Initial Configuration of Your Report
As you start to plan your report, you need to think about how the records in your report relate to one another. You will want to think about the records hierarchically, and target the lowest-level record or records. Then, pull fields from records higher in the hierarchy. By only selecting the lowest-level record, you avoid pulling duplicate data into your report.
In the sections below, we will discuss two sequential steps: targeting the lowest-level entity, and then targeting the lowest-level object. Then, we will discuss avoiding cross-table interactions.
When you create a report, select the lowest level of entity on which you will be reporting. For example, if you will be reporting on Contracts but you will also be including location and facility data in your report, select the Contract check box. Then, when you are selecting fields for your report, you will use the Location and Facility foreign key fields to include location and facility data.
In this scenario, the reason we would select the Contract check box but not the Location and Facility check boxes is because Location is the Parent, Facility is the Child, and Contract is the Grandchild.
Once you have created your report, you will want to pull fields from the data field for the lowest level object in the report. An object is typically any related set of fields in Lucernex that represent a single artifact or idea—such as a contract, payment transaction, straight‐line period, percentage rent record, or schedule task.
For example, say you wanted to create a report that listed expenses with multiple vendor allocations by expense type for active contracts within a specific region.
In the above statement, we can see three objects:
Since the Expense Vendor Allocation is lower in the hierarchy than the other two objects, we should primarily pull fields from this data subgroup. If we need to get data from the Contract or Expense Setup objects, we can use Foreign Key fields and Shine-Through fields.
Do not include data from sibling or cousin objects in the same report. Doing so will cause errors, because these objects do not have a natural relationship with one another. For example, you should not create a report that includes fields from the Available Fields > Contract > Expense Allocation and Available Fields > Contract > Expense Schedule sub-groups.
First: Target the Lowest-Level Entity