MIS Builder (Management Information System)¶

Last Updated: March 2026

MIS Builder is an OCA reporting module that lets IT administrators and accounting staff design custom financial reports from accounting data. It provides a template-based system where KPI definitions (formulas referencing account balances, queries, and Python expressions) are combined with configurable date periods to produce reports that can be previewed in-browser, exported to PDF or XLSX, and pinned to Odoo dashboards. At Scott Recycling, it is used primarily for management-level financial summaries such as profit and loss, balance sheets, and custom KPI dashboards.

MIS Builder adds menus under two areas of the Accounting app:

Accounting
 +-- Reporting
 |    +-- MIS Reporting
 |         +-- MIS Reports              (saved report instances — the reports you run)
 |         +-- Last Reports Generated   (temporary/unsaved report instances)
 +-- Configuration
      +-- MIS Reporting
           +-- MIS Report Templates     (the KPI definitions and formulas)
           +-- MIS Report Styles        (reusable formatting styles)

MIS Report Templates -- where you define what to calculate (KPIs, expressions, queries).
MIS Reports -- where you bind a template to specific dates and run it (report instances).
MIS Report Styles -- reusable formatting rules (colors, fonts, number format).

Core Concepts¶

MIS Builder separates the definition of a report from its execution:

Concept	Model	Purpose
Report Template	`mis.report`	Defines KPIs, expressions, queries, and sub-KPIs. No dates.
Report Instance	`mis.report.instance`	Binds a template to one or more date periods and runs it.
Period (Column)	`mis.report.instance.period`	A single column in an instance: has a date range and a data source.
KPI (Row)	`mis.report.kpi`	A single row in a template: has an expression that computes a value.
Style	`mis.report.style`	Reusable formatting: colors, font, number format, visibility.
Annotation	`mis.report.instance.annotation`	A user-created note attached to a specific cell in a report.

A typical workflow is: create a template with KPI formulas, then create one or more instances that use that template for specific date ranges (e.g., "Q1 2026 P&L", "Monthly Comparison").

Report Templates¶

Navigate to Accounting > Configuration > MIS Reporting > MIS Report Templates.

Template Fields¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Name	Display name for the template.	"Profit & Loss"
Description	Optional description text.	"Monthly P&L by account group"
Style	Default style applied to all KPI rows unless overridden.	"Bold Header"
Move Lines Source	The model used for accounting data. Almost always `account.move.line`.	`account.move.line`

Template Tabs¶

The template form has four tabs: KPIs, Queries, Sub KPIs, and Sub Reports.

KPIs Tab¶

Each KPI is a row in the final report. KPIs are evaluated in sequence order, and later KPIs can reference earlier ones by name.

Field	What It Means	Example
Description	Human-readable label shown on the report.	"Total Revenue"
Name	Python variable name (auto-generated from description). Must be a valid Python identifier.	`total_revenue`
Type	`Numeric`, `Percentage`, or `String`. Controls rendering and comparison behavior.	Numeric
Compare Method	How to display comparisons: `Difference`, `Percentage`, or `None`.	Percentage
Accumulation Method	How values spanning different time periods are combined: `Sum`, `Average`, or `None`.	Sum
Expression	The formula that computes this KPI's value (see Expression Language below).	`balp[70%]`
Style	Optional per-KPI style override.	"Subtotal Bold"
Style Expression	A Python expression that returns a style name dynamically based on the KPI value.	`"Red" if total_revenue < 0 else None`
Multi	When checked, the KPI has a separate expression for each Sub-KPI.	False
Display details by account	When checked, the report expands this KPI into individual account lines.	True
Style for account detail rows	Style applied to the expanded account detail rows.	"Indented"

KPI Ordering

KPIs are evaluated in sequence order. If KPI B references KPI A, make sure A has a lower sequence number than B. Circular references will cause an error.

Expression Language¶

KPI expressions are the heart of MIS Builder. They can be:

Accounting expressions -- pull data from account.move.line
Python expressions -- arithmetic on other KPIs or query results
A mix of both -- e.g., balp[70%] + balp[71%]

Accounting Expression Syntax¶

The general form is:

{field}{mode}[account selector][optional move line domain]

Fields:

Code	Meaning
`bal`	Balance (debit minus credit)
`deb`	Sum of debits
`crd`	Sum of credits
`pbal`	Positive balance only (returns 0 if negative)
`nbal`	Negative balance only (returns 0 if positive)
`fld`	Custom field (requires `.fieldname` suffix, e.g., `fldp.quantity`)

Modes:

Code	Meaning
`p`	Period variation (moves during the date range). This is the default if no mode is specified.
`i`	Initial balance (balance at the start of the period)
`e`	Ending balance (balance at the end of the period)
`u`	Unallocated P&L (sum of P&L accounts from the beginning of time up to the start of the current fiscal year)

Account Selectors:

Syntax	Meaning	Example
`[code]`	Exact account code	`bal[7000]`
`[code%]`	Wildcard on account code	`balp[70%]`
`[code1,code2]`	Multiple codes (comma-separated)	`bali[70,60]`
`[domain]`	Odoo domain on `account.account`	`balp[('code', '=like', '4%')]`
`[]`	All accounts	`balu[]`

Move Line Domain (optional second bracket):

An additional Odoo domain filter applied to account.move.line. Useful for filtering by journal, analytic account, tags, etc.

Example	What It Does
`debp[55%][('journal_id.code', '=', 'BNK1')]`	Debits on account 55 in journal BNK1 during the period
`balp[][('tax_line_id.tag_ids', '=', ref('l10n_be.tax_tag_56').id)]`	Balance of lines related to tax grid 56

Examples¶

Expression	Meaning
`balp[70%]`	Sum of balance changes on all accounts starting with "70" during the period
`bali[1%]`	Initial balance of all accounts starting with "1" at the start of the period
`bale[1%]`	Ending balance of all accounts starting with "1" at the end of the period
`crdp[40%]`	Sum of all credits on accounts starting with "40" during the period
`balu[]`	Unallocated profit/loss from previous fiscal years
`total_revenue - total_expenses`	Python arithmetic referencing other KPIs by name
`total_revenue / total_assets if total_assets else AccountingNone`	Safe division with AccountingNone fallback

Available Python Variables in Expressions¶

Variable	Description
`sum`, `min`, `max`, `len`, `avg`	Aggregate functions (work like Python builtins)
`datetime`, `dateutil`, `time`	Standard Python modules
`date_from`, `date_to`	Start and end date of the current period
`AccountingNone`	A null value that behaves as 0 in arithmetic. Use this instead of `None`.
Other KPI names	e.g., `revenue`, `expenses` -- reference previously computed KPIs
Query names	e.g., `my_query.field_name` -- reference query results

AccountingNone

AccountingNone is not the same as 0 or None. It renders as a blank cell rather than "0". When you divide by a KPI that might be zero, use a guard: revenue / costs if costs else AccountingNone.

Queries Tab¶

Queries let you pull data from any Odoo model (not just accounting) and make the results available in KPI expressions.

Field	What It Means	Example
Name	Python variable name for the query result. Must be a valid Python identifier.	`sale_totals`
Model	The Odoo model to query.	`sale.order`
Fields to Fetch	Which fields to read from the model.	`amount_total`, `amount_untaxed`
Aggregate	How to combine results: `Sum`, `Average`, `Min`, `Max`, or blank (return all records as a list).	Sum
Date Field	The date or datetime field used to filter records to the period.	`date_order`
Company Field	Optional field for multi-company filtering.	`company_id`
Domain	Optional Odoo domain to pre-filter records.	`[('state', '=', 'sale')]`

When Aggregate is set (e.g., Sum), the query returns a single object with aggregated field values plus a .count attribute:

# In a KPI expression, if query name is "sale_totals":
sale_totals.amount_total    # aggregated sum
sale_totals.count           # number of matching records

When Aggregate is blank, the query returns a list of objects. You can use sum(), len(), etc. in your KPI expression:

sum(r.amount_total for r in sale_orders)

Sub KPIs Tab¶

Sub-KPIs add sub-columns within each period column. For example, if your report has a "Q1" column and you define sub-KPIs "Budget" and "Actual", the Q1 column will split into two sub-columns.

Field	What It Means	Example
Description	Human-readable label for the sub-column header.	"Budget"
Name	Python identifier.	`budget`
Sequence	Display order within the sub-column group.	1, 2, 3...

When sub-KPIs are defined, each KPI marked as Multi gets a separate expression for each sub-KPI. Non-multi KPIs must return a tuple matching the number of sub-KPIs.

Sub Reports Tab¶

Sub-reports let one template reference the KPIs of another template. This is useful for composing complex reports from simpler building blocks.

Field	What It Means	Example
Name	Python variable name to reference the sub-report's KPIs.	`pl_report`
Sub Report	The other MIS Report Template to include.	"Profit & Loss Detail"

In your KPI expressions, reference sub-report KPIs as subreport_name.kpi_name:

pl_report.net_income

No Circular References

A template cannot include itself as a sub-report, and circular chains (A includes B, B includes A) are detected and blocked.

Report Instances¶

Navigate to Accounting > Reporting > MIS Reporting > MIS Reports.

A report instance takes a template and runs it for specific date periods. The list view shows all saved instances with quick-action buttons for Preview, Print (PDF), and Export (XLSX).

Instance Fields¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Name	Display name for this instance.	"Q1 2026 Profit & Loss"
Template	The MIS Report Template this instance uses.	"Profit & Loss"
Currency	Target currency (required if companies have different currencies).	USD
Comparison Mode	Unchecked: single date range. Checked: multiple columns with independent periods.	Checked
Date Range	(Simple mode) Select a predefined date range from the date_range module.	"Q1 2026"
From / To	(Simple mode) Start and end dates for the report.	01/01/2026 - 03/31/2026
Base Date	(Comparison mode) The pivot date for relative period calculations. Defaults to today.	03/01/2026

Simple Mode vs. Comparison Mode¶

Simple Mode (Comparison Mode unchecked):

The report has one column.
You set a single date range (From/To or a predefined Date Range).
Quick and easy for a single-period view.

Comparison Mode (Comparison Mode checked):

The report can have multiple columns, each with its own date range and data source.
Columns are defined in the Columns tab.
Enables period-over-period comparisons, budget vs. actual, year-to-date, etc.

When to Use Comparison Mode

Use comparison mode any time you need more than one column, such as "This Month vs. Last Month", "Actual vs. Budget", or "Jan, Feb, Mar" side by side.

Columns Tab (Comparison Mode)¶

Each column in the Columns tab represents a period (column) in the report output.

Column Fields¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Label	Column header text.	"Jan 2026"
Source	Where the column gets its data (see Source Types below).	Actuals
Mode	How dates are determined: `Fixed dates`, `Relative to report base date`, or `No date filter`.	Relative
Period Type	(Relative mode) Unit of time: `Day`, `Week`, `Month`, `Year`, or `Date Range`.	Month
Offset	(Relative mode) Number of periods to shift from the base date. Negative = past.	-1 (previous month)
Duration	(Relative mode) How many periods to span.	1
Year to Date	(Relative mode) Forces the start date to January 1st of the relevant year.	False
Date Range Type	(Relative, Date Range type) The type of date range to use.	"Fiscal Month"
Date Range	(Fixed mode) Select a predefined date range.	"Q1 2026"
From / To	(Fixed mode) Manual start and end dates.	01/01/2026 - 01/31/2026
Sub KPI Filter	Optionally show only specific sub-KPIs in this column.	"Actual"
Analytic Domain	Additional domain filter on move lines for this column only.	`[('analytic_account_id', '=', 5)]`

Source Types¶

Source	Description
Actuals	Live data from the accounting system (`account.move.line` or the model defined on the template). Requires a date filter.
Actuals (alternative)	Live data from an alternative move-line-like model (e.g., a budget model that has debit/credit/account_id/date fields). You select the model manually.
Sum columns	Arithmetic combination of other columns. Specify columns to add (+) or subtract (-). No date filter allowed.
Compare columns	Computes the comparison (difference or percentage change) between two other columns. No date filter allowed.

Source Constraints

Actuals and Actuals (alternative) columns must have a date filter. Sum and Compare columns must not have a date filter (mode = "No date filter"). Violating these constraints will raise a validation error.

Relative Period Examples¶

With a base date of March 1, 2026:

Type	Offset	Duration	Resulting Period
Month	0	1	March 1 - March 31, 2026
Month	-1	1	February 1 - February 28, 2026
Month	-2	3	January 1 - March 31, 2026
Year	0	1	January 1 - December 31, 2026
Year	-1	1	January 1 - December 31, 2025
Week	0	1	The current week (Mon-Sun)
Day	0	1	March 1, 2026

Filters Tab¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Target Moves	`All Posted Entries` (excludes draft) or `All Entries` (includes draft). Always excludes cancelled.	All Posted Entries
Multiple Companies	Enable to search data across multiple companies.	False
Company	(Single company mode) Which company's data to use.	"Scott Recycling"
Companies	(Multi-company mode) Select which companies to include.	"SR East, SR West"
Analytic Domain	A domain filter applied to all move lines across all columns. Useful for filtering by analytic account, department, etc.	`[('analytic_account_id.name', '=', 'Operations')]`

Layout Tab¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Landscape PDF	Print the PDF report in landscape orientation.	True
Disable account details expansion	Suppress the auto-expand of account detail rows even if KPIs have it enabled.	False
Display columns description	Show the computed date range in column headers (e.g., "from 01/01/2026 to 03/31/2026").	True

These settings control how the report renders in the interactive dashboard widget.

Field	What It Means	Example
Show filters box	Display the search/filter bar in the widget view.	True
Filter box search view	The search view used for the filter bar. Auto-detected from the move lines source model.	`account.move.line` search view
Show settings button	Display a gear icon to jump to the instance settings form.	False
Show Pivot Date	Display a date picker in the widget to dynamically change the base date.	False

Styles¶

Navigate to Accounting > Configuration > MIS Reporting > MIS Report Styles.

Styles control how KPI rows and cells are rendered in the preview, PDF, and XLSX exports. Each property has an "Inherit" checkbox -- when checked, that property is inherited from the parent style (template default or KPI style).

Style Fields¶

Number Formatting¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Rounding	Decimal places for numeric values.	0 (whole numbers), 2 (cents)
Factor	Divider applied before display. `1` = as-is, `1e3` = thousands, `1e6` = millions.	`1e3` (display in thousands)
Prefix	Text prepended to the value.	"$"
Suffix	Text appended to the value.	"USD"

Colors¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Text Color	Font color as RGB hex code.	`#FF0000` (red)
Background Color	Cell background color as RGB hex code.	`#F0F0F0` (light gray)

Font¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Font Style	`Normal` or `Italic`.	Normal
Font Weight	`Normal` or `Bold`.	Bold
Font Size	Size from `xx-small` to `xx-large` (maps to 5pt-17pt in XLSX).	`medium` (11pt)

Layout¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Indent Level	Number of `em` units to indent the row label. Useful for hierarchical reports.	2

Visibility¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Hide Empty	Hide this row if all values are empty/zero.	True
Hide Always	Always hide this row (useful for intermediate calculation rows).	False

Style Inheritance

Styles are merged in order: Template Default Style > KPI Style > Cell Style Expression. Each level only overrides properties where "Inherit" is unchecked. This lets you set company-wide defaults and override only what's needed per KPI.

Annotations¶

Annotations are cell-level notes that can be added to any KPI cell (not account detail rows) in a report instance. They appear as numbered footnotes in PDF exports and as comment markers in XLSX exports.

How Annotations Work¶

In the report preview widget, click a cell to open the annotation dialog.
Type your note and click Save.
The cell displays a superscript number reference.
In PDF exports, annotations appear as a numbered footnote table below the report.
In XLSX exports, annotations appear as cell comments.

Annotations are stored per-cell and are context-aware (they respect the current company selection). This means the same report instance can have different annotations when viewed by different companies in multi-company mode.

Annotation Permissions

Annotations require specific group membership. Users in the "MIS Report: view annotations" group can see annotations. Users in the "MIS Report: add annotations" group can create, edit, and delete them. See the Security section below.

Common Tasks¶

1. Create a New Report Template¶

Go to Accounting > Configuration > MIS Reporting > MIS Report Templates.
Click New.
Enter a Name (e.g., "Balance Sheet").
Leave Move Lines Source as account.move.line unless you have a custom model.
In the KPIs tab, click Add a line for each row you want in the report.
For each KPI, enter a Description (display label) and an Expression (formula).
Optionally assign a Style to format specific rows.
Click Save.

2. Create a Report Instance (Single Period)¶

Go to Accounting > Reporting > MIS Reporting > MIS Reports.
Click New.
Enter a Name (e.g., "January 2026 P&L").
Select your Template.
Leave Comparison Mode unchecked.
Set From and To dates (or select a Date Range).
Click Save, then click Preview to see the report.

3. Create a Multi-Period Comparison Report¶

Go to Accounting > Reporting > MIS Reporting > MIS Reports.
Click New.
Enter a Name and select your Template.
Check Comparison Mode.
Optionally set a Base Date (defaults to today).
In the Columns tab, click Add a line for each period:
- Set Label (e.g., "This Month").
- Set Source to "Actuals".
- Set Mode to "Relative to report base date".
- Set Period Type to "Month", Offset to 0, Duration to 1.
Add a second column for the previous month (Offset = -1).
Optionally add a third column with Source = "Compare columns" to show the difference.
Click Save, then Preview.

4. Add a Year-to-Date Column¶

Open a report instance in Comparison Mode.
In the Columns tab, add a new column.
Set Source to "Actuals", Mode to "Relative", Period Type to "Month".
Set Offset to 0, Duration to 1.
Check Year to Date -- this forces the start date to January 1st.
Save and preview.

5. Export to PDF¶

Open the report instance (either from the list or the preview).
Click Print (the printer icon).
The PDF is generated using QWeb and downloads automatically.
For wide reports, check Landscape PDF in the Layout tab first.

6. Export to XLSX¶

Open the report instance.
Click Export (the download icon).
The XLSX file includes all styling (bold, colors, number formats), column headers, and annotation comments.
A timestamp footer shows when the export was generated.

7. Add a Report to the Dashboard¶

Open the report instance form (not the preview).
Click Add to dashboard.
In the popup, enter a Name for the dashboard widget and select the Dashboard.
Click Add to dashboard.
The report now appears as a live widget on the selected dashboard, with optional filter bar and pivot date picker.

8. Use Drilldown¶

In the report preview, click on any blue/underlined value that has an accounting expression.
Odoo opens a list view of the underlying account.move.line records (or the alternative model) filtered to the exact accounts, date range, and domain that produced that value.
You can switch to pivot, graph, or form view from the drilldown results.

Drilldown Availability

Drilldown is only available for cells computed from accounting expressions (bal, deb, crd, etc.). Cells computed from pure Python expressions or queries do not support drilldown.

9. Quick-Run a Template¶

Go to Accounting > Configuration > MIS Reporting > MIS Report Templates.
Open a template.
In the template form, there is a built-in action to create a temporary instance.
Set dates in the popup and click Preview or Print.
Temporary instances are auto-deleted after 24 hours by a scheduled cron job.

Accumulation Methods¶

Accumulation controls how KPI values are adjusted when the reporting period does not perfectly align with the underlying data period (pro-rata temporis).

Method	Behavior	Use For
Sum	Values from shorter periods are added together. Values from longer or partially overlapping periods are adjusted pro-rata.	Revenue, expenses, counts
Average	Values from overlapping periods are averaged with a pro-rata weight based on the number of overlapping days.	Rates, percentages, averages
None	No accumulation or adjustment.	String values, flags

Multi-Company Support¶

Report instances support both single-company and multi-company modes:

Single Company: Set the Company field in the Filters tab. Data is searched only for that company.
Multi-Company: Check Multiple Companies and select the companies to include. Data from all selected companies is combined. If companies use different currencies, you must set the Currency field to specify a common target currency.

When multi-company is enabled, the "Display details by account" feature shows the company name in brackets after each account: 1000 Cash [Scott Recycling East].

Scheduled Automation¶

MIS Builder includes one scheduled action:

Cron Job	Schedule	Purpose
Vacuum temporary reports	Every 4 hours	Deletes temporary report instances (created from the quick-run wizard) that are older than 24 hours.

This cron runs automatically. No configuration is needed.

Security¶

Groups¶

MIS Builder uses Odoo's standard accounting group plus two custom annotation groups:

Group	Who Has It	What They Can Do
Internal User (`base.group_user`)	All employees	Read-only access to all MIS models (templates, instances, styles, etc.)
Invoicing / Accounting Manager (`account.group_account_manager`)	Accounting managers, IT admins	Full CRUD on all MIS models: create/edit/delete templates, instances, styles, periods
MIS Report: view annotations (`mis_builder.group_read_annotation`)	Assigned manually	Read annotations on report cells
MIS Report: add annotations (`mis_builder.group_edit_annotation`)	Admin users (by default), plus anyone assigned manually	Create, edit, and delete annotations. Automatically includes "view annotations" permission.

Record Rules¶

Rule	Effect
MIS Report Instance multi company	Users can only see report instances where the instance's company matches one of the user's allowed companies (or where no company is set).

Practical Access Summary¶

Role	Can Create Templates	Can Create Instances	Can View Reports	Can Annotate
Regular employee	No	No	Yes (read-only)	Only if in annotation group
Accounting Manager	Yes	Yes	Yes	Only if in annotation group
Admin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (in edit annotation group by default)

Annotation Group Setup

The annotation groups are not automatically assigned to accounting managers. If your accounting team needs to add notes to reports, an admin must manually add them to the "MIS Report: add annotations" group under Settings > Users > (user) > MIS Builder section.

Troubleshooting¶

"KPI name must be a valid python identifier"¶

KPI names, query names, sub-KPI names, and sub-report names must all be valid Python identifiers: letters, digits, and underscores only, cannot start with a digit. If you enter a Description, the Name is auto-generated from it by replacing invalid characters with underscores.

A column shows as red in the Columns list¶

Red rows in the Columns tab mean the period dates could not be computed (the valid field is False). Common causes:

Relative mode is set but the base date does not fall within any defined date range of the specified type.
Fixed mode is set but the From/To dates are missing.
The source is Actuals but the mode is "No date filter" (or vice versa for Sum/Compare sources).

Values show as blank instead of zero¶

This is by design. AccountingNone (no data) renders as blank, while actual 0 renders as "0". If an account has no moves in the period, the balance returns AccountingNone. To force zero display, you can wrap an expression: balp[70%] or 0.

Drilldown does nothing when I click a cell¶

Drilldown only works for cells computed from accounting expressions (bal, deb, crd, pbal, nbal, fld). Pure Python expressions and query-derived values do not support drilldown.

"Columns are not comparable" error¶

This occurs when you create a Compare column referencing two columns that have incompatible sub-KPI structures. Both columns must share at least one common sub-KPI for comparison to work.

XLSX export has wrong number formatting¶

Check the style assigned to the KPI. The Factor (divider) setting affects how values are displayed. For example, if Factor is 1e3 (thousands), the XLSX value is divided by 1000 and the number format reflects this. Make sure the Factor and Rounding settings match your expectations.

Technical Reference¶

Models¶

Model	Table	Description
`mis.report`	Report template	Holds KPIs, queries, sub-KPIs, sub-reports
`mis.report.kpi`	KPI definition	A row in the report with its expression
`mis.report.kpi.expression`	KPI expression	Individual expression (one per sub-KPI for multi KPIs)
`mis.report.subkpi`	Sub-KPI definition	Defines sub-columns within a report
`mis.report.query`	Custom query	Non-accounting data source
`mis.report.subreport`	Sub-report link	References another template's KPIs
`mis.report.instance`	Report instance	A runnable report bound to dates
`mis.report.instance.period`	Period/column	A column in a report instance
`mis.report.instance.period.sum`	Sum column entry	Defines which columns to add/subtract in a Sum column
`mis.report.style`	Style definition	Reusable formatting properties
`mis.report.instance.annotation`	Cell annotation	A note attached to a specific cell
`mis.kpi.data`	KPI data (abstract)	Base class for manually entered KPI values
`prorata.read_group.mixin`	Pro-rata mixin (abstract)	Adapts models with date_from/date_to for pro-rata temporis aggregation

Dependencies¶

MIS Builder depends on these modules:

Module	Source	Purpose
`account`	Odoo Core	Accounting data (account.move.line, account.account)
`board`	Odoo Core	Dashboard integration for embedding report widgets
`report_xlsx`	OCA (reporting-engine)	XLSX export engine
`date_range`	OCA (server-ux)	Predefined date range types and periods