Accounting reports are essential financial documents for businesses of all sizes. They serve various crucial purposes, such as tracking financial performance, forecasting future results, and maintaining accurate documentation for compliance and tax purposes. Many companies generate monthly accounting reports and may also create additional custom analyses as needed. These reports provide a comprehensive snapshot of a company’s financial history and current position, enabling informed business decisions.
How to create a predefined accounting report
Predefined accounting reports save time, ensure accuracy, and promote consistency in financial reporting. They are based on user-friendly templates designed to reduce errors and support efficient data analysis. These reports also aid in compliance with industry standards and reporting requirements.
To create a predefined accounting report, click on the ‘New’ tab.
A pop-up window will open where you can choose a report from the system Report Library or select “Blank accounting report” to build your own.
Let’s say we select a ready-made report from the library.
Once selected, the system displays a preview with a short description. Click “Create” and the report will open in a separate tab in View mode.
For the newly created report, you can add a “Comparison period” to compare data from different timeframes. You can also enable options to “Show difference” and “Show difference %” to display absolute and percentage variances between periods.
How to Create a Blank Accounting Report
A blank accounting report offers maximum flexibility, allowing you to tailor the structure and content to your specific needs. It supports detailed analysis and custom visualizations aligned with your strategic goals.
To create a blank accounting report, click the “New” tab, choose “Blank accounting report” from the Library, and click “Create.”
To add entries to your blank report, click “New.”
Once you’ve configured your entry, click “Create.”
How to Edit an Accounting Report
Accounting reports provide both a View mode and an Edit mode, allowing you to preview reports or make changes as required.
Click “Edit” to open the report in edit mode. In this screen, you can customize the report individually. You can add new content as well as show, hide, duplicate, edit, or delete existing elements.
If you want to discard your changes, you can select “Reset to template” at any time. The report will then revert to its original default layout.
If a report is no longer required, it can be completely removed from this screen.
Use the “View” button to switch back to the report display.
Once edit mode is enabled, you will see a list of all report entries, consisting of headers and accounting entries. Using the editing icons on the right-hand side, headers can be removed, duplicated, or excluded from the report display. The same options apply to accounting entries, which can also be edited.
To edit an accounting entry, click the pencil icon. A new pop-up window will appear. In our example, you can see the entry name (NET PROFIT / PERIOD LOSS), the calculation formula (A–B), and the measurement (currency).
Calculation formula – The currently applied formula from the predefined list and each of its variables are displayed in the table below. If you want to change the formula, simply select a different one from the “Calculation formula” list.
To edit formula variables, click the pencil icon next to them. You will see the variable name (A), the data source (Journal), and a preview of the calculated category data from accounting journals. You can add or remove categories as required and click the “Save” button to update the formula variable.
To duplicate an accounting entry, click the duplicate icon on the right-hand side. A new entry will appear at the top of the table, where you can change the following: type (header or accounting entry), text string (entry name), position (position in the report), style (font style), unit of measure (currency or company currency). Once the required changes are completed, click the “Create” button and the newly created entry will be added to the end of the table.
To add a report header or footer, simply enter the name and use the edit icon next to it if you want to change the name.
How to remove a report
To remove a report, click the “Remove” button and the entire report tab will be deleted. The “Remove” button is available in both view and edit mode.
How to reset the template
If you have modified one of the predefined templates but want to return to the original version for any reason, you can click the “Reset template” button.
