Report Writing

You and your staff have spent a lot of time using the Kerridge system and entering data into it. At some point, you will want to analyse this data to inform you and help you make good business decisions.

Reports are key to this and do much more than you might at first think, for example reports can ..

  • Be viewed on the screen, with drilldown to see further detail such as sub reports, open sales orders, display account etc.
  • Be exported directly to Excel.
  • Be set to run automatically and emailed out to board members, directors, staff members or customers.
  • Be set as trigger reports to update the exceptions grid to act as a self monitoring service, altering users to orders, stock items, customers etc. that might require attention.
  • Be set to update the system, for example populating user defined tables with data that isn’t easily accessible elsewhere on the system.
  • Form part of a workplace, driving other reports, simplifying housekeeping tasks such as Quotation Management etc.
  • Be used to update KPIs automatically at regular intervals in the background.
  • Form part of DX’s (Data eXchanges – see below).

I’m sure I’ve used the Report Generator for more than this, but this is an example of how powerful it is and what it can be used for. Most of my time is spent in and around reports so I’m very familiar with how they work and what they can do, as well as all those little tips, tricks and pitfalls.

I’m more than happy to provide training on report writing, although some people prefer to focus on what they’re good at and allow me to focus on what I’m good at!.

Data eXchanges (DX’s)

With DX’s you can import data into the system from one or more files, validate and manipulate it and then update the system with the result or export a file for further use. They are a very powerful aspect of the Kerridge system and I’ve used them for such things as:

  • Creating sales orders from a web site.
  • Creating purchase orders for central distribution of stock.
  • Creating stock items.
  • Reading and validating supplier files before updating prices.
  • Creating customer accounts from a web portal export.
  • Facilitating complex reporting issues that were more involved than a simple report.

I’m happy to provide training on DX’s, but be warned, its a complex and very involved tool, with a steep learning curve!