Reporter
Overview
QwikQuote Reporter allows you to generate standard reports like these
within a few minutes of installation:
-
Commission Report by Month, Day, or Year
-
Quotes Generated by Salesperson
-
Quotes generated for a specific customer
-
All quotes that include a specific item
-
Quote approval sheet with margins
- Price Sheet
QwikQuote Reporter allows
you to generate standard reports like these within a few minutes of
installation:
- Commission Report by Month, Day, or
Year
- Quotes Generated by Salesperson
- Quotes generated for a specific
customer
- All quotes that include a specific
item
- Quote approval sheet with margins
- Price Sheet
The QwikQuote Reporter is not designed to
be a complicated tool with every conceivable reporting option. Excellent
tools to create complex reports already exist and are compatible with
QwikQuote such as Crystal Reports and Microsoft Access. However, these
products are considerably more difficult to use and may consume too much
of the time of the average sales professional. See below for more
information on running customized Crystal Reports with the QwikQuote
Reporter.
Two Types of QwikQuote Reports
QwikQuote Reporter generates reports about (1) historical quotes and (2)
Price List data that pull information from their respective databases.
The only exception to thisis the "Product in Quote" report in the Quote
section, which uses descriptions from the price list to find quotes that
contain certain products.
Most reports are associated with the kind
of data from which they derive. For instance, Commission reports are
created from data in the quoting database while Price Sheet and Catalog
are found in Price List Reports.
Your first decision is to choose a Quote Report or Price List Report.
These options are presented in the Introduction to QwikQuote Reporter
window by two buttons marked "Generate Quote Report" and "Generate Price
List."
Names for
QwikQuote Quoting History and Price List Databases
The name of the Quote Report History database is always RPTDATA.MDB. The
name of the Price List database is *.MDB where "*" is whatever name you
have assigned. For instance, the sample data Price List file supplied
with QwikQuote is called MAKEACAR.MDB; you may have called your data, "MYSERVIC.MDB"
or "BUSES.MDB" or many other names
First time you run QwikQuote Reporter
The first time you run QwikQuote Reporter, make sure to specify the
correct location of your quote reporting history file and your price
list. Choose "File Locations" under the "Options" pull-down menu at the
top of the screen
Generating a Report, and Displaying or Printing it
The procedure below steps you through generating a pre-formatted report.
This list also includes procedures for printing and e-mailing various
file formats
Selecting and Generating a Report
To select a pre-formatted report:
1. Click on the button {Generate Quote Report] or [Generate Price List].
These can be found at the top of the screen on or the Introductory
screen
2. Click on an available report style button. (User-defined
reports are discussed later.) Each report is described to the right of
the button.
3. Choose a report file and click
on the [Open] button. Report files contain column titles and searching
and sorting options. For instance, the reports depicted in the window
below are identical except that for one search option: the first
contains quotes and orders, the second only quotes, and the third only
orders.
4. Click on the
[Generate Report] button.
Long Descriptions / Short Descriptions
QwikQuote 5 prints long descriptions of up to 32,000 characters, and
displays 255 characters descriptions on the screen. QwikQuote Reporter
2000 uses the 255 character descriptions throughout to keep reports from
becoming unmanageable. Theexception to this rule is the Catalog report,
which produces a catalog that lists the complete long description.
User-defined reports also have the option of including long descriptions
by selecting that field name.
Setting Up Your Printer
QwikQuote Reporter uses your Windows default printer setting. For
instance, if your Windows default printer is an HP LaserJet 5, QwikQuote
will attempt to print to the HP LaserJet 5. To change your printer,
click on the "Report" menu at the top left of the screen, and choose
"Printer Setup."
"Printing" to the Screen or Printer
The [Generate Report] button at the top center of your screen generates
your report on the screen. Depending on the size of your quote database
or price list, and the speed of your computer, this may take a few
moments.
Once you have reviewed the report on the screen, you can print it by
clicking on the"Print" button at the top left of the report.
Exporting" to your Word Processor (RTF)
Most word processors can accept a "vanilla" file format known as Rich
Text Format. Unlike simple text files, RTF files retain formatting
attributes as well as the information itself, so you can incorporate
reports or even a few pages of your report into most popular word
processors including Microsoft Word and Corel Word Perfect.
To create an RTF file: 1. Click on the Generate Report button.
2. Choose the Report drop-down menu
3. Choose Export to…, then Your Word Processor (RTF) option.
4. Name your report. QwikQuote Reporter applies the *.RTF extension.
To incorporate the RTF file into
your word processor:
1. Open your word processor, and the document into which you want to
insert the report – or open the RTF file itself as a new document (if a
new document, you are finished.)
2. Place the cursor where you want the QwikQuote Report to appear.
3. In Microsoft Word, use the Insert | File command on the top menu.
Most word processors allow you to insert a file.
4. Look for the file with the RTF extension. It will not appear as a
standard document since it has an RTF extension.
Once the file has been inserted into your
document, you can format it as you would any other text.
"Exporting" to Electronic Mail or Disk
QwikQuote Reporter also allows you to create electronic documents that
can be sent over the Internet or stored on diskette. These Portable
Document Format files (PDFs)can be read by the popular (and free) Adobe
Acrobat available on the web from http://www.adobe.com. To create an
electronic report:
1. Click on the Generate Report button.
2. Choose the Report drop-down menu.
3. Choose Export to, then the E-Mail (Acrobat PDF file) option.
4. Name your report.
QwikQuote Reporter creates a compact PDF
file that can be read by anyone with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Saving as a Report Document Format
A Report Document Format (RDF file) can be read by anyone who uses
QwikQuote Reporter 2000. An RDF file stands alone: it does not require
the database or report file in order to be read by anyone who uses the
QwikQuote Reporter.
To create an RDF file, select Save As from the Report menu at the top of
the screen.
On Screen Viewing Commands
You can also generate a report to the screen.
