Microsoft Dynamics NAV News & Tips
NAV Reports

Did you know the Microsoft NAV development team calls all of their "out of the box" reports "samples"? The layout of your reports is critical to usability and only you can determine the layouts that work best.

Look around your office and see how many spreadsheets are being used. If it is more than a handful, then your NAV report layouts are not meeting your in-house needs. If your staff has to re-enter data to get a report that gives them the information they need, efficiency declines, costs increase, and the information they base their decision on becomes prone to error.

Good reports use the data that’s readily available within your business management system (Dynamics NAV) and present it, or calculate it in ways that is meaningful to your business and job function. They present sub-totals, section totals, and report totals. And they sort in a logical sequence: by date, by customer, by product line, by job, or by salesperson.

But no matter how good your report is, a printed hard copy report quickly becomes obsolete with new transactions. A better solution is to “preview” reports.  These previewed reports contain more accurate data, plus you’ll help save the environment.  You can minimize print reports to the essential ones, such as monthly Financial Statements for the bank, or Aged Receivables for your collection team.  Not only will you get better and up-to-date data, you will also lower your costs and gain efficiency in the work process.

Dynamics NAV 2009 gives you more reporting options than ever before, including:

• Rich text
• Charts
• Hyperlinks and Drilldowns (during print preview)
• Drilldowns to other reports (during print preview)
• Exports to Spreadsheets or XML files (from print preview)
• In-report sorting options (during print preview)

It’s always a good idea to review your reporting usage, so here are some tips for your consideration:

1. Consider the number of spreadsheets currently in use and the data they contain.

a. How did the data get there?
b. How do you know the data is accurate and the calculations are correct?
c. Would it be helpful if the spreadsheet was linked to the Dynamics NAV database (yes – you can do this too!)?

2. How many reports are being printed just for a single bit of information, such as a sub or grand total?

3. How many reports are viewed once and then recycled, or worse, just thrown away?

a. Are these really necessary?

4. On the reports that you do use often, is there additional information that would be helpful?

a. Is there information that is unnecessary?

5. What functions are in place today that could be more efficient with a well thought out report?

6. Are there reports that should be run and distributed automatically (electronically)?

There are many other questions you can add to the list. With Dynamics NAV you have many choices when it comes to your reporting needs - not only in the information presented, but in the delivery mechanism and the integration of additional tools - such as spreadsheets and other databases. Remember, Dynamics NAV “samples” are just samples. Explore your reporting options for greater efficiency and lower costs.

To meet your reporting needs more accurately, please do not hesitate to contact your Integrated Computer Systems Support consulting team or Mike Packard at mikep@ics-support.com, 425-284-5426.

 

With Dynamics NAV you have many choices when it comes to your reporting needs - not only in the information presented, but in the delivery mechanism and the integration of additional tools - such as spreadsheets and other databases. Remember, Dynamics NAV “samples” are just samples. Explore your reporting options for greater efficiency and lower costs.