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Generating QuickBooks Financial Reports

Balance Sheet Reports
Users can generate the following balance sheet reports by selecting "Company & Financial" from the "Reports" menu:

• Balance Sheet Standard. This report presents a company's balance sheet accounts as of a specified date.
• Balance Sheet Detail. This report presents the beginning balance for each balance sheet account as of the beginning of the specified time period, detail transactions posted during that time period, and the ending account balance as of the end of the specified time period.
• Balance Sheet Summary. This report summarizes the standard balance sheet report by presenting a total for each balance sheet account type (i.e., bank, accounts receivable, other current assets, etc.) rather than a total for each individual account.
• Balance Sheet Prev Year Comparison. This report presents a company's balance sheet as of a specified date and as of the same date one year earlier. It also includes columns for the dollar change and the percentage change for each amount.
• Net Worth Graph. This option generates a bar graph that summarizes total assets, total liabilities, and total net worth as of a specified date. Users can zoom in on any bar in the graph to generate a pie chart that summarizes the same information as of the selected date.

Users should be aware that the preceding balance sheet reports present the balance for the "Undeposited Funds" account as an other current asset rather than as cash. Users should reclassify the "Undeposited Funds" amount to cash for financial reporting purposes. However, QuickBooks does not allow report line items to be merged, deleted, or moved. Consequently, Users who want to use the QuickBooks balance sheet reports must record a journal entry to transfer the "Undeposited Funds" balance to a bank account balance. When the client subsequently deposits the cash, QuickBooks debits the bank account balance and credits the "Undeposited Funds" account. Since this results in an overstatement of the bank account balance and an understatement of "Undeposited Funds," the journal entry should be reversed after generating the QuickBooks financial reports for the period. (QuickBooks Premier can create an auto-reversing journal entry. Reversing an entry creates a new entry, dated the first day of the following month. To create a reversing entry, click the "Reverse" button when booking the original entry.)

Users also should be aware that the QuickBooks balance sheet reports do not display the current portion of long-term debt separately as a current liability as required by GAAP. Users should reclassify the debt amount due within one year as an "Other Current Liability" for financial reporting purposes. However, since QuickBooks does not allow report line items to be merged or moved, users who want to use the QuickBooks balance sheet reports must record a journal entry to transfer the current portion of the long-term liability balance to an "Other Current Liability" balance. The reclassification journal entry should be reversed after generating the QuickBooks financial reports for the period so that subsequent loan payments can be posted to only one liability account. (QuickBooks Premier and Premier-Accountant can create an auto-reversing journal entry. Reversing an entry creates a new entry, dated the first day of the following month. To create a reversing entry, click the "Reverse" button when booking the original entry.)

Note - As discussed in the preceding paragraphs, QuickBooks does not allow report line items to be merged, deleted, or moved. However, Users often may want to change line items in QuickBooks financial reports. For example, QuickBooks generally displays accounts and subaccounts in alphabetical order within report captions. If alphabetical order is not appropriate, the only way to change the order of the lines within a QuickBooks report caption is to reorder the accounts in the chart of accounts. In addition to users' limited ability to change report line items, QuickBooks does not allow users to change the names of captions in financial reports. Due to the difficulty in manipulating the data in QuickBooks financial reports, many users either export the QuickBooks reports to Excel spreadsheets or use the information in QuickBooks reports to generate financial statements using their own accounting software.

Income Statement Reports
Users can generate the following income statement reports by selecting "Company & Financial" from the "Reports" menu:

• Profit & Loss Standard. This report summarizes a company's income and expenses for a specified time period and reports net income for the period.
• Profit & Loss Detail. This report presents the transactions posted to each income and expense account during a specified time period.
• Profit & Loss YTD Comparison. This report summarizes a company's income and expenses for a specified time period and for the fiscal year through the end of that time period.
• Profit & Loss Prev Year Comparison. This report summarizes a company's income and expenses for a specified time period and for the same time period one year earlier. It also includes columns for the dollar change and the percentage change for each amount.
• Income & Expense Graph. This option includes a bar graph that summarizes income and expenses for a specified time period. It also includes a pie chart that breaks down total income for the period by account and a pie chart that breaks down total expenses for the period by account. Users can zoom in on any bar in the bar graph to generate a pie chart that summarizes income and expense only for the selected time period. Likewise, users can zoom in on any account in the pie charts to generate a graph of that account for the time period.

If the numbers on a profit and loss report look wrong, users should check the following:

• Report Dates. Users can specify the report period by selecting a period (such as "This month-to-date," "This fiscal quarter," or "Last fiscal year") from the "Dates" drop-down list. Alternatively, Users can enter the beginning and ending dates for the report period in the "From" and "To" fields. Users also can change report dates by clicking the "Modify Report" button and the "Display" tab.

Note - QuickBooks 2000 users should click on the "Customize" button to change report dates.

• Report Basis. Users should verify that the report is generated using the correct accounting basis (i.e., accrual or cash). The differences between accrual and cash basis reports in QuickBooks are discussed below.
• Report Filters. QuickBooks allows users to filter reports in a variety of ways. Report results may be distorted if a report includes a filter that the user is unaware of. Users can check for report filters by generating a "Profit & Loss Standard" report without any filters and comparing the results of that report to the report that appears incorrect.
• Items. If income appears to be understated, Users should verify that items such as services and inventory parts are set up to post to income accounts rather than asset or liability accounts.

In addition to the income statement reports, users also can generate the following reports by selecting "Company & Financial" from the "Reports" menu.

• Profit & Loss by Job
• Profit & Loss by Class
• Income by Customer Summary
• Income by Customer Detail
• Expenses by Vendor Summary
• Expenses by Vendor Detail

Statement of Cash Flows
Users can generate a "Statement of Cash Flows" report and a "Cash Flow Forecast" report by selecting "Company & Financial" from the "Reports" menu. The "Statement of Cash Flows" report presents changes in the user's cash during a specified time period and shows cash received and cash paid for operating, investing, and financing activities.

Budgets
Users can generate the following reports by selecting "Reports" and then "Budgets" from the menu bar:

• Budget Overview. This report shows budget-only information.
• Budget vs. Actual. This report shows, for each month, the actual amounts, budget amounts, and dollar and percentage differences between actual and budget amounts.
• Profit and Loss Budget Performance. This report shows the current month actual and budget amounts and the year-to-date actual and budget amounts.
• Budget vs. Actual Graph. This report displays income statement budget vs. actual amounts in graph from.

Beginning with QuickBooks 2003, Intuit has made it easier for users to enter budget information. To create a budget, select "Company," "Planning and Budgeting," and then "Set Up Budgets" from the menu bar. Next, select the year and type of budget to create. QuickBooks then will ask whether users want to create the budget from scratch or from the previous year's actual data. If "Create Budget from Scratch" is selected, a blank budget will appear and users must manually enter all budget amounts. If "Create budget from previous year's actual" is chosen, last year's monthly amounts will be copied to the budget. In either case, amounts may be adjusted after the budget is created.

To adjust budget amounts, users may simply select the appropriate account and month and type the new amount. Subsequent months may be entered similarly, or by choosing a monthly amount and-

• Clicking the "Copy Across" button to enter the same amount for the account for all months after the month currently selected.
• Clicking the "Adjust Row Amounts" button to increase or decrease each monthly amount by a specified percentage or dollar amount beginning with a specified month. Note that if the user selects "Currently selected month" as the starting point, an option to enable compounding appears. If that box is checked, each monthly adjustment will be based on the previous month's balance (e.g., 100 increased 10% each month compounded would be 100, 110, 121, 133.10, etc.; or 100 increased $10 each month compounded would be 100, 110, 120, 130, etc.). If compounding is not enabled, each monthly adjustment will be based on the balance currently entered for that month.

Note - Prior to QuickBooks 2003, users were required to enter all budget information manually. They could not automatically adjust monthly amounts by percentage or dollar amounts or easily import prior year actual amounts as a starting point for current period budgets.

Forecasts
QuickBooks Premier 2003 users may use QuickBooks to prepare forecasts as well as budgets. In fact, forecasts and budgets in QuickBooks are very similar. However, users may prefer to create a forecast rather than a budget if they need to analyze various "what if" scenarios. For example, a company may wish to create a budget based on expected results and compare actual results to the budget as the year progresses. In addition, a user may want to prepare a forecast to see what future financial results might look like if certain transactions or events occur (for example, a new loan is approved and operations are expanded, a store location is closed, etc.).

When forecasts are created, the following reports are available:

• Forecast Overview. This report shows forecast amounts by month.
• Forecast vs. Actual. This report shows, for each month, actual results, forecasted amounts, and the dollar and percentage differences between actual and forecasted amounts.

The procedures for creating and editing forecasts are similar to those for creating and editing budgets.

Other Financial Reports
Users can generate the following financial reports by selecting "Accountant & Taxes" from the "Reports" menu:

• Trial Balance. This report presents the balance in each account as of a specified date, with separate columns for accounts with debit balances and those with credit balances.
• General Ledger. This report presents the beginning balance, account activity, and the ending balance for each account for a specified time period. QuickBooks does not allow users to summarize the "General Ledger" report by hiding transaction details. However, Users can generate a "General Ledger" report for an individual account by (a) clicking the "Modify Report" button and the "Filters" tab in the "General Ledger" report; (b) selecting "Selected Accounts" from the "Account" drop-down list in the "Modify Report" window; (c) selecting the applicable account from the "Select Accounts" window; (d) clicking "OK"; (e) clicking the "Display" tab; (f) clicking the "Advanced" button; and (g) selecting the "In Use" option in the "Advanced Options" window.

Note - QuickBooks 2000 users should click on the "Filters" button in the "General Ledger" report window to filter the report and the "Customize" button to select the "In Use" option.

• Transaction Detail by Account. This report presents the activity in each account, as well as a subtotal of activity for each account, for a specified time period. It does not present beginning and ending balances.
• Journal. This report lists each transaction that occurred during a specified time period, with separate line items for each affected account and separate columns for debit and credit amounts.
• Transaction List by Date. This report chronologically lists each transaction that occurred during a specified time period, with only one line item and one total amount listed for each transaction.

If the "General Ledger" report or the "Transaction Detail by Account" report is generated for a time period that spans multiple fiscal years, the report only reflects income and expense transactions for the last fiscal year of the report. (Any prior year income and expense amounts are rolled into retained earnings.) Users can change the report dates so that income and expense transactions are listed for each fiscal year by selecting "All" from the "Dates" drop-down list. Alternatively, Users can change the "Transaction Detail by Account" report by selecting "Income Statement" from the "Total By" drop-down list. That option is not available in the "General Ledger" report.

Users using QuickBooks Premier can generate additional reports for the balance sheet or the income statement by selecting "Planning and Budgeting" and then "Use Expert Analysis Tool" from the "Company" menu. Users should follow the onscreen instructions in the "Expert Analysis" wizard to generate the following reports:

• Last Month to Previous Month. This report compares the company's balance sheet or income statement for the last two months.
• Last Quarter to Previous Quarter. This report compares the company's balance sheet or income statement for the last two quarters.
• Last Year to Previous Year. This report compares the company's balance sheet or income statement for the last two years.
• Last Month to Same Month a Year Ago. This report compares the company's balance sheet or income statement for the last month and the same month from the previous year.
• Last Quarter to Same Quarter a Year Ago. This report compares the company's balance sheet or income statement for the last quarter and the same quarter from the previous year.

QuickBooks Expert Analysis is a separate software program that comes with QuickBooks Premier. QuickBooks Expert Analysis analyzes two periods of financial information, which may be manually entered or exported from QuickBooks reports through Excel. The program then generates a report analyzing liquidity, profits, sales, borrowing, assets, and employees based on the selection of a specific industry and the company's sales range (e.g., less than $1 million, between $1 million and $10 million, and over $10 million).

How Do I Create a Report or a Graph?
How Do I Change a Report Basis from Cash to Accrual or from Accrual to Cash?
How Do I Memorize Reports?
What is the Expert Analysis Tool?

How Do I Create a Report or a Graph?

Creating a Report or Graph

• From the Reports menu, choose a report category and then choose the report or graph you want.
  or
• Click the Reports menu button on any list. Then choose the report you want.
  or
• If you don't know which report or graph you want, choose Report Finder from the Reports menu. Use the Report Finder to learn about and view examples of different reports and graphs. When you find one that meets your needs, click Display.

How Do I Change a Report Basis from Cash to Accrual or from Accrual to Cash?
QuickBooks allows you to change the report basis from cash to accrual or from accrual to cash at any time. Changing the report basis does not alter your data, it only changes the way data displays on reports. You can also set a default report basis that affects how QuickBooks displays summary reports (reports that summarize amounts and do not list transactions). Detail reports (reports that list transactions) must be changed manually.

To change the report basis on a single report:

1. Click the Modify Report button in the QuickBooks report window.
2. Select the appropriate Report Basis, and then click OK.

To set the default report basis for summary reports:

1. From the QuickBooks Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then scroll down to click the Reports & Graphs icon on the left side of the window.
2. Click the Company Preferences tab, select your desired reporting method, Cash or Accrual, and then click OK.

To set the default report basis for sales tax liability reports:

1. From the QuickBooks Edit menu, choose Preferences, and then scroll down to click the Sales Tax icon on the left side of the window.
2. Click the Company Preferences tab, and in the Owe Sales Tax section, choose one of the following:
   • As of invoice date (Accrual Basis)
   • Upon receipt of payment (Cash Basis)
3. Click OK.

Note - You need to be in the Single-user Mode to change preferences. The QuickBooks Administrator is the only user who can change Company Preferences.

How Do I Memorize Reports?
To memorize a report that you've made changes to:

1. In the report window, click Memorize. If this report has already been memorized, you will receive the message "The report you are memorizing is a memorized report. Would you like to replace the original memorized report or create a new one?"
   • Click Replace to update the original memorized report under the existing report name; or
   • Click New to create a new report without replacing the original memorized report, and then proceed to Step 2.
2. Enter an appropriate name for the report in the Memorize Report window.
3. (Optional) Select Save in Memorized Report Group, and then select a report group from the drop-down list.
4. Click OK. QuickBooks will add the report to the Memorized Report list.

To view a memorized report:

1. From the QuickBooks Reports menu, choose Memorized Reports, and then choose Memorized Report List.
2. Double-click the report you want to view.

Note - QuickBooks memorizes the report settings, not the report data. For example, if the report date is set for the period This Month and you memorize the report in January, recalling the report in April will display data for April.

If you want to save actual data, click Print at the top of the report window and then:

• If you want a hard copy, click Print again.
• If you want to save a copy on your hard disk:
  1. Select the File option, select the desired file format from the drop-down list, and then click Print.
  2. In the Create Disk File window, select the location where you want to save the file from the Save in drop-down list.
  3. Enter a name in the File name field, and then click Save.

View the file you created by opening it in a word processing or spreadsheet program.

What is the Expert Analysis Tool?
Note - This feature is available only in the Premier and Enterprise Solutions editions.

The Expert Analysis tool helps you better understand your financial data and improve the performance of your business. The Expert Analysis tool assesses performance trends for your business in important areas such as profits, sales, borrowing, liquidity, assets, and employees. It also shows how you are performing compared to others in your industry. Comparisons are available for more than 130 specific industries.

To open the Expert Analysis tool:

• From the Company menu, choose Planning & Budgeting, then choose Use Expert Analysis Tool.

Customizing QuickBooks Financial Reports
Memorizing Reports
Adding Reports to the Icon Bar
Exporting QuickBooks Reports to Excel
Exporting QuickBooks Report Templates between Company Files

Customizing QuickBooks Financial Reports
Formatting QuickBooks Reports
Users can change the format of individual QuickBooks reports by clicking the "Modify Report" button and either the "Fonts & Numbers" tab or the "Header/Footer" tab in the report window. Users can specify the format for:

Note - QuickBooks 2000 users should click on the "Format" button in the report window.

• Negative Numbers. Choices include presenting negative numbers in red, in parentheses, or with a leading or trailing minus sign.
• All Numbers. Choices include presenting numbers in multiples of 1000, with or without cents, and not presenting zero amounts.
• Fonts. Font choices include font type, font style such as bold or italics, size, color, and effects such as underline or strikeout. Different fonts can be selected for different report elements such as report title, column labels, and report totals. After selecting the fonts for a particular report element, QuickBooks gives users the opportunity to apply the fonts to all related report elements.
• Header and Footer Content. Header information can include company name, report title, subtitle, date prepared, time prepared, and report basis. Footer information can include page number and a customized extra footer line. Users can choose whether to print headers on pages after the first page and whether to print a footer on the first page. Users also can decide where to display headers and footers on the page.

Note - Versions 2000 and older do not have the option of including time prepared and report basis. The accounting basis will have to be specified in the report title.

Users also can change fonts by pointing to a particular report element and right-clicking the mouse. This allows users to make the same font selections that are available from the "Modify Report" window. Users also can hide report headers so that they do not display on the computer screen by clicking the "Hide Header" button in the report window. Users can display hidden headers by clicking the "Show Header" button. The hide header feature does not affect printed reports. QuickBooks always prints headers on the first page of printed reports. Users always can change their reports back to the standard QuickBooks format by clicking the "Revert" button in the "Modify Report" window.

The QuickBooks Administrator can set up format preferences for all QuickBooks reports by (a) selecting "Preferences" from the "Edit" menu, (b) selecting "Reports & Graphs" from the scroll box, (c) selecting the "Company Preferences" tab, and (d) clicking the "Format" button. The QuickBooks Administrator also can use the same "Company Preferences" tab to specify whether QuickBooks reports display accounts by name only, description only, or name and description. However, QuickBooks does not have a format preference that allows reports to hide or display account numbers. If the "Use account numbers" accounting preference is turned on, users cannot prevent QuickBooks from displaying account numbers beside account names on reports. (However, reports do not display account numbers if account names are not displayed.) The QuickBooks Administrator can turn the "Use account numbers" preference on or off by using the "Company Preferences" tab for "Accounting." Turning off the "Use account numbers" preference does not delete existing account numbers; it merely hides them from reports. Users using the accountant's review copy may want to temporarily turn off the "Use account numbers" preference while generating QuickBooks financial reports.

Filtering QuickBooks Reports
Users can change the scope of a QuickBooks report by clicking the "Modify Report" button and the "Filters" tab on the report window. If a report includes more information than needed, filtering allows the user to exclude transactions and balances not meeting selected criteria. Users can apply filters individually or in combination with each other. Some of the filters that may be of most use to users are the account, amount, date, and transaction type filters. Filters must be applied to individual reports. They cannot be set up as a preference for all QuickBooks reports, as discussed in the preceding paragraph.

Note - QuickBooks 2000 users should click on the "Filters" button in the report window.

Collapsing and Expanding QuickBooks Reports
Users can hide subaccounts from many QuickBooks reports by clicking the "Collapse" button in the report window. When the collapse feature is selected, reports display only parent accounts. The subaccount amounts are summarized and included in the amounts displayed for the related parent accounts. Users can display hidden subaccounts by clicking the "Expand" button in the report window. The collapse feature cannot be set up as a preference for all QuickBooks reports. It must be applied to individual reports. However, the collapse feature is not available for transaction detail reports.

Grouping and Subtotaling QuickBooks Reports
Users can group report data and display subtotals for each group in a QuickBooks summary report by selecting the desired grouping from the "Columns" drop-down list in the report window. QuickBooks displays a separate column and subtotal for the selected grouping. For example, a user can select "Quarter" from the "Columns" drop-down list of a "Profit & Loss" standard report for the fiscal year. QuickBooks then groups the fiscal year data by quarter and displays a column and subtotals for each quarter. QuickBooks allows users to group by numerous time periods (i.e., by day, week, two week, four week, half month, month, quarter, and year). Users also can group and subtotal summary reports by numerous other groupings (such as customer, vendor, item type, etc.). The same groupings are not available for all reports.

Users can group report data and display subtotals in the "Transaction Detail by Account" report by selecting the desired grouping from the "Total By" drop-down list. The "Total By" feature groups and subtotals report data vertically rather than horizontally in separate columns. QuickBooks allows users to group the "Transaction Detail by Account" report by numerous time periods and other groupings, as discussed in the previous paragraph. In addition, Users can summarize the "Transaction Detail by Account" report by balance sheet accounts (with separate subtotals for account type, assets, liabilities, equity, and the sum of liabilities and equity) or income statement accounts (with separate subtotals for all income and all expenses).

Other Customizing Options
Users can click the "Modify Report" button in report windows to access other report customization options. The options available in the "Modify Report" window vary between reports. One option that Users may find helpful in summary reports is the "Other Columns" option. This allows users to add the following columns to QuickBooks reports:

• Previous Period, $ Change, % Change
• Previous Year, $ Change, % Change
• Year-to-date, % of YTD
• % of Income
• % of Expenses
• % of Row
• % of Column

A similar option that users may find useful in transaction detail reports is the "Columns" option. This provides users a list of columns that can be added to or deleted from the selected report. Columns available on most transaction detail reports include: transaction number, type, entered/last modified date, last modified by, date, number, purchase order number, name, source name, memo, ship date, delivery date, FOB, via, terms, due date, billed date, paid through, item, item description, Social Security number/tax identification, payroll item, income subject to tax, wage base, wage base (tips), account, class, sales representative, cleared, billing status, split, print, paid, payment method, aging, open balance, quantity, sales price, debit, credit, original amount, paid amount, and balance.

Other reporting options that Users may find particularly useful are the "advanced options" for rows, columns, and reporting calendar. Users can access these options by clicking the "Modify Report" button in the report window and then clicking the "Advanced" button in the "Modify Report" window. However, these options only are available for summary reports. They are not available for transaction detail reports. Users can choose to display rows and columns for active accounts (only those accounts with activity during the specified time period), all accounts, or only non-zero accounts (accounts with activity and with ending balances not equal to zero). In addition, users can choose fiscal year, calendar year, or income tax year as the reporting calendar. The primary benefit of the reporting calendar option is that QuickBooks includes dates in the "Dates" drop-down list based on the option selected. For example, if "Calendar Year" is selected for the "Reporting Calendar" option, QuickBooks lists dates based on the calendar year (such as "This Calendar Quarter," "This Calendar Year," and "Last Calendar Year") in the "Dates" drop-down list in the report window. If "Income Tax Year" is selected, QuickBooks lists dates based on the income tax year (such as "This Tax Year," "This Tax Year-to-date," and "Last Tax Year"). QuickBooks automatically defaults to the "Fiscal Year" option.

Note - QuickBooks 2000 users should click on the "Customize" button in the report window.

Users can resize columns in QuickBooks reports by dragging the diamond at the right of the column title to the right to make a column wider and to the left to make a column narrower. When printing reports, Users also can fit more columns on a page by selecting from among the following options:

• Click the "Print" button in the report window and check the "Fit report to page(s) wide" box on the "Settings" tab of the "Print Reports" window. This option enables QuickBooks to fit wide reports on a single page or a specified number of pages.
• Click the "Print" button in the report window and select "Landscape" as the print orientation on the "Setting" tab of the "Print Reports" window.
• Decrease column widths, as previously discussed.

Users can control some page breaks in QuickBooks reports by clicking the "Print" button in the report window and checking either or both of the following options in the "Settings" tab of the "Print Reports" window:

• Smart Page Breaks (Widow/Orphan Control). This option allows users to prevent bad page breaks caused by printing a few lines from the beginning of a grouping at the bottom of a page or printing a few lines from the end of a grouping at the top of a page.
• Page Break after Each Major Grouping. This option starts each major report grouping on a new page. Users may find this option helpful if they want to print a balance sheet report with the "Assets" grouping on a separate page from the "Liabilities and Equity" grouping. QuickBooks does not offer this option for some summary reports.

Although the preceding options are available, users cannot set user-defined page breaks in QuickBooks reports.

Memorizing Reports
After customizing QuickBooks financial reports, users can memorize the customized reports for future use. QuickBooks allows users to memorize and then organize reports into groups by user, time of the month to print, or any other useful grouping. The user can use "Batch Report Printing" to print all of the grouped reports at the same time. Memorizing reports allows QuickBooks to save the user's changes to the standard report settings without saving the actual report data. (Users using QuickBooks Pro, and Premier can export reports to an Excel spreadsheet to save the actual report data.) To memorize a customized report, users should click the "Memorize" button in the report window and then enter the report title in the "Memorize Report" window. To generate a previously memorized report, users should select "Memorized Reports" from the "Reports" menu and then select the applicable report. To print a memorized group of reports, users should (a) select "Process Multiple Reports" from the "Reports" menu, (b) click on the group to be printed, and (c) click the "Print" button in the "Process Multiple Reports" window. Users who want to save modifications to a previously memorized report should click the "Memorize" button in the report window.

If "Replace" is selected, QuickBooks saves the modified report using the same name as the previously memorized report. If "New" is selected, the user should enter a new name for the report in the next "Memorize Report" window. The name should not be the same as the name of the previously memorized report if the user wants to save both reports. Users also can rename an existing memorized report by (a) selecting "Memorized Reports" and "Memorized Report List" from the "Reports" menu, (b) selecting the report to be renamed, (c) selecting "Edit" from the "Memorized Report" drop-down list, and (d) entering the new report name.

Note - Versions 2000 and older do not have the option to group reports or process multiple reports.

Although memorizing reports can be quite useful, users should be aware of the following limitations when using memorized reports:

• Users cannot memorize reports when using the accountant's review copy.
• QuickBooks does not retain changes to column widths in certain memorized reports (e.g., the "Profit & Loss Standard," "Balance Sheet Standard," and "Statement of Cash Flows" reports).
• Memorized reports may be lost when converting from one version of QuickBooks to another version.

Adding Reports to the Icon Bar
Users that frequently generate a particular report can add the report to their QuickBooks Icon bar to facilitate accessing the report. To add a report to their Icon bar, users should:

• Open the applicable report.
• Select "Add 'Report Name' to Icon Bar" from the "View" menu.
• Enter the report name and description to be used on the Icon bar in the "Add Window to Icon Bar" window. Choose an Icon, and click "OK."
• Close the selected report.

Users then can place the cursor over the "Reports" icon on the Icon bar to open the report. This may be particularly convenient when accessing a frequently used memorized report.

Note - Version 2000 users should select "Add Window to Navigation Bar" from the "Window" menu. Then enter the report name to be used in the navigation bar in the "Provide a Name" window.

Exporting QuickBooks Reports to Excel
Due to the difficulty in manipulating data in QuickBooks financial reports, many Users export QuickBooks reports to Excel spreadsheets. To export reports, users must use:

• QuickBooks Pro (Version 99 or later), or Premier.
• Excel 97 or a later version.

Unfortunately, users cannot customize the exported reports in Excel and import the changes back to QuickBooks.

Exporting Reports
Users can export reports to Excel simply by clicking the "Excel" button in the report window. QuickBooks then displays the "Export Report to Excel" window. Users can choose whether to create a new Excel spreadsheet or update an existing spreadsheet. If the "Send report to an existing Excel spreadsheet" option is selected, users should click the "Browse" button to select the applicable Excel spreadsheet file. QuickBooks adds a new sheet to the selected spreadsheet. Consequently, the user does not lose any data previously exported to the spreadsheet.
Regardless of which option is selected, Users can click the "Advanced" button to select from among the options listed.

If the "Advanced" report formatting options are not deselected, Excel spreadsheets automatically retain the formatting (i.e., fonts, colors, column spacing, and row height) from QuickBooks reports. For example, QuickBooks automatically inserts empty columns between columns in Excel spreadsheets to preserve the column spacing of QuickBooks reports. Users can deselect the "Space between columns" option to remove the empty columns in Excel spreadsheets. Other "Advanced" options that users may be interested in are the "Auto Outline" and "Auto Filtering" Excel features.

When users click the "OK" button in the "Export Report to Excel" window, QuickBooks automatically opens Excel and exports the following report information:

• Report headers and footers.
• Row and column labels.
• Report data.
• Formulas.

When QuickBooks exports data to a new Excel spreadsheet, Excel automatically creates three blank sheets in the new workbook. The QuickBooks data is exported to "Sheet 1." Since QuickBooks does not overwrite existing sheets (even if they are blank), Excel automatically creates a new sheet when QuickBooks exports data to update an existing spreadsheet. The QuickBooks data is exported to the last sheet in the workbook. If report data is missing after being exported to Excel, users should verify that they are viewing the appropriate sheet. If only the bottom part of a report is missing, the report should be exported again. More than likely, the "Escape" key was pressed before QuickBooks finished sending the report data to Excel.

Customizing Excel Spreadsheets
Users can customize the data in Excel spreadsheets in a variety of ways, including the following:

• Filtering Data. Users can filter the QuickBooks data in Excel spreadsheets by selecting the "Auto Filtering" Excel feature in the "Export Report to Excel-Advanced options" window before exporting a QuickBooks report to Excel. That option inserts a drop-down list to the right of each column title in the Excel spreadsheet. Users then can filter the data in the Excel columns by clicking on one of the drop-down lists and selecting from among numerous filtering options. However, the options only allow financial data to be filtered using numeric criteria (such as "top 10" numbers, "bottom #" numbers, numbers "greater than," numbers "less than or equal to," etc.).
• Collapsing and Expanding Data. Users can collapse or expand the QuickBooks data in Excel spreadsheets by selecting the "Auto Outline" Excel feature in the "Export Report to Excel-Advanced options" window before exporting a QuickBooks report to Excel. That option inserts outline symbols to the left of the first column or in the top row in the Excel spreadsheet. Users then can collapse groups of data in the spreadsheet by clicking the "minus" symbol or expand groups of data by clicking the "plus" symbol.
• Modifying Headers and Footers. Excel does not display report headers and footers on the computer screen. They only appear when the spreadsheet is printed. Users can modify the headers and footers in Excel by selecting "Header and Footer" from Excel's "View" menu.
• Centering Headers. If a report header is centered in QuickBooks but not in the Excel spreadsheet, users should select the "Send header to Page Setup in Excel" printing option in the "Export Report to Excel-Advanced options" window to center the report header in Excel.
• Deleting Space between Columns. QuickBooks automatically inserts empty columns between columns in Excel spreadsheets. Users can remove the empty columns in Excel spreadsheets by deselecting the "Space between columns" report formatting option in the "Export Report to Excel-Advanced options" window before exporting a QuickBooks report to Excel.
• Changing the Format of Percentages. Other than the "Sales Tax Liability" report, QuickBooks reports automatically display percentages with only one decimal point (e.g., 59.1%). However, QuickBooks exports report percentages to Excel using two decimal points. Consequently, slight rounding differences may result when comparing percentages in the original QuickBooks reports to percentages in Excel spreadsheets. For consistency, users can change the percentages in Excel to one decimal point by (a) selecting the cells that contain percentages, (b) selecting "Cells" from the "Format" menu, (c) selecting "Percentage" from the "Category" list in the "Numbers" tab, and (d) changing the number of decimal places to "1."

Exporting QuickBooks Report Templates between Company Files
Report templates are report settings (not actual data) that QuickBooks Premier users have created. Users can create report templates for financial reporting and share them with other users or between company files. The user can export either a single report or a group of reports. Report templates eliminate the need for the user to create the same report in several company files.

Note - The import report template feature requires QuickBooks 2002 or later, and the export report template feature requires QuickBooks Premier. In addition, templates generally work best when imported/exported between versions released in the same year. For example, a report template exported from QuickBooks Premier 2003 will work best if imported into another version of QuickBooks 2003 (e.g., Basic, Pro, or Premier). An update patch also may affect compatibility for versions of QuickBooks released in the same year. Therefore, the user must have the current update in addition to the current year's release of QuickBooks. If an update or version incompatibility exists, a warning message will appear if the user tries to import a report template.

QuickBooks Accrual vs. Cash Basis Reports
QuickBooks allows users to generate reports using either the accrual basis or the cash basis. The primary difference between accrual basis and cash basis reports in QuickBooks is that accrual basis reports present income and expenses based on the dates of the related invoices and bills while cash basis reports present income and expenses based on the dates cash actually is received or paid. (Regardless of the basis selected, QuickBooks reports present credit card charges on the accrual basis.) When generating QuickBooks reports, users should verify that the appropriate accounting basis is selected for the report. Users can check or change the accounting basis of most individual reports by clicking the "Modify Report" button in the report window and selecting either accrual or cash as the report basis. The accounting basis is specified on the report itself. However, a user can also specify the basis in the report title by changing the report header or footer content. The standard QuickBooks report titles generally are accrual titles. Consequently, Users should change the titles of cash basis reports to titles such as "Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Equity-Cash Basis" or "Statement of Revenues and Expenses-Cash Basis."

Note - Versions 2000 and older do not have the "time and basis" stamp. The accounting basis will have to be specified in the report title by changing the report header or footer content.

Users can select or change the accounting basis for summary reports by (a) selecting "Preferences" from the "Edit" menu, (b) selecting "Reports & Graphs" from the scroll box, (c) selecting the "Company Preferences" tab, and (d) selecting either "Accrual" or "Cash" as the "Summary Reports Basis." Summary reports summarize transaction amounts rather than listing each transaction. Selecting a preference for summary reports does not affect reports that list individual transactions, such as the following financial reports:

• Profit & Loss Detail
• Income by Customer Detail
• Expenses by Vendor Detail
• Balance Sheet Detail
• General Ledger
• Transaction Detail by Account

QuickBooks automatically generates transaction detail reports, such as the preceding reports, on an accrual basis even if the cash basis preference is selected for summary reports. However, Users can change the basis for individual transaction detail reports to the cash basis. However, the change must be made each time the report is generated. QuickBooks automatically defaults to the accrual basis for transaction detail reports. Users who routinely generate cash basis transaction detail reports should consider memorizing such reports for future use.

Accrual basis transaction detail reports present a single amount for each transaction, while cash basis transaction detail reports present two amount columns (an "Original Amount" and a "Paid Amount" column) for each transaction. The amounts in the "Original Amount" column generally represent an invoice amount for a sales transaction or a bill amount for a purchase transaction. The amounts in the "Paid Amount" column represent the amounts actually received or paid. The amounts in cash basis transaction reports are fairly straightforward for income and expense transactions. However, the amounts can be difficult to understand when a transaction involves balance sheet accounts. For example, assume that a client sells an inventory item that costs $50 to a customer on June 30 and receives a $75 payment for the full sales price on July 15. Balances in cash basis transaction reports for June 30 will reflect the $50 decrease to the inventory asset with an offsetting $50 increase to accounts receivable. (As illustrated by this example, cash basis transaction reports may reflect accrual accounts, such as accounts receivable. However, the accrual balances do not necessarily represent the actual amount due. In this example, the actual amount due of $75 will be reflected as the accounts receivable amount in an accrual basis transaction report. However, only $50 is reflected in the cash basis transaction report.) Balances in cash basis transaction reports for July 15 will reflect a $50 increase in cost of goods sold and a corresponding $50 decrease to accounts receivable (thus zeroing out the accounts receivable balance). Balances in cash basis transaction reports for July 15 also will reflect $75 of sales income (offset by a $75 temporary increase to accounts receivable) and a $75 increase to undeposited funds or cash (offset by a $75 decrease to accounts receivable). In addition to inventory items, Users should be aware that sales taxes also may result in accrual balances on cash basis transaction reports if the "Owe Sales Tax" preference is set to "As of invoice date."

Note - Due to the way QuickBooks handles items linked to balance sheet accounts on invoices or bills, QuickBooks cash basis balance sheets may include accounts receivable and accounts payable balances. When generating cash basis reports using condensed data, users should be aware that the report amounts may not be accurate since condensing data deletes detail transactions that are needed to determine whether transactions are collected or paid. Condensing data replaces detail transactions dated on or before a specified date with transactions summarized by month.