4 Ways to Reduce the Cost of Custom Reports in Microsoft Dynamics 365

When estimating the cost of Microsoft Dynamics 365 projects, reporting can sometimes represent a significant portion of the quote.  Many customers that want the Dynamics 365 system to fit within their budget ask if there are ways to reduce the project cost. If a large amount of effort is dedicated to building reports, it is an area worth revisiting. Often, the customer can take on the task of building some reports on their own, and reducing the overall project cost.

When you look at the cost of Dynamics 365 reporting you might ask:

• To what degree can a Dynamics 365 user develop, create, and run their own reports?
• Is SQL or SSRS (SQL Services Reporting Server) experience required?
• What is the difference between "reports" that users can create themselves and a report that has to be developed by and experienced Dynamics 365 Partner?
• What kind of data could be viewed in dashboards instead of custom reports?

The answer is that there are a number of options for creating reports in Microsoft Dynamics 365.

1. Simple on-demand reports, i.e. push a button, get a report, can be easily created using the Report Wizard. If you understand the data and where it lives you don't need SSRS skills to create insightful and actionable reports.
2. More complex Microsoft Dynamics 365 reports would require SSRS skills, however, we have many customers who have come up to speed on SSRS and turn out some fairly complex reports. Having internal resources that are well-versed in creating reports is gold. It’s an area data driven companies will want to invest in.
3. Another simple way to accomplish reporting is through dynamic filtered views. Views allow you to pull out groups of Contacts or Opportunities that have things in common, like location or sales stage. You can then tie views to charts and create some pretty compelling dashboards. Dashboards may also allow you to combine multiple reports into one view. You can also export views to Excel for great on-the-fly reporting.
4. If the reports are well-defined in terms of layout, criteria and parameters....and you need SSRS reports, you could look to outsource the report development. If you work with a reputable, reliable resource well versed in SSRS, you could get your report development done at a fraction of the cost.

When you work with a Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner that has your best interests in mind, they will help you evaluate the realistic options to lower the cost of custom reporting, and still get the end results you need.  The Crowe CRM team can help.

If you are interested in evaluating Microsoft Dynamics 365 contact us today.

By Ryan Plourde, Crowe, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Partner www.CroweCRM.com

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