How to Create Custom Reports in QuickBooks Desktop/Online?

No matter how big or small your company is, every day new data is created that includes information about orders, customers, employee transactions, marketing and advertising costs, and more. Keeping an eye on your cash flow and guaranteeing profits for your company requires proper accounting for all of this data. In order to properly understand the company’s finances and make strategic decisions, all of this data is compiled to create reports.

You can easily track your revenue and expenses by automating all of your bookkeeping with QuickBooks, accounting software. Your sales, expenses, profit, loss, and other financial information are all visually displayed in your QuickBooks reports.

An easy-to-use dashboard provides a concise synopsis of their business operations, making it a valuable resource for daily operations. QuickBooks Custom Reports offer an extensive range of customization options for your Financial Reports to meet your business requirements, in addition to the standard reports.

This article will teach you how to configure dashboards and custom reports in QuickBooks.

Understanding QuickBooks

QuickBooks is accounting software designed for small and medium-sized businesses that is user-friendly. It offers both a cloud-based service called QuickBooks Online that you can access over a secure network and an on-premise version of QuickBooks Desktop. Since QuickBooks handles everything for you, using this program doesn’t require any prior accounting knowledge.

Not only is it an application, but it also functions as a reliable database that can be expanded to accommodate your expanding business needs. You can synchronize your data across all teams in your organisation with ease of integration with other applications.

Key Features of QuickBooks

• Remote Access: With QuickBooks Online, you can handle your company from any location at any time using its Cloud Accounting feature.
• Online Banking: QuickBooks Online instantly downloads and categorizes bank transactions when you link your bank account to it. The daily data is entered by it, so you don’t have to worry about any errors in manual data entry.
• Financial Statements: The wide range of the Standard Reports and Dashboards is making business developments incredibly simple these days. Additionally, Data Insights tailored to your requirements are provided by QuickBooks Custom Reports.
• Multiple Users: Your employees’ access to QuickBooks Online can be granted with varying levels of permission. This fosters greater cooperation amongst the different teams within your organisation. Users who have this access can create QuickBooks Custom Reports for the departments in which they work.
• Sending Invoices: Create Custom Bills and Invoices. It additionally permits monitoring the timely payment of bills.
• Handling Cash Flow: By scheduling timely vendor payments, you can monitor incoming revenue through outgoing payments.
• Support: QuickBooks Professionals answer all of your questions and provide free, limitless support.

Customizing Dashboard in QuickBooks Online

After logging into your QuickBooks Online account, the Dashboard is the first page you see and work with. When you begin your transactions, the content on that page, which will be blank if you are a new user, will be displayed.

Two primary tabs comprise the Dashboard:

Get Things Done Page

This tab offers three services to assist you:

• Setup Guide: This assists you in setting up your QuickBooks Online Account and the fundamental business operations for this application.
• Shortcuts: All of your favorite features are in one convenient area for speedy access. Invoices, bills, paying bills, adding customers, and much more.
• Bank Accounts: Current balances for the bank accounts linked to your QuickBooks account are shown in the Bank Accounts section, which is located on the right side of your system.

Business Overview Tab

By showing you metrics like sales, invoices, profit and loss, expenses, and so on, this helps you stay informed about the state of your company. Click the drop-down menu in the upper right corner of each parameter tab to adjust the duration for these parameters.

The right side of the dashboard also shows information about various bank accounts. By selecting the “Pencil” icon, you can rearrange them. For easier access, you can also use the links to Connect Accounts, Go to Records, or Go to Performance Centre.

Accountant View is another option in addition to Business View, which aids in monitoring your everyday advancement. If you have been using QuickBooks Online for some time, this is the view that you should be seeing.

To change views, click Settings in the upper right corner and choose between Business and Accountant views.

Having mastered the art of customizing Dashboards, the next step is to learn how to make QuickBooks Custom Reports.

Creating QuickBooks Custom Reports

A financial report is essential for any business as it provides insight into the company’s performance and cash flow. Because QuickBooks Custom Reports are so well-structured and organized, their raw data can yield insightful business information. Since each person has unique business requirements, you might also want to personalize your reports to see what information is most important to you.

Let’s examine how to make Custom Reports using these simple steps:

• Navigate to the menu on the left of your screen, select Reports.
• Choose the report that you want to read.
• To customize, click the button in the upper right corner.

Several sections of a Customization Window will now appear. You can adjust your report using various filters, some of which are exclusive to specific reports.

We will go through each of the following Customization Window Sections in order to create QuickBooks Custom Reports:

General Settings Section

Here, you can choose the time frame for which the data should be displayed in the report. By choosing the Number format, your data can be standardized. You have the option to select between the Cash and Accrual Accounting Methods.

Rows/Columns Section

You can customize the Data’s appearance in the rows and columns in this section. For instance, in the Rows/Columns settings, select Months as your parameter in the Columns box if you want Profit Loss Reports for the months of January through March. The January, February, and March profit or loss amounts will be shown in separate columns in these QuickBooks Custom Reports.

In addition, you can add columns with percentages to compare your profit and loss data with those from prior quarters, the prior year, and the current year. This can be useful if you run an online store and want to know what percentage of your sales go towards rent and utilities.

Choose the required parameter by going to Rows/Columns > Change Columns.

Section of Filters

This assists you in selecting which clients, suppliers, accounts, or goods you wish to focus on in the report. For instance, the following procedures can be used to Create QuickBooks Custom Reports in order to generate a Monthly Design Sales Report for all Accounts and Customers:

• To filter, click the Filter menu.
• Navigate to Lists and select “Design” under Products/Services.

Heading and Footer Section

After setting up your QuickBooks Custom Report, you can adjust the Report Title, Company Name, Preparation Date and Time, and other details in this section. To create your QuickBooks Custom Reports, select “Run Report” after finishing this section.

Saving Custom Reports

When you have finished filtering all the data, don’t forget to save the QuickBooks Custom Reports so you can use them later on.

To achieve this, you can:

• In the upper right corner, next to the Customize button, select the “Save Customization” button.
• After giving your report a name, click Save.

Report Export to Excel

It’s possible that in some circumstances a single report does not contain all necessary columns. If your QuickBooks Custom Reports are exported to Microsoft Excel, you can manually add different columns from other reports. After the report has been run, as indicated by the Green Box, click the Export icon and choose Export to Excel.

Customization of Report in QuickBooks Online

You can find a wealth of valuable information about your company from the financial reports in QuickBooks. You can personalize your reports in a lot of ways. You can format the layout so that the appropriate data appears where it should or filter them to display specific accounts or customers.

Step 1: Launch a Report

• Navigate to Reports (direct me there).
• Locate and launch a report. Advice: “Detail” versions of standard reports can also be run if you have QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus, or Advanced.
• To change the report’s dates and other elements, use the basic filters.
• Click Customize.

Step 2: Tailor an Analysis

To make your report unique, you can apply several filters. The filters in most reports are the same. Only specific reports have access to certain filters.

Below is a Summary of the Customizable Options:

• General Section: Modify the number format, reporting period, and accounting method, among other things.
• Part of Rows and Columns: You can select which report rows and columns to show.
• Choose which suppliers, accounts, products, customers, and distribution accounts to include in the report’s filter section.
• Select the content that goes in the header and footer sections.

Keep Personalized Reports.

Save your ideal set of filters so you can run the same report at a later time.

• Choose Save customization once a report has been customized.
• Give the report a heading.
• Choose Save.

Step 3: Control and Automate Personalized Reports

View all of Your Personalized Reports.

• Navigate to Reports (direct me there).
• Click the Custom reports tab.
• Locate and launch a report.

Create Personalized Reports Automatically.

Set them up to run automatically if you’d like to receive custom reports on a regular basis:

• Navigate to Reports (Take me there) and choose the tab for Custom reports.
• See the list for your personalized report.
• In the Action column, select Edit.
• To activate it, choose Set email schedule.
• Provide the email addresses to whom you would like to forward the report.
• Make the appointment and complete the form.
• Choose Save, then click the exit button.

Present Personalized Reports to Particular Groups

In order to restrict who can view reports, you can also add them to a group.

• Select Save customization after creating a custom report.
• Choose a group from the dropdown menu labeled “Add this report to a group.”
• To include the report in the group, choose Save.
• Navigate to Reports menu. Next, choose the Custom reports tab.
• On the list, locate the group.
• In the Action column, select Edit.
• In order to enable it, you have to choose one option and Set email schedule.”
• Provide the email addresses to whom you would like to forward the report.
• Make the appointment and complete the form.
• Choose Save, then click the exit button.

Get rid of a Customized Report from a Group

Reports from a group can also be removed.

• Navigate to Reports (Take me there) and choose the tab for Custom reports.
• On the list, locate the group.
• For the report you wish to remove, select the Edit ▼ icon located in the Action column.
• Click Delete and then Yes.

Export a customized report to PDF or Excel.

A customized report can be exported to Excel or PDF files.

Excel or PDF exports are available for the report.

Step 4: Exchange Personalized Reports

Reports in PDF format can be easily shared via email. Sharing with your team can be done most easily this way:

• Choose the email icon when a report is open.
• Choose Email.
• Complete the following form.
• Modify the message body to let recipients know what to expect.
• Click Send when you’re prepared.

Provide team members access to edit.

If you wish to grant other file users complete editing access for custom reports:

• Choose Save customization when a report is open.
• Choose a user by clicking on the Share with dropdown menu.
• Click Save when you’re ready.

How to Create Custom Financial Reports in QuickBooks?

Before we begin understanding how to customize reports, we need to understand how to customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop and Online.

Customize Financial Reports in QuickBooks Desktop

It is possible to customize any kind of report you want to run in the QuickBooks Desktop. In order to create a custom QuickBooks report, you need to go through the instructions provided below:

• In your QuickBooks account, run a report.
• On the Report screen, choose Customize Report.
• On the Modify Report screen, navigate to the tab you wish to upgrade. Select OK when it is complete.

How to Prepare a Custom Report in QuickBooks Online

Just like QuickBooks Desktop, it is possible to customize reports that you wish to run. In order to prepare a QuickBooks custom report, please follow the instructions provided below:

• In QuickBooks Online Accountant, navigate to the Reports menu.
• Navigate to the Standard tab.
• In the given search field, add the name of the report. You can also choose and open one in the particular list.
• Choose Customize option.
• When customizing the report is complete, choose Run Report.

In QuickBooks Online, it is possible to create a QuickBooks custom report for a particular amount in your given chart of accounts. In the Chart of Accounts, you can customize reports in QuickBooks with the help of the following steps:

• Press on the gear icon.
• Select Chart of Accounts.
• Locate the account and press the drop-down arrow near View Register.
• Select Run Report.
• Customize the particular report.
• Press the option, Save Customization.
• Add the data of the particular customized report.
• Press Save.

What are the Limitations of a QuickBooks Dashboard and Custom Reports?

QuickBooks is considered a very efficient software, especially when the topic is about Custom Invoices, Accounting, and Cloud Accounting. However, when QuickBooks Dashboards and QuickBooks Custom Reports are created, a user may encounter some possible issues. Here is the list of such possible issues:

• In several cases, you may wish to add columns from other reports. Presently, there is no such availability and you need to export the particular reports to Excel and then customize them manually.
• There is no possibility to build a QuickBooks Custom Report from beginning. The standard reports are only available that can be personalized or customized in QuickBooks to a certain degree.
• In regards to capitalization, the dashboard has restricted capabilities.

QuickBooks custom report builder allows you to customize the reports to allow the reports stay organized. You can personalize the report formats by using stylish header, fonts, footer, and other important filters that can help to organize items.

Disadvantages of QuickBooks Custom Reports and Dashboards

QuickBooks is a very effective tool for accounting reports, cloud accounting, and custom invoices. However, you might run into the following difficulties when creating QuickBooks custom reports and dashboards:

• Building a QuickBooks Custom Report from Scratch is not an option. The reports that you can customize in QuickBooks are limited to the standard reports.
• It is often the case that adding columns from other reports will be beneficial. As of right now, there is no such option; instead, you must manually customize the reports after exporting them to Microsoft Excel.
• Customization options for the dashboard are restricted.

You discovered how to make QuickBooks Custom Reports and Dashboards in this article. QuickBooks offers a sophisticated way for small businesses to automate accounting and support their expansion. Gaining an overview of the company’s progress is made easier with the help of the standard reports’ customization options and ease of use.

In case if you are still faces issue then you can contact us. Our Dancing Numbers team will help in resolving your issue and make your work easy.

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