Create a Flexi Report Layout

Not available in Accountants Office

Layouts for Flexi Reports are created using the Maintenance > Letter Writing functions.

To create your own flexi report letter layout, you need to enter three basic types of data:

Headings
Hashes to indicate the position and maximum width of each field (separated by spaces)
Fields that you want to report on, separated by a comma. These fields can either be found in Help under Fields (select [F1] from inside the letter) or, if it is a field in a return, select [F9] at the field for the field code to be displayed.

Example

A	Name	Return Code	DOB	Gross Interest
1	#######################	##########	########	##########.##
a	#95	A101	C120	E215

Remember case sensitivity.

The !! Symbols are required for reporting where you select a listing (rather than a letter or label) and are obtained by clicking [F7] at the beginning of each line in the letter.

#95 gives: surname, title, given names, and only needs one field, as above.

For each format line with hashes starting with the number 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, you need a matching format line with field codes starting with the letter a, b, c, d or e respectively.

How to set up your own layout

Select Maintenance > Letter writing > Tax Practice letters > New.
Enter a code and description for your report, then click [Enter]. A blank screen is displayed.
Click [F7] and the format symbol, two exclamation marks (!!), will be displayed.
The status bar at the bottom of the screen should show Format instead of WP.
Type in an upper case 'A', followed by the headings that you want across the top of your report, then click [Enter]. Heading lines start with A, B, C, D or E.
Click [F7] again, then a '1' at the start of the new line and key in the number of hashes (#) required for each field. Separate these positions with spaces. Tip: A name field will typically need more hashes than, say, gross Interest.
Start the third line with [F7] and a lower case 'a', then type the field codes, separated by commas as shown above.
Click [F6] to save the layout. Your flexi report layout has been created.

How can I better manipulate my report?

In the above example, by choosing the Selection option you could restrict the report with DOB 'from' and 'to' dates.