A huge improvement to Manager would be:
- To allow sub accounts to be collapsed in the Summary view so only group totals show. This would keep the Summary page at a reasonable size.
And
- To develop data storage methods and reports that show the data in BOTH the following ways:
REPORT BY ASSET
Airplane 1
Repairs 2,730
Oil 1,305
Fuel 4,263
Cleaning 780
Insurance 3,400
Permits 500
Airplane 1 Total 12,978
Airplane 2
Repairs 5,400
Oil 800
Fuel 1,300
Cleaning 340
Insurance 1,200
Permits 473
Airplane 2 Total 9,513
Airplane 3
Repairs 9,342
Oil 1,428
Fuel 5,736
Cleaning 780
Insurance 6,281
Permits 950
Airplane 3 Total 24,517
Airplane 4
Repairs 1,738
Oil 1,729
Fuel 5,382
Cleaning 1,434
Insurance 5,666
Permits 935
Airplane 4 Total 16,884
=====================================
TOTAL SPENT ALL 4 AIRPLANES = 63,892
REPORT BY EXPENSE TYPE
Repairs
Airplane 1 2,730
Airplane 2 5,400
Airplane 3 9,342
Airplane 4 1,738
Repairs Total 19,210
Oil
Airplane 1 1,305
Airplane 2 800
Airplane 3 1,428
Airplane 4 1,729
Oil Total 5,262
Fuel
Airplane 1 4,263
Airplane 2 1,300
Airplane 3 5,736
Airplane 4 5,382
Fuel Total 16,681
Cleaning
Airplane 1 780
Airplane 2 340
Airplane 3 780
Airplane 4 1,434
Cleaning Total 3,334
Insurance
Airplane 1 3,400
Airplane 2 1,200
Airplane 3 6,281
Airplane 4 5,666
Insurance Total 16,547
Permits
Airplane 1 500
Airplane 2 473
Airplane 3 950
Airplane 4 935
Permits Total 2,858
=====================================
GRAND TOTAL EXPENSES 63,892
The ability to present data in BOTH the above ways is a fundamental design feature of relational databases, and should be implemented in Manager. Many people are attempting to accomplish workarounds in a variety of ways. Some use tracking codes, some use the Contact field, some try to use custom fields, some try to add codes to the description field or the reference field, and so on. Even then, one still has to figure out whether to use P&L reports or custom reports or drill down and copy data to a spreadsheet. All this would be unnecessary if these design features could be implemented. It would mean being able to see accurate data in real time without having to resort to exporting and manipulating data in a spreadsheet which is time-consuming and could result in errors.
