QuickBooks Tip: Take a Deeper Dive into 3 Advanced Reports

Have you often wondered how your business is doing compared to prior periods? Or how close you came to being within budget? Maybe you have been using QuickBooks for years and want better insights into your business, or maybe you’re a QuickBooks newbie and not exactly sure what reports are most useful. Well, it’s time to take a deeper dive into the advanced reporting features in QuickBooks.

Let’s explore three reports that can help give you the data you need to better understand your company’s performance and, in turn, make more informed decisions that support your business goals.

Comparative Balance Sheet

The standard balance sheet report in QuickBooks gives you a quick overview of all of your company’s assets and liabilities as of a specific date.

The Balance Sheet Comparison shows a year-over-year (or period-over-period) comparison. This will allow you to see how your business’ financial performance has improved or declined over specific periods and also help you to identify changes and trends over time.

QuickBooks provides users with options to customize most reports to show results in either dollars, percentages, or both. Using this customization is a quick and easy way to see changes at a glance.

How to access this report

QuickBooks Online

• Go to: Reports > All Reports > Business Overview > Balance Sheet Comparison

QuickBooks Desktop

• Go to: Reports > Company & Financial > Balance Sheet Prev Year Comparison

Comparative Profit and Loss (P&L) Statement

The standard profit and loss statement (or income statement) shows revenue, expenses, and the profit or loss for a specific period of time. Do you need to know how much you sold, how much you incurred in expenses, or how profitable your business was over time? This report is your source for that information.

For a more in-depth analysis, consider running a comparative profit and loss report. The comparative report takes the same information and presents it for multiple periods. This allows you to compare and analyze historical results and can help guide you in making better decisions for the future.

How to access this report

QuickBooks Online

• Go to: Reports> All Reports> Business Overview:
  • Profit and Loss Comparison, or
  • Profit and Loss YTD Comparison

QuickBooks Desktop

• Go to: Reports> Company & Financial:
  • Profit and Loss Prev Year Comparison, or
  • Profit and Loss YTD Comparison

Budget vs. Actual Report

Lastly, let’s not forget the importance of a budget report. This vital tool can help your business plan for success. And once developed, QuickBooks can help you compare the budget to your actual results to  determine if you’re on the right track. The comparison can highlight the need to cut spending or it could help point toward seasonal changes in your business that weren’t otherwise anticipated.

How to Set Up a Budget

QuickBooks Online

• Click the: Gear Icon > Budgeting > Add Budget

 QuickBooks Desktop

• Go to: Company > Planning & Budgeting > Set Up Budgets

 How to Access Budget vs. Actual Report

(Note: The report will not show up until a budget has been created)

QuickBooks Online

• Go to: Reports > All Reports > Business Overview > Budget vs. Actuals

QuickBooks Desktop

• Go to: Reports> Budgets & Forecasts> Budget vs. Actual

With so many report options available in QuickBooks, just knowing where to begin can seem overwhelming. If you’re ready to learn more about your business, diving into the three reports above can be a great place to start and gain insight into your performance. Seeing this data more clearly can help you identify opportunities to optimize performance and grow.

Contact me or another member of Kaufman Rossin’s QuickBooks Consulting team to learn how to get more out of your QuickBooks investment.