Creating Blank Basic Custom Reports

Use the Basic Custom Report window to edit and customize your report preferences, edit a report grid view, and define criteria that control the content of various displays.

To manage a basic custom report, do the following:

1. Open Dashboard, click Application Links on the navigation panel, and then click Reports Manager under Reports.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Create a new report. Add a report using another report's settings or using a blank report.
     • Select a basic report in the grid, and then select New > Basic > Use this Report on the Home tab to create a custom report using the current report's settings.
     • Select a group in the My Reports or Shared Library on the navigation panel, and then select New > Basic > Blank Report on the Home tab to create a custom report.
   • Edit a custom report. Select a custom report in the grid and click Edit in the Report group on the Home tab to modify the selected custom report.
3. Enter your report name and report description.
4. Select your paper preferences:
   • Orientation. Select the portrait or landscape page orientation.
   • Paper size. Select your preferred paper size from the list.
5. Select your font preferences:
   • Font name. Select your preferred font from the list.
   • Font size. Select the font size from the list.
6. Select your layout unit preference from the list.
7. Select Hide details to hide detail bands, if necessary.
8. Click the Fields tab.
9. Select the report type from the list. The report type determines the available fields.

Note: If you are editing a custom report, you cannot change the report type.

10. Add, remove, or reorder fields on the Report columns grid. Explain the components of the window.

Component		Description
Assign		Adds the selected available field to the Report columns list.
Assign All		Adds all available fields to the Report columns list.
Unassign		Removes the selected field from the Report columns list.
Unassign All		Removes all fields from the Report columns list.
Move up/Move down		Allows you to determine the order in which the columns will display in the report.
Move top/Move bottom		Moves the selected field to the top or bottom of the Report columns list, allowing you to position a field as the first or last column in the report.

11. Click Hide Available Fields to widen the Report columns grid, displaying more grid columns and reducing the need to scroll right or left through the grid.
12. Select options for each field in the Report columns grid.

Column	Description
Heading	When adding a field to the grid, the Heading cell is the same as the Field cell, after which you can edit or clear the heading.
Group Level	Select an option from the list. A selection of None displays as an empty cell. If there are already five fields at a group level, that level is not shown in the list. When a field's group is added, removed, or changed the field's level is changed and the grid row is moved to be in chronological order.
Sort	Select one of the following sort options: None, Ascending, or Descending. A selection of None displays as an empty cell.
Page Break	If a field is grouped and is the first field specified for that group level, you can select to insert a page break before the field.
Subtotal	If a field is numeric, you can select to include a subtotal for the field.
Grand Total	If a field is numeric, you can select to include a grand total for the field.
Hide Duplicates	If a field is not grouped and is sorted, you can select to hide duplicate values.
Width	Specify an integer (to the hundredth or tenth place, depending on the report units; inches or mm) that cannot exceed the width of a row.
Format	Specify a format string. Example: If xyz is not a valid format, it causes "xyz" to display in the report.
Justification	Select an alignment or justification value from the list. Your options are Default, Center, General, Left, and Right.
New Line	Select to force a hard line break after the field.
Word Wrap	Clear to deactivate text wrapping into multiple lines in a cell.

13. Click the Selection Criteria tab.
14. Enter your report filtering criteria by clicking in the blank line that is provided. You can edit existing criteria by clicking a cell in the grid and entering new criteria. To remove a line of criteria, select the line and press Delete on your keyboard or click .

Tip: To view the parentheses columns and the And/Or columns, click Advanced. Click Simple to show fewer options. The Advanced option is not available for the Client Billing Realization report. The method used to apply filters for the summed amounts on this report is not supported by the Advanced option.

Explain the components of the window.

Component	Description
(	Click in the ( column to insert an open-parenthesis before a set of filtering criteria, if needed. Criteria in parentheses is grouped and evaluated first, and then combined with any other filtering criteria to be evaluated. If you need to nest criteria groups, you can click up to three times to insert up to three opening parentheses. Notes: The ( column displays only in the Advanced view. This column is not available for the Client Billing Realization report. The method used to apply filters for the summed amounts on this report is not supported by this option.
Field Name	Select the field that is evaluated to determine items included in or excluded from the display.
Operator	Select the method used to compare the value to the field. Note: The Between operator filters alphanumeric values, such as client ID-sub ID, as text. For example, for clients IDs 1, 2, 10, and 100, filtering between 1 and 100 only returns results for client IDs 1, 10, and 100. Client ID 2 is not included in the results unless you expand the range to 1 and 200. To include specific clients, we suggest using the In list, Contains, or Like operator when filtering alphanumeric values.
Value	Enter or select the value(s) for comparison. The value may be a number or text, depending on the type of field being evaluated. Date values. If you change the start date for a Date value, you may first need to change the end date to a later date. Or you can delete and reenter the Date row. Client values. For standard reports, when one of the following client-related field names is selected in the Filters grid, you can easily look up clients in the Value column. Client Client ID ClientID.Sub ID Client Sub ID Client name To search for a client, do the following: Click the Select text range button beside the Value field. Enter text for the starting value to display the top search results. As you type, you will see matching items from the most recent search results, with the first matching item highlighted and listed first in the list. You can do the following to select an item: Press Enter to select the highlighted item in the list. Move from the text box to select the highlighted item in the list. For example, press Tab, or select another field or button. Click a record in the list. Enter an ending value. Click OK
)	Click in the ) column to insert a close-parenthesis after a set of filtering criteria, if needed. The number of closing parentheses must match the number of opening parentheses. You can click up to three times to insert up to three closing parentheses. Notes: The ) column displays only in the Advanced view. This column is not available for the Client Billing Realization report. The method used to apply filters for the summed amounts on this report is not supported by this Advanced option.
And/Or	Select AND to indicate data must meet the preceding and the following criteria. Select OR to indicate data can meet either the preceding or the following criteria. Notes: The And/Or column displays only in the Advanced view. The OR connector may return more results than you expect, particularly if All is selected as one of the connected values. Data that meets either line of criteria will be included in the results. For example, if you filter a specific date range in one line and All staff in another line, the report will include results for all staff, regardless if the data is in the selected date range. The And/Or column is not available for the Client Billing Realization report. The method used to apply filters for the summed amounts on this report is not supported by this option.

Explain the process of creating criteria lines.

1. Click in the ( column to enter an opening parenthesis, if needed. Click repeatedly to add up to three opening parentheses.

Notes:

• If you do not see the ( column, click Advanced.
• The Advanced option is not available for the Client Billing Realization report. The method used to apply filters for the summed amounts on this report is not supported by this option.
2. Click in the Field Name column to select a field from the list.
3. Click in the Operator column to select an operator from the list.

Note: The Between operator filters alphanumeric values, such as client ID-sub ID, as text. For example, for clients IDs 1, 2, 10, and 100, filtering between 1 and 100 only returns results for client IDs 1, 10, and 100. Client ID 2 is not included in the results unless you expand the range to 1 and 200. To include specific clients, we suggest using the In list, Contains, or Like operator when filtering alphanumeric values.

4. Click in the Value column to enter the value used by the operator in relation to the field.
5. Click in the ) column to enter up to three closing parentheses, if needed. You must use a closing parenthesis for every opening parenthesis used.
6. If there are additional criteria lines, click in the And/Or column to select AND or OR, depending on the relationship between the lines.

Notes:

• The And/Or column displays only in the Advanced view.
• The OR connector may return more results than you expect, particularly if All is selected as one of the connected values. Data that meets either line of criteria will be included in the results. For example, if you filter a specific date range in one line and All staff in another line, the report will includes results for all staff, regardless if the data is in the selected date range.
• The And/Or column is not available for the Client Billing Realization report. The method used to apply filters for the summed amounts on this report is not supported by this option.
7. Repeat these steps for any additional criteria lines. You can enter up to 15 lines.

Show me special considerations for specific reports.

• Reports with From and To columns. When you select a filter for a report that includes From and To entries, the filter values must have common attributes for both entries. In other words, if the report displays service code ID From and To entries and you select Type as a filter, both the From service code ID and the To service code ID must be the same type. To view or set up a service code ID type, go to Dashboard > Application Links > Firm > Lists. Then, click Practice Lists > Service Codes on the navigation panel.
• Reports with PTD and RTD columns.
  • For reports with PTD and RTD field values, such as the PTD/RTD Staff Billing report, the PTD (period to date) fields may display values for a more limited period, such as a month or a quarter. The RTD (range to date) fields display values for a longer time span, such as a fiscal or calendar year. The date values entered for PTD must be within the RTD date values.

  Example: For the WIP Corrections and Deletions report, the service code IDs assigned for any given WIP correction must be of the same type, either both Time, both Expense, or both Reimbursable Expense.

  • If you remove the PTD and RTD fields and later decide they should be selected, use Reset Defaults to add these fields.If you manually add these fields, the logic statement used between the fields is AND instead of OR, causing inaccurate reporting data.
• Reports with blank date values. To include unspecified dates in a report, select a date field type and enter 01/01/1900 in the Value column.
• Accounts Receivable Detail Aging. Balance forward is calculated based on the date range entered and only includes nonhistoric AR. If a date range is not selected, balance forward is not used.
• Staff WIP Productivity. Only WIP for the date range entered on the report is included. The billed WIP on this report may not reflect the same amounts as other WIP reports that include all billed WIP regardless of the transaction date.
• Timesheet. You can enter an open date range for the Timesheet report; however, it will only print for seven days. We suggest selecting a date range under Report Options for Transaction Date. Without a date range, the report displays 1/1/1900 as the starting date.
• WIP Corrections and Deletions. When you select Type as the field name and Equal (=) as the operator, the service code IDs assigned for any given WIP correction must be of the same type, either all Time, all Expense, or all Reimbursable expense. In other words, the WIP From service code ID must be of the same type as the WIP To service code ID. To view or set up a service code type, go to Dashboard > Application Links > Firm > Lists. Then, click Practice Lists > Service Codes on the navigation panel.
15. If you are creating a report from an existing report, click Preview to view the report with your selected options. The Preview option is not available when creating a blank report. To preview a report created using the Blank Report option, click Print Preview on the ribbon.
16. Click OK to save your changes.