Bookkeeping Reports
Management Reports
In addition to your Financial Statements, you need to understand and use additional reports to manage your small business. These reports are normally prepared and discussed with your bookkeeper or accountant. Nowadays, good bookkeeping software provides many of these reports.
Other Financial Reports
- Budgets are financial plans that outline an organization’s expected revenues and expenditures over a specific period, typically a fiscal year. They serve as a crucial tool for both planning and controlling financial resources within an organization. By establishing a budget, management can set financial targets, allocate resources effectively, and monitor performance against these targets.
- Cash Forecasts estimate casts cash inflows and outflows over a specific period, ensuring that the organization has sufficient cash to meet its obligations.
- Break-even analysis is a financial calculation used to determine the level of sales necessary for a business to cover its fixed and variable costs. It identifies the break-even point, which is the point at which total revenues equal total costs, resulting in neither profit nor loss. This analysis is crucial for businesses as it helps them understand how many units they need to sell or how much revenue they need to generate to avoid losing money.
- Financial Ratios are quantitative measures (fractions) derived from a company’s financial statements, such as the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. These ratios are used to evaluate various aspects of a company’s performance and financial health, including its profitability, liquidity, efficiency, and solvency. By comparing different line items within these financial statements, owners, analysts, and investors can gain insights into how well a company is managing its resources and obligations.
- A Business Plan is a formal document that outlines a company’s goals and the strategies it will employ to achieve those goals. It serves multiple purposes, particularly for startups and established businesses alike.
Other Management Reports
- Daily Cash Report - Daily
A Daily Cash Report is a financial document that provides a detailed overview of a business’s cash position on a daily basis. It tracks the inflows and outflows of cash, allowing business owners and finance teams to understand their liquidity status at any given time. This report is crucial for effective cash management, as it helps identify trends in cash flow, ensuring that the business can meet its financial obligations.
- Accounts Receivable Aging Report - Weekly or As Needed
An Accounts Receivable Aging Report is a financial document that categorizes a company’s outstanding invoices based on the length of time they have been unpaid. This report is essential for assessing the effectiveness of a company’s credit and collection processes, as it provides insights into which customers are late in their payments and how long those payments have been overdue.
- Accounts Payable Aging Report - Weekly or As Needed
An Accounts Payable Aging report is a crucial accounting document that provides a summary of the outstanding bills and invoices a business owes to its suppliers or vendors. This report categorizes these amounts based on their due dates, allowing businesses to manage their cash flow effectively and ensure timely payments
- Open Sales Orders - Weekly or As Needed
An Open Sales Order Report is a specialized report used in sales and inventory management systems to track and manage open sales orders within a business. This report provides detailed insights into the status of sales orders that have been created but not yet fully processed or completed.
- Open Purchase Orders - Weekly or As Needed
An Open Purchase Order Report is a document that provides a detailed summary of all outstanding or open purchase orders that a company has with its suppliers. It includes information about the purchase orders that have been issued but have not yet been fulfilled or received.
- Equipment Report - Monthly
An Equipment Report is a comprehensive document that systematically records and assesses the condition, performance, and availability of equipment within an organization. It serves as a critical tool for monitoring the health and functionality of machinery, ensuring that all assets are maintained effectively to support operational efficiency.
- Inventory Status Report - Weekly or As Needed
An Inventory Status Report is a detailed document that provides an overview of the current state of a business’s inventory at a specific point in time. The purpose of an inventory status report is to facilitate effective inventory management by providing insights into stock levels and helping businesses make informed decisions regarding purchasing, sales forecasting, and overall operational efficiency. By regularly reviewing this report, businesses can ensure they maintain optimal inventory levels, reduce carrying costs, and improve customer satisfaction by minimizing out-of-stock situations.
- Sales By Products and Services Report - Monthly or As Needed
A Sales by Product Report is a comprehensive management tool that provides detailed insights into the sales performance of various products within a specific time frame. This report typically includes key financial metrics and sales data, allowing managers to analyze trends, variances, and overall product performance.
- Sales By Customers Report - Monthly or As Needed
The Sales by Customer Report is a comprehensive document that provides an overview of sales transactions categorized by individual customers over a specified time period. This report is crucial for businesses as it allows them to analyze customer purchasing behavior, assess the performance of different customer segments, and make informed decisions regarding sales strategies and customer relationship management.
- Purchases By Products and Services Report - Monthly or As Needed
The Purchases by Product and Services Report is a financial report that provides detailed insights into the purchases made for various products or services within a specified date range. This report typically includes information such as the quantity purchased, total cost incurred, and may also categorize purchases by vendor or product type. It is designed to help businesses analyze their purchasing patterns, manage inventory effectively, and assess supplier relationships.
- Purchase By Supplier Report - Monthly or As Needed
The Purchases by Supplier Report is a financial document that provides a comprehensive overview of the purchasing activities conducted with various suppliers over a specified period. This report is essential for businesses to analyze and manage their purchasing volume, allowing them to make informed decisions regarding supplier relationships and procurement strategies.
Note: The reports listed above are some of the common reports needed and used by small businesses. Good bookkeeping software provides an option for you to create your own custom reports.
Matching Reports Quiz