System-Level Documentation: Sales Summary Report

System-Level Documentation: Sales Summary Report

Overview

The Sales Summary Report provides a detailed overview of customer sales within a specific date range. It is designed to help managers and executives track revenue performance and identify top-performing customers. This report is automatically generated and can be customized based on the selected time period.

This document describes the report layout, field definitions, and the COBOL program that supports its generation.

Report Layout

Here’s how the report appears when printed or displayed:

Sales Summary Report
--------------------- 
Date Range  : 11/01/2024 - 11/15/2024
Generated By: System

Customer ID  Customer Name Total Sales
------------ ------------- -----------
54321        Jane Smith    $1,250.00
12345        John Doe      $980.00
78901        Mary Johnson  $450.00

Grand Total                $2,680.00
---------------------

Key Features:

• Date Range Selection: Enables users to specify the time period for the report.
  
  
• Customer Sales Breakdown: Displays each customer’s total sales within the specified range.
  
  
• Summary Totals: Calculates and displays the grand total for all customers.

Field Descriptions

The fields in the report are derived from database queries and computed values. Here’s an overview:

Field Name	Description	Data Type
Date Range	Start and end dates for the report period.	PIC X(20)
Generated By	A system- or user-generated report.	PIC X(10)
Customer ID	Unique identifier for each customer.	PIC 9(5)
Customer Name	Full name of the customer.	PIC A(30)
Total Sales	Sales for the customer in the date range.	PIC 9(7)V99
Grand Total	The overall total for all customers.	PIC 9(9)V99

High-Level Source Code

The COBOL program generating this report retrieves data, processes sales totals, and formats the output for printing or display.

1.  Data Division 

Defines the fields used in the report, including intermediate totals and formatted outputs.

01 REPORT-DATA. 
    05 DATE-RANGE    PIC X(20).
    05 GENERATED-BY  PIC X(10).
    05 CUSTOMER-ID   PIC 9(5).
    05 CUSTOMER-NAME PIC A(30).
    05 TOTAL-SALES   PIC 9(7)V99.
    05 GRAND-TOTAL   PIC 9(9)V99.

2.  Processing Logic 

The PROCEDURE DIVISION handles data retrieval, calculation of totals, and report formatting.

MOVE "11/01/2024 - 11/15/2024" TO DATE-RANGE.
MOVE "System" TO GENERATED-BY.

PERFORM WITH CUSTOMER-CURSOR
    EXEC SQL
        SELECT
            CUSTOMER_ID,
            CUSTOMER_NAME,
            SUM(SALES_AMOUNT)
        INTO
            :CUSTOMER-ID,
            :CUSTOMER-NAME,
            :TOTAL-SALES
        FROM
            SALES_TABLE
        WHERE
            SALE_DATE BETWEEN :START-DATE AND :END-DATE
            GROUP BY CUSTOMER_ID, CUSTOMER_NAME 
    END-EXEC.

    ADD TOTAL-SALES TO GRAND-TOTAL.

    DISPLAY
        CUSTOMER-ID
        CUSTOMER-NAME
        TOTAL-SALES.
END-PERFORM.

DISPLAY
    "Grand Total"
     GRAND-TOTAL.

3.  Validation 

Ensures only valid date ranges are processed and handles cases where no data is available.

IF START-DATE > END-DATE
    DISPLAY "Invalid date range. Please correct and retry.".

Maintenance and Future Enhancements

This report is highly functional but could benefit from the following enhancements:

• Adding percentage breakdowns to highlight each customer’s contribution to total sales.
  
  
• Incorporating filtering options by product category or region.
  
  
• Automating email distribution of the report to key stakeholders.

Business Value

The Sales Summary Report is an essential tool for revenue tracking and decision-making. By providing clear, actionable insights into customer sales, it enables managers and executives to identify trends, reward top-performing customers, and plan strategic initiatives. Its automated generation ensures consistent and reliable reporting for operational and strategic use.

Image: Dmitriy from Pixabay