Reporting and Analytics Frequently Asked Questions
Log into the Power BI Report Server. Once there, click the Finance folder on the home screen and then either the Account Holder by Person or FAB – Central/YSM.
While Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Safari are all compatible, Google Chrome is recommended due to extended timeout settings which will reduce the need to refresh your browser as often.
In order to run the reports and view all details, the individual must have both the Cost Center Financial Analyst (CCFA) as well as the Cost Center Payroll Details (CCPD) roles.
In order for an individual to be an Account Holder, they must have the role of either an Award Principal Investigator or a Grant Principal Investigator on an active AWD and/or GR or are the Assignee on a non-sponsored COA. Also, you must have the role of Cost Center Financial Analyst (CCFA) and Cost Center Payroll Details (CCPD) in the same cost center as the Account Holder.
The AHRs can only be run through the current period, with balances and details through the most recent date which the Finance Data Mart has been updated through. The FAB report can be run through either the last closed month or the most recent Finance Data Mart updated date.
Once the cost center number is entered into the “Cost Center Value – Search (and tab)” parameter, the report must continue to be configured by choosing that cost center in the “Cost Center – Value” drop down. If this is left as “All Cost Centers”, additional information will pull in, depending on your access. This same logic is applied to the other worktag values available.
In the top right margin of the first page of the report, there is a watermark with the NetID of the current report owner.
There are a variety of reasons your commitments are not appearing on your reports.
- In order for commitments to appear, a grant budget must be entered for current award calendar period through the Create Budget Amendment task. The amount can be as low as 0.01 for the period.
- The data feed from Workday to the Data Model is usually an overnight load, but specifically regarding labor commitments, it can sometimes take up to two days for the data to flow down to the Data Model. This is due to manual processing for labor transactions which happens around 11am of any given business day. What that means is, if commitments are created/edited after that manual processing is performed in the middle of the day, then those commitments will have to wait until the following day to be processed. This means that it can take up to two days for commitments to populate in the Data Model for reporting.
For sponsored awards, the Projected Remaining Balance column on the AHR coversheet equates to the direct cost equivalent of the grant budget less expenses to date less commitments. For example:
- Budget = $100,000.00
- Total cost expenses to date = $65,000.00
- Total cost commitments = $15,000.00
- Total cost balance = $20,000.00
- If there is a 67.5% indirect cost rate, the balance on the coversheet (as well as the balance in the grey bar at the bottom of the monthly account summary page for the COA) is $11,940.30 ($20,000/1.675). This represents the amount that can be spent if all items purchased assessed IDC.
- For non-sponsored accounts, it is budget or fund balance less expenses less commitments
The trend report is a rolling 12 month snapshot of posted debits and credits displayed by ledger account groupings. For PAAs, the amounts will be displayed by budget date, not accounting date for the determining month.
When interest is generated to an award, SPFA will increase the funded amount in Workday via an Award Amendment. This will create an inbox to-do for those with the Grant Budget Specialist and Grant Manager roles. The budget should be increased by the interest amount using the SP81 Interest grant budget ledger account summary. This will ensure your grant budget total equals your funded amount from the sponsor plus interest earned.
When the AHR is printed or saved as a pdf, the height of the pages is reduced which means the report length is extended regardless of the parameters chosen.
AHR and FAB ownership status can be updated from one person to another through a request to the Reporting and Analytics Service IT team. Detailed instructions can be found on the Finance Data Model Training Materials and References page within the Subscription Transfer Guide.
Note the new requested individual must have the CCFA and CCPD roles for the appropriate cost centers in order to be able to run and view the report.
If an individual listed in the distribution list has left Yale and has a status of “terminated” in Workday, that subscription will not run regardless if others listed are active. The subscription will need to be amended to remove the invalid email address(es).
A Data Dictionary exists that identifies all the data in the Finance Data Model. The Data Dictionary can be found in the Power BI Report Server, in the Finance folder under Finance Training Materials and References (requires Workday Cost Center Financial Analyst (CCFA) role to see this page.
Open Power BI Desktop.
- Click ‘Get Data” then Analysis Services
- Enter the server name and click Ok
- Expand the Finance Data Model V2 database and click Finance or 1 of the perspectives (Sponsored Awards and Grants or General Financial – Depts) that you want to use and click Ok.
Individuals who require download access and the ability to edit reports in Power BI Desktop must have the Workday Role of Cost Center Financial Analyst and are required to complete the following courses: Finance Power BI Interactive Reports as the prerequisite to Customizing Interactive Reports with Power BI Desktop. To get credit for completing this course, you must achieve a score of at least 80%. Once you complete the Customizing Interactive Reports with Power BI Desktop training, send an email to askfinance@yale.edu with your score.
From the Interactive Reports Folder, hover over the report you wish to download and click on the 3 dots (More info). Then click “Download” on the pop-up window. See screenshots below.
Find Transform Data Button in the Home Tab of Power BI Desktop Click On Transform Data. The SQL Server Analysis Services database dialog box will appear. Click OK and the Navigator dialog box will appear. Based on your reporting needs select either the Sponsor Awards and Grants or General Financial – Depts. Then Click OK.
One of the most common causes of this error is the user is not connected to VPN or the VPN connection needs to be refreshed.
You can upgrade your copy of Power BI Desktop by:
- Using the Software Center
- Using the Software Library
This depends on the data you are seeking. Please refer to the Interactive report summaries.
The best and the fastest way is to select/highlight the URL of the browser and hit Enter Key.
Under Apps, run a “Yale Custom Reports” list, this report provides a list of reports available to employees based on their roles.
Search Workday for “Schedule a Report” task
In the box that comes up, type the report name
- Choose your Run Frequency
- Check the box Populate Default Prompt Values, this is optional, but recommended as this will allow the prefilled prompts you see on the report to populate the schedule.
- Click OK
- On the Report Criteria Tab - Fill out the prompts required for your schedule
- Navigate to the Schedule Tab and fill in all required fields (you can only schedule at most 16 months Start & End date)
- Navigate to the Output Tab (note different output options available)
- Choose your file type and number of days to be deleted (Suggest at least 14 days for you or your shared user to retrieve the file) (Also recommended to leave the Hide Prompt Values unchecked)
- Navigate to the Share Tab
- You can either run the report for yourself and/or send the report to other Workday employees.
- Choose the Share Report button and in the In the Authorized Users box you can select the individuals who should also receive the output
Note: by sending a report this way, you are using your security to send information to someone who may have different access. - Read the statement and check the box at the bottom.
- Choose OK
To edit a Scheduled Report:
- Search for Scheduled Future Processes - Yale
- Run the report without filling in parameters
- Find the report you wish to edit
- Click the related actions next to the report in the Scheduled Process column
- Navigate to Schedule Future Process
- Edit
- Navigate through each tab to make necessary Changes
- Click OK
To transfer a Scheduled Report:
- Search for Scheduled Future Processes - Yale
- Run the report without filling in parameters
- Find the report you wish to transfer
- Click the related actions next to the report in the Scheduled Process column
- Navigate to Schedule Future Process
- Transfer Ownership
- Choose new Owner
- Click OK
To delete a Scheduled Report:
- Search for Scheduled Future Processes - Yale
- Run the report without filling in parameters
- Find the report you wish to Delete
- Click the related actions next to the report in the Scheduled Process column
- Navigate to Schedule Future Process
- Suspend
- Click OK
- Repeat Steps 4 & 5
- Delete
- Click OK
Create and Save a Report Filter
Workday Reports allow you to create filters which is a time-saving feature that allows you to save your frequently used prompt values for quick access next time.
To create a report filter:
- Search for your report.
- Fill out the required fields (marked by a red asterisk), and fill in any other prompts you want to view in your report.
- Click in the Filter Name box at the bottom and type a descriptive name for your filter.
- Click Save
Next time you go to this report and need to run the report for the same parameters you can activate this filter and it will populate everything for you.
Apply a Saved Filter
- Search for your report.
- At the bottom of the screen you’ll see the Filter Box.
- Click the down arrow under Manage Filters to view a list of your saved filters.
- Click the filter you wish to apply.
- Click OK to run the report with the applied filters.
Edit a Saved Filter
- Search Workday for Manage My Saved Filters
- Selected which report you want to the saved filter from
- Click edit on the filter you wish to update
Workday report users can customize their report view by reordering, hiding, and freezing columns directly in their Workday browser. To do this, click the “Edit Grid Options” icon located in the upper right corner of the report after it has rendered.
Please note the following:
- Your customizations will be saved for all future runs of the report until you either edit your preferences again or reset to the default report view.
- These customizations apply only to your Workday browser view and will not be reflected in exported reports.
- When you export a report, the exported file will display the default columns and order, regardless of any customizations you made in the browser view.
The three main report types available in Workday are Advanced, Matrix, and Composite.
- Advanced reports: Advanced reports are the most common type of report in Workday. They present information in a familiar spreadsheet format, with rows and columns. These reports facilitate detailed reporting based on related data sources. Examples include: Detailed Transactions – Yale, Find Supplier Invoices – Yale, and Find Requisitions by Cost Center - Yale.
- Composite reports: Composite reports combine information from multiple data sources into a single, powerful report. They can process large amounts of data quickly and offer great flexibility in how the information is presented. Each column in a report is calculated independently. Users can drill into column value details or view by details for further insights. Examples include: Account Balances Detail – Yale and Budget to Actuals for Management Office Reporting – Yale.
- Matrix reports: Matrix reports group and summarize data, like pivot tables found in other software. They show combined values at the intersections of rows and columns. Users can explore further details in these values by drilling or viewing by selected values. Matrix reports are often used as the basis for dashboards and composite reports rather than being run on their own.