Spring 2012 MR User Forum – Questions and Answers
The following questions were brought up during the Spring 2012 MR User Forum sponsored by the MSX Group. We have provided both the questions, answers and related links for more information on a certain topics.
QUESTION: What versions of Microsoft Dynamics are compatible with Management Reporter?
ANSWER: Management Reporter 2012 is compatible with Microsoft Dynamics AX2009, AX2012, GP2010, NAV2009, SL2011 and newer versions.
QUESTION: Which office versions are compatible with Management Reporter?
ANSWER: Microsoft supports two versions prior: Office 2007 and 2010
QUESTION: If a user accesses Management Reporter but not the GL underlying data, does this require a full Microsoft Dynamics GP license, a light user license or no license?
ANSWER: All license inquiries should be directed to your Microsoft Partner.
QUESTION: Does Management Reporter allow for segments to be divided into smaller segments in the Reporting Tree Definitions?
ANSWER: Yes, when building Reporting Tree Definitions, the split and combine options are still available as in FRx.
QUESTION: In Report Groups, does each report get the BASE fiscal year and the BASE period from the report definition or from the group level?
ANSWER: When generating multiple reports in a Report Group, you have the option to run all reports for the same report date or use the individual report dates as defined in each Report definition.
QUESTION: Does the Report Library show reports that are exported to Excel?
ANSWER: Yes, the Report Library will show all Management Reporter reports, Excel and other file types (e.g. Word, Power Point, XPS, PDF, etc.) you may have added inside the Report Viewer using a right-click in Report Library to “Insert External File”.
QUESTION: Is it possible to run a weekly profit and loss statement in Management Reporter?
ANSWER: Yes, there are Start Date and End Date filters in the Column Definition like there was in FRx. Most report scenarios do not require the use of these fields. For example, for a FD/Periodic column (in FRx, it was a GL/CUR column) you may place a 1 in the Start Date and 10 in the End Date to report on the 1st thru the 10th of the month. You may also define the MM/DD/YYY (e.g. 01/01/2012 Start and 02/15/2012 as dates to report on exact dates. This feature is especially useful for customers that consolidate companies on different fiscal years.
QUESTION: Is there an easy way to see which building blocks are used in which reports to determine what reports will be affected if I change a specific building block (i.e. row definition or column definition)?
ANSWER: Yes. Right-click on the name of any Row, Column, or Reporting Tree Definition and select “Associations” to display a list of any report using that definition.
QUESTION: Our challenge is consolidation of financial reports. We are globally spread out with different currencies and the systems are not on our network. It would be really valuable to see some solutions that are achievable using MR2012.
ANSWER: Management Reporter 2012 can only connect to general ledger data in Microsoft Dynamics AX, GP, NAV or SL or from Excel worksheets. The data in your external systems would need to be imported into one of these systems and accessible via your network.
QUESTION: Is there a way to add email comments to a group of reports, rather than having to type the same message in every report?
ANSWER: Comments may be copied between reports. Comments are attached to a single report and may be copied between reports and report versions of a single report.
Additional information may be found at the following link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dynamicscpm/archive/2012/01/23/comments-management-reporter-2012-feature-overview.aspx
QUESTION: Is multicurrency reporting available on this version?
ANSWER: All multicurrency conversions are handled in your ERP application. Management Reporter 2012 does not store rates or calculate balance conversions.
QUESTION: Can Management Reporter be used to produce income statements by Project?
ANSWER: Reports can be created by any dimension that is defined in the chart of accounts of your GL.
QUESTION: Can you produce the income statement on one page by using columns for different divisions?
ANSWER: Yes, you can accomplish this in two ways. First, by applying Dimension Filters in your Column Definition, or by using the Reporting Unit Filter. The Reporting Unit Filter most often applies when creating side-by-side reports with multi-company data.
QUESTION: What is the most important reason/benefit for moving from FRx to Management Reporter?
ANSWER: Management Reporter has numerous benefits over FRx including supporting 64-bit architectures, SQL database instead of Access database files and more flexible report design options with Dimension filters and dimensions sets. Plus, Management Reporter 2012 is far more integrated with the Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions.
QUESTION: When will support for FRx end?
ANSWER: Extended support for FRx is scheduled to end 7/8/2014. Mainstream support for FRx 6.7 ended on 7/14/2009.
Please refer to the following Microsoft post for additional details:
http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=9186
QUESTION: Can FRx Drilldown Viewer files be opened by Management Reporter?
ANSWER: No. Management Reporter Viewer can only display Management Reporter generated reports. Likewise, MR files cannot be displayed using FRx. However, FRx and Management Reporter do not interfere with one another so you can continue to use FRx during and after your transition to Management Reporter. Also, the FRx Migration wizard allows you to convert most of your FRx report definitions to Management Reporter to expedite the transition.
QUESTION: Will Management Reporter 2012 be updated to include the FRx migration wizard?
ANSWER: Currently, the FRx Migration Wizard is only available in Management Reporter version 2. Management Reporter 2012 is expected to include the Migration Wizard in later updates, but Microsoft has not indicated when this will occur. Until the update becomes available, customers who wish to utilize the Migration wizard will be required to install MR V2 and then upgrade to MR2012.
QUESTION: Can we migrate the FRx demo reports into Management Reporter?
ANSWER: It is not recommended to migrate the FRx demo reports. Instead, Microsoft has published various sample reports for MR, that run against your Dynamics GL sample data. These reports can be accessed via PartnerSource.