A 6-point Business Central reporting health check

You do not need a project to find out whether your Business Central reporting is healthy. Six questions will tell you where you stand, and you can answer them with your finance team in a short meeting. Score each one honestly, then use the results to decide what to fix first.

The six questions

• Can you get your core reports without exporting to Excel?
• Does month-end close quickly, without days of manual work?
• Do the same figures agree wherever you look?
• Can non-finance staff answer their own questions?
• Are dashboards current, not last month's?
• If you own a reporting tool, is it actually configured?

Mostly yes means healthy. A few no answers mean quick wins. Mostly no means reporting is costing you time and probably decisions.

1. Reports without exporting

Good: the pack refreshes from live data. Bad: someone exports and rebuilds it every month. Business Central's own Excel tools include Open in Excel and Edit in Excel, which has a Refresh button for the latest data, so start by checking what you already have. Our guide to stopping the monthly export covers the next step.

2. A quick month-end

Good: the close is mostly routine and the reports fall out of the system. Bad: most of the close is manual reporting work. A slow close is often a reporting problem in disguise.

3. Figures that agree

Good: the dashboard, the pack and Business Central agree. Bad: the answer depends on who ran the report. This is the most damaging failure, because it undermines trust in every number, including the right ones.

Key PointAgree one definition for each key measure, such as revenue or gross margin, and write it down. Most disagreements between reports start with two definitions.

4. Self-service for the wider business

Good: operations can answer their own questions. Bad: every request goes through one person in finance, who becomes a bottleneck and a risk. Our guide to who should own reporting sets out a better model.

5. Current dashboards

Good: dashboards refresh automatically. Bad: a slide someone updates by hand. If you use Power BI, Microsoft's data refresh guide explains how scheduled refresh works, and our Power BI for Business Central article covers when it fits.

Watch OutA dashboard that is updated by hand looks current until the day it is not. Check when each one last refreshed.

6. A configured reporting tool

Good: reports are built, data sources are sound, and more than one person can maintain them. Bad: the tool is licensed and installed but barely used, because the setup was never finished. If you own Jet Reports, which insightsoftware describes as real-time Dynamics reporting in Excel, our complete guide to Jet Reports explains what a finished setup looks like.

What to do with a bad score

Resist the urge to change tools first. Work in this order: agree definitions, fix the report you rebuild most often, automate its refresh, then extend self-service. Changing tools belongs at the end of that list, and the list often solves the problem before you get there.

Pro TipAsk finance and IT to answer the six questions separately, then compare. Where their answers differ is usually where the real problem is.

Frequently asked

We scored badly but just bought new software. What now? Finish the configuration before you judge the tool.

How often should we re-run the check? Once a year, or after any big change such as a new finance lead, a restructure, an acquisition or an upgrade.

For independent guidance on finance technology, see the ICAEW technology resources. To talk your results through, contact our team.