Qlik Sense

 

SwiftPOS > Qlik Sense

 

Description

 

Qlik Sense Desktop is NO LONGER FREE

 

Qlik Sense Desktop is NO LONGER BE FREE as of June 30th 2020, because you can now get started faster and easier on any device in the cloud. Qlik Sense Desktop will continue to be supported as part of a Qlik Sense Enterprise deployment.

For more details, including how to get started in the cloud, please see Changes to Qlik Sense Desktop in 2020

 

This document is aimed at providing help information when using Qlik Sense Desktop as a BI tool for interrogating SwiftPOS data.

 

Qlik Sense is a business intelligence (BI) and visual analytics platform that supports a range of use cases, including centrally deployed guided analytics apps and dashboards, custom and embedded analytics, and self-service visualization, all within a scalable, governed framework.

 

 

Qlik Sense Desktop is Changing

Qlik Sense Desktop will no longer be free after June 30th 2020, because you can now get started faster and easier on any device in the cloud. Qlik Sense Desktop will continue to be supported as part of a Qlik Sense Enterprise deployment.

For more details, including how to get started in the cloud, please see qlik.com/QlikSenseDesktopChanges

 

 

To Be Considered

 

  1. The SwiftPOS BI Qlik Sense solution primarily makes use of Qlik Sense's Data Load feature. This means data is loaded from the SwiftPOS database into Qlik Sense each time the Load script is run (by selecting the Load Data button). The amount of data loaded is primarily governed by the Load script. In the case of the SwiftPOS Sales App (included as part of the SwiftPOSBIQlikSense.zip download), the default is the last 3 months of Sales data. This however can be adjusted, as is outlined in the Getting Started section below.
     
  2. PROS
     
    1. A Free 30 Day Trial of their Qlik Sense Business Cloud based Analytics software.
    2. A business/user friendly UI supports DIY users wanting a self-service BI tool, where they are encouraged to build their own Adhoc visualisations simply by drag & dropping various elements.
    3. It allows for snappy selections, filtering and the prompt re-calculation of all charts and aggregations on the fly as the user navigates throughout the dashboard, even on very large datasets.
    4. Overall it performs really well. Clicking on a specific bar in a chart or data item in a table, results in other tables/charts to automatically adjust, showing the relevant/selected data.

 

  1. CONS

 

    1. The Free download of their Qlik Sense Desktop will no longer be available after June 30th 2020. For subscription options, please see Changes to Qlik Sense Desktop in 2020.
    2. Visualisations of data in the form of Charts, etc are somewhat "customisable" (regarding colour and design).
    3. Lack of knowledge of how Qlik Sense works maybe a hindrance in achieving what you want. Fortunately with time and experience this does improve.
    4. There is a steeper learning curve than some other tools when wanting to use the script editor (in the Data Load Editor) to write code. This is worth doing though as it does give greater control over the data.

 

Pre-Requisites

 

  1. Read the BI Overview.
  2. Download Qlik Sense Desktop from here. You will need to create a login to register.
  3. Install Qlik Sense Desktop.
  4. Create a folder Apps in C:\Users\{User}\Documents\Qlik\Sense, if it does not already exist.
  5. Download the https://swiftpos-helpfiles.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/SwiftPOSBIPowerBI.zip  file. This file contains the following files:
     
    1. SAL001 SwiftPOS SALES.qvf - This file contains the Qlik Sense App for the reporting of Sales data.
    2. SAL002 SwiftPOS SALES BY MEDIA.qvf - This file contains the Qlik Sense App for the reporting of Sales by Media data.

 

  1. Extract the above files to the folder C:\Users\{User}\Documents\Qlik\Sense.

 

Getting Started

 

  1. Ensure the steps outlined in the Pre-Requisites above, have been completed.
  2. Launch Qlik Sense Desktop, and do as follows:
     
  1. Login.
  2. In the Qlik Sense Desktop Hub, select the SwiftPOS Sales App.
     

 

  1. In SwiftPOS Sales, the following prompt will be displayed:
     

 

The above prompt is displayed, because the SAL001 SwiftPOS SALES.qvf file does NOT contain any data. To proceed, select the Open button.

 

  1. The Data Load Editor is displayed. In the Data Load Editor:
     
  1. If your SwiftPOS database is:
     
  1. Not located on the localhost, OR
  2. Named anything other than SWIFTPOS, OR
  3. The password for the BIUser has been changed,
  4. Then select the Edit connection icon.
     

 

  1. Change the SQL Server connection details as required and then select the Test Connection button to confirm the new connection details are successful.
     

 

  1. In the Load script (displayed in the middle panel of the screen), locate the first Load statement. namely, LOAD *; [BI_Sales]:. The default load of Sales data is restricted to return only the last 3 months of data. This is identified by the -3 value in the WHERE clause of the SELECT statement. If needs be this can be changed to -12 to select the last 1 year, or -36 to return the last 3 years of data, and so on. Note : Changing number of months of data returned will affect the time it take the load script to run when the Load Data button is selected.
     

 

  1. Similarly, if Sales data is only required to be returned for a selected range of Locations, or selected Locations, then change the WHERE clause to suit. Examples are:
     
    1. SELECT *
      FROM dbo."BI_Sales"
      // Load the Last 12 months (prior to the last sale transacted) of Sales in ALL Locations
      WHERE Transacted >= DATEADD(MONTH, -12, (SELECT MAX(Transacted) FROM dbo."BI_Sales" TXN1)) and
      LocationNo BETWEEN 0 AND 99999;
       
    2. SELECT *
      FROM dbo."BI_Sales"
      // Load the Last 7 days (prior to the last sale transacted) of Sales in Locations 1,3 and 6.
      WHERE Transacted >= DATEADD(DAY, -7, (SELECT MAX(Transacted) FROM dbo."BI_Sales" TXN1)) and
      LocationNo IN (1,3,6);

 

  1. Select the Load Data button (Top right hand corner). The script will be executed. A successful completion will look as follows:
     

 

  1. Select Close if the Close when successfully finished option is not selected.

 

  1. Now select from the Navigation drop down list the App Overview item.
     

 

  1. Select the SwiftPOS SALES Sheet tab.
     

 

  1. Select the FILTERS sheet.
     

 

This sheet provides multiple Filters that can be used to obtain the required reporting. For example:
 

  1. Months Ago - Displays a list of the Months applicable to the data returned by the Load script. 0 - being the current month, 1 - being the previous month, 2 - being the month before that and so on.
  2. If I wanted to see all Beverage Sales of 2 months ago, then I would select 2 - 2019 Apr in the Months Ago filter and 2 - Beverage in the Master Groups filter. The SALES Inc value displayed (top right), will change depending on the filters selected.
     

 

  1. Select the Sheets button to view Sales data as presented in the default visualisations (sheets) provided.
     

 

  1. Select any of the remaining 5 sheets available to further analyse the Sales data. For example:
     

 

 

  1. Repeat the steps described above for the remaining Apps available in the Qlik Sense Desktop Hub.

 

Install Qlik Sense

 

  1. Open the Qlik_Sense_Desktop_setup.exe file in your Downloads folder to launch the install program.
  2. The following will be displayed:
     
  • Select Custom Installation

 

 

  • Ensure the I accept the license agreement checkbox is selected.
  • Select Next

 

 

  • Select Next

 

 

  • Select Next

 

 

  • Select the Install supported extension bundles option
  • Select Next

 

 

  • Ensure the I accept the license agreement checkbox is selected.
  • Select Next
  • The installation will commence.

 

 

  • Displayed on completion.

 

Qlik Sense Development/Support

 

For further information see the Development/Support section in the BI Overview.

 

Related Topics

 

  1. BI Overview

 

Published 28 Mar 2024