Many accounting software packages claim to provide extensive report writing
capabilities. In reality, most either bundle in a third-party software package
to extract data for reporting or offer this as a separately priced add-on.
This has many downsides.
Most report writers require constant attention to adjust for changes in your chart of accounts and, as a result, often may NOT be depended upon to produce accurate reports. Extreme diligence in monitoring report definitions can assure accuracy but takes much time.
ICommander Free-Form Data Extraction is a direct part of ICommander itself. No third-party tools are required.
The Free-Form Data Extraction capability is in ADDITION TO hundreds of existing reporting options designed to meet most reporting needs. Output can be as plain text files, enhanced printing files which enable multiple font choices and "dress-up" the reports for laser printing. Any report may be converted to a PDF File automatically using any of several methods provided. Any report may also be converted into a Web Page for viewing via your favorite browser.
The ICommander General Ledger provides the equivalent of what many would call a report writer. HOWEVER, the ICommander G/L Reporting is unique in its ability to AUTOMATICALLY adjust report content for ANY changes in your chart of accounts since a report was originally laid out. A fairly AMAZING tool!
The Free-Form Data Extraction is on top of the MANY other reporting abilities of ICommander. It simply involves picking the fields desired from a particular file using entry screens that function just like any other ICommander application. Field descriptions are familiar from entry screens. Selection criteria may be specified for any combination of selected fields and an option for what we call Complex Selections allows an If, And, Or approach that may have multiple steps. Up to three different major sorts may be specified and the first several columns function as the listing order within. Selected fields are presented as columns and may be output in whatever order is desired.
There are many options for the output from the FFDE programs. This includes
viewing as a text file with a powerful editor/search tool (Vim), creating a
Tab-Delimited File for import into spreadsheets or database applications,
creating a Web Page, and creating enhanced printing formatted output for laser
printers. Additionally, columns may be presented vertically when the number
of fields selected is unmanageable as horizontal columns. The vertical
presentation is available for any selection and may be preferred for some
situations.