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Corporate ERP Reporting: Dynamics GP example ? Crystal, SSRS, FRx

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In Corporate ERP model for mid-size and large business you typically need to build two types of report: Financial and Managerial.  ERP and MRP application typically has strong selection of both, ready for alteration and modification.  Financial reports are Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement, Statement of Cash flow as well as consolidated versions of those (where you have several branches or business subsidiaries and you are consolidating their BS, PL and CF into one report).  Managerial Reporting is covers Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, Logistics, and other Business Management reports.  In this small publication we would like to highlight reports design for Microsoft Dynamics GP, formerly known as Great Plains Dynamics:

1.       FRx financial reporting.  There is no reason to reinvent the wheel, especially in such a conservative discipline as Financial Reporting.  In the case of Dynamics GP Great Plains FRx has established connectors to GP General Ledger and reports design just requires the understanding of the mathematics of the specific report, plus basic FRX skills: Row Format, Column Layout and Reporting Tree.  FRx is also applicable for Dynamics AX Axapta, Dynamics NAV Navision, Dynamics SL Solomon

2.       Managerial Reporting Tools for GP.  Here you have a variety.  Let’s begin with Great Plains ReportWriter, where reports are already available in standard Dynamics GP workstation code: AP and AR Aging, GL Trial Balance, Inventory Stock Count, SOP Invoice, Return, Back Order, Quotation, Packing Slip, Picking Ticket are good example or RW reports, candidates for so-called modification in Great Plains Report Writer (where you can add your company logo to Blank SOP Invoice form, for example)

3.       Beyond GP Report Writer.  Dynamics GP designers tried to fulfill commonly required reporting needs, however the real life may dictate new business models and alternatives.  If Great Plains RW doesn’t give you an option, you should consider such generic reporting tools as Crystal Reports and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services.  Here you should likely to abstract the report from GP user interface and call report separately, reporting will be pulling data directly from Great Plains company database.  Crystal Report, in the most flexible scenario might be based upon SQL S Server custom stored procedure or view.  SSRS is in many ways comparable to CR Designer and you have the option to build report based on SQL Stored Procedure or SQL view