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Reporting - Creating a Report

This article will take you through the process of creating financial reports in Active Ledger by looking at the following topics:


Creating a new report

To create a new report navigate to the Reports screen in Active Ledger. From here click on + New Report to select the type of report you want to create.

Active Ledger has four standard reports (as well as the ability to create your own from an Empty report):

  • Special Purpose Financial Report
  • Accountants Report with Disclaimer
  • GPFR Simplified Disclosures
  • Management Report


For more information on creating a firm standard report see the administration guide - Reporting. New firm defaults can only be created by a user with administrator privileges. 



After selecting the appropriate report a user will be presented with the report settings page. There are three sections on this page: 

  1. General - General settings for the report, names, footers etc 
  2. Columns - The columns that will appear in the financial section of the report
  3. Pages - The settings for each individual page, including the layout of financial information 


1. General

The general settings fields are outlined below:


FieldDescriptionValidation
Template NameThis is the name given to the template. It is only saved to the local client file, not any other files. Required
Report TitleThis is the title of the report which will be displayed on the index page. Required
Style
(dropdown menu)
This will determine the look of the report. Styles can be created in the Admin Centre. For more information see the knowledge article: Reporting - Styles. 
Default Footer (dropdown menu)This is the default footer which will be applied to all pages within the report. Options:
- Compilation
- Internal use
- Those created in the Admin Centre
Use Report Dates from First Column
(checkbox)
When ticked the cover page and financial titles will display the report dates used in the first column.
Swinging BehaviourDetermines how accounts which are configured to swing should behave when their balances are negative.Options:
- Keeping Balances Together with Primary Column- Keep balances Together
- Separate
- Disable



2. Columns

In the columns section, a user can update and change the column layout for the report. Below is a summary of the different fields and how they can be used: 


FieldDescriptionValidation
Dataset
(dropdown menu)
Select the dataset from which the data will be displayed.
Note: It is possible to have multiple columns with the same dataset. This is useful for reporting different divisions or time periods.
Required
Select from the available datasets
Columns HeaderThese three headings will appear at the top of each financial page. By default, this will be the year and $ sign. These can be changed. This is useful when you wish to distinguish between actual and budget data.
Spread By
(dropdown menu)
This will create new columns based on the frequency selected, reducing your need to create multiple columns and filter by a specific date, division etc. This is useful for creating quick filters for reports.Options:
- Division
- Trading Account
- Month
- Quarter
Filters 
By Start Date
(date picker)
Only displays transactions after and including this date.Select a date within the dataset dates
By End Date
(date picker)
Only displays transactions before and including this date.Select a date within the dataset dates
By Division
(dropdown menu)
Filters the data shown to a single division. For more information on divisions see the knowledge article: Accounts - Divisions.Pick from the list of divisions for this client
By Trading Account
(dropdown menu)
Filters the data shown to a single trading account. For more information on trading accounts see the knowledge article: Accounts - Trading Accounts.Pick from the list of trading accounts for this client

Below is a sample of a completed column layout. The report will display only the Brisbane Office division with six months of data for each column and the variance between the two.



3. Pages

Active Ledger comes with a variety of customisable pages that can be used to generate a report:

  • Cover
  • Contents
  • Compilation Report - SPFR
  • Accountant's Report Disclaimer
  • Client Declaration
  • Profit and Loss
  • Statement of Comprehensive Income
  • Balance Sheet
  • Statement of Changes in Equity
  • Appropriation Statement
  • Direct Cash Flow Statement
  • Indirect Cash Flow Statement
  • Notes to the Financial Statements
  • Depreciation
  • Income Results
  • Cashflow Results
  • Working Capital Results
  • Blank


For more information on adding and customising different page types see the knowledge article: Reporting - Pages.


Generating a report template

There are four options when generating a report:

  • View in Browser (Default) - Select Generate Report button. Once opened in your browser you also have the option to export to Excel, PDF or Word
  • Export to PDF - select the arrow beside the Generate Report button and select PDF
  • Export to Excel - select the arrow beside the Generate Report button and select Excel
  • Export to Word - select the arrow beside the Generate Report button and select Word.

Or, you can choose to Save Only, by pressing the save icon.



Viewing a report in Excel


Unlike many other systems, Active Ledger is able to maintain the formatting and layout of your report when you export it to Excel. The Active Ledger add-in provides a formatting function that optimises row heights and page breaks. After exporting the report to Excel, click on the Format Report button of the Active Ledger add-in in the Home ribbon of Excel. You will get a pop-up (as well as a message at the bottom of the screen) indicating that the report is being formatted.



If you have not already done so you can download the Excel add-in directly from Microsoft AppSource by clicking here. Alternatively, follow the installation details that will appear after creating the data source as shown in the Installation knowledge article. 


Saving a report template

Once you have customised the pages and layouts of your report it is possible to save the report template for that client so it can be used again in the future.


WARNING: If you leave the Reports page to navigate to any other area in Active Ledger, any changes to your report layout will be lost unless you save the template first.


WARNING: If you make changes to a generated report (see the next knowledge article: Report Content Editor) these changes will not be saved to the report template and can only be saved to that particular report.


To save a report there are two options: 

  • Save Only (Default) - this will override the currently selected report settings for the current client
  • Save As - this will allow you to save the report as a new template for the current client



Regenerating reports

There are a number of ways to quickly regenerate and view reports from within various areas of Active Ledger.


Within the Reports screen


In the Reports screen you can click on the Run Report button next to any saved template. This saves you from having to enter the report template to generate the report. 



Run last report


If you need to navigate away from the generated report, say to allocate new unallocated accounts you had forgotten about, you can go to another screen make any necessary changes and then click on the Run Last Report button at the top of the screen without having to return to the Reports screen. In addition, after you close the report you will be taken back to the screen you were previously working on.


 

Note: This option is only available for reports generated from a saved report template.


Regenerating a report


Within a generated report you can use the Regenerate Report button to refresh the report with any changes made. This is particularly useful if you have the generated report open in one tab on your browser while working on journals or the chart of accounts in another tab.




Next article: Reporting - Pages

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