Course 4 – Reporting Topic 2: Reporting Capabilities
QuickBooks Online 2021 Client Training 13
COMMON REPORT SETTINGS
To access the report settings and customizations, open a report and click Customize. Make your
desired customizations, then click Run report to re-display the report using the customizations you
have selected. The common report settings include, but are not limited to, the following:
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Accounting Method – Cash or accrual; found under General settings and at the top of the report
on the screen without having to click Customize
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Number format – These settings offer options for displaying negative numbers, large numbers
or you can exclude zero balances; found under General settings
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Rows/Columns – These settings hide or add columns when you click Rows/Columns, if visible,
which depends on the report being customized. This can shorten the width of a report and make
printing easier. (In certain reports such as a Profit and Loss, you will see a Columns drop-down
menu that allows you to select one Total Only column or multiple columns by timeframe, such as
by month or year, or by another parameter such as customers or vendors. This is also visible in
the header of the report as Display columns by, so it can be accessed without clicking
Customize.) If you select Customize > Change Columns, there are Period Comparison options,
depending on the report, for Previous period (PP), Previous year (PY) and Previous year-to-date
(PY YTD). The difference between the report period and the comparison period can be
displayed in a separate column as a dollar difference or as a percentage difference. There are
also % of Row, Income, Column and Expense boxes you can check, depending on the report. In
this area, you can also reorder the columns for the comparison periods you select. (The Period
Comparison options can also be accessed directly from the header of the report.)
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Filter – These options are more complex; we will look at those more in the next topic
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Header / Footer – For altering the text of the header and/or the footer. You can also change the
text of the header or subheader by clicking them directly at the top of the report, then typing the
preferred replacement text without clicking Customize. However, if you do select Customize
Header/Footer, you can specify if you wish to display a logo, the date prepared, time prepared
and report basis (cash vs. accrual). You can also specify the alignment of the header and the
footer.