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Building Dashboards with Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016
Building Dashboards with Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016

Building Dashboards with Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016: Excel, Jet Reports, and MS Power BI with GP 2016 , Second Edition

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Profile Icon Belinda Allen Profile Icon Polino
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Belinda Allen Profile Icon Polino
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$19.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5 (1 Ratings)
Paperback Mar 2017 354 pages 2nd Edition
eBook
$9.99 $47.99
Paperback
$60.99
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Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m
eBook
$9.99 $47.99
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Renews at $19.99p/m

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Building Dashboards with Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016

Chapter 2. The Ultimate GP to Excel Tool – Refreshable Excel Reports

The easiest method of getting data out of GP into Excel is with Excel refreshable reports. These were introduced in GP version 10 and provide users with the ability to open an existing report which is connected to GP already. To get the latest data from GP you only need to use the Excel refresh button. What could be better. These work very similarly to SmartList as the data is sorted in the same way and almost all default SmartList objects have a corresponding Excel refreshable report.

Refreshable Excel reports are easy to deploy, easy to update, and easy to work with. That's why they make a great foundation for an Excel 2016 dashboard. In this chapter, you will learn how to:

  • Deploy refreshable Excel reports
  • Manage security to Excel reports
  • Run Excel reports
  • Build reports with SmartList Designer

Security

By default, users can view Excel reports and data connections only if they have administrative credentials on the server that is running the SQL Server and if they have access to the network share. Since this isn't a normal setup, users typically need reporting privileges in the SQL Server before they can view the Microsoft Dynamics GP data that is displayed in data connections and Excel reports.

There are three areas of security around Excel reports deployed to a network share or local drive:

  • Security to the network share/local folder
  • Security at the database level
  • Security around Excel

We'll spend a few minutes on each one.

Network share security

Realistically, network share security is normally going to be set by a network administrator. To make a shortcut for administrators, the minimum required security on the shared folder is:

  • Change option for the share tab
  • Read option for the security tab

Now, for those of you who want the version that is longer than a (as Mark Polino...

Running Excel reports

Our next step is to run an Excel report. These reports can be run from Dynamics GP 2016, or they can be directly opened in Excel 2016. We will look at both these options.

From Dynamics GP 2016

To run an Excel report from within Dynamics GP, follow these steps:

  1. In the navigation pane on the left-hand side, click on Financial. The list pane above will change to show financial items.
  2. In the list pane, click on Excel Reports.
  3. In the navigation list in the center, select TWO AccountSummary Default. Make sure that you select the Option column's options that includes Reports:
    From Dynamics GP 2016

    Note

    Options that contain the word Reports open Excel reports. Options with Data Connections in the string indicate the data connector to build a new report, not an actual report. You can limit the Excel reports list to just Reports or Data Connections with the Add Filter button just above the Excel reports list.

  4. Double-click on the TWO AccountSummary Default item.
  5. We disabled the security warning earlier...

Excel refreshable reports via SmartList Designer

Since the release of the original version of this book, which focused on Dynamics GP 2013, SmartList has received a few updates. The Designer, which is now part of SmartList, allows for the creation of Excel refreshable reports based on custom SmartList objects that were originated in the Designer. The Designer can easily create both a SmartList object and an Excel refreshable report using a SQL view (which we discussed in Chapter 1, Getting Data from Dynamics GP 2016 to Excel 2016.) Let's create a new SmartList object and a new Excel refreshable report now.

Create a new SmartList object

Let's create a new SmartList object that will display the bank accounts and their balances, from the Bank Reconciliation module. Microsoft has a view already built to do this very thing, named CM00500, which is stored in each company's SQL database. Let's take a look at the following steps to create a new object:

  1. Open SmartList as you would...

Summary

We've looked at one of the best methods for getting data for our dashboard. We've deployed, secured, run, and built Excel reports. Now that we've thoroughly explored one of the best ways to get real-time data out of Dynamics GP 2016 and into Microsoft Excel, let's start looking at how to use this information as the foundation for a dashboard.

In the next chapter, we will start to build our dashboard using one of the fundamental building blocks—the pivot tables.

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Key benefits

  • • This book provides a core foundation for you to understand the ever-changing Microsoft Power BI
  • • Through this book, you’ll understand how data flows and is secured between Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Excel
  • • You’ll see how to create amazing dashboards using various tools such as Excel 2016, Power BI, Jet Express, and more

Description

Microsoft Dynamics GP is a complete ERP solution that is extremely beneficial for small to midsize organizations in helping them grow exponentially. The book shows you in detail how to build great-looking dashboards with Microsoft Dynamics GP that enhance a company’s decision-making processes. This guide will take you from the basics of setting up and deploying to creating secure, refreshable Excel reports. Using a whole host of tools available within Microsoft Dynamics GP and Excel, this tutorial will show you how to visualize your data using simple conditional formatting techniques and easy-to-read charts, and allow you to make your data interactive with slicers. We will also cover core topics such as Business Analyzer, Microsoft SQL Reporting services reports, BI360, and more. You will find out to use Power BI, share and refresh data and dashboards in Power BI, and use Power BI Query Editor. By the end of this book, you will have all the information required to build interactive dashboards using Dynamics GP.

Who is this book for?

This book is geared up for analysts and accountants keen on building and maintaining professional dashboards with Microsoft Excel 2016 for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 data, and building financials with visuals using the New Jet Reports Express Tool for Dynamics GP. An introduction is provided for those who want to maintain dashboards in Microsoft Power BI.

What you will learn

  • • Use GP Data in Excel 2016 in a meaningful way
  • • Build basic financial statements using Jet Reporting Express, including visualizations
  • • Understand the foundation of Power BI and its components
  • • Get and maintain data from Dynamics GP in Power BI
  • • Find out how to use the Power BI Query Editor (the Get and Transform feature in Excel 2016)
  • • Format basic visualizations to get better insights
  • • Understand Jet Reports Express, which is used to create basic financial statements
  • • Use the new Dynamics GP features, such as OData and adding Power BI tiles on the home page

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Mar 10, 2017
Length: 354 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781786467614
Vendor :
Microsoft

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Product Details

Publication date : Mar 10, 2017
Length: 354 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781786467614
Vendor :
Microsoft

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Table of Contents

15 Chapters
1. Getting Data from Dynamics GP 2016 to Excel 2016 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. The Ultimate GP to Excel Tool – Refreshable Excel Reports Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Pivot Tables – The Basic Building Blocks Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Making Your Data Visually Appealing and Meaningful with Formatting, Conditional Formatting, and Charts Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Drilling Back to the Source Data and Other Cool Stuff Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Introducing Jet Reports Express Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Building Financial Reports in Jet Express for GP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Introducing Microsoft Power BI Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Getting Data in Power BI Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Creating Power BI Visuals Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
11. Using the Power BI Service Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
12. Sharing and Refreshing Data and Dashboards in Power BI Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
13. Using the Power Query Editor Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
14. Bonus Chapter Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
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Vaidhy Mohan Apr 10, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I had the privilege to be the technical reviewer of this book. Having 13+ years of Dynamics GP and almost 5+ years of BI experience myself, it is not difficult for me to recommend this book for all those who use Microsoft Dynamics GP as your ERP. The authors, Belinda Allen & Mark Polino, each having more than 20+ years of relevant experience, are generous enough to share their knowledge with all of us.I've always said this to all my customers: if you cannot visualise your ERP data in the way you wanted, either you are not using your ERP to its fullest potential or your ERP is incapable. This book just shows you how good Dynamics GP is as an ERP and the many options you have to visualise your business data. This book helps you to create a simple tabular report to an advanced dashboard, using your GP data without sweating much. You don't need technical expertise to achieve this, as the concepts are neatly explained and simple to follow.I strongly recommend this book to all Dynamics GP users and consultants alike.
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