Many small and midsize businesses struggle with the complexities of generating accurate and timely financial reports from company data. Most report generation tools lack the ability to gather the correct financial data and the flexibility needed to put that data in a useful format.   Often businesses are forced to export data into various applications and then piece that data together to create reports that are out of date the moment they are created. With critical business decisions being made every day, you cannot afford to base those decisions on unreliable financial data.

Often businesses are forced to export data into various applications and then piece that data together to create reports that are out of date the moment they are created. With critical business decisions being made every day, you cannot afford to base those decisions on unreliable financial data.

With SAP® Business One, the integrated business management solution designed specifically for small and midsize businesses, you can create up-to-the-minute reports with ease. Use XL Reporter, a business intellegence reporting tool which provide you to create management dashboards that provide snapshots of key performance indicators such as sales bookings, year-to-date revenue, accounts receivable, and open orders.

This business intellegence reporting tool in SAP Business One gives you comprehensive and accurate insight into the financial status of your company. Because XL Reporter is seamlessly integrated in SAP Business One, it reports on live data drawn from a variety of sources including general ledger, receivables, payables, sales, purchasing, and inventory software, without first storing the data in OLAP cubes or in other databases.

Accurate and Timely Reports
XL Reporter provides you with all the tools your business needs to create and execute reports in an easy-to-use graphical environment. Use point-and click and drag-and-drop technology to comfortably maneuver in your reports and get access to multiple levels of data in SAP Business One.

Enhance your control over reporting and budgeting work with XL Reporter by generating standard and ad hoc reports, and by drilling down into and analyzing detailed data.

Quickly organize reports using flexible report parameters, schedule report generation and define automated distribution to selected recipients. In addition, you can determine in which format reports are distributed, either through e-mail, as hard copy, or in other formats.

Rapid Employee Adoption
XL Reporter in SAP Business One has an intuitive and familiar user interface that accesses Microsoft Excel™ and provides a metadata layer that limits user exposure to technical tables and field structures. XL Reporter presents a meaningful view of business and system data. Even novices can create reports with drill-down capabilities in seconds with the tool’s drag-and-drop features.

From simple transaction detail reports to advanced financial statements and dashboards, you can generate reports whenever they are needed. To improve report usability, XL Reporter supports multilevel reporting, which allows data to be grouped and viewed at all levels. If you need to access lower level detail, you can easily drill down to information directly from your report output.

To ensure that your reports contain only relevant data, you can customize them according to your needs by using parameters such as date, as well as customer and item numbers.  As Microsoft Excel™ is an integral part of the user interface, formatting and calculations are instantly comprehensible. You can also create predefined templates for special layouts, such as reports with company logo and enhanced pictures. Once created, these templates can be applied to any report subsequently generated.

Simplify administration by organizing reports in books or folders. In order to meet specific business needs, all reports can be imported and exported to multiple databases. XL Reporter ensures proper dissemination of financial information by allowing you to schedule report distribution.

Standard and Ad Hoc Reports Based on Live Data
The Report Composer in XL Reporter provides the starting point for you to create reports using drag-and-drop features. The Report Definition Wizard makes report creation effortless for virtually anyone. You can create custom queries of SAP Business One data with just a few mouse clicks. Once XL Reporter has generated the reports, you can drill down on any piece of data to see underlying transactions. In addition, you can view and refresh live data while creating queries.

Design Custom Reports
Advanced report design options in the Report Designer extend your ability to compose reports and work with standard Microsoft Excel™ functions and interfaces. The Report Designer makes it easy to create custom parameters, formulas, and layouts and integrate them into your report templates. In addition, you can use charts and graphs in Microsoft Excel™ to create sophisticated dashboards that can be used for management and administrative reporting in your company. Finally, use the Report Designer to execute and view finished reports. Report output is generated based on current data, so you always have an up-to-date view o f your organization.

Organize Your Reports
Use XL Reporter to manage and organize report definitions, report outputs, and report books with the Report Organizer. The Report Organizer allows all reports to be refreshed at scheduled times. You can view and execute the reports within the main menu of SAP Business One and thereby simplify report creation. Distribute reports by easily packaging them into report books and send them via email to selected users.

Simplify Report Generation
Simplify report generation and get the information you need to gain full insight into your business. From ad hoc reports to detailed financial statements, SAP Business One helps you access company data and generate the right reports, whenever needed.

To learn more about how SAP Business One can help your business simplify the creation of powerful business reports, call your SAP representative today or visit us on the Web at www.sap.com/smb.