pro · Lesson 5 · 8 min
Reports a bookkeeper actually sends
Monthly pack: P&L, Balance Sheet, aged AR/AP, cash, and three sentences. Not forty PDFs.
Dotted words have a reminder. Hover on a computer, tap on a phone.
From earlier
- P&L
- AR
- AP
- CPA
- QBO
The pack
- Profit and Loss vs prior month (and vs YTD / last year if useful).
- Balance Sheet as of month-end.
- Aged Receivables and Aged Payables, with 30/60/90.
- Bank summary — every account rec’d, balances listed.
- Short commentary: cash, collection risk, one margin oddity, one action.
Xero reporting
Reporting hub: P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash flow, Budget vs actual, Aged reports, Sales by item/contact, Tracking summary. Save layouts. Schedule a send if the owner will actually read email. Draft invoices and unreconciled lines do not belong in a pack you have signed.
Cash-flow talk
Profit is not cash. A month with fat revenue and slow collections feels rich and then bounces payroll. Xero’s cash-flow forecast (plan-dependent: Early ~30 days, Growing ~60, Established ~180) only works if invoices, bills, and recs are current. Say that, in those words, in the commentary.
Check
Choices shuffle each visit. Misses send you back to the section. Look back clears the quiz so you can try again. Practice drills deal a new problem on try-again.
Choose an answer, then check.
This try
A useful monthly commentary always includes: