BusinessObjects 101: How to Schedule a Report

Date Created: 05/17/2022 | Date Updated: 08/7/2023

Introduction

SAP BusinessObjects gives HMIS participating agencies access to reports that they can use to evaluate their programs and submit performance metrics to their funders. This article explains how to schedule a BusinessObjects report to run at a specific time.

Steps

1. Open BusinessObjects
2. Find Your Report
3. Schedule Your Report
4. Download Your Report

 Step 1. Open BusinessObjects

1. Log in to Community Services.
2. Click on the Connect to BusinessObjects link found in the top right corner of the screen. BusinessObjects will open in a new web browser tab.

 Step 2. Find Your Report

1. Select the Folders option on the home screen.
2. Click on Public Folders in the navigation menu on the left side of the screen, then choose the minnesota_live_folder from the main content area.

Check the Minnesota Live folder's "Last Updated" date to see when BusinessObjects' last warehouse build completed.

3. Open the SSA Report Gallery folder or your agency-specific folder. From there, continue opening folders until you find the report you want to schedule. ICA's Report Collection repository contains information on all of the reports in the SSA Report Gallery, including their folder locations.

 Step 3. Schedule Your Report

1. Right-click on the report you want to schedule, then select Schedule.
The Schedule option can also be selected from the actions menu. Clicking on the name of a report will open it in View mode.
2. On the Schedule screen, you will need to make several selections:
   1. Title: Decide what to call your report. ICA recommends including report details in the title, like the ID numbers of providers featured in the report or the date range covered.
   2. Destinations: The default delivery destination is your Instances folder. Optionally, you can choose to save a copy in your BI Inbox as well. Click on Add to specify a new delivery destination.
   3. Recurrence: Select Now to run the report immediately or select a future time when the report should be run. Reports can also be scheduled to run regularly if you select the Recurring option.
      
      When the title, destinations, and recurrence fields have been completed, click on Report Features and make the final two required selections.
   4. Format: The default file format is Web Intelligence, so you will want to make a different selection. ICA recommends choosing the Microsoft Excel - Reports file format, but other options are available, including Adobe Acrobat (PDF). Please note: incorrectly selecting Microsoft Excel - Data will change the format in a way that is not intended, and will not display correctly. 
   5. Prompt Values: Click on Edit Prompt Values, then wait for the Prompts popup window to load. Make your desired selections in the Prompts popup, paying special attention to any required prompts.
      
      

      Please note: It may take several minutes for the prompts pop-up to load, depending on the report.

      

3. Click on the Schedule button at the bottom of the screen when all selections have been made. You will be taken to a new screen that shows the report’s run status, as well as any previously scheduled copies of the same report.
4. The report's status will be updated automatically, but you can also click on the Refresh button to manually check for a status update. When a report's status changes to "Success", it is ready to be downloaded.

 Step 4. Download Your Report

The process for downloading reports looks a little different on the  Instances and BI Inbox screens.

Instances

Reports are saved in the Instances folder for 60 days, after which point they are automatically deleted. To download a report, either click on its name or select View from the actions menu.

BI Inbox

Reports are saved in your BI Inbox for  1 year, after which point they are automatically deleted. To download a report, first select it, then click on the View button.