Jim Merritt – October 6, 2025
Updated October 23, 2026

QuickBooks® Online (QBO) does much more than track income and expenses. When used correctly, its financial reports can help you understand how your business is performing, identify accounting problems, and make better financial decisions.

Unfortunately, many business owners rarely look beyond their bank account balance or Profit and Loss statement.

At QuickTrainer, Inc., we've been helping businesses use QuickBooks® software since 2006, and one thing we've learned is that having financial reports is not the same as understanding them.

Here are five essential QuickBooks® Online reports every small business owner should review regularly.

1. Profit and Loss Report: Is Your Business Making Money?

The Profit and Loss (P&L) report, sometimes called the Income Statement, summarizes your company's income, expenses, and net profit or loss over a selected period.

It answers one of the most important business questions: Are we actually making money?

For example, your company's sales might increase by 15%, but if expenses increase by 25%, profitability could decline despite higher revenue.

The P&L helps identify these trends before they become bigger problems.

What to review:

• Total income compared with previous months.

• Changes in operating expenses.

• Gross profit and net income.

• Unexpected or unusually large expenses.

QuickTrainer Tip: Run your P&L monthly, preferably after reconciling your bank and credit card accounts. Compare several months side by side to identify trends.

Learn more from Intuit's guide to running financial reports.

2. Balance Sheet: What Does Your Business Own and Owe?

The Balance Sheet provides a snapshot of your company's financial position on a particular date.

It includes three primary categories:

• Assets: What your business owns.

• Liabilities: What your business owes.

• Equity: The owners' financial interest in the business.

These amounts follow the basic accounting equation:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

For example, an unexpectedly large Accounts Receivable balance might indicate unpaid customer invoices, while an unusual negative liability balance could suggest transactions were recorded incorrectly.

QuickTrainer Tip: Review your Balance Sheet monthly. Pay particular attention to negative balances, old outstanding items, and accounts that don't appear reasonable.

If your Balance Sheet contains amounts you cannot explain, QuickTrainer's Data Review Services for QuickBooks® Users can help identify potential accounting problems.

3. Accounts Receivable Aging: Who Owes You Money?

Making sales is important, but collecting payments is what keeps cash flowing.

The Accounts Receivable (A/R) Aging report identifies customers with outstanding invoices and shows how long those balances have been unpaid.

Typically, the report separates outstanding amounts into aging categories such as:

• Current.

• 1–30 days past due.

• 31–60 days past due.

• 61–90 days past due.

• More than 90 days past due.

For example, a customer owing $8,000 for more than 90 days may require immediate attention.

QuickTrainer Tip: Review your A/R Aging report weekly. Follow up on overdue invoices and investigate credits or unapplied payments that might be affecting customer balances.

You can find additional guidance in Intuit's Accounts Receivable Aging Report instructions.

If you need help understanding customer payments, invoices, or aging reports, QuickTrainer's One-on-One Training for QuickBooks Users can provide personalized instruction.

4. Accounts Payable Aging: Who Does Your Business Owe?

The Accounts Payable (A/P) Aging report is essentially the opposite of Accounts Receivable.

It shows outstanding vendor bills and how long those amounts have remained unpaid.

This report helps you:

• Identify overdue vendor bills.

• Plan upcoming payments.

• Avoid unnecessary late fees.

• Maintain positive vendor relationships.

• Anticipate short-term cash requirements.

For example, an upcoming $12,000 vendor payment could significantly affect your available cash.

QuickTrainer Tip: Review your A/P Aging report weekly, especially if your business enters bills into QuickBooks® and pays them at a later date.

Keep in mind that expenses recorded directly through checks or expense transactions generally won't appear as outstanding A/P bills.

If your A/P balances contain old or duplicate bills, QuickTrainer's Cleanup Services for QuickBooks® Users can help correct those problems.

5. Statement of Cash Flows: Where Is Your Money Going?

A business can report a profit and still struggle to pay its bills.

That's why the Statement of Cash Flows is so important.

This report organizes cash activity into three categories:

• Operating activities: Cash generated or used by normal business operations.

• Investing activities: Cash associated with certain asset purchases and sales.

• Financing activities: Cash related to borrowing, debt repayment, and certain owner transactions.

For example, purchasing expensive equipment or paying down a business loan may significantly reduce cash even when the P&L shows a profit.

QuickTrainer Tip: Review cash flow monthly and compare it with your P&L. Understanding the difference between profitability and available cash is essential for financial planning.

How to Access These Reports in QuickBooks® Online

To run these reports:

1. Navigate to Reports → Standard reports.

2. Search for the desired report.

3. Select the appropriate reporting period.

4. Verify whether the report is using Cash or Accrual accounting, where applicable.

5. Review, customize, print, or export the results.

You can also save customized reports for future use. Features and available reports vary by subscription.

If you're establishing a new QuickBooks® company file, our Setup Services for QuickBooks® Users can help organize your Chart of Accounts so your financial reports provide more meaningful information.

The Bottom Line: Don't Just Run Reports—Understand Them

These five reports provide valuable insights into your company's profitability, financial position, collections, obligations, and cash flow.

However, even beautifully formatted reports can contain incorrect information when transactions haven't been recorded properly.

Reliable financial reports begin with accurate bookkeeping.

If you'd rather have professional assistance maintaining your financial records, QuickTrainer offers Bookkeeping Services for QuickBooks® Users.

Need Help Understanding Your QuickBooks® Reports?

Whether you're struggling to understand your P&L, questioning Balance Sheet balances, or simply want more confidence in your numbers, QuickTrainer, Inc. can help.

We provide personalized training, data review, cleanup, setup, and bookkeeping services tailored to your business.

QuickTrainer is located in Wilmington, NC and works remotely with businesses throughout the United States.

📞 Call QuickTrainer at 910-338-0488
📧 Email: [email protected]
🌐 www.qti-wilmington.com

Let QuickTrainer give you back your time.

Intuit, QuickBooks, and QuickBooks ProAdvisor are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. used with permission under the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Agreement.