Report Builder online manual

IRIS Law Business Practice Management System

Report Builder Manual

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IRIS Legal Summit House, Alma Park Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 9SP Tel: (01476) 573718 Fax: (01476) 590563

Table of Contents 1 1.1 1.2 1.2.1 1.3 1.3.1 1.3.2 1.3.3 1.3.4 1.3.5 1.3.6 1.3.7 1.3.8 1.3.9 1.3.10 1.4 1.4.1 1.4.2 1.4.3 1.5 1.5.1 1.6 1.6.1 1.6.2 1.6.3 1.7 1.7.1

Introduction ....................................................................................................3 Running an Existing Report ...........................................................................4 Drag and Drop ................................................................................................5 Icon Descriptions ............................................................................................5 Getting Started ...............................................................................................6 Step 1: Adding a Title .....................................................................................7 Step 2: Select the fields .................................................................................7 Group Tabs ....................................................................................................8 Step 3: Sort and Group ..................................................................................9 Step 4: Selecting a Filter ..............................................................................10 Step 5: Running the Report ..........................................................................14 Step 6: Saving Your Report .........................................................................15 Step 7: Viewing your New Report ................................................................15 Step 8: Copying your Report ........................................................................17 Step 9: Mail Merge .......................................................................................21 Properties .....................................................................................................23 Create Linked Report ...................................................................................23 Moving a Report ...........................................................................................23 Deleting a sub folder report ..........................................................................24 Subscriptions ................................................................................................25 Setting up a subscription ..............................................................................25 Appendix I ....................................................................................................27 Filter Data .....................................................................................................27 Values ..........................................................................................................27 New Group Options ......................................................................................28 Report Examples ..........................................................................................29 Aged WIP report ...........................................................................................29

Report Builder Manual © IRIS Legal 2012 of 34

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1

Introduction

The Report Builder is an extremely powerful reporting, and search tool that uses drop and drag to create bespoke reports that can be printed off, exported or saved to the Home Page. The fields for each report are stored under “Entities” and depending upon the information required in the report will denote which entity is used to create the report. For example if you require a mailing list of all your clients then the logical Entity to use would be “CLIENTS” as the client names and addresses are located within the client database. There are instances when certain fields will cross over between certain Entities The user may wish to report on such things as all legally aided matters that have been opened within a user-definable or fixed date range. Other uses include the facility to export data to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and the ability to create form letters or mailing labels from within Microsoft Word. An example of the creating letters using the Report Builder is producing credit control letters. Together with the ability to create reports, the Report Builder can also be used as a search tool. For instance, a cheque may come in to pay an invoice with only the invoice number on the back of the cheque. A report may be set up to allow the user to enter the bill number when running the report to display the client information. Report Builder is found in PMS or Accounts under Tools – Report Manager. Clicking on Report Builder will load the home page where reports can be stored in Folders directly onto the Home Page. You can also create sub folders within your main folder; these will show as “NEW” for the first day Reports can be copied from one folder on the Home page to another or even deleted if no longer required. To delete a folder all associated reports have to have been moved or deleted first. If a report is loaded and run from a Folder on the Home Page it cannot be amended. To amend a report, i.e. add or remove fields or change the filter, the report has to be accessed through Report Builder on the menu bar. Once you have created a report you can switch between run report and design report as often as required When creating a report you have the option to create the following types of report Table report (which is a standard paper report) Matrix (which is a graph report) Chart (which is for example a Pie Chart) The system defaults to Table Report Before undertaking any reports, it is advised that the users should have had the required amount of training on using the report builder. This manual is an aid to users, and is not meant to be a replacement for training.


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1.1

Running an Existing Report

To run a report that has previously been created and saved, go to Tools, Report Manager and click on Report Builder

This will then load the Home Page

If the report is stored in a folder on the Home Page, double click on the relevant folder to show all reports in that folder and then double click on the report that you wish to run. The report can then be viewed on the screen, printed or exported, it cannot however be amended at this point.


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1.2

Drag and Drop

Drag and Drop gives you the ability to select the next field you wish to insert onto your report with the mouse and drop the field in the correct place on the report.

1.2.1 Icon

Icon Descriptions Description Create a new Folder Create a new report Opens the folders from the Home Page Save Collection of data that is put into groups Contains the data that can be added to the report. Data is placed into groups, then sorted in ascending or descending order. Allows you to filter the formula so no duplications will arise Designing the Report Running the Report Enter titles or additional text to be added to the report. Create a new field


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1.3

Getting Started

To create a main folder for the home page click on new folder, enter the name of your folder this could be: Month End Reports, Client Reports, Deposit accounts etc. you can also enter a description if required. If you wish the folder to be hidden on the home page, simply place a tick in the “hide in list” view. To create a report from the Home page, click on Report Builder and you will get the following screen:

From top right, select the criteria that you wish to report on, in this instance Matters Details. These are known as ENTITIES. Select Report Layout from table, matrix or chart, for now we will use table. Select OK and you will get the following screen


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You are now able to either drop and drag fields from the bottom left onto the Report Layout screen or double click on the field that you wish to appear on the report. If you select an incorrect field it can be removed simply by either right clicking and selecting delete to remove it or highlighting the field and pressing delete. Any field selected for the body of the report will show in BOLD in the field list 1.3.1

Step 1: Adding a Title

In the “Click to add Title” space click and add the report title ‘Matters by Open Date’ 1.3.2

Step 2: Select the fields

Now select the following matter fields Fee Earner Matter Ref Matter Description Matter Opened Date You can re-arrange the group order by dragging and dropping the group tab to a different place in the report layout. The description of the selected fields can be amended by clicking the blue area so it creates a black line around the blue area click on the description then press delete this will now allow you to enter your own description. Click outside the area to save your new description.


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1.3.3 Group Tabs These are along the top of the selected report fields and the report can be sorted within these groups Any field can be resized by pointing the cursor at the end of the field and either dragging out to make the field larger or dragging in to make the field smaller using the double arrow We now need to ensure that the date is in the correct format. To do this highlight the date field, right click and the options opposite will appear Select “Format” will enable the user to format the date field Select “Edit Formula” allows the user to edit the Formula for a numeric field Select “Delete” allows the user to delete the field from the report The date will default to American format, i.e. mm/dd/yyyy, so we need to format the date field to UK standard format. To do this, select Format and you will get the following screen. At the bottom of the screen click on Custom Format, enter dd/MM/yyyy and then click on OK


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Fields that start with “Total” will give a total for that particular field. If you only require the field with no total then you need to expand the field and select that field. In this example there is a field called “Total Client Balance” and when expanded you can select “Client Balance” for it to appear on the report without totals 1.3.4

Step 3: Sort and Group

You now need to set the order in which the data will be displayed on the report. Clicking on Sort and Group

will take you to the sort screen

On the left hand side of the screen under the heading “Select Group” Fee Earner and Matter Detail will be displayed. These match the group tabs which are shown above the field descriptions on the report layout. The right hand side of the screen shows the field sort available within the group. “Sort by” is an empty field that you now need to go to the drop down and choose Fee Earner. This will now sort the report by Fee Earner. Click ok.

There is now the option to further sort by the second group i.e. Matter Details. As there are 3 fields selected associated with the Matter group each can be used to sub sort the Matter Detail group


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Entering a tick in the Page Break box will give a page break between the groups. 1.3.5

Step 4: Selecting a Filter

Before the report can be run you will need to add a Filter, to do this select the Filter icon

to get the following screen


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If you have not set a filter you will get a warning to advise you that you need to set a least one filter to be able to run the report Select the field that you wish to filter on from the bottom left hand side, in this example we are going to filter on Matter Open Date. Double click on Matter Open Date this will then go over to the “Matter Details With” screen see below

Right click on “Equals” enables the user to select the relevant condition to be used in the filter. In this example we will use “From ….To….” to select all matters opened between two dates.


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If we wanted matters opened for a specific month, year or quarter then by expanding Matter Opened Date on the left hand side we are able to select one of these periods or we can use ‘Relative Dates’ within Filtering. If using the specific month, quarter or year option, you have to remember that years run January to December and month 4 is April Which condition has been selected will determine whether you can right click on Matter Opened Date and get the system to ‘Prompt’ for the matter opened dates when the report is run. Now you have designed your report, it is ready for you to run.


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See Appendix I for a list of the filtering options

By double clicking on the heading field for example ‘Fee Earner’ it will be highlighted for you to amend the heading as appropriate.


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1.3.6

Step 5: Running the Report

Click on Run Report The finished report should now look something like this:

Switching between the Design report Mode and Run report Mode will allow you to adjust the design of the report and see the results immediately.


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1.3.7

Step 6: Saving Your Report

You can now save your report by clicking on File and “Save As“. A list of folders that are on the Home Page should appear for you to be able to save the report into. It may that there is a sub folder within these folders. Along the bottom of the screen, give your report a name and click on Save to save the report Now the report has been run and saved to the Report Server it can be managed just like any other report. This means that you can run this report at any time from the Home Page. Click on file to Exit the screen. You have now saved your first report onto the Home Page either directly or into a Folder You can create a new report folder for different types of report from the Home Page or you can create sub folders from your existing main folder. 1.3.8

Step 7: Viewing your New Report

Once your report has been saved, you can run it directly from the Home Page if you do not wish to amend it in any way. To do this, simply open the folder and double click on the report and it will load directly onto your screen where you can print it off or export it to an Excel, pdf or csv file. You will not be able to amend the report from this screen – see below for amending reports If you need to amend your report after running it, you will need to click on Report Builder on the Home Page and the screen below will appear. Go to the ‘OPEN’ icon and this will take you to the Report folders from your home page. Double click on the folder that your report is saved in and then select the report that you wish to preview, edit or run. Click on open, to open the report.

When you open the report it will default to the Design Page and you can make the necessary changes to the report that is required. To run the report click on Run Report you can preview the report before printing, otherwise you can Export the report by clicking on the Export Icon. Report Builder Manual © IRIS Legal 2012 of 34

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You now have various export options (see opposite) to select from.


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1.3.9

Step 8: Copying your Report

The easiest way to copy your report is to open the original report and then go to File and “Save As”, giving the report a new name. The new report will then be the live report on the screen. You can amend the Title and make any necessary changes. You can amend the Title of your report that has been copied by clicking on the Report Title, for example “Fee Earner by Matter Open Date”. You now need to add a new field called “Total Number of Matters” to do this you need to either double click on Total Number of Matters on the bottom left hand side or drag and drop it onto the end of the report. If you right click on the white area of the total number of matters a drop down list will appear, select format and then font. Select white font. This will remove the number one from each line of the report “Show Subtotal” is ticked by default so the report will show a total number of matters per Fee Earner and an overall total number of matters. If you only require an overall total number of matters, remove the tick from “Show Subtotal”. If you find that you want a separate page for each of your Fee Earners you need to click on Sort and Group. Under the “select group heading” Fee Earner place a tick on the Page breaks between groups. See below for options.

The Report Design below now shows the extra field of “Total Number of Matters” as well as the new title on your report.


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Click on Run Report The finished report should now look like this:

If you are happy with the Report click on “File” then save, this will save any additions that you have made to your report. If you find that you would prefer to make a further amendment to your report click on Design Report and this will take you back to the Design Page. Make the relevant amendment and then save the report prior to exiting the report screen. Whilst the report is on the screen, if you double click on double arrows on fee earner it will resort the report starting at the last fee earner alphabetically, the same apples to all the fields selected for the report


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If you double click on a matter reference it will drill down to the matter database and you will be able to see all matter details entered on the system. NB Within clients and matters any date that is showing as 01/01/1753 is actually a blank date and within Financial entities any date field that shows the date 01/01/1900 is a blank date on the system. These dates can therefore be used to filter out closed matters in reports were necessary If you are creating a report that is to show closed dates, then you will not want to show the date 01/01/1753. This date can be suppressed on the report by creating a new “Closed Date” field. Go to New Field

and you get the following screen

Enter a name for this new field in “Field Name” In “Formula for each Matter Details” enter the formula as above, where Matter Closed Date is shown you can double click on that field on the bottom left hand side. Click OK and the new field will appear at the top of the field list for you to select and include on the report.


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This formula can be used to suppress blank dates in financial reports by replacing 1753 with 1900; however you will need to create the new field for each report. Another option is to create a report with this field on and save it on the homepage as a template report, that way you can create a new report and the field will already be there to be used. It is also possible to link 2 fields together to form one new field for example you may wish to link client surname with client forename. Go to create new field

and again you will get the following screen

Enter a name for this new field In ‘Formula for each Matter Details’ enter the formula as above and you will see the following on the report


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This formula can also be used to link other fields inexactly the same way for example in a time report you could create a field that shows the time activity code and its description 1.3.10 Step 9: Mail Merge There is the facility to be able to design a report and export it to excel to create a mail merge using the fields in the report. To export an existing report from the Home Page, select the report and open it. Once the report is displayed on screen, select the format you wish to use to export the report – in this case Excel.

Once you have chosen the format in which you wish to export the data ‘Export’ will become live and if you hover the cursor over it, it will turn red. Click on Export Once the data has been exported to excel or as a csv file it is then possible to merge the data into a mail merge for example Create a report in the Bills entity using the following filter Total outstanding is not equal to zero AND Bill Month = (use month number required for the credit control letters) Bill Year = (use current year) Select the following fields for the report Client Salutation Envelope Client Salutation Letter Matter Reference Report Builder Manual © IRIS Legal 2012 of 34

AND

Address Line 1 Address Line 2 Address Line 3 Address Line 4 Page 21

Matter Description Outstanding Amount Bill Reference Bill Date Matter Fee Earner

Post Code

Once the report has been run and exported, open word and go to Tools, Letters & Mailings, Mail Merge and follow the on screen instructions.


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1.4

Properties

By clicking on Properties you are able to Copy your report this is known as Create Linked Report, you can also Delete the existing Reports or Move the report to a difference location.

1.4.1

Create Linked Report

Through the Create Linked Report you are able to copy a report, but only able to make any changes only to the original, you can also change the location to a difference folder or keep it within your own folder under a new sub folder heading. 1.4.2

Moving a Report

To move a report from your Folder and place it into another Named Folder click on the report that you wish to move, run the report then click on Properties. Now click Move, the screen below will show the location that you are in as well as highlighting the folder. To move the report to a different location click on the Named folder that you wish the report to be moved to. Click ok.


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The report has now been relocated as a sub folder under the Named folder. 1.4.3

Deleting a sub folder report

To delete a report from your sub folders, click on the report that you wish to delete the report will now run, after the report has run click on Properties the name of the report will appear. Click on Delete. The following message will appear on your screen “Are you sure you want to delete (name of report)”. Click OK. The screen will take you back to your sub folders report; the report that you deleted will no longer be there.

Deleting a Folder you need to make sure that all the sub folders have been deleted or moved to another location before you are able to delete a Folder. Report Builder Manual © IRIS Legal 2012 of 34

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1.5

Subscriptions

It is possible to set up a subscription so that a report is run and emailed overnight to say a partner on the first of the month 1.5.1

Setting up a subscription

From the Home Page, double click and run the report that you to set up a subscription for. You can then select “New Subscription”

Delivered By: To: Cc: Include Report: Include Link: Render Format:

Ensure that this has Email selected Enter the email address of the person to who the report is to be emailed Enter email address of anyone who is to receive a copy of the report This will default to be ticked and will email the report Will include a link to access the report Select the format for the report i.e. Adobe, Excel


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Click on the “Select Schedule” button to specify the schedule details for the report delivery

Press Ok to save the schedule details. The schedule details can be amended at any time by going into the schedule details and editing.


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1.6

Appendix I

1.6.1

Filter Data

NOT– Indicates that the operator should return the data that does not meet the specified criteria. NOT can be applied to all operators except: Less Than, Greater Than, Less than or equal and Greater than or equal. RELATIVE DATES – This, To Date, Last, Next or Same Last Year. IS EMPTY – Returns data that contains Null Values EQUALS – Returns data that equals the specified value. IN A LIST – List of Values AFTER – Returns data after the specified date. ON OR AFTER – Returns data on or after the specified date. BEFORE – Returns data before the specified date. ON OR BEFORE – Returns data before the specified date. FROM….To – Returns data that falls between the two values specified. 1.6.2

Values

Used to compare values =

Equal to Use to equate two values.

Not Equal to Use to indicate that two values do not equal each other. >

Greater Than Use to indicate that one value is greater than another value.

>= Greater Than or Equal Use to indicate that one value is greater than or equals another value.