--- title: "Business Intelligence (BI) Reporting" canonical: "https://support.functionpoint.com/space/FPL/2365882756/Business%20Intelligence%20(BI)%20Reporting" format: markdown --- ## **Introduction** Understanding your important business data within Function Point is what gives you the power to grow. With BI Reporting, you can analyze data from across your entire FP system in one place. You also have the ability to customize reports, create report templates and choose how you want to visualize your data. BI Reporting is a built-in feature for every database, however, our Premium BI Reporting Add-on is available to enhance visualizations and efficiencies in your reporting workflows. Premium features will be marked both in your system and in the following article. Please contact [support@functionpoint.com](mailto:support@functionpoint.com) if you are interested in upgrading to Premium BI Reporting. ## **Getting There** ## **Choose a Report** If you're new, here are 5 common reports to start with. **1. Profit Analysis Report** This Job level report includes a variety of financial data columns and allows filtering by Activity Date to view jobs relative to actual and invoiced amounts during a specified timeframe. [Premium] A bar graph visualization of this report is an effective way to compare the estimated, predicted, and actual profits of open jobs. **2. Job Data Report at the Service Level** This is a service and expense level report with many additional financial reporting columns. This report presents similar data to the Job Financials tab, however, this report will allow you to view many jobs at once and see trends in sales and profitability. [Premium] This report is especially useful when the data is organized in a Pivot Grid **3. Invoice Data Report** This is an Invoice level report with a large number of additional columns for financial reporting. [Premium] The results of this report are similar to performing an “Invoice Find” however with Premium functions like Line Graph, you can easily see trends in client revenue. **4. Staff Resouce Allocation Report** This staff and job level report is a valuable tool for reviewing past and projected workloads. It displays the total time tracked and forecasted for each job and customer. With this report, you can identify which clients are utilizing your resources the most and which ones take longer than expected. By analyzing workload patterns, you can make informed decisions about your staffing needs. [Premium] Try this report in a pivot grid to compare allocation across customers and staff. **5. Staff Utilization Report** This staff-level report looks at capacity from [The Work Calendar](https://functionpoint.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FPL/pages/2365981813), and the Billing Status of Jobs and Timesheets to present your staff’s utilization. [Premium] This report works great as a Bar Graph, to see how close staff are to meeting their targets. ## **Define Your Data** ## **Pick Your Visualization** ## **Tables** ![image](media://48ddbd46-8ad1-4dcf-b04c-79c2dbf0897b) This view is ideal for presenting data in a 2-dimensional view in rows and columns. - Drag and drop columns to arrange how you want to view the data. - Sort data by clicking on the arrows on the left of the column. - Select the three dots on a column to rename it. - To remove a column, use the eye icon on the left margin and uncheck what you no longer want to see. - Looking for more data? Select the Add New Columns button on the left to choose from all possible columns associated with your chosen report. - Select the number of rows to view on one page in the number dropdown. Click the arrow beside the dropdown to scroll through the records. [Premium] Premium users can save their reports with the above column adjustments and additions. ## [Premium] **Pivot Grids** ![image](media://0eb754e1-68ee-4b41-b97b-5dc24905eca7) Pivot grids are a great way of seeing aggregated totals in FP without needing to export. Note, for some it is easier to first build a Table, viewing the raw data first to ensure that have what they need to build their desired pivot grid. - Only columns that have been added to your report will show up in the Setup Pivot Grid pop-up. Go to Add Columns if you do not yet see the data you need. - Scroll or use the search bar to find the data you want to visualize. - Categorical Data such as Company Name or Job Type can be added as a Row or Column. - Numerical Data can be added as Data. - Once you’ve completed your setup, you can click and drag the items in Rows, Columns and Data to change the order/hierarchy of the pivot grid. - Select the three dots on the data bat to change how the pivot grid aggregates it. It will be set to SUM by default. - Note, that percentages in pivot grids are not calculated on the aggregated level, and therefore not weighted accurately. We recommend using the table visualization for reporting on percentages. ### **Note on Percentages in Pivot Grids** By default, percentages in pivot grids are aggregated as an average – this means they are not weighted based on underlying values, which can lead to inaccurate totals at the aggregated level. For more accurate percentage reporting, switch to the new *F(SUM(X))* aggregation method. To apply *F(SUM(X))*, click the **···** icon on the percentage-based column, then **Aggregate > F(SUM(X))**. This approach recalculates the percentage at the aggregate level using the sum of the constituent data columns, ensuring weighted accuracy. ![image-20250728-145031.png](media://a0e4caa7-2c12-4d8c-8b19-007593a732dc) ## [Premium] **Bar Graphs** ![image](media://383e1ea9-27ae-4a9f-abda-457e93134e98) The Bar Graph is great for comparing numerical data either in a standard or stacked back graph. - Click the + buttons in the X, Y and Colour By sections of the bar graph panel to build your report. Only columns that have been added to your report will show up as options. Go to Add Columns if you do not yet see the data you need. - The X-Axis must present categorical data such as Company or Job Type. - It is recommended that the Y-Axis presents numerical data. You can add as many numerical data points as you would like to compare. - Color By is helpful for visually segmenting categorical data. - To remove data from your bar graph set up, select the three dots next to the data you would like to remove. - Select the three dots on the Data panel to change how the bar graph aggregates the data. It will be set to SUM by default. - Select the Graph Properties button on the left to choose additional settings such as giving the graph a title, changing it to a stacked graph, displaying numerical data data labels, or changing the colours assigned to the graph. ## [Premium] **Line Graphs** ![image](media://898d3f96-d2a2-4763-b59a-f8fd52c5b0e8) The Line Graph is great for viewing trends over time. - Click the + buttons in the X, Y and Colour By sections of the bar graph panel to build your report. Only columns that have been added to your report will show up as options. Go to Add Columns if you do not yet see the data you need. - The Y-axis must present numerical data. - It is recommended that the Y-Axis presents a Date, such as an Invoice Date or Work Date. - Color By is helpful for visually segmenting categorical data and will result in more lines on your graph. - To remove chosen data from your setup, select the three dots next to the data you would like to remove. - Select the three dots on the Data to change how the line graph aggregates the data. It will be set to SUM by default. - Select the Graph Properties button on the left to choose additional settings like giving the graph a title, displaying the numerical data labels, or changing the colours assigned to the graph. ## [Premium] **Calculated Columns** ## [Premium] **Saving & Sharing Reports** ## **Exporting Reports** To export your report you have a few options depending on the visualization. **All visualizations** can export the raw data in an XML file. **Bar Graphs** and **Line Graphs **can be exported as a JPEG, PDF and PNG. ## **Keep Learning** There are so many great options for building reports and answering your most important business questions. For more information on building reports using both our regular and premium reporting features, check out our recommended webinars below. **[Introduction to Business Intelligence Reporting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLsMVO2PeAw)** **[Building Custom Reports In Function Point](https://youtu.be/KZQzWqSWhy0)**