What Licenses Do I Need to Schedule and Email Reports with SAP Crystal Server?

Imagine you look after reporting for a distributor. Each morning, the sales manager needs a PDF showing yesterday’s orders. You already have the Crystal report, and the next question is which licenses let you send it automatically.

For that routine, SAP’s Named User route supports scheduling and sending report attachments. You don’t need to assume that every scheduled email requires the additional personalized publishing entitlement.

Now accounts asks for monthly customer statements as well. Each customer must receive only their own transactions. That introduces a different question: will you configure individual scheduled reports, or use Automated Publishing to generate and distribute personalized documents?

Write down both requirements before requesting a quote. The morning sales PDF and the customer statement service may look similar in the inbox, but the way you produce them matters.

SAP’s Crystal Solutions FAQ describes Named User and Concurrent Sessions licensing for Crystal Server 2020 and 2025. A Named User license is assigned to a particular person; Concurrent Sessions provides shared access according to the number of simultaneous sessions licensed.

The FAQ says the Crystal Server Named User offering can schedule reports and send attachments in formats such as PDF. It also says only the Concurrent Sessions offering includes Automated Publishing, where each recipient receives data personalized for them.

For that publishing route, SAP requires Crystal Server Named User licensing first, with Concurrent Sessions purchased in blocks of five. The FAQ allows an unlimited number of unique Automated Publishing recipients. Five concurrent sessions therefore does not mean you can email only five customers.

Someone who only receives a static PDF is doing something different from someone signing into the server to refresh or explore reports. Describe those audiences separately when confirming your purchase.

For a closer look at the publishing distinction, see whether Named User licensing includes report bursting. Here, the aim is to identify the licenses for the whole delivery routine.

Start in Crystal Server’s Central Management Console. Under Manage, open License Keys to inspect the installed Named User and Concurrent Sessions quantities. SAP’s FAQ documents this check. Keep the product version and your purchase records alongside it.

Next, identify who creates or edits the reports, who signs into Crystal Server, and who only receives files. Give SAP or your reseller the number of named people needing dedicated access and the expected simultaneous sessions for shared access.

Describe the morning sales report as an ordinary scheduled PDF email. Describe the statement requirement separately, including whether you need Automated Publishing, how customer data is selected, and whether recipients also need portal access.

Ask for written confirmation of the required licenses for that version and workflow. Then test the sales attachment and two customer statements using controlled mailboxes. A successful demonstration confirms the output; your agreement and entitlement confirmation establish the licensing basis.

If the sales manager needs an email attachment and accounts needs separate customer PDFs, you can also evaluate CRD directly against the existing RPT files. CRD can run the report, export the output and deliver it without using Crystal Server’s scheduling service for that job.

For the morning report, configure the report, reporting period, PDF output and approved email destination in CRD. For the statements, a Bursting schedule can separate report groups, while a Data-Driven schedule can use customer records to supply parameters and delivery instructions.

This gives you a dedicated delivery option without buying Crystal Server Automated Publishing for the work CRD performs. It does not provide Crystal Server portal access or change the licenses needed for any SAP services you continue using. The article on bursting without Concurrent Sessions develops that alternative in more detail.

You should be able to explain how tomorrow’s sales PDF will arrive, how customer statements will be personalized, and who still needs server access. That is a much stronger starting point than buying additional sessions because an email requirement sounded like publishing.

If ordinary Crystal Server scheduling meets the sales manager’s needs, use the entitlement you have confirmed. If your main requirement is preparing and delivering files, try that same sales report in CRD for Crystal Reports, then add the two customer statements. Compare the accepted outputs, ongoing work and licenses each complete route requires.