Background: Financial Reports Format Maintenance

Use the Financial Reports Format Maintenance (GFM) program to add, change, copy, and delete formats for financial reports. See Road Map for work flow. Also see Financial Report Examples.

This topic has these subtopics:

Report Formats

The format number uniquely identifies each the report format. You can randomly assign format numbers; there is no requirement for a specific sequence. For convenience, the format number can be the same as the report number that uses the format.

A report format consists of:

• Titles, headings, and descriptions

• GL accounts (printed or totaled)

• Subtotals or totals (accumulated or printed)

• Printing specifications (such as indentation, blank lines, and underline character)

Sequence numbers identify each line in the format and indicate the order in which the lines will be processed.

Typically, companies set up formats for:

• A balance sheet

• A profit and loss statement

• An activity report

Even if you have multiple organizations and a complex chart of accounts, you may also have only three report formats if you use the exact same account numbers for each organization.

Report Types

The report type determines the style of the printed report, including columns for comparative data (actual, last year, budget), column headings, and whether the reports are for single or multiple periods. See Financial Report Examples for examples of each report type.

After you set up your formats, experiment by combining different formats and report types to get the most out of your financial reports. For example, you can combine a balance sheet format with an activity report. Then in the Financial Reports Print (GP) program, select Select for worksheet format? Program option to use this report for auditing your balance sheet.

Re-creating an Existing Report

You may have an existing report that you want to replicate. These are some suggestions:

• Which type of report best matches the format of the existing report? See Financial Report Examples.

• Which accounts do you want to include? Run the GL Account Maintenance (GMM) program to obtain account numbers or the GL Trial Balance (GTB) program to determine whether these account have activity for the current period. Write each account next to a line in the report.

• If a line sums several accounts, list these accounts with plus signs; for example, 405 + 406. If these are not consecutively numbered account numbers, you may want to write them in a different color of ink because you will need to create several sequence numbers for them and a total line. For example, for accounts 542 + 628 + 810-855 (a hyphen indicates a range; for example 810 + 811 + 812, etc.), you will need three sequence numbers to list the accounts and one to write their total.

• Which lines in your report are calculations? Write the calculation nearby; for example, gross profit = net sales - cost of sales.

• Assign a Total to add to number to each calculation. You can assign any number sequence you want (the online help examples use 10, 20, 30, etc.). Incrementing numbers like this allows you to insert numbers later, if necessary.

You should assign a number to each line that you have written in another color of ink. The system processes sequences in numerical order. Therefore, you need to consider the order of operation. Suppose that you are calculating Total Expenses:

Total Expenses = Overhead + Administration + Cost of Sales.
Cost of Sales = accounts 540 + 628 + 810-855.

You need to assign a lower accumulator number to the Cost of Sales calculation because it needs to be calculated before the system can calculate Total Expenses. For example:

30  Total Expenses = Overhead + Administration + Cost of Sales.
20  Cost of Sales = accounts 540 + 628 + 810-855.

• Assign a sequence number to each line on your report, including titles. The program increments sequence numbers by 100 so that you can insert lines later, if necessary.

Be sure to assign sequence numbers to accounts that you want to total, even if you do not print them. Assign a sequence number to each account or account range. The account numbers do not need to be in sequential order. For example:

600   Accounts 810-855700   
700   Account 628
800   Account 540
900   Print total Cost of Sales

• Run Financial Reports Format Maintenance and enter the format you have marked on your existing report.

• Run Financial Reports Header Maintenance (GHH), create a header, and select the format you created in Financial Reports Format Maintenance.

• Run Financial Reports Print (GP) and set your Program options. Click Other info to set additional options, like report type. If you want a report for a singe period, enter the same date for Enter beginning period and Enter beginning year (for example, 01 and 2009) and Enter ending period and Enter ending year (for example, 01 2009). Decide whether you want to select Exclude zero amounts?

• Print your report.

• If you did not get the results you want, run Financial Reports Format Maintenance and make adjustments. Suppose that the totals are not correct. You may want to isolate the sequences that are the problem by selecting N for Print for all lines after the calculation or all lines not involved in the calculation.

• You can also run Financial Reports Print (GP) and select the Select for worksheet format? Program option to print the accounts and totals that do not print on your report.

Troubleshooting

Audit Trail

To activate an audit trail, select one of the files listed below in the Audit Trail Maintenance (XAT) program. The system records all transactions. You can then run the Audit Trails (ATR) program and select that file to print a report of these transactions.

• GLDFH: Financial Statement Format Header

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