Overview

This section describes the steps and tools required to create custom Jasper Reports, which can then be uploaded into Mambu.

Mambu offers a basic set of reports based on indicators which allow you to get an overview and keep track of most of the important indicators in your organization. Yet, for organizations with more advanced reporting needs, the integration of Jasper Reports into Mambu will allow them to generate reports on any information the organization requires, specific to their market, association or investors, directly from their Mambu database.

Software requirements

The following tools need to be installed in your machine to start creating reports for Mambu:

• iReports: this is the tool used to create all custom reports to be uploaded to Mambu. iReports is a free tool provided by Jaspersoft that can be downloaded from http://jasperforge.org/projects/ireport.
• MySQL Community Server: All report templates to be used in Mambu have to be build upon the Mambu Database Schema which can be easily imported into MySQL server. You can download the MySQL Community Server from http://www.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/
• MySQL Workbench (optional) MySQL Workbench is an easy-to-use tool to import and manage databases on MySQL servers.

Setting up iReports

iReports uses a copy of your Mambu database to test run the report templates you create with it. To ensure reports that can be used with Mambu you should download a copy of your Mambu database and import it to your local installation of MySQL Server.

Once your database is imported and the server is running, iReports can be used to load, develop and test reports. When satrting iReports for the first time you will have to setup your database to connect with iReports.

To do so, click on step 1 on the iReports dashboard to create a new database connection.

Insert your database connection details - usually the name of your Mambu instance > click Test to make sure the connection works.

Once the database Connection is established you can load one of our sample reports to start creating your own reports.

Producing the .jasper File to upload to Mambu

Every report template created in iReports is stored with the extension *.jrxml.

To upload a report to Mambu you need to compile it with iReports first, to make sure it is setup correctly.

A successful compilation will give you a *.jasper file which can be uploaded to and executed in Mambu. To compile a report click on the Preview tab in iReports. Everytime you click on Preview, the corresponding *.jasper file is created in the same folder as your *.jrxml file.

Report parameter descriptions (important)

Some reports require the entry of paramenters, such as dates or certain IDs, for instance if you want a reports on loans created within a certain date range.

These parameters are setup and can be configured in iReports. Mambu will then use the values entered as a description for those parameters, for instance "Start Date".

So that the parameters' descriptions are readable in Mambu, you need to make sure the Parameter's Description field has a clear label in iReports. You can see in the image below how the date parameter above is displayed after the report is imported to Mambu:

Additional Resources

Find more information on how to use iReports on the Jasperforge Website and particularly in their Getting Started Guide.