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Report Designer

Frequently asked questions about Report Designer

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Formatting and design

Insert a formula or function into a report
  1. Select the cell, row, or column where the formula or function should be inserted, and then select
    Insert
    , and
    Formula
    .
  2. At the top of the
    Formula
     window, select the
    Variables
     option to specify variables from the tree view, or the
    Functions
     option to specify dates, range of date counts, row counts, running totals, etc.
Display a total amount for multiple accounts instead of individual details for each account
This is useful, for example, if you want to view the amounts for multiple cash accounts as a total amount on a balance sheet.
Cash accounts detailed:
Cash accounts totaled:
  1. On the row where you want to display the total, delete the cell contents for the description and enter your new description.
  2. Select any cell in the row with an amount variable and mark the
    Print total amount
     checkbox in the Cell Properties section of the Design Tools frame.
  3. (Optional) Insert a blank row between the total row and other non-total rows.
Show a hidden row or column
Rows and columns are hidden by setting the row height or column width to 0. Therefore, you can show the hidden row or column by resetting the row height or column width.
  1. Select the non-hidden rows or columns on either side of the hidden row or column while pressing the Shift key on your keyboard.
  2. Right-click 1 of the selected rows/columns and choose
    Row height
     or
    Column width
    .
  3. Set the height or width to a single-digit number larger than 0. On many reports, the row height is set up 0.15625 inches by default.
Change the sign of a number
To change a positive number to negative (or the other way around), follow these steps.
  1. Select the cell that contains the number.
  2. Select
    Format
    , then
    Cells
    .
  3. Go to the Format tab, and then select
    Amount
    .
  4. Mark the
    Multiply by -1
     checkbox and select OK.
Add a prior year variable to a letter
Follow these steps to add a prior year variable to a letter.
  1. Open the letter in Report Designer, and then place your cursor where the date should go.
  2. Select
    Insert
    , then
    Formula
    .
  3. Select
    Functions
    , and then
    Date
    .
  4. Select the
    Variable 1
     button, browse to
    System
    , then
    Financial Statement
    , select
    Period End Date
     and then select
    OK
    .
  5. Select the
    Date format
     and
    Period
    . Note that the formula is shown at the bottom of the window.
  6. Select
    OK
     to insert the formula in the letter.

Report options

The standard payroll reports don't have all the options that I need. Are there any additional reports available?
Yes! Visit the Accounting CS custom report library to browse available reports.
After you download the file, follow these steps to import the report into Accounting CS.
  1. Unzip the download file.
  2. In Report Designer, select
    File
    , then
    Import
    .
  3. Browse to where you saved the file, and then select
    Open
    .
The file is imported and opens in Report Designer for you to modify as needed. Remember to save your changes!
Sort by account description on financial statements
By default, general ledger accounts are sorted by account number on financial statements. To change this, follow these steps.
  1. With the financial statement open in Report Designer, select
    File
     and then
    Page Setup
    .
  2. Go to the
    Report
     tab.
  3. In the Filtering and Sorting Options section, mark the
    Chart of Accounts Core
     checkbox.
  4. Select
    OK
    , and then save your financial statement.
  5. Select
    File
    , then
    Print Preview
    .
  6. In the
    Primary sort by
     field, select
    GL Account Description
     and then
    OK
     to preview the financial statement.
On the Payroll Journal report, show only totals (excluding individual payroll check detail)
You can make specific regions of a report optional, enabling you to include or exclude those regions when you preview or print the report. Therefore, if you make the region of the report containing the detailed payroll check information optional, you can exclude that region when you print the report and print only the totals, as the following steps walk through.
  1. In Report Designer, open the Payroll Journal report.
  2. Select the Main region, and then select
    Region Properties
     in the Design Tools panel.
  3. Mark the
    Optional region
     checkbox.
  4. Clear the
    Print by default
     checkbox.
  5. Save the report, and then you can choose to include the detail at the time you run the report.
Rounded balances on financial statements show "Out Of Balance"
If you set up certain balance types to be rounded for reporting purposes, you may get an Out Of Balance message when you preview a report or financial statement.
  • Make sure you don't have any filters applied to the report when you preview it. Filters could make the report total a non-zero number, which prompts the "Out Of Balance" message.
  • Display at least 2 decimal places on the report. When decimals are hidden, the individual numbers are rounded (50 cents and higher rounds up, 49 cents and lower rounds down), which may cause a report to be off by $1 or $2.
  • If you customized this report, make sure that the conditional expression on the "Out Of Balance" message is referencing the correct cells.

Troubleshooting and tips and tricks

How to modify an existing report without making the original version unusable
Before you make changes to a predefined report, letter, or financial statement in Report Designer, we recommend that you select
File
, then
Save As
 to save the report with a different name. To restore a predefined report that has been modified, select
File
, then
Restore Default
.
How to troubleshoot a report pulling incorrect data or no data at all
There are a number of things you can do to find out where the problem lies.
  • Try deleting multiple sections, rows, or columns on the report or financial statement. Preview it again to see if removing a particular section resolves the issue. This can help narrow down the area of the report that may be causing the problem.
    note
    If you make a mistake and delete a section without having saved a copy, select
    Edit
     and then
    Undo
     to undo the deletion.
  • If you're working in a report that you've customized from a predefined report, try previewing or printing the default version of the report and compare it to your customized version. If the issue doesn't seem to appear in the default version, then you can compare the differences between the 2 versions of the report. Use that information to make changes on the customized report that may resolve the issue.
    note
    If the original version of the predefined report isn't available, you'll need to restore the default version. To avoid overwriting your customized version, select
    File
    , then
    Save As
     to create a new, renamed copy of it. Now it's safe to right-click your customized version of the report in the Reports List area and select
    Restore Default
    .
  • If there are any hidden rows on the report, unhide the rows to make sure that no variables, conditional expressions, or repeating regions in the hidden rows are causing the issue.
How to tell what accounts and data are being included in a total line/cell on a report
You can change a total line to a detail line to see what accounts are included in a total by clearing the option to print a total and change the repeating regions if needed.
Data is missing in a custom report. Here's how you can determine which row is causing the problem.
You can use the Color fill button in the Formatting Toolbar to color code cells, rows, and columns, to help troubleshoot missing or incorrect data on the report.
How to fix balances that aren't pulling into a report or financial statement correctly
If you have a report displaying an "Out Of Balance" message or a financial statement in which not all balances are pulling in correctly, it might be due to an incorrect selection of account groupings in the Cell Properties of a cell or set of cells within a row. It may help to do the following.
  1. Verify all sections of the Balance Sheet.
  2. Make sure all accounts are included in the Balance Sheet.
  3. Print the Financial Statement Worksheet report for the current year and review the Totals row in the Balance Sheet columns.
Why a report or financial statement is printing something different than what is shown in the cell in Report Designer.
The cell or row may contain a conditional expression. A green corner on the top right of the cell or row indicates that it contains an if/then statement.
For example, on the predefined Balance Sheet - Current Year, there's a conditional expression in cell A51 for Total Equity. 1 of the conditions states that IF the client entity type is a 1040, 1041, or 5500, THEN print Total Equity, while another condition on that same cell states that IF the client entity type is a 1065, THEN print Total Partner's Equity.
To view or modify an existing conditional expression, select the cell or row with the conditional expression, then select
Format
,
Conditional Expression
.
In Report Designer, the cells in the report are blank, but information prints when the report is previewed
The text size of the variables may be too large for the cells. Change the font size, row height, or cell size to resolve the issue.
A blank page prints follow each letter when the letter is only 1 page
There may be blank space at the bottom of the letter. Use the following steps to remove it.
  1. Open the letter in Report Designer.
  2. Hover your cursor over the word "Footer" to the left of the letter until it changes to a double-headed arrow.
  3. Drag the footer region up to the bottom of the last line of text to remove the extra white space.
Why a report or financial statement repeats data
When reports and financial statements repeat data, it's usually caused by 1 or more rows being incorrectly grouped. A repeating level is marked by a vertical bracket in the left margin of the design grid.
Each row within a report or financial statement that has a variable included on it needs to be grouped into a repeating level, including any hidden rows.

This article applies to:

  • PRODUCT: Workpapers CS
  • Subject: Reports