Advanced Spreadsheets and Reporting Documentation
Index

Indicator Overview

Indicators are the core feature of Advanced Spreadsheets and Reporting. They allow you to pull data from any table in Business Central and include it in your financial reports.

What Are Indicators?

An indicator is a calculation definition that:

  • Specifies a source table and field
  • Defines a calculation method (Sum, Count, etc.)
  • Applies filters to narrow down the data
  • Returns a numeric value for the financial report

Why Use Indicators?

Standard Financial Reports Limitations

Standard Business Central financial reports can only access:

  • G/L Account balances and entries
  • Budget entries
  • Cost accounting entries
  • Cash flow entries

With Indicators, You Can Access

Any numeric data in Business Central:

  • Sales and purchase document data
  • Inventory quantities and values
  • Customer and vendor balances
  • Job/project metrics
  • Production data
  • Custom table data
  • And much more...

Indicator Components

Each indicator consists of:

1. Source Definition

  • Table: Which table to read from
  • Field: Which numeric field to use

2. Calculation Method

How to process matching records:

  • Lookup, Sum, Count, Min, Max, Average, or Custom

3. Filters

Rules that limit which records are included:

  • Static values
  • Dynamic dimension filters
  • Date period filters

How Indicators Work

Calculation Flow

Report calculates row
        ↓
Totaling Type = Indicator?
        ↓ Yes
Load Indicator Definition
        ↓
Apply Filters to Source Table
        ↓
Execute Calculation Method
        ↓
Return Result to Report

Detailed Process

  1. Row Processing: Business Central processes each financial report row
  2. Type Check: The app intercepts rows with Indicator totaling type
  3. Load Definition: The indicator configuration is retrieved
  4. Filter Application: All defined filters are applied to a record reference
  5. Calculation: The method (Sum, Count, etc.) executes
  6. Result: The calculated value is returned to the report

Indicator Storage

Indicator definitions are stored in:

  • Indicator Detail table: Main configuration (table, field, method)
  • Indicator Filter table: Filter definitions

Each indicator is linked to a specific row definition line by:

  • Schedule Name
  • Line No.

Creating Your First Indicator

Step 1: Prepare the Row

  1. Open your Row Definition
  2. Add or select a line
  3. Set Totaling Type to Indicator
  4. Use the lookup on the Totaling field, or the assist-edit (…) on the Indicator Defined column (shown after Totaling Type). Clicking the Totaling cell itself does nothing, and the page does not open when the app is unlicensed.

Step 2: Configure on the Define Indicator Page

The Define Indicator page (the indicator card) opens with sections for:

Method Section:

  • Select how to calculate (Sum, Count, etc.)

Table Section:

  • Choose the source table
  • Select the numeric field

Filters Section:

  • Add filters to narrow the data

Test Section:

  • Test the indicator before using in reports

Step 3: Test and Save

  1. Set test date range
  2. Click "Calculate Indicator (for test)"
  3. Review the result and elapsed time
  4. Close the card to save

Indicator Use Cases

Financial KPIs

Indicator Source Method Use Case
Open AR Cust. Ledger Entry Sum Outstanding receivables
Overdue AP Vendor Ledger Entry Sum Payables past due
Days Sales Outstanding Custom (requires developer code) Custom AR aging metric

Operational Metrics

Indicator Source Method Use Case
Open Orders Sales Header Count Number of open orders
Order Backlog Sales Line Sum Value of open order lines
Inventory Value Item Sum Total inventory value

Performance Indicators

Indicator Source Method Use Case
Customer Count Customer Count Active customers
Average Order Value Sales Line Average Per-order metrics
Largest Order Sales Header Max Peak order tracking

Best Practices

Design

  1. Start Simple: Begin with basic indicators, add complexity as needed
  2. Name Clearly: Use descriptive row numbers and descriptions
  3. Document Filters: Note why each filter exists

Performance

  1. Filter Early: Add filters to reduce record counts
  2. Use Indexes: Choose fields that have indexes
  3. Test Performance: Use the test feature to check calculation time

Maintenance

  1. Review Regularly: Ensure indicators still work with data changes
  2. Version History: Track changes to indicator definitions
  3. Validate Results: Periodically compare to source data

Relationship to Other Features

Indicator Library

Pre-built indicators you can apply quickly. See Indicator Library.

Multi-Company

Indicators can read from other companies when specified on rows or columns. See Inter-Company.

API Access

Indicators are calculated when accessing financial reports via API. See Web Services.

Common Questions

Can indicators reference other indicators?

Not directly. However, you can create a formula row that references indicator rows, effectively combining them.

What happens if the source table is empty?

The indicator returns zero. No error is generated.

Can I use indicators with any row definition?

Yes, indicators work with any row definition that can have an Indicator totaling type.

Are indicator results cached?

No, indicators calculate fresh each time the report runs. This ensures current data but may impact performance for complex indicators.

Next Steps