tutorial

In the previous part of this tutorial, we looked at how you can perform calculations, sort data, and filter data to suit the needs of your custom report. Now we will look at the different options for summarizing, grouping, charting, and running your new custom report.

After you’ve completed any filters, you can choose to show summaries for a columns data. Options include count, sum, average, standard deviation, largest, and smallest. To show these summary columns, you only need to find the object that you want to summarize and check the box under the appropriate summary type. As you will see, non-numeric fields can only be summarized by count; all summary types can be used if the field is a numeric one.

If you chose the “Summary” format at the start of the custom reports wizard, then the next option will be to choose group-by columns. To do this, drill down through the data types to find the location that contains the information that you want to group by and select it from the drop-down list. You may select up to three columns in total to group by. When multiple columns are selected, there will be multiple subgroups inside of your report.

Next we can choose the sequence of columns displayed in the custom report. The title heading of the column can also be modified here by editing the name in the text box. As before, the rows can be moved by clicking and dragging each one to fit the order you want them to appear in.

After changing the column sequence, the next option to look at is changing the summary and group by sequences. Note: summary sequence changes will only be available if you selected a summary column. For both of these steps, select the radio button next to the column whose sequence you want to change and click on the up/down or top/bottom arrows to move its position.

When running your report, you can optionally run it in a chart format. The next step will let you customize what kind of chart is generated when running the custom report as a chart. First you can choose from a number of chart types such as line, column, bar, and pie charts. After choosing a chart type, you can configure different display and labeling options for that chart. There are quite a number of different setups, so you can always come back and change them later if you don’t like how the chart looks.

Check back next week for the fourth and final part of this series on custom reports where we will cover the final steps for running your report.

In the first part of this tutorial, we discussed how custom reports in Intacct can be used. We also went over the beginning steps to create your own custom report. This next section will go over the different calculation, sorting, and filtering options that are available.

The fourth step of the custom reports wizard is where you can add calculated columns. Each column can be customized with different formulas and column names. To create a new calculation, simply click “Add”. This will bring up a form where you can see the available data columns and operators. Any of the available columns or operators can be added by clicking on them. You can also type your desired formula directly into the Formula box. Once your formula is ready, select the type of data the column should display as (decimal, currency, or percentage), give the column a name, and save it. To add more columns, just repeat the process. Once you’re done, move on to the next step.

Next is column sorting. Here you can decide how columns are sorted – either ascending or descending order – and the sort priority. To change the sort order for a column, just choose the appropriate order in the dropdown menu. Note that only four columns maximum may be assigned a sort order. Now to change the sort priority of columns, click and drag that column’s row up or down the list. The column in the first position will be sorted first, the second position sorted next, etc. Once finished, move on to the next step.

The next section is where we can filter the data in the report. The filters can be set against any data related to the root object chosen earlier, not just the data displayed in your report. Also note that filtering by date is done when running the report, and thus will not be setup at this time. To add a new filter, find the object you want to put a filter on, choose the filter type, and put in the filter value. For example, if you want to only show invoices that are still unpaid, you might filter “Amount Due” by “greater than 0.00”. If you need to filter records that have an empty value, the keyword “null” can be used. Basic filters are evaluated as AND statements by default, but that can be changed in the next step.

After you set up your basic filters, you can change how they are evaluated in the Advanced Filters step. Here, you can use AND, OR, and parentheses to set filter conditions. Expressions inside of parentheses are evaluated first, so if your advanced filter was “(1 AND 2) OR 3”, then 3 would be returned only if “1 AND 2” did not have a result.

Next week in Part 3 of this tutorial, we will look at grouping, charts, and run-time parameters.

Custom reports are a powerful tool that can be used to generate insight into your business from information stored throughout Intacct. Unlike financial reports, custom reports pull information from individual records and fields instead of account groups. Customization Services is a required subscription for using Custom Reports in Intacct.

To begin creating a custom report, navigate to Customization Services -> Reports -> Add. The Custom Reports wizard will help guide you through selecting, sorting, filtering, and displaying the information you want in your new report. The first step is to choose the basic format type for the report.

A Tabular report will display information in rows with a single grand total when applicable.
The Summary report will group rows together and display subtotals as well as a grand total.
The next step is to select the ‘data type’. This selection will serve as the base for the information you want to be able to see or drill down to in your report. For example, you might select “Invoice” if your report is going to primarily contain information related to customer invoices.

Now we need to choose the columns to include. In this screen, you will start working from the data type you selected in the previous step. From here, you can drill down through the hierarchy of data to different information. Any field that has a green arrow indicates that you will be able to drill down into more details by clicking that item on the report. At this point, you are only selecting the columns that you think you might use – there will be the option to filter it more later in the process.

Check back next week for Part 2 of this tutorial, where we will cover adding calculations, sorting, and filters.