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From the setup to the first scheduled statement in an afternoon

What CertiReport needs on the server, how the setup installs the two Windows services and the embedded database, and the four things to do in the portal before the first report goes out. The setup and your licence key are delivered by CERTICONS after your order.

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Requirements

System requirements

CertiReport server	Windows Server, 64-bit. CertiReport is published self-contained on .NET 10, so no runtime has to be installed first. Three Windows services: `CertiReport.Portal` (web portal and API), `CertiReport.Engine` (scheduler, report runs, mail delivery) and `CertiReport.Database`, the PostgreSQL server the setup installs and manages on localhost. Runtime data lives under `%ProgramData%\CertiReport`.
SAP Business One	Companies on SAP HANA or Microsoft SQL Server, several of either on one server. HANA companies are read through the SAP HANA client (`Sap.Data.Hana.Net`); SQL Server companies through `Microsoft.Data.SqlClient`. Each company gets a dedicated read-only database user; the company page tests the connection and checks that the user cannot write.
PDF rendering	Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge installed on the engine server. Certified PDFs are rendered in a headless browser; nothing is downloaded by the product.
Crystal Reports (optional)	.NET Framework 4.8 and the SAP Crystal Reports runtime for .NET Framework (32-bit or 64-bit, any 13.0 service pack) on the engine server. The setup offers the Crystal Reports feature only when SAP's runtime is registered. Everything else works without it.
Mail	An SMTP server or a Microsoft 365 mailbox (OAuth2 or Microsoft Graph). Optional destinations: SFTP server, SharePoint document library, Microsoft Teams channel, Service Layer of the SAP Business One company for write-back.
Browser	A current browser for the portal, served on port 8080 by default; HTTPS with a certificate from the machine store is an install option. English, Arabic and French.
Licence	A key from CERTICONS for the Hardware ID of the server and the number of active SAP Business One companies. No trial: without a key you can sign in, design reports and prepare schedules, but no company can be added and no report runs.

Installation

The setup in four steps

Run CertiReportSetup

Accept the licence agreement, then the Options page: install folder, HTTP port, optional HTTPS port and certificate, service account, database port and superuser password, the first portal administrator, desktop shortcut and the Crystal Reports feature.

Let setup build the database

The setup initialises the PostgreSQL cluster, registers the CertiReport.Database service, creates the application login with a generated password, applies the schema and creates your administrator account.

Open the portal

http://server:8080, sign in as the administrator you named. The dashboard shows a getting-started checklist until the engine is online, a company and a mail profile are tested, a report is published and a schedule is enabled.

Set the public address

Administration › Settings › Public URL is the address recipients reach: it goes into the QR code of every certified PDF, the download links and the Teams cards.

Unattended install

Every option of the setup can be passed on the command line, so servers provisioned by script get the same result without a window. The same command upgrades an installed CertiReport in place; database, settings and connection string are kept.

CertiReportSetup-<version>.exe /quiet /norestart /log C:\Windows\Temp\CertiReport-setup.log ^
    HTTP_PORT=8080 SERVICE_ACCOUNT="DOMAIN\svc-certireport$" ^
    DB_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD="<strong password>" ADMIN_USER=admin ADMIN_PASSWORD="<password>" ^
    PUBLIC_URL=https://reports.example.com

Exit code 0 on success, 3010 when a reboot is pending. http://server:8080/health/ready answers 200 when the portal and its database are up.

First steps

Company, mail profile, report, schedule

1. Add the company

Administration › Companies: platform (SAP HANA or SQL Server), connection, the read-only user and Max concurrent queries, the cap that protects SAP Business One during a burst. Test connects and confirms the user is read-only. Optional: the Service Layer sign-in for write-back and the signing certificate, each with its own check.

2. Create a mail profile

Administration › Mail profiles: SMTP, Microsoft 365 OAuth2 or Microsoft Graph, with a messages-per-minute limit and an attachment limit. Test sends a message to you. Deliveries are queued in a transactional outbox and retried after 1 m, 5 m, 15 m, 1 h and 4 h before they are dead-lettered.

3. Publish a report

Reports › Starter reports imports seven ready-made SAP Business One reports (statement of account, open invoices, receivables aging, overdue reminder, sales by business partner, sales by item, incoming payments) as drafts for HANA and SQL Server. Adapt the SQL and the outputs in the designer, then publish. Or import your own queries from Query Manager.

4. Enable a schedule

Scheduling › Schedules: pick the reports, bind every variable slot (fixed value, date expression such as @EndOfMonth(-1), or iterate over a query that yields one business partner and recipient per row), choose the formats and the delivery. Save dry-runs the iterate query and checks the next three fire times; the engine picks the schedule up within a minute.

Licence

Activation in three steps

CertiReport is licensed per active SAP Business One company on one server. The key is bound to the Hardware ID of the server and verified offline; nothing is sent to CERTICONS by the product.

Administration › License shows the Hardware ID and prepares the licence request; copy it or use E-mail request
Paste the key you receive into Activate a licence; Check verifies it without installing, Activate installs it
Headless servers: CertiReport.Portal.exe license --file CertiReport-License.lic, or POST /api/v1/license
A banner warns while the licence is missing, expiring, in grace or expired; the failure-alert addresses are mailed at 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before expiry

Prerequisite check

Before the first schedule, and after every change to the server, run the check on the engine server. One line per prerequisite, exit code 1 when something required is missing.

CertiReport.Engine.exe check

metadata database ....... ok, no pending migrations
data folder ............. ok  %ProgramData%\CertiReport
PDF browser ............. ok  Microsoft Edge
Crystal sidecar ......... ok  .NET Framework 4.8, SAP runtime 64-bit
company "OEC Computers" . ok  connection, signing certificate, Service Layer

User manual

Installation, companies, reports and the designer, schedules and delivery, certified PDFs, Crystal Reports, administration and operations, in one PDF.

Open the manual →

Where to look when something fails

Run history shows every item with its notes, delivery attempts and write-back result. Logs roll daily under %ProgramData%\CertiReport\logs; the Windows Event Log carries the service events. The failure-alert addresses and the weekly digest tell you before a customer does.

Support

Support and updates come with the licence for twelve months. Write to info@certicons.com with the version from the About page and the run id; the people who build CertiReport answer.

Contact support →

Ready to schedule your first statements?

Tell us how many SAP Business One companies you run and on which platform, and we send the quote and the setup.

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