DURATION
2 days
Introduction
The Report Design Essentials - I course covers the basic report design skills you need to create, maintain and distribute presentation quality reports using Microsoft FRx. It also includes coverage of additional functionality designed to help you create new reports, and distribute and analyze your company's financial information. You learn about basic foundational skills, complex calculations, drag and drop reorganization, rounding adjustments and account sets.
A thorough understanding of these topics allows you to easily design and maintain standard and essential reports your organization needs to understand its financial position. You learn how to use templates or create customized report designs as well as how to setup self maintaining reports that will dynamically include newly added GL accounts and newly closed periods. This course also teaches you how to generate and electronically distribute reports using your in-house email system. These skills enable you to take control of the financial reporting process, allowing you to be more productive and efficient in the way you create, generate and distribute financial information, which in turn help you to enable internal and external stakeholders to make well informed decisions to positively impact your organization as a whole.
Audience
This class is intended for:
Novice Microsoft FRx users
Intermediate and experienced Microsoft FRx users who would like to refresh their skills or develop broader product proficiency
FRx Software Corporation product resellers and consultants
At Course Completion
After completing this course, students will be able to:
Understand basic navigation and report creation in Microsoft FRx
Drill down, analyze, print and export from FRx Drilldown Viewer
Efficiently create and distribute many financial reports including:
Trial balances
Balance Sheets
Transaction detail reporting
Trended reports
Side-by-side presentation
Relational reporting
Actual vs. Budget
Rolling quarters
Know some tips and tricks for increasing speed and accuracy of month-end close
Create presentation quality reports
Understand security settings within Microsoft FRx
Understand many ways to improve your company's financial reporting package
Prerequisites
Before attending this course, students must have:
Basic knowledge of accounting principles
In addition, it is recommended, but not required, that students have completed:
Microsoft FRx Overview & Basic Reporting eCourses
Microsoft Certified Professional Exams
This course will help the student prepare for the following Microsoft Certified Professional exam:
Exam Microsoft FRx certification exam:
Course Materials
The student kit includes a comprehensive workbook and other necessary materials for this class.
Chapter 1: Overview and Introduction
This chapter gives students a general overview of the features and benefits of using Microsoft FRx for financial statement design. It also introduces the demo company that will be used in the course exercises.
Topics
About FRx Software Corporation products
Terminology
Demo company account structure
Sample report demonstration
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Understand the terminology used in class
Have a high level understanding of rows, columns, trees and how they relate to each other in the catalog
Generate a catalog to FRx DrillDown Viewer and navigate to the various reports and drill down levels
Chapter 2: Creating a Trial Balance
This chapter focuses on one of the most basic and essential reports, a trial balance that shows the general ledger activity for the month and/or year. A trial balance is a starting point for analyzing and reconciling account balances and activity. Once your trial balance is in balance, Income Statements and Balance Sheets, which group together certain natural or main accounts to report assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, may be created.
Topics
Using the "Add Rows from Chart of Accounts" feature to automatically populate the row format with account numbers and descriptions
Using wildcards or ranges to summarize data
Using the Normal Balance field and how C's affect the account presentation
Using underscores and totals
Using Header Codes to automatically update column headers each month
Use of the BASE Period and Year in the Column Layout to ease maintenance
Setting the Report Date to an option that automatically progresses through the year for ease of report maintenance
Defining a detail level in the Catalog
Introduce the default Formatting options
Using existing building blocks to speed setup time
Using the View, Subtotals function in FRx DrillDown Viewer
Labs
Detailed Trial Balance
Summary Trial Balance
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Create a new Row Format either manually or with Add Rows from Chart of Accounts
Add format codes and related information to a row
Create a new Column Layout designed for current and year to date results
Add column headers, using either header codes or text
Create a new Catalog, defining the detail level, report date, building blocks and formatting as desired
Chapter 3: Creating an Income Statement
This chapter focuses on another primary financial statement, the Income Statement. Income Statements may be detailed or summarized and may also compare current performance to budgeted projections or previous results.
Topics
Using the Add Rows from Chart of Accounts function to quickly create a basic template
How proper placement of C's in the Account Balance column of the Row Format will flip the balance of an account for presentation
How the presentation of the accounts included determine the math for related TOT or CAL formulas
How to use a Special Format Mask on a row formula to determine display
Using system defined or custom fonts for emphasis
Working with rounding options
Labs
Detailed Income Statement
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Understand the use of "C" in the Row Format
Add a TOT or CAL format code and related information to a row
Add a Special Format Mask to a row
Define the font for a given row
Edit the report header using either codes or text
Define a font for a report header
Define rounding options
Chapter 4: Reporting Trees
This chapter examines Reporting Trees, what they are, why to use them and most importantly, how to create and maintain them.
Reporting Trees are created by defining a number of related attributes, such as the company name and account mask. Tree depth and complexity is up to the report designers needs and may include security items, email addresses, links to external spreadsheet data and more.
Topics
Characters used with Add Reporting Units
Segment hierarchy
Defining a segment range
Adding custom units to a tree
The default Reporting Tree
Relating Reporting Trees to Row Formats
How trees define multiple reports in a single catalog
Using check rows to insure all accounts are included
Rounding options and how they relate to calculations
How to relate description or underscore rows to other rows
Exception reports and how they work
Labs
Creating Reporting Trees
Departmental Income Statement
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Understand the symbols used in Reporting Trees
Create a basic Reporting Tree using Add Reporting Units from Chart of Accounts
Define the hierarchy when building a Reporting Tree on multiple segments in the account mask
Limit the range of a segment when building a Reporting Tree
Add new units to a Reporting Tree
Modify the hierarchy of a Reporting Tree
Understand how Reporting Trees relate to the Row Format
Relate rows in the Row Format
Add a check row or exception report to verify report accuracy
Define rounding in the catalog
Chapter 5: Review
This chapter allows students to review the concepts learned thus far in class by correcting some errors or omissions in a report.
Topics
Review basic report design concepts
Labs
What's Wrong?
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Recognize common errors in reports
Correct errors in report design
Chapter 6: More on Reporting Trees
This chapter continues with the concepts learned thus far, and expands that knowledge with more complex building blocks and catalog settings.
Topics
How to create a Column Layout based on current and prior results
Defining unit hierarchy when building a Reporting Tree
How to split a segment to create a virtual segment in Reporting Trees
Adding custom units to a Reporting Tree
Generating specific Reporting Tree units
Using header and footer codes in the Catalog
Labs
This year vs. last year Income Statement
Income Statement by Location
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Create a multiple year Column Layout
Add column header text that will span multiple columns
Dynamically print the year in the column header
Define the account segment hierarchy when building a Reporting Tree
Add custom units to a Reporting Tree
Create a Reporting Tree containing a virtual reporting segment
Set specific Reporting Tree units to automatically generate
Understand the difference between using Save As and Clone to copy an existing catalog
Chapter 7: Transaction Detail Reporting
This chapter looks at transaction details and the specific columns that work with them. These allow for reporting on such items as source journal, transaction date and transaction reference number. Common column restrictions are also introduced.
Topics
Creating a transaction detail Column Layout
Restricting a column to either debit or credit activity
Restricting a column to display beginning balances
Generating a Catalog to the Microsoft Office Excel output option
How report presentation varies between Microsoft Excel and FRx DrillDown Viewer
Labs
Cash Transaction Details
Debit/Credit Details
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Understand how wildcards in the Row Format display multiple accounts
Add transaction details to the Column Layout design
Restrict a column to include debit or credits only
Define a column to present beginning balances for the period
Generate a report directly to Excel
Understand how the ‘format as Excel outline' option affects the output
Chapter 8: Using FRx DrillDown Viewer
This chapter shows students some additional functionality available within FRx DrillDown Viewer.
Topics
Printing reports from FRx DrillDown Viewer
Sending reports
Export options in FRx DrillDown Viewer
Labs
Viewing/Printing Account Detail
Using the Send feature
Export Options
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Print a financial or detail report from FRx DrillDown Viewer
Send a report from the FRx DrillDown Viewer
Export a report using Formatted Excel
Export a report using standard Excel
Export a report to an HTML format
Chapter 9: Working with Specification Sets
This chapter focuses on Specification sets; the file that contains all the building blocks created during report design.
Topics
Understand the specification set (.F32) file
Defining the active spec set in the Company Information settings
Navigation in the Specification Sets window
Learn to "save as" between spec sets
Learn to export and import between spec sets
Labs
Saving between Spec Sets
Export and Import between Spec Sets
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Assign a specification set to a company
Create a new spec set
Move building blocks between spec sets
Chapter 10: What we Know
This chapter allows students to review the concepts learned so far by taking a concept quiz and modifying an existing report.
Topics
Review basic report design concepts
Labs
Modify Building Blocks
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Modify an existing report
Chapter 11: Balance Sheets
This chapter focuses on Balance Sheet design, another primary financial report. Students learn about Account Sets and how to create them, as well as functionality designed to keep Balance Sheets in balance.
Topics
Account Sets
Presentation of Balance Sheet accounts (using C in the Normal Balance)
Defining Year to Date Income in the Balance Sheet
Using the XD code to suppress drill down on specific rows
Using column G of the Row Format to define placement in the Column Layout
Using the Rounding Adjustments function
Using XD in the Column Layout to suppress GL details
Labs
Detailed Balance Sheet
Comparative Balance Sheet
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Create a variety of Column Layouts for use in Balance Sheet reporting
Define or modify Account Sets
Understand data presentation in Balance Sheet reporting
Suppress a row in the Row Format from drill down to account or transaction details
Understand Rounding Adjustments and how to work with them
Define specific column placement for information in the Row Format
Suppress details in GL type columns
Chapter 12: Income Statement Variations
This chapter introduces several variations of the standard Income Statement.
Topics
Summary Income Statement design
Trended Income Statement design
Using conditional statements in the Column Layout
Using Account Modifiers in the Row Format to override the Column Layout
Variance reporting (Over/(Under) and Favorable/(Unfavorable) methods
Sort commands
Labs
Summary Income Statement
Trended Income Statement
Current & YTD Trended Income Statement
Over/(Under) Budget Income Statement
Favorable/(Unfavorable) Budget Variances
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Create a trended Column Layout
Define conditional print controls in the Column Layout
Use Account Modifiers in the Row Format to override Column Layout definitions
Add a variance calculation to the Column Layout
Understand XCR and how it is used for variance reporting
Add a sort format code and its related information to a Row Format
Chapter 13: Relational Reporting
This chapter introduces the concept of relational reporting, where one or more base rows and related column calculations are defined. Common uses of relational reporting include percentage of sales and percentage of total expenses, however this concept may be used for any report that requires reporting on a relationship between elements.
Topics
Defining CBR (Base) rows in the Row Format
Defining Column Layout calculations that work with CBR in the Row Format
Suppressing CBR in detail reports
Labs
Defining a Base Row
Multiple Base Row Definitions
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Define one or more CBR (base) rows in a Row Format
Understand the proper placement of CBR rows
Enter a calculated column in the Column Layout that references the CBR rows
Suppress CBR calculations for account details when drilling down
Chapter 14: Side by Side Reporting
This chapter continues working with Income Statement designs by introducing a side by side presentation of departmental data.
Topics
Using Account Filters in the Column Layout
Restricting columns to specific Tree Units in the Column Layout
Labs
Side by Side Reporting with Filters
Side by Side Reporting with a Reporting Tree
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Create a Column Layout using Account Filters
Create a Column Layout using the Reporting Unit restriction
Understand how these two methods of side by side reporting differ and when to use each
Chapter 15: Report Distribution
This chapter introduces a variety of topics related to report distribution.
Topics
Naming conventions
Chain to Catalog ID functionality
Report archive options
E-mail distribution methods available in Microsoft FRx
FRx WebPort distribution
FRx Report Manager Demonstration
Labs
Chaining Report Catalogs
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Chain catalogs for easier report generation
Understand the common methods for creating an archive of reports
Distribute reports via E-mail
Have a high level overview of WebPort and Report Manager, optional components available with Microsoft FRx
Chapter 16: What's Wrong?
This chapter gives students an opportunity to correct a report containing some basic report design flaws.
Topics
Importing a .tdb file
Troubleshooting a report
Labs
Broken Income Statement
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Correct design errors in an existing report
Chapter 17: Troubleshooting
This chapter shows students how to perform basic maintenance within Microsoft FRx.
Topics
Rebuilding the GL Index (.G32 file)
Compacting the Microsoft FRx Databases
Getting additional help
Report Design Guidelines
Labs
Rebuilding the GL Index
Compacting the Microsoft FRx Databases
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Delete the .G32 file, forcing it to rebuild
Compact the Microsoft FRx Databases
Understand where to get additional help
Understand basic report design guidelines
Chapter 18: Advanced Concepts
This chapter introduces some creative uses for Microsoft FRx reports and previews some reports taught in the Report Design Essentials II course.
Topics
Adding a Microsoft FRx report to Microsoft Office Outlook
Adding report information to Excel and Microsoft Office Word documents
Overview of Microsoft FRx Report Design Essentials II training class
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Think creatively about report display
Appendix A: Solutions
This appendix contains solutions to quizzes and tutorials completed during class.
Appendix B: Using Report Launcher
This appendix covers the features and functionality of Microsoft FRx Report Launcher. Report Launcher is a separate Microsoft FRx component that allows users to generate reporting catalogs that have been created with FRx Report Designer.
Based on student needs, this appendix is optional for classroom presentation.
Topics
How does FRx Report Launcher differ from FRx Report Designer
What are the functions available in FRx Report Launcher
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Use FRx Report Launcher to generate a Catalog
Appendix C: Concept Review
This appendix is intended for future reference and contains a recap of the functionality discussed in class.
Topics
Row Formats
Column Layouts
Reporting Trees
Catalog of Reports
Appendix D: Security
This appendix provides an overview of the security options available in FRx Report Designer.
Topics
Network security
Padlock security
How to activate security in Microsoft FRx
How to create Microsoft FRx users and groups
How to apply component security within Microsoft FRx
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Use the padlock to secure a component
Activate Microsoft FRx security and create users and groups
Assign users or groups to Microsoft FRx components
Appendix E: Report Manager
This appendix introduces the five simple steps to Report Book creation and covers FRx Report Manager functionality.
Topics
Report Book design
Properties - General
Headers and Footers
Security
Distribution
Publishing
File or Report Properties
Report Options
FRx DrillDown Viewer display
This is a version-specific reference outline. Confirm the current syllabus and delivery arrangements with EIEIO.