Financial Reports That Actually Make Sense

What financial reports does a small business need?

Big E-Z Books+ gives you Revenue & Expenses, Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Trial Balance, Budget vs. Actual, Cash Flow Projection, Job Cost by Tag, and more — all in plain English with one-click PDF generation.

This video explains what each report tells you and how to use them to make smarter business decisions. No accounting jargon required.

Video Script:

Reports. I know — the word alone might make you want to close this tab. But stick with me, because these reports are the reason you’re doing bookkeeping in the first place. They answer the question every business owner is really asking: “Am I making money?”

Big E-Z Books+ organizes your reports into three groups, and each one has a plain-English description so you always know what you’re looking at.

Operating Reports — these are your day-to-day insights:

  • Revenue & Expenses — What you earned and what you spent. Pick a time period — any month, quarter, year, or custom range — and see your totals broken down by category. One click generates a PDF you can share or keep for your records.
  • Budget vs. Actual — Did you spend more or less than you planned? Set a budget, and this report shows you exactly where you’re on track and where you need to adjust.
  • Cash Flow Projection — A 90-day forecast based on your real numbers and upcoming items. It’s like a crystal ball for your cash — except it’s based on math, not magic.
  • Job Cost by Tag — This one’s a game-changer if you run multiple projects or jobs. Tag your transactions, and this report shows you revenue, expenses, and net income per tag. So you can see exactly which jobs are profitable and which ones are costing you.
  • Uncategorized — A focused view of everything that still needs to be sorted. You can categorize or even split transactions right from this screen — like splitting a $500 purchase across three different expense categories.

Accountant-Requested Reports — these are the ones your CPA asks for:

  • Profit & Loss (aka Income Statement) — Revenue minus your cost of goods and operating expenses.
  • Balance Sheet — What you own, what you owe, and your net worth as a business.
  • Trial Balance — All your accounts and their balances at a glance.
  • General Ledger — Every transaction across every account, all in one searchable view.

Administrative Reports:

  • Audit Trail — Monthly close snapshots with frozen P&L and Balance Sheet PDFs, so your records stay locked once a month is closed.
  • Voided Items — Admin-only archive of anything that was voided, for fraud protection and accountability.

Every report can be filtered by date range, and most can be exported as a professional PDF with one click. Your PDF history is saved right inside the app, so you can always go back and find a report you generated three months ago.

Oh — and you’ll notice a little green “Fraud Protection Active” badge at the top of your reports. That’s because Big E-Z Books+ never permanently deletes financial data. Voided items are archived, not destroyed. Your books stay clean and honest.