Medical Information Technology, Inc

General Ledger

Report Writer

Workshop

CREATING REPORTS IN GENERAL LEDGER

Table of Contents

Page

· Introduction to Report Writing in the General Ledger ...... 3

-Objective

· Steps in the Report Building Process ...... 4

-Define Format

-Define Report Definition

-Compiling the report

· Overview of Report Formats ...... 5

-Column Types 5

-Overview of Features 6-8

· Overview of Report Definitions ...... 9

-Line Types 9-11

-Overview of Features 12-14

· Overview of Report Runs ...... 15

-Overview of Features 15

-Considerations for Compiling 16

· Other Features ...... 17

-Multiple Reports for Prompt 17

-User Restrictions 18

-Restrict User Access Routine

-Financial Data Access

-Inter-Report Reference 19

-Keywords 20

INTRODUCTION

Report Writing in the General Ledger

Using the features available within the General Ledger Report Writer, you can design the format (columns) and level of detail (report definition) that you require for your internal and external financial reports i.e., Balance Sheet, Department Responsibility Reports.

The flexibility of the GL Report Writer is based on the ability to reference and print posted GL actual and budgeted statistical and/or monetary activity. This is done at a user-defined level of detail by referencing accounts through components and summary levels.

Objective

After attending this seminar, you should have a solid understanding of:

· The process of building compiled reports.

· The significant features contained in the report writer routines that simplify the building and referencing of your compiled reports.

Further Reference Materials

· General Ledger Report Writer User Manual

· General Ledger Report Writer Tutorial

· General Ledger Report Writer Quick Reference Card

STEPS IN THE REPORT BUILDING PROCESS

The GL Report Writer Menu is organized into two categories:

1) Report Formats

2) Report Definitions

Defining Columns on the Report

Report Formats allow a user to define the columns of a report, which retrieve actual or budgeted data or performs calculations between columns.

Defining Lines on the Report

Report Definitions allow a user to define the specific account data that will be displayed on the report. Report Definitions also allow for multiple report generations for a component or summary level (i.e. DPT).

Referencing the GL Data and Printing Your Report

The Report Runs Menu is organized into four categories:

1. Compile

2. Print

3. List

4. Purge

The first two categories relate to the process of retrieving the appropriate data for a report and/or printing the report.

Report Compiles organize reports for compiling and printing according to the information provided in the specified report definition(s) and the report format(s).

OVERVIEW OF REPORT FORMATS

Report Formats determine how columns on a compiled report retrieve, calculate and display information. The first step in defining your format is to determine the types of columns that need to be defined on the report.

Text Column

The Text Column is used to display text describing the values on each line of the report. The position of this column is user defined. In the Format, the text column width, position, justification and spacing is defined.

Column Types

There are five types of columns that can be defined:

1) Retrieval Columns display a certain type of actual or budgeted data such as:

PER ACT - Period Actual

YTD ACT - Year-to-Date Actual

BALANCE - Actual Balance

PER BUD - Period Budget

YTD BUD - Year-to-Date Budget

ANN BUD - Annual Budget

2) Function Columns perform mathematical calculations between columns. The system allows a user to choose one of the following functions:

ADD - Sum two columns together

SUB - Subtract two columns

MUL - Multiply two columns

DIV - Divide two columns

PC - Calculate a percentage between two columns

PCL - Display contributing percentages of 100% line

SHF - Shift totals to a different column

TOT - Allows you to define columns to receive totals

EXP - Defines an expression used for exception reporting

3) Constant Columns provide a value to be used in a function column (useful for projecting on a report).

4) Blank Columns insert a blank column between other columns.

5) Mark Columns insert a user-defined punctuation to highlight a value that exceeds a user-defined limit (used in conjunction with the LIMIT Field in the E/E Format Routine).

MNEMONIC To define a new report format, enter up to eight characters which uniquely identify the format.

DESCRIPTION Enter up to 60 characters of free text that describes this report format.

COMMAS Indicate whether amounts on compiled reports using this format should display or suppress commas.

NEGATIVES Select how negative numbers should appear on a compiled report.

MAX WIDTH Select the maximum width of the compiled report.

WIDTH Select the maximum width of the text column on the compiled report.

AT LEFT To print the text column in the left column of this format, enter Y (The cursor proceeds to the SPACES prompt.)

TO RIGHT OF Enter the number of the column to the left of where the text column should appear.

SPACES Enter the number of spaces to appear to the left of the text column.

JUSTIFY L appears. To left justify the text in the text column, press <Enter>. To right or center justify the text, delete L and enter R (right justify) or

C (center justify).

RESTRICT RETRIEVE FIELDS BY COMPONENT/SUMMARY

To restrict all RETRIEVE columns in this format to accounts that contain selected values of a component, super-component, or summary level, enter the mnemonic of that component, super-component, or summary level.

EDIT BANNER # A banner is a string of text which appears above one or more columns

in order to group them together in one category.

VIEW

SECONDARY To view information about how data is displayed within each column (e.g., rounding, spacing, width, etc.), enter Y or press the fat right

arrow key.

TYPE Select the type of column you want to define by entering one of the following:

R = RETRIEVE

F = FUNCTION

C = CONSTANT

B = BLANK

M = MARK
OVERVIEW OF REPORT DEFINITIONS

Once a user has defined the Report Format (the columns of the report), the user defines the Report Definition (the rows of the report). The Report Definition determines:

· Which Report Format (or "columns") will be used to retrieve, calculate and display the data in the columns.

· What GL account numbers will be referenced to retrieve data.

· How to display the selected accounts' data on the lines of the report.

· Whether separate reports should print for selected components or summary levels (i.e. Multiple Report for each DPT).

Line Types

Header -

Header lines allow a combination of free text, underlines and blank lines to appear on a report to make it more attractive.

· Free Text Headers are useful for categorizing lines on a report.

-Free text appears in the Text Column.

-Free text is defined via the TEXT prompt in the E/E Lines Routine.

· Underline Headers provide underlines between lines which help column headers, subtotals and totals to stand out.

-Underlines print across each column of the report (except the Text Column), leaving blanks in the spaces between columns.

-The type of underline is defined at the UNDERLINE prompt in the E/E Lines Routine.

· Blank Headers set off other lines on the report by printing a space(s) in between them.

-The number of blank lines that should appear is defined at the BLANK LINES prompt in the E/E Lines Routine.

Control -

Control lines restrict subsequent Detail Lines either by class, component and/or summary level.

· Control lines do not print on the report.

OVERVIEW OF REPORT DEFINITIONS

Control (cont.)

· They expedite account selection by preventing incorrect accounts from appearing on the report.

· A control line is not required for every report definition; however they are required if you want to select values on Detail Lines by component and summary level values.

Detail -

Detail lines determine which accounts' data appears on each line of the report.

· The class of account to which a specific DETAIL Line is restricted to is based on the previous CONTROL Line that is defined.

*The account class number is displayed for reference in the 'Class-from previous CONTROL Line' prompt.

· A single Detail Line can display data for a single account or a set of accounts

*This is determined at the LINE FOR EACH prompt in the E/E Lines Routine.

· There are three ways in which a user can select accounts to include on a Detail Line:

1. Accounts that contain specified values of components and summary levels.

2. All money or statistics accounts

3. A selected set of accounts

Total –

Total lines sum values from previous report lines.

· Only Detail and Total lines can sum to a TOTAL line. This line number is specified at the TOTALS TO Prompt in the E/E Line Routine.

Expression –

Expression lines perform calculations on specific cells and display the results.

· A cell is an intersection of a line and a column.

LINE NUMBER 10 or the first existing line number appears as the default.

LINE TYPE Indicate the type of line you are defining by entering one of the following:

H HEADER Line

C CONTROL Line

D DETAIL Line

T TOTAL Line

E EXPRESSION Line

START NEW PAGE To start this line on a new page, enter Y. Otherwise, press <Enter>.

BLANK LINES Enter the number of blank lines to print before this line (1 - 99). If this is a DETAIL line and you respond to the LINE FOR EACH prompt (allowing multiple lines of values to be displayed for one DETAIL line), this number of blank lines is inserted between each of those lines.

UNDERLINES The cursor only stops at this prompt if you are defining a HEADER line.

To create a line of dashes to visually separate one line from the next, enter one of these three characters:

= (equal sign)

_ (underscore)

- (dash)

SUPPRESS To suppress this line from the report if all values retrieved are zero, enter Z. To always suppress this line, enter A. To print this line on the report, press <Enter>.

REVERSE AMOUNTS To display negative values on this line as positive, and vice versa, enter Y.

PRINT $ SIGN To print a dollar sign in front of each amount on this line, enter Y. Otherwise, press <Enter>.

SUPPRESS DETAIL The cursor only stops at this prompt if you are defining a TOTAL line. To suppress all DETAIL lines from the report which total

to this TOTAL line, enter Y.

SHIFT COLUMNS The cursor only stops at this prompt if this is a TOTAL line, and you are not suppressing the DETAIL lines that sum to it.

To shift totals one column to the right (if a SHF type FUNCTION column is defined on the right), enter Y. Shifting totals makes them easier to view.

LINE FOR EACH The cursor only stops at this prompt for DETAIL lines. Use this prompt to define one DETAIL line which will display individual lines for selected accounts, or for selected values of a component,

super-component, or summary level.

To display a separate line for each account, enter ACCT.

DEFAULT TEXT The cursor only stops at this prompt if you responded to the LINE FOR EACH prompt. Indicate what the text column will print for each line.

SPACES The cursor only stops at this prompt if you selected NUM_DESC or DESC_NUM at the DEFAULT TEXT prompt.

Enter the number of spaces (1 - 99) to print between the number and the description.

AFTER The cursor only stops at this prompt if you selected NUM_DESC or DESC_NUM at the DEFAULT TEXT prompt.

This prompt allows you to select how to line up the numbers and descriptions in the text column.

TOTAL TO LINE Enter the number of a TOTAL line to which this line should sum. The TOTAL line's number must be greater than this line number. Any number of DETAIL and TOTAL lines can sum to a TOTAL line.

KEY FOR INTER-REPORT REFERENCE

If desired, enter an inter-report reference key (i.e., up to 15 characters of free text) which uniquely identifies this line. After you assign the line an inter-report reference key, the line can be accessed for use by other reports. For example, you can define a

DETAIL line that displays all assets, and access that line in other reports, rather than re-defining the line for each report.

NOTE: You cannot define an inter-report reference key for a DETAIL line if you responded to the LINE FOR EACH prompt

TEXT Enter up to 73 characters of text for this line's text column.

OVERVIEW OF REPORT RUNS

Report Runs are defined to compile and print reports. A Report Run is a user-defined mnemonic that consists of one or more reports.

Routines of the REPORT RUNS Menu

· COMPILE

-During the compile process, a fiscal period is defined.

-The system will reference the actual and budgeted data based on the period.

-During this compile, the information requested through [keywords] is retrieved (refer to page 20).

-Compile a SAMPLE Report Run, if desired.

-Data is not retrieved; allows verification of report layout.

· PRINT

-Print a Report Run.

-Alternate gray bars can be set to print on all (A), none (N), or W (wide) reports.