Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Training Manual PDF

Sage 100 Contractor
Intelligence Reporting
Getting Started
Training Manual
Table of Contents
Welcome............................................................................................................................... 4
Course Pre-requisites........................................................................................................ 4
Document Conventions ..................................................................................................... 4
Course Outline .................................................................................................................. 4
Sample Company Information ........................................................................................... 4
Lesson 1: Installing Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting ......................................... 5
Pre-requisites .................................................................................................................... 5
Downloading Sage Intelligence Reporting ......................................................................... 5
Installing Intelligence Reporting ....................................................................................... 10
Creating a Repository Folder........................................................................................... 14
Opening Intelligence Reporting ....................................................................................... 15
Lesson 2: Running Out-of-the-box Reports ........................................................................ 19
Opening Out-of-the-box Reports ..................................................................................... 19
Out-of-the-box Report Details .......................................................................................... 25
Bonding Report ............................................................................................................ 25
Committed Budget Cost Variance Report .................................................................... 26
Job Cost Summary ...................................................................................................... 27
Over/Under Billing Report ............................................................................................ 27
Lesson 3: Making Changes to Out-of-the-box Reports....................................................... 28
Customizing a Standard Report ...................................................................................... 28
Distributing Reports ......................................................................................................... 33
Setting up Distribution Instruction ................................................................................ 33
Sending a Worksheet for Distribution ........................................................................... 37
Lesson 4: Excel for Beginners ........................................................................................... 40
Microsoft Excel Basic Elements ...................................................................................... 40
Entering and Manipulating Data in Microsoft Excel .......................................................... 42
Widening column width ................................................................................................ 43
Editing Data in a Cell ................................................................................................... 43
Selecting Multiple Cells ................................................................................................ 45
Selecting an Entire Column ......................................................................................... 46
Selecting an Entire Row............................................................................................... 46
Selecting the Entire Worksheet .................................................................................... 47
Formatting Data in Microsoft Excel .............................................................................. 48
Using Format Painter ................................................................................................... 52
Using AutoFill .............................................................................................................. 53
Working with Formulas in Excel ...................................................................................... 55
Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual
Page 2 of 60
Working with Multiple Worksheets ................................................................................... 59

Introduction to PivotTables .............................................................................................. 59
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Welcome
The Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Course is designed to
introduce you to Sage Intelligence Reporting.
Highlights include installing Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting, running out-of-the-box
reports as well as making changes to standard reports.
Course Pre-requisites
Basic accounting knowledge is essential to complete this course.
Document Conventions
Sage Alchemex uses the Microsoft Manual of Style (MMOS), as its corporate authority for technical
terminology and references to user interface elements as well as terms approved by the Sage
Softwares Training Council or the CSC for references to specific training types, individual roles,
certification terms, and specific elements of the curriculum.
Course Outline
This course is divided into lessons. Each lesson is designed to provide you with practical knowledge
and experience that can be applied to your specific needs.
This course includes the following lessons:
Lesson
Purpose
Lesson 1: Installing Sage 100

Contractor Intelligence
Reporting
This lesson demonstrates the steps to follow when

installing Sage Intelligence Reporting.
Lesson 2: Running Out-of-the-box

Reports
This lesson shows you how to run out-of-the-box

reports and also serves as an introduction to the
reports which are already included in Sage Intelligence
Reporting.
Lesson 3: Customizing The Standard

Report
This lesson describes the process of making changes

to the out-of-the-box reports and saving the changes
made.
Lesson 4: Excel For Beginners
This lesson gives an introduction to Microsoft Excel

basics.
Sample Company Information

The exercises have been created based on the Managed Rite Construction demonstration
company. All data that appears is fictitious. Any resemblance to an existing company or company
data is purely coincidental.
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Lesson 1: Installing Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence

Reporting
Intelligence Reporting is available as an add-on module with Sage 100 Contractor.
You will have access to a free 30 day trial period from date of installation.
Pre-requisites
First, you will need to make sure that Sage 100 Contractor is fully installed and working. Microsoft
.Net Framework 4.0 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime are required. If you
dont already have them, youll be prompted to install them when you install Intelligence Reporting.
Sage Intelligence works with Microsoft Excel Version 2007 and above versions. Youll have to
install this first if you dont have it already installed. Youll need to open Excel at least once, to make
sure that its working properly, but before installing Intelligence Reporting, ensure that all instances
of Excel are closed.
Downloading Sage Intelligence Reporting
1. To get a copy of the software, open your Internet browser and go to www.sageintellligence.com.
2. Click on Desktop Reporting at the top of the page.
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3. Scroll down the page and locate Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting.
4. Click on Find out More.
5. Click Try It For Free to download your 30 day free trial version.
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6. Fill in your details on the form provided.
Note: The asterisks means that the field is required.
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7. Click Download Your Free Trial.
8. Click Download Now.
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9. On the small popup screen that appears at the bottom of the page, click Run.
Note: If you want the executable file to be stored on your computer, click the Save button.
The file may take a couple of minutes to download depending on your Internet speed. If
Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime havent
been installed, youll be prompted to install them automatically. Click Install.
If you chose to run the .exe file, proceed to Installing Sage Intelligence Reporting topic. If you
chose to save the exe file do the following:
1. Locate the file where youve saved it.
2. Double-click on the file.
3. Then proceed to the topic Installing Sage Intelligence Reporting.
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Installing Intelligence Reporting

1. A popup window will display asking if you want to allow the program to make changes to the
computer.
2. Click Yes.
3. The InstallShield Wizard will appear. Click Next.
4. Click Next to accept the default location.
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Tip: You can change the location for your program by clicking Change and navigating to your
location, and then clicking OK.
5. Select the country of your location.
Warning: It is important that you select the country that you operate in, as this will determine
the nature of the reports that will be included.
6. Click Next.
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7. Click Install.
Note: The installation process may take a couple of minutes, depending on your Internet
speed.
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8. Click Finish.
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Creating a Repository Folder

9. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the MB7 folder, which is a folder that is created when
Sage 100 Contractor is installed.
10. Add a new folder which will be used as your metadata repository.
Note: The MetaData Repository stores all of your important information including connection,
container and report templates. Sharing the MetaData Repository folder allows report
templates to be accessed by multiple users.
11. Give your folder a logical name that will describe the contents of the folder.
Tip: For simplicity, you should name your folder Sage Intelligence Reporting.
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Opening Intelligence Reporting

1. Click on your Windows Start icon.
2. Click on All Programs.
3. Double-click on Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence folder.
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4. Select Report Manager.
5. Browse to your Repository Folder path.
Tip: This is the folder that was created in the earlier topic Creating a Repository Folder.
6. Click OK.
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7. Browse to your database file name.
8. Enter your database credentials.
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9. Click OK.
The Report Manager will open and you can start running your reports.
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Lesson 2: Running Out-of-the-box Reports

Opening Out-of-the-box Reports
1. Click the Start icon.
2. Click on All Programs.
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3. Select the Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence folder.
4. Click on Report Manager.
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5. Enter your database credentials.
Tip: You can tick Remember Database Credentials checkbox if you dont want to enter your
credentials every time you open the Report Manager.
6. Click OK.
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The Report Manager will open and you will see a list of folders containing out-of-the-box reports
available to you as standard in Intelligence Reporting. In this lesson we will cover four of those
reports.
7. To expand a folder, double-click it.
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8. To run the report, click on it.

9. Click Run.
10. If the report requires parameters, you will be prompted to fill those in.
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11. Click OK to run the report.
The report will open in Microsoft Excel. Each report has a Home page where you can select the
available reports from the menu or the tabs.
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Out-of-the-box Report Details

We are going to go through four of the standard reports so you can see the information each report
provides.
Bonding Report
The Bonding Report allows you to view your financial status for all jobs. The report layout is
designed in a PivotTable so you can filter by Job Type, Job Status or Job Number, Job Name or
Client Name. This report will show you which jobs you need to track, which ones are profitable, or
where to monitor spending. At a glance youll have all the information you need to make an
informed decision when selecting which jobs are worth bidding for, in future.
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Committed Budget Cost Variance Report

The Committed Budget Cost Variance Report allows you to easily see the cost status and variance
of each job at a cost code level and is designed to show you where budgets and costs vary
significantly. The report also has a dashboard which gives you a visual overview of job costs and
variances. Some of the key features of this report are budgets, job costs-to-date, the remaining
committed costs and the variance. It also includes actual selling price, estimated profit and actual
profit values.
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Job Cost Summary

The Job Cost Summary lets you view budgets, costs and balance per job. Being able to see the
budget balances for each job at a glance using real-time data ensures that you stay informed and
can take action quickly. The report can be filtered with any of the filters ensuring that you get to see
exactly what you want to see.
Over/Under Billing Report

The Over/Under Billing Report allows you to view actual earnings along with estimated earnings for
forecasting projects. This enables you to proactively address over and under billings on a job. With
this report, youre able to compare estimated and actual earnings for projects. This helps improve
your forecasting skills for future projects.
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Lesson 3: Making Changes to Out-of-the-box Reports

Customizing a Standard Report
Although the standard reports give a lot of the information youll need, youre not restricted in any
way. These reports are fully customizable and flexible. Report layouts can be dynamically changed
in Excel to view the same data from different angles, including adding charts to view it graphically.
1. Select the report you want to run.
2. From the ribbon, click Run.
3. In Microsoft Excel, make the changes to the worksheet.

Tip: If youre unsure of making changes, you should create a copy of the worksheet before you
make any changes.
After completing the changes, leave the workbook open and go back to the Report Manager.
4. Make a copy of the original report before saving the new template.
a. Select the report.
b. From the Home menu, click Copy.
c. Select the folder name.
d. From the Home menu, click Paste.
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5. Rename the copied report.

a. Select the report.
b. From the Home menu, click Rename.
c. Type the name for your new report.
d. Click OK.
e. Click OK to assign the new name to the template.
6. Select the copied report.
7. Click Save Excel Template.
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8. In the window that appears, select the Microsoft Excel workbook which contains the changes
you made.
Warning: All Microsoft Excel workbooks that you have open will be listed in the window, so
ensure you select the correct Microsoft Excel workbook to use as a template for your report.
9. Click OK.
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10. Click Yes to clear the contents of the second worksheet.
11. Click OK to accept the default name of the template.
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12. The template is now saved. Click OK.
If you maximize Excel, youll see that your report has been automatically closed.
If you run the copied report, youll see that all the changes youve made have been saved.
We couldve also created a new report from scratch, but youll learn all about that in the
Beginner course, also available on our academy.
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Distributing Reports
Distribution allows you to set up which reports you would like to send, in a certain format and using
a particular method. You can even schedule it to automatically run whenever you need, so youll
never miss a report deadline. We cover distribution in greater detail, including how to schedule your
report to run, in the Intermediate course.
Under the BI Tools tab in Excel, you will see Distribution. This allows you to send your final report
to an email address or publish your file to a specific folder. Were going to publish our document to
the desktop, but you can save it on a server, or a shared folder that you have access to. You can
also send your file to an FTP server or Email it.
Setting up Distribution Instruction
1.
Under BI Tools tab click on Manage Instructions.
2.
Click Add to create a new distribution instruction.
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3.
Enter a logical name for your instruction.
4.
Click OK.
Note: You have three ways to distribute your report. Those options are Email, File Publish and
FTP.
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5.
Select the File Publish tab.
6.
Click Enable File Publish checkbox.
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7. Click Browse to browse to the folder where the report is to be saved.
8.
9.
Give the report file a name. Name the report.

Click OK to finish.
Note: You have the option to distribute each worksheet in the workbook as a separate
document.
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Sending a Worksheet for Distribution

1.
Click Select Instructions under the BI Tools tab.
2.
Select the instruction we set up earlier.
3.
Click the right arrow to move it to the Instructions in Use window.
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4.
Select the worksheet/s youd like to send.
Warning: All the worksheets that you have in your workbook will be listed in the Worksheets
To Send list, so ensure that you select the correct worksheet.
5.
Click OK.
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6. Under the BI Tools tab click Send Now.
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Lesson 4: Excel for Beginners

Microsoft Excel Basic Elements
When you first open Microsoft Excel, a blank worksheet will open. The worksheet consists of rows
running in a horizontal direction and columns in a vertical direction.
Rows
Columns
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The worksheet also has a menu bar.
A formula bar displays the data or formula stored in the cell you have selected.
A cell is each rectangular block on the worksheet. Cells in a worksheet have references to identify
them according to the column and the row they are in, for example the cell on the picture would be
cell E6 as it is situated in column E row 6.
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Entering and Manipulating Data in Microsoft Excel

To enter data on a spreadsheet:
1. Select a cell by clicking on it.
2. Type directly into the cell or in the formula bar.
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Widening column width

When it comes to seeing your data, most of the time youll want the data in individual cells to be
readable, but when data in a cell is longer than the cell width and the cell directly on the right also
has data in it, Excel will cut it off. To widen the column width:
1. Place the mouse pointer in between the column labels until you get a double-headed arrow.
2. Double-click; the column will automatically fit the content.

In cases where the cell content is a number and the number length is too long to fit in a cell, the cell
will be filled with multiple hash symbols.
To see the whole number:

1. Place the mouse pointer in between the column labels until you get a double-headed arrow.
2. Double click, the column will automatically fit the content.
Editing Data in a Cell
1. Click on the cell and you will see the cell content, in this example Cape Town in the formula bar.
2. Change the cell contents on the formula bar.
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3. Press the Enter key so that your changes are saved.
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Selecting Multiple Cells

1. Click on a cell.
2. Hold your mouse button in.
3. Drag your mouse to include the other cells.
The selected cells will show in grey.
To select cells that are not next to each other:

1. Select the first cell.
2. Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard.
3. Use your mouse to click on all the other cells you want to select.
4. Release the Ctrl key when you are done selecting.
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Selecting an Entire Column

1. Click on the column label. In this example column A is highlighted.
Selecting an Entire Row

1. Click on the row number. In this example the second row has been selected.
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Selecting the Entire Worksheet

1. Click the Select All button which is in between the column and row labels.
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Formatting Data in Microsoft Excel

Selecting a range of cells can be useful in cases where you want to format more than one cell at a
time. Formatting cells means changing the appearance of the cell content. For example, if you want
to change the colour of the cells to grey:
1. Select the cells you want to change.
2. From the Home menu select the fill colour grey.
Excel changes all the highlighted cells at once.
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Lets look at something a little more powerful. If for example you need the CostPrice to be reflected
as a currency instead of a simple number:
1. Select the column.
2. From the menu in the Number section, there is a currency icon with a currency dropdown menu.
Select $ English (United States).
Now each value is displayed with the dollar symbol. Better than doing each one individually!
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Other types of formatting include changing text to bold, changing the font colour and size and many
more.
For example, you can change the heading to bold.
Change the font colour to green.
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Change the font size to 10.
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Using Format Painter

And here is another clever trick. If you like the formatting changes that have been made to one cell,
and want to apply the same format to other cells, you can use the format painter.
1. Click on the cell with the desired format.
2. On the Home menu, click Format Painter, which is the paint brush icon.
Tip: You can double-click Format Painter to format multiple cell.
3. Now click on the cell or multiple cells you want to format in the same way. The cells will then take
the properties of the formatted cell.
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Using AutoFill
Excel has a feature that helps you automatically enter data that is in a predictable sequence, for
example, days of a week or months.
Autofill can also be applied if you want values to follow a particular pattern or to use the same
formula in different cells. To apply Autofill you have to start by providing Excel with one or two
examples. In cases of sequences like months, weekdays and hours, one example can be provided.
To demonstrate the power of Autofill:
1.
2.
3.
Type Monday in cell A1.

Put the mouse pointer at the bottom right corner of the cell till a cross appears.
Now drag down.
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See how Excel has predicted the sequence and added other days of the week!
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Working with Formulas in Excel

Formulas in Excel are useful to perform various mathematical operations. Excel also has pre-set
formulas called functions. Let us use another worksheet to show how simple formulas work in Excel.
In this very basic example, we have a list of sales people each with a score per quarter. We would
like to calculate the total score for each of the sales people.
To do this:
1. Click on cell F3, where you want your total to be.
2. On the Home menu click on the AutoSum icon. See how Excel creates a formula
automatically.
3. Press Enter.
It does assume that you want to add the list that is most obvious, but you have the option to
change this range if its not correct. You can leave this as in this case it covers the correct
range of cells.
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4. Now, you can copy the formula down to the other rows by using the Autofill function to
calculate total score for each sales person. Remember in our first row we were adding cells
B3 to E3. But now notice how the cell reference changes as we copy the formula down, B4
to E4 etc.
By default in Excel, cell references are relative references, meaning when copied across multiple
cells they change based on the relative position of rows and columns. This works where you want to
repeat the same calculation across multiple rows or columns. Like the example we have just looked
at. But might not be the same in all cases.
On the original worksheet insert a new row above headings row. To do this:
1. Select the entire row.
2. On the Home menu click on the Insert icon.
3. Name row A1, Commission and use the format painter to copy the format in cell A2.
4. Add a fixed value of 5% on cell B1.
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5. Create an additional column at the end and name this column SalesCommission.
We have our commission set to 5% in cell B1. We want to include this % in our calculations of our
Sales Commission, and importantly use the cell B1 in our formula.
We want our commission value to show in column i, and I am going to calculate it by working out
my total sales value multiplied by 5%. To do this:
6. Click into the first cell in the SalesCommission column, in this case cell I3.
7. Type in the formula. A quick way to create a small formula is to start with the = sign. This
tells Excel that you want to create a calculation in that cell.
8. Click on the TotalSales value, see how Excel automatically adds H3 to your cell.
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9. Insert your operator, in our case the asterisks for multiplication.

10. Then click on cell B1.
Now if you press enter you will see your calculation appear, but what you want to do is lock in the
cell B1, so to do this:
11. Press F4 on your keyboard and see the $ sign appear before the B and before the 1,
locking in both the column and the row value. Locked values are called absolute
references.
12. Press Enter and your commission value will be calculated for row 3.
13. You can then copy the formula to the rest of the cells using the AutoFill function that you
saw earlier.
Lets have a look at how Excel has copied the formula. See how cell I5 references H5 but has kept
our B1 cell locked in. And the same for the rows below.
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Working with Multiple Worksheets

Did you know that a workbook can have more than one worksheet? Have a look down at the tabs at
the bottom of the book and click on the tabs to view other sheets in your workbook.
Introduction to PivotTables
Lastly, have you heard of PivotTables? If you are using Sage Intelligence, you will notice that when
you run some of your out-of-the-box reports, you will see the data is presented in PivotTables. A
PivotTable allows you to summarize lists of information in a simple format. You can arrange data by
columns and rows and you have the flexibility to label and sort them any way that you want to.
Depending on the data that you want to see, for example if you want to see TotalSales for each
product category you can drag and drop this on the Values section.
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Do you want to group data by category? Interested in comparing results by person, by quarter or by
category? Need to answer questions that start with 'How many?' or 'How much?' PivotTables can do
all of that. The best way to take advantage of PivotTables benefits is to use them with Intelligence
Reporting, which allows you to truly capitalize on the available data. If you dont already know about
PivotTables, we highly recommend you attend our Excel on Steroids series. Workshop 3 is
dedicated to teaching you how easy it is to manipulate your data in a way which allows for easier
analysis.
Page 60 of 60

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Working with Multiple Worksheets ................................................................................... 59

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Lesson 1: Installing Sage 100

This lesson demonstrates the steps to follow when

Lesson 2: Running Out-of-the-box

This lesson shows you how to run out-of-the-box

Lesson 3: Customizing The Standard

This lesson describes the process of making changes

Lesson 4: Excel For Beginners

This lesson gives an introduction to Microsoft Excel

Sample Company Information

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Lesson 1: Installing Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

6. Fill in your details on the form provided.

Note: The asterisks means that the field is required.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

7. Click Download Your Free Trial.

8. Click Download Now.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Installing Intelligence Reporting

4. Click Next to accept the default location.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Creating a Repository Folder

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Opening Intelligence Reporting

2. Click on All Programs.

3. Double-click on Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence folder.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

4. Select Report Manager.

5. Browse to your Repository Folder path.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

7. Browse to your database file name.

8. Enter your database credentials.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Lesson 2: Running Out-of-the-box Reports

2. Click on All Programs.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

3. Select the Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence folder.

4. Click on Report Manager.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

5. Enter your database credentials.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

7. To expand a folder, double-click it.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

8. To run the report, click on it.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

11. Click OK to run the report.

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Out-of-the-box Report Details

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Committed Budget Cost Variance Report

Sage 100 Contractor Intelligence Reporting Getting Started Training Manual

Job Cost Summary

Over/Under Billing Report