Crystal Reports for Business Reporting
Crystal Reports for Business Reporting is an applied course taught through real business reports such as aged debtors, customer statements and invoices, covering stored procedures, subreports, cross-tabs, running totals, faster reports and delivering reports to users. It suits people who already build Crystal Reports, programmers and IT teams who look after their organisation's reports.
- Duration18 hours · 3 days
- FormatOnsite / live online
- Next roundOn request
- CertificateIncluded
Course overview
Once you can build reports in Crystal Reports, real work in an organisation gets harder: aged debtors reports split into day ranges, customer statements with an opening balance and a running balance, target versus actual reports drawn from different data sources, invoices that must print as a correct form on every page, and reports that slow down as the data grows. These tasks need a well-designed data layer and grouping, accumulation and subreport techniques used in the right place.
This applied course runs on the 64-bit SAP Crystal Reports 2025 and works through one type of business report at a time: turning user requirements into a report specification, connecting securely to SQL Server through ODBC, using stored procedures and SQL commands, speeding up slow reports, writing custom functions, advanced grouping, conditional running totals, subreports and analytical cross-tabs, designing business forms, exporting and delivering reports to users, and an overview of calling reports from applications and from SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform. (3 days, 6 hours per day, 18 hours in total, Intermediate level.)
What you’ll gain
- Turn user requirements into a report specification and choose a suitable way to retrieve the data
- Connect to SQL Server through ODBC and use stored procedures or SQL commands as data sources
- Make reports run faster against large volumes of data
- Build complex business reports with advanced grouping, running totals, subreports and cross-tabs
- Design business forms and export reports to suit each group of users
- Deliver reports to users and understand the options for connecting to applications and the BI Platform
Who this course is for
- People who can already build Crystal Reports and want to produce more complex business reports
- Programmers and systems analysts who maintain reports for ERP, accounting or sales systems
- IT teams who deliver and maintain sets of reports for several departments
- Data analysts and finance staff who produce regular reports for management
Prerequisites
- Experience of building reports in Crystal Reports, such as grouping, summaries, parameters and basic formulas
- Able to write SQL, such as SELECT, JOIN, WHERE and GROUP BY
- An understanding of relational database structure
- If you have not used Crystal Reports before, we recommend Basic SAP Crystal Reports 2025 first
Curriculum
Course Details
This course is the 2026 edition of Crystal Report, reworked as an applied course on the 64-bit SAP Crystal Reports 2025. Unlike Basic SAP Crystal Reports 2025, which lays the foundations from the first report to parameters and charts, this course is taught through real business reports such as aged debtors, customer statements, target versus actual reports and invoices. It runs for 3 days, 6 hours per day (18 hours in total,
09:00-16:00), as lectures with labs. Intermediate level. Day one designs the data layer with ODBC, stored procedures and SQL commands and speeds up reports. Day two covers advanced grouping, running totals, subreports, cross-tabs and business forms. Day three covers exporting, delivering reports, and an overview of connecting to .NET applications and the BI Platform. Learners need their own or their organisation's Crystal Reports licence, or a trial version if SAP offers one.
Day 1 The Data Layer and Report Performance
Section 1: Lab: From Business Requirements to a Report Specification
- Gather requirements: who uses the report, what decisions it supports and how each figure is defined
- Sketch the layout and grouping levels before you start building
- Choose how to retrieve data: linked tables, a view, a SQL command or a stored procedure
- Organisational report standards: templates, naming and Summary Info
- Lab: turn a monthly sales report request into a report specification
Section 2: Lab: Connecting to SQL Server Professionally
- The 64-bit Microsoft ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server and setting up a DSN
- Encrypted connections, server certificates and the Encrypt setting
- Windows Authentication versus SQL logins, and a read-only reporting account
- Lab: create a reporting account and connect to the sales database with least privilege
Section 3: Lab: Stored Procedures and SQL Commands with Parameters
- Use a stored procedure as a data source, with its parameters created automatically
- SQL commands that reference report parameters in the WHERE clause
- Split calculations sensibly between the database and the report
- Lab: an overdue receivables report from a stored procedure that takes a cut-off date
Section 4: Lab: Making Slow Reports Faster
- Check Show SQL Query to see whether conditions are processed by the database
- Record selection that can be passed to the database versus selection that forces all rows to be read
- SQL Expression fields and grouping on the server
- Read Performance Information and reduce the number of subreports
- Lab: speed up a slow daily sales report
Section 5: Lab: Formulas and Custom Functions for Real Work
- Handle NULL values with IsNull and the option to convert NULLs to default values
- Accounting periods, quarters and fiscal years from dates
- Create custom functions to reuse the same logic across reports
- Lab: a custom function that writes amounts out in Thai words
Day 2 Complex Business Reports
Section 6: Lab: Advanced Grouping
- Group on a formula, such as debt age bands of 0-30, 31-60 and over 90 days
- Specified order with an Others group, and the group selection formula
- Hierarchical grouping for employee and manager structures
- Keep Group Together and Repeat Group Header for multi-page reports
- Lab: an aged debtors report by age band and sales representative
Section 7: Lab: Conditional Running Totals and Opening Balances
- Running totals with conditional Evaluate and Reset settings
- Opening balance, movements and running balance in statement style
- The three-formula variable pattern: reset, accumulate and display
- Lab: a customer statement with an opening balance and a balance on every line
Section 8: Lab: Subreports from Several Data Sources
- When to use a subreport and when to combine the data in SQL instead
- Link subreports with parameters and place a subreport in a group header
- Pass totals from a subreport back to the main report with shared variables
- Lab: a target versus actual report with targets from Excel and sales from SQL Server
Section 9: Lab: Analytical Cross-Tabs
- Cross-tabs with several summaries, sorted by total
- Calculated members for variances and growth rates
- Embedded summaries and showing values as a percentage of the total
- Conditional cell formatting with GridRowColumnValue
- Lab: a branch by month sales grid compared with last year, with highlighting
Section 10: Lab: Business Forms
- Invoices and receipts that start a new page and number pages per document
- Underlay Following Sections for watermarks and form frames
- Dynamic images with Graphic Location, such as branch logos and product photos
- Conditionally suppressed sections and carried-forward text on the next page
- Lab: an invoice with the amount written out in Thai words
Day 3 Exporting, Delivery and System Integration
Section 11: Lab: Summary Reports for Management
- A one-page report that brings together KPIs, charts and a cross-tab
- Top N with an Others group and sorting by total
- Drill-down with hidden sections and hyperlinks to detail reports
- Lab: a monthly sales summary for management
Section 12: Lab: Exporting for Each Group of Users
- PDF for sharing and printing, with a check on Thai fonts
- Formatted Excel versus data-only Excel for further analysis
- CSV for importing into other systems, and designing reports that export cleanly
- Lab: export one report in three formats for different users
Section 13: Lab: Moving Reports from Development to Production
- A pre-delivery checklist: reconcile figures with the source, permissions and parameters
- The Dependency Checker and Verify Database
- Switch the connection from the test database to the live database
- Let users open reports with saved data in Crystal Reports Viewer 2025
- Lab: package a set of reports with documentation for handover
Section 14: Overview: Connecting to Applications and the BI Platform
- SAP Crystal Reports for Visual Studio: ReportDocument and CrystalReportViewer
- Pass parameters and connection details from .NET code
- SAP Crystal Server and BusinessObjects BI Platform: publishing, scheduling and the BI launch pad
- Demo: call a report from a .NET application and pass parameters
Section 15: Workshop: A Set of Business Reports
- Take a brief for a set of receivables and sales reports from users
- Build a stored procedure, an aged debtors report, a statement and a summary cross-tab
- Tune performance and reconcile figures with the source data
- Export, package for handover and present your work
Schedule & training options
For individuals — public rounds
No public rounds are open right now. Join the waiting list and we will contact you first when the next round opens, or ask us on LINE. Or call 02-570-8449 or 088-807-9770
For organisations — in-house / private
- Tailor the content to your team’s tools and projects
- Your dates, at your office or live online
- Quotation with tax ID for procurement
Instructors
Frequently asked questions
How does this course differ from Basic SAP Crystal Reports 2025?
Basic SAP Crystal Reports 2025 lays the foundations of report design, from connecting to data and building a first report to grouping, parameters and charts. This course is an applied course for people who can already build reports. It is taught through real business reports such as aged debtors, statements with an opening balance, target versus actual reports from several data sources, and invoices, with a focus on designing the data layer with stored procedures and SQL commands, making reports fast and delivering them to users. If you have not used Crystal Reports before, we recommend the basic course first.
When should I use a subreport, and when should I combine the data in SQL instead?
Subreports suit data from different sources, such as sales targets in an Excel file and actual sales in SQL Server, or data with no direct key to link on. However, a subreport placed in the details section or in a group with many instances runs again each time and slows the report down. If the data lives in the same database, combine it with a JOIN in a view, SQL command or stored procedure instead, and if the main report needs a total from a subreport, pass it back with a shared variable.
My Crystal Reports report is very slow. Where should I start?
Start by opening Show SQL Query to see whether your record selection is passed to the database as a WHERE clause. Some formulas in the selection force the report to read every row and filter locally. Then check Performance Information to see where the time goes, reduce subreports that run repeatedly, use SQL Expression fields or move heavy calculations into a view or stored procedure, and make sure the database has indexes that match your filter conditions.
Who is the Crystal Reports for Business Reporting course for, and what should I know beforehand?
It suits people who can already build Crystal Reports, programmers and systems analysts who maintain reports for ERP, accounting or sales systems, IT teams who deliver reports to several departments, and finance staff who report to management. You should have used grouping, summaries, parameters and basic formulas, be able to write SQL and understand relational database structure.
What will I be able to do after the Crystal Reports for Business Reporting course?
You will be able to turn user requirements into a report specification, connect to SQL Server through ODBC with suitable permissions, use stored procedures and SQL commands, speed up slow reports, build aged debtors reports, statements with opening balances, target versus actual reports with subreports and analytical cross-tabs, design invoices, export reports to suit users and move reports into production. Participants who complete the training receive a Certificate of Completion with its own number, which can be verified online.
Can the Crystal Reports for Business Reporting course be run in-house for our team?
Yes. It can be run in-house for your team, with examples adapted to your own work, such as practising on the database structures and report formats your organisation already uses. You can request a quotation from this page, or contact us on LINE @itgenius or by phone on 02-570-8449.
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