Reporting can be a costly and time consuming task for a customer relationship management (CRM) implementation. If you separately ask each user for all the reports they would like, you often end up with a list of dozens of reports.
If you look more closely, you may find that you need fewer reports than you might think. The built-in dashboards and graphs that come with Dynamics CRM obviate the need for some reports. Other requirements for reports are better met by views and Advanced Find. In some cases, users benefit more from an export to a static or linked Excel file than from a traditional report.
You can save time and money by asking these questions:
If you look more closely, you may find that you need fewer reports than you might think. The built-in dashboards and graphs that come with Dynamics CRM obviate the need for some reports. Other requirements for reports are better met by views and Advanced Find. In some cases, users benefit more from an export to a static or linked Excel file than from a traditional report.
You can save time and money by asking these questions:
- Which are the most important reports which will serve as the basis for management attention. Lavish attention on these reports and be sure to get them right.
- Can reports be combined? If two reports differ only by some fields being included on one and not the other, why not combine them?
- Can a report format be reused so you can save some development time?
- Can you wait for this report? After using the system for a few weeks you may find that you don't need it after all.
- Which reports are used most often? Track the reports to find out which are frequently used.