Exporting Data from 3 Commonly Used Applications

Tech Tip Explains How to Export Data from SAP, PeopleSoft and QuickBooks

Before any work can be done in IDEA, you’ll first need to acquire the data to be analyzed.

Here are the steps to export data from three commonly used applications; SAP, Peoplesoft and QuickBooks. Note that your exact steps may vary slightly depending on the version of software you are using.

Exporting Data from SAP

The easiest method to export data from SAP is to use SmartExporter. This tool is used to connect IDEA directly to your SAP system. It then exports the required table(s) and automatically creates a new IDEA database for you. If you don’t already have SmartExporter, please contact your Audimation Account Manager to get more information.

If you don’t want to use SmartExporter, you can still export your data to an Excel file which can then be imported into IDEA.

1. In full-screen mode, choose List → Export → Spreadsheet. If you have a choice of more than one format, the Select Spreadsheet dialog box opens.
2. In the Select Spreadsheet dialog box, select .XLSX or .XLS.
3. Confirm the settings.
4. In the dialog box that appears, specify the path and name of the file and save the file. For some formats, you also need to specify other settings for the file that is saved.
5. Make the required settings, where applicable.

This will open the data in a new Excel spreadsheet which can then be imported into IDEA.

Exporting Data from PeopleSoft

PeopleSoft supports integrations with several different reporting tools, such as Crystal, SQR, PS/nVision, Application Engine, and BI Publisher. Reports are typically created by application developers using the corresponding window-client based designer. In most cases, PeopleSoft Query is the primary data source for data from a PeopleSoft database. Users can then use reporting tools to apply additional formatting (HTML, PDF, XLS, XML, and so on) to the data to create a report.

However, if you have PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture access from a browser and do not have access to any PeopleSoft client tools, then you have limited options for customizing PeopleSoft reports.

To provide the flexibility to accomplish reporting tasks from Pure Internet Architecture, PeopleTools has provided a way of extracting, transforming, and distributing data from there without the need to access any client tools.

Note that these instructions are for existing queries. You may need to get a system administrator to assist you if you need to create a new query from scratch.

1. Navigate to the desired page and select Query Viewer.
2. Enter the query name and click Search.
3. Click the Run link for the query.
4. The query prompt page appears. Enter your Business Unit, Ledger, Budget Reference, DeptID, Fund, Program and Project values. Click the View Results button.
5. The query results display beneath the entered criteria. To send the query results to an Excel spreadsheet, click on the Excel Spreadsheet link located above the query results.
6. The File Download window appears. Click on the Save button. Choose the Open button to view results in Excel without saving the file.
7. Select the save location (drive & folder), enter a File name and Save as type of Microsoft Excel Worksheet. Click Save.
8. Once the Download is complete, click on the Open button.
9. Excel is launched and the results have been saved to an Excel file.

Exporting Data from QuickBooks

Exporting from QuickBooks is a straightforward task.

1. Click "Reports" at the top of the QuickBooks window and select "Report Center" from the resulting menu. The Report Center window opens.
2. Select the report containing the data you want to export to Excel and click "Display Report" to view it.
3. Click the "Excel" drop-down arrow at the top of the report. The Export Report window opens.
4. Click the radio button by "A new Excel workbook" if you want to create a new Excel workbook, or click the radio button by "An existing Excel workbook" if you want to update an existing workbook. If you choose the former, click "Browse" and select the workbook.
5. Click "Export" to extract your data from QuickBooks to Excel.
6. The data should then open in Excel. Make sure you go to File → Save as and save the file to your desired location before closing the worksheet.

To sum up, many ERP systems allow some sort of “export to Excel” function, “file save as” function or “print to PDF” function that will enable you to output data for your IDEA projects. You could also create a direct link to your data using IDEA’s ODBC import capabilities, depending on your IT environment.

If you have questions about this or other IDEA functions, please give our help desk a call at:
888-641-2800 Option 4
Or email us at [email protected]