Ask five people in a Dynamics GP company where their numbers come from, and you may hear five answers: a SmartList, a Management Reporter statement, a report on the reporting server, an Excel workbook that refreshes itself, and a Power BI dashboard. Each of these tools works directly with Microsoft Dynamics GP data, and each was designed for a different kind of question.
This article compares them in plain language, so that finance managers and IT leaders can decide which tool to use for which task, where each one reaches its limits, and what it costs to maintain.
The Five Tools at a Glance
| Tool | Best for | Typical user | Skill needed | Extra cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SmartList | Quick lists and lookups | Every GP user | Low | Included in GP |
| Management Reporter | Financial statements | Controller and finance team | Medium | Included with GP |
| SSRS reports | Formatted operational reports | Operations and finance | Medium to high to build | Reporting Services, part of SQL Server |
| Excel refreshable reports | Flexible analysis | Analysts and managers | Low to medium | Microsoft Office |
| Power BI | Dashboards and trends | Management and analysts | Medium to high | Power BI licenses per user |
Most companies need two or three of these tools, not all five.
SmartList: Fast Answers for Everyday Questions
SmartList is the tool most Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) users open first. It shows lists of customers, vendors, transactions or items, lets the user filter and sort them, and exports the result to Excel with one click. Favorites can be saved and shared, so a credit controller can keep a list of overdue invoices above a certain amount and open it every morning. For many companies, a well-organized set of shared favorites removes the need for a dozen custom reports.
With SmartList Designer, which is built into Dynamics GP, an administrator can create new lists from SQL Server views without programming. Add-on products such as SmartList Builder offer more control for lists that combine several tables.
The limits appear when the question goes beyond a list. SmartList does not produce formatted documents, has no grouped subtotals in the way a report has, and becomes slow on very large tables unless the search is narrowed. It is also unsuitable for financial statements, because it shows transactions rather than balances arranged in a statement layout.
Management Reporter: The Standard for Financial Statements
Management Reporter is the financial reporting tool that comes with Dynamics GP. It builds balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements from three building blocks: row definitions for accounts, column definitions for periods and comparisons, and reporting trees for departments or companies. Once these are designed, the same report runs every month without changes, and users can drill down from a total to the account and the transaction.
Its strengths are consistency and control. A board pack built on one row definition gives the same figures each time, and reporting trees make it easy to produce one statement per department or to consolidate several companies. For groups with more than one Dynamics GP company, that consolidation is often the deciding factor.
The limits are mainly technical. Management Reporter relies on a separate service, and in many installations on a data mart that must stay synchronized with Dynamics GP, so most problems concern that link rather than the report design. It also focuses on general ledger data. Its last cumulative update was released in 2018 and its support follows the GP lifecycle, while Microsoft continues to release compatibility updates through Dynamics GP itself. To receive them, Dynamics GP must be on a current version, which is one more reason to plan a regular Dynamics GP upgrade.
SSRS Reports: Formatted Reports for Operations
SQL Server Reporting Services is Microsoft’s reporting server, and Dynamics GP includes a library of ready-made reports for it that can be deployed during setup. Users open them from a web browser or from Dynamics GP, choose parameters such as a date range or a customer class, and receive a formatted report that can be printed, exported to PDF or sent by email on a schedule.
SSRS is the right choice for reports that must look the same every time and reach people who do not use Dynamics GP, such as a weekly sales report for regional managers. New reports are built with Report Builder or Visual Studio and need someone who understands SQL and the Dynamics GP tables, so every customization of this kind has a cost. SSRS is less suitable for interactive analysis, because each change of view usually means running the report again.
Excel Refreshable Reports: Analysis in a Familiar Tool
Dynamics GP can also deploy a set of Excel workbooks that connect directly to the company database through SQL Server views. When a user opens a workbook and refreshes it, the data is current, and all of Excel’s tools are available: pivot tables, formulas and charts. SmartLists built on SQL views can also be published as refreshable Excel reports.
This is often the quickest way to give an analyst live data without building anything new. The risk lies in control. Workbooks are copied, renamed and changed, and after a year several versions of the same report may show different totals. Most finance teams will recognize that problem. Access is managed through SQL Server security, so a careless setup can expose salary or customer data. We recommend one master copy in a controlled location, with access limited by role.
Power BI: Dashboards and Trends
Power BI connects to the Dynamics GP database, combines the data into a model and presents it as interactive dashboards. A sales director can see revenue by region and month, select a region and see the customers behind it, on a phone or in a browser. Power BI can also combine GP data with other sources, such as a CRM system or a budget file, which none of the other tools here do well.
The effort lies in the data model. Dynamics GP tables were designed for transactions, not analysis, so a good Power BI solution needs views or a data warehouse that translate Dynamics GP’s structure into business terms. For the cloud service to refresh data from an on-premises Dynamics GP server, an on-premises data gateway is also required.
Licensing is per user. At the time of writing, the list price of Power BI Pro is $14 per user per month, and anyone who publishes or views shared reports normally needs a license unless the organization uses a capacity-based plan. Power BI Pro is also included in Microsoft 365 E5, so check your existing subscriptions before buying.
Which Tool for Which Question
The clearest way to choose is to start from the question rather than the tool.
| Question | Best tool |
|---|---|
| Which invoices are more than 60 days overdue? | SmartList |
| What did each department spend against budget this month? | Management Reporter |
| What goes into this week’s shipment report for the warehouse? | SSRS |
| How has margin by product group changed over three years? | Excel refreshable report or Power BI |
| How is the business performing today, at a glance? | Power BI |
By role, the pattern is similar. Payables and receivables staff work mostly in SmartList, the controller in Management Reporter and Excel, operations managers with SSRS reports, and senior management with Power BI. A practical plan for most Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) companies uses SmartList for daily work, Management Reporter for statements, and either Excel or Power BI for analysis. SSRS is worth adding when formatted reports must reach people outside GP.
Reporting After GP: What Changes in Business Central
Microsoft has confirmed that support for Dynamics GP ends on December 31, 2029. When companies plan a Dynamics GP to Business Central migration, reporting is one of the areas that changes most. Dynamics 365 Business Central has its own financial reporting feature for statements, ready-made Power BI reports and direct analysis in Excel, so Management Reporter designs and SSRS reports do not carry over as they are.
The reporting questions, however, stay the same. Analyzing which Dynamics GP reports are really used before a migration, from SmartList favorites to Management Reporter row definitions and SSRS subscriptions, reduces both the cost and the risk of rebuilding them.
How Nevas Technologies Helps
Nevas Technologies has worked with Dynamics GP for more than 20 years. Our consultants review which reports your teams actually use, repair Management Reporter connections, design SmartLists and SSRS reports, and build Power BI models on GP data. Our Dynamics GP support team handles day-to-day reporting questions, and Dynamics GP training helps users get more from SmartList and Excel before anyone pays for a new tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we pay extra for SmartList or Management Reporter?
No. Both are part of your Dynamics GP license. SmartList Designer is included as well, while some add-on products for SmartList are sold separately.
Can Power BI connect to GP directly?
Yes, to the SQL Server database. For scheduled refresh in the Power BI cloud service, an on-premises data gateway is needed.
Which tool is best for a board pack?
Management Reporter for the financial statements, combined with a small number of Power BI or Excel charts for trends.
Will our reports move to Business Central automatically?
No. Reports are rebuilt in Business Central’s own tools, which is why a reporting inventory is a useful first step in any migration.
Conclusion
Summarizing the comparison: SmartList answers quick questions, Management Reporter produces financial statements, SSRS delivers formatted reports, Excel supports flexible analysis, and Power BI shows performance at a glance. We emphasize that the right mix depends on who needs the information and how often, not on which tool is newest.
If you would like help choosing or building your reporting set, contact our team or request a quote.
