We spend a lot of time getting correct data into QuickBooks so we can see correct results of our business. Usually, we look to reports to provide insight into those results.
Reports function to give business results for managerial decisions. They also provide information for governmental compliance needs.
There are many reports available off the menu in QuickBooks. However, it’s not unusual for a business to need the ability to customize reports further than the abilities of QuickBooks allows.
QuickBooks Statement Writer is one solution to this problem. It works as an add-in to Excel, affording the user the combined power of Excel and QuickBooks.
QuickBooks Statement Writer is only available in QuickBooks Accountant and all industry versions of QuickBooks Enterprise.. It is available on the Reports dropdown menu.
The first screen, once the menu selection is made, shows below.
Note the four selections along the left side.
The first, Preferences and Formats allows the setting of certain appearances in a Statement Writer report as well as specifications as to where they are saved.
The second allows the creation of a new report. The third and fourth are for accessing report formats already created, perhaps with new data, such as the information from the next month. Report formats can also be copied from one QuickBooks company file to another.
Above is the screen that appears if Design New is chosen. This screen allows the date of the reports to be set. The second arrow, pointing to the lower left section of the window points to a list of pre-formatted reports the user can choose from.
Usually a more customized report is wanted. One must begin with an existing template however. But this approach is easier anyway. The customization options will allow the creation of the report with the template being the starting place.
The right side of the window lists the templates we want to use for our report.
Name the report and select next and you are allowed to manipulate the appearance of the report in a wizard-like interface. For the purposes of this overview, we will proceed through the wizard to the Excel interface.
This is what the beginning template of our report looks like in Excel. Accessed through QuickBooks Statement Writer, there are a number of features available in this view
The top circled area is an entire ribbon of commands that are part of QSW rather than Excel.
The panel along the right is also part of the QSW program. Note that the panel contains sections for Report Properties, Statement Properties, Row Properties, Column Properties, and Cell Properties.
Each of these sections will open up with a number of specific tools.
Report Properties will affect the entire Excel workbook. Since we are working with live QuickBooks data, the date could be changed in this panel. The report would then be refreshed and the new data relating the new date would populate the report.
Statement Properties would affect this one sheet, in this case, the Income Statement.
Obviously properties for rows and columns affect specifically those portions of the report.
Rows can be combined or broken out. Columns can be added for budget data, same month last year, year-to-date, plus many more.
Additional sheets could be added referring to the QSW data to create charts and other graphics for ease of understanding complicated data.
This is only an overview. Many customization capabilities exist in QuickBooks Statement Writer.
QuickBooks Statement Writer is only available in QuickBooks Accountant and all industry versions of QuickBooks Enterprise.
Hector Garcia, CPA
Certified Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor
12401 Orange Drive #136
Davie, FL 33330
954-414-1524
hector@garciacpa.com
