Helpful TIPS for running custom reports

·        Don’t select too many columns of data. 

o       Make sure users are only selecting the essentials of what they need to report on.  Because the end user can select a multitude of data elements, performance may be slower than standard reports. 

·        If the you do not select any filters/parameters to run the report by, the report will return all data records that the you, according to your role and the organization you are signed into, has access to. This could cause a very large amount of data to return and, therefore, make the report take a long time to run.  Make sure you are selecting filter/parameter criteria that makes sense (i.e. Invoice dates, buyer/supplier names, work or week ending dates, etc.) for the report they are running.

o       Be specific about the org units you are running the report for.  This will also help eliminate processing of unnecessary data that the customer/supplier may not need. 

o       Make sure you are selecting applicable dates to filter the report by.  If running a buyer invoice detail report, make sure the user specifies accurate week ending dates for the data – that way the report will not return too many rows of data (because, otherwise, it is querying against every possible date).

·        Within Filters/Parameters use the following “Hints” for making reports return faster:

o       In general, it is better to use as many filters/parameters as possible to narrow the set of information returned in the output to only include the exact information you need.

o       Always include to filters/parameters to select only those buyer and supplier organizations that you are interested in.

o       If applicable, use parameters that control the statuses that are returned in the report output. For example:

§         If running a timecard report, add timecard status as a filter/parameter to only return the statuses you are interested in.

§         If running an assignment report, add assignment/work order status as a filter to only return the statuses you are interested in.

o       If applicable, use parameters that control the dates and/or date ranges that are returned in the report output

o       Use ‘Starts with’ instead of ‘contains’

o       Use ‘equal’ or ‘in list’ instead of ‘like’

o       Make sure that the ‘case sensitive’ check box is selected

o       Make sure that the ‘hide duplicate rows’ option is Not checked.