---
title: "5 Essential QuickBooks reports to review monthly"
date: 2025-04-08
author: "Catrina Briscoe"
featured_image: "https://beachfleischman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-0407-5-QuickBooks-reports-to-review-each-month_blog.avif"
categories:
  - name: "Outsourced Accounting & Advisory Services"
    url: "/category/soar/outsourced-accounting-services.md"
tags:
  - name: "quickbooks"
    url: "/tag/quickbooks.md"
  - name: "reporting"
    url: "/tag/reporting.md"
---

# 5 Essential QuickBooks reports to review monthly

Regularly reviewing financial reports in **QuickBooks®** helps business owners [monitor performance, manage cash flow, and stay compliant with tax and accounting requirements](https://beachfleischman.com/soar/accounting-services-phoenix-tucson-arizona-accountants-cpas/). If you’re using **accrual-basis accounting**, these five reports should be part of your monthly routine.

  Note

Before running reports, confirm QuickBooks is set to accrual basis (not cash).





## 1. Profit and Loss Report – Track Revenue and Expenses

Also known as the income statement, this report shows your **revenue, expenses, and net income** for a specific period. Use it to:

- Evaluate profitability
- Identify trends by comparing to prior periods
- Monitor expense categories and margins

Customize by business unit, class, or location to see what’s driving profits—or where costs may be out of control.

## 2. Balance Sheet – Assess Financial Health

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of your **assets, liabilities, and equity** at a point in time. Monthly reviews help you:

- Track working capital
- Monitor debt levels
- Identify irregularities like aging inventory or unpaid liabilities

QuickBooks allows filtering by department or class for more detailed analysis.

## 3. Accounts Receivable Aging Summary – Monitor Customer Payments

This report shows **unpaid customer invoices**, grouped by how long they’ve been overdue (e.g., 30, 60, 90+ days). Reviewing it monthly helps you:

- Stay on top of slow-paying customers
- Reduce bad debt risk
- Improve cash collections

Customize by customer type or sales rep to identify billing or process issues.

## 4. Accounts Payable Aging Summary – Manage Vendor Obligations

Use this report to track **outstanding bills** and avoid late fees or damaged vendor relationships. Monthly reviews help:

- Prioritize payments based on due dates
- Manage cash flow more strategically
- Identify areas for cost control or vendor negotiations

Group expenses by vendor type or department for clearer insight.

## 5. Statement of Cash Flows – Understand Liquidity

This report shows how cash moves through your business via:

- **Operating activities**
- **Investing activities**
- **Financing activities**

It helps ensure that operations are generating enough cash to sustain the business and highlights any liquidity issues.

View month-by-month or on a rolling basis to uncover patterns and prepare for upcoming expenses.

## Customize Reports for Better Decision-Making

QuickBooks reports can be filtered by class, customer, vendor, or location. You can also:

- Add/remove columns
- Apply custom date ranges
- Memorize reports for monthly review
- Bundle multiple reports into a branded, presentation-ready package

Scheduling reports to auto-generate and email each month can streamline internal meetings and lender communications.

## Make Monthly Reviews a Habit

QuickBooks automates much of the reporting process, but interpreting the results takes experience. If you’re unsure how to set up, customize, or analyze your reports, [we can help](https://beachfleischman.com/soar/accounting-services-phoenix-tucson-arizona-accountants-cpas/). Contact us to get more value out of your QuickBooks data and make more informed business decisions.

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