This document provides an overview of the General Electronic reporting (GER) tool. It includes information about key concepts, the scenarios that ER supports, and a list of formats that have been designed and released as part of the solution. 

GER is a tool that you can use to configure formats for both incoming and outgoing electronic documents in accordance with the legal requirements of various countries/regions. ER lets you manage these formats during their lifecycle. For example, you can adopt new regulatory requirements, and generate business documents in the required format to electronically exchange information with government bodies, banks, and other parties.

GER currently supports the TEXT, XML, Microsoft Word document, and OPENXML worksheet formats. However, an extension interface provides support for additional formats.

What is General Electronic reporting (GER)?

GER is a new configuration tool to simplify regualtory reporting, payments and electronic invoicing.

• Configuration instead of coding
  • Configuration done by business users rather than developers
  • Configuration defined in business terms using visual editors and Excel like formula language
• One configuration for multiple applications
  • Format configuration are based on data models which is defined in business terms and database dependent.
• Easy or automatic upgrade
  • Configuration tree to control dependencies for configurations
  • Delta configuration – tracking a minimal delta of changes for automatic upgrade or easy conflict resolution.

The advantages of using the ER tool in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations are many:

• Formula (think Microsoft Excel) are used for any data transformation.
• All changes are done via visual editors instead of coding integrated development environments (IDEs).
• You can maintain different versions of configurations.
• Lifecycle Services is leveraged in an asset library to move the configurations done in one environment to a different environment.

Available Microsoft documentation

The documentation provided by MS on the GER tool is quite good but not in one place.  Some matters are covered by the standard D365 FO application documentation and others are covered seperatly in smaller detail.  Practical user specific (How to) directions are as always missing in some areas. Below is a list of available documentation, not all, but enough to get the idea on how and why.

• The general overview can be found under this link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/general-electronic-reporting
• Create GER configuration: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/electronic-reporting-configuration?toc=/dynamics365/commerce/toc.json
• Design GER domain specific data model:  https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/tasks/er-design-domain-specific-data-model-2016-11?toc=/dynamics365/commerce/toc.json
• Define GER model mappings and select data sources for them: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/tasks/er-define-model-mapping-select-data-sources-2016-11?toc=/dynamics365/commerce/toc.json
• Map data model to selected data sources : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/tasks/er-map-data-model-selected-data-sources-2016-11?toc=/dynamics365/commerce/toc.json
• Create a format configuration: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/tasks/er-format-configuration-2016-11?toc=/dynamics365/commerce/toc.json
• Map components of the created format to data model elements: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/tasks/er-map-components-data-model-elements–2016-11?toc=/dynamics365/commerce/toc.json
• The formula designer is covered under this link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/general-electronic-reporting-formula-designer
• Extend the list of GER functions: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/general-electronic-reporting-formulas-list-extension
• Test, Import configurations from RCS: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/tasks/import-configuration-rcs?toc=/dynamics365/commerce/toc.json
• Upgrade your format by adopting a new base version of that format: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/tasks/er-upgrade-format?toc=/dynamics365/commerce/toc.json
• Create configuration providers and mark them as active: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/analytics/tasks/er-configuration-provider-mark-it-active-2016-11

User access rights needed

To make it easier for the end users to be able to configure the documents, the Electronic reporting developer and Electronic reporting functional consultant roles are provided out of the box in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations. Therefore, a user does not need to have access to the IDE to configure the reports; instead, once the person(s) in the organization are identified with the ability to configure the documents, only the roles will need to be assigned to them and the users can create the ER documents on their own.

Target audience/users

The GER engine is targeted at business users instead of developers. Because you configure formats instead of code, the processes for creating and adjusting formats for electronic documents are faster and easier. Anyone who has implemented Dynamics AX knows that many forms like the Vendor Check, Customer Sales Invoice, and Customer Purchase Order need to be modified to meet client needs and that usually involves a developer. But no longer!

Complexity (estimating effort and pain)

A new way of thinking is needed for the complexity of ER reports and developement.  Templates for ER reporting are awailable for most scenarios possibly needed in a business as base for alterations or the final product.  The trivial suspects like payments (checks) and invoices will probably still need alterations for each customer, but for capable business user, this is now a task for them, instead of the developers.  A basic setup and configuration is still needed by a functional consultant or a super user.  A deep understanding of the data structure of D365 FO is of high importance, so in some cases the planning and design of alterations and new reports will need an solution\technical architecht for guidance.

To estimate effort for a new customer for the usual customer specific reports (ER) a service provider can use a base configuration created in general, for all and import the file in question for each project minimizing the effort needed for each project.  Moving the customized configuration between environments like DEV, GOLD, UAT, PROD is simple and does not require developers.

In days ( if nothing else is specified).

In total a (min) 5-6 days effort for the base configuration needed, training and teaching, plus the effort for setting up each report for alteration.

Capabilities

The ER engine has the following capabilities:

• It represents a single shared tool for electronic reporting in different domains and replaces more than 20 different engines that do some type of electronic reporting for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations.
• It makes a report’s format insulated from the current Finance and Operations implementation. In other words, the format is applicable for different versions of Finance and Operations.
• It supports the creation of a custom format that is based on an original format. It also includes capabilities for automatically upgrading the customized format when the original format is changed because of localization/customization requirements.
• It becomes the primary standard tool to support localization requirements in electronic reporting, both for Microsoft and for Microsoft partners.
• It supports the ability to distribute formats to partners and customers through Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services (LCS).

Repository

An ER repository stores ER configurations. Two types of ER repositories are currently supported, Operations resources and LCS project.

1. The Original already installed config in D365 FO: An Operations resources repository provides access to the list of configurations that Microsoft, as an ER configuration provider, releases as part of the Finance and Operations solution. Those configurations can be imported into the current Finance and Operations instance and used for electronic reporting.
2. Shared configuration between environments and projects, created by a user and saved in the LCS for sharing:  An LCS project repository provides access to the list of configurations of a specific LCS project (LCS project assets library) that was selected at the repository registration stage. ER lets you upload shared configurations from the current Finance and Operations instance to a specific LCS project repository. You can also import configurations from an LCS project repository into the current Finance and Operations instance.

Database

1. Backup  — will a restored database backup into a new environement copy the needed configuration as well (PROD > DEV).   Yes is the short answer, but there is also a possibiltiy to move configuration between environments using the LCS as described above.
2. Performance ( Impact on performance).   The impact on performance is dependent on the complexity of the report and the scope of data needed.