Crystal Reports is a powerful reporting tool, but is also very complex and is designed for someone who is very familiar with database structures.  Fortunately there are other, less complicated reporting tools available for the end user.  This article introduces two very good alternatives that integrate completely with Sage Accpac ERP and Sage CRM.

One alternative is rTools, from Kode101.  rTools is actually an Excel add on; it creates a heading in the menu bar called “Reporting.”  Reports created can be e-mailed and distributed to anyone who has access to Excel, complete with the drilldown functionality that is available even when offline.  rTools’s major strength is that it is simple to use.  In fact, report design is completely automated through the Report Wizard.  There are also many templates available for download from the Kode101 website.

rTools screenshot

Another convenient feature is that you don’t even need to have Sage Accpac installed on the machine using rTools.  All that is required is an ODBC (Open Data Base Connectivity) connection.  A LanPak is not required.

rTools has great flexibility when it comes to date ranges.  When creating a report, the report wizard will prompt you for a date range.  This date range has no restrictions; the user simply chooses a start date and an end date.  This functionality could be of great use to companies with non-calendar fiscal years.

One last item worth mentioning is the support provided by Kode101.  Included in the support section of the Kode101 website are links to webpages containing easy to follow, illustrated step-by-step instructions as well as brief demo videos on creating and editing reports.  Simon Shaw, president of Kode101, is very accessible and responds quickly to e-mail questions.

Another alternative is Stonefield Query from Stonefield Software.  Stonefield Query is a nice middle ground between the simplicity of rTools and the sophistication of Crystal Reports.  One of the major features of Stonefield Query is what Stonefield refers to as its “descriptive database interface layer.”  What this layer does is translate the computer jargon into descriptive text, making it much easier for the end user to understand.  For example, instead of seeing the field name “IDCUST”, the end user will see “Customer Number.”  Also, linking tables is unnecessary with Stonefield Query because it has already been done for you.  Anyone familiar with “joining” tables in SQL would agree that this saves a great deal of time.

Like rTools, Stonefield Query also has good support on the company’s website.  Included are a 16 minute product overview tutorial video and a comprehensive help file.  These are two items among many available.

If you would like to learn more about either one of these products, consider attending one of our upcoming webinars.  Upcoming webinars include:

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If none of these times are convenient for you, please contact us at lkasman@kastechco.com or (215) 702-8155 and we will arrange a date and time for you.