SAP’s library of pre-defined experiences for Finance and Controlling (FICO) is nice for addressing a few of the core duties related to finance and accounting. These experiences align effectively with accounting requirements below GAAP and IFRS. Sadly, they hardly ever do an excellent job of addressing the type of reporting wanted to make knowledgeable managerial choices.
Inventory experiences typically lack flexibility. In practical areas equivalent to Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable, for instance, customary experiences are pre-configured to show fastened growing older buckets that don’t all the time include the element wanted to carry out efficient evaluation. Pre-defined SAP experiences are rigid when working with hierarchies, and so they require assist from IT for any adjustments. That consumes helpful IT time, and it typically means ready days or perhaps weeks to get the report you want.
Knowledge required for administration experiences are typically pulled from many alternative SAP modules to create a consolidated evaluation. SAP supplies a lot of out-of-the-box experiences for numerous practical areas equivalent to Value Middle Reporting. Nevertheless, discovering a single report with the right content material and structure in your wants might be troublesome or not possible. This creates challenges for anybody who desires to create a holistic view of a specific administration inquiry or enterprise course of.
Managers are usually searching for the pliability to carry out advanced ad hoc evaluation, and that’s simply not one thing that the inventory experiences from SAP can present. It’s frequent observe, subsequently, to extract info from SAP, transfer it into Excel, then reformat the information and carry out some evaluation there. That solves the primary downside, however it additionally creates a brand new one. By shifting knowledge from SAP to Excel with out a reside connection between the 2 purposes, you create a copy that may’t be refreshed, which poses some important dangers to your knowledge integrity. This observe not solely introduces pointless danger as a consequence of handbook manipulation of the information, however it additionally successfully negates the primary motive many organizations implement their ERP methods—a single supply of reality.
Lastly, there’s the query of drill-down functionality. SAP customers typically have to discover the element behind a specific quantity in a report. Sadly, this can imply exporting a number of experiences to Excel, manipulating the information with superior formulation utilizing VLOOKUP and related Excel features, or constructing pivot tables that may current info in a significant approach.
Among the commonest instruments equivalent to SAP Evaluation for Microsoft Workplace are rigid. They supply pivot desk performance, for instance, however little else, and utilizing them requires important IT help.
The present unsure enterprise setting provides additional to the problem, as managers are asking for extra frequent updates to remain present with altering circumstances. Sadly, the tedious handbook technique of copying and pasting knowledge into Excel consumes a big period of time, so it isn’t all the time sensible to replace these experiences on a day by day or weekly foundation.
Excel to the Rescue?
There is no such thing as a query that Excel is an outstanding software for ad hoc evaluation. Nearly everybody within the enterprise world is conversant in it, and a sophisticated consumer can carry out subtle knowledge manipulation and evaluation with it. It requires no programming abilities or configuration, it’s versatile and dynamic, and it adapts to nearly any necessities. Excel information are simply shareable, making it straightforward to collaborate with others all through the group.
Excel comes with a big caveat, nonetheless, particularly when handbook copy and paste processes are concerned. Spreadsheet errors may result from a minor change to the format of supply knowledge, the unintentional omission of up to date info, or pasting knowledge into the incorrect location.
Sadly, Excel doesn’t inform you when there’s a bug or error; it simply offers you an incorrect quantity.
Excel Reporting the Protected Approach
How can firms scale back the dangers of Excel-based reporting? The reply lies in eliminating handbook copy/paste or export/import processes. With the best instruments, it’s simpler than it sounds.
The hot button is to construct reside hyperlinks from Excel on to your SAP knowledge. When the knowledge in your Excel spreadsheet comes from a direct, real-time question of the SAP database, it means by no means having to repeat/paste or export/import knowledge. It means no extra unintended adjustments to codecs, unintentional transposition of cells, or inconsistent or incomplete updates from SAP to Excel.
The tedious and error-prone technique of shifting knowledge from SAP to Excel is changed by an automatic course of that’s correct and constant each time. As a substitute of spending numerous time shifting knowledge round, you’ll be able to merely refresh the information with real-time info from SAP.
This additionally permits organizations to determine a rigorous overview course of for Excel-based experiences and fashions earlier than utilizing them to make choices. It permits for high quality management and the applying of a transparent set of requirements round reporting.
Refreshing knowledge straight from SAP can be a way more safe course of as a result of it leverages the safety mechanisms you’ve gotten already outlined inside SAP. In Excel, you’ll be able to allow approved customers to make adjustments the place acceptable, whereas utilizing managed templates and safety to stop adjustments to formulation. Lastly, experiences might be distributed securely based mostly on a need-to-know record of recipients.
High quality and Flexibility: Wands for SAP
Wands for SAP is a product that allows direct, reside hyperlinks to your SAP knowledge from Excel. With Wands, you’ll be able to get rid of the dangerous and time-consuming duties related to shifting knowledge from SAP or different methods into Microsoft Excel. In doing so, you’ll be able to set up a quality-assurance course of that ends in correct and constant experiences, offering your group with a single model of the reality.
By empowering end-users to work straight in Excel, with reside hyperlinks to SAP knowledge, it can save you time and scale back your employees’s dependence on the IT division (or costly exterior consultants). The top outcome is that your finance group can spend time analyzing knowledge relatively than capturing and manipulating them.
If you want to be taught extra about streamlining, automating, and bettering your SAP reporting, we might love to speak with you. Contact us immediately to debate your mission, or to request a free demo.
