08
Apr 2025
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reporting tools

Unlocking Data Insights: Master Epicor ERP Reporting Tools | Encompass Solutions

Unlocking Data Insights: Master Epicor ERP Reporting Tools In modern business, data insights are one of the most

Unlocking Data Insights: Master Epicor ERP Reporting Tools | Encompass Solutions

Blog, Epicor, ERP , , , , , , , , , , , , Ashley Limbers

Unlocking Data Insights: Master Epicor ERP Reporting Tools

In modern business, data insights are one of the most powerful tools you can command. The ability to derive patterns, trends, and performance indicators from data generated by your everyday operations can help to inform decisions, shape strategies, mitigate risks, and prepare for growth.

Unlocking data insights is essential for today’s manufacturers. One of the greatest advantages of using an all-encompassing ERP solution like Epicor Kinetic is the ability to compile data and prepare reports from every facet of your company. Epicor ERP users have a wealth of reporting tools at their fingertips, ready to help them make the most of their resources from problem-solving to growth planning.

Encompass Solutions is an expert in Epicor implementation and data management. Today, our goal with this article is to help you improve your Epicor Kinetic reporting processes, gain deeper insights from your data, and enhance your decision-making capabilities through the discovery of tools that simplify reporting and help you leverage your Epicor ERP more effectively.

Whether you are trying to optimize financial reporting, enhance operational visibility, or tailor reports to meet unique business needs, this content series will help you find the Epicor reporting tools you need.

Epicor Kinetic Reporting Tools

Epicor ERP transforms your operations into valuable data insights. Every order, invoice, and project is made up of data points. Epicor makes these accessible through a wide range of ERP reporting tools designed to streamline your reporting processes and enhance your decision-making capabilities.

Each reporting tool is tailored to specific business needs. A quick look can help you get a sense of the tools we are about to cover in depth.

GROW translates your data through real-time interactive dashboards. Financial Planning and Analysis provides financial reports and forecasts. SSRS enhances operational reporting with the help of an SQL server. BarTender simplifies label printing and documentation for compliance and operational efficiency.

GL Report generates general ledger reports, Enform manages paperwork inside the Epicor ERP system, and Custom Reporting helps you build tailored reports that address more unique business needs.

1. GROW

GROW is the Epicor Business Intelligence toolkit, which allows organizations to create innovative and interactive dashboards of custom data. You decide what data is most important and how you want it presented, and GROW will do the rest. GROW empowers real-time business intelligence, offering interactive dashboards and reports that simplify complex data analysis.

GROW implements an innovative back-end that utilizes ETL Processes (Extract, Translate, Load) to acquire the data you need from each source, then stores your real-time data in a data warehouse so it is ready to present through an interactive chart at any time.

Organizations can build a large number of custom dashboards, accessing data extracted from throughout the ERP system and integrations such as Kinetic. It can be used by top leadership or implemented for specific roles and departments. Once you decide the data you want to display, you can organize and refine it into the most useful charts for quick visual presentation and detailed analysis.

Dashboards designed with GROW can be used to monitor operations, create powerful presentations, and inform data-driven decision-making.

2. Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)

The Epicor FP&A or Financial Planning and Analysis toolkit helps you to streamline financial reporting for smarter forecasting and budgeting. It is designed to assist your organization in making data-driven financial decisions using in-depth analysis of your financial health, ongoing operations, and potential opportunities.

FP&A is a cloud-based solution that uses machine-learning technology to provide powerful financial insights based on your company’s real-time financial data. It is designed to empower your organization by improving the way you access financial reports, enhancing your operations, and helping your business adapt to an ever-changing financial environment.

With the Financial Planning and Analysis toolkit, you will be able to quickly generate reports that both ensure compliance and accurately predict future revenues, profits, and cash flows based on both recent and historical financial data. This allows you to craft goal-oriented and driver-based plans by presenting models of complete financial operations and even exploring what-if scenarios to stay agile in the ever-changing marketplace.

The tools provided by FP&A can also help you analyze and discover which products, customers, and segments of the business are generating the greatest profits so you can prioritize and adapt your strategy for a more successful future. Then, consolidate your reports with ease across entities so you can compare financial performance in a compact yet comprehensive way.

3. SSRS – SQL Server Reporting Services

The SQL Server Reporting Service (SSRS) is designed to enhance your access to operational reporting with the help of SQL Server operations. Epicor SSRS Reports are customizable data representations built using Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, tailored to Epicor ERP users. This allows you to build and deploy robust, interactive reports using truly complex and innovative methods.

SSRS provides an interface that makes it possible to visualize complex data that is empowered by the dynamic and in-depth data management toolkits built into the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services. It is an extremely effective and powerful method to extract, analyze, and present your business data.

Benefits of the SSRS reporting system include dynamic data representation, customization, integration, and accessibility. Take control of real-time data analysis and engage in accurate data-driven decision-making. You can also personalize reports to fit unique requirements and generate reports in multiple formats such as Excel, PDF, and Word.

For even more access to your data, SSRS integrates seamlessly with other Epicor ERP modules for fully connected data presentation.

4. BarTender

The Epicor BarTender toolkit was designed to simplify label printing and documentation processing. It will improve traceability, compliance, and operational efficiency by creating and automating the printing and control of labels, barcodes, RFID tags, plastic cards, and other essential forms of physical data output.

BarTender is a unique method of accessing data that is essential to manufacturing businesses because it allows you to print accurate labels and documents regarding your products. The toolkit primarily focuses on design for product labels, cards, RFID tags, and other related output types. You can enter print time easily and ensure your data is presented through customizable forms.

With Bar Tender, it’s easy to consolidate design with intelligent templates and ensure that each label represents the most current data. Then you can apply secure document control to ensure your business is always within regulatory compliance.

BarTender represents a set of tools that help you design labels and label templates with ease and efficiency. You can configure and connect to data sources through your Epicor-managed business systems and then launch print commands. It is also designed to empower automated printing, automate print status, manage printing supplies, and streamline print production while providing complete control over the process.

5. GL Report

General Ledger reports are an essential part of your company’s financial performance. This led to the Epicor GL Reports toolkit to help your business generate clear and comprehensive general ledger reports that provide visibility into your financial performance. A general ledger report is a financial tool that summarizes all of a business’s financial transactions, is organized by account type, and provides a comprehensive record of account balances.

The General Ledger module is linked to all aspects of business operations. By mastering it, you can achieve better financial reporting. Ig gives you the ability to record and report on finances from throughout your ERP system with no repeat data entry.

The Chart of Accounts (COA) feature shows up to 20 user-defined segments. This makes it possible to record, store, allocate, and report financial data with granular control.

The Fastclose Financial Intelligence feature helps you build reports on customer and project profitability. You can break down your data between multiple sites or branches to compare performance easily.

The multiple books function can help you build unlimited financial books, seamlessly combined into a single consolidated report for a unified financial truth. You can also build multiple financial schedules, which will be compiled gracefully into your GL reports. From tracking subsidiaries to forecasting to consolidations, GLreports is a great way to compile your financial insights and remove needless complexity from the process.

6. Enform

Business forms play a vital role in operations and data management. EnForm is the Encompass Solutions answer to the Epicor Standard Style business forms. Enform makes it possible to improve your forms with superior formatting, unified data types, and clear, detailed information to empower more efficient and integrated paperwork management. Enform Reports improves Epicor’s Standard Style business forms for any organization that uses the Epicor Kinetic ERP system.

EnForm Reports makes use of a more modern style of document that is both pleasing to see and easier to read for both your workforce and business partners. Users can also hide unused form fields to streamline formatting and improve the readability of each form in every use case across your business operations.

EnForm reports transform the Epicor Standard Style of forms to make better use of each page. We ensure word-wrapping occurs less often than standard reports while maintaining sufficient white space for clarity and optimal legibility. This means fewer pages that you need to print per report while ensuring the same level of usefulness and detail. Each report appears as a new option in the Report Style field to help you print reports with ease, using fewer pages for an eco-friendly update across the board.

7. Custom Reporting

Epicor also makes it possible to design custom reports based on needs that are not predicted by common Epicor Kinetic use cases. Custom reporting allows you to tailor your reports and dashboards any time out-of-the-box tools do not quite align with your needs.

Building custom reports requires more attention to detail and fine-tuning your report’s data curation and dashboard assembly. However, with the tools available and the comprehensive source-of-truth data within the Epicor EPR system, you will be able to create valuable data insights and presentations based on the unique needs of your business, operations, projects, collaborations, and goals.

Custom reporting makes it possible for a company to operate outside of standard procedures, whether you are innovating new internal operations or planning industry-disruptive strategies. Reports are valuable no matter your purpose, and custom reports with Epicor reporting tools will empower your progress.

Unlock Powerful Insights with Epicor Reporting Tools

Epicor ERP empowers comprehensive business management and collects a treasure-trove of both real-time and historical data in the process. Epicor’s powerful reporting tools put that data at your fingertips with intuitive charts, reports, dashboards, and ways to put the data to work through label creation, GL reports, and standard forms. Encompass Solutions is an expert Encor ERP consultant who can help you get more from your ERP infrastructure, tools, and more.

To receive more information about these reporting tools, see this guide, or to see a live demo, fill out a form here: https://content.oldencompass.sevenagesdesign.com/encompass-solutions-erp-edi-consulting-rfq-request-a-demo

Contact us for a personalized consultation on how we can improve your Epicor implementation.

19
Mar 2021
1
Epicor ERP White Paper Resource directory Banner

8 Benefits Of Quality Management Beyond Spreadsheets – White Paper – Epicor ERP

“This is how it’s always been done,” is a dangerous statement for business leaders. Markets are far too

8 Benefits Of Quality Management Beyond Spreadsheets – White Paper – Epicor ERP

White Papers , , , , , , , , , , , , , Sean Balogh

“This is how it’s always been done,” is a dangerous statement for business leaders. Markets are far too competitive and change far too quickly for business-as-usual to deliver quality results. Today, you have to focus on how quality management processes can be completed smarter, faster, easier, and with more agility.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.

05
Jan 2021
1
Epicor ERP Case Study Resource Directory banner

Epicor ERP Case Study – Maxweld and Braze

Founded in 1970, Maxweld and Braze is the wholesale division of the Weldamax Group. It began as a

Epicor ERP Case Study – Maxweld and Braze

Case Studies , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Sean Balogh

Founded in 1970, Maxweld and Braze is the wholesale division of the Weldamax Group. It began as a wholesale supplier of safety wear for the welding industry. But gradually expanded to include a full range of welding equipment and consumables backed by warranties, a local service center, and customer training.

High production costs in the USA and Europe meant new suppliers had to be found in the East. However, this brought further challenges in managing procurement, stock, and production, whilst ensuring optimum customer service.

Success Highlights

Challenges

  • Required standardized data management throughout the Weldamax group
  • Old systems were not integrated and lacked transparency
  • Needed more control over inventory
  • The inability to forecast sales and manage to purchase accurately resulted in incorrect inventory purchasing and holding
  • Fluctuating Rand v. US Dollar exchange rate

Solution

  • Epicor ERP

Benefits

  • Streamlines operations by integrating internal processes
  • Ensures all areas of the business are transparent
  • Helps to establish processes and systems within the group

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.

02
Nov 2015
1
an image of the epicor data migration tool topic

Data Migration Tools Pt. 3

Patrick Miskill’s technical series on ERP tools, particularly the Epicor DMT, wraps up today with a look at

Data Migration Tools Pt. 3

Epicor , , , , , , patrickm

Patrick Miskill’s technical series on ERP tools, particularly the Epicor DMT, wraps up today with a look at all the variables you’ll run into when building your ERP system and how learning about your errors is even more important than learning about your successes.

My actual experience with a manufacturer of fabric belts for large conveyor systems (Fenner Dunlop Americas) saw two uses of DMT: One for a major upgrade, a second for updating their Method of Manufacture/MOMs.  In the first case, we used DMT scripts to upload data from an older version of Epicor to a newer one.  Similar to a new installation, we pulled data out of the source system and formatted it in several dozen spreadsheets for uploading to the new target system. Knowing how the data was structured in the old Epicor system was a big help. For new Epicor customers, extracting and massaging the data from a non‐Epicor legacy system is quite a project; in such cases DMT is an invaluable tool.

Where The Epicor DMT Comes Into Play

In the standard product, an engineer would have to run a “where­‐used” report to determine which part revisions used the raw material; it could be just a few dozen or it could be over 100. Each part revision would require changing in the Engineering Workbench, one by one. It is a time consuming and manually intensive process.  So we developed a process starting with a Business Activity Query (BAQ) which went out and extracted only the MOMs affected by the change. The BAQ was developed specifically for subsequent use in DMT, i.e. column headings matched those required by DMT, we extracted all columns required by DMT (because we already knew the “rules” for MOMs) and only those optional columns we needed to update.  We then entered Excel column formulas specific to the change(s). E.g. if the old raw material was a polyester yarn and the new material was a nylon yarn, unit weights and other factors specific to the textile industry (ever hear of a “twist contraction” variable?) could be entered into a formula that resulted in the new variables for the MOM.

Once the extract and validation of the Excel data was completed, it was simple to format the final output for use by DMT.  Testing a few rows in a copy of the LIVE database, we could easily validate the final updated MOMs.  In fact, we could use the original BAQ extract programs to look at the updated data in the TEST system and quickly evaluate the results. Once we got the process down, we turned what would have been a 100+ hours of manual updates in Epicor to an electronic process that ran in just a few hours.  Once documented, the process could be reviewed, validated (the client was ISO compliant) and repeated as­ needed.

Of course like any software tool, DMT has its quirks. We learned the hard way that despite how illogical a data template may appear, it was critical to supply the required information in exactly the format requested. And interpreting the error logs is sometimes an exercise in the art of editing.  I highly recommend acquiring and using the free “Notepad++” data editing tool; it can help you read a jumbled up error log file and it is essential to always check the final DMT file you create from Excel, prior to uploading it to DMT.  A common mistake is to save an Excel spreadsheet as a comma­‐separated variable file and the resultant ASCII file has extraneous commas and/or columns or just plain garbage. And if your data (e.g. Descriptions) contain commas, you must enclose them in double­‐quotes (or just use a wacky character as the delimiter­‐even safer).

Words Of Caution For Epicor DMT

Just remember that “with great power comes great responsibility…”. So before you change data in a system, make darn sure you’ve chosen the correct target database, since DMT will not issue any warning whatsoever if you update LIVE instead of TEST (not that I’ve EVER made that mistake!) and will merrily chug along, processing the data with the full expectation that the operator knows what the target database should be.

This is why it is CRITICAL to always test your DMT script before you run it in a production environment. Note that if you don’t have a recent copy of LIVE for test purposes, you should seek out technical services that can assist you (usually by taking a copy of your most recent backup of LIVE and bringing it up on a similar environment) this is something that Encompass Solutions as an Epicor certified partner does on a regular  basis and offers as a managed service.

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of Industry.

29
Oct 2015
1
an image of the epicor data migration tool topic

Data Migration Tools Pt. 2

Patrick Miskill’s series on ERP management continues with a closer look at how the most powerful tool you

Data Migration Tools Pt. 2

Epicor , , , , , , patrickm

Patrick Miskill’s series on ERP management continues with a closer look at how the most powerful tool you can get for managing your system, the DMT, works alongside the most important feature, the Method of Manufacture, or MOM. That’s right, love your MOM is stll the best advice ever. 

The Epicor ERP system, like similar systems from SAP or Oracle, contains hundreds of tables in a single relational database.  The database is almost irrelevant; however, the logical “rules” regarding how the data exists in the database is critical.  Generally speaking, ERP systems consist of simple code (e.g. Unit of Measure) tables, then more complex entity tables (e.g. Suppliers) and finally transaction‐based tables.  All these data must follow rules for “referential integrity” and the underlying database engine must keep track of the data and enforce the rules whether we are talking a few dozen rows of data in a single table or millions of rows of data in hundreds of tables.

The Ease Of Epicor DMT

The beauty of these “back door” tools is that they are quick and easy to load and run. And they also provide instant feedback to the user as to the program’s progress. Either a row insert succeeds or fails.  You can test a single row in just a few seconds; it if fails, the Data Migration Tool provides an error log telling you why it failed.  Error messages can be somewhat cryptic, but usually, it is straight­‐forward.  E.g. you are missing a required column (e.g. the “Company” column). And when all else fails, you can always go enter a row via the standard product then look at the resulting data in the underlying table(s) to deduce what the business object requires. Each DMT template lists the required and optional columns with a basic description of the data. As long as you follow the “rules” the data loads from the spreadsheet, just as if you keyed it manually into the system.

Some data relations, however, are quite complex and even the data template from DMT will cause you “instructional anxiety” (that feeling you get when you read an IKEA instruction guide and say, “What the heck?”). Rule­‐of‐thumb:  Just follow the rules, get one data set to load OK, then attempt a larger data set until you get it right.  Big mistake: Run a spreadsheet with tons of rows without testing and end up with garbage in the system, or better yet, a crashed system!

Case‐in‐point:  Method of Manufacture 

Epicor stores the Method of Manufacture (MOM) for a part as a series of operations and materials linked to the finished goods Part and Revision. It is the “how­‐to” cookbook to make something as simple as a screwdriver or as complex as a 747. It may consist of a single Operation with one or two raw material parts or it can be multiple sub­‐assemblies, each with their own operations and materials. It provides not only the “how­‐to” instructions to build something but it also contains estimates for the labor and burden rates to perform the operations.  These estimates are critical to any manufacturer since they provide the baseline for each manufacturing job in determining how well the actual product conforms to the method and whether the actual costs are in line with the estimated costs.

In the Epicor Production Management module, before a single MOM is created, all dependent data must be loaded into the system.  Example, all raw material parts must be entered, each with a given unit cost. All machine resources used in the manufacturing process must be loaded and activated.  All labor resources (Employees) must be entered along with their labor and burden rates. All operations must be defined and assigned one or more resources. It is an enormous engineering task to get these data entered and all the relationships established properly so that the Epicor ERP system’s production jobs can begin tracking and documenting each step of the MOM, including capturing all related costs for management review.  When done correctly, a company can then take advantage of the “Holy Grail” feature of ERP: MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning, where the system can analyze demand and forecast part, labor and machine requirements for meeting that demand).

Of course just as in life, “things change” like the cost of raw materials, labor rates and then you always have “Acts of God.”  For example when the earthquake off the coast of Japan struck in 2011, the resulting tsunami wiped out many manufacturers along the western coast of the country, leaving companies like Toyota in a serious bind as their “just­‐in‐time” processes ran out of parts and sub­-assemblies needed to manufacture cars and trucks. Imagine the sleepless nights that production managers must have had, re­-engineering their MOMs and seeing their MRP rules flushed down the proverbial toilet!

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of Industry.