Guide
Monthly management report from QuickBooks Online or Xero
A monthly management report turns the month's books into the few pages the people who run the business actually read: how the month went, where cash stands, and what needs a decision. QuickBooks Online and Xero already hold every number it needs. The work is in the assembly: running the same reports every month, adding the comparisons, building a cash outlook and writing the commentary. This guide lists what the report should contain, which reports to run in each system and where they are, how to put them together in the same order every month, and how to have the report drafted from your own ledger instead.
Updated
What a monthly management report should contain
A management report is for the people who run the business, not for the tax return. It answers three questions: how did the month go, where does the cash stand, and what needs a decision.
- Profit and loss for the month, beside the prior month and, once you have the history, the same month last year.
- Balance sheet at the month end, beside the prior month end, so movements in cash, receivables, payables and debt are visible.
- Cash: the balance today and what is due in and out over the coming weeks — a 13-week forecast does this best.
- Working capital: who owes you and how late, and what you owe and when.
- Commentary: a few paragraphs on what moved, why it moved, and what you are doing about it.
Close the month first
Reports are only as good as the books under them. Reconcile the bank and card accounts, post the bills and invoices that belong to the month, and record any accruals your accountant uses. In QuickBooks Online, check the accounting method under Settings, Account and settings, Advanced; whichever method you choose, keep it the same every month so the comparisons mean something.
The reports to run in QuickBooks Online
- Profit and Loss, with Compare another period set to the previous period and the dollar change and percentage change columns selected.
- Balance Sheet at the month end, compared with the previous month end.
- A/R Aging and A/P Aging for working capital.
- Management reports (Reports, then Management reports) if you want Intuit's templates as a starting point.
Every menu, step by step: How to build a monthly management report from QuickBooks Online.
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The reports to run in Xero
- Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet for the month, each beside the prior month.
- Aged receivables and aged payables for working capital.
- Budget Variance, if you keep a budget: in the Reporting menu select All reports, then open Budget Variance. It reads the budgets set up in Budget Manager.
Reading the variances: Budget vs actual in Xero.
Put it together in the same order every month
Keep one template and one order: a one-page summary first, then the profit and loss, the balance sheet, cash and working capital, and the commentary last. Write the commentary from the variances, not the totals: name the line that moved, the accounts that moved it, by how much, and what you are doing about it.
Have it drafted from your ledger instead
- Your ledger. QuickBooks Online and Xero; NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Zoho Books and Business Central in beta.
- History from day one. The first connection reads the trailing 24 months, so the first report already compares each month with the same month last year.
- Every month on the 1st. A draft for the month just ended that waits for your approval — profit and loss, balance sheet, a 13-week cash forecast and the variances explained.
- A second reviewer. A second, independent AI reviewer reads every monthly narrative; an AI explanation that cites a source it was not given is held back, not published.
- Your budget, too. The Xero connection does not read Xero budgets; upload your budget as a CSV file and the report compares actual results with it.
- $599 a month for one company. The first month is free, and no card is needed to start it.
Questions
Which QuickBooks Online reports go into a monthly management report?
At minimum the Profit and Loss and the Balance Sheet for the month, each compared with the prior period. Most management reports add the A/R Aging and A/P Aging reports for working capital, and a short written commentary on what moved and why.
Where is the Budget Variance report in Xero?
In the Reporting menu, select All reports, then find and open Budget Variance. The search field in the top right corner finds it by name.
Can QuickBooks Online compare this month with last month?
Yes. On a report such as the Profit and Loss, use Compare another period to add the previous period, and select the dollar change and percentage change columns. The same option compares weeks, quarters and years.
Does Ataski change anything in my QuickBooks or Xero?
No. Ataski only issues read requests: it never posts a journal entry, never edits a transaction and never closes your books. Intuit's accounting permission has no read-only version, so the QuickBooks access you approve is technically read and write, but Ataski only reads.
How soon does the first report arrive?
Right after you connect, the first sync reads the trailing 24 months of your books, and your first report draft is prepared from it. After that the report is refreshed on the 1st of every month, for the month just ended, as a draft that waits for your approval.