Management Reporter is a new add-on product for Performancepoint Server 2007. It is a product that is a part of the licens that you pay, when you pay for a Performancepoint Server. Management Reporter is used to get output out of solutions like Performancepoint Planning part and other financial systems.
Management Reporter is a product that has to major parts. One part is the Report Designer and the other part is the Report Viewer. It is pretty easy to imagine what each part is used for. The product also have a backend as there are a database and a web-service that the client applications uess to communicate with the database.
Reports based on report definitions can be viewed in the viewer or exported to Excel or Reporting Services format.
In the Report Designer it is possible to create building blocks that can be used to create reports (Report Definitions). These building blocks are:
- Row Definitions
- Column Definitions
- Reporting Tree Definitions
Row Definitions
The row definitions works much like Excel, where it is possible to define which rows that is going to be in the report. For each row it is possible to edit a number of metadata that is used in processing of the row against the data:
A short description of the possiblity of each column are:
- (A) Row Code = A unique identifier of the row
- (B) Description = the description. This could be the name of an asset or something else.
- (C) Format Code = For rows that doesn't have link to financial data it is possible to use a code for the row. Like a "Total" row, calculation row, and much more
- (D) Related Formulas / Rows/ Units = Possible to add formulas that adds different other rows by using the row code. If the row is linked to a Financial data it is possible to use a Reporting Tree definition to possible filter the row
- (E) Format Override = To format the data much like you can format a cell in Excel
- (F) Normal Balance = If the number in the financial data should be reversed
- (G) Print Control = What to do when printing. Possible to remove lines in the print and more
- (H) Column Restriction = Can be used to indicate which column the data should be placed in
- (G) Row Modifier = can be used to which kind of data that is used (YTD, scenario and more)
- (H) Link to Financial Data Source = the account number(s) that is the source for the row
Column Definitions
The column definitions is used to describe which columns that are used. This could be a number of years, budget vs actual and so on:
The column definitions have a number of meta data as the row definitions:
- Header 1-3 = Used to add some header information just like in a document
- Column Type = What kind of column it is. To display financial data, where to place the description from the row definitions and more
- Scenario / Attribute category = What scenario to display data from
- Fiscal Year = The fiscal year to display
- Period = A period specification. Link to the Fiscal Year
- Time Range = If it is going to be period, year to date or more
- Formula = Formula to work with the columns, like maybe adding to column to each other
- Column Width = the width of the column
- Extra Space Before Column = To add space before the column
- Format / Currency Override = Same as on the row definition
- Print Control = Much like the row definition
- Column Restriction = Restriction to what to display in the column
- Reporting Unit = Restrict a column to a specifict reporting tree definition
- Currency Source = where the currency information is coming from
- Currency Filter = to filter against a currency
- Account Filter = To filter the financial data
- Attrribute Filter = Restriction based on attributes
- Start Date = Restriction to specifict date
- End Date = same as start data
- Justification = the justification of the column (left, center, right)
Reporting Tree Definitions
Reporting Tree definition is used both in row and column definition, but are more visible as the use sees them in the final report. The report tree definition could be taken from the dimensions:
A short description of each of the metadata options:
- (A) Entity = The datasource
- (B) Unit Name = The name of the unit
- (C) Unit Description = The description of the unit
- (D) Structure = related to account
- (E) Row Definitions = A link to a row definition
- (F) Row Link = Link in the financial data
- (G) External Link = Path to external Excel file
- (H) External File = the name of the Excel file
- (I) Page Options = If it is printed
- (J) Rollup % = Allocate against parent
- (K) Unit Security = Which users can see the information
- (L) Additional Text = addtional text can be seen