Steps to Run a Costpoint Report
Before running a report, determine what information is needed and which Costpoint report best addresses the requirement. Using the correct report and parameters helps ensure the resulting information is relevant to the business question.
- Select the report: Open the appropriate Costpoint reporting function and choose the report required for the analysis.
- Enter parameters: Provide values such as company, fiscal year, accounting period, project, organization, or date range when requested.
- Review parameters: Confirm that the selected criteria match the intended reporting period and organizational scope.
- Run the report: Submit the report and allow Costpoint to generate the requested output.
- Review results: Check totals, transaction details, dates, and other relevant fields before using the report for decisions.
- Save or distribute: Export, print, or retain the report according to internal reporting and access procedures.
Choosing the Right Report Parameters
Parameters determine which records appear in the final report. A financial report covering one accounting period can produce substantially different results from the same report run across an entire fiscal year. Users should therefore verify each parameter before execution.
For general ledger reporting, parameters may include company, fiscal year, period, account, organization, or project. The chart of accounts provides the accounting structure used to classify financial transactions, so selecting the correct account or organizational dimensions can make the resulting report more useful for reconciliation and analysis.
Project-focused reports may require project numbers, billing information, labor categories, or organizational criteria. Procurement reports may instead focus on vendors, purchase orders, requisitions, or transaction dates.
Using Reports for Finance Workflows
Costpoint reports can support recurring finance processes by providing transaction details for review and reconciliation. For example, accounts payable teams can use reports to examine invoices, payment status, vendor activity, and accounting information.
When reviewing invoice processing, finance users can examine information associated with invoice capture, extraction, validation, matching, GL coding, approval, and posting. Report results can help users verify that transactions have reached the appropriate stage and that financial records contain the expected information.
Month-end reporting can also support accruals by helping finance teams identify transactions or expenses that require estimation, booking, reversal, or cut-off review. This is particularly useful when reports are used to compare operational activity with accounting records before the period is closed.
Understanding Costpoint Report Outputs
After a report runs, review the output rather than assuming that every result is immediately ready for financial use. Check the reporting period, organizational scope, transaction counts, totals, and any calculated values that are important to the purpose of the report.
For example, if a report is intended to support a monthly expense review, compare its totals with relevant general ledger balances. If differences appear, investigate whether they result from parameter selections, transaction timing, account classifications, or other reporting criteria.
Report outputs can also support payment-related workflows. A Payment Run is a defined process for selecting and processing payments, while a report can provide supporting information about invoices, vendors, amounts, or payment status before or after that process.
Running Reports in an ERP Environment
Costpoint operates as an ERP system, so reports often draw information from interconnected financial, project, procurement, and operational workflows. When organizations integrate, migrate, or extend their ERP environment, understanding existing reports can help identify important data requirements.
Organizations working with deltek Costpoint should document commonly used reports, their parameters, data sources, and business purposes. This documentation can help preserve important reporting requirements when finance workflows or ERP configurations change.
Some organizations may also use a Netting Run to consolidate eligible intercompany balances or transactions. Reports can provide supporting visibility into the balances and transactions considered during such finance processes.
Best Practices for Running Reports
Consistent report execution improves the usefulness of Costpoint reporting for recurring financial activities. Users should establish clear reporting procedures for frequently used reports and retain appropriate parameter selections for repeatable analysis.
- Use defined report names: Select reports based on their documented business purpose.
- Verify dates: Confirm fiscal year, accounting period, and transaction dates before execution.
- Check organizational scope: Make sure the company, organization, or project selection matches the intended analysis.
- Reconcile important totals: Compare material report results with appropriate financial records.
- Control report distribution: Share outputs only with users authorized to access the underlying financial information.
When implementing a new reporting process, a Parallel Run can be useful for comparing outputs from an existing process and a new process during a controlled transition. This can help teams verify that reporting results remain aligned before adopting the new workflow as the standard.
Summary
Running a report in Costpoint requires selecting the appropriate report, entering accurate parameters, executing the report, validating its results, and using the output according to the reporting objective. Careful parameter selection and reconciliation are especially important for financial reporting, month-end activities, project analysis, procurement monitoring, and management decisions. A consistent reporting process helps Costpoint users turn ERP data into reliable information for financial performance and operational analysis.