home
>
services
>
reporting
What types of Reports does Crestwood typically write?
Microsoft Dynamics has several different reporting tools available. Some of these are relatively easy for the end customers to learn and use such as Excel and Smart Lists - and so Crestwood is less likely be called in to support these, although we do commonly provide training for these tools.
There are other reporting applications that can require a little more knowledge and experience. Three reporting tools we would like to mention here are FRx Financial Reporting, SQL Reporting Services and FRX Forecaster.
Microsoft Management Reporter (Previously FRx Financial Reporting)
Microsoft Management Reporter for Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) is a comprehensive financial reporting and analysis application that allows you to streamline your financial reporting and analysis process in order to gain insight into business performance and take quick action. MR supplements your Dynamics GP enterprise solution to leverage information and deliver accurate, timely, and comprehensive reports in presentation quality formats.
Employees can access real-time data and build, format, and distribute reports that aggregate data from across the organization and provide deep visibility into your company’s financial environment. FRx can help you increase productivity and effectiveness by giving people the information they need to monitor performance, meet compliance deadlines, and make confident decisions.
Management Reporter capabilities include:
- Real-time information directly from the General Ledger to increase productivity, monitor performance, and make confident decisions.
- Control over budgeting and planning through budget versus actual data comparisons.
- The familiar spreadsheet interface minimizes user training and time required to create reports.
- Flexible report design eliminates the need to hard-code dates or amounts, reducing report modifications.
- Hierarchal representation of the organization provides various views including multiple company consolidations.
- Chart of Accounts structure separation which allows users to view reports by companies, locations, departments, etc.
- Consolidate or roll up information from multiple sources, including multiple companies and currencies. Data can be analyzed from summary levels to transaction details with the FRx Drill Down Viewer.
- Ability to view transaction level detail including source document data from summary level information is available.
- Distribution and publication of FRx reports includes multiple output options available such as Microsoft Excel.
- Electronic distribution includes chaining, e-mail and secure web publishing.
- Reports can be exported into other formats, including PivotTable views in Excel and OLAP (online analytical processing) cubes.
- Role Tailored security settings allow only viewers with appropriate permissions to access sensitive business information at the report or hierarchy level
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services
Crestwood leverages Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SRS) to develop operational reports for use with Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics CRM and/or other business applications. SRS is an extremely powerful, browser-based reporting tool that ships with Microsoft SQL Server licensing and can be used to construct reports that pull data from multiple data sources. Utilizing SRS for operational reporting leverages the Microsoft licensing already in place for Dynamics GP and Dynamics CRM. This provides a lower Total Cost of Ownership vs. purchasing separate Crystal Reports licensing.
SQL Reporting Services reports are developed utilizing Microsoft Visual Studio and are delivered to users via a web browser. Users can drill down into the underlying report detail via SRS and report data can be easily exported by the user to Excel or Adobe PDF file formats. SRS also provides a robust security model so that only authorized users have access to the reports. The SRS report internal website can also be incorporated into a Microsoft SharePoint deployment in order to provide users access to critical business data in one location.
Microsoft FRx Forecaster
Microsoft FRx Forecaster is an integrated budgeting solution designed to help your business create and execute accurate, easy to manage budgets. With FRx Forecaster you gain more control of the budgeting process, ensuring that you meet business goals efficiently. Forecaster is an additional module of Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains), designed for larger and more sophisticated budgeting needs.
Setting realistic financial expectations requires valid data and current assumptions that are closely aligned with a sound business plan. FRx Forecaster allows front-line managers to build budgets that are based on their specific objectives and first-hand knowledge of market conditions. The result is improved accuracy and a higher level of commitment to the budget. As the business climate changes, managers can also respond more effectively by adjusting forecasts and budgets.
Benefits of working with Microsoft FRx Forecaster as your budgeting solution include:
- Working with a shared application allows collaboration and is easier than sending Microsoft Excel spreadsheets back and forth.
- Forecaster Workflow creates a more efficient budgeting process by using e-mail notifications when budgeting milestones have been achieved.
- Forecaster reporting combines with FRx Reporting to provide more flexible and effective feedback than other standard reporting packages or simple spreadsheets.
- Forecaster sub-ledger detail, including Human Resources information, Revenue calculations, Line Item details or Capital information, all provide optional supporting details for summary GL budget amounts.
- Forecaster ExpressLink integration with Dynamics GP allows quick and straightforward integration with other systems.
- Data entry can be accomplished using several methods including data import templates, quick keys for manual entries, and user defined spread methods, calculations and allocations.
- Application access can be accomplished using server client or an intranet web browser connection.
- ‘What if’ analysis facilitates comparison of various budget-to-actual scenarios.
- Forecaster can be configured to provide each user a unique data entry view to the shared budget, eliminating line items not relevant to them.
- Forecaster reporting’s ‘Edit Mode’ allows users to edit budget data from within the report itself, saving the user from toggling back and forth between data entry and report views.
- Excel Add-In that allows quick import or export of data, which really makes it easier to get data into the system.
Microsoft FRx Forecaster provides workflow collaboration, flexible subsidiary detail and effective reporting feedback for your budgeting needs. FRx Forecaster is a key differentiator for Microsoft Dynamics GP, providing a functional advantage over other ERP solutions.
For reports that show you what you need to know, contact Crestwood Associates, your Chicago, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana source for Dynamics GP financial, enterprise and budgeting/forecasting solutions.
|
