This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Report Options
Report options include numerous ways to modify and use Express reports, as shown in Figure 7.35.
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Figure 7.35 Email, print, send to Excel, or customize a report using the many options found on the Toolbar.
If the Toolbar is not showing, click the View menu, Toolbar.
Send to Mail Recipient
The Send to Mail Recipient button, shown in Figure 7.36, sends an email with a report as an Excel attachment.
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Figure 7.36 Click the Send to Mail Recipient (as an Excel attachment) button to create an email message with the report attached as an Excel spreadsheet.
Click the Print button to print the report. The Print window opens, as shown in Figure 7.37. Choose the appropriate options, and then click the OK button to send the report to the printer.
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Figure 7.37 Select the printer and number of copies to print. Other options may appear depending on your specific printer.
To keep from wasting paper:
- Show only those items you need to see by filtering the report.
See how to filter in "Filter Options," page 277.
- As shown in Figure 7.35, click the Print Preview button instead of the Print button to check that the report fits properly on the paper before printing.
- Click the File menu, Page Setup to change paper margins or to change the orientation from Portrait to Landscape.
Print Preview
As shown in Figure 7.38, use Print Preview to save paper. View the report on the computer screen first before deciding whether to print it.
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Figure 7.38 Click the Print Preview button to see how the report will look when printed.
Print Preview provides many ways to view a report on the screen:
- Click the Zoom In button to see a portion of the report magnified, or click the Zoom Out button to see the full page on the screen.
- Use the Previous Page and Next Page buttons to page through the report.
- Select how many pages to view on the screen at once by clicking the View One Page, View Two Pages, or View Four Pages buttons.
- View and print only specific pages of the report by entering the first page to view after Page, and the last page after To.
- Click the Close button to close the report and return to Express, or click the Print button to open the Print window.
Export to Excel
Send an Express report to Excel if you want to analyze the data further. Click the Export to Excel button, shown in Figure 7.35, to open and view the report in Excel, as seen in Figure 7.39.
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Figure 7.39 View and modify the report to Microsoft Excel if you have Excel Version 10 or newer on your computer.
Refresh Report
If the data has changed, the Refresh Report button updates the report, as shown in Figure 7.40.
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Figure 7.40 Make sure that the report data is up to date by clicking the Refresh Report button. The numbers on the screen change to reflect the current data.
Filter Options
View shorter reports by filtering the data to see only what you need in the report. Click the Filter Options button, shown in Figure 7.35, to open the Select Filter Options window, as seen in Figure 7.41.
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Figure 7.41 Filter the report to show only what you want to see.
Each report has different information and, therefore, different filters. A filter can also use multiple criteria. For example, to view a report showing only the bank account with dates between 10/1/2007 and 10/15/2007:
- Click Account.
- Click Bank Account.
- Click Date Range.
- Click Custom.
- Click the From selection arrow.
- Click 10/1/2007 on the calendar.
- Click the To selection arrow.
- Click 10/15/2007 on the calendar.
To see a report showing the bank account, but without specific dates:
- Click the Date Range filter.
- Click the Clear button to remove the 10/1/2007 to 10/15/2007 filter. Notice how the date range is removed from the Applied Filters area.
If filtering by date, choose a predefined date range by clicking the Date Range button, shown in Figure 7.35. There are 27 predefined date ranges including All, Previous or Current Week, Month, Fiscal, and Calendar Year. Or choose Custom and then enter the From and To dates.
If filtering by account, choose from 16 predefined group of accounts or select one or more specific accounts, as shown in Figure 7.42.
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Figure 7.42 Select a predefined range of accounts.
As shown in Figure 7.43, to select one or more accounts as filters:
- In the Account filter, click Selected Accounts.
- Click the Show Selected button to open the Select Accounts window.
- In the Available Options area, click the account name to highlight it.
- Click the Add button to move the account name into the Selected Options area.
- When finished selecting accounts, click the OK button.
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Figure 7.43 The Selected Accounts option enables you to choose one or more accounts.
As shown in Figure 7.44, if filtering by name, choose a predefined group of names:
- All
- All Customers
- All Vendors
- Selected Names—One or more specific customers and/or vendors
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Figure 7.44 Select a predefined range of names or specific names.
As shown in Figure 7.45, to filter by specific customers and/or vendors:
- Click Name in the Filter area.
- Click the Name Options drop-down arrow.
- Click Selected Names from the list.
- Click the Show Selected button. The Select Names window appears.
- In the Available Options area, click the vendor or customer to add to the filter.
- Click the Add button to select the customer or vendor.
- Continue adding customers or vendors.
- To remove a customer or vendor from the filter, click the Remove button.
- When done, click the OK button to return to the Select Filter Options screen.
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Figure 7.45 Choose one or more vendors and/or customers.
Modify Report
Modify Report is used to customize and improve the presentation of the report for your specific needs. Information filtering is the first choice. Choose to
- Not filter the report
- Use a predefined filter
- Open the Select Filter Options window (also see Figure 7.46)
Figure 7.46 Clicking the Modify Report button makes the Modify Report pane visible. Select options in the Modify Report pane to change the filter, columns, fonts, number formatting, header, and footer.
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As shown in Figure 7.47, click Columns in the Modify Report pane to change the columns displayed.
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Figure 7.47 Select how the columns display.
Display Column By determines the number of columns within the date range specified:
- Totals Only displays one column with the totals.
- Monthly displays one column for each month.
- Quarter displays one column for each calendar quarter.
- Year displays one column for each calendar year.
- Fiscal Quarter displays one column for each quarter.
- Fiscal Year displays one column for each fiscal year.
Compare To shows twice as many columns, an additional column to the right of each display column for
- Previous Period Dollar Amount
- Previous Period Percent Change
- Previous Year Dollar Amount
- Previous Year Percent Change
- Percentage of Year-to-Date
- Percentage of Income
Checkmark a column check box to display a column, or uncheck the column check box to remove the column from the report.
- As shown in Figure 7.48, click Fonts and Numbers in the Modify Report pane to change the look of the report.
Figure 7.48 Improve the report by changing the fonts, styles, sizes, and colors.
- Click the plus sign to the left of Row Label to expand the options.
- Click Change Font.
Change the font, font style, size, effects, and color as desired. Your fonts might differ from this example.
Additional changes include
- Dividing all amounts by 1,000
- Hiding zeros
- Hiding amounts to the right of the decimal
- Hiding zero balance lines
- Formatting negative numbers
- Click the Apply button to view your changes without closing the window.
- Click the OK button when you are satisfied with the look of the report.
- Repeat steps 2 through 6 for Column Label, Report Data, Sub Total, Total, and Grand Total.
- Click Close Modify Report, and then view the finished report.
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As shown in Figure 7.49, any column text box with a line around the outside can be modified. In this report, you may change the text used for the Company Name, Report Title, Subtitle, Notes, and Footer. Or, if you choose, remove it completely from the report by unchecking the appropriate check box.
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Figure 7.49 Add additional notes to a report, and then change the font to make it stand out.
To add a note:
- Type text into the note.
- Checkmark the check box to display the note in the report.
- Click Change Font, and then change the type style, size, and color.
- Click the OK button.
Show Chart
With one click a graph appears above the report, as shown in Figure 7.50. For more in-depth charting use Excel. Using either method, a chart provides for a quick visual grasp of the data.
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Figure 7.50 Displaying a graph is as easy as clicking the Show Chart button.
Report Basis
Choose between a Cash Basis or Accrual Basis report. Tell your accountant that the accounting reports can be printed on a cash or accrual basis and ask which method is best for your company.
A Cash Basis report shows income when money is received and expenses when money is paid. An Accrual Basis report shows income when earned and expenses when the services or items are used.
For example, if Ann worked in December 2007 but wasn't paid until January 2008, an Accrual Basis report would show her wages and the associated taxes in December 2007, whereas a Cash Basis report would show them in January 2008.
As shown in Figure 7.51, to change the report basis, click the Report Basis drop-down list arrow. Click either Cash or Accrual. The report changes to reflect your choice.
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Figure 7.51 A change between Cash Basis and Accrual Basis is easily shown in the report.
Date Range
Use predefined date ranges, or enter the From and To dates to show only the needed data.
As shown in Figure 7.52, choose a predefined date range.
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Figure 7.52 A frequently used option is the date range.
Or, type the date directly in From and To.
Or, click the selection arrows to the right of From and To, and then choose the date from the calendar.
Sort Order
Most reports permit you to sort alphabetically or by groups.
Some reports can be sorted; for example, by date or by account, as shown in Figure 7.53. If this is the case, a sorting toolbar appears below the Report Basis and Date Range toolbar. To sort, follow these steps:
- Click the drop-down list box arrow to the right of Sort Report Groups By.
- Choose a sorting method.
- Click either the A to Z button to sort in ascending order or the Z to A button to sort in descending order by your chosen method. The report re-sorts.
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Figure 7.53 Some reports have a sorting capability.
To sort a report by a specific column, as shown in Figure 7.54:
- Click a column heading to select the column to sort.
- Click to the right of the column heading text, on the small blue sorting arrow. This sorts the column alphabetically.
- Optionally, click again on the sorting arrow to sort the column in reverse order.
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Figure 7.54 Columns can be sorted alphabetically, ascending or descending.
Move Columns
Drag a column heading to move the column to another position, as shown in Figure 7.55. It's that easy!
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Figure 7.55 Columns can be repositioned. Drag the Name column heading to move it before the No. column. The dark vertical line indicates where the Name column will be placed.
Resize Columns
Resize columns to see all the data on the screen without scrolling, or to print within one page width, as shown in Figure 7.56.
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Figure 7.56 Resize a column by dragging the vertical line separating one heading from another heading.
View Detail
Double-click a transaction line to see the original transaction entry, as shown in Figure 7.57.
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Figure 7.57 See the detailed transactions that make up an amount by double-clicking on the number. A second report window opens showing the detail.