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The specific, accounting and taxes software, from which data should be used in the electronic reports must have an export interface for the balance information. This account / position balances can be imported to the Reportfactory - the sum of taxonomy positions are calculated automatically. As export format CSV formats are supported. With importing CSV data the individual settings of the feeder system can be took with through selecting its information in the data import dialog . The creation process of an e- balance sheet is supported by a multi-purpose tool collection , so very different conditions and specific requirements of the data receiver are checked carefully.

For an easy overview, you can watch our product video.

The ReportFactory is available as a stand-alone system or a multi-user system. Using the single-user system, the installed software can be used by one user. For this, the software must be installed on the same computer, the user wants to access the ReportFactory.

If the ReportFactory was installed as a multi-user system, multiple remote users can access to the server software at the same time. In multi-user systems, the tasks can be assigned to specific users during the report creation process (authorization concept)

The E-Bilanz Addin extends the functionality of the ReportFactory to special functions which facilitate the creation of e-balances and checks the specific requirements of the recipient (German tax authorities) account. With the E-Bilanz Addin the transfer interface of the tax authorities is used (ERiC - Elster Rich Client). The Addin includes a plausibility and transmission component for the submission of e-balance sheets, which can be used for pilot and test case submissions and for real-case submissions since May 2012.

The user interface of the ReportFactory can be used in a web browser. The Internet browser uses the web service of the ReportFactory server . The ReportFactory server is java-based and referring to this, platform independent . In addition to the Internet browser, the ReportFactory can be used out of MS Office. The Office Addins communicate with the report Factory Server via a web interface. For the transmission of e- balances a software component of the financial management has been integrated into the software itself. The so-called ERiC ( Elster Rich Client ) can be run only on the operating systems Windows and Linux .

ReportFactory Server

Browser Client

MS Excel

ERiC

The Report Factory is delivered either as a stand-alone version or as a multi-user version. The license key file that is delivered in addition to the software package for installation contains information, whether it is a single user or a multi-user version. In the case of a multi-user version, the license key file also contains an indication of the number of users.

The ReportFactory can be installed under Windows with an installer or can be integrated in Windows and other operating systems as an application in an existing web server (Deployment of .war file).

The installation with the Windows installer is usually used in the single-user version, for the multi-user version or installation on other operating systems, the deployment is recommended in a Web server. In principle, users of the reportfactory can freely decide which of the two types of installation they want to use.

Please read the installation manual to learn more about the installation details or the specific implementation.

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When you launch the ReportFactory for the first time a default-user is created. Username and password are documented in the installation guide.

If your ReportFactory was not installed with the Windows Installer, please continue with the next section! There you will find the instructions for access the ReportFactory when it is installed in a Web server.

The ReportFactory is a browser-based application that, apart from the Office Addins, can be handled through most common internet browsers.

There are two user areas: If you have administrator rights, you can access the administration area to manage the users of RF. In the general user-interface, all users – which have been created through the admin – can create report projects and work on their specific report jobs.

The admin area can be loaded by selecting “Report Factory Administration” in the Internet browser installed on the system. If there are problems starting the Internet browser, you can also launch the browser manually and enter the following address:

http://localhost:8080/reportfactory/admin

The user interface can be accessed analogue either by calling “Report Factory interface” or by entering the following address in your browser:

http://localhost:8080/reportfactory

After calling the browser address a login screen appears.

After logging in, the user menu appears.

In the upper right corner, the user name of the logged in user is displayed (here “Administrator”).

If you have not logged out after you have used the report Factory the last time and your Internet browser has stored the credentials, it can be that the login menu will be skipped and the user menu of the Report Factory is displayed directly.

There are two user areas: If you have administrator rights, you can access the administration area to manage the users of RF. In the general user-interface, all users – which have been created through the admin – can create report projects and work on their specific report jobs.

The admin area can be loaded by calling an address in the Internet browser. The URL of the call depends on the address of the server on which the ReportFactory is installed. The start address has the following structure:

<server:port>/reportfactory/admin

The user interface can be accessed by entering the following address in your browser:

<server:port>//reportfactory

Please check with your system administrator the server address <server: port> for calling the ReportFactory!

After calling the browser address a login screen appears.

After logging in, the user menu appears.

In the upper right corner, the user name of the logged in user is displayed (here “Administrator”).

If you have not logged out when you last used the report Factory and your Internet browser has stored the credentials, it may be that the application form will be skipped and the user menu of the Report Factory is displayed directly.

To change the password, a user must be logged in. The user menu on the top right offers the following two functions:

To change the password, please proceed as follows:
Select the menu item “Change Password”. Then the following menu appears:

“Current Password”  - Please type here your old password, which shall be changed. Now enter in the input fields “New Password” and “Password repeat” the new password. Then confirm the entry by pressing the OK button.

To log out, select the user menu and select “Logout”.Then the login dialog appears again and re-login.

If you do not have administration rights for RF, you can skip this section!

In The administration area users are created and managed. A user must be assigned a login name, a real name and a password. New users are defined by clicking the “Add User” button.

In addition, three user roles can be assigned:

Manage existing users by clicking on the “pencil” button.

The ERiC client makes an internet connection for the transmission of e-balance on port 443 to one of the domains 

by https.

The settings to use a proxy for the ERiC client transmissions are made in the configuration file config.properties.

The config.properties is placed in the user data directory of the ReportFactory. An installation through using the installer this is by default C:\Program Data\ ABZ Reporting\Report Factory.

Functions are offered in two toolbars for creating the account mappings.

With the top toolbar, facts can be generated and deleted based of the existing account assignments. The functions “Generate facts” and “Remove facts” are always applied for all clients of one balance list.

It is also possible to export account assignments in a CSV file or import existing account assignments from a CSV file.

There are several reasons to back up the account assignments in a CSV file, for example to hold the current version of an account assignment or to take over the account assignments to other account balances or projects. If account assignments that were exported with the report Factory, shall be imported, then the user (chart of accounts or balances Import) has not to care about the specific CSV settings.

If the account assignments were created in a third-party software (for example, MS Excel), then similar settings as the other CSV import options can be made for importing the assignments.

The figure below shows the settings:

With the “Remove account assignments” button all account assignments of the balance list are removed. It is recommended, before deleting the account assignments, to export them first. If the deletion of the account assignment would lead to an unexpected result, then the account assignments can be imported back and thus the original state will be restored.

The second toolbar on the right side contains two selection lists and two buttons.

The first drop-down list allows you to toggle between the display of the entire chart of accounts and the presentation of individual account balances for a single client.

With the second selection list the presentation of the balance list between commercial balances and fiscal balances of a client can be switched. When the form of presentation “chart of accounts” was selected, then changing the settings in the selection list “commercial law / tax” will not affect the appearance of the Chart of Accounts.

Pressing the “New” button displays a selection with the entries “synthetic account” and “Account Group”.

Pressing the selection “synthetic Account”, a new (synthetic) account be created. This account is also added to the imported accounts and provided with a zero balance. Synthetic accounts can be filled with values by rebookings / reclassifications. They can be used in order to divide the balance of an account to multiple accounts.

Pressing the selection “Group account” a new group account can be created. In a group of accounts multiple accounts can be combined and can be assigned as a single account.

With the “Remove All” button all accounts of a chart of accounts or balances of a client will be deleted. This clearing operation only affects the respective selection in the two drop down menus on the left. If, for example, in the first selection list, the value “accounting system” and in the second selection list the value “commercial law” is selected, then only the commercial law chart of accounts is removed. The tax accounting system is preserved, and also not imported lists of account balances (both commercial law and tax) will be deleted.

The list of imported chart of accounts and the imported balances on the right side can be individually adapted. If you click with the right mouse button on the header of the table grid, this context menu appears:

With the context menu imported columns can be sorted and shown or hided. Certain columns can also be grouped so that multiple lines are grouped based on a key. When a Position Key was imported from a source system, this easifies the classification of accounts usually quite serious. In this case it would be advantageous, to adjust the appearance of the table, that one or both position key columns for the display are activated.

The assignment of accounts to a group of accounts is made by entering the number of the group account in the column “Group no”. The account that was assigned to a group of accounts is offset by double-clicking the account line in the edit mode. Thereafter -in the cell of the column “Group no.”- enter the number of the account group and confirm by pressing the “Return” key.

To remove the assignment of an account to an account group, the account is brought again in the editing mode, then the content of the cell in the column “Group no `" is deleted and confirmed by pressing the "`Return” key.

The assignment of one or more accounts to a position is done by marking the positions (by pressing the left mouse button when the mouse is located over the account) and then drawing one of the selected accounts by simply dragging it to the target position.

The marking of multiple accounts is simplified by the following key combinations:

Selection of a list of accounts:

Select multiple individual (non-contiguous) accounts

After an account of a position has been assigned, you can specify in the details tab “Mapped accounts” the assignment type for the account. When mapping the type can be set in different value ranges for the account balance. If a specific account balance is in the range of the mapping type, then the balance will be included in the calculation of the target position. If the account balance is out of range, then it does not flow into the calculation of the balance of the position.

In addition to the selection of multiple accounts, there are two further options to assign multiple accounts to a target position.

The activation of the control box “Auto link”. Position assignment “in the top toolbar on the right, leads to not that, that not only a single account is associated with drag and drop to a target position. Rather, in addition, all other accounts that have the same position key, will be assigned to the target position.

By selecting the accounts, the Position key is distinguished by debit and credit position keys. If an account is assigned to a target position, all accounts are automatically assigned to the same target position key. If there is a credit position in the target position, it is used in accordance with the credit position key. Since the source systems do not always distinguish between credit and debit position key, but use general position keys, it can be considered to the effect during data import, that the key column two properties “debit key” and “credit key” is assigned.

The lower right toolbar contains various filter functions that are described below.

With the left selection list, the representation of the accounts can be restricted to types of accounts. By selecting “All”, no filtering of accounts is made, and all accounts are displayed. To reduce the display of accounts, there exist the following selections:

With the right selection list, the presentation of the accounts may also be limited. By selecting “All accounts” no filtering of accounts is made or all accounts are displayed. To reduce the display of accounts exist the following selections:

When creating an initial account assignment, the filter setting “Unallocated accounts” is recommended because remapped accounts automatically disappear from the list after the assignment. Thus, users have the ability to successively process all accounts - the list of unallocated accounts is empty.

The filter “multiple assigned accounts” can help to determine the cause, because a multi-assigned account may have been accidentally assigned to several target positions because through a change of assignment you forget to delete the old assignment.

Pressing the Filter button (rightmost icon), the rows are filtered in the table view. With the toolbar fields or columns of a balance list are displayed or hidden. In the fields terms can be entered to display only the rows that contain a search term.

In the figure only accounts appear that contain the phrase “A F A”.

“Select all filtered accounts” - With the control box all filtered accounts are selected and can be assigned by drag and drop to a target position. This feature is especially useful when the search criterion in many accounts remain as a filter result, but should be allocated completely to a position. In this case, a cumbersome selecting of these positions is prevented by the use of the control box.

The report Factory provides the ability to display the taxonomy for filtering specific position properties. For this purpose, the left selection box on the taxonomy view, is expanded by pressing the icon.

Here are always the two built-in views “presentation” and “calculating” available. The selection list can be supplemented by additional custom views.

“Add New Filter” Pressing the button opens the dialog to define a filtered taxonomy view.

In the following dialogue the filtered taxonomy view is assigned with a name. Under this name the filtered taxonomy view is available after saving in the selection list of taxonomy views.

With the option “visible to all project members”, the filtered Taxonomiesicht is available to all users of the project. If in addition the “Project default” option is selected, then this filter is used - for all users of the project - as a presentation preset of the taxonomy. 

The first option for the filter is to select the presentation or calculation view (Presentation or Calculation hierarchy) as the standard of the taxonomy view.

The option “Hide unmatched positions” reduces the view of the positions with the desired properties. Otherwise, the positions are displayed, but not marked by a symbol.

The various filter criteria are:

The filter criteria can be combined so that the taxonomy view only contains the relevant items for the current application.

By pressing the “Save” button, the settings for the filtered taxonomy view are stored and filtered.

The icons on the left indicate the filter status of the corresponding position.

The symbol means that the line is not affected by the filter, but a position below exists that match the filter criteria.

The symbol means that the positioni s corresponding to the in the line to the filter criteria.

The symbol means that the position is in the line with the filter criteria and that positions below exist that also meet the filter criteria.

Filter with the setting “Visible to all project members” are exported when exporting project, filters without that setting will not be exported.

The Search for taxonomy views is facilitated by two search functions.

The accounts describtion in a list on the right balances can be used as a search term for a full text search in the taxonomy. The full text search is accessed by pressing the magnifying glass icon when the mouse pointer is over an account record.

To perform the search, in the above example, the account description “Land and buildings” is used as a term for the taxonomy view and the search results area (left to the taxonomy structure) shows the taxonomy positions found in a list:

By double-clicking on a position, it is expanded in the structure on the left side and marked as a currently selected position.

A similar search option provides the search box in the taxonomy view on the left side. When entering a search term the entered terms are completed in a suggestion list. The user is thus informed indirectly about as you type, which terms occur (and can deliver search results) and which are not in the taxonomy positions. After entering one or more keywords the button with the magnifying glass must be pressed and the search result is a list of found taxonomy positions.

The report “all positions” visualizes all positions of the taxonomy that contain values. For this, the structure of the so-called “presentation link base” (representation view of a taxonomy) is used. In the diagram view, the positions are displayed, which are not in a arithmetical context to the parent position.

The figure shows a section of the balance sheet. On the left the structure of the balance sheet position is represented by indentations, right position balances are shown in multiple columns (sorted by periods and clients).

This report groups the facts according to their arithmetical order, so, Total positions are always displayed in the hierarchy above the positions, whose balances are summarized. Because the of which-positions of an XBRL taxonomy are not linked arithmetically with total positions, the of-which-positions are not shown in this report.

In “positions + Account Balances / changes” report the positions are divided as described in the report “all positions”. For each position, the mathematical derivation of the value will be displayed under the position, where the associated balances and the impact of rebookings / reclassifications are displayed.

The position balances are displayed in gray shaded rows, balances assigned to a position in white lines. The account number of the associated balance is shown in square brackets.

The impact of the rebookings and reclassifications are shown in turquoise deposited lines.

The balance of a position consists of mathematically allocated balances and the balances of the booking rates of rebookings and reclassifications.

By pressing the refresh button in the top left, the report based on the current project data,  is performed and displayed. If the report window stays open a long time and changed during this time, (for example by adjustments of accounts allocations, etc.), then the report must be executed repeatedly by pressing the refresh button, so that the current values are displayed

The selection list on the right of the Update button allow filtering of project data. The first selection list has fact collections, forms and account balances, so you can reduce the report presentation on the facts of a particular selection value. Similarly, the report presentation can be limited in the client and period choices to certain clients and periods.

If a taxonomy is multilingual, then the position names can be replaced by selecting a language in the selection list on the right.

Pressing the printer icon button to open the print dialog of the browser.

After confirmation of the print dialog of the current report, it is completely printed. 

Pressing the Excel toolbar button starts the download of the report as an Excel file.

You can save the Excel file and open it with Excel.

The file is saved in 2007 Format (.xslx, Office Open XML).

With the menu “Reports” → “Filter” can be set for the taxonomies used in the project to select specific positions from the respective taxonomy.

A new filter is created by pressing the “New” button in the upper right. A name must be defined for a filter. Optionally, a description will be given. By pressing the “Apply” button at the bottom right, the filter settings are saved. Through the “Delete all” button, the current filter definition will be deleted.

The effect of a filter obtained from the filter rules by which a filter is defined. A filter rule in a filter is indicated by an entry in the list box on the bottom right.

In the application of filter rules, the rules for Exclude takes precedence over the rules for Include. If for a certain position a filter rule with the action (= values include) and a filter rule “Exclude” (not include = value) exists, then the values of the position are NOT touched by the filter.

With the “All items” button a filter line is created that includes all positions from a taxonomy.

For Include or Exclude there are four choices:

To select positions in the taxonomy on the left side, they must be transferred to the lower-right window by drag and drop operations. For the positions acquired in the filter,  thereafter an entry for the filter rules effect can be set in column “In- / Exclude”.

The positions to which a filter rule applies, are in the “Identifier” column. In the column “Periods”, “client” and “fact collections” it can be clarified to the effect of a filter, which facts are affected to the respective positions.

With the buttons in the middle of the right window, default values can be set for the creation of new filtering rules.

image:04/08.png

If the reporting period in 2010 is selected for example as a default value for the periods, then this setting is automatically adopted for all newly created filter rules. 

The rebookings report lists all active changes grouped by clients.

For each rebooking the title of the rebooking is displayed along with the balances list and the carrying amount. Further information, like the creation date, and a text description are displayed, too. The rebookings list is grouped by clients, and within a client after the reporting periods (earliest first).

With imported account balances you can do rebookings - similar to the books (ledgers) of a library.

Changes and rebookings have - as the account assignments - an impact on the calculation of the balances of involved positions,

In order to rebook or reclassify, booking rates are created. When a booking rate contains only accounts it’s called “transfer”. When a posting record contains at least one position it is called a rebooking.

A booking rate consists of debit and credit bookings. These have in total the same amount, so that the booking rate can be unlocked effectivly. This is done by activating the control box “booked”.

Together with the account assignments, the rebookings / reclassifications have an impact on the balances of involved positions. A position balance is calculated as the sum of the assigned account balances plus the sum of the debit and credit postings to the position and the associated accounts.

Through the buttons in the upper toolbar facts can be generated or removed. Pressing this button has the same effect as the corresponding buttons in the tool for creating account assignments.

From Version 1.11. there is the possibility to write a description of the transfer. To do that, click on the “pen” button. After that you can type in the description in the “Description” area, as you can see in the image.

To create a rebooking or reclassification, the toolbar at the top right is used. In the selection list (first line), the period of the rebooking is selected. In the second line of the client is determined and it is set apart whether the rebooking / reclassification is related to commercial law or tax purposes.

According to the settings of these three selection lists the existing rebookings / reclassifications are shown in a list below the toolbar. Existing rebookings / reclassifications can be edit by selecting those in the list. By pressing the “Save” button, the changes are applied and all items removed in the booking rate. With the “New” button (top right), a new booking rate will be created. With the surface “Activate/Deactivate” the rebooking can be activated or disabled.

The left pane contains two tabs, the taxonomy and the account balances. Positions or accounts can be easily inserted by drag and drop in the booking rate’s lower right window. After inserting the debit or credit balance of the entry must be adjusted to the desired value. From Version 1.11. even the positions of the chart of accounts can be used in the rebookings – by clicking on “accounts” and choosing the chart of accounts.

By clicking the dialog “Open” in the project menu, every user can see the projects for which the that user has the permission. The rest of the projects are not shown.

To open a project, the project in the list must be selected and then loaded by clicking the “Open” button.

During the RF installation there is an optional installation step “Creation of sample projects”. If the sample projects were installed, the users can find various preconfigured projects for e-balance taxonomy versions or industry modules in the project selection,  that can be adapted to the individual requirements.

Users who have permission to create new projects, can use the “New” entry in the Project menu to create new projects. When creating a project some preparation must be made in the configuration of the project. Therefore, please read the next section to learn about more about the project configuration.

The settings of the project configuration are made in several riders (or tabs) in the project configuration dialog.

By pressing the “Save” button, the settings of all tabs are secured. When “Cancel” any changes to the settings are rejected.

By selecting the profile “CSV Format”, a chart of account which is in a CSV format can be loaded into the Report Factory.

The CSV file, which shall be imported, is selected by pressing the “Choosing file” button. After that, multiple settings vor the CSV import can be made, for that click on the “advanced settings” button.

These settings depend on the source system used and can be different thus depending on the feeder system.

With the “preview” button, the import file is loaded and displayed. Since the order of the columns is not standardized in CSV files, the columns may contain following characteristics:

For the data import, at least one column must have the information „account number“. Based on the account number the assignments of the account balances to reporting positions are done later on. Therefore, the account number must be a clear criterion in the import file - there may be only one line for an account number.

From Version 1.11 it is possible to save the import settings as a custom profile. To save a custom profile, you first customize advanced settings and arrange the columns after the preview. Then click on the “Save Profile” button. In the next dialog, enter the name of the custom profile.

By pressing the button “OK”  the import profile is stored. If you want to set it as a default for the current project, place a hook in the “Project default” checkbox.

By defining a project standard, the appropriate profile is selected when you open the Import dialog.

To delete a custom profile, first click on the Profile in the selection list. Then click the delete icon to delete the profile.

By selecting the profile “SAP balance sheet structure”, a chart of account, which was exported from SAP, can be loaded into the report Factory.

The SAP balance sheet structure file with the specific chart of account information is selected by pressing the “Choose file” button.

With the “preview” button, an import file can be loaded and displayed.

By pressing the “Import” button, the accounting system information is imported to the ReportFactory.

The special structure that supports the ReportFactory chart of account important, is a special export of SAP balance sheet structure.

You can execute the export in SAP in the window “SAP Bilanz/GuV-Struktur ändern” (Transaktion FSE3 or FSO2)

At this screen, you get the navigation bar on the following items.

For classic General Ledger Accounting (in Customizing Guide):

Finance - General Ledger - Business Transactions - Conclusion - Documenting - balance sheet / P & L structures define.

For the new General Ledger Accounting (in Customizing Guide):

Financial Accounting (New) - Define balance sheet / P & L structures - General Ledger Accounting (New) - Master Data - ledger accounts.

After selecting the desired structure in the Bil./GuV-Positionen jump.

Next, you can expand the entire balance sheet structure tree by clicking on the icon

Make sure , that in the display options the vlaue “Mit Konten-/Funktbereichs-Texten” is selected.

Then you can export the list with the menu item

System - List - Export - Local file.

Choose Liste sichern in Datei and the file type “unkonvertiert”.

The CSV file, which shall be imported, is selected by pressing the button “choose files”. Subsequently a number of advanced settings for the CSV format can be made. To make advanced settings visible, press the “Advanced Settings” button.

The settings may be different, depending on the source system used.

With the details of the fields “Valuation” and “Client” it is set during data import, for which clients shall data be imported and whether it is commercial, legal or tax balances.

With the “Preview” button, the file to be imported are loaded and displayed. After displaying the preview of each column of the import file the following properties can be assigned:

If a balance list shall be imported for one client only, then this client in the selection list “client” can be selected. If the balances Import shall be executed for multiple (any) clients, then a column of the CSV file can containing the client key. The client key must match with the client identifiers of the project configuration, so that balances of the clients can be assigned correctly.

Depending on whether one or more periods have been configured in the project, one or more columns of the import file can be assigned to these periods.

For the data import at least the properties of “account number”, “client” and one period of each column must be assigned. The account number must be a clear criterion in the import file - there may be only one line for an account number.

From Version 1.11 it is possible to save the import settings as a custom profile. To save a custom profile, you first customize advanced settings and arrange the columns after the preview. Then click on the “Save Profile” button. In the next dialog, enter the name of the custom profile.

By pressing the “OK” button, the import profile is stored. If you want to set it as a default for the current project, place a hook in the “Project default” checkbox.

By defining this as a project standard,  the appropriate profile is selected when you open the account balances import.

To delete a custom profile, first click on the Profile selection list. Then click the delete icon to delete the profile.

“Generate XBRL” By pressing the button, a submission record is generated. Prior to the generation of the record, in the submission options changes should be made, which may influence the type of generation of the filing record and the transmission.

For e-filing balance the following filing options exist:

For filing and sending an e-balance , the data set must satisfy the Plausibilty rules of the financial department. Therefore the ERiC component of the financial department was integrated in the ReportFactory. With this, the record can be checked prior to the filing and transmitted thereafter. Records that cause testing errors, may not be filed!

The check rules of the ERiC component were implemented independently in the report Factory, to execute the plausibility rules in meaningful compiled test blocks and to provide meaningful error messages. There can be no assurance that the test result of the report Factory with the ERiC component matches 100%, because the check routines of ERiC component were not disclosed. For this reason, the plausibility of ERiC component is always executed after performing ReportFactory- plausibility. It is possible to submit each record, having passed the ERiC-plausibility, even if the test is failed by the report Factory Plausibilisierungsregeln.

When creating the XBRL data set for submitting the validity of the data set is checked. The test results are displayed in list form in the middle window “Check Filing”.

If a check rule generates a test result, this result is displayed in the list of check reports. A test message contains the following information:

If a was created, all the submission data is shown in the preview window below. This gives the transmitter the opportunity to check the complete filing record, finally.

To test the transmission, use “Execute”. Does the submission indicates no errors the current data set is transmitted. If there are errors in the submission set, a submission with synthetic data is used to test the transmission.

After pressing the “submit” button, the transmission of the data set is started. If the transmission could be carried out successfully, a completion message appears. After that, it is possible to download the delivery protocol by pressing the “Protocol” Button.

If a filing record was generated also the “XBRL Download” button in the toolbar is activated. Pressing this button, the full set of data, which is ready for submission can be be stored in a file. The storage function can be used to archive the data set or for technical error analysis.

When the filing could be generated without plausibility errors, then also the “Submit” button is activated. After pressing this button a submission dialog will appear, here the mandatory transfer to a data receiver can be performed.

When transmitting e-balances the indication of an electronic certificate is required. The submission dialog for e-filing balance is shown in the following figure.

With a successful submission this is archived by the report Factory Server in the subdirectory “filingArchive” of the application data.

An archive contains all relevant data submission, and data that is expected in archiving systems. Specifically, these are: (accounts, account assignments, transfers, reclassifications, forms, etc.) of the client, as well as the data. In addition, in the archive file, the following information is stored:

By pressing the “Test” button, a filing record is generated. Bevor creating the filing record, the submission options must be configured in the submission configuration window, because those settings can have an effect on the transmission.

For a Bundesanzeiger filing the following filing options exist:

To file and transmit a Bundesanzeiger filing, the filing record has not to match the plausibility rules.

Merely there have been integrated plausbilites in the ReportFactory, which should prevent a substantive incorrect filing.

When creating the XBRL data for submitting, the validity of the data is checked. The test results are displayed in list form in the middle window “Prüfung der Einreichung”.

If a check rule generates a test result, this result is displayed in the list of audit reports. A test message contains the following information:

Examination step: Identification of the examination step in which the error occurred. Examination steps summarize a lot of tests, to group the test results sensefully.

Error type: Type of test message, for example, Warning or error

Test Message: Description of the test results, for example with a description to remove errors.

If a record was created, all the data submission in the preview window is shown below. This gives the transmitter the opportunity, finally to check the complete record to be filed. 

If a submission record was generated also the “Einreichungspaket herunterladen” button is active in the tool bar. Pressing this button, the full set of data, which is ready for submission, can be stored in a file. After saving the record, the submission data set can be uploaded to the Bundesanzeigerportal and be published or deposited.

The submission on the Bundesanzeigerportal is well described by the local help in individual steps.

This section covers the points that are important in the interaction with the report Factory.

After signing in on Bundesanzeigerportal and it was determined whether a “submission” or “deposit” is carried out, different information must be provided.

In step “Weitere Auftragsdaten” à “Bilanzierungsstandard” you have to select “HGB” an confirm with “OK”.

The report Factory currently provides only the taxonomies for HGB disclosures. If you have to publish other accounting standards such as IFRS for the Bundesanzeiger, please contact us.

To upload the submission produced with the report Factory, select the step “Übermittlung” and “Weitere Datei(en) hochladen”.

In the next window to step “transmitting” click in “A)” on “Browse” and select the submission package created by the report from Factory.

Then select the “B)” “Full accounting documents” and press under “License C)” on the “File (s)”.

Next, select the “D)” the language of filing, and press the “Next” button.

Now you get a preview of your submission and must confirm this. The next steps for the implementation of the submission included detailed explanations, which are matched to the selected settings.

Note that this is a binding and paid submission.

When downloading a submission this is archived by report Factory Server in the subdirectory “filingArchive” of the application data.

An archive contains all relevant data submission, and data that is expected in archiving systems. Specifically, these are: (accounts, account assignments, transfers, reclassifications, forms, etc.) of the client, as well as the data. In addition, in the archive file, the following information is stored:

In the window on the right side, the input fields of the form can be configured.

For this, the following information can be given:

By clicking “change form” the first time, a dialog appears, asking you to select a table space from the taxonomy.

After specifying the table space you will see a preview of the table form.

To create the table, drag the dimensions from the “Unassigned dimension” in one of the areas rows, columns or worksheets. Thereby, the dimensions appear as rows, columns, or worksheets.

The table preview is updated and you will be informed whether further action is required .to ensure that at least one dimension, each for rows, columns and worksheets was set.

Once at least one dimension in the fields of rows, columns and worksheets was assigned, the table preview is supplemented by the positions of the associated dimensions. Once all dimensions have been associated with, the table form can be saved.

To delete the association of a dimension click on the “Remove icon” or drag the dimension to the “Unassigned dimensions”.

The arrangement of positions in table rows columns, and pages are changed by three operations:

By using the Dimension Editor may also be affected the appearance of the positions and subpositions in the table. To change the structure click on the delete icon in the right pane of the dialog box. This position and subpositions are moved to the right side of “Available positions”. Positions in the left panel can be moved in the right area back to change their arrangement.

After confirming the settings by clicking the OK button, the settings for the table view are applied.

Click to edit the characteristics of a dimension on Dimension edit .In the following dialog select a dimension in the menu selection:

Dimension values can be only acquired for “open” dimensions; those which are not determined by the taxonomy.

The buttons close to the selection lists buttons are used for storing and resetting the forms. By pressing the “Save” button, the current values of a data entry form are saved. All values in the current form will be deleted with the function “clear” and with the “Remove Data” function, all form values are deleted from the database. Executing “Clear” and then executing “Save” has the same effect as the “remove data” function.

When data acquisition is carried out immediately after that a type test is started. If an invalid value is entered, an exclamation point icon appears next to the input field. When the mouse moves over the icon, an error message with information about the cause of the error is visible.

The input field window contains a tool bar.

In the toolbar the language of the form positions can be adjusted. The number of languages is determined by the used taxonomy.

An entry form allows you to enter data for all clients and to enter commercial law and tax values.

The second list from the left shows the available clients for which the form has been configured. By selecting a client, the sensed input values are stored in the form of these selected clients. The third selection list allows you to specify whether commercial law or tax values are to be measured.

Caution: When switching between clients or between the commercial and tax form view, previously entered data can be lost when the form has not been saved!

Individual values of form positions may be removed either by deleting the value in the box or by clicking on the broom icon to the left of the entry box. When entering truth values in a control box, there are three possible values:

Fields in which the entering of data is expected, are marked with a star symbol. If no values are entered in these input fields, the form can still be saved. After entering invalid values in an entering field, these values are removed when saving.

“Belong together information” in a data structure are represented by square brackets on the left side. For data structures, the possibility exists , to produce several versions. Additional characteristics of a data structure can be created by clicking the “+” symbol. Superfluous data structures can be removed again by clicking on the “-“ symbol.

To enter data in a table form, click on a cell in the table.

There are two ways for entering data in tables. By importitng data using a CSV file or by entering it manually.

When totals calculation is disabled you can manually enter data in all cells of the table.

Please disable checkbox “Totals calculation”  to manually enter data. Then simply enter values in cells by clicking on them. 

To change the worksheets, select a value in a pick list in the upper left corner of the screen, below the toolbar. Thus, the entered values in the table are associated with the worksheet for that dimension (for example, the client).

If the same table must be filled with information of two different clients, first select the first client in the selection list, enter the data and select then the second client and enter again the values.

You can make editing of large tables easier by:

Click to edit the characteristics of a dimension “Dimension edit” .In the following dialog select a dimension in the menu selection:

Dimension values can be edit only for “open” dimensions, which are not determined by the taxonomy. After saving the changes, the table is updated. The updated dimension values and their descriptions appear in the selection lists.

With the menu function “Export Project” the export dialog can be accessed. The user has to be administrator of the project to export a project.

The export dialog shows a multiline interface. Here you can insert a description of the export.

Additionally, two save options are shown:

By pressing “export” the export process is started.

By clicking on “Import Project” in the main menu, the import dialog is opened.

The import section is divided in two parts. In the upper section, a previous, local exported project can be uploaded to the ReportFactory server. Therefore you have to choose the file via “Choose file” and search for the right project in the upcoming dialog. After that the project can be uploaded – by pressing uplpad. Now the project is ready to import. In the lower section you can see a table of all project exports, which are available on the server. By selecting the specific export it can be imported, deleted or downloaded – this can be done by clicking of one of the buttons.

To replace the taxonomy the project configuration has to be opened (tab taxonomy). By clicking in the left box on the line with the desired target taxonomy ,this is selected and added by pressing the “Add” button to the available taxonomies in the project.

After that the tab fact collections has to be opened. By double clicking on the row of the desired collection of facts it is opened for editing. In the “taxonomy” column can now the previously added taxonomy be selected.

By pressing save, the exchange process is started.

If data for the new Taxonomieversion could not be applied, a report is displayed, describing the individual effects.

After the taxonomy change, the old taxonomy has to be removed from the project. For this, go the project configuration and open the tab “taxonomies” again. In the right box the old taxonomy must be selected and by clicking the “Remove” button it is removed from the project. By pressing the “Save” button, the change is adopted.

To duplicate a project it must be open. Likewise, the user must be administrator of the project (see report Managing Projects) and must have the general right to create new projects (see installation and running ReportFactory). If the menu item “Create copy” is grayed out, the user does not have the required permissions.

“Create a copy” by selecting the menu item in the Project menu it opens the dialog to duplicate the project.

In the following dialog the new project name has to entered and by pressing the “Copy” button an exact copy of the current project can be created.

If a report project shall be used for a  following reporting period and / or a following the taxonomy version shall be changed, this is also supported through the ReportFactory.

To use this functionality, the initial project must be open. Likewise, the user must have administrator rights and must have the general right to create new projects). If the menu item “Roll forward” is grayed out, the user does not have the required permissions.

“Roll forward” by selecting the menu item is starting the update process.

In the dialog box, enter the name of the forwarded copy. By pressing the “Next” button you get to the next dialog.

Press the button “Next” to go to the next dialog.

Press the button “Next” to go to the next dialog.

Press the button “Next” to go to the next dialog.

Press the button “Next” to go to the next dialog.

Press the button “Next” to go to the next dialog.

By pressing the “Finish” button the copying process is executed.

You will see a progress bar that remains visible for the entire duration of the copying process. The copy process may take several minutes depending on the size of the project.

After finishing the progress the project can be opened and used.

At the wikipage “ReportFactory Projektvorlagen” exported projects are provided that can be used as a starting point for an e-balance submission.

The projects can be used through importing those (see Project Export and Import) to the ReportFactory.

Using the “Clone form” tab, (see Report Project Managmenet) only static data forms from the project template is copied into another project.

Hereinafter the installation of Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release) is described. The installation description is constructed in a way, that this browser can be installed in addition to existing browsers without causing side effects, for example through the use of an existing browser profile or plugins.

Please select the specific download address - depending on your report Factory version, the existing operating system and the desired language for the browser.

Then start the installer and follow the instructions in the installation manual.