Using reports
Choose a report and dates. This year, Last year and This quarter set the dates for you. Profit and loss and the balance sheet can Compare to prior year. Every report can be saved with Export CSV (for a spreadsheet) or Export PDF (on your letterhead).
- Reports that cover a moment in time (balance sheet, trial balance, who owes you, bills you owe) say "As of" the To date.
- Reports that cover a whole tax year (owner equity, contractors, tax-line mapping, sales tax, return summary, Schedules M-1 and M-2) say which year; it's the year of the To date.
- If transactions in the period still need a category, profit and loss says how many, because its totals aren't final yet.
Every report
| Report | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Profit and loss | Income less expenses for the period: did the business make money? |
| Balance sheet | What the business owns, owes, and the owners' stake, on one date. |
| Cash flow | Where the bank cash came from and went. |
| Trial balance | Every account's balance, the way your CPA's software wants it. |
| General ledger | Every entry, account by account, with a running balance. |
| Spending by payee | Expenses grouped by who you paid. |
| Income by customer | Income grouped by who paid you. |
| Owner equity (Partner or Shareholder equity) | Each owner's capital for the year: start, contributions, money taken out, share of income, end. |
| Contractors (1099) | Who you paid for work and who may need a 1099. |
| Tax-line mapping | Your trial balance grouped by suggested tax-return line. |
| Reconciliations | Each statement's balance against your books. |
| Who owes you | Unpaid invoices by how late they are. |
| Bills you owe | Unpaid bills by how late they are. |
| Profit by class | Income and expenses by class (a job, location or line of business). |
| Budget vs. actual | This year's budget against what really happened. |
| Sales tax | Sales, tax collected and tax paid, by quarter. |
| Return summary | Suggested page-one totals for your tax return. |
| Schedules M-1 and M-2 | Book income to return income, and the equity roll-forward (not for Schedule C businesses). |
