Generating the Balance Sheet

The Balance Sheet provides a snapshot of your business's financial position as of a specific date. It shows what the business owns (Assets), what it owes (Liabilities), and the residual interest of the owners (Equity). The fundamental accounting equation — Assets equals Liabilities plus Equity — must always hold true. This requires the FIN_VIEW_REPORTS permission.

Opening the Balance Sheet

Navigate to Business > Balance Sheet from the main menu. The the Balance Sheet report form opens with a date picker at the top.

Selecting the As-Of Date

The Balance Sheet is a point-in-time report. Use the date picker at the top of the form to select the as-of date. The report will include all transactions recorded on or before this date.

By default, the as-of date is set to today. You can change it to any prior date to see what the Balance Sheet looked like at that point in time. Click Refresh after changing the date to reload the report.

The Three Main Sections

The Balance Sheet is organized into three major sections, each following the same hierarchical pattern of section header, account type sub-headers, and individual account rows.

ASSETS Section

The ASSETS section lists everything the business owns or controls. Accounts are grouped by account type:

• Current Assets — Cash, bank accounts, accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid expenses, and other assets expected to be converted to cash within one year
• Fixed Assets — Property, equipment, vehicles, and other long-term assets
• Other Assets — Intangible assets, deposits, and anything that does not fit the other categories

Each account type appears as a sub-header with its accounts listed beneath it. After all asset accounts are listed, a Total Assets row shows the sum.

LIABILITIES Section

The LIABILITIES section lists everything the business owes to outside parties:

• Current Liabilities — Accounts payable, short-term loans, accrued expenses, and other obligations due within one year
• Long-Term Liabilities — Mortgages, long-term loans, and other obligations due beyond one year

After all liability accounts are listed, a Total Liabilities row shows the sum.

EQUITY Section

The EQUITY section shows the owners' residual interest in the business:

• Owner's Equity — Capital contributions, retained earnings, and draws
• Other Equity — Additional equity accounts as defined in your chart of accounts

After all equity accounts are listed, a Total Equity row shows the sum.

Summary Rows

Below the three sections, the Balance Sheet displays two important summary rows:

• Total Liabilities + Equity — The sum of Total Liabilities and Total Equity
• Verification row — Compares Total Assets to Total Liabilities + Equity

Balance Verification

The verification row at the bottom of the report checks whether the accounting equation holds:

• “BALANCED” — Displayed in green when Total Assets exactly equals Total Liabilities plus Total Equity. This confirms the Balance Sheet is correct.
• “OUT OF BALANCE by $X.XX” — Displayed in red when there is a discrepancy. The dollar amount shows the difference between Total Assets and Total Liabilities + Equity.

An out-of-balance condition indicates a problem in the underlying data. Common causes include transactions that affect only one side of the equation, or account classification errors. Run the Trial Balance to investigate further, and use Repair Balances if needed.

How Account Balances Are Calculated

The Balance Sheet calculates each account's balance based on all transactions up to and including the as-of date:

• Debit-normal accounts (Assets) — Balance is calculated as total debits minus total credits. A positive result means the account has a net debit balance, which is the normal state for asset accounts.
• Credit-normal accounts (Liabilities and Equity) — Balance is calculated as total credits minus total debits. A positive result means the account has a net credit balance, which is the normal state for liability and equity accounts.

This calculation method ensures that all amounts on the Balance Sheet are displayed as positive numbers under normal conditions, making the report easy to read.

Location Filtering

Use the Location dropdown to filter the Balance Sheet by a specific business location. When filtered, only transactions associated with the selected location are included in the balance calculations. Select “All Locations” to see the combined Balance Sheet across the entire business.

Printing the Balance Sheet

Click the Print button to generate a printed version using the ReportPrinter. The printed report includes:

• Report title with the as-of date
• Location name (if filtered)
• The full hierarchical structure with section headers, type sub-headers, and account rows
• Total Assets, Total Liabilities, Total Equity, and Total Liabilities + Equity rows
• The balance verification status

Drilling Down to Account Transactions

To investigate any account's balance:

• Right-click on an account row and select View Transactions, or
• Double-click on an account row

This opens the Account Transactions form filtered to the selected account, showing all transactions up to the as-of date. You can review every debit and credit that contributes to the balance.

Tips

• Run at period end — Generate the Balance Sheet at the end of each accounting period to capture a snapshot of the business's financial position
• Verify the equation — Always check the verification row. If the Balance Sheet is out of balance, do not rely on the figures until the discrepancy is resolved.
• Compare to prior periods — Print the Balance Sheet at the same date each month or quarter to track changes in assets, liabilities, and equity over time
• Use with the Profit and Loss — The Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss together give a complete picture. The P&L explains how Net Income changed equity during the period, while the Balance Sheet shows the cumulative result.
• Drill down for unusual balances — If an asset or liability account shows an unexpected amount, double-click it to review the underlying transactions