QuickBooks Desktop's Customize Report window lets you change what a report shows and how it looks. In SeroBooks the same choices sit on the report toolbar, split by what they change:
| You want to… | Use | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| Show or hide columns | Columns | for this report, on this computer |
| Make a column wider or narrower | drag the edge of its heading | for this report, on this computer |
| Change how money looks (negatives, red, thousands, cents) and what a printout carries | Customize | for every report, on this computer |
| Narrow the lines, group them or sort them | Search, Filters, Group By, column headings | for this report while it is open (save it under Favourites) |
| Change the period, basis, customer, vendor or location | the date button and the filter chips | while it is open (keep it with Memorize) |
The last two are explained in Running a report. This article covers the first three.
Choose the columns
- Open the report.
- Click Columns on the toolbar. A list headed Show these columns opens, with a tick beside every column the report is showing.
- Click a column to untick it (hide it) or tick it (show it). The report redraws at once.
- To put every column back, open Columns again and click Show all columns.
- The first column (the account, customer, item or date that names each line) always stays.
- Your choice is remembered for this report on this computer, so it opens the same way next time. The Columns button is highlighted while any column is hidden.
- Hidden columns are left out of printouts, exports and emails too: they carry what is on screen.
- The columns added by Previous year come and go with that switch and are not listed here.
Size the columns
Each report works out its own column widths from what is in them. To change one:
- Point at the right-hand edge of a column heading until the pointer becomes a resize arrow.
- Drag left or right.
- A width you set is remembered for that column name on this report, on this computer. It survives rerunning, re-dating and re-sorting the report.
- Right-click the edge of a heading to put that one column back to the width the report chose.
- Once any column has been sized by hand, a Reset widths button appears on the toolbar. Click it to put every column back.
Customize Report: Fonts & Numbers and Header/Footer
Click Customize on the toolbar. The Customize Report window has two halves.
FONTS & NUMBERS
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Show negative numbers | Normally -300.00, In Parentheses (300.00) or With a Trailing Minus 300.00-. |
| In Bright Red | Shows negative amounts in red (on by default). On a Profit & Loss a red figure is a loss; on an aging report it is a credit the customer holds. |
| Show all numbers: Divided by 1000 | Shows every amount in thousands. A printout then carries the note All figures in thousands. |
| Show all numbers: Without Cents | Rounds every amount to whole dollars. |
| Example | Shows how -1,234,567.89 will look with your choices. |
HEADER/FOOTER (printed)
These control what a printed report carries. Exports and emails keep their own standard heading.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Company Name | Prints your company name above the report title. |
| Date Prepared | Prints the date the report was produced. |
| Time Prepared | Prints the time it was produced. |
| Report Basis | Prints Accrual basis or Cash basis on reports that have a basis. |
| Extra Footer Line | A line of your own printed at the foot of the report, such as Prepared for the board meeting or Unaudited. |
The buttons
- Revert puts every setting back to the defaults (minus sign, red, no thousands, cents shown, every header item printed, no footer line).
- Cancel closes without changing anything.
- OK saves the settings.
The settings apply to every report on this computer, straight away, including reports already open. The Customize button is highlighted whenever negative numbers, thousands or cents are set to something other than the default.
Filters: the Display and Filters tabs
In QuickBooks Desktop the Filters tab of Customize Report narrows a report to certain accounts, names or amounts. In SeroBooks:
- The customer or vendor chip, the location picker and the Accrual | Cash switch narrow the report on the server before it is built (only on reports that honour them).
- Filters (F7) narrows the lines already on the report by any column, with conditions such as contains, is, more than, less than.
- Group By adds a subtotal per group, and clicking a column heading sorts by it.
To keep a set of filters, grouping and sort for next time, use Favourites ▸ Save current search… in the search panel. To keep the report with its period, basis and customer, vendor or location, use Memorize. Both are explained in Running a report and Memorized Reports.
Tips
Common problems
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Every report suddenly shows figures in brackets or without cents | Someone changed Customize on this computer. Open Customize, click Revert, then OK. |
| A column is missing from a report | It was hidden with Columns. Open Columns ▸ Show all columns. |
| A column is squeezed or too wide | Right-click the edge of its heading, or click Reset widths. |
| The printout does not show the company name or date | Tick Company Name, Date Prepared or Time Prepared in Customize ▸ HEADER/FOOTER (printed). |