Automate report generation using Ultimate Forms Enterprise

Hello,

Today I will show you how easy it is to create an automatic weekly summary report and deliver it to the inboxes of the managers, without writing a single line of code. We can use WSS 3.0 or SharePoint Foundation 2010/2013, SharePoint Server is supported, but not required.

We will be using some of the products found in Ultimate Forms Enterprise bundle:

• Smart Action Pro - will allow us to created a timer-based action, which will generate and email a PDF-based report
• Smart Print Pro - will allow us to design and implement the report template
• Associated Tasks Field - will allow us to automatically calculate summaries of sales figures by region

In our demo we will have two lists:

1. Sales - this is where our sales figures get entered, either manually or through some automated import, the actual method of data entry is outside the scope of the demo
2. Regions - names of the regions, that not only serve as lookup values for the sales figures, but also contain our Associated Tasks summary fields, which will calculate the totals for us.

The following steps will ensure you have the lists you need:

1. Create a custom list named Regions, rename the Title column to Region
2. Create a custom list named Sales, add the following columns
1. Region - lookup to Regions, required field
2. Amount - currency, required field
3. In Regions list
1. Create an Associated Tasks column, pointing to Sales, call it Sales
2. 
3. Create an Associated Tasks Summary column, use it to Count the ID column in Sales. Call it # of Sales
4. Create an Associated Tasks Summary column, use it to Sum the Amount column in Sales. Call it Amount (calculated). This is the column that calculates the sales total. Because the Summary columns only show the values as number, we will need a calculated column to format that value as Currency.
5. 
6. Create a Calculated column, in its formula only select the Amount (calculated) column. Format the output as Currency. Call it Amount.

We are now ready to setup our report. First, we need to create our custom print template to define the way the report will look like.

1. Go to Regions list --> List Settings --> Print Settings
2. Create a new template by specifying the following:
1. Title - Report (can be anything)
2. Type - List, as we want to print all regions in one report
3. Select Region, # of Sales and Amount columns
4. Add any text to Header and Footer sections. It could be the name of the report and any disclaimers
5. Save the template

Now, let's create the action that will produce and send out the report:

1. Go to Regions list --> List Settings --> Action Settings
   
2. Click on OK to create a new action column
3. Create a new Print action
4. Enter Weekly Report as action name
5. Specify that the action runs on a weekly timer

1. Under Action Settings, specify which items to include in the report. Entering conditions that is always true (such as ID not equals 0) will include all items
2. Specify the print template and recipients (user or group)
3. Specify email subject and body
4. Save the action.

This is it, you've successfully configured a weekly sales report!