Two reports, or a report and a screen, can show different figures for the same thing and both be right, because they are answering slightly different questions. Work through the questions below; most differences come from one of the first four.
First checks
Are both on the same basis?
Reports that can be run either way show an Accrual | Cash switch. Accrual counts a sale when it is invoiced and a bill when it is entered. Cash counts them when the money arrives or leaves. A Profit & Loss on the cash basis leaves out unpaid invoices and bills. The basis is printed under the report's title. See Running a report.
Are both for the same dates?
Check the period at the top right of each report. Some reports are for a range (from and to); others are As of one date. An As of report such as A/R Aging or the Balance Sheet includes everything up to that date, not just that month.
Are both for the same location?
The location chosen in the dark bar at the top of the screen filters Inventory, Reports and the Dashboard. A report that respects it shows a location chip beside its filters. If one report is for one location and another for All locations, they will differ. The chip says "Set in the location picker at the top of the window."
Is one filtered to one customer or vendor?
A report with a customer or vendor filter shows a chip reading All customers or the name chosen. Clear it with its cross. Also check the report's search box and Filters: a search narrows the lines shown.
Is it up to date?
Reports show what was in the books when they were run. Press Refresh (or F5) after entering or changing something, especially if someone else is working in the books at the same time.
Why a figure is missing from the books
My invoices do not appear on the Profit & Loss at all
The posting map may not be finished, in which case documents are saved but nothing reaches the general ledger. Open Help ▸ Getting Set Up: if the Posting map step is not done, finish it in Company ▸ Accounting Setup. See Accounting Setup.
Estimates, sales orders and purchase orders are not in the totals
They are not transactions in the books. An estimate or order changes nothing in the ledger until it becomes an invoice or a bill. Pending invoices are not posted either until they are made final. Sales reports built from documents can list them; the Profit & Loss does not.
A voided document still shows
A voided invoice, bill or cheque stays in the books, at zero, marked VOID. It appears on lists and detail reports with a zero amount; it adds nothing to totals. To see what was voided, run Reports ▸ Accountant & Taxes ▸ Voided/Deleted Transactions Summary or Detail.
Why two reports differ
The sales report and the Profit & Loss show different sales
- Sales reports are usually by document and may include tax, shipping or discounts differently from the income accounts on the Profit & Loss.
- The Profit & Loss shows sales in the income accounts each item posts to. An item posting to an unexpected account moves its sales. See Item accounts.
- Check the basis and location of both.
A/R Aging does not match the Accounts Receivable balance on the Balance Sheet
Check both are As of the same date and for all locations. Journal entries posted directly to Accounts Receivable without a customer affect the Balance Sheet but not an aging report built from customers' documents. Drill into the Accounts Receivable figure to see which entries make it up.
The sales tax report does not match my GST/HST return
The return is prepared from Manage Sales Tax for its filing period. A document entered, changed or deleted after the return was filed, dated in that period, changes the report but not the filed return. Set a closing date after filing so this cannot happen by accident, and run Reports ▸ Accountant & Taxes ▸ Closing Date Exception Report to see what changed in closed periods. See Manage Sales Tax.
"This report does not balance. Do not file from it."
The report's own totals do not agree (for example, debits and credits differ). Do not use it for a filing. Drill into the figures to find the entries responsible, and contact support@seropos.app if you cannot see why.
"This report hit its row limit and is incomplete."
The report has more lines than it can show at once. Narrow the dates, choose one customer, vendor or location, or use a summary report instead.
"No filtered total for …"
When you filter a report, SeroBooks totals only the columns that are plain sums of their lines. A column such as a running balance or a percentage is not totalled, because adding up the visible lines would give a wrong number.
"Nothing to report for this period."
There are no transactions matching the report in those dates. Check the dates, the location and any customer or vendor filter.
Tracking a difference down
- Drill down. Click any figure to see the transactions behind it, and click a transaction to open it. See Drilling down from a report.
- Compare detail reports. Run the Detail version of each report for the same dates and basis, and compare them line by line. Export both to Excel if that is easier.
- Check the journal. For one document, Edit ▸ Transaction Journal shows exactly which accounts it debited and credited. See Transaction History and Transaction Journal.
- Check the Trial Balance. Total debits always equal total credits. See Trial Balance.
- Check the audit trail to see who changed what and when. See Audit Trail.