The search for the “perfect” reporting option is, for some businesses, a lot like the search for the Fountain of Youth. Hours of time and mountains of money are wasted in a seemingly never-ending cycle of searching for the perfect option, when the reality of the situation is much simpler- there is no “perfect” option, there is the option that works best for your business. Power BI and BC Financial Reporting are two of the most popular reporting tools, and for good reason. However, they are not ideal for every situation, and many companies find this out too late. Let’s examine some of the considerations that should be kept in mind when looking for the right Business Central reporting option for your business.
Does Most Prevalent Mean the Best?
BC Financial Reporting and Power BI are quality solutions that work well for many businesses, though they can struggle to meet the needs of others. Businesses with multiple corporate entities or multiple dimensions such as Department, Fund, Region, Line of Business, or those that work with several different currencies, may find BC Financial Reporting lacking.
Power BI is one of the leading tools, however businesses that need reports printed on paper will find this option troublesome and frustrating to deal with because of the poor rendering of printed versions and the fact that that financial reports often require multiple DAX formulas and/or measures.
For businesses that fall into these categories, other tools should be investigated. The question for businesses becomes - how to find the right one?
Know Your Needs
The single most important principle to keep in mind when searching for the right reporting option is that you have to know the needs and requirements of your business inside and out before beginning the process.
Don’t Decide Alone
Even if you are the final decision maker, it is vitally important to gather opinions from your end user-base about what their day-to-day needs are, and also how they would prioritize those needs.
Engage your end-users in every part of the process, including having them attend product demos to test the fit out for themselves. Having an engaged and happy user-base will lead to a smoother, more successful implementation, with users feeling increased ownership of the process, as they feel like it was a team decision.
Engage Leadership
When researching reporting options, leadership should be engaged and regularly updated on the search, even if they are not typically the “hands on” type. These updates do not need to be long, drawn-out presentations. Simple emails and quick touch-bases are more than enough to keep them engaged. Focusing on the return on investment is advised, as answering their questions in advance can drastically reduce the likelihood of late-stage meddling. Leadership is often encouraged by the prospect that an improved reporting tool that saves time on mundane clerical tasks - will allow more time for business analysis to increase revenue or lower expenses.
Managing Consensus
Managing the thoughts of your team of users will probably not be a simple task. Cultivating an attitude of “we’re in this together” is vital. Finding who in your group is an “influencer” and having them serve as a focal point and cheerleader for the efforts can help rally support amongst the team. Consider feeding this “point person” information that others do not currently have to help solidify their feelings of being an insider.
Get help with your reporting decision - talk to an Enavate expert today!
The Search Begins Within
As stated above, the search for the right reporting software must begin within your organization with an honest look at your needs and capabilities. Assessing where your end users are at skill-wise is a vital, if sometimes uncomfortable, step in the process. Determining if your end users are going to be capable of using a specific tool will spare you headaches and push-back down the road. Not all reporting tools are equally user-friendly.
Is the new product too different from the system they are used to operating on?
Are your users adaptable enough to overcome the learning curve?
Being realistic and honest with yourself will save you time, headaches, and money in the search to come. The focus should be on finding a tool that fits your budget and also your team’s strengths and weaknesses, not the tool with the most bells and whistles or highest reputation.
Who is consuming your reports?
This consideration should extend to the report consumers in addition to the report creation users- how picky are they? Are they flexible enough to adapt to new ways of doing things, or will they need their reports to look and act as close to the same as before?
If your report consumers fall into the “super picky” category, focusing on software that has Excel-based development tools may be advisable, as they are already intimately familiar with the formatting and output. The nature of the reports should be considered as well; do your users expect static reports, or will they require the ability to drill down into the data? Will these reports be self-service, or will a department be pushing them to relevant users? Reports that are available in a “self-service” model benefit both recipients (access to their data 24x7) and producers (who get far fewer urgent requests for routine information).
What Core functionality do you require?
In addition to the final presentation-level format of your reports (which may require hours of formatting even after the report is completed and rendered), several core components should be considered. Perhaps the biggest is whether your business needs a data warehouse built-in. Businesses that operate with modules or apps that were built in-house can often find warehouses useful, while other businesses may find them an expense that doesn’t return the cost.
How often do your users need data refreshed?
Some platforms offer real time, others hourly or daily updates to data. Another need that should not be overlooked is whether your business requires budgeting and forecasting to be built in, and if so, to what degree of detail. While BC offers budgeting and forecasting, other solutions may provide better options for your businesses’ specific needs. By centralizing your financial reporting, budgeting, data warehousing needs under one umbrella- the single platform greatly enhances the end-user experience.
All of these considerations should be discussed before beginning to look at products. Knowing your needs will save you time, frustration, and money in the open market.
Know the Costs
Licensing and implementation costs vary from solution to solution. Most major platforms have two or three separate license types:
1) designer, for those who actually create and edit the reports
2) budget entry users
3) viewer, for the end users consuming the reports – which includes access to detailed information via drilldown.
How many of each type of license you need will directly affect your bottom line Viewer licenses are very reasonably priced and as described above – promotes the “self-service” model for report consumption and distribution, which benefits all users.
Implementation costs and timeline are also vital to understand before committing to a solution. A typical implementation timeline runs from 4 to 8 weeks, so if a provider is offering a drastically quicker timeline, you should be prepared to do an increased portion of the leg work yourself. When looking for cost-savings opportunities, it’s advisable to ask providers if a “pre-payment” option is available, where your business can lock into a lower rate by committing long term to a solution.
A final cost consideration is that of training- whether it is included, how much it costs if it is not, and what form it takes. Some training offerings are customized to your businesses’ unique needs, while many others are “canned”, with basic functionality covered. Some businesses may be able to cut this corner to save a few extra dollars, however experts urge businesses to invest heavily in training to avoid costly future mistakes.
The Demo
An unwritten rule that experts encourage businesses to keep in mind is simple: never accept a generic demo. Meeting with the provider in advance to tailor the demo to your business’ needs and questions is vital, which is why it’s so important to have done your due diligence in advance. Communicating which aspects of the software you are most interested in engaging with (report distribution, formatting, system refresh) can ensure that you get to interact with the modules that your users will need most.
Bringing a select group of users to the demo is highly encouraged. Giving the people who will be operating with the software first-hand experience with it can be invaluable, not only for bolstering their confidence with a potential new tool, but also in assisting the selection process. They may more readily see potential problems and opportunities that executives directing the search would not know to be aware of. The users most affected by a change and “closer to the action” in business processes will almost always ask better questions than ones who aren’t.
The Final Decision
When it comes time to make the final decision, it is important to have C-Suite buy-in up front, or the entire process could be derailed. This is why having leadership engaged and updated throughout the process is so vital, as it prevents last-minute concerns from bubbling up and delaying or canceling the project.
Making sure that leadership is aware of, and completely understand, both the “what” of your priority list, and also the “why”, will ensure that the decision you have worked so hard to research will actually end up getting enacted.
That priority list should be your guiding light in the selection process. Comparing each solution against it will give you a clear picture of which one is the best fit for your business.
Options Abound, Make the Right Choice
The simple truth of the matter is there is no one-size-fits-all solution for reporting in Business Central. The “right” tool for a business is the one that fits their unique situation, dependent on the needs, capabilities, and resources of their business. While BC Financial Reporting and Power BI are two of the most popular options, they may not always be the correct choice. Creating a collaborative environment and engaging both end-users and report consumers to help identify and then prioritize what matters most to your business will help ensure that the right choice is made for your business.
Get help with your reporting decision - talk to an Enavate expert today!
