What are accounting reports?

It's important to have accurate data on your business to improve, learn from the past, or plan the future. Accounting reports are a great way to achieve that. These reports come in various forms, and they show different financial information about your business and its activities.

Reports are vital tools that can help you make informed business decisions when trying to decide on new products and/or services, customers, and suppliers.

Reports you need to know

Below are the types of reports you should become familiar with when running a business:

Sales report

• Shows your business’s sales performance
• Shows your sales by product and/or services and by customer

Expense reports

• Shows your business’s spending habits
• Shows your expenses by category and supplier

Customer statement

• Shows your customer's transactions
• Includes all the invoices (paid or unpaid)
• Shows the customer’s balance - shows whether they are all paid up or still owe you any money

Profit and Loss (P&L) statement

• Shows your business’s profits or losses
• Summary of your business’s income, cost of goods sold and expenses
• Tracks business performance and breaks it down into categories

Cashflow statement

• Summary of the amount of money coming in and going out of your business
• Shows your operating spend, investing activities and financing expenses

Balance sheet

• Shows your business’s assets, liabilities and equity accounts
• A financial snapshot of your business at a particular point in time
• Provides insight into your financial position showing what is owned and what is owed