CHAPTER 6: ANALYZE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS NAV 5.0 DATA IN MICROSOFT EXCEL

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1 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel CHAPTER 6: ANALYZE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS NAV 5.0 DATA IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Objectives The objectives are: Explain the process of exporting analysis views to Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and describe the elements of the exported file. Describe how to work with analysis data that has been imported into Excel. Describe how to view Business Analytics cubes in Excel. Introduction As this course has established, Microsoft Office Excel 2007 is an ideal partner client for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. There are numerous ways to export data from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Excel, including the following: Copy from Microsoft Dynamics NAV list views and paste to Excel worksheets. Export to Excel directly from such Microsoft Dynamics NAV feature areas as Account Schedules and Analysis Views. Connect from Excel to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV SQL Server database. There are many benefits to working with Microsoft Dynamics NAV data in Excel. In particular, Excel is widely used, so it is easy to share data with those outside your company, or even internal employees who do not work within the Microsoft Dynamics NAV environment. In addition, Excel enables users to quickly add formatting and design enhancements to Microsoft Dynamics NAV data. This chapter describes how to export and work with Analysis Views in Excel. 6-1

2 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Export Analysis Views to Excel Like account schedules, an analysis view can be exported to Excel. Exporting the analysis view enables you to distribute the dimension information to external parties who do not have access to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0. Excel's chart functions can also be used to display the analysis view graphically. Demonstration: Export an Analysis View to Excel Scenario: The accounting manager at CRONUS International Ltd., has been asked to provide the Revenue analysis view for the fourth quarter of She exports the analysis view to Excel using the following criteria: Show as Lines: G/L Account Show as Columns: Period Date Filter: 10/01/07..12/31/07 Show: Actual Amounts Show Amount Field: Amount Time Interval: Month (31) Amount Type: Net Change The exported analysis view is used as an example to explain the worksheets. Steps To export the Revenue analysis view, follow these steps: 1. On the Navigation Pane, click Financial Management > Analysis & Reporting > Analysis by Dimensions. 2. In the Analysis View Code field, select Revenues. 3. Click OK to close the Analysis View Names window. 4. In the Show as Lines field, select G/L Account 5. In the Show as Columns field, select Period. 6. Click the Filters tab. 7. In the Date Filter field, enter "10/01/07..12/31/07". 8. Click the Options tab. 9. Ensure that the Show field is set to "Actual Amounts" and Show Amount field is set to "Amount". 10. Click the 31 (Month) time interval button and ensure that the Net Change button is selected. 6-2

3 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel 11. Click Functions > Export to Excel. When you have finished looking at the pivot table that Excel has generated, save the file as Revenue Analysis to your desktop. During this process, Microsoft Dynamics NAV: Exports the information to a text file. Opens the text file in Excel. Creates a pivot table based on the information in the text file. FIGURE 6-1: ANALYSIS VIEW IN EXCEL PIVOT TABLE 6-3

4 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Analysis by Dimension Settings The number of entries and the information included in the text file created when you export to Excel depends on the settings in the Analysis by Dimensions window. The effect of these settings are as follows: Field G/L Account Filter and Date Filter Description Filters the number of entries exported based on Account No. or Posting Date. Budget Filter Dimension Filters Show Show Amount Field Closing Entries Rounding Factor Filters the number of analysis view budget entries exported based on Budget No. Filters the number of entries exported based on the dimensions included in the analysis view. If Variance, Variance%, or Index% is selected, a warning is displayed since no entries will be exported. This is because these amount types are calculated in the window and not recorded on the analysis view entries. If Actual Amounts or Budgeted Amounts is selected, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 always exports both. Microsoft Dynamics NAV exports Amount, Debit Amount, and Credit Amount for actual amounts and Amount for budgeted amounts, regardless of what is selected in this field. If Debit Amount or Credit Amount is selected for Budgeted Amounts, a warning is displayed. If Include is selected, entries on closing dates are included in the analysis by dimensions and therefore exported to Excel. This field has no effect on the information exported to Excel. To round and format the numerical information, do so in Excel. 6-4

5 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel Field Show Amounts in Add. Reporting Currency Show Column Name Show Opposite Sign Amount Type Description If an additional reporting currency is set up, the amounts appearing as Amount, Debit Amount, Credit Amount, and Budgeted Amount in the Data Sheet are additional reporting currency amounts. If an additional reporting currency is not used, nothing is exported. If selected and a dimension code or G/L Account is selected in the Show as Lines field, the exported information includes the Name of the account or dimension value. If Period is selected in the Show as Lines field, only the date information is exported. If not selected, only the account No. or dimension value Code is exported. If selected, the amounts exported to the lines will have the opposite sign to the Amount field on the analysis view entries. The number of entries exported is also affected by whether Net Change or Balance to Date is selected as the amount type. If using Net Change, all entries within the date filter will be exported. If using Balance to Date, Microsoft Dynamics NAV ignores the starting date and exports all entries up to and including the ending date in the filter. NOTE: It may be a good idea to know how many lines your version of Excel can contain. Microsoft Excel 2007 can contain 1,000,000 lines, but previous versions can contain a maximum of lines. If you are worried that your analysis view will exceed the maximum number of lines, use a date filter to limit the number of periods to display in Excel. 6-5

6 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Excel Workbook Overview The workbook in Excel contains three sheets: Data sheet General information sheet Pivot table sheet Data Sheet The data sheet can be separated into two main sections: The first section contains information from the analysis view entries and analysis view budget entries. The second section contains all the accounts, dimensions, and periods for which there is no data. If the second section were not included, the pivot table would only include accounts and dimension values with data. In the first section, each line in the sheet represents an analysis view entry or analysis view budget entry. Note that the settings in the Analysis by Dimensions window only affect the number of entries exported. For each entry exported, all data will be exported regardless of what was chosen as lines or columns. As a result, each line usually contains the following information: Information G/L Account Level n Description The G/L account for the line. To display the account hierarchy of Begin-Total and End-Total accounts in the pivot table, Microsoft Dynamics NAV must use the grouping functions in Excel. Microsoft Dynamics NAV uses the Indentation field of a Posting account to fill in the Begin-Total account structure it belongs to. If there is no hierarchy within the chart of accounts, the entries are displayed with G/L Account Level 0 only. For example, Account 6120 is included in the range beginning with account Therefore, all data related to account 6120 is rolled up to account 6105, and all data related to 6105 is rolled up to account G/L Account Level 0: 6100 G/L Account Level 1: 6105 G/L Account Level 2:

7 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel Information Dimension Codes Dates Amounts Description Dimension values can also be hierarchical. The same principles for hierarchical G/L accounts apply to hierarchical dimension values. If there is no hierarchy within the dimension values, the entries are displayed with Dimension Code Level 0 only. Each Excel line has the period information calculated based on the Posting Date for the analysis view entry or analysis view budget entry. The periods include Day, Week, Month, Quarter, Year, and Accounting Period. If the analysis view entries have been compressed by a period greater than a day, the date calculated for the Day period is the starting date of the compressed period; it is not the Posting Date of the underlying G/L transaction. This is the same as when viewing analysis view entries in the Analysis by Dimensions window. The amounts displayed are based on the entry types: If the Excel line relates to an analysis view entry, the line contains the Amount, Debit Amount, and Credit Amount from the entry. If the Excel line relates to an analysis view budget entry, the line contains the Budgeted Amount (Amount field) from the entry. The second section of the data sheet contains all the G/L accounts, dimension values and periods with no entries. The exception is the Day period. Regardless of the compression of the analysis view, the data sheet will only include days with data. This is to limit the number of lines created in the Excel sheet. 6-7

8 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 General Information Sheet Microsoft Dynamics NAV records the settings from the Analysis View Card and the Analysis by Dimensions windows at the time the analysis view was exported. NOTE: This information is only at the time of export and is not updated for changes in the pivot table or changes to Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The sheet displays the contents of the following fields on the Analysis View Card window: Analysis View Code Analysis View Name G/L Account Filter Date Compression Starting Date Last Date Updated The sheet displays the contents of the following fields on the Analysis by Dimensions window: Amount Type (Net Change or Balance at Date) Date Filter G/L Account Filter Budget Filter Dimension Filters Closing Entries Show Opposite Sign If any of the filters are empty, they are not displayed on the general information sheet. 6-8

9 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel Pivot Table Sheet Microsoft Dynamics NAV creates pivot fields based on each column of data exported to the data sheet and forms the pivot table from the pivot fields. The fields in the Analysis by Dimensions window determine which pivot fields to use as rows and columns in the pivot table. Field Show as Lines Show as Columns Setting The content of this field determines which pivot field is used as rows in the pivot table. In this demonstration, the Show as Lines field contained G/L Account, so the lowest G/L Account Level pivot field has been used to make the rows in the pivot table. The content of this field determines which pivot field is used as columns in the pivot table. In this demonstration, the Show as Lines field contained Periods. The Month time interval button is also selected, so the Month pivot field has been used to make columns in the pivot table. To determine the data pivot fields to display in the pivot table, Microsoft Dynamics NAV uses the Show and Show Amount Field fields. The actual Amount, Debit Amount, Credit Amount, or budgeted Amount can be displayed. NOTE: Only Actual Amounts and Budgeted Amounts can be shown in the pivot table. This is because the other amount types are not stored on the analysis view entries and are not exported. However, calculated fields can be created in the pivot table to represent Variance, Variance%, and Index% amounts. Benefits of the Pivot Table A pivot table is created to manipulate data quickly within Excel. The rows, columns, and data displayed in the pivot table can be changed in the fields included in the layout. However, if data is formatted in Excel,the changes may not be kept. You may, therefore, want to change the layout in the Analysis by Dimensions window and export the information again. In addition to how easily and quickly data can be manipulated in Excel, the pivot table also includes the following benefits: More than one type of amount can be viewed. For example, both actual and budgeted amounts can be included in the pivot table. More than one pivot field can be shown per column or row. For example, all the G/L Account levels can be shown per row, or each AREA by Month in each column. Exported data is not limited to the pivot fields created by Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Calculated pivot fields can be created that can make a comparison of actual to budgeted amounts. 6-9

10 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 A chart linked to the pivot table can be created using a wizard in Excel, allowing the graphical display of dimension analysis. Changes made to the chart layout are automatically updated in the pivot table. Note: For more information on how to use data exported from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 to Excel refer to the technical white paper Analyzing Dimension Data Using Pivot Tables. Limitations to Data Displayed in Pivot Tables When exporting and displaying information in a pivot table in Excel, there are a few limitations in: Totaling accounts and dimensions Begin-Total and End-Total accounts and dimensions Sorting account numbers and numerical dimension values Exporting Balance at Date amounts These limitations are described in the following topics. Totaling Accounts and Dimensions Totaling accounts do not have any posted entries and will never be included in the exported accounts. If implementing a hierarchical chart of accounts using Totaling accounts instead of Begin-Total and End-Total accounts, only posting accounts can be exported. The same limitation applies with the Totaling dimension values. Begin-Total and End-Total Accounts and Dimensions If a hierarchical chart of accounts that uses Begin-Total and End-Total accounts is exported, show all the G/L Account Level pivot fields to view the entire chart of accounts in the pivot table. Only the Begin-Total accounts are exported. The End-Total account information is included in the pivot table as a subtotal of the Posting accounts assigned to the Begin-Total Account. The pivot table line for the End-Total information has a description including the Begin-Total Account No. and Total. The same rules apply with Begin-Total and End-Total dimension values. Sorting Account Numbers and Numerical Dimension Values Account numbers that are numeric are always sorted as numbers in Excel. When a chart of accounts with account numbers of different lengths is exported, the sorting may be incorrect if using Microsoft SQL Server or changing the account numbers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server to have text sorting. 6-10

11 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel To achieve the correct text sorting in these situations, export both the account number and name by selecting the Show Column Name field in the Analysis by Dimensions window. Exporting Balance at Date Amounts If exporting an analysis with the Balance to Date amount type, a starting date in the Date Filter field will be ignored. All analysis view entries prior to the ending date in the filter will be exported to Excel so the correct running balance can be displayed in the pivot table. Hide any balance to date periods in the pivot table as needed. In addition, if the ending date in the filter is after the date of the last analysis view entry, the pivot table will not include the periods with no data. This is to reduce the amount of entries exported to Excel. 6-11

12 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Lab 6.1: Export an Analysis View to Excel Scenario The accounting manager has asked you to create some financial analyses that can be used for a presentation. The analyses must be easily made into graphs and include the company's dimension information. All dimension information must include the name of the dimension so that the board members can understand the analyses. You are responsible for the following expense analyses: Monthly actual expenses for all departments for the 2007 financial year. Monthly budgeted expenses for all departments for the 2007 financial year. Save the exported files as Microsoft Office Excel Workbooks to your desktop with the following names: 2007 Actual Expenses by Department 2007 Budgeted Expenses by Department Challenge Yourself! 1. Create two analyses for the presentation based on the criteria in the scenario. 2. Export each analysis to Excel and save as specified in the scenario. Need a Little Help? 1. Open the Analysis by Dimensions window. 2. Set up the header as specified in the scenario for the first analysis. 3. Export the file to Excel. 4. Save the file as specified in the scenario and close Excel. 5. In the Analysis by Dimensions window, set up the header as specified in the scenario for the second analysis. 6. Export the file to Excel. 7. Save the file as specified in the scenario and close Excel. 6-12

13 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel Step by Step To create the monthly actual expenses for all departments for the 2007 financial year, follow these steps: 1. On the Navigation Pane, click Financial Management > Analysis & Reporting > Analysis by Dimensions. 2. In the Analysis View Code field, select Departmental Expenses, and click OK. 3. In the Show as Lines field, select G/L Account, and click OK. 4. In the Show as Columns field, select Department. 5. Click the Filters tab. 6. In the Date Filter field, enter "01/01/07..12/31/07". 7. In the G/L Account Filter field, enter " ". 8. Click the Options tab. 9. Ensure that the Show field is set to Actual Amounts and the Show Amount Field field is set to Amount. 10. Select the Show Column Name check box. 11. Click the 31 (Month) time interval button and ensure that Net Change is selected. 12. Click Functions > Export to Excel. 13. Review the exported file. 14. On the File menu, click Save As. 15. In the Save in field, select Desktop. 16. In the Save as type field, select Microsoft Office Excel Workbook. 17. In the File Name field, enter 2007 Actual Expenses by Department. 18. Click Save. 19. Close Excel. To create the monthly budgeted expenses for all departments for the 2007 financial year, follow these steps: 1. In the Analysis by Dimensions window, click the Filters tab. 2. Ensure that the Date Filter field is set to "01/01/07..12/31/07". 3. In the Budget Filter field, select 2007 budget. 4. Click the Options tab. 5. In the Show field, select Budgeted Amounts. 6. Ensure that Show Amount Field is set to "Amount" and that the Show Column Name check box is selected. 7. Ensure that the 31 (Month) time interval button and Net Change are selected. 8. Click Functions > Export to Excel. 9. Review the exported file. 6-13

14 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV On the File menu, click Save As. 11. In the Save in field, select Desktop. 12. In the Save as type field, select Microsoft Office Excel Workbook. 13. In the File Name field, enter 2007 Budgeted Expenses by Department. 14. Click Save. 15. Close Excel. 6-14

15 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel Work with Data in Excel Once you have your data in Excel, you can work with Excel formatting features to create robust views. Among other things, you can: Add and remove fields from the pivot table. Rename columns. Add columns from other spreadsheets. Format columns and row headings or values to make important information, such as totals, stand out and to enhance the appearance of your data. Add charts or graphics to your worksheets. The following demonstration shows how to change some of your pivot table fields, and how to create a chart. Demonstration: Rename a Column and Add Bold Effects To change a column label in your pivot table, perform these steps: 1. Open the Revenue Analysis spreadsheet in Excel. The first column in the pivot table is called G/L Account Level Click the Data_REVENUE tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet. All of the data you exported is contained here. 3. Click the G/L Account Level 2 column heading, and replace it with Revenue. 4. Click the Pivot Table_REVENUE tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet. The pivot table is unchanged. 5. Click the Data tab at the top of the spreadsheet, and then in the Connections group, click Refresh All. All of the account data disappears from the pivot table. 6. In the Pivot Table Fields List, locate Revenue. 7. Select the Revenue check box. The accounts are once again listed in the pivot table. To make column headings and totals bold, perform these steps: 1. With the pivot table selected, click the Design tab. 2. In the PivotTable Styles group, click Pivot Style Light 3. Column headings and the Grand Total line are bolded. 6-15

16 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Demonstration: Add a Chart A number of different chart types can be automatically generated for your pivot table data. For this data, column, line, and bar charts are cluttered and confusing, because much of the revenue information included is in negative amounts. Therefore, a pie chart is the best option. To add a pie chart, follow these steps: 1. Make sure the pivot table is selected. 2. Click the Insert tab, and then in the Charts group, click Pie. A pie chart is displayed on top of the pivot table, but it only reflects the data for October. 3. Drag the pie chart to a blank area on your spreadsheet. 4. In the Pivot Table Field List, clear the Month check box. Now, only the Revenue and Total fields are displayed in the pivot table. You can change formatting in your table and chart as you wish. 6-16

17 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel Lab 6.2: Review Exported Analysis Views Side-by-Side Scenario In Lab 6.1, you exported two Analysis Views to Excel: Actual operating expenses for 2007 by Department Budgeted operating expenses for 2007 by Department This information is significant, but what you really need is to evaluate the actual costs for each department against the budgeted costs in order to evaluate how well you planned and to make budget decisions for the next year. Therefore you combine data from the two spreadsheets. You add a chart to display the sums of budgeted amounts next to sums of actual amounts for each operating expense. Challenge Yourself! 1. Add an Actual Amounts column for each department from the 2007 Actual Expenses by Department spreadsheet to the 2007 Budgeted Expenses by Department pivot table, making sure you can differentiate between the two Amounts. 2. Add a chart to display the budgeted amounts side-by-side with the actual amounts. Need a Little Help? 1. Copy the Amounts column from the 2007 Actual Expenses by Department spreadsheet to the 2007 Budgeted Expenses by Department spreadsheet. 2. Rename the Amounts column to "Actual Amount". 3. Refresh the data, and then add the Actual Amount column to the pivot table. 4. Remove the Department columns from the pivot table. 5. Add a Column chart to the spreadsheet. Step by Step To add data from one spreadsheet to another, and then update the pivot table: 1. In the 2007 Actual Expenses by Department spreadsheet, click the Data_DEPTEXP tab. 2. Select the Amount column, and then copy it. 3. Open the 2007 Budgeted Expenses by Department spreadsheet, and click the Data_DEPTEXP tab. 4. In the column next to Debit Amount column, paste the Amount column from the Actual Expenses spreadsheet. 5. Rename the Amount column to Actual Amount. 6-17

18 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV Click the Pivot Table_DEPTEXP tab to open the Budgeted Amounts pivot table. 7. Click the Data tab at the top of the worksheet, and in the Connections group, click Refresh All. 8. In the Choose fields to add to report list, select the Actual Amount check box. 9. In the Pivot Table Field List, make sure Sum of Actual Amount is displayed in the Values box, and that Values are listed below Department Level 0 in the Column Labels box. To add a chart to display the differences between budgeted and actual for each operating expense: 1. In the Pivot Table Field List, clear the Department Level 0 check box. 2. Click the Insert tab at the top of the spreadsheet. 3. In the Charts group, click Column, and then in the 2-D Column list, click the left-most button. 4. Drag the chart to a spot below the pivot table. 6-18

19 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel Connect Business Analytics Cubes to Excel It has become relatively easy to create a connection between Excel and external databases. This means you can view and work with data cubes you create in other applications, including SQL Server Analysis Services, and Business Analytics. The following demonstration shows how to create a connection between Excel and the CRONUS International database that contains the cubes you created using Business Analytics. Demonstration: Create a Data Connection between Excel and the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Database The steps to establish a data connection between Excel and the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database are as follows: 1. Open Microsoft Excel Click the Data tab. 3. In the Get External Data group, click From Other Sources>From SQL Server. 4. Type the server name in the Server Name box, and then select the type of credentials to use in the Log on credentials list. 5. Click Next. 6. In the Select the database that contains the data you want box, select Navision Demo Database (5-0). 7. Clear the Connect to a specific table check box. 8. Click Finish. If you chose specific log on credentials, the SQL Server Login dialog appears. 9. Type in your password, and then click OK. The Select Table dialog appears. 10. Review the list of items in the databse, and select the item you want to view in your spreadsheet. 11. Select how you want the data to display in the spreadsheet -- as a table, pivot table, or pivot table with chart. The data is automatically imported into the Excel spreadsheet. 6-19

20 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Summary Because Excel is widely used, and easy to connect to, the ability to export data to and work with data in Excel can help you quickly generate attractive charts, pivot tables, and reports that can be shared outside the Microsoft Dynamics NAV environment. In addition, you may find it easier to examine data in Excel, where you can use formatting not available in Microsoft Dynamics NAV to highlight and organize important aspects of your data. If you are interested in developing your data mining skills further, consider taking the course, "Business Intelligence for IT Pros," which will concentrate on more complex report and analysis generation in such tools as SQL Server Analysis Services, and Business Analytics Advanced. 6-20

21 Chapter 6: Analyze Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Data in Microsoft Excel Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned Take a moment and write down three Key Points you have learned from this chapter:

22 Business Intelligence for Information Workers in Microsoft Dynamics NAV