Top 5 Questions: Reports

Hello Top 5, my old friend! Whether you’re a new QuickBooks user or an expert, there’s always something to learn. This week we’re looking at Reports. Not only are they extremely important when determining the state of your business, QuickBooks also has many types and ways to customize. I guarantee by the end of this article, you’ll learn something new. Here we go!

1. How can I get Tags to show up in my reports? 

While some of you may know exactly what Tags are, let me help out the ones who don’t. In short, tags are labels that you create that can be applied to invoices, bills, and expenses. It’s important to know that Tags won’t affect your bookkeeping; their purpose is to give you deeper insight into areas that matter to your business. 

What can you use Tags for? Anything you want, but here are some ideas:

• Track different types of jobs
• Track ad campaigns, sales reps or project managers
• Anything important to your business

Now, let’s get those tags on your reports!

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. Enter the name in the Find report by name text-box.
3. Select the Customize button.
4. Under the Rows/Columns section, go to the Columns dropdown and select the Tag group or Ungrouped Tags.
5. Check the boxes for other information you'd like to show in the report.

Select Run report.

Now your report will have another column of your Tags!

2. Why is my paid Invoice showing as unpaid in the A/R Aging Report? 

The Accounts Receivable Aging Report is a report ​​that shows unpaid invoices and how many days past due they are. If you see an invoice there that doesn’t belong, make sure to check the payment date. For example, if you recorded a payment on March 2, but the invoice is dated March 1, it won’t show up on the report if the dates run through March 2. If it was only run through the 1st, it'd be considered unpaid since the payment technically didn’t happen yet.

When in doubt, double-check the payment date. 

3. I’m running a report and I want to compare month to month to previous years with a percentage of dif...

How many ways to customize a report? The answer… so many ways! For this example I’ll use the Profit and Loss report. 

1. Select the period you want to show and display the columns by Months. 
2. To compare the report to another period, select Previous period (PP) under the Compare another period section, 
3. Then check the box next to % change to see that difference in a percentage. Note: You can also do $ change to see the difference in dollars. 

It’s one of many ways to see how your business has grown over time and areas to improve. 

4. How do I export reports if I cancel my account?

There are many reasons you may need to export report information. Maybe you’re closing your account (wait, don’t go!) or need them for your records. Either way, I’m going to show you how!

Head over to the Gear Icon and under Tools click on Export Data.

Under Reports you’ll have these options:

Don’t see a report you need here? No worries, every report in QuickBooks Online can be exported manually. Just run the report you need in the Reports Menu and click on the Export Icon

Note: If your account is still in trial and you cancel, you can access read-only reports within 90 days after canceling your subscription. However, if you've subscribed using your card, you can access your information within a year from the date of cancelation. 

5. Can I print a report of all accounts including inactive ones?

Why yes you can! Your chart of accounts may be due for a revamp or maybe you just like to see all those accounts in a report view. Whatever the reason, just follow these steps:

1. Go to Accounting on the left menu and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Click on Run Report.
3. This will show you all active accounts. To see Deleted accounts, click on Customize on top.
4. Then expand Filter and check the box next to Deleted.
5. Lastly, change the dropdown to All, and Run Report.

All inactive accounts will have (deleted) next to their name. 

That sums up your Top 5 Questions: Reports! Made for the people, by the people. Stay tuned for more Top 5’s in the future.