How to Create Trend Statements in QuickBooks

QuickBooks can create financial reports, including graphics to help it all make sense.

QuickBooks is one of the most popular financial software programs for small businesses. One of the benefits to using QuickBooks is the ease with which it makes creating trend statements, or reports. With a report, it is easy to get a "bird's eye view" of a business's financial health from a variety of angles such as accounts receivable, mileage, capital depreciation and many others.

Instructions

1. Open the company file in the QuickBooks program.

2. Determine what information is needed from QuickBooks such as profits, expenses and income that hasn't yet been collected. If the accounting terms in QuickBooks seems intimidating or confusing, describe in plain language what information is needed and seek the advice of an accountant or bookkeeper to determine what reports should be gathered from QuickBooks. This may include determining the date range from which to gather the information. For example, do you need the information for the entire year so far, or just for the last quarter?

3. Click on the "Reports" menu.

4. Find the report that is needed in the drop-down menu.

5. Click on the report or reports needed and follow the prompts to generate the report. The prompts will include options for modifying the date from which to pull the data -- the whole year, the whole quarter, etc., as well as how the data should be sorted -- by date amount, etc. There are also options for how to send the report by selecting Print, Email, Export, etc.

6. Customize how the report looks by choosing "Edit" and "Preferences." On the left-hand menu, select "Reports and Graphs," and click on "Company Preferences" to customize how the reports look.

Tips & Warnings

• Generating accounting reports is a technical business, especially if the reports are generated for investors or other people who have a right to the financial information. If there are any terms that are confusing, it is important to seek the advice of a knowledgeable accountant rather than simply winging it.

References

• QuickBooks 2010 for Dummies
• Intuit Support