Distribution – Sales by Customer

What is a Sales by Customer Report for a Distribution Company? Customer sales reports with breakout by product group are considered critical revenue analysis tools and are used by sales executives and analysts to get a detailed picture of who is buying what and where, and how this has changed over time. Some of the main functionality in this type of report is that it is parameter-driven and the user can run it for any time period. Customers are listed down the rows and they are grouped into domestic and international categories. Major product groups are listed across the columns with each one containing actual monthly sales, sales for the same month in the prior year, variance % and variance amount. The colored arrows act as easy to see indicators of positive and negative variances. You find an example of this type of report below.

Purpose of Sales by Customer Reports Distribution businesses use Sales by Customer Reports to easily detect year over year variances in how much- and which product types customers are buying. When used as part of good business practices in a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and sales department, a company can improve its go-to-market strategies, and it can reduce the chances that customer or product outliers are not quickly detected in order to make timely decisions.

Who Uses This Type of Report? The typical users of this type of report are: Sales executives, account managers, territory managers, product managers and analysts. Other Reports Often Used in Conjunction with Sales by Customer Reports Progressive Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and sales departments sometimes use several different Sales by Customer Reports, along with sales transaction reports, sales dashboards, sales forecasts, sales budgets, profit & loss reports and other management and control tools.

Where Does the Data for Analysis Originate From? The Actual (historical transactions) data typically comes from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like: Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) Finance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Sage Intacct, Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, SAP Business One, SAP ByDesign, Acumatica, Netsuite and others. In analyses where budgets or forecasts are used, the planning data most often originates from in-house Excel spreadsheet models or from professional xFP&A solutions.

Built for distribution finance teams and aligned with Solver's xFP&A platform, this Solver report template connects directly to your ERP data via the Solver Data Warehouse, enabling near real-time analysis with minimal setup. Designed for QuickStart deployment, it can be activated rapidly so your team can focus on analysis and decisions — not data preparation.

What is the Distribution – Sales by Customer in Solver? The Distribution – Sales by Customer is a pre-built xFP&A report template in Solver designed for distribution organizations. It delivers key financial and operational metrics in a single, easy-to-use interface — purpose-built for distribution finance workflows.

Who uses this Solver report template? Finance leaders at distribution organizations — including CFOs, operations managers, and distribution finance teams — use this template to get fast, reliable answers without waiting on IT or building custom reports. It supports both day-to-day monitoring and strategic decision-making.

Where does the data come from? Data is sourced automatically from your ERP system through the Solver Data Warehouse, which integrates with platforms such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Dynamics 365 Finance, Acumatica, Sage Intacct, and other leading ERP solutions. Once connected, the template updates in near real-time with no manual data entry required.

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