Setting Up and Running Generic Reports

This chapter provides an overview of generic reports and discusses how to:

Set up generic reports.
Run generic reports.

Understanding Generic Reports

Global Payroll provides the framework for you to define your own generic reports of basic payroll results. With generic reports, you can set up result table queries that best suit your needs. These queries are useful for quickly viewing data. They are not a substitute for the SQRs used to create final, publishable reports.

There are three types of generic reports that show different views of the same information:

Element List

A list of payroll elements for each employee for a period. Define each column as a set of numeric elements, which are accumulated.
Summary

A list of user-defined payroll elements for the pay periods between two dates for each employee. Define each row as a set of numeric elements, which are accumulated. On the run control page you define each column with a From Date and a To Date.
Accumulator

Displays totals of selected accumulators for each employee. On the run control page, you define the pay calendars for which the report should be printed.

All of these reports enable you to select sort options and break levels. If you define break levels, the system prints a total for each break, as the break occurs, and prints a grand total at the end of the report. If no breaks are defined, no totals are printed for the report. Depending on the break levels, an employee can appear more than once on a single report (the same employee but with different segment numbers).

For all three report types, the maximum number of columns is 12.

Break Levels

Break levels are a tool for sorting results. Use them to organize the information on the report. You can include up to three break levels in a report. For example, the first level might sort employees into business units; the second might sort members of each business unit into departments; and the third might sort the members of each department into establishments. When you select the break levels for a report, you can print each section on a separate page.

System data supplies the following standard break levels:

Department
Company
Establishment

Setting Up Generic Reports

To set up generic reports, use the Generic Report Break Levels (GP_GENRPT_BRK_LVLS) and Generic Reports (GP_GENRPT) components.

This section discusses how to:

Define break levels.
Define generic report parameters.
Define generic report rows and columns.

Pages Used to Set Up Generic Reports

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Break Levels	GP_GENRPT_BRK_LVLS	Set Up HRMS, Product Related, Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Reports, Generic Report Break Levels, Break Levels	Define break levels.
Definition	GP_GENRPT_SETUP	Set Up HRMS, Product Related, Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Reports, Generic Reports, Definition	Define the report ID and parameters.
Rows or Columns	GP_GENRPT_ROW	Set Up HRMS, Product Related, Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Reports, Generic Reports, Rows or Columns	Define rows or columns and the elements that are to be reported.

Defining Break Levels

Access the Break Levels page.

Note. If you sort by Department break level, we recommend that you sort by Business Unit first and then by Department.

Break Level

A number and/or code that identifies the break level.

Data Type

Values are:

System Data: For a PeopleSoft-delivered break level.

Customer Data: For all other break levels.

Description

A meaningful description for the break level. This is the heading for the break data that will appear on your report.

Element

Entry Type	Select the entry type of the element that you’re associating with the break level. Values are System Element - Character and Variable - Character.
Element Name	Select the system element or variable that you’re associating with the break level. For example, if you define paygroup as the break level, select the GP PAYGROUP element. Note. Any element selected must be resolved and stored.
Record (Table) Name	If you select Variable - Character as the Entry Type, enter the name of the record from which the variable was originally populated.
Field Name	If you select Variable - Character as the Entry Type, in addition to entering the name of the record from which the variable was originally populated, you must also specify the field on the record.

Source and Use

If you select a system element, information contained on the Source and Use page of GP_PIN appears in this group box.

Defining Generic Report Parameters

Access the Generic Reports - Definition page.

Report Type

Values are Summary, List (element list), and Accumulators.

Currency

Define the default currency for the report. Amounts are converted to this currency before processing. You can change the currency on the Generic Report run control page.

Generic reports provide a maximum of 14 print positions for currency amounts. The system changes the number of decimal places, depending on the currency code. Amounts are truncated to 1, 2, or 3 decimal places, depending on the currency. If the currency does not use decimal places, all 14 print positions are available to display amounts.

Report Break Levels

Break Level 1, Break Level 2, and Break Level 3	You can use up to three break levels. If you use multiple break levels, the system sorts first by break level 1, then by break level 2, and last by break level 3. Select from the break levels that you set up on the Break Levels page.
Page Break for Level 1, Page Break for Level 2, and Page Break for Level 3	Select to have a page break at the selected break level on the printed report.

Payee Options

Sort Option	Select a default method for sorting by employee. You can sort by the employee ID and employee record number or by the name and employee record number. When you run the report, you can change the sort option on the run control page.
Page Break for Employee Level	(Summary type only) Select to print a separate page for each employee.
Hide Null Lines	(List and Summary type only). Select to prevent the printing of lines that have a value of 0.

Defining Generic Report Rows and Columns

Access the Rows or Columns page.

Different fields appear on this page depending on the report type that you selected on the Generic Reports - Definition page. For all report types, the Column Title, Print Total, Element Name, and Description fields appear.

The following additional fields appear for the specified report type:

List and Summary	Accumulators
Entry Type	User Key
Add/Subtract	Label Column
	Label (if Label Column is selected)
	Do not print row if results equal zero
	Print Calendar ID

Rows or Columns

The following table summarizes the type of data in the rows and columns for each report type.

Report Type	Columns	Rows
List	Element or group of elements	Payees
Summary	Date ranges	Element or elements
Accumulator	Accumulators	Payees

Column Title	Define the title for each column. Each title can be two lines with up to 30 characters in each line.
User Key	(Accumulator type only) Select a user key for the accumulator. A column is either a user key or an element.
Print Total	Select to print totals before a page break.
Print Field Label	This check box appears only for Accumulator report types and only for columns that are not user keys. Select to print a label instead of the values for an element in the column. The system prints the text from the Label field.
Do not print row if results equal zero	This check box appears only for Accumulator report types and for columns that are not user keys. Select the check box to suppress rows where an accumulator does not have an end date and therefore forwards zero results into each new calendar. Selecting this check box will prevent unwanted and meaningless rows from displaying on the report.
Print Calendar ID	This check box appears only for Accumulator report types and only for columns that are not user keys. Select this check box to print the calendar ID of the result row, thereby increasing the readability of the report for calendar groups in which retroactive processing has occurred.

Elements

Select the elements that are to be reported in each row or column.

Entry Type	Select the entry type of the element. Values are Auto Assgn (auto assigned), Bracket, Deduction,Earnings,Formula, SystemElem (system element), and Variable.
Element Name	Select the element name.
Label	Replaces the Description field only for the accumulator report type when you select the Label Column check box for a column that is not a user key or calendar ID. Enter the label that is to be printed in the column when the associated element is other than 0.
Add/Subtract	Select whether the element should be added to or subtracted from the total for the column or row.

Note. For Accumulator report types, some precision may be needed. The system obtains all the user keys from the accumulator result table for all the accumulators that are defined in the setup. It then prints the user keys and selects the accumulator results starting from those keys.

In addition, there are cases where accumulators continue to carry forward after an event has completed (a loan repayment, for example) because the accumulators have not been defined with an end date. In such cases, it may be necessary to identify an accumulator where the results always carry forward as zero (monthly deduction, for example), and use the Do not print row if results equal zero check box. The above also applies in cases where accumulators have been defined with a storage option of "All Calculations" and the calendar run has encountered retroactive processing. If your calendar group has both payroll and absence calendars, the accumulators will appear in all calendars (both payroll and absence) from the retroactive period through to the current period. If you can identify a column in which these additional accumulators will also have a zero result, then use the Do not print row if results equal zero check box to suppress the extra unwanted rows.

Running Generic Reports

This section discusses how to run generic reports.

Run the report after selecting additional run time parameters such as summary or detail payee data, sorting, and begin and end dates.

The run control page triggers:

The GP_GEN_RPTS Application Engine program that creates two temporary tables with data from payroll results.
The GPGENRPT SQR program that reads the payroll results from the temporary tables and formats the report.

Selecting Payees and Periods for List and Summary Reports

The List and Summary reports can cover multiple periods. Using the Period ID, the system establishes date and payee parameters. The system will select and report on all payees that have a segment record with the matching Period IDs. When multiple periods are selected for the List Report, the system will sum the results of all segments selected.

Selecting Payees and Periods for Accumulators

The accumulator report covers a single period. Using the Calendar Group ID, the system establishes date and payee parameters. The Calendar Group ID may contain only one period. However, if the Calendar Group has experienced retroactive processing, then additional rows may appear on the report. For this reason we recommend you select the Print Calendar ID check box to help identify any retroactive row.

Page Used to Run a Generic Report

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Generic Report	GP_GENRPT_RC	Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Absence and Payroll Processing, Reports, Create Generic Reports, Generic Report	Run generic reports.

Running Generic Reports

Access the Generic Report page.

To run the report, you must first specify the calendar to include. This is done by either entering Begin and End Dates (for the List and Summary report), or entering the Calendar Group ID (for the accumulator report.) Because the List and Summary reports can cover multiple periods of time, enter Period IDs.

Report Type	This field affects the other fields available on this page.
Begin Date	Use this field in combination with the End Date field to construct the report's time frame. The period defined by these dates must match the dates of a defined pay period. Some report types use the Group ID instead.
End Date	Use this field in combination with the Begin Date field to construct the report's time frame. The period defined by these dates must match the dates of a defined pay period. Some report types use the Group ID instead.
Sort Option	This field displays the sort option defined on the Generic Reports-Definition page. You can override this value here.
Currency	This field displays the currency defined on the Generic Reports-Definition page. You can override this value here.
Detail of the Payees	Select to report the details of each payee. If this option is not selected, the report includes only summaries by break level. If you do not define breaks for the report, this option is not available.
Group ID	You may select a subset of payees by using the Group ID section and entering a specific Group ID. This Group ID is defined on the Group Build pages in PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Resources.
As Of Date	Specify the effective-date version of the group to report on.
Refinement Date	If the group definition includes effective-dated records, enter the date for which you want the records run. For example, to run a group with an effective date of January 1, 1990 and run the effective-dated rows in the group as of February 15, 1998, select an As of Date of January 1, 1990 and a Refinement Date of February 15, 1998. If you leave this field blank, the system runs the group as of the current date.
Rebuild Group	Select to re-create the group before running the generic report.

The Rows and Columns group box appears only for a Summary Type report. The system creates a set of columns for the first 12 months in the reporting period that you define in the Report ID group box. It enters the first and last days of each month in the From Date and the To Date columns. You can manually define different columns for your summary report, up to 12 columns total.