# ERP Reporting Query Quality Assessment > Source: https://netray.co/tools/erp-reporting-query-quality-assessment > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer Answer 10 questions about how your team writes, tests, documents and runs SQL reports on ERP data, and get a score with recommendations. ## Category developer ## Audience - ERP analyst - IT manager - Report developer ## Tool **Kind:** assessment **Questions:** #### Where do your SQL reports and ad hoc queries run? **Help:** Running heavy queries on the live transactional tables is the main source of ERP slowdowns. **Options:** ##### Directly on the live ERP database for everyone **Score:** 0 ##### Live database, but only by a few trained people **Score:** 1 ##### Mix of live database and a reporting copy **Score:** 2 ##### A read-only replica or reporting database for almost all reports **Score:** 3 #### What database access do report writers have? **Options:** ##### Shared admin login **Score:** 0 ##### Individual logins with write permission **Score:** 1 ##### Individual read-only logins to all tables **Score:** 2 ##### Named read-only access limited to approved views **Score:** 3 #### How are queries stored? **Options:** ##### On personal desktops or in email **Score:** 0 ##### In a shared folder with no structure **Score:** 1 ##### In a catalog with owner and purpose **Score:** 2 ##### In version control with change history and review **Score:** 3 #### How do you validate a new report before people rely on it? **Options:** ##### We do not, users tell us if numbers look wrong **Score:** 0 ##### A quick eyeball check **Score:** 1 ##### Reconcile totals to an ERP screen or ledger **Score:** 2 ##### Reconcile to the ERP, test edge cases and have a second person review **Score:** 3 #### How well documented are the table joins and business rules in your reports? **Options:** ##### Not documented **Score:** 0 ##### Comments in some queries **Score:** 1 ##### A data dictionary covering the main tables **Score:** 2 ##### Data dictionary plus definitions of each KPI and filter rule **Score:** 3 #### How do you handle query performance? **Options:** ##### We find out when the ERP slows down **Score:** 0 ##### We tune on request after complaints **Score:** 1 ##### We check execution time and reads before publishing **Score:** 2 ##### We check plans, index use and schedule heavy jobs off-peak **Score:** 3 #### Do your reports use SELECT star, NOLOCK hints or functions on filtered columns? **Options:** ##### Often, it is the common style **Score:** 0 ##### Sometimes **Score:** 1 ##### Rarely, and we know why **Score:** 2 ##### No, we have review rules that prevent it **Score:** 3 #### What happens when the ERP is upgraded or a table changes? **Options:** ##### Reports break and we fix them as they are discovered **Score:** 0 ##### We re-test a few key reports **Score:** 1 ##### We keep a list of reports and test each on a test system **Score:** 2 ##### Reports use views that insulate them, and tests run automatically **Score:** 3 #### How is sensitive data such as pay rates, prices or controlled technical data handled in reports? **Options:** ##### No special handling **Score:** 0 ##### Informal trust that people will not share it **Score:** 1 ##### Access limited by role for known sensitive reports **Score:** 2 ##### Classified, restricted by role, and access is logged and reviewed **Score:** 3 #### Who owns each business report? **Options:** ##### Nobody knows, the author left **Score:** 0 ##### The author, if still here **Score:** 1 ##### A named business owner for key reports **Score:** 2 ##### Every report has a business owner and a review date **Score:** 3 **Bands:** #### Ad hoc and risky **Min:** 0 **Max:** 40 **Verdict:** Reports depend on individuals and run against live data without much control. Expect slowdowns and numbers that nobody can fully trust. **Recommendations:** - Stop heavy queries on the live database during business hours and move them to a replica or off-peak schedule - Give report writers individual read-only logins and remove shared admin access - Start a simple catalog of reports with owner and purpose - Reconcile the five most used reports to ERP screens #### Basic but fragile **Min:** 40 **Max:** 65 **Verdict:** Some practices exist, but they depend on a few people and are not consistent. Upgrades and staff changes are the main risk. **Recommendations:** - Document key tables, joins and KPI definitions in a data dictionary - Put queries in version control with a lightweight review step - Create views that hide ERP table details from reports - Add a standard performance check before publishing #### Managed **Min:** 65 **Max:** 85 **Verdict:** Reporting is controlled and mostly reliable. Gaps remain in testing across upgrades and in sensitive data governance. **Recommendations:** - Automate regression tests of key reports against a test ERP - Review access to sensitive columns and log report usage - Schedule an annual review of unused or duplicated reports #### Well governed **Min:** 85 **Max:** 100 **Verdict:** Your reporting practice is disciplined. Focus on keeping it current and reducing the effort of maintenance. **Recommendations:** - Look for repetitive report requests that could be answered through a governed self-service layer - Track report run time and failure trends - Keep the data dictionary in step with each ERP release ## Content **Intro:** ERP reporting problems rarely come from SQL syntax. They come from where queries run, who can change them and whether anyone checks the numbers. This assessment scores those habits in ten questions. **Sections:** #### How to use the assessment **Body:** Answer each question for the way your team actually works today, not how you intend to work. Pick the option that describes the typical case. If practices vary between departments, answer for the busiest reporting team or run it once per team. The score is shown as a percentage of the maximum and mapped to a band with specific next steps. Use it to start a conversation with IT, finance and operations about what to fix first. #### What the questions measure **Body:** Questions one and two look at blast radius: where queries run and who can change data. Questions three to five measure repeatability: storage, validation and documentation. Questions six and seven look at performance habits that affect everyone on the ERP. Questions eight to ten cover upgrade resilience, sensitive data and ownership. A low score in the first two areas is more urgent than the rest, because they can cause outages or data damage. #### Turning the score into action **Body:** Pick the two lowest scoring answers and set a 30 day goal for each, for example moving the five heaviest reports to a replica, or reconciling the finance reports to the ledger. Avoid trying to lift all ten at once. Repeat the assessment after each ERP upgrade and when a reporting person leaves, since those are the moments when undocumented knowledge disappears. #### Common mistakes **Body:** Teams overrate documentation and testing because they happen informally. If only the author can explain a report, it is not documented. Another common mistake is treating read-only access as harmless: a careless report can still lock tables or expose pay data. Finally, do not equate a fast report with a correct one, since a quick query with a wrong join returns wrong numbers very efficiently. **Cta:** If your reports need a governed, read-only layer on top of the ERP, we can help design it and show what it would take. **Faq:** #### Does this assessment apply to every ERP? **Answer:** Yes. The questions are about practice rather than product. It applies whether you use SQL Server, Oracle or another database under SAP, Infor, Epicor, Dynamics, NetSuite exports or a custom ERP. #### What is a reporting replica? **Answer:** A read-only copy of the ERP database, kept current by replication, log shipping or availability group, so heavy queries do not compete with transactions. Latency of seconds to minutes is common. #### Why avoid SELECT star in reports? **Answer:** It reads columns you do not need, breaks when the ERP adds or reorders columns, and can expose sensitive fields. Listing columns explicitly makes reports clearer and more stable across upgrades. #### How often should I retake it? **Answer:** Annually, plus after each ERP upgrade, major reporting staff change or move to a new reporting platform. Compare the answers to see which practices improved. ## Search terms erp sql report best practices, sql query review checklist, erp reporting governance, report developer assessment, sql report documentation, query version control erp, erp read-only reporting database, sql report performance review --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json