Get Started with Reporting Intelligence Essentials

This article walks you through basic workflows available in all Reporting Intelligence plans - from first-time login, through installing the Reporting Intelligence add-in for Excel Desktop, to building and exploring your first report.

If your organization uses the Professional plan, start here too. Professional features build on the workflows described in this article.

Before You Start

Before you start, make sure that:

  • You have log-in credentials for Reporting Intelligence.

    Note: If you migrated from Jet Reports or Spreadsheet Server, the credentials are the same as you've previously used to log in to insightsoftware Platform. If you don't have credentials, contact your organization's administrator.

  • You use a supported browser: Latest two versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge.
  • Your administrator has completed the required configuration steps in Configure Reporting Intelligence.
  • You have Microsoft Excel Desktop installed on your computer.

Step 1: Log In and Explore the Overview Page

In this step, you access Reporting Intelligence and get oriented with the main layout.

  1. Open your browser and navigate to the Reporting Intelligence site.
  2. Enter your credentials and click Sign In.
  3. The Overview page appears. Take a moment to identify the key areas.

Note: With the Professional plan, the Overview page also shows Recent Results — results of data analysis performed by Intelligent Agents. To learn more, see Get Started with Reporting Intelligence Professional.

Step 2: Download and Install the Excel Desktop Add-In

In this step, you install the add-in that you use to build and explore reports in Excel.

  1. On the Overview page, click Download Add-In.

    Figure 1:  The Download Add-In button

  2. Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
  3. Open Excel and log in to Lineos. The Reporting Intelligence tab appears on the ribbon.

Step 3: Build Your First Report

The Reporting Intelligence add-in offers several ways to build a report. If you're new to Reporting Intelligence, start with one of the wizards, which guide you through the process step by step.

  • Report Wizard — the quickest way to build a simple report when all the data you need is in a single table in your database. For more information, see The Report Wizard.
  • Reporting Intelligence Browser — lets you build reports using a drag-and-drop interface. The Browser uses Reporting Intelligence functions, so your reports stay flexible and don't rely on PivotTables. For more information, see Use the Reporting Intelligence Browser.
  • Table Builder — creates Excel tables from your ERP data. You can then use Excel PivotTables to slice and analyze the data in many different ways. For more information, see Table Builder and NL Table.
  • Function Wizard (Jfx) — for a hands-on approach. The Function Wizard helps you build Reporting Intelligence functions, or you can type the functions by hand. For more information, see The Reporting Intelligence Function Wizard (Jfx) and Group and Subtotal Data.

For your first report, insightsoftware recommends the Report Wizard. Once you're comfortable with the basics, try the Browser or Table Builder for more complex reports.

Step 4: Drill Down to Transaction Detail

Drilldown lets you trace any value in your report back to the records behind it. The records open in the Drilldown Grid, where you can group, filter, and sort them.

  1. In your report, select a cell with a value.

  2. Click Drilldown on the Reporting Intelligence tab, or click the Drilldown button that appears next to the cell. The Drilldown Grid opens.

    Note: Records load in the background. While they load, a progress indicator appears in the lower-left corner of the grid. When loading completes, the grid displays the total number of records retrieved. You can group, filter, and sort records while they are still loading.

  3. Group, filter, and sort the records to analyze the data.
  4. (Optional) Personalize the grid:
    • To choose which fields are displayed, right-click a column header and select the fields.
    • To reorder columns, drag a column header to the desired position.
  5. Close the Drilldown Grid. The visible fields and their order are saved as the drilldown view for the table. The next time you drill down on the same table, the grid displays the same fields in the same order.

Step 5: Use Lineos AI in Excel

Lineos AI is available directly in the add-in and includes two assistants:

  • Doc Assist — A chat-style assistant that answers product documentation questions without leaving Excel.
  • Data Assist — Answers questions about your financial data on demand.

To open Lineos AI, on the Lineos tab, navigate to the AI section and select Lineos.

Figure 2:  Opening Lineos AI

What's Next

Refer to Report Design for Reporting Intelligence for BC Cloud for Excel Desktop to discover all capabilities.

If your organization uses the Professional plan, you can also manage reports in the cloud with Reports Center, analyze your data with Intelligent Agents in Intelligence Layer, and use the Reporting Intelligence add-in for Excel Online. To continue, see Get Started with Reporting Intelligence Professional.

 

 

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