Explorer
The Explorer builds analyses of the invoice data without writing SQL. The fields of seven entities around the invoice are dropped onto Rows, Measures and Filters; the result shows as a table, a pivot, detail rows or a chart, and any value opens the invoices behind it. Analyses are saved, shared and gathered into dashboards. Ready-made analyses and dashboards come for IT, accounting and audit. The Explorer works the same whatever the source system (JD Edwards, SAP, NetSuite or a custom ERP) and on every supported database.
Open it from Explorer, in the Navigation group of the menu, next to Reports. It replaces the former Query tool tab of the Reports page; the reports saved there are converted into analyses automatically.
At a glance
The fields
The left pane lists the fields of seven entities, with a search box:
| Entity | One row per |
|---|---|
| Invoices | Invoice: status, amounts, counterparty, dates. |
| Documents (archive) | Archived document. |
| Lifecycle events | Status event of an invoice. |
| Validation findings | Validation finding of an invoice. |
| Invoice lines | Invoice line. |
| VAT breakdown | VAT breakdown row. |
| Notifications | Notification. |
The Entity of the toolbar decides what a row of the result counts; fields of the other entities join through the invoice. A filter on lifecycle events, findings or lines selects the invoices that have such a row.
A field is dragged onto a shelf, or clicked to add it. Amounts are in their real unit. A coded field — status, transaction type… — shows the labels of the list chosen for that column in List views (Invoices, E-Documents, Integration errors), so a short list set there applies to the Explorer too.
Building an analysis
| Shelf | Use |
|---|---|
| Rows | The fields the result is grouped by. A date groups by day, week, month, quarter or year. In a chart, the second row field gives the series. |
| Measures | The values computed per group: Count, Distinct, Sum, Average, Min, Max. Count of rows is offered by default. |
| Filters | Conditions on any field — contains, =, ≠, <, ≤, >, ≥, between, in, is empty, is not empty. A Period applies to any date field, or No period filter. |
Top limits the result to the largest groups; Run executes the analysis. Every analysis has an option Exclude reviewed errors, which leaves out the errors customer service has already handled.
Views
| View | Result |
|---|---|
| Table | One row per group, with the measures. |
| Pivot | A cross table: row fields nested with collapsible subtotals (Expand all, Collapse all), an optional column axis, and each cell's share of its parent or of the total. |
| Detail | The rows themselves, page by page; a row opens the invoice. |
| Bars | Vertical or horizontal, grouped or stacked. |
| Line | Line or area. |
| Pie | Pie or donut. |
| KPI | Cards with the totals over every row of the result. |
In a chart, the ten largest series are drawn and the rest grouped as Others; dates read in order, other categories by size. Hovering shows the values. Switching between views does not run the query again, and the options of the chart are saved with the analysis.
Drilling down
A result row, a pivot cell, a bar, a point or a slice opens the rows behind it; a detail row opens the invoice window.
Calculated fields
An analysis can define its own fields with a small expression language, under Calculated fields → New calculated field:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Letters, digits and _. |
| Label / French label | Shown in the field list and the results. |
| Expression | Arithmetic on amounts, functions and conditions. Insert a field… and Insert a function… insert at the cursor. |
| Test | Runs the expression on a few rows before use. |
| Function | Result |
|---|---|
age(date) | Days since the date. |
days(from, to) | Days between two dates. |
year(date), month(date) | Year, month. |
round(x, decimals), abs(x) | Rounding, absolute value. |
coalesce(x, value if empty) | A value when the field is empty. |
condition ? 'a' : 'b' | A choice — age(dueDate) > 30 ? 'late' : 'on time'. |
in ('a', 'b') | Membership. |
A number can be used as a measure, a text as a row or a filter. The expression runs the same on every supported database.
Saving and sharing
Save opens a window with the Name (in the interface's language), Visible to — Every user who can open the Explorer or Only me — then Save or Save as. Save replaces the analysis; Save as creates a copy under the new name, which is how a provided analysis is adapted while keeping the original. The saved analyses are listed by audience (IT, Accounting, Audit, Custom) and name; picking one runs it at once with its own period.
Each analysis and each dashboard is one JSON file under the environment's configuration folder (analyses/, dashboards/). Both can be carried to another instance with Promotion — a dashboard brings its analyses — and the implementation report lists them.
Dashboards
The Dashboards mode gathers saved analyses as tiles on a four-column grid, each with its width, its height and its view — chart, table or pivot. One period at the top applies to every tile. A tile drills like its analysis and opens it in the editor. Edit layout adds tiles (Analysis to add…, Add tile), moves them and sets their size.
Ready-made analyses and dashboards
NomaUBL installs twelve analyses and three dashboards, once; they are never overwritten afterwards, so they can be adapted.
| Audience | Dashboard | Analyses |
|---|---|---|
| IT | Operations | Volume per document · Findings per day and source · Send and import failures · Invoices in a workflow status |
| Accounting | Month end | VAT per month and rate · Amounts per status · Top customers · Invoices and credit notes per month |
| Audit | Audit period | Findings per rule · Refusals and rejections per reason · Status events per month · Status statistics |
Status statistics reproduces the pivot of the Reports page, whose tab stays as it is.
Exports and digests
| Export | Content |
|---|---|
| An analysis or a dashboard in the audit report layout: cover with environment, period, date, author and version, contents for a dashboard, running headers, each chart with all its data, filters noted. | |
| Excel | The cross table; a dashboard as one sheet per tile. |
| PNG | The chart of an analysis. |
A daily digest can send a saved analysis or a whole dashboard, run over the digest's window, as Excel or as a PDF in the same layout.
Access
Grant the Explorer page in the Navigation group on the Roles page. The results follow the company visibility of the signed-in user.
Tips & best practices
- Start from a ready-made analysis and Save as to adapt it; the original stays available.
- Pick the entity first. It decides what is counted: invoices, lines, events or findings.
- Use the pivot with share of parent to read a distribution — statuses per company, VAT rates per month.
- Give a short list to coded fields in List views: the Explorer reuses it.
- Send the Month end dashboard by digest at the start of the month, as PDF, to the accounting team.