Has anybody tried, or had any success with, using LibreOffice Base to connect to the SQL tables in Manager for the purpose of using the report writer in Base to create custom reports?
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I tried to open the database directly using sqlite but it is not useful: it does not look like a scheme that is easily understandable.
I couldn’t get LO Base to work either. Thanks for looking into it though. I guess waiting for @lubos to develop a report writer within Manager is the best solution.
Hi @novica,
I hope you don’t mind me going back and revisiting this topic. Like most everybody else on this forum, I have a deep appreciation for Manager and look forward to its further development. Having said that, in my limited use so far it seems to me that the three areas where I’d like to see the most attention are (1) the written documentation (a comprehensive user manual that keeps pace with the development), (2) a robust reporting module that allows for limited ranges and filtering (for example, a GL transaction report that can be run for just one account instead of all accounts) and designing custom reports, and (3) the ability to export filtered accounting data into Excel or other spreadsheet programs.
I’ll just have to be patient and wait for the written documentation and exporting to Excel, but the robust reporting is something I could really use now to better service my accounting clients. So I keep looking for an alternative reporting solution that might work with Manager. Since you showed an interest in my earlier attempt to use LibreOffice Base to interface with Manager, I’m now wondering if you’ve heard of, or ever tried to use, Reports for MySQL?
You can see it at http://mysqlreports.com
Hi @BeanCounter
I have not seen mysqlreports before. Still I don’t think it would not help in getting more from the manager database until there is a documentation on the database schema.
If I wanted to play around with it sans the database schema, and therefore somewhat in the dark, do you know where the tables are stored on the desktop version?
At any rate, thanks for your response.
Yes. The database is your .manager file. It’s an sqlite database so make sure that mysqlreports suports that.
Are you in the Republic of Macedonia?
Yes.
It looks like a beautiful area to live in. (Skopje - Wikipedia) I live in the northwestern part of the USA.
Your profile indicates that you “code”. Does that mean you program computers? If so, do you understand how people are modifying or creating custom themes in Manager?
It is quite bad actually, although as a tourist spot there are some things worth visiting. 
In theory, yes, I know how people are modifying custom themes. I have not done that in practice though, because I feel the basic theme does a great job presenting the information, and in addition saves the printing cartridge.
To go back to the custom reports issue, what I’m trying to do now is to export data from Manager and then use Rstudio to make some visualizations. I’m at the proof of concept level, but it looks possible to generate some graphs interactively in a web app that can be fed data. For example, this is how a really rough cash flow looks:
I had not heard of RStudio before. It appears that we are both looking for ways to enhance the functionality of Manager ahead of its organic development.
I really like the idea of providing charts and graphs to represent numerical data. I wish that Manager had a dashboard with various visualizations for financial ratios, AR & AP aging, cash flow, and maybe the top 10 expenses in a pie chart. Those sorts of things are a big hit with non-accountant business owners. Anytime you can simplify complex numbers and present them in a graphical format, it’s a good thing. I’d personally rather see the graphs and charts on the home page of Manager than the income statement. But that’s just my preference.
Please keep me abreast of the progress you make and I’ll let you know if I find a way to enhance the reporting functionality.
Have you found the Guides? https://guides.manager.io/. They are generally updated within hours of program changes. If you feel a topic is not well enough covered, post a suggestion on the forum.
Date ranges have always been part of report definitions. Filtering for a single account has been in the Ideas category for a long time. General Ledger Transaction Report (Suggested Modifications)
This feature has long been available. See Manager Guides. If you search first, the export covers only the returned results. And when you copy the data to paste, you can copy rows selectively.
See the Guide: Manager Guides.
See the Guide: Manager Guides
Manager has purposely not included visualization for several reasons:
- Everybody wants different things.
- Many users choose Manager specifically because it is lean and compact. Graphing capabilities would bloat the program.
- Keeping up with all the interactions with graphic routines as accounting features are added would slow down the pace of improvement.
- The Export function was added to allow users to create whatever presentations of data they want. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of apps for that.
Ultimately, Manager is focused on accounting, not displays.
Hi @Tut,
Thank you for taking the time to join my conversation with @novica. I appreciate the links you provided and I will review each one of them. It’s always helpful when someone with deeper knowledge on a particular topic shares the insights they have acquired over time.
I do, however, disagree with you on one specific point and that is the usefulness of presenting numerical data with charts and graphs. Admittedly, I don’t know anything about your background, or whether or not you have any real world accounting education or experience, but to dismiss visualization tools in an accounting environment as little more than software bloat speaks directly to a complete lack of understanding of the average person’s inability to assimilate and comprehend complex numerical data. Most small business owners in the USA completely understand how to run their business in terms of the product they sell or the service they provide, but a large percentage don’t understand accounting well enough to extrapolate the information they need to effectively manage their business and achieve optimal success. That’s why so many businesses struggle and ultimately fail. In those cases, visualizations of the numerical data is invaluable. As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words.
So I respect your opinion that adding visualization features will only add bloat to what you consider lean and compact software, but my opinion is that the well thought out use and placement of visualization tools in accounting software is a perfect marriage, and provides a means of conveying information that might otherwise be missed by the average user. So it is still my hope that @lubos will consider adding a dashboard with visualization tools in the future development of Manager.
Again, thank you for sharing the links.
I understand your point of view, @BeanCounter. Nowhere did I dismiss the value of visualization tools. I just said everybody wants different ones and the export function facilitates far more options than any single program could include.
To provide a little context, I have no lack of understanding, through P&L responsibility and economic development consulting, of the average person’s inability to comprehend numerical data. But I’ve also seen Fortune 50 companies’ performance plummet while management fixated on beautiful graphs and charts, thinking all the while they were headed for magnificent bonuses. In my experience, companies do not fail for lack of pretty displays. They fail because management looks at the wrong data and interprets whatever they see, in whatever form they see it, through rose-colored lenses before failing to correct problems obvious on simple financial statements. (And the proximate cause, in about 85% of failures, is insufficient capital to support plans and operations.)
Having moderated this forum now for several years, I can assure you the most common problem among new users is basic lack of knowledge about double-entry accounting, not the absence of charts. Until one knows what the tool is designed to accomplish, glamorous pictures of results won’t help. But they can easily mask the truth with dazzling visual images. I assume your own accounting training started with the accounting equation, not methods for graphing changes in the quick ratio over time. 
Ahhh, @Tut, now I can “see” you more clearly. Going forward I’ll filter your comments through a different lens. You are correct, the first thing I remember learning was assets - liabilities = equity. Just basic stuff necessary to build the foundation of understanding.
In your opinion, is Manager always going to be aimed at the SOHO market, will it ultimately graduate to the SMB level, or will it eventually evolve into an ERP level accounting solution?
Lastly, the export feature is going to be very helpful and I truly appreciate you pointing me in that direction.