the scope of information that will be included on the report when you print it. Changing the layout of a report will affect the appearance of the report, no matter which report option you use when printing the report. |
| • | Report option - A report option specifies the scope of information that will appear on a report when you print it, including how the information will be sorted. You must define a report option to print a report using a reports window for any module. A number of default report options have been included. You can create an unlimited number of report options for the same report. |
| • | Report package - A report package contains a modified report that can be imported into your reports dictionary using the package loader application. |
| • | Reports dictionary - The reports dictionary stores modified reports from the main dictionary and new reports created with Report Writer. The reports dictionary is created when the Report Writer is accessed for the first time. All the reports you modify or create with Report Writer are stored in the reports dictionary. |
Note
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