Book Review: Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Reporting

Full Disclosure: I was provided a no-charge eBook version for the purposes of this review by the publisher, Packt.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Reporting by David Duncan and Christopher Liley, is a very good, general purpose book on the reporting options available in Dynamics GP. It focuses on the “Big 5” reporting options for Dynamics GP – SmartList/Excel Reports, Report Writer, SSRS, Analysis Cubes, and Management Reporter. In my opinion, the book does a good job of balancing the “theory” of report creation with the “reality” of execution. That is to say, the book balances explaining “why” and “when” to pick a certain reporting tool with “how” to use the tool you’ve chosen.

If I had to suggest a target audience for the book, my feeling is the following types of people would best benefit:

1. “Power” end-users of Dynamics GP who want the ability to build some basic reports without needing the help of “the IT guy” or a consultant.

2. Beginner-to-Intermediate Dynamics GP professionals who want some guidance on how to choose the right reporting tool for the job, and how to implement some of the basic features of each reporting tool.

By way of compliments, I can say that I picked up a few tips on SmartList/Excel Reports I can likely make use of at my “day job”. Also, given the somewhat dry nature of a technical book on report creation, the authors took enough of a conversational approach to keep things feeling somewhat fresh.

If you’re an advanced Dynamics GP professional or consultant, I’m not sure there is going to by a lot on this book for you. As mentioned above, I see this as a good, general-purpose book to give a flavour for the reporting options available. It’s not a deep-dive, nuts-and-bolts technical book – and depending on who you are, that may not be a bad thing.

Overall, I give the book a 7/10 – broad coverage of subjects, written well for a technical book, and with enough detail to get someone up and running on a reporting tool.

The publisher is running a promotion for the month of May – details of which can be found at http://link.packtpub.com/J9AEn6