Best Reporting Options for Simplifying QuickBooks Desktop

Edgar de Wit

Are you a QuickBooks Desktop user tired of spending hours manually formatting and compiling reports in Excel? Well, we have some excellent news for you! Some game-changing alternatives will simplify your reporting processes and save you valuable time. Say goodbye to the days of endless data entry and hello to streamlined, efficient reporting solutions.

Introduction to QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks Desktop is powerful yet straightforward accounting software that helps small businesses manage their finances. QuickBooks Desktop offers many features and customization options for each business's unique needs.

While QuickBooks Desktop is easy to use, some businesses find it helpful to have an accountant or bookkeeper set up and manage their financial records. Others outgrow QuickBooks Desktop as their business grows and need more advanced accounting software. Accurate financial records are essential no matter the stage of your business. QuickBooks Desktop can simplify your reporting processes, helping you save time and money.

Benefits of QuickBooks Desktop Reports

QuickBooks Desktop reports offer several advantages over Excel. Most importantly, they are designed specifically for businesses using QuickBooks Desktop, while Excel is a general-purpose spreadsheet application. This means that QuickBooks Desktop reports are more compatible and functional with QuickBooks Desktop data than Excel.

In addition, QuickBooks Desktop reports offer several features not available in Excel, such as the ability to customize reports to show only the information relevant to your business and schedule reports to be generated and emailed automatically. QuickBooks Desktop also offers several built-in report types that can track various aspects of your business, such as sales, expenses, inventory, and more.

Challenges of Exporting to Excel for Quickbooks Users

Some users need help exporting data from QuickBooks Desktop into Excel. The data export process is often fraught with errors, and the resultant file can be challenging. QuickBooks Desktop supports only some of Excel's more advanced features, such as pivot tables. As a result, many users need help to use Excel to generate reports from their QuickBooks data.

Alternatives to Excel for QuickBooks Desktop Users

QuickBooks Desktop is excellent accounting software for businesses. However, one drawback is that it needs a built-in reporting tool, making it difficult to generate reports regularly.

A few alternatives to Excel can be used for reporting in QuickBooks Desktop. One option is to use the QuickBooks Statement Writer, a tool that helps you create custom reports. Another option is to export data from QuickBooks Desktop into Excel and then use Excel to create reports.

Both options have pros and cons. The best choice for you will depend on your specific needs.

Examples of Alternatives for Reporting Processes

There are several alternatives to Excel for QuickBooks Desktop users who want to simplify their reporting processes. Some of these alternatives include:

1. QuickBooks reporting tools: QuickBooks has several built-in reporting tools that can generate reports on various dimensions of your business.
2. Statement Tool: The Report Statement tool allows you to create custom reports in QuickBooks Desktop that are explicitly tailored to your needs.
3. Export data to Excel: You can export data from QuickBooks Desktop into Excel and then use Excel to create reports.Exporting data to Excel offers the most flexibility but can be the most time-consuming.
4. External reporting tools: Several third-party reporting tools are available with QuickBooks Desktop. These tools often offer more features and flexibility than the built-in QuickBooks tools.

How does a third-party reporting tool work?

Our XLReporting platform is often used to improve reporting. Quickbooks Desktop users often face the challenge of reporting multiple companies, and a certain degree of consolidation plays a role. Unlike the Online version, Quickbooks Desktop has no external API connection option. That's fine because XLReporting can import your Trial Balance per company.

After importing XLReporting knows your organizational and reporting structures, you no longer have to consider them when designing your reports. The latter is also not an issue because you have XLReporting access to an extensive library of report templates.

QuickBooks Desktop users looking for alternatives to Excel have many options. A solution like XLReporting can simplify the reporting process by eliminating the manual data entry associated with a spreadsheet. With these and other third-party solutions available, QuickBooks Desktop users now have more ways to create reports quickly and accurately.

If you use Quickbooks Desktop and want to learn how to use XLReporting, please contact us. We can explain it all.