Financial Reports: Common Questions

Where is my Net Surplus/Deficit amount coming from?
 
The Net Surplus/Deficit is calculated at the time the Financial Statement is run using the following equation: Net Surplus/Deficit = Revenue – Expenses + Gifts – Transfers + Gains –Losses.
 
If you want to know which transactions make up that value, you must report on the activity within those categories of accounts. You may run the General Ledger Report filtered on the Income Statement account categories for the period being reported in order to see the transactions making up the balance. The grand total of the report will match the Net/Surplus Deficit.
 
Why do my Financial Statements’ Fund Balance amounts not match my Account Reports’ and Account Activity tab balances?
 
Financial Statements calculate the Net Surplus/Deficit, otherwise they would not balance. The Account Reports and Records do not. If the Trial Balance calculated the Net Surplus/Deficit, the Trial Balance would not balance. For which reports to compare to each other, please refer to my previous blog post “Financial Reports: Comparing Figures”.
 
What exactly do the amounts on the Account Activity tab, General Ledger Report and Trial Balance represent?
 
The above mentioned amounts represent the actual balance + adjustments (journal entries) made directly to the fund balance account for the time period it is run. They do not net the surplus/deficit into the values.
 
 
What are some basic troubleshooting steps if the mentioned reports do not match?
 
Check out one of my favorite articles: How to troubleshoot report totaling problems and missing accounts. It has a go-to list of steps that will eliminate totaling problems.