Run Your Balance Sheet

Your P&LP&LProfit and loss statement. Shows your sales, costs and profit for a period. tells you how you did over a stretch of time. Your Balance Sheet is a snapshot of where you stand on one day: what you own (cash in the bank, money customers owe you, equipment), what you owe (vendor bills, credit cards, loans) and what’s left over for the owners (equity).

It’s the report your bank, your investors and your accountant will ask for. It’s also the quickest way to answer “how much cash do we really have?”

Before you start

• Your chart of accounts is set up.
• Your bank accounts are reconciled through the date you’re running. That way the cash on your Balance Sheet matches the bank. See Reconcile your bank accounts.

Step 1 Run the Balance Sheet

Click Reports in the sidebar. Under Financial Statements, click Run next to Balance Sheet.

Your Balance Sheet opens right away, as of today, for all your locations.

Step 2 Choose your report options

Click Options at the top right, or click the As-of date or Location chip under the title. The Report options window opens. Nothing changes until you click Run report.

• As of: the day you want the snapshot for. Running it for the last day of a month or period is the most common, like a month-end closeMonth-end closeChecking and finalizing a month's books so your reports for that month are complete and accurate. or a bank’s request.
• Entity and location: leave All entities and All locations checked to see the whole group, or check just the ones you want.
• Columns: Total for one column, or Entity or Location to see each one side by side.
• Compare: sets two things side by side, with the difference between them. See “Compare two columns” below.
• Show unapproved: includes transactions that haven’t been approved yet.

Click Run report.

Compare two columns

Turn on Compare to set two things against each other, like this month-end and last month-end, or two locations. It replaces Columns, since the comparison sets the columns.

1. Under Compare by, choose Entity, Location, Month, or a Fiscal Calendar or Operational Calendar Period, Quarter or Year.
2. Pick the First and Second to compare. Click the arrows between them to swap the two.
3. To add another comparison, click Add comparison. Click the × to remove one.
4. Click Run report.

Each period is the balance as of its last day. Each comparison adds three columns: First, Second and Variance, which is the Second minus the First, with a percent. A Variance figure doesn’t open the General ledger. The two picks need to be different, or the comparison is left out.

Save your options as a view

At the top of Report options, the View box lists your saved views. To save one, set your options, click Save as view, type a Name your view and click Save view. It keeps your options and filters, including Compare, but not the As of date. To use one, pick it from the list and click Run report. To remove one, click the trash can next to it, then Delete view.

Views are yours alone, and each report keeps its own list. The view you ran shows as a View chip under the title.

Step 3 Read your Balance Sheet

Your report has three parts:

• Assets: what the business owns, like cash, money customers owe you (accounts receivable), prepaid expenses and equipment.
• Liabilities: what the business owes, like unpaid vendor bills (accounts payable), credit cards, sales tax and loans.
• Equity: what’s left for the owners. It includes YTD Net Income, which DishBooks adds next to Retained Earnings for you. Assets always equal liabilities plus equity, which is why it’s called a balance sheet.

Accounts sit under their parent account with a total under each group, just like your P&L.

See what’s behind a number

Click any line to open the General ledger for that account, with every transaction that makes up the balance.

Share your Balance Sheet

Click Export at the top right to download it as a CSV or PDF.

Need to make a change?

Want a different date or location? Click Options or a chip at the top, change what you need and click Run report. Your report updates in place.

Tips and common questions

My cash doesn’t match the bank.

Make sure your bank account is reconciled through the as-of date. Then look for unapproved bank activity, or turn on Show unapproved to see if that’s the difference.

Why is a cash account negative?

Usually money went out of the account in DishBooks without the deposit that covered it, or a transfer was only recorded on one side. Click the line to see the transactions.

What’s Undeposited Funds?

Money you’ve taken in but haven’t deposited at the bank yet, like cash and checks waiting to go to the bank. It should clear out once the deposit hits your bank account.

How do I see this month-end against last month-end?

Turn on Compare, choose Compare by Month, and pick the two months. Read the Variance column for the change.

How often should I look at it?

At least at every month-end close. It’s the best check that your books are in good shape.

What’s next

See how your cash moved, and why it’s different from your profit.