The reports hub
Every report Books produces, what each one answers, and the two things that change what a report shows: scope and date range.
ReferenceFor Business owners, Bookkeepers, Firm staff, Portal clients
What each report answers
| Report | Answers |
|---|---|
| Trial Balance | Debit and credit totals by account — the raw ledger position. |
| Profit & Loss | Revenue, expenses, and net income for a period. |
| Balance Sheet | Assets, liabilities, and equity at a point in time. |
| Cash Flow | Cash movement by activity type. |
| Budget vs. Actual | Budget lines against posted activity. |
| Books | Transactions and running balances by account. |
| A/R Aging | Open invoices by days past due. |
| A/P Aging | Unpaid bills by days past due. |
| Consolidation | Entity P&L with intercompany eliminations. |
| Management Dashboard | Revenue, margin, position, and key ratios. |
| Tax Return Summary | Book figures grouped for tax preparation. |
| Report Package | Trial Balance, P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow together. |
Scope and dates change everything
Every report runs in the entity scope set by the header switcher. A report run in Consolidated scope combines every entity you can access; a report run in a single entity shows only that entity. The scope is shown on the report itself so an exported PDF cannot be mistaken for the other one.
Reports are computed on demand from the journal rather than from stored balances, so a report always reflects everything posted at the moment you run it — including entries back-dated into the period since you last looked.
Exporting and sharing
- PDF for anything going to a third party — it carries the scope, the date range, and the run time on the page.
- CSV when the recipient will do their own analysis.
- The client portal when a client should always see the current version rather than an attachment that ages.
- Report packages when a lender or a board wants the standard set together.
Common questions
Something was posted with a date inside the period after your earlier run — a back-dated bill, a late bank import, an adjusting entry. The audit trail's event log shows exactly what and when.
Locking periods at close is what stops this happening to statements you have already issued.
See alsoPeriod locks and closing the booksThe audit trail and chain verification
Yes — the Profit & Loss supports comparative columns, and Budget vs. Actual compares posted activity against budget for the same period.
See alsoBudgets and budget vs. actual
Accounts with activity in the period appear even if they net to zero, because a zero net over two offsetting entries is information. Accounts with no activity at all are omitted.
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