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Reporting

On this page: Announcements | Financial Reporting Overview | Web Reports | Crystal Report Templates

Announcements

New Login Instructions for Web Templates(starting July 5, 2011):

Please note: If you currently download templates from the Financial Services web site and open them in Crystal Reports this message doesn’t apply to you. However, we encourage you to read on.

To access a Web Report Templates, click a template link, at which point you will need to:

1) Enter your McGill Username (first.last@mcgill.ca) and McGill Password;
2) Below the McGill Password field, ensure that Authentication is set to LDAP;
3) Click Log On.

The report will load and you will be prompted to enter your data warehouse (Banner) username and password.

An IT Service Description for the new Web reports server is now available on the IT Knowledge Base: Article 3283

If you have any questions, contact the ICS Service Desk (514-398-3398) or the Finance Help Desk (514-398-3463).

All HELP documentation relating to reports and views are now available on the actual Report webpages.

Report titles are now followed by the following information:

  • Last modified date
  • Report description
  • Link to a report help pdf
  • Prompting query fields
  • View name (for Crystal Reports)
  • Link to a view help pdf (for Crystal Reports)

Clicking on the Report title will run the report

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Financial Reporting Overview

Accessing financial information for reporting purposes can be done in several different ways. The easiest and most recommended method to use is Minerva Financial Statements.

Minerva Financial Statements is a tool to facilitate report distribution. The recipient need not enter criteria or “run” the report, but can simply “pick up” the report within the secured login Minerva site. Any user with a McGill ID and PIN to access Minerva, as well as the appropriate Fund/Org security, automatically has access to this menu. Financial Statements is a report category within the Finance Administration Menu which provides status reports and allows you to perform financial analysis for most funds. This allows easy monthly monitoring of funds under your jurisdiction.

Templates are another way of accessing financial information. Many generic templates have been designed using Crystal Reports software and query the data from the data warehouse. The data warehouse can only be used for querying (not updating) and is only available to those with a Banner userid and authorization to use the Banner Financial Information System. Data warehouse users can use the templates available by using either Web Report Templates or Crystal Report Templates.
No license is required to run the Web Reports.

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Web Reports

These reports allow you to print or export generic reports using your web browser. Keep in mind that you cannot manipulate the report in any way (what you see is what you get). If you need to modify or create your own reports then you will have to get a Crystal Reports license or use your own query tool.

  1. Select the report you wish to run by clicking the desired menu item and select the Web report name you wish to view.
  2. When prompted, enter your userid and password (same as your Banner userid and password) and click Next.
  3. At the prompt, enter parameter criteria.
  4. Continue to click Next until all the parameters have been entered, and then click Finish.
  5. The report displays your data dependent on the criteria entered in the prompts; click the Print icon to print it.
  6. To save the report in a format other than crystal, click the Export icon.
Notes: The data warehouse is fund/org secure. If you do not have access to the fund you will not be able to view the results.

Keep in mind when running reports off of the Operating Ledger the dates must be according to the University fiscal Year. Running reports off of the Grant Ledger requires the Calendar Year dates.

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Crystal Report Templates

These templates are meant to be used as an extra tool for units with consolidated reporting needs, or those who wish to extract or manipulate data. These reports are exactly the same as the Web Reports, with the added value of allowing users to manipulate the reports to suit their needs.

ICS offers an introductory course on how to use Crystal Reports software. You will need to get a Crystal Reports license from the McGill Software Licensing Site in order to be able to run these reports.

  1. Select the report you wish to run by clicking the desired menu item and select the Crystal report name you wish to view.
  2. The report template will open up in Crystal Reports environment.
  3. Click the Refresh button (F5) to run the report.
  4. At the prompt, enter your parameters, remembering to click on each field listed to enter corresponding data before clicking OK.
  5. The report displays your data dependent on the data entered in the parameters; click the Print icon to print it.
  6. To refresh the report or run the report with new values, click the Refresh button (F5).
  7. To toggle between pages, click the arrows located at the top right of the page.
  8. To save the report click the Save button.
  9. In the Crystal Reports environment you may edit or manipulate the report.

Important: If you have Crystal Reports v8.5 installed locally to your computer, you may experience problems with these ActiveX web reports using Internet Explorer. Please download the patch here then execute the program to install the patch.

Note: To run the patch you need to be set up as a local administrator on Windows NT/2000/XP Pro. If you have trouble running this patch please call your local administrator for help.

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Next: Month End Reports

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