General Ledger Report Writer Users Guide Updated 02/18/2015 Page 1 of 15
General Ledger Report Writer The new GL report writer is template driven. The template stores rows and columns that make up the statement. On each row, you can drill-down to view the details that make up the row. Create income statements, balance sheets and other reports using all new options. Use the dashboard to create other graphical views of the information. Security The General Ledger (GL) Report Writer module is controlled by menu-level security but also utilizes Employee Office Security. Employees limited to office will only see data on the GL report writer statements for those offices. Setup / Options The GL Report Writer module is self-contained with the exception of Account Group Maintenance, which is used to create and maintain account groups which can be used to define rows within a statement. Rows, columns, templates and all other details are maintained within each statement but can be shared across templates. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 2 of 15
General workflow Add a new template. Select a style; income statement, balance sheet, or other. This setting is used to classify the report and sets certain default values. However, all statement types allow for various data settings for maximum flexibility. Give the template a name, and add (clicking on add saves the template). Select the options for gathering the data (offices, departments, other segment, and statement period). Add rows to define what information is displayed. Add columns to define what increments of time and in which periods to display the information in. To include Budget Data, make sure to approve a budget and click in the Refresh Budget Data button on the GL Report Template Setup ribbon. As your statement is designed, it is displayed dynamically so you can see the results instantly. Drill down to details from the statement window. Display the statement in a template where you can add your own headers, footers, and logo. Create dashboards using information found on the template. Options/Presets Define the criteria to be applied to the data. Do this first to see the results of your work instantly, as you create the template. Post Period The selection of the posting period is used to determine the period cut off and to define the current month and year. Print Column Headings on Every Page Select this option to include the column headings for each page of the report. Sort Rows By Select a sorting option: Account Code (default), Base Account Code or Account Description. Default or User Defined Report Template o Default uses a standard template without user customization. o The User Defined Template allows you to change the report name, add header and footer information including report criteria, add a logo, etc. Office Select the offices to include. Department/Teams Select the department/teams to include. Other Select the other profit centers to include. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 3 of 15
Report Template You can add new templates by copying an existing one or starting from scratch. Use the report writer tools (as shown below) to edit the template. Add images and text. Use the Field List to drag report name and criteria information onto the template. Save the template and use it as a shell to print any statement you create. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 4 of 15
Template rows Define each row and how it should print on the statement. Add a new template row: Description This is a user defined description for the row. This description can be used on the statement, or you can select a different display type. Balance Select the normal balance of the row. This will default in based on the account type. Row type The row type determines what type of information to include in the row. o Account Displays the account based on the account row details definition. Account row details Determines the account to include in the row when the row type is Account. o o Account type Account group Account (single account) Account range Total Displays a total amount based on the total row details definition. Total row details Determines the rows to total and the method to use. Select method (subtracting, adding, or dividing) Select rows to apply method to. Other Displays a heading or other data based on options available, not based on an account. Blank rows can be created to provide additional spacing between rows. Display type The description type determines the format in which the selected information will be displayed. o Description Displays the row description entered. o Full Account Displays the full account including code and description. o Account Code Displays the account code. o Account Description Displays the account description. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 5 of 15
Indent spaces Determines how many spaces to indent the row description. Roll Up Use the roll up option to summarize accounts that will repeat if this option is not checked. For example, if you select Display Type of Account Description and you have four offices with the same account description. The account description will repeat four times if the Roll Up option is not checked. Roll up essentially summarizes like data in the row. Various options are used to control how the rows are presented. o Style Bold Underline amount Double Underline Suppress if all zeros Data calculations o Year to Date Check Year to Date to include data for the selected year as of the period defined by the column setting. This option defaults to true on statement types of Income Statement. Selected Period Check Selected Period isolate the data in the row to a single period defined by the column setting. This setting applies to the row only. o All Check All to include balance to date for the account as of the period defined by the column. This is typical for balance sheet accounts. Data options o Ending Balance Prints the ending balance for the selected period. o Beginning Balance Prints the beginning balance for the selected period. o Period Change Prints the change/amount for the current period. This is equivalent to the Selected Period option above and both are set when this option is selected. Manage rows: NOTE that a period could be a month, quarter or year depending on the column options selected. The manage rows window allows you to view all the rows you ve created for this template and edit key formatting options without clicking on the edit option. Other options for rows include edit, delete, and copy. To change the order of the rows, use the Move Up/Move Down buttons or use the Drag and Drop method. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 6 of 15
Template columns Define each row and how it should print on the statement. Add a new template column: Name This is the user defined column name. This is a short name that cannot contain spaces or special characters. Description This is a user defined description for the column. This description is printed as the column heading. Type - The column type determines what type of information to include in the column. o Data Prints the data defined in the row without manipulation based on the data column details definition. Data column details Determines the data type to use. o o o Actual Budget1 Budget2 Budget3 Budget4 Previous years Determines how many years previous to the selected period will be displayed in the column. To print one year before the current selected period, enter 1. Period option determines the number of periods to include in the column. Options are month, months 1-12, quarters 1-2, and year. Columns can be defined to represent one or any of the period options with no limitations. For prior year comparisons of the same period, use the previous years setting. Office filter apply an office filter to a column to pull out offices in columns across the statement. This allows for a unique view for comparing offices in columns. Note: use the options below to further manipulate what appears in the columns. Blank Prints blank space instead of any data. Expression Prints an expression of data that you create using a basic expression editor that allows you to use existing columns and add, subtract multiply or divide them. Also group columns and use IF statements. Variance Prints the variance of two selected columns. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 7 of 15
o o Percent of Variance Prints the percent variance of two selected columns. Percent of Row Prints the percentage of a designated column and row(s). Format options are used to control how the rows are presented. o Currency o Number of places after decimal o Visible o Underline column header Override Row Data Options/Calculations Check this box to override the row Data Calculation and row Data Option setting. When selecting a specific month or quarter option, this becomes the default. Data calculations o Year to Date Check Year to Date to include data for the selected year as of the period defined by the column setting. This option defaults to true on statement types of Income Statement. o Selected Period Check Selected Period isolate the data in the column to a single period defined by the column setting. o All Check All to include balance to date for the account as of the period defined by the column. This is typical for balance sheet accounts. Data options o Ending Balance Prints the ending balance for the selected period. o Beginning Balance Prints the beginning balance for the selected period. o Period Change Prints the change/amount for the current period. This is equivalent to the Selected Period option above and both are set when this option is selected. NOTE that a period could be a month, quarter or year depending on the column options selected. Manage columns: The manage columns window allows you to view all the columns you ve created for this template but also contains special time-saving features and the ability to edit key formatting options without clicking on the edit option for each column. o Time-saving features include the ability to edit, delete, and copy columns. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 8 of 15
o The add feature allows you to auto-create a statement for all months or all quarters at once. To change the order of the columns, use the Move Up/Move Down buttons or use the Drag and Drop method. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 9 of 15
Template As you define rows and columns for the template, results are displayed instantly. This is an interactive statement. Drill down on amounts to view account and other details. Other Statements Using the options available, you can create all types of statements, including cash flow and other variations. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 10 of 15
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View statement Based on the Option/Preset you have selected, the statement will be displayed. Preview or print Change margins, orientation, size Export to Excel Email Updated 02/18/2015 Page 12 of 15
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Dashboards Create Create your own Pivot Grids, Grids, Charts, Pies, Gauges, and Cards using the various fields on your template. Create a dashboard for every template and create as many templates as you like. Updated 02/18/2015 Page 15 of 15