Share your experience using SAP Crystal Reports

I have been using SAP Crystal Reports for six months.

I am using SAP Crystal Reports to develop data-driven reports and use customer data printing.

When I use SAP Crystal Reports for customer data printing, it is primarily for generating customer invoices.

This describes my main use case with SAP Crystal Reports.

The best features SAP Crystal Reports offers are powerful data connectivity, customized report design, interactive and visual reports, import, export, sharing options, and automation and scheduling.

My most favorite feature is the powerful data connectivity capability. It helps to connect a wide range of data sources such as SQL databases, Excel, XML, and more.

Using SAP Crystal Reports had a strong impact on our organization. It saves significant time by automating routing reporting tasks, and it reduced manual effort in preparing customer letters and reports.

The accuracy of data improved decision making, and the clear and professional formatting enhanced client communication. Overall, it increased efficiency, provided fast insight, and supported better business outcomes.

SAP Crystal Reports could be improved with more modern user-friendly interfaces and better integration with cloud platforms and AI tools.

It would be beneficial to have easier integration with Azure, Microsoft Power Platform, and similar cloud technologies. The UI improvements should include modern design and drag-and-drop simplicity.

The drag-and-drop design tools could be made smoother and more visual similar to modern BI tools such as Microsoft Power BI. Integration of a real-time preview and a live preview panel that updates instantly while designing the reports would make it much easier to use.

I am working there for about two years now.

SAP Crystal Reports is stable for the moment.

SAP Crystal Reports is moderately scalable. It works effectively with small and mid-size teams, allowing multiple users to develop and share reports efficiently.

Customer support for SAP Crystal Reports is nonexistent.

I did not previously use a different solution before SAP Crystal Reports.

I did not evaluate other options before choosing SAP Crystal Reports.

My advice for others considering SAP Crystal Reports is to first clearly define your report needs. It is a powerful tool for creating accurate, professional, and automated reports, but it works best when data sources are well-structured.

Invest time in learning the formulas, formatting, and scheduling features and use AI tools, and be aware of its limitations in real-time analytics or large-scale dashboarding. With proper planning, it can significantly save time and improve business insights.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate SAP Crystal Reports a 7.

The main use cases for SAP Crystal Reports involve business scenarios that require different schedules related to tables and data interactions, enabling views for dashboards, with clients, such as cosmetics businesses, linking data on sales, delivery, accounts receivable, invoicing, and payment, facilitating business analysis and backend reporting.

SAP Crystal Reports provides a clear picture for customer and vendor orders, showing whether orders are pending and delivering receivable and payable statuses, which allows understanding different scenarios categorically for client needs, ultimately satisfying both customers and clients.

The efficiency gained by our organization from SAP Crystal Reports is measurable through multiple export formats such as PDF and Excel, which makes accessing and understanding data from the database easier. The ability to generate different formats facilitates better data analysis, although occasionally advanced features such as workbench center directly enhance the experience.

The impact of SAP Crystal Reports' dynamic parameters significantly affects the customization and flexibility of reports, allowing adjustments to parameters based on client needs, such as date, users, and ledger views, ensuring data is correctly collected and formatted according to the client's requirements.

I would like to see improvements in SAP Crystal Reports regarding integration capabilities, enabling better practices and testing to enhance data accuracy and efficiency for company sectors, recognizing the importance of precise data management over multiple months of integration.

I have been working with SAP Crystal Reports for six years, focusing on different SAP modules for production planning, sales, finance, and various enterprise solutions tailored to different client needs across multiple sectors, including retail and sales.

I rate SAP Crystal Reports a seven out of ten because while reports sometimes lack clarity due to varying data scenarios affecting comprehension, the backend learning experience with data is ongoing and highlights existing challenges.

I recommend that users implementing SAP Crystal Reports initially focus on understanding their specific reporting needs, as I have worked for six years on various projects and found that comprehending the initial problems is crucial for effective integration and reporting.

I am currently working to integrate multilingual features into reports by understanding business needs and modeling the reports accordingly.

I have four years of experience in integrating SAP Crystal Reports with SAP B1, working for multiple companies since 2019, including the largest manufacturing company, Crown Auto Parts. As a database administrator, I oversee teams in Pakistan, addressing issues across various sectors such as sales, retail, and finance, developing tailored Crystal Reports and innovative solutions for business enhancement.