Running reports in QuickBooks takes about three clicks once you know where to look. In QuickBooks Online, go to Reports in the left navigation menu. In QuickBooks Desktop, use the Reports menu at the top of the screen. You’ll see a list of standard reports organized by category.

The reports that matter most are the Profit and Loss statement, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows. These three tell you how your business is actually doing. The P&L shows revenue and expenses over a time period. The Balance Sheet shows assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time. Cash Flow shows where money came from and where it went.

Before running any report, set the date range. QuickBooks defaults to certain periods that may not match what you need. For a P&L, you might want to see the current month, the quarter, or year-to-date compared to last year. For a Balance Sheet, pick the specific date you want a snapshot of.

Click Customize or Modify Report to adjust what appears. You can filter by customer, class, location, or department depending on how your chart of accounts is structured. You can also toggle between cash basis and accrual basis. If you’re not sure which basis your business uses, check with whoever handles your small business tax preparation because the answer affects both your reports and your tax return.

Export options at the top of each report let you save to Excel or PDF. Most business owners find it easier to review reports in a spreadsheet where they can add notes or compare to previous periods.

Beyond the main three, a few other reports are worth checking regularly. Accounts Receivable Aging shows outstanding invoices and how overdue they are. Accounts Payable Aging shows what you owe vendors. The General Ledger provides transaction-level detail for any account if you need to track down a specific entry.

If your reports don’t look right or show unexpected numbers, the problem is usually in the underlying data. Reports can only summarize what’s been recorded. If transactions are miscategorized or posted to wrong accounts, the reports will reflect that. QuickBooks setup and training can help if your system needs to be configured properly from the start or if you’re not confident the current setup is giving you accurate information.