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SAP Crystal Reports Reviews

About SAP Crystal Reports

With SAP Crystal Reports 2020, you can create powerful, richly formatted, dynamic reports from virtually any data source. Buy for $495.

Learn more about SAP Crystal Reports

Pros:

The best thing about the software is the variety that it offers in terms of report writing. You can link many different databases together and pull them all into one report.

Cons:

There was a lot of work required for integration of data. Lack of training was another hindrance.

SAP Crystal Reports ratings

Average score

Ease of Use
3.7
Customer Service
3.9
Features
4.3
Value for Money
4.1

Likelihood to recommend

7.9/ 10

SAP Crystal Reports has an overall rating of 4.3 out 5 stars based on 172 user reviews on Capterra.

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Filter reviews (172)

Luca
Luca
Senior Betting & Online DB Administrator in Italy
Verified LinkedIn User
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

A perfect and particular reporting system

5.0 7 years ago

Comments: Knowledge on reporting systems and different point of view on several platforms.

Pros:

Excellent reporting system, highly functional especially when combined with the use of SAP Universities (which are in practice a kind of DWH). I particularly like for his different conception of reporting with the areas subdivided into sections as "groups" that comes out a bit from the concept of a paged sheet but different reasons must be made keeping in mind how the group behaves. Surely one of the best reporting systems. Excellent pixel perfect.

Cons:

Just its peculiarity of having the sections divided and divisible by "groups", makes the drafting of the report a little more complicated, but it is something that is understood and you can easily manage it by working day after day. For the rest I think he has no particular points to the detriment of his duty and does it well.

Erue
Erue
IT Consultant in Venezuela
Verified LinkedIn User
Education Management, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Really effective and professional

5.0 7 years ago

Comments: This is the traditional reporting tool that is used in many financial organizations. I have used SAP Crystal Reports 12 in my organization. We can design highly formatted reports using this tool. It can connect to multiple data sources such as ODBC, OLE DB etc. We can create reports with different formats such as pdf, csv, txt, xls, etc. We can also create html, xml reports. The price of this tool is also cheap. We can create detailed graphics, instrument panels.

Pros:

There are some written exercises based on SAP Crystal Report that facilitate learning. the integration with the different IDE of development are optimized. it is compatible with the most popular database administrators, MYSQL, SQLSERVER, POSTGRESQL. and more... The designer of Crystal is fantastic, drag and drop add-ons to create your report.

Cons:

I had a lot of problems and spent a lot of time trying to adjust the space between the rows. I hope that in the future, SAP Crytal Report will make it easier. should block the sizes of pre-established and blocked sheets to avoid leaving the margins.

Francesco
Software Developer in Italy
Information Technology & Services, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

SAP Crystal Reports ...not so good

2.0 2 years ago

Pros:

fast loading software but with big limitations in editing multiple files at the same time and in the management of embedded graphics

Cons:

unfriendly interface and difficulties in debugging and creating complex reportsdifficulty managing embedded images and field management logic to review compared to competitive products

Michael
Michael
Senior Project Management/Business Analysis Consultant in US
Verified LinkedIn User
, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Revolutionized my daily tasks

4.0 7 years ago

Pros:

Crystal Reports allowed me to streamline my inventory refresh ordering and my custom ordering process into a single automated report. After setting reorder points in for all of my stock items I was able to get instant reports that tell me when I need to order and avoid stock outtages. At the same time each day, I run my report, save it as an excel file and forward to my production facility!

Cons:

Steep learning curve, but it is worth it. There is also a dependency on having good clean source data. Crystal Reports may actually point out some shortcomings in your source data and create more work short term.

Ramesh
Ramesh
Associate Manager in India
Verified LinkedIn User
Computer Software, 5,001–10,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Crystal Reports Review

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: Best class application to build reports , easy and with great features , One of my best development tool

Pros:

Lots of features , using it from years and made 500+ reports , simple loving it Can connect many different databases and support connection providers supports sub reports , drill down reports and Hyperlink Conditional formatting and Reports wizards It's fast and never hangs Good support even with integration with Microsoft tools used for creating dashboard , charts

Cons:

I think it needs some kind of subscription features like SSRS It's little time consuming to format and align tables ,texts ,lines

Deepali
Deepali
Software Development Analyst in India
Verified LinkedIn User
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

it makes easy to make reports as its features are very user friendly and easy to understand

3.0 7 years ago

Pros:

I used crystal report with Peoplesoft ERP and with Java also .When I compare crystal report with another report application I found it is much batter because of user friendly features for example there is no need to write manual sql just need to give table mapping it creates sql from itself.It gives option to open report in pdf and excel or in which form client want reports.No need to spend time to write so much code as many logic and feature is already present you just need to drag on your report.For me crystal report is fun with code where you design as per your require but no need take tension behind design.

Cons:

in crystal report it is little bit difficult to do mapping between two different different database's table.if you do also many time it will not give correct data.

Caroline
Caroline
SAP B1 Consultant in Kenya
Verified LinkedIn User
Computer Software, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

One of the Best Business Intelligent Reporting Tools for SME's

4.0 7 years ago

Comments: Crystal Reports helps us have a more detailed look of our company and helps us make informed decisions on what we need to do to improve various components of our business.

Pros:

I like that Crystal reports have a very strong capabilities like sorting of data. You are also able to retrieve most of your company' data for analysis using the tool. Crystal reports helps us create highly formatted and detailed reports - much more that what we are able to get from the SAP Business One software itself. Another awesome thing about Crystal reports is that it is that the process of creating reports is easy once you get used to the mechanisms of the tool. For example, once you pull a certain aspect of a specific set of data, yo can reuse it and only change a variable according to your new needs. Crystal Reports are also pretty affordable for small and medium sized companies.

Cons:

Though the initial purchase of crystal reports can be quite affordable, the tool gets expensive when you need to buy the server which is quite costly but essential for scheduled notifications and other benefits.

Rohit
Rohit
Operations Manager (Systems - Philanthropy) in US
Verified LinkedIn User
, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

My organization uses Crystal Reports as a primary reporting tool for our Oracle 12c database.

5.0 7 years ago

Pros:

It is difficult to make a sophisticated tool like Crystal Reports intuitive, but once you know the layout of how to add and view tables and links, it is quite easy. There is a lot of flexibility as well.

Cons:

There were some hick ups when we upgraded to Oracle 12c, but this could be because we were not using the most current version of Crystal Reports.

Angie
Angie
Accounts Receivable/Payable and Operations Manager in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Consumer Goods, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great reporting system!

4.0 6 years ago

Pros:

Crystal reports are a great way to see your data in many different ways. Customization is fairly easy with some training.

Cons:

We have always had an issue with our reports reconciling to our system. They take some training to get them set up correctly.

Carlos
Carlos
Head of Industrial Metrology Lab in Venezuela
Verified LinkedIn User
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Useful tool if you need to process data from a DB and present them in various ways in reports.

4.0 7 years ago

Pros:

The Crystal is used in my laboratory to generate the calibration certificates that are delivered to the clients with each team. It allows a great configuration both of appearance and of manupulation and access to databases where all the data is saved. It is really a useful and powerful tool and that can be used with little training, reading the manuals of the software.

Cons:

The software allows you to do many things as you know more about SQL and the like. It is necessary to learn a little about the operation of the DBs to squeeze the potential of the Crystal

Liam
IT & Project Manager in UK
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

It Is Crystal A Clear Way To Improve Business

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: overall experience over the last 2 years have been amazing, the grouping, linking, analysis is all industry leading and there aren't many other products that can come close to this.

Pros:

the best part about crystal reports is how easy it is to visually design reports, also linking with an SQL Database is amazing, it allows you to connect to the back end of your system and pull through what ever you like whenever you like, you can export the file with the database parameters and take the file with you. its a fabulous tool with 2 decades of usage to back it.

Cons:

the biggest con with this, is the price, its very expensive and is only available on a perpetual licence, every time they release a new version you have to pay for the new one. their pricing model is very outdated.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Oil & Energy, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

A Reporting tool that does it jobs with no frills

5.0 3 years ago

Comments: A good reporting tool for small and medium sized companies, though the new generation reporting tools like Tableau can replace this, the crystal reports are cost effective and efficient.

Pros:

simple and cost effective tight integration with sap easy deployment and scalability

Cons:

user interactiveness on report designs, lacks ease of use for end users to build reports of their own.

Raghavendar
Sr. BI consultant in US
Information Technology & Services, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Picture perfect reporting tool

4.0 6 years ago

Comments: We use this for some of the reports where user is looking for a particular report but not for data extract. Well, most of the reporting is done on Universe and WebI, based on the need we also use Crystal reporting. We have multiple options for defining the formula, including mathematical and logical functions. We can use advanced data analytics and visualization in the new version but not yet explored by me.

Pros:

Crystal report are canned report, formatted report for printing purpose, like Legal reports, they has to be printed in predefined format, with cell size/cell width or logo etc. each and everything is modifiable). This tool is picture perfect reports since each thing is customizable. You can connect to multiple databases and send the free hand SQL for querying the data

Cons:

The security implementation is not good. Since query is done without any middle layer like BO universe, report can bring lot of data, no control on data level security etc. Also, the interface is not as good as Web Intelligence or other reporting components. Look and feel while developing is also not very friendly. Lot of adjustment to be made to make a template. Of late there are no much improvements made and it is costly for a customer to get the report created via a development project.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Fund-Raising, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Powerful and easy to use

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: I love working with it and when I retire, I am going to come back as a Crystal Reports programmer. :)

Pros:

I love how I can take data from our database and present it in a pleasing way for our users. I have been using Crystal Reports for almost 20 years and find it very powerful. I can build a report very quickly and a few simple format changes and make it look professional. I developed a program to run a series of reports with parameters passed from the program. I can do our month end process in minutes instead of running 100 reports one at a time. So it is great for creating a report and easy to add to a .NET program to be run automagically. Pretty cool!

Cons:

It can be time consuming to build a complex report with lots of formulas. Not a fault of the software. Just the process is long at times when you have over 100 formulas. It would be nice if there was a feature where you could easily clone a formula and then change it quickly for each situation. Although, maybe in a newer version of CR this might be possible.

Catarina
SAP Consultant in France
Information Technology & Services, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

My review of SAP Crystal Reports

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: I work with this software every day and personally I think it's a perfect mix between the world of programming and design. It allows us to give a personal touch to everything we do. Perfecting as time goes on. It's how to ride a bike. It makes connections to multiple databases and is very accessible. Very good indeed.

Pros:

SAP Crystal Reports is one of the tools I most enjoy working with. Sincerely. It's linked to SQL - we can get our signature on a report that looks vulgar - through code. We were able to do 1001 things, and really have a style. It is an art, combined with the fact that it is programming. It is fabulous. I really love working with Crystal - it's my weakness of how good it is.

Cons:

Like any software, if the code is too heavy, or if it is a very complex procedure, crashes a little. But nothing special. Tolerable and irrelevant in the case.

Umar
Software Engineer in Pakistan
Computer Software, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Best Business Reporting Tool

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: My overall experience has been just excellent with this.
Its a complete business solution in market at the time.

Pros:

Almost every business application requires reports of their data on daily/monthly basis. They require reports not only in tabular form but also they need visual digrams to analyze performance of their business. As a developer i always use crystal reports to develop complex reports that require charts and grouped data for readability and correct and ultimate analysis. Its easy to develop and connect with underlying datatables. Any kind of complex colored, tabular and visual report can be generated from this.i really love it.

Cons:

Its my favourite reporting engine and there is nothing to be liked least about it. I used it from beginning and got fan of it.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Reporting system is comprehensive, but difficult to use.

3.0 7 years ago

Pros:

The ability to customize reports is helpful. Comprehensive. The system has the ability to report on many aspects of business.

Cons:

Difficult to learn report writing requirements. Trial and error yields unproductive data reporting. Once parameters are established for requests, downloading data fields is sometimes slow.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Health, Wellness & Fitness, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Crystal, commonly used with sql commands

4.0 6 years ago

Comments: Report writer and user for over 10 years , great product

Pros:

Its comprehensive, well know and used across industries so many designers. Basic graphing but robust reporting.

Cons:

Could be more user friendly, you need about six months to get good at it

Paul
Programming Manager in US
Information Technology & Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Software great, sales process a giant fail.

5.0 9 years ago

Comments: I received an email for 10% off and thought now was a good time to purchase the product. I ordered it and that went fine, but then I never received my license and download. I contacted customer support and they were awesome, and sent me a temporary license key and the download link! But I still have yet to receive the license key I paid for after two weeks!

Pros:

Crystal Reports is the standard for banded reporting. The functionality is amazing and there is almost nothing I can't do with it.

Cons:

The subscription pricing model sucks. SHould be able to purchase once and get our value out of it.

SAP Response

9 years ago

Hi Paul. Thanks for the review and we're glad you're liking Crystal Reports. I have notified the support team and they have found your order and are addressing the license key issue. For your other comment on the subscription pricing, we need more clarification on that. Crystal Reports is a one-time purchase. Please follow up at [email protected]. Thanks

Mohamed
Network Engineer in Egypt
Information Technology & Services, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Most Important Reporting Programs

3.0 3 years ago

Comments: A good experience that taught me a lot about analyzing, coordinating and processing reports, especially when there is a large amount of data.

Pros:

I liked its compatibility with many software, especially those based on C# and ASP.NET, so it is indispensable in our software for extracting and analyzing reports .

Cons:

I don't find any major downsides, but the user interface should be improved to be easier and more friendly .

Victoria
IT Manager in US
Automotive, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Integral business tool

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: I've used Crystal reports for 14 years, and I've really been able to adapt it's capabilities to fit our company's needs.

Pros:

The flexibility of what I can do with my data is invaluable. I am able to create custom reports to extract necessary information from our databases.

Cons:

The newer version of this software does not allow me to open a new report while another report is generating, but it does so more quickly than the old software, so it's a give and take.

karen
AP Specialist in US
Construction Software, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Great software for printing checks

5.0 3 years ago

Pros:

Our company prints our checks with SAP Crystal Reports. The checks look very professional and it is very easy to use. We have four companies that we use SAP Crystal for printing checks and it is very easy to jump from one company to the next and the checks look so good. This software is used with our Spectrum accounting software.

Cons:

I don't know how I would contact support if I needed it for this software. If we have issues, we have to get help from an IT person at our work.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

It generates the reports needed, but with a somewhat dated interface

4.0 7 years ago

Pros:

Connects to SQL and it gets the data as needed, and with the right formulas and know how, you can customize the reports to your liking get as specific as you need.

Cons:

Dated interface and not the most user friendly. If you have never used it, getting it set up and running might be a little confusing, but if you know some basic SQL, you can make it do what you need.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Is not my preferred option to use

4.0 3 years ago

Comments: The tool is very useful when implementing with ASP Net, although I wouldn't use for desktop apps, only for web ones, sadly you can not make dynamic connections to it, I feel limited in some options, I have use more devexpress report system, and it complements very well with visual studio

Pros:

It doesn't required a framework to create a new report, you can use the tool directly and you don't have to be a developer to create or customize a new report, the preview option is quite fast and once you set up a data sample yo que edit while in preview mode

Cons:

Is not very intuitive to use some tools, is not full design move or developer move, the appearance is not being updated in a while, and to edit a query can be a little frustrated sometimes

Drew
Technical Support in US
Utilities, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Crystal Reports is the best bang for our buck

4.0 8 years ago

Comments: Our software uses Crystal Reports. Custom report creation is not terribly easy. It is not terribly difficult. I know we have looked at integrating different reporting options and I think for the money spent, Crystal offers us the best overall value for functionality. There are certain limitations I have run into - for example - I cannot print a "line" on top of a background picture. The only workaround available is to create a "box" and fill it in and reshape it to be a line. This works although my lines are rather fat. Small things like that are frustrating. Otherwise, it is a fairly powerful reporting development tool.