By Mel Bowling, Chief Operating Officer, Interdyn Artis

When meeting with prospects about a new ERP solution, one common top critical business requirement we hear is “Ease of Getting Data Out”.  There are a variety of tools to address this common requirement when using Microsoft Dynamics GP as your ERP solution.  Here are some examples:

1. Excel Reporter
2. Smartlist
3. Smartlist Builder
4. SQL Reporting Services
5. Analysis Cubes
6. MS Query
7. FRx
8. GP Report Writer
9. Enterprise Reporting
10. Crystal Reports
11. Custom Dexterity
12. Others . . .

How do you choose a reporting tool?  InterDyn – Artis consults with clients on this topic from the outset of an implementation to ensure success.  Our goal is to deploy a reporting solution that can be leveraged for future reporting needs and supported by the client.  Consideration of the client’s skill set and technical knowledge play a significant role in selecting the correct reporting tool.  The two key “must have” elements when choosing a reporting solution are:

1. A basic understanding of the Microsoft Dynamics GP table structure.
2. A good working knowledge of the reporting tool software of choice.

Want to learn more about getting data out of Microsoft Dynamics GP?

Contact InterDyn – Artis by calling us at 704-321-3881.  Visit our website www.interdynartis.com or download a reporting tools manual here to get you started learning about tools you can use to start getting your data out!

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In today’s business environment, it’s critical to have up-to-date information to make informed business decisions. Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) has a large number of pre-formatted reports for comprehensive reporting and analysis.

Below is a highlight of Microsoft Dynamics GP reporting tools recently discussed at a Microsoft Dynamics Reporting Tools Workshop hosted by InterDyn Artis. The workshop was held for the Microsoft Dynamics GP community at the Microsoft office in Charlotte, NC.  Each attendee received a complimentary in-depth manual of these reporting tools. 
Download the complimentary Microsoft Dynamics GP Reporting Tools manual

• FRx report designer links directly to Microsoft Dynamics GP General Ledger. You would use this report design tools for GL level reports, including consolidated reports, working over FRx reporting tree. Also it works with GL budgets as well as has an option to consolidate your GP companies with virtual companies, which are exported into Excel worksheet – FRx has Excel linking mechanism.
• Smartlist Builder/Excel Reporter - Used to create Smartlist other than those out-of-the-box with GP. Smartlist can be built to combine companies, pull third party data, and pull data from other databases. Excel Reporter was added to Smartlist Builder with the version 10 Feature Pack for Dynamics GP. Excel Reporter is used to create refreshable Excel reports similar to Smartlist exports except that the data may be refreshed in Excel.
• Smartlist with Export Options – Used for ad-hoc queries in Great Plains. Queries can be saved as Smartlist favorites to be used again. The user enters restrictions and changes the columns displayed. This can be used to export query results to Excel and as a shortcut to data in GP. Reports are not formatted unless Export Options is used to run macros to format the Excel file. Create Smartlist favorites and export them to Excel. Record macros that manipulate and format the data. These macros are saved with the smartlist export so that you can execute them each time you export the smartlist to Excel.
• Excel (MS Office) – A powerful reporting tool that integrates with SQL data, FRx, Smartlist, Analysis Cubes, and SQL Reporting Services. Pivot tables allow users to summarize and “slice and dice” a set of data in many ways.
  • Excel Pivot Tables - One of the most powerful data analysis tools available in Excel. Learn the basics of how to use a pivot table in relevant examples such as departmental distributions for AP aging.
• Analysis Cubes - Used to allow users who are not familiar with database structures to write reports. The cubes store a fraction of the data in the ERP system to allow users to dig into data. Excel is the primary delivery method, but there are sophisticated OLAP viewers available. Dynamics GP has 2 cubes available:o
  • Financial – GL, AR, AP, Bank Rec
  • Distribution – SOP, POP, Inventory
• Out of the Box SQL Reporting Services Reports – You can give non-GP users access to the most commonly requested reports, such as trial balances, aging reports, sales summaries, and stock status reports. Manage security on the SQL server and allow the users who need these reports to run them in internet explorer – without ever logging into GP.
• SQL Reporting Services Report Builder (SRS)- SRS has report models that make it straightforward to design simple reports that can then be published for use outside of GP.

To learn more about Microsoft Dynamics GP Reporting Tools contact InterDyn Artis today.

by Interdyn Artis – North Carolina Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

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