Running Financial Reports

Financial reports summarize your posted journal entries. Addsworth Accounting includes four pre-installed report seed templates (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and Trial Balance) plus two company-bound system templates (AR by Customer and AP by Vendor). The AR/AP system templates are provisioned automatically for each operating company and generate from tagged AR/AP journal activity. You can generate a report for any period, review it on screen, and export to CSV or PDF for your accountant, your board, or the CRA.

Who is this for?

Business owners, bookkeepers, and accountants who need to produce financial statements from the data recorded in Addsworth Accounting.

Prerequisites

• A company created in Addsworth Accounting (see Getting Started with Addsworth Accounting)
• A Chart of Accounts with GL accounts set up (see Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts)
• Posted journal entries for the period you want to report on (see Creating Journal Entries)

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The Three Core Report Types

Addsworth Accounting ships with four seed templates. The three most commonly used are:

Balance Sheet

A snapshot of your company's financial position at a point in time. It answers: What does the company own, owe, and retain?

The fundamental equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity. If your balance sheet balances, your books are consistent.

Income Statement

A summary of financial performance over a period. It answers: Did the company make or lose money?

The bottom line: Revenue − Expenses = Net Income (or Loss).

Trial Balance

A listing of the balances by GIFI line, in seven sections: Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenue, Cost of Sales, Operating Expenses, and Extraordinary Items & Income Taxes. It answers: Are total debits equal to total credits? A Balance Check at the end shows a checkmark when they agree. The Trial Balance is your first check for data integrity; if it does not balance, something was recorded incorrectly.

Tip: Addsworth Accounting also includes a Cash Flow Statement seed template, which organizes cash movements into Operating, Investing, and Financing activities.

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Navigating to Reports

Open Reports from the sidebar. The Report Templates screen appears, listing all available templates.

Each row shows the template name, its kind, and a SEED badge on a seed template. Seed templates are the pre-installed system templates.

To generate a report on the Mac, select a row and click Generate Report in the toolbar. On an iPad or iPhone, swipe the row to the right and tap Generate.

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Understanding Template Types

Create, edit, duplicate and delete report templates on your Mac. Generate a report from any device.

Addsworth Accounting distinguishes between three kinds of templates:

• Seed templates are the four pre-installed structures. They are read-only and non-deletable, and you can duplicate them for your active company. If you click Generate Report on a seed template, the app offers Duplicate & Generate. It makes the company copy and opens the period picker.
• Company templates are copies you create (or duplicate from a seed) for your active company. They are fully editable: you can rename sections, add line items, link GL accounts, and customize the layout.
• System templates (AR by Customer and AP by Vendor) are created automatically for every operating company. They are managed by the system, read-only, and non-deletable.

To make a template from nothing, click Add Template (Mac only). To remove a company template, select it and click Delete.

Generate behavior depends on template type: seed templates must be duplicated before generation, while company templates and AR/AP system templates open the period picker directly.

For AR/AP generation, first configure an Accounts Receivable control account and an Accounts Payable control account in your Chart of Accounts, then tag the relevant posted journal lines with a customer or vendor. Once these prerequisites are in place, AR/AP system templates are ready to generate.

Tip: To get started quickly with Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Trial Balance, or Cash Flow, duplicate a seed template: right-click a seed row and choose Duplicate for Active Company. The copy inherits the full section structure and is ready for GL account linking.

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The Report Workflow

Follow this workflow when producing a financial report for the first time:

1. Duplicate a seed template. Seed templates are read-only. Right-click a seed row and choose Duplicate for Active Company to create an editable company copy.
2. Check the mapping. The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Trial Balance seeds read each account's GIFI code, so they work on any chart where the accounts carry GIFI codes. The Cash Flow Statement seed has no ranges: open it in the editor and enter the start and end accounts of each line. A line without a range shows $0.
3. Save at any point. You can save a template at any point, even if GL account ranges are not fully assigned. Incomplete templates are safe to keep and continue editing later.
4. Generate and review. Return to the template list, generate the report (see Navigating to Reports), and choose a reporting period in the picker. A diagnostic banner in the preview identifies any unmapped line items and prevents export until they are resolved.
5. Refine and regenerate. Use the banner feedback to identify gaps. Return to the editor, correct or extend account ranges, save, and regenerate the report. Repeat until the preview shows the expected balances.
6. Export. Once the template is fully mapped and the report contains data, the Export button in the preview toolbar is available. Choose CSV or PDF to produce the final output.

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Generating a Balance Sheet

Follow these steps to produce your first Balance Sheet:

1. Navigate to Reports from the sidebar.
2. If you have not already duplicated the Balance Sheet seed, do so now (right-click or swipe → Duplicate for Active Company).
3. Locate your company's Balance Sheet template in the list.
4. Generate the report (see Navigating to Reports). A period picker opens. It shows one As of Date, set to today (or to the fiscal year-end if that date is earlier).
5. Change the date if you need a different day, then click Generate.
6. Addsworth Accounting queries all posted GL transactions for the selected period and computes account balances.
7. The Report Preview screen appears. A diagnostic banner is shown if any GL account ranges remain unmapped or if no posted transactions exist for the period.

The preview displays:

• Header: your company name, the report title, and the date range
• Sections: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity, each with indented line items showing account names and balances
• Footers: section subtotals, child-section totals, and a grand total at the bottom

Amounts are formatted in Canadian dollars. Positive balances appear normally; the layout follows the indentation and ordering defined in the template.

Tip: If the report is empty, check that your journal entries are posted (not draft) and that their transaction dates fall within the reporting period. Only posted transactions contribute to report balances.

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Generating an Income Statement

The process is identical to the Balance Sheet:

1. Duplicate the Income Statement seed template if you have not already.
2. Generate the report (see Navigating to Reports). The picker shows the Start Date and End Date of the current fiscal year.
3. Review the output: Revenue, Cost of Sales, Operating Expenses, and Extraordinary Items & Income Taxes, each with subtotals, and Gross Profit, Operating Income and Net Income.
4. The bottom line shows your Net Income (or Net Loss) for the period.

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Generating a Trial Balance

1. Duplicate the Trial Balance seed template.
2. Generate the report (see Navigating to Reports). The picker also has Exclude Closing Entries. Turn it on to show the balances before the year-end close.
3. The report lists the balances by GIFI line, in seven sections: Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenue, Cost of Sales, Operating Expenses, and Extraordinary Items & Income Taxes. A Balance Check at the end shows a checkmark when debits equal credits.
4. Verify that total debits equal total credits. If they do not, investigate the discrepancy before relying on your Balance Sheet or Income Statement.

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Customising a Report Template

After duplicating a seed template, you can tailor it to your business:

1. On the Mac, double-click the template row, or select it and click Edit Template.
2. In Template Details, update the name and description.
3. In Sections, you can:
4. Add a section: tap Add Section at the bottom. Give it a name and optionally nest it under a parent section.
5. Rename a section: edit its name in the row. To change its parent, click the row to expand it, then choose a Parent Section.
6. Reorder sections: use the up and down arrow buttons.
7. Delete a section: expand it and click Delete Section (this removes the section and all its line items).
8. Within each section, you can manage line items:
9. Add a line item: tap Add Line Item. Set its name and type:
   • GL Account: shows the balance of one account. Choose it in the GL Account box.
   • Account Range: sums the accounts from the Range Start account to the Range End account (for example, 4000 to 4999). Click the line item to expand it, then choose the two accounts.
   • GIFI Range: sums all GL accounts whose GIFI code falls within a start and end range (e.g., 8000-8299 for revenue). Enter the codes in GIFI From and GIFI To. The Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Trial Balance seed templates use this row kind, so they show correct amounts on any chart of accounts whose accounts carry GIFI codes.
   • Heading: a display-only label with no amount
   • Subtotal: sums the preceding items in the section
   • Sum: totals the items of the section
   • Empty: hides a row
   • Current Period Earnings and Unclosed Prior-Year Earnings: lines the Balance Sheet uses in Equity so that it balances before the year-end close
10. Reorder line items: use the up/down buttons.
11. Manage footers at the bottom of each section:
12. Section Subtotal: totals the section's line items and its child sections
13. Child Sections Total: totals all nested child sections
14. Grand Total: totals the section's line items and every section below it
15. Each calculating footer accepts an optional Format pattern (for example $#,##0.00) that controls how its amount is spelled in the preview and the PDF. Leave it empty for the standard currency style.
16. Text Annotation: a display-only note
17. Cross-Section Reference: references another section's total
18. Tap Save when finished.

Tip: Start with the seed structure and make incremental changes. The seed templates follow accounting presentation standards, so they provide a solid foundation.

Tip: You can save a template at any point, even if GL account ranges are not fully assigned. Incomplete mappings are safe to keep and revisit. The preview's diagnostic banner guides you to any remaining gaps when you generate the report.

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Comparative Reports (Prior Year and Variance)

Any report can be generated against a prior period. In the date-range picker, turn on Compare to Prior Year and confirm the Comparison As of date. The preview and the PDF then carry four amount columns per row: the current period, the prior period, the variance in dollars, and the variance as a percentage. A dash means no comparative figure exists for that row. All comparative figures come from posted entries only, exactly as the current-period figures do.

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Footers: Totals, Formulas, and Balance Checks

Footers are the calculating rows at the bottom of each section, managed in the template editor. Beyond the everyday Section Subtotal, Child Sections Total, and Grand Total, these three footer types need more explanation:

• Cross-Section Difference: subtracts one section's total from another's — the classic use is Gross Profit = Revenue less Cost of Sales. Pick the two sections; no formula text is needed.
• Balance Check: a formula-based verification (for example, Assets = Liabilities + Equity) that displays a checkmark when the two sides agree and the delta when they do not. The seeded Balance Sheet and Trial Balance templates use it to prove the statement balances.
• Text Annotation: a static note row; it calculates nothing.

If a footer shows an error indicator instead of an amount, its formula could not be parsed or one of its section references no longer resolves — usually because a referenced section was renamed or deleted. Open the template editor and repair the footer's references.

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Exporting Reports

From the Report Preview screen, tap the Export button in the toolbar to choose a format:

• Export as CSV: produces a comma-separated file with columns for Section, Line Item, Account Number, and Amount. A comparative report has the columns Section, Line Item, Account Number, Current Period, Prior Period, Variance, and Variance (%). Useful for importing into spreadsheets or other accounting tools.
• Export as PDF: renders a formatted document with your company name, report title, date range, and all sections with line items and totals. Suitable for printing or sharing with stakeholders.
• Print (Mac only): sends the PDF to your printer through the system print dialog.

The exported file is named using the pattern CompanyName_ReportKind_Date (for example, Ambrenta_Machining_Ltd_BalanceSheet_2026-02-14.pdf). A system save dialog lets you choose the destination.

Note: Export is available only when the report is fully mapped and contains data. If line items remain unmapped or no posted transactions exist for the selected period, the preview shows a diagnostic banner and the Export button displays a message explaining why export is not yet available. Resolve all mapping issues in the template editor, then regenerate before exporting.

Export also stops when an account that holds a balance has no GIFI code (it appears in no line of a GIFI-based statement) or has no account number. The banner names the count. Assign the codes or numbers in the Chart of Accounts, then generate the report again.

Tip: Export a PDF at the end of each fiscal period for your permanent records.

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Filtering the Template List

Use the Filter menu in the toolbar to narrow the list:

This is helpful once you have several companies or many customized templates.

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Tips for Effective Reporting

• Post before generating. Reports only include posted journal entries. Draft journals are excluded.
• Reconcile first. Run bank reconciliation before generating reports so your cash balances are accurate (see Bank Reconciliation).
• Check the Trial Balance. If debits do not equal credits, your Balance Sheet will not balance. Fix the underlying entries before distributing reports.
• Map every line of a Cash Flow or custom template. An Account Range line item without start and end account numbers shows a zero balance. Use the template editor to assign ranges to all data-bearing line items. The preview diagnostic banner identifies any unmapped items before you export.
• Keep templates current. When you add new GL accounts, update your report templates to include them so they appear in future reports.

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What's Next

• Getting Started with Addsworth Accounting: Return to the overview for the full accounting workflow.
• Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts: Ensure GL accounts are linked to report template line items.
• Creating Journal Entries: Post the transactions that feed your reports.
• Bank Reconciliation: Verify cash balances before generating the Balance Sheet.
• GST/HST Tracking & Reporting: Review tax amounts that appear in your Income Statement.
• Backup & Data Management: Back up your data after generating period-end reports.