by jan lenoir harrigan cpa

Foundation Reports

How to Create

Creating Reports in MANAGEMENT REPORTER I

2ndEdition

Page 2

Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................... 2Getting Started .................................................................................................................................................... 4

The Obligatory Disclaimers ............................................................................................................................... 4Using this Manual .............................................................................................................................................. 5The Account Structure and Chart of Accounts for These Exercises ................................................................. 7

Chapter 1 Basics ............................................................................................................................................... 15Lesson 1: Tour the Management Reporter Interface ...................................................................................... 15Lesson 2: How to Get Set Up for These Exercises ......................................................................................... 23Lesson 3: Mix & Match Building Blocks .......................................................................................................... 28Lesson 4: The Best Way to Set Up Management ReporterUsually ............................................................. 29

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance ................................................................................................................. 30Lesson 1: Overview and 1st Glance ............................................................................................................... 30Lesson 2: Creating the Row Definition ............................................................................................................ 32Lesson 3: Creating the Column Definition ....................................................................................................... 42Lesson 4: Creating the Report Definition ........................................................................................................ 48Lesson 5: Generating the Report to the Report Viewer .................................................................................. 54Lesson 6: Focus on the Report Viewer ........................................................................................................... 62Lesson 7: Improving the Look of the Default Report7 Important Tweaks .................................................... 67Lesson 8: The Finished Trial Balance ............................................................................................................. 76

Chapter 3 Creating a Balance Sheet ............................................................................................................... 77Lesson 1: Overview and 1st Glance ............................................................................................................... 77Lesson 2: Creating the Balance Sheet Row Definition ................................................................................... 79Lesson 3: Creating the Balance Sheet Column Definition .............................................................................. 91Lesson 4: Creating the Balance Sheet Report Definition ................................................................................ 95Lesson 5: Improving the Look with Report Tweaks and Navigation Essentials ............................................ 100Lesson 6: Rounding Adjustments on a Balance Sheet ................................................................................. 108Lesson 7: The Finished Balance Sheet ........................................................................................................ 112

Chapter 4 Creating a Profit & Loss ............................................................................................................... 113Lesson 1: Overview and 1st Glance ............................................................................................................. 113Lesson 2: Create the Summary Profit & Loss Row Definition ....................................................................... 115Lesson 3: How to Check Accuracy on every P&L ......................................................................................... 123Lesson 4: Creating the P&L Column Definition ............................................................................................. 125Lesson 5: Creating the P&L Report Definition .............................................................................................. 127Lesson 6: Generating the Report and Drilling Down to Detail ....................................................................... 133Lesson 7: Discover Versions in the Report Library ....................................................................................... 135Lesson 8 A Couple of Tweaks to the P&L ..................................................................................................... 138Lesson 9: The Finished P&L ......................................................................................................................... 140

Page 3

Chapter 5 Creating a Departmental Profit & Loss ....................................................................................... 142Lesson 1: Overview and 1st Glance ............................................................................................................. 142Lesson 2: Understanding Reporting Trees ................................................................................................... 144Lesson 3: Adding a Reporting Tree to the Report Definition ......................................................................... 149Lesson 4: Checking Accuracy on a Report that uses a Reporting Tree ....................................................... 155Lesson 5: Fixing the Report Header ............................................................................................................. 156Lesson 6: How to Clean up Extra Headings and Underscores with Conditional Print .................................. 163Lesson 7: StreamlineHow to Run the Report Without Selecting Reporting Units Every Time .................. 166Lesson 8: The Finished Departmental P&L .................................................................................................. 169

Chapter 6 Other Things You Must Know About Management Reporter .................................................... 170Lesson 1: How to Generate Multiple Reports ............................................................................................... 170Lesson 2: Report Schedules ......................................................................................................................... 179Lesson 3: What to Do When a Report is Out Of Balance ............................................................................. 180Lesson 4: Using a Naming Convention Will Help Keep Your Reports Organized......................................... 187Lesson 5: Using Folders to Organize the Library .......................................................................................... 189Lesson 6: Believe it or Not, There's an Undo Button! ................................................................................... 192Lesson 7: Print Options ................................................................................................................................. 193Lesson 8: Options for Exporting to Excel ...................................................................................................... 195Lesson 9: Overview of Consolidations .......................................................................................................... 197Lesson 10: Renumbering Rows .................................................................................................................... 200Lesson 11: Using a Wildcard to create a Trial Balance for Drill Down .......................................................... 201Lesson 12: Using a Lookup ........................................................................................................................... 206Lesson 13: OpenA Different Interface to the Building Blocks .................................................................... 209Lesson 14: Drill to Dynamics ......................................................................................................................... 210Lesson 15: Management Reporter Help ....................................................................................................... 211

Chapter 7 One Final Thing ............................................................................................................................. 212Final Cleanup ................................................................................................................................................ 212

About the Author ............................................................................................................................................ 213Jan Harrigan CPA jlh@jharrigan.com FRxBuzz.com 512-425-0600 ................................................... 213

Sample Pages

Page 30

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Lesson 1: Overview and 1st Glance This is the finished Trial Balance that I'm creating in this chapter. It's a "natural sign" trial balance, one where debit balances are positive and credit balances are negative. So it should foot to zero.

Overview

Creating the trial balance row definition Creating the trial balance column definition Creating the trial balance report definition Generating the report to the report viewer Focus on the report viewer Improving the look of the default report7 important tweaks View the finished trial balance

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 31

The Finished Trial Balance

Let's get started.

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 32

Lesson 2: Creating the Row Definition The first step in creating the trial balance is to create a row definition. In this lesson, I'll create the row definition for the trial balance. The row definition is where you specify what GL accounts you want to see on a report, and where the underscores, totals, and calculations are.

From the main "Management Reporter 2012 for Microsoft Dynamics ERP" screen

1. Click Row Definitions 2. Click New

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 33

Result: a new empty row definition

By the way, the area on the far left is called the Navigation Pane. I'm going to toggle it off in the next step in order to have more room to work.

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 34

How to get more room on the screen

I just toggled the Navigation Pane off with Alt+F1. You can also get there from View>Navigation Pane. This gives me lots more room to work, and it allows me to show you more of the row (since I'm having to use a very small window in order to fit these screen shots). It also just seems cleaner.

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 35

Automatically add all your natural accounts (aka main accounts, object codes) to the new row definition

1. From the Edit menu, choose Insert Rows from Dimensions.

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 36

Let this default, and when you click OK, you will pull in every natural account

Management Reporter reads your account structure, presumes you want to pull in only your natural accounts (without any other dimensions), and sets up so that all you have to do is click OK. In this database, the Account dimension is the middle segment, and the ampersands (aka "hooks") show that Management Reporter is set to pull Segment 2. The pound signs specify that the other dimensions are not pulled into this row. Dimension Range Start and End is most often used to restrict the Account segment to just balance sheet accounts. Or just P&L accounts. 1. Click OK. Warningwhen you open this screen on your system, if the ampersands appear in a segment other than your natural account, STOP. That means your ERP is not set up correctly and that it thinks that some other dimension is the natural account. This isn't common but I've seen it more than once on GP systems.

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 37

The newly populated row definition

I'll cover most of these columns as the lessons proceed, but suffice to say that Management Reporter pulls in your accounts and their descriptions from your ERP. FRx Usershere's what's different: 1. A separate column for Format Override. It will allow you to format a single row as a percentage

or other override. 2. A separate column for Row Modifier. This is where you can specify a different book code or

period for a single row. 3. Link to Financial Dimensions has a different title and a different look. This is where the GL

Account number is populated.

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 38

Get rid of the sign flips in the Normal Balance column

Management Reporter reads your chart of accounts and automatically flips the signs on the normal credit balance accounts like liabilities and equities and revenue. Because I'm creating a natural sign trial balance, I don't want any sign flips, so I'll get rid of everything in this column. 1. Highlight and delete everything in column F Normal Balance. AsideI wish you could just click the column header to highlight the whole column. But you can't. So you can use a mouse. I'm more of a keyboard shortcut person, though, so I use a combination of Shift+Ctrl+End plus Shift+Left Arrow. If you're a keyboard person, these are standard Windows shortcuts that are often used in Excel.

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 39

Add an underscore and a total row

At the end of this long list of accounts: 1. Add an underscore and a TOT in column C. Both the underscore and the TOT are listed in the

dropdown box for column C. 2. Add Total GL as the description in column B. 3. Add a formula in column D. Formulas use the Row Codes in column A. This row definition begins

at row 100, so the formula should be 100:9940. I'm including every single row in this formula. FRx UsersA colon replaces the to that FRx uses to indicate a range of accounts, so now its 100:9940 instead of 100 to 9940. Finally, it's a good practice to include the underscore in row 9940 in your formula. Why? Because if you insert an account just above the underscore (not uncommon), then you don't have to remember to change the formula.

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial Balance

Page 40

Review the accounts to see if there are any statistical accounts

Square Footage? Number of Telephone Installations? Ah...I don't think so. Review the new row definition for any statistical accounts that your financial ledger might use. They're the best way to screw up a balanced trial balance.

To delete a row, highlight the entire row, right-click and Delete Row

1. Highlight the 4 statistics accounts, right-click and delete them.

Getting StartedThe Obligatory DisclaimersCopyright, Trademark, and Other NoticesHelp Me Out!Revision History

Using this ManualVersion of Management Reporter Used in This ManualDemo Database on GPA Note to SL and AX and NAVUsing Your Own Row CodesIf you Print, use a Color PrinterCompany SetupA Note re FRxUse the BlogThere's So Much More to Know

The Account Structure and Chart of Accounts for These ExercisesThe Account StructureChart of AccountsDepartmentsDivisions

Chapter 1 BasicsLesson 1: Tour the Management Reporter InterfaceOpen the Management Reporter Report DesignerWelcome screen usually is the first thing you seeExplore the Company menuClick Building Block GroupsOpen CompaniesClose open windowsMain Management Reporter ScreenNavigationCommands are based on which block is highlightedReview the menu item Tools > OptionsTools > Options shows user preferences and some default locationsA Closeup of the At Startup optionsThe Go menu shows hotkeys for all the different definitionsHotkeys used for Editing

Lesson 2: How to Get Set Up for These ExercisesOpen CompaniesModify the FW companyYou can set up a new Building Block Group from within the Modify Company windowCreate a new Building Block Group to use for this manual's exercisesThe Company is now pointed to the new building block groupBecause the Building Block Group is new, there won't be any Report Definitions

Lesson 3: Mix & Match Building BlocksRow DefinitionColumn DefinitionReporting Tree DefinitionYou mix and match these building blocks to come up with different report definitions

Lesson 4: The Best Way to Set Up Management ReporterUsuallyThe most common mistakeFollow this general rule

Chapter 2 Creating a Trial BalanceLesson 1: Overview and 1st GlanceOverviewThe Finished Trial Balance

Lesson 2: Creating the Row DefinitionFrom the main "Management Reporter 2012 for Microsoft Dynamics ERP" screenResult: a new empty row definitionHow to get more room on the screenAutomatically add all your natural accounts (aka main accounts, object codes) to the new row definitionLet this default, and when you click OK, you will pull in every natural accountThe newly populated row definitionGet rid of the sign flips in the Normal Balance columnAdd an underscore and a total rowReview the accounts to see if there are any statistical accountsTo delete a row, highlight the entire row, right-click and Delete RowClick Save to save the row definition

Lesson 3: Creating the Column DefinitionCreate a new Column DefinitionA new column definition opens. Take a look at the dropdown box for Column Type.Complete the column definition detail sectionColumn header windowThe AutoText optionsThe finished column definitionClick Save

Lesson 4: Creating the Report DefinitionI have the column definition open. Create a new Report Definition.A new report definition opensSave the report definitionOutput and Distribution tabHeaders and Footers tabSettings tab

Lesson 5: Generating the Report to the Report ViewerGenerate the ReportWhen the report is generated, the Report Queue Status window opensWatch out for this errorReport ViewerReport DataReport ViewerReport LibraryExplore the Report LibraryExplore Report VersionsList of all the versions of a single report

Lesson 6: Focus on the Report ViewerI'll reopen the TB Trial Balance with the Report Viewer's default viewThree tweaks to see more of the finished reportToggling Dimension Descriptions on and offHere's howThis is what the report looks like with Dimension Descriptions turned offThe newest things in the Report Viewer

Lesson 7: Improving the Look of the Default Report7 Important TweaksBack in the Designer, this is a very important buttonReview the reportMove back to the Designer and edit the report's headerCreate the FooterGet rid of the zero balance accountsAdjust the MarginsEnable Drilldown to the Account levelThese 4 icons are big shortcutsEdit the column definition

Lesson 8: The Finished Trial BalanceBack in the Report Definition, Generate the report and review the finished results

Chapter 3 Creating a Balance SheetLesson 1: Overview and 1st GlanceOverviewThe Finished Balance Sheet

Lesson 2: Creating the Balance Sheet Row DefinitionCreate a new row definitionUsing WildcardsHere I've populated some Descriptions and some Accounts, aka Link to Financial DimensionsDodge a BulletDont Do This!The same accounts, properly enteredAnd they end up looking like thisTooltipAccumulated DepreciationThe row definition through Total AssetsSave!The Liabilities & Equities sectionThe Bold and Indent icons used in the next stepThe next step is to add Underscores and Totals and Formulas and Bolding and IndentingRepeat for the Liabilities & Equities sectionSave your row definition

Lesson 3: Creating the Balance Sheet Column DefinitionMy row definition is open. Use the Column Definition blockA brand new column opensComplete the columnSaveThe new column is added to the list on the left

Lesson 4: Creating the Balance Sheet Report DefinitionCreate a new report definitionComplete the Report tab editsSaveEdit Headers and FootersCopy the footer from an existing reportBalance SheetFirst Pass

Lesson 5: Improving the Look with Report Tweaks and Navigation EssentialsTweak the headerEdit the Settings tabChange the marginTo add 2 currency signs, open the row definitionTake a look at the Print Control cell for row 790 Total AssetsCS is short for 'Currency Sign'Format Total Liabilities & EquitiesWiden the Description and amount columnsAnother pass at the balance sheet

Lesson 6: Rounding Adjustments on a Balance SheetFrom the BS report definition, open the row definitionThe Rounding Adjustment for the balance sheet is in the row definitionRounding Adjustments windowSaveWhen a rounded balance sheet is out of balanceWarning: you need to look at the Report Queue Status to see if there's a problem

Lesson 7: The Finished Balance Sheet

Chapter 4 Creating a Profit & LossLesson 1: Overview and 1st GlanceOverviewThe Finished P&L

Lesson 2: Create the Summary Profit & Loss Row DefinitionOpen a new rowSaveResult of SaveThe first stepsHow to exclude an account from a rangeContinue the row by adding Format Codes and Normal Balance sign flips and currency signsFormulasChoose the Format from the dropdown in Column EFormatting the % of SalesSave your row

Lesson 3: How to Check Accuracy on every P&LAdding an Accuracy check is a crucial part of creating reliable financialsThis is what it will look like when this report is out of balanceFixed

Lesson 4: Creating the P&L Column DefinitionCreate your column definitionSaveOnce saved, the new Per YTD column is added to the list of Column Definitions

Lesson 5: Creating the P&L Report DefinitionCreate a new report definition, then complete the initial setup on the Report tabSaveThe new report is added to the list of Report DefinitionsOutput and Distribution tabEdit the Headers and Footers tabEdit the Settings tabEdit the Page Setup

Lesson 6: Generating the Report and Drilling Down to DetailHere's the Employee Related Expense drilldown:Navigation after drilldown

Lesson 7: Discover Versions in the Report LibraryFrom the report, navigate to the Report LibraryShow VersionsShow Versions lists each time you've generated this report

Lesson 8 A Couple of Tweaks to the P&LRound to Whole DollarsEdit the Column Width cell

Lesson 9: The Finished P&LSaving the Report Definition

Chapter 5 Creating a Departmental Profit & LossLesson 1: Overview and 1st GlanceOverviewThe Finished P&L By Department

Lesson 2: Understanding Reporting TreesReporting Tree OverviewCreate a new reporting tree definitionI want Management Reporter to automatically build a tree for meControl the automatic reporting tree buildBuild a Department treeResult of auto-build of a Department treeSaveThe Seg 1 Dept tree is added to the Reporting Tree Definitions folder

Lesson 3: Adding a Reporting Tree to the Report DefinitionJust as with the other building blocks, use the navigation iconsMake sure you're in the PL Summary reportChoose Reporting tree in the Tree type dropdownThen that gives you a brand new tree dropdownThe finished Building Blocks sectionWhen you Generate, you get a dialog box asking you to select which units you want to runSelect All unitsThe initial report

Lesson 4: Checking Accuracy on a Report that uses a Reporting TreeNet Income per the PL Summary run without a treeNet Income per the PL Summary run with the Departmental treeNext up, tweak the report

Lesson 5: Fixing the Report HeaderWhat happened to the report name? Shouldn't "Profit & Loss Summary" be there somewhere?Back in the report definition, take a look at Headers and Footers.You can see the report description by going to File > PropertiesBack in the Headers and Footers tab, I'll add a code for the report descriptionChoose @ReportDescThe finished headerThe new headerBack in the report definition, use the Navigation icons to open the reporting treeColumn C Unit Descriptionit's what shows up in the header on the finished reportThe completed edits to the DescriptionsThe finished header for the Corporate unit

Lesson 6: How to Clean up Extra Headings and Underscores with Conditional PrintTake a look at the Accounting Department report. Messy, right?In the row definition, set up conditional printsReview the Accounting unit

Lesson 7: StreamlineHow to Run the Report Without Selecting Reporting Units Every TimeIn the report definition on the Settings tab, review the Reporting unit selection sectionSelect units at runtime makes this dialog box pop up when you generate the reportBack in the report definitions Settings tab, choose Include all units

Lesson 8: The Finished Departmental P&L

Chapter 6 Other Things You Must Know About Management ReporterLesson 1: How to Generate Multiple ReportsThe Report Groups icon in the report definition windowCreate a new Report GroupStart adding reports to the new GroupSelect the reports you want in the groupWhen you're finished adding reports, Save the new report groupSaveThe newly created Report GroupThe opportunity to override pops upEnter CredentialsAnd all reports in the group get queued for processing

Lesson 2: Report SchedulesSet up a new Report Schedule

Lesson 3: What to Do When a Report is Out Of BalanceThe 3 things to do when a report is out of balanceStep OneUse Missing Account AnalysisMissing Account AnalysisCaveat 1: How to use Missing Account Analysis when your row definition has a Check Total to check accuracyCaveat 2: How Missing Account Analysis worksStep TwoEnable Report duplicate accountsHere's where to find the duplicate accountsStep ThreeDrill Down on the Check TotalExample drill down report

Lesson 4: Using a Naming Convention Will Help Keep Your Reports OrganizedNaming Row DefinitionsNaming Column DefinitionsNaming Reporting TreesNaming Report Definitions

Lesson 5: Using Folders to Organize the LibraryThe library's foldersRight click the Library to add a new folderYou can coordinate with the Library in the report definitionThe options available in the Report library location in the report definition

Lesson 6: Believe it or Not, There's an Undo Button!The Undo Command

Lesson 7: Print OptionsThis is the print dialog for a report that doesn't use a reporting treeThis is the print dialog for a report that does use a reporting tree

Lesson 8: Options for Exporting to ExcelExport to Excel from the Report ViewerThe Export to Microsoft Excel options

Lesson 9: Overview of ConsolidationsTake a look at your companiesThe Companies windowA reporting tree used for consolidating separate databases or companiesTo consolidate, add this reporting tree to the report definition

Lesson 10: Renumbering RowsTo renumber column A Row Codes in the row definition, go to the Edit menu

Lesson 11: Using a Wildcard to create a Trial Balance for Drill DownRemember the statistics accounts from the trial balance? They are the only fly in the ointment.Exclude the statistics accountsFinished row definitionMost companies dont have statistics accounts in the Actual ledgerSave and use this new row in a new report definitionOne more important settingThe new reportThe drilldown view

Lesson 12: Using a LookupDimension dropdownThe Segment2 dropdownThe Chart of Accounts lookup

Lesson 13: OpenA Different Interface to the Building BlocksLots of information in this screen

Lesson 14: Drill to DynamicsYou must be at the account level drilldown in order to see Drill to Dynamics enabled

Lesson 15: Management Reporter HelpFrom the Help menu, choose Management Reporter Help or F1

Chapter 7 One Final ThingFinal CleanupYou might want to switch the building block group back to the original setting

About the AuthorJan Harrigan CPA jlh@jharrigan.com FRxBuzz.com 512-425-0600Offer