The Universal Report

The Universal Report

Overview

The Universal Report in CustomBooks™ is a highly versatile and powerful reporting tool that empowers users to extract, shape, and analyze data directly inside the application. It combines flexible reporting capabilities with advanced data insights, similar to SQL querying or Power BI–level analysis, without requiring the export of data to external tools. 

With the Universal Report, you can create meaningful outputs tailored to your business needs — from regional sales analysis to detailed inventory or financial data breakdowns.

Key Features & Examples

The Universal Report allows you to generate a wide range of outputs. Common examples include: 
  1. Sales by Location - Group revenue by state, city, zip code, or other geographic segments to uncover trends and identify top-performing regions.
  2. Bill of Materials (BOM) - For inventory and manufacturing users, print detailed BOMs that help organize components and streamline inventory control.
  3. Item Lot Detail - Track opening balances, increases, decreases, and ending balances for inventory lots with clarity.
  4. General Journal by Class - Drill into financial performance by class (e.g., division or cost center) for deeper insights.
  5. Bank Reconciliation Detail - Filter reconciliation data by cleared date or period to isolate specific months or transactions.
  6. Custom Field Reporting - Report on your own custom fields — if the data exists in CustomBooks™, the Universal Report can leverage it.

Benefits

The Universal Report provides significant advantages over standard reporting, including:
  1. Unlimited flexibility — Create tailored outputs not confined by preset report formats.
  2. Deeper insights — Access and analyze data combinations that help drive smarter business decisions.
  3. In-application analytics — Perform advanced reporting without exporting to spreadsheets or BI tools.

Getting Started

  1. Navigate to the Reports section within CustomBooks™.
  2. Select Universal Report from the list of available reporting tools.
  3. Define your data sources, period, grouping logic, filters, indicators, order, and appearance of your report.
  4. Run the report to view results, then export or save as needed.
Check out the video below about the Universal Report:


Advanced Tips

  1. Save common layouts so you can re-run the same structure quickly.
  2. Use filters to isolate periods, classes, or customer segments for precision analysis.
  3. Combine fields and grouping levels to uncover trends that traditional reports may miss.

Training & Support

To take full advantage of all the Universal Report features, CustomBooks™ offers paid training sessions that can help you master advanced reporting techniques. Contact CustomBooks™ support to schedule training via email or chat.

For additional services and consulting, please refer to Professional Services.

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