Using Crystal Reports with Procare

This article is intended for advanced level users who are familiar with Crystal Reports and have a working knowledge of SQL and stored procedures.

Creating Your Own Reports with Crystal Reports

For very advanced users it may be possible to create your own customized reports using Crystal Reports (a third party report writing tool). This type of customization is beyond the scope of Procare Support, however, should you choose to proceed please be aware of the following things:

Use SQL Express or Your Own SQL Server
To create your own reports Procare must be installed either:

1. Using the standard SQL Express Edition that comes with Procare (see: Basic Installation).
2. Or using your own SQL Server (see: Advanced Installation).

Please Note: You cannot use Crystal Reports with the Procare Cloud service.

SQL Stored Procedures
Although the use of stored procedures is not required, typically you don’t want Crystal Reports to perform all the calculations and filtering of data. It’s much more efficient to use SQL stored procedures. You’ll need your own SQL server management tools to access existing stored procedures or add new ones as needed.

Important! You’ll run into serious trouble if a stored procedure you create is named the same as one used by Procare. To avoid this potential problem you will need to come up with a your own naming convention. For example you might begin each procedure name with a short abbreviation for the name of your child care business.

Frequent Questions about Procare & Crystal Reports

Can Procare Make a Custom Report for Me?
No. You may request a report be added but we cannot promise if or when any particular suggestion might be implemented.

What version of Crystal Reports should I use?
Procare uses Crystal 2008 or version 12.3.1.

Will Reports I Create Appear in Procare?
No. Reports you create will not appear as choices in Procare itself. You’ll need to run your reports directly through Crystal Reports or a stand alone Crystal Reports .RPT File Viewer available from Crystal Reports or other third party vendors.

Should I start with an Existing Report?
Yes. Using an existing report as a starting point is far more realistic than attempting to create your own report from scratch. Be sure to save your report with a new .RPT file name unique to your organization.

How Do I Connect Crystal to the Procare Database?
Follow the steps in this PDF: Connecting Crystal to Procare

Database Schema
It may be helpful to have a schema of the Procare database to understand the way tables within the database are related. Although this is not typically available to the general public it may be provided upon request – just Contact Support.