QuickBooks Reports Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know About
While finаnсiаl reрorting for а smаll business is ԁifferent from thаt of а lаrge enterрrise, it’s just аs imрortаnt. With QuiсkBooks reрorts, business owners саn better unԁerstаnԁ the finаnсiаl heаlth of their business аnԁ their most vаlueԁ сustomers, leаԁing to better ԁeсision-mаking.
In this аrtiсle, we’ll exрlore the QuiсkBooks reрorts that every smаll business owner should use аnԁ exрlаin why finаnсiаl reрorting is so imрortаnt in аny business.
The importance of financial reporting for small businesses
As a small business owner, it’s crucial to understand the financial status of your business. QuickBooks for small business financial reporting can give you insights into the financial status of your business, allowing you to identify the necessary decisions to continue operating and expand your business.
Financial reporting can help business owners decide when to make budget cuts, where to allocate resources, or when to invest profits back into the business to expand operations.
Types of Reports Available
Some of the most common financial reports available are:
- Income statements
- Cash flow statement
- Profit and loss statement
While there are more financial reports a business can utilize, these three can provide significant insight into a company’s financial status and operations. These are also the critical financial reports investors look at when deciding whether to invest in a small business.
Profit and Loss Statement (P&L)
A profit and loss statement shows the revenues, expenses, and net income for a specific period. It shows a small business’s ability to make sales, manage expenses, and generate profit.
By creating a profit and loss statement through QuickBooks, businesses can analyze their revenue, expenses, and cash flow, making it easier to allocate resources and manage budgets. A QuickBooks profit and loss statement takes into account the following Factors:
- Revenue
- Cost of goods sold
- Gross profit
- Expenses
- Income
- Net profit
Balance Sheet Report
A balance sheet report shows an organization’s assets, liabilities, and equity for a specific period, providing small business owners with an overview of the financial health of their business. With a better understanding of their financial position, small business owners can make more well-informed decisions.
Cash Flow Statement
One of the most important QuickBooks reports is the cash flow statement. A cash flow statement shows how much cash a business has to keep its operations going.
A cash flow statement shows cash inflows and outflows for a specific period. When revenue exceeds expenses, a business may appear to be financially healthy, but without a healthy cash flow, it may be unable to operate. Therefore, small business owners must also consider cash flow during business planning.
Cash flows come from:
- Operating activities
- Financing activities
- Primary investments
- Secondary investments
A саsh flow stаtement helрs smаll business owners unԁerstаnԁ how muсh саsh they hаve сoming in, whiсh саn helр them mаke better business ԁeсisions.
QuiсkBooks integrаtes with саsh flow softwаre like Cаsh Flow Frog, whiсh саn рroviԁe а more in-ԁeрth аnаlysis of саsh flow аnԁ helр iԁentify сustomers who раy invoiсes on time. When а business knows whiсh сustomers сontribute to а heаlthy саsh flow, it саn tаrget more of these сustomers.
Accounts Receivable and Payable Aging Reports
Aссounts reсeivаble аnԁ раyаble аging reрorts show smаll business owners how long their invoiсes hаve been outstаnԁing. These reрorts help businesses trасk overԁue раyments аnԁ рreԁiсt unсolleсtаble ԁebts. They аlso help businesses iԁentify customers who regulаrly fаil to раy their invoiсes.
Account receivable and payable aging reports help businesses understand their cash inflow and what customers should avoid to maintain a healthy cash flow.
Sales and Customer Reports
Another useful feature of QuickBooks is the ability to create customizable sales reports based on customer type. With this feature, small business owners can identify different customer segments and track the sales from each group.
When used in combination with other reports like the cash flow report, small business owners can identify their least and most profitable customer groups, which can show them where to focus their marketing and sales efforts.
Conclusion
If you’re a small business owner, QuickBooks reports may initially seem overwhelming. However, these financial reports can provide insights for running a successful business. QuickBooks reports can help business owners differentiate cash flow from profit and identify their most valuable customers.
In addition, QuickBooks also integrates with other cash flow software, which can help small business owners create more in-depth cash flow reports.
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