Report Optimizations — Complete User Guide — Two Accounts Web

A comprehensive guide covering how a user reaches Reports > Report Optimizations, how the feature is enabled and configured, every field of the template and of a generated report, and how the figures are calculated from the general ledger and validated against accounting practice.

Table of Contents

1. 1. What Are Report Optimizations?
2. 2. Prerequisites Before You Can Use Them
3. 3. How the Feature Becomes Available
4. 4. Related Configuration in Settings
   • 4.1 The Report Optimizations Configuration Screen
   • 4.2 Reporting Categories
   • 4.3 Report Optimization Labels
   • 4.4 Custom Fields
5. 5. Designing a Template — Field-by-Field
   • 5.1 Template Header Fields
   • 5.2 Report Items (Rows)
   • 5.3 Figures per Column
   • 5.4 Special Sections
   • 5.5 Publishing the Template
6. 6. Generating a Report — Step by Step
7. 7. Field-by-Field Guide to a Generated Report
8. 8. How Each Value Is Calculated
   • 8.1 Figure Basis
   • 8.2 Accrual vs. Cash Basis
   • 8.3 Entity and Tax Filters
   • 8.4 Special Period and Sign Modifiers
   • 8.5 Row, Column Layout and Output
9. 9. Sample Data and Output
   • 9.1 Sample Setup
   • 9.2 The Template
   • 9.3 Ledger Data
   • 9.4 Report Output
   • 9.5 Verification
   • 9.6 Cash-Basis Illustration
10. 10. Effects on the Rest of the System
11. 11. Behaviour Nuances and Cautions
12. 12. Accounting Standards Considerations

1. What Are Report Optimizations?

Report Optimizations are user-designed report templates. With them you build your own tabular reports — row by row, column by column — that pull figures directly from the general ledger. Under Reports, the “Report Optimizations” category collects the templates you have published; inside each template you create dated report instances, and the system renders each one as a formatted, printable table of ledger figures.

Key characteristics:

• It is a customisable reporting engine, not one fixed statement. The layout, labels, and figures are defined once in a template and reused.
• Its figures are computed from the general ledger at view time — the report is derived, never imputed.
• Generated reports are read-only; they post no transactions.
• They are management / entity-specific reports (for example VAT-style returns or segment statements), not the statutory Financial Statements themselves.

2. Prerequisites Before You Can Use Them

1. User permission. The user must have permission to view the Report Optimizations area; without it, the category is not shown.
2. A template must exist and be published. Only templates marked Published appear under Reports > Report Optimizations. (Country-localized templates supplied with the system may also appear if the business’s country provides them.)
3. Reporting building blocks must be present for whatever figures the template uses — typically Reporting Categories (which amounts are summed) and optionally Report Optimization Labels (static text) and Custom Fields (entity details).
4. Ledger activity must exist in the report period, with appropriate tax codes / reporting categories assigned on transactions, so the chosen figures can be resolved.

3. How the Feature Becomes Available

Unlike many other reports, Report Optimizations is not governed by a switch in the Customize Menu on the navigation bar. Its availability is driven by three facts working together:

1. Feature permission — the user’s profile must be allowed to view the Report Optimizations namespace.
2. Published templates — at least one template must have been created and marked Published (or the country configuration must supply templates).
3. No templates requirement — if the country is not configured to supply templates and none have been published, the section is hidden.

In practice, the enable-and-run sequence is:

1. Go to Settings and open the Report Optimizations configuration screen.
2. Create template(s) with the desired rows/columns, then set Published on the ones you want visible.
3. Open Reports; the “Report Optimizations” category now lists each published template.
4. Click a template to open its reports, generate a new report for a period, and view it.

4. Related Configuration in Settings

4.1 The Report Optimizations Configuration Screen

Where: Settings > Report Optimizations.

This screen lists all report templates you have created (alphabetically, by name) and offers a New action to create one. Each template can be opened (viewed/previewed), edited, or cloned. The list is empty until you create a template.

4.2 Reporting Categories

Where: Settings > Reporting Categories.

Reporting Categories are the “figure building blocks” a template’s cells use. They attach labels and rules to amounts that flow through the ledger — for example separate categories for net sales, tax on sales, net purchases, tax on purchases, reverse-charged amounts, and payslip income items. When a template places one of these in a column, the cell becomes the sum of that category’s ledger amounts for the report period. Configuring these well is what makes a template's figures correct and complete.

4.3 Report Optimization Labels

Where: Settings > Reporting Categories > Labels (Report Optimization Labels).

Labels are simple static text values (for example a company suffix, a title line, or a fixed note) that can be placed in a cell alongside or instead of a numeric figure. They give you control over the wording that appears in your custom report.

4.4 Custom Fields

Where: Settings > Custom Fields.

Custom fields capture extra details against employees, suppliers, or the business itself. A template figure can display such a value (for example a supplier registration number or an employee identifier) in a column, which is useful for return-style reports that carry reference numbers.

5. Designing a Template — Field-by-Field

5.1 Template Header Fields

5.2 Report Items (Rows)

Each template contains a list of report items, one per row of the report. Each item has:

5.3 Figures per Column

A column is not limited to a single amount — it can hold several figures whose values are combined to produce the cell. Figures can be:

5.4 Special Sections

5.5 Publishing the Template

Set Published to make the template appear under Reports > Report Optimizations. Unpublished templates remain fully editable in Settings but are not listed under Reports. You can preview a template’s figures from its view in Settings before publishing.

6. Generating a Report — Step by Step

1. Ensure the feature is available (Section 3) and a template is Published.
2. Open the Reports area; scroll to the “Report Optimizations” category.
3. Click the published template you want to use.
4. The system shows the list of report instances already created from that template (each with From Date, To Date, Employee where applicable, and Description), plus a “New Report” button.
5. Click New Report.
6. Enter the From Date and To Date for this particular report (pre-filled from the template’s default period).
7. Choose the Accounting Method (only if the template enables it) — Accrual or Cash basis.
8. Choose the Employee (only if the template targets a specific employee).
9. Enter an optional Description for the report instance.
10. Save, then open (View) the report to see the populated table.

7. Field-by-Field Guide to a Generated Report

7.1 Fields You Set When Creating a Report Instance

7.2 What the Report Shows

A generated report is a printed-style table with:

8. How Each Value Is Calculated

8.1 Figure Basis

For each figure = the sum, in the base currency, of general ledger transactions that:

  - belong to the figure's reporting category  (or its reversed counterpart, subtracted), and
  - fall within the report period:  From Date <= date <= To Date
     (or from 1 July of the period's year when that period figure is used)

Text figures (labels, custom fields, dynamic fields) are displayed as-is.
The cell = the combined value (numeric figures added; text figures joined)

The numbers printed are therefore exactly the ledger’s own amounts — the report adds nothing of its own and never creates entries.

8.2 Accrual vs. Cash Basis

Accrual basis:  sums all posted transactions in the period (sales and purchase invoices
                are counted on their invoice dates, whether or not cash has moved).

Cash basis:     sales and purchase invoices are converted to a cash basis first —
                the system matches invoices with their receipts/payments and counts
                only the amounts whose cash was actually received/paid in the period.

A report that enables the accounting method lets you choose which basis to use for each report instance, giving figures consistent with the intended accounting basis.

8.3 Entity and Tax Filters

• Single employee: when the template targets an employee, only that employee’s transactions are included.
• Per-supplier sections: each supplier block uses only that supplier’s transactions; a supplier is included only if it has activity inside the period and, when set, satisfies the supplier custom-field condition.
• Tax on sales: keeps only transactions that are sales (or have no tax code).
• Tax on purchases: keeps only transactions that are purchases.

8.4 Special Period and Sign Modifiers

Reversed category : the category amount is subtracted (its ledger lines are reversed).
Reverse sign      : the whole figure is multiplied by -1.
Set zero if neg   : a negative figure is floored to zero.
Hide if empty     : the cell (and, if all its cells are empty, the row) is hidden.

8.5 Row, Column Layout and Output

The template’s chosen number of columns determines how many figure columns are printed after the row-label column. Report items render in order; items marked as headers span the full width. Per-supplier and per-employee blocks follow the main rows. The report is printable and can be exported; every numeric cell links to the underlying transactions for audit.

9. Sample Data and Output

The following example uses base currency BDT and a simple VAT-style template.

9.1 Sample Setup

9.2 The Template

Template “Quarterly Sales & Purchases”:

• Columns: 3 (Net, Tax, Total)
• Rows:
  • “Sales” — Column 1: Net Sales category; Column 2: Tax on Sales; Column 3: Total Sales = Net + Tax
  • “Purchases” — Column 1: Net Purchases; Column 2: Tax on Purchases; Column 3: Total Purchases
• Suppliers: Enabled, with one “Purchases” row per supplier
• Published: Yes

9.3 Ledger Data (Period)

9.4 Report Output

Quarterly Sales & Purchases — for the period 01-Jan-2026 to 31-Mar-2026 (Accrual basis)

Per-supplier breakdown (from the supplier rows):

9.5 Verification

Sales:        Net = 50,000 + 30,000 + 20,000 = 100,000.00
              Tax =  5,000 +  3,000 +  2,000 =  10,000.00
              Total = 100,000 + 10,000       = 110,000.00   ✓  (Net + Tax = Total)

Purchases:    Net = 25,000 + 15,000 = 40,000.00
              Tax =  2,500 +  1,500 =  4,000.00
              Total = 40,000 + 4,000 = 44,000.00           ✓

Per-supplier tie-out:
              S1  Total 27,500.00  +  S2  Total 16,500.00  =  44,000.00   ✓
              S1  Net 25,000 + Tax 2,500  = 27,500.00      ✓
              S2  Net 15,000 + Tax 1,500  = 16,500.00      ✓

All figures equal the base-currency sums of the posted invoices:
              110,000 + 33,000 + 22,000 (sales totals)  = 165,000.00 cash on invoices issued
              (accrual includes every invoice dated in the period regardless of payment)   ✓

9.6 Cash-Basis Illustration

Suppose the 15-Mar invoice A3 (22,000, of which tax 2,000) had not been paid by 31-Mar, while all purchases had been paid. Re-running the same report on Cash basis would produce:

Cash-basis sales:  55,000 + 33,000       =  88,000.00   (tax 8,000.00)
Cash-basis purchases: 27,500 + 16,500    =  44,000.00   (tax 4,000.00)

  (The unpaid 22,000 A3 invoice is excluded because its cash had not been received;
   its amounts would appear in the period in which it is actually settled.)

10. Effects on the Rest of the System

Report Optimizations are derived and create no ledger entries. Their relationships with the rest of the system:

11. Behaviour Nuances and Cautions

• Not a standard statement. A report optimization is a management/return-style custom report, not a statutory Financial Statement; statutory statements remain the standard balance sheet, profit and loss, and cash flow reports.
• Publishing controls visibility. Only Published templates appear under Reports. Keep the flag off while designing; switch it on when the template is ready.
• User permission is required. The category is not shown to users without permission to the Report Optimizations area.
• No Customize-menu switch. You cannot toggle this category from the navigation-bar customize menu; it follows templates/permissions instead.
• Figures tie to the ledger. A cell is only as correct as the categories assigned to transactions — check reporting-category assignment on the actual transactions if a figure looks incomplete.
• Cash basis changes the timing. Switching a report instance to cash basis moves unsettled invoices out of the period; make sure the basis matches the intended accounting policy for that return.
• Text vs numeric cells. When a column contains a mix of text and amounts, it becomes a single text cell; design columns to be consistently numeric (or text-only) for clean printed tables.
• Hidden/zero rows. Cells marked “hide if empty” disappear when empty; rows whose cells are all hidden are dropped from the report.
• Read-only output. Opening and printing a report changes nothing; corrections are made on the source transactions and the report re-computed.
• Clone before major edits. Use the Clone action to create a variant of a template before changing the original.

12. Accounting Standards Considerations

Report Optimizations is a custom reporting tool, but its design supports sound accounting practice.

12.1 Faithful Representation and Traceability — IASB Conceptual Framework

Principle: Information must faithfully represent the transactions it claims to represent and be verifiable.

Alignment: Every figure is an exact base-currency sum of posted general-ledger transactions and links to those transactions. There is no estimation, no imputation, and no opportunity for the printed report to diverge from the books without explanation.

12.2 Consistency and Comparability — IAS 1 and IAS 8

Principle: The same accounting policies and classifications should be applied consistently so results are comparable between periods.

Alignment: A template fixes the layout and the categories it reads, so identical reports can be generated for consecutive periods using the same definitions. Choice of accrual or cash basis is explicit and recorded on each report instance.

12.3 Cash vs. Accrual Basis

Principle: Accounting results depend on the basis adopted (accrual is usual under IFRS; cash basis may be used where the framework allows).

Alignment: The template lets you state the basis and the report prints it. When cash basis is selected, the system matches invoices to their receipts/payments before summing, mirroring the cash-basis measurement principle.

12.4 Revenue and Tax Classification — mapping to VAT / GST frameworks

Principle: Returns for sales tax regimes (e.g., VAT/GST) require net amounts, tax amounts, and totals to be correctly separated and attributed by period.

Alignment: Reporting categories together with the Tax-on-Sales / Tax-on-Purchases figures and per-supplier breakdowns allow a template to reproduce the box layout of a VAT-style return — e.g., net purchases by supplier, tax amounts, and totals — computed directly from transactions that carry the appropriate tax codes.

12.5 Internal Control and Approval

Principle: Reports that feed filings or management decisions should be repeatable, reviewable, and permission-controlled.

Alignment: Templates are only visible when published and permissioned; report outputs are read-only; every figure is drillable. This gives reviewers an auditable path from a printed figure back to the underlying posting — a strong control trait for any report used for filing or for management conclusions.

End of Report Optimizations Guide