Quick Introduction

Sunset Reports is based on award winning components and proven technology, and provides users an alternative to such software as Crystal Reports, SSRS, and others.  The report designer handles all types of content.   And you can even import report designs from other software as well.  The report queue allows for scheduling of reports, file and document distribution including recurring schedules and provides easy to use list and calendar views.  Besides using Sunset Reports as a reporting tool, it is perfect for information management, data analysis, business analytics, visualizations, web site design, making labels, data conversion, document management, document distribution, and lots more.

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BIG Advantages

So a company in the construction business is using accounting software like QuickBooks or Timberline which have built in reports.   The reports can be customized to a certain extent and most of them produce the output that is needed for the standard needs of a company.    Using a product like Sunset Reports can take it to a new level with custom reports from scratch where the user has complete control over the content.   Plus, the ability to schedule reports and distribute them in a variety of ways is something almost no accounting software can do.   Two big advantages.

But there is more….  The same company is also using a project scheduling package like Microsoft Project and another package to manage contracts, subcontractors, communications, change orders, etc., and then another software program to do take-offs and estimates.   Each one is perfect for the function it performs, and each one creates reports as necessary.    But you cannot combine the information from all these software packages to produce reports that tie it all together unless you use a program like Sunset Reports.   A really BIG advantage.

Sunset Reports not only can connect to almost any software package to use as a data source, but it can combine the data sources onto one report.   A single reporting solution that will provide consistency across all applications and is fully customizable with the ability to schedule the reports as well as send them or publish them to a variety of destinations and in a variety of formats.

This scenario is not only applicable to the construction industry, but also to materials, consumer goods, financial, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, publishing, technology, utility industries, etc..

Not Just Reports

Yes, Sunset Reports is a great report writer, designer, etc. based on the general understanding of what a report writer is.   But the definition of a report in the software goes far beyond the general understanding.   A report can be a…

• standard report usually based on some data source
• document (you can do what most word processors can do)
• presentation (create a slide presentation where each page is a slide)
• web page (save to an HTML file and post on a website)
• Windows form (using the new Windows View)
• interactive interface (using the new Windows View, you can have the user interact with the window with buttons, etc., make a menu)
• data converter (define an output format to export to based on an input data source)
• a software program (using scripts, you can write software in VB.NET C#, JScript .net)

We will explore a couple of these in more detail in future posts.

All In One Software

As we continue to see how people use Sunset Reports, we are amazed to find out that the product can do so much.   In surveying our current user base, we have found the functionality of the software going beyond what we originally intended.   Here is a small list of how the software has been used (The first few were obvious, but included here to make the list as complete as possible.)

• Reporting Tool
• Data Analysis
• Business Analytics
• Management Dashboards
• Charting
• Visualizations
• Business Graphics
• Web Site Design
• Web Page Designer
• Label Maker
• Word Processor
• Dunning Letters
• Data Conversion Tool
• Document Management
• Document Distribution
• FTP Client
• File Backup Manager
• Report Server
• Report Subscriptions
• Meeting Presentations
• Report Scheduler
• Model What-if Scenarios
• Email Blasts

If you are using the product for something not on this list, drop us a line, we would love to hear from you.

Feature List

Data Connectivity	Data Sources	MS Access (all versions), SQL Server, MS Excel, Oracle, OLEDB, ODBC, MS Outlook, MySQL, and more
	Visual Query Builder	Grouping, Sorting, Filtering, Sub-queries, derived tables, Union queriesAdvanced properties: Aliases, Virtual fields, Various SQL Dialects, Visual representation modes
Report Design	Contents	grouping, filters, sorting, bands, sub-reports, styles, summaries, calculated fields, watermarks, backgrounds, bookmarks, parameters
	Controls	text boxes, lines, shapes. barcodes, checkboxes, page info, panels, images, page breaks, tables, postal codes, rich text controls, cross-band controls, hyperlinks, multi-columns, cross-references, gauges, map control
	Pivot Tables	OLAP, Key Performance Indicators, (KPI) Graphics
	Charts & Graphs	56 Types with many options2D, 3D, Regression and Trends
	plus	Parameters, scripts, wizards, labels, mail merge, Drilldown, Drillthrough, Document Map, Multiple reports within a single reportImport from Crystal Reports, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Data Dynamics Active Reports, and DevExpress
Report Definitions	Parameters	Select from a data sourceText, Numeric, Static Dates, Dynamic Dates, Fixed and Prompted
	plus	Multiple definitions using the same design, Descriptions, Titles, External files (treat a file from other software as a report), Print/Preview, Export, Email
Distribution & Delivery	Report Processor	Runs as a service in the background Similar functionality to a Report Server Has the functionality of a server without an operating system server, database server, or web server Handles report subscriptions Report Bursting, Report Exploding, Report Splitting, Email Blasts, Email Broadcasting
	Report Queue	Schedule one time, Schedule recurring, List and Calendar views
	Email Requests	Monitor email requests, Reply to emails with attached reports/documents
	FTP	Transfer reports to FTP Site
	Website	Semi-Static Website, Automatic Index page creation for reports including nested folders
	File Formats	Document: pdf, html, mht, rtf, txt Data: txt, csv, xls, xlxs Graphic: bmp, emf, gif, jpeg, png, tiff, wmf PDF’s can be password protected

QuickBooks and CleverQ

Intuit has provided an ODBC source called QODBC which is a data source interface to Quickbooks.   With this ODBC interface you can extract data from Quickbooks allowing reports and other information gathering applications to use the data.   A version of Sunset Reports is included in a product called CleverQ which can extract Quickbooks data in a different way and can provide dashboards, gauges, scorecards, charts, reports, and more.   It can also import data from Microsoft Excel, Access, and other compliant ODBC databases.  Click HERE to find out more.

Report Server

Sunset Reports can work as a “Report Server” similar to SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and Crystal Reports.   The difference is Sunset Reports is much easier to implement and does not provide a web based interface.   No actual server software exists.   Instead a Windows Service is run on any Windows based computer including XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003, and Server 2008.   The service or “Report Processor Service” as we refer to it, runs in the background whether a user is logged on or not.   It runs off a report queue which has a list of reports to run, their scheduled time, format, destination, etc.    Reports can be added via the Windows based user interface, or from an email request.   The Report Processor Service also monitors an incoming email inbox for requests.   Reports can be saved in a variety of formats and even FTP’d to a website.