Summary

The QBE Builder reporting tool is used to create customized reports in the Payroll module. Reports are created in the QBE Builder by selecting columns, creating arguments to remove records (such as Transaction Date < 01/01/2021), selecting how the report will group and sort, and then defining the totals that will display on the report. After the report has been created, it can be printed out or exported into an MS Excel, MS Access or CSV format. Reports that have been created using the QBE Builder tool can be saved and generated at any point.

This document will cover how to create a specific example report that provides an explanation of primary tables, secondary tables, arguments and totals. When creating your own QBE reports, it is helpful to know the general structure of the database and how the information entered into the fields on a window will be stored in the database fields and tables. The Table/Field help feature (Help> Table/Field) is designed to be used in conjunction with database security (SS> Security> DB Security), but it can be helpful when building QBE Reports to help you determine where the information entered into a field on a window is stored. This tool will not always be helpful because it will display the exact name of the table and field where the information is stored, but QBE Builder uses simplified and more intuitive field and table names.

There is a different QBE example for every module with a QBE Reporting tool, so if the report you would like to create is different from the one created below see the other module sections for other examples. In this example, we will create a report that displays an employee and wages for a specific batch and pay code sorted by department and employee number and totaled by hours and amounts.

Step by Step

1     View the QBE Reports.

• Open the QBE Maintenance window (PR> Maintenance> Query by Example).
• The QBE Maintenance window will display all of the reports that have been created in the PR module. Select a report in the left section of the window and the customized report information will populate in the right section of the window just like many of the other maintenance windows in the application.
• Highlight a report and press DELETE to delete the highlighted report.
• Click the Create icon or press INSERT to create a new QBE report.
• Highlight a report and click the Print icon   to print an existing QBE report. The QBE report will be generated as soon as the resources are available on the server. You can view the progress of the print job using the Jobs Viewer window (Jobs Viewer icon   on the main application window).
• Highlight a report and click the Export icon drop-down and select Export Report to export the highlighted report data.
• Highlight a report and click the Export icon drop-down and select Export Definition to export the report definitions of the highlighted report. This exported report definition file can then be imported using the Import icon. This allows organizations to share QBE reports.

2     Select the tables that contain the information you would like to include on the report.

• The first step in creating a customized report is selecting the information you would like to display on the report. Information in a database is organized into tables and fields. Fields are used to store specific information, such as customer names. Fields are then grouped into tables. For example, a grouping could consist of a customer table that contains all of the general customer information, such as address and phone number. When information is entered into a window in the application, that information is stored in a specific field within a specific table. When creating a QBE report, select the tables that contain the information you would like to include on the report and then select the fields.
• Select a table from the Table Name drop-down menu in the Primary Table section. The Available Fields section will populate with the fields grouped into that table. If the table you select does not contain all of the fields you want to report on you will have to select a secondary table.
• Some tables in the database are linked together because they share a common field called a key. The key connects the data in the two tables together and defines how the data in one table is related to the data in another table. If the table you selected in the Table Name drop-down menu in the Primary Table section is linked to other tables, you can select a secondary table in the Secondary Table section. As you select a secondary table from the Table Name drop-down menu, new fields will be added at the bottom of the Available Fields section. If you need information from two different tables, but those tables are not linked together, you will not be able to create the report.
• From the Table Name drop-down menu in the Primary Table section, select Employee Master.
• For the Secondary Table section, select PR History.

3     Select the fields you would like to include in the report.

• After you have selected the tables you can pull the fields from those tables onto the report. Check the toggles of the fields you would like to include on the report in the Available Fields section. Only fields with a check will display on the report.
• In the Available Fields section, check Employee Number, Name, Department, Pay Code, Hours and Amount.

4     Create a filter argument for the report.

• The fields below the Table Name drop-down menu are used to create an argument that will filter the information that will display on the report. These arguments are limited to 2048 characters.
  • Select Pay Code from the first drop-down menu directly below the Table Name field. Selecting a value for this field activates the two fields to the right.
  • The next field contains the operators that will give the argument meaning. Select Equals from this drop-down menu.
  • Enter 100 (or your organization's regular pay code) in the third argument field. This argument sets the value we want to include in our report.
  • Click the Add button to save the argument to the Primary Table field.
  • Click the Test Query icon to confirm that the query is valid.
• Enter the arguments in the Secondary Table section.
  • When you enter an argument in the Primary Table and the Secondary Table section the arguments will be joined with an AND statement, meaning records must meet the conditions in both section before they will display on the report.
    • Select Pay Code from the first drop-down menu directly below the Table Name field. Selecting a value for this field activates the two fields to the right.
    • The next field contains the operators that will give the argument meaning. Select Equals from this drop-down menu.
    • Enter 100 (or your organization's regular pay code) in the third argument field.
    • Click the Add button to save the argument to the Secondary Table field.
  • The AND and OR buttons will be enabled after you add the argument to the report. The AND and OR buttons are used to link the conditions of an argument together so you can build more complicated filtering.
    • Click the AND button to add an additional argument to the filter.
    • Enter Batch Number, >=, and 00001 for the next argument and click AND.
    • Enter BatchMonth, <=, and 6 for the next argument and click AND.
    • Enter Batch Year, Equals, and 2021 for the final argument.

5     Set the number of records that will display on the report.

• The Limit field in the Primary Table section is used to define the maximum number of records that will display on the report. If you set this value to a very large number (99,999,999,999) you run the risk of creating a report that will take a long time for your server to process.
• Our report will be calculating totals, so we do not want to filter out transaction. Enter 500 in the Limit field.

6     Modify the report layout.

• After the fields have been selected and the arguments have been entered on the report you are ready to set up the report layout. The report layout allows you to define how the report will be grouped and totaled, and also allows you to select which fields will total.
• Click the Modify Report Layout icon to open the QBE Layout window.
• Move the columns that display in the QBE Report Layout section to change the order in which the information will display on the report.
  • Rearrange the columns so that they read Department, Employee Number, Name, Pay Code, Hours and Amount left to right.
• Move column headings to the section above the column headings to change how the information is grouped on the report.
  • Click and drag the Department column heading so that the report is grouped first by Department. Then click and drag the Employee Number column heading so that the report is grouped second by Employee Number.
• The Column Totals section is used to select which columns should be totaled on the report. Check the toggle of the totals you would like to include on the report.
  • Only columns that would provide a meaningful total will be available in the Column Totals section.
  • Check both the Amount and the Hours toggles.
• Click the Confirm icon to save the report layout.

7     Save the report.

• Enter a name for the report in the Report Name field.
• Click the Save icon when complete.

8     Print or export the report.

• Press ENTER or click the Print icon to generate the report.
  • You can view the progress of the report on the Job Viewer window (SS> Utilities> Show Scheduled Jobs).
• Click the drop-down arrow next to the Export icon to select the export format. A window will open allowing you to select the path where the exported file will be created.
• If your report appears to be missing information but your filters seem to be correct, make sure the Limit field in the Primary Table section contains a large enough number to contain all of the records you want to include in the report.