February, 2017
From the Editor
I am continuing the development of a library of videos that demonstrate the fundamentals of BW reporting. I have just completed the first two parts of an Introduction to BW Reporting collection. These initial offerings are aimed at users who are reasonably new to the Business Warehouse, but I suspect that they could prove useful to many employees who attended training sometime in the hazy past, but who might like a quick review of reporting concepts. I have provided more detail about the new videos in the Tips section below.
I encourage you to watch one or two of the videos. They’re short, so you aren’t required to make much of a commitment. Watch them and let me know what you think. Are they useful? Do you have ideas for other videos that would prove useful to you? Drop me a note and share your idea(s).
As always, I hope you find this issue of the Newsletter informative. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future BW Newsletters (and videos!).
Bill Stewart
Reporting News
Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Report Update
Two new Characteristics were recently added to the Purchasing Document Lifecycle (PDL) report:
Expected Payment Date – the date by which funds are expected to be released to pay a vendor for goods or services rendered
Payment Terms – the terms agreed to by a vendor when they registered to conduct business with Boston University. These terms sometimes allow for a cash discount if payment is made early. Here are some examples:
Training Calendar
February / March Training Opportunities
Introductory Workshops
As always, an assortment of introductory workshops will be available. These sessions present to new employees – or employees assigned a new business role – the fundamentals of reporting for a particular subject area. The sessions are a great way to review material, too. Even if you previously attended an intro session, you are likely to learn new things about reporting – or to be reminded of concepts that you had forgotten.
Click on any of the following links for a course description and/or to register for an upcoming session:
Supplier Resource Management Reporting
Labor Distribution (Payroll) Reporting
Tips & Tricks
My plan is to use these videos as prerequisites for any introductory-level BW reporting training session. I have grouped them in two categories:
| 1. Navigating the BUworks and BW Environments | |
| 1.1 Introduction to the BUworks Portal | |
| 1.2 BW Portal and the Reporting Environment | |
| 1.3 BW Folders and Folder Contents | |
| 2. BW Report Basics | |
| 2.1 What is a BW Report? | |
| 2.2 BW Data Basics and Data Access | |
| 2.3 How to Run a BW Report | |
| 2.4 Understanding a BW Report Layout | |
The videos are available by clicking either of the two links above. As I wrote previously, I welcome any feedback you care to offer. Did you find them useful? Not so much? Do you have ideas for additional videos? Let me know!
End Notes
Custom Training Sessions
Have you ever thought that it would be really useful if you could get members of your department together with a trainer to focus on BUworks functionality that is specific to the work your department does? I’m happy to work with any department or group that would like to develop and conduct a custom basic- or intermediate-level reporting training session. There are only two requirements for such a session: (1) input from the group is necessary to develop a relevant agenda, and (2) the group should include four or more employees. If you’re interested in discussing the development of a custom session for your department or school/college, contact me via email or give me a call at 617-353-6382.
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