> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dualentry.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Run the Financial Statements and Trial Balance

> Run the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and trial balance for a period and company, then drill into a line to its transactions.

Use this guide to run the income statement, balance sheet, statement of cash flows, and Trial Balance Summary for a chosen period and company, then trace a line on a statement back to the transactions behind it. For what each report contains and how the views differ, see the [standard financial statements reference](./standard-financial-statements).

## Before you start

To follow these steps, you need the following:

* **Permission**: your role includes the financial statements permission. These roles include it by default: Admin, Controller, Accountant, Finance, and View-Only. See [user roles and permissions](../platform-configuration/user-roles-and-permissions) for what each role can do.
* **Posted activity**: at least one posted transaction in the period you want to report on. The reports read posted ledger data only, so drafts and transactions awaiting approval do not appear.

## Set the period and company on any report

Every report in this guide uses the same two controls in the report header, so set them the same way each time.

1. Open the **date range** picker in the report header and choose a preset such as **Last Month** or **Year to Date**, or enter a start and end date. The report reloads as soon as you change the dates. The first time you open a report, it shows year to date.
2. Select the **Company** button (the building icon) in the report header, choose one or more companies, and select **Apply**.
3. If your companies report in different currencies, choose a reporting currency from the currency picker in the report header. See [multi-currency reporting](./multi-currency-reporting) for the rate options.

Each report remembers the last preset you picked on it, such as **Last Month**, and uses it the next time you open that report. Dates you type or pick on the calendar are not remembered, and one report's preset does not carry over to another, so set the period on each report when you run all four.

## Run the income statement

The income statement shows revenue and expenses for the date range you choose.

1. Go to **Reports → Report Center** and choose **Income Statement Summary** in the **Financial Statements** group.
2. Set the period and company as described in [Set the period and company on any report](#set-the-period-and-company-on-any-report).
3. Use the chevrons beside each row, or **Expand one level** and **Collapse one level** in the toolbar, to show the accounts under each subtotal.

The report now shows gross profit, operating income, and net income for the period.

## Run the balance sheet

The balance sheet shows assets, liabilities, and equity, with balances that include every posted transaction through the end of the date range.

1. Go to **Reports → Report Center** and choose **Balance Sheet Summary** in the **Financial Statements** group.
2. Set the period and company in the report header.
3. Set the end date of the range to the date you want the balance sheet as of, and keep the start date in the same fiscal year, for example with **Year to Date**. The start date sets which fiscal year counts as current, which decides what shows as **Net Income** and what shows as **Retained Earnings**.
4. Confirm that total assets equal total liabilities plus equity.

## Run the statement of cash flows

The statement of cash flows reconciles net income to cash from operations, then shows investing and financing activity.

1. Go to **Reports → Report Center** and choose **Cash Flow Summary** in the **Financial Statements** group.
2. Set the period and company in the report header.
3. The statement opens with one column per month. To change the split, select **Columns** in the toolbar and choose **Year** or **Quarter**, or choose **Total** for a single column covering the whole period.

The statement ends with the reconciliation from beginning cash to ending cash for the period.

## Run the trial balance

The Trial Balance Summary lists every account with a balance and its debit and credit totals for the period.

1. Go to **Reports → Report Center → Accounting → Trial Balance Summary**.
2. In the report header, set the same period and company you used for the statements.
3. Confirm that total debits equal total credits.

When you run it with the same filters, the trial balance ties to the balance sheet and income statement. If a statement figure looks wrong and the trial balance agrees with it, the problem is in the ledger rather than the statement layout.

## Drill into an income statement line

The detail view of a report lists the transactions behind each account, with the same filters as the summary view. This section traces an income statement line to its transactions. The balance sheet and trial balance work the same way.

1. On **Income Statement Summary**, find the line you want to trace.
2. Select the line's amount, or the account name on an account row. DualEntry opens **Detail view**, filtered to that account and the period of the column you selected.
3. Expand the account row to list its transactions. Each transaction row shows its **Record No**, **Posting Date**, and **Amount**, among other columns, followed by a total row for the account.
4. Select a transaction's **Record No** to open the source record, such as the journal entry, invoice, or bill, in a new browser tab.

You can also switch to **Detail view** with the tab in the report header. The tab keeps your filters but shows every account, not only the one you selected.

On the trial balance, selecting an account opens **Trial Balance Detail** for that account. On the balance sheet, the retained earnings line opens the **General Ledger** report instead. That report lists only entries posted directly to the retained earnings account, so its total does not match the balance sheet figure, which also includes net income from prior fiscal years.

## Trace a cash flow line

The statement of cash flows has no detail view (the [standard financial statements reference](./standard-financial-statements#summary-and-detail-views) explains why). Trace its lines in one of these ways instead:

* **Account-based lines**: select the amount to open the **General Ledger** report, filtered to the accounts or account types behind the line.
* **Net income**: select the amount to open **Income Statement Detail** for the period.
* **Lines with no link**: run the **General Ledger** report, or **Trial Balance Detail**, for the accounts in that cash flow category over the same period.

## Troubleshooting

These are the most common reasons the reports do not show what you expect:

* **A report is missing from Report Center**: your role does not include the financial statements permission. Ask an administrator to check your role under [roles and permissions](../platform-configuration/user-roles-and-permissions).
* **An account is missing from the trial balance**: reports hide zero-balance accounts by default. Select **Open report settings** (the gear icon) in the report toolbar, and under **Report Format**, turn off **Exclude zero balance**.
* **A transaction is missing from detail view**: check that it is posted and that its date falls inside the date range. The **Date / Period Mismatch** report in the **Accounting** group lists transactions dated outside the period they posted to.
* **The balance sheet and income statement disagree**: check that both use the same end date and the same companies.

## Related pages

* [Standard financial statements reference](./standard-financial-statements)
* [Flux reporting](./flux-reporting) for period-over-period variance with commentary
* [Exporting and report groups](./exporting-and-report-groups)
* [Your first week with DualEntry](../get-started/quickstart-first-week)


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.