SuiteAnalytics

Question 1

T/F: It is generally considered a best practice to create new reports from a blank slate using the report builder?

Answer 1

False - The three most important words in the creation of new reports using Report Builder are plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize! Best practice is to identify the closest possible matching existing report and use it as the basis for the new report.

Question 2

How do you secure a WebQuery to share live NetSuite data with non NetSuite users?

Answer 2

While WebQueries can provide a non NetSuite user with the ability to access NetSuite data via Excel there is no security beyond a prompt for the email address of the individual who published the query. Further it is not possible to audit access. The only thing one can do is disable the WebQuery to prevent further access.

Question 3

What is SuiteAnalytics Connect?

Answer 3

SuiteAnalytics Connect is an add-on service that provides read-only access to third party applications using standards compliant methods including ODBC, JDBC and ADO.NET in conjunction with SQL.

Question 4

How can you create a report that provides period-over-period comparison functionality?

Answer 4

SuiteAnalytics Report Builder allows the designer to add a column to a report multiple times specifying alternate dates for each column. These alternate dates can be configured relative to the selected report dates.

Question 5

What SuiteAnalytics Report Builder feature increases report flexibility and reusability?

Answer 5

Filters can be added to a report to allow users to tailor at run time thus promoting reuse and reducing the number of custom reports needed.

Question 6

When would you choose to use a Report over a Saved Search?

Answer 6

Reports are the better choice when you need to:

• present data in hierarchical groupings
• include sub-totals and totals in the result
• access calculated fields or dimensions not available in saved searches
• provide a more polished presentation
• access data as-of a specific point-in-time

Question 7

What steps would you take to add an additional field to an existing report?

Answer 7

1. ) Execute the existing report.
2. ) Select the Customize option.
3. ) Navigate to the Edit columns tab.
   4a. ) Navigate the report field folders to access fields (standard and custom) for the record a report is based on or related records.
   4b. ) Use the “Add Formula Field” button to add a basic formula using a predefined structure.
4. ) Move the column to the appropriate location in the report.
5. ) Revise field options such as label, grouping, aggregation and formatting.

Question 8

What steps would you take to make an existing report more flexible?

Answer 8

1. ) Execute the existing report.
2. ) Select the Customize option.
3. ) Navigate to the Filters tab.
4. ) Add appropriate fields from the folders to the report.
5. ) Select a default value for the added filter - mandatory.
6. ) Enable the Show in Filter Region option so users can make selections at runtime.

Question 9

What is a limitation of adding additional filters to a report in order to increase flexibility?

Answer 9

Because default values have to be specified for each filter a report that often needs to be run for “all” values on a dimension could require extra effort to run and maintain.

Question 10

What steps would you take to order the results returned in a report?

Answer 10

1. ) Execute the existing report.
2. ) Select the Customize option.
3. ) Navigate to the Sorting tab.
4. ) Add appropriate fields from the folders to the sort.
5. ) Optionally select the option to order descending.
6. ) Make sure sort fields are positioned in the order of desired sort.

Question 11

Where do you specify the detail drill down option for a summary report?

Answer 11

1. ) Execute the existing report.
2. ) Select the Customize option.
3. ) Navigate to the More options tab.
4. ) Drill down report.

Note: User must have access to the detail report.

Question 12

What is the difference in functionality provided by the report builders Audience and Access sub-tabs found on the more options tab?

Answer 12

The audience sub-tab enables sharing a report by publishing it to the saved reports list of other users, roles, departments and groups. However this does not mean a user can run a report. In order to run the shared report users must have appropriate permissions to the underlying data. By using the access tab an administrator is able to override the default permissions and extend the ability to execute the report to additional roles, departments, groups, partners and users.

Question 13

How do you make a report available as a WebQuery?

Answer 13

1. ) Execute the existing report.
2. ) Select the Customize option.
3. ) Navigate to the More options tab.
4. ) Enable the Allow WebQuery Option.

Note: Some reports such as financial cannot be shared as WebQueries. Further this capability should be used with caution as once a WebQuery is in the wild little control over distribution is available.

Question 14

How can the Administrator manage custom reports?

Answer 14

Navigate to Reports -> Saved Reports -> All Saved Reports to access the list of all saved reports from all users. Here it is possible to manage the reports as required. Note that inline editing is available and could be used to apply a naming convention that is adopted after the fact.

Question 15

Where can you find the history of revisions to a report?

Answer 15

The history of a reports revisions is visible on the Audit Trail sub-tab of the more options tab in report builder.

Question 16

How many columns can be added to a report in Report Builder?

Answer 16

A report is only allowed to have 30 columns defined. However the resulting report may display more than 30 columns when matrix statements are applied that display the columns repeatedly across different dimensions such as subsidiary.

Question 17

What restrictions does NetSuite enforce on reporting to ensure performance?

Answer 17

1. ) Report definitions are limited to 30 columns
2. ) A user can only run two reports at a time.
3. ) A user can only run a single instance of the same report at a time.
4. ) Only 100K rows are retrieved for a report executed on demand.
5. ) Only 500K rows are retrieved for scheduled reports.

Question 18

How can one work around the row retrieval restriction of 100K for reports executed on demand?

Answer 18

1. ) Schedule the report to get 500K records retrieved.
2. ) Set additional filters to return a needed subset.
3. ) Create a saved search.
4. ) Use SuiteAnalytics Connect

Question 19

Why would you use the Report Builders limited formula capability rather than adding a custom non-stored formula based field to the record which could provide a consistent result across multiple use cases?

Answer 19

The formula capability can provide some unique functionality with regards to alternate dates. If columns have been added to show values in a period-over-period style for example report formulas can be used to show differences and ratios between the periods - this could not be accomplished using a record level custom field.

Question 20

You have just created a new report for a user but the users indicates they are unable to find the report. Why?

Answer 20

You likely forgot to add an appropriate role, group, department or user to the “Audience” defined on the More Options tab of the report builder. This effectively means that the report has not been shared with the user.

Question 21

You have created a report summarizing information by a classification but when you execute it you notice several classifications are missing from the report. After some research you realize that the missing classification have a zero result. How would you add the missing classifications to the report?

Answer 21

In report builder navigate to the more options tab and select “Show Zeros”

Question 22

How would you configure a report to display on a cash basis rather than on an accrual basis?

Answer 22

In the report builder navigate to the more options tab and select “Cash Basis”

Question 23

The Report Builder -> More Options tab allows the administrator to configure a report to display on the report overview and menu by selecting “Show on Reports Page”. If this option is not selected and therefor the report is not available on the menu or report dashboard how can you access the report?

Answer 23

Reports -> Saved Reports -> All Saved Reports

Question 24

Can a Report Builder report be reassigned to a new owner?

Answer 24

Yes - via the Report Builder More Options tab Owner field or via inline editing on the All Saved Reports page.

Question 25

How can you format amounts without including the currency symbol in the Report Builder.

Answer 25

On the More Options Tab deselect “Show Currency Symbol”

Question 26

What options are available for specifying the default hierarchy expansion of groups in Report Builder?

Answer 26

On the More Options tab the “Expand Level” option can be set to “Collapse All”, “1,” “2”, “3” or “Expand All”

Question 27

What is the camera icon on the report footer options toolbar do?

Answer 27

The camera icon allows users to create report snapshots that can be published as portlets on dashboards. After clicking the icon you can specify the name of the report snapshot, columns to include in narrow portlets, columns to include in wide portlets and the order of the columns within a portlet.

Question 28

How can you make it easier to access the relative periods you use most frequently in a standard or custom reports period filter?

Answer 28

Mark frequently used periods as favorites to move them to the top of the list.

Question 29

Why does NetSuite recommend avoiding the “preview” buttons when building reports in Report Builder.

Answer 29

If you click preview rather than save and your internet connection goes down you could lose all your work.

Question 30

What is unique about the Financial Report Builder in comparison to the Report Builder.

Answer 30

The Financial Report Builder adds an additional “Edit Layout” tab used for defining the rows on a financial statement. Layouts can include financial sections which summarize accounts and a variety of rows including header and summary, formula, text and reference.

Question 31

What are the standard financial statements provided by the NetSuite solution?

Answer 31

Income Statement (a.k.a. Profit and Loss in some NetSuite editions) in summary, detail and comparison formats. Budget Income Statements in summary, detail and budget vs actual formats. Balance Sheet in summary, detail and comparison formats. Cash Flow Statements for reviewing the change in cash position over a period of time.

Question 32

How are Financial Statements and Reports different?

Answer 32

Reports do not us a layout and are customized using the Report Builder. Statements use layouts to arrange data and are customized using the Financial Report Builder.

Question 33

Budget Income Statements are not displaying correctly for a user, what might be the problem?

Answer 33

Under Home -> Set Preferences -> Anaytics Subtab having Report by Period set to never will cause problems for Budget Income Statements because they are displayed by reporting period.

Question 34

What are NetSuite Report and Financial Statement Footer Options used for?

Answer 34

Foorter options are the parameters displayed at the bottom of a NetSuite report or Financial Statement and allow the user to select options for a particular report execution.

Question 35

How can you create a new financial statement from scratch?

Answer 35

Goto Reports -> New Financial Report

Question 36

How can you create a new report from scratch?

Answer 36

Goto Reports -> New Report

Question 37

How can you create a new Saved Search from scratch?

Answer 37

Goto Reports -> New Saved Search

Question 38

Where can you find a list of recently accessed reports?

Answer 38

On the Report Overview (Reports or Reports -> Reports Overview) or at Reports -> Recent Reports.

Question 39

How can you access the Financial Report Builder?

Answer 39

Go to any standard or custom statement and click customize or goto Report -> New Financial Report.

Question 40

What are Header and Summary rows used for?

Answer 40

In a financial statement Header and Summary rows are used to group a set of related sections and rows and provide an aggregation of the group.

Question 41

What are Financial Sections?

Answer 41

In a financial statement Financial Sections are used to expose and summarize a set of accounts in a hierarchical fashion that may be collapsed and expanded. Financial Sections consist of a Section Name, Account Rows and a Total Row. The set of accounts to be summarized is specified with filters. If desired the section can be locked in a collapsed mode to prevent users from accessing the detailed accounts.

Question 42

What are Formula Rows?

Answer 42

In a financial statement Formula Rows are used to expose calculations based on other report rows. Gross Margin is a good example fo a formula row.

Question 43

What are Text Rows?

Answer 43

In a financial statement Text Rows are used to introduce formatted text into a statement without any amount. They can also be left blank to insert a blank row into the financial statement.

Question 44

What are Reference Rows?

Answer 44

In a financial statement a Reference Row is used to return the result of a row from another financial statement. Reference Rows can only be used on Balance Sheets and Cash Flow Statements so they can’t be used on Income Statements.

Question 45

What feature of NetSuite can be shared by different financial statements and what limitations apply?

Answer 45

Layouts can be shared by financial statements of the same type (i.e. income statements) but can not be shared across different kinds of statements.

Question 46

Why is the sorting tab optional in the Financial Report Builder?

Answer 46

The sorting tab is optional in the Financial Report Builder because sorting applied in the layout overrides any specification on the sorting tab. Layouts are the preferred mechanism fo managing sorts on layouts.

Question 47

What does a NetSuite financial statement consist of?

Answer 47

A financial statement consists of a layout and selected columns or filters from the report definition. Using layouts across financial statements provides for appropriate naming and also allows for consistency of appearance on reports that are using different columns.

Question 48

Why is it important to select the desired subsidiary before customizing financial statement layouts?

Answer 48

Financial statement layouts are edition specific as different countries have varying standards for their construction. If you don’t select the subsidiary before editing the financial statement layout you may be editing the incorrect layout.

Question 49

What happens when a row or section type is selected from the layout pane dropdown?

Answer 49

The selected row or section type is added to the layout in the position above the currently active section or row.

Question 50

How can you move rows and sections within a financial statement layout?

Answer 50

1. ) Select the element and then click the up / down buttons to rearrange within the current parent.
2. ) Drag and drop the element to a new position within the current parent.
3. ) Select the element and then use the “Child Of” parameter to move the element to a new parent.

Question 51

Are layouts the only financial statement feature that can be reused in NetSuite?

Answer 51

No - when adding a section to a layout you have the option to select an existing shared section or to create a new section.

Question 52

How does NetSuite validate financial statements to ensure you don’t construct an incorrect or illogical statement?

Answer 52

It doesn’t - you have to be conscientious and understand what you are doing because NetSuite will let you include accounts multiple times or put an income account in an expense section or elsewhere.

Question 53

How do you select the accounts to be summarized by a layout section?

Answer 53

Layout sections include a criteria sub-list that is similar to saved search criteria for dynamically selecting the needed accounts.

Question 54

What options are available for labeling sections in a financial statement?

Answer 54

Section options include a field for specifying the sections header label and another field for specifying the total label. If the field for total label is left blank it is defaulted to “Total {header label value}”. In addition to fields for specifying the totals section options also include checkboxes to determine whether the header and total labels are displayed on the report.

Question 55

How do you manage the presentation of a financial statements outline when executed?

Answer 55

The Display section option allows the report author to disable expansion of the outline with the “Can not expand” value. Further the “Expanded” and “Collapsed” values of the Display option allow the author to determine if the section is expanded or collapsed by default. Prohibiting expansion is good for sensitive information such as payroll data.

Question 56

How are classifications used in financial statements?

Answer 56

Classifications have significant and broad application within financial statements:

1. ) Classifications - including subsidiaries can be used to filter a financial statement.
2. ) Classifications - including subsidiaries can be used to group the accounts in a financial statement section hierarchically.
3. ) Classifications can be selected in the “Column View” footer option to organize the report into columns in a flat or hierarchical fashion.

Question 57

Beyond classifications what can be used for grouping financial statement layouts?

Answer 57

In addition to classifications, Accounts, Customers/Projects and Items can be used for grouping in financial statement layouts.

Question 58

How does a report author establish the outline for a layout section in the Financial Report Builder?

Answer 58

Layout section options include two drop downs, Group By and Then By which allow the report author to define two levels of outline using classifications (department, class, location, subsidiary) as well ass account, item and customer / project. In addition the report author can choose whether to render each grouping as a hierarchy.

Question 59

How are Financial Report Builder layout sections grouped by default?

Answer 59

By default Financial Report Builder layout sections are grouped by Account.

Question 60

How are financial statements sorted?

Answer 60

Section options include sublists for the selected Group By and Then By values. These lists allow specification that the group values be sorted using ascending, descending or custom sorts. Custom sorts are specified by manually dragging and dropping the values to the desired order.

Question 61

What formatting options are provided by the NetSuite Financial Report Builder?

Answer 61

Financial Statement formatting is applied at the layout element level not across the entire layout or statement. The areas that can be formatted vary dependent on the element type bu include things like header, total and account row formats. Each format can specify font settings such as size, weight, italics and color; line settings including position, weight, style and color; and background color for the entire area. Amount areas such as account rows and totals have additional formatting options that include specifying the inclusion of currency symbols, reversing the sign, adding a prefix and adding .a suffix.