Solution of the Week: Financial Reports with Impactful Visuals

Solution of the Week: Financial Reports with Impactful Visuals

Finance reporting is a critical part of understanding an organization’s financial health. With Zoho Analytics, you can easily create dynamic reports such as Balance Sheets, Budget Statements, and Profit and Loss Statements.

Now, with the release of Zoho Analytics 6.0, the platform offers even more advanced tools to optimize the financial report view. While Zoho Analytics has always enabled comprehensive financial reporting (through its integration connectors for Zoho Books, QuickBooks, Xero, Sage), the latest version enhances this with powerful visual features like Data Bars, which provide clearer insights into performance trends.

This document outlines how these reports can be generated using simple drag-and-drop functionality and customizable features in Zoho Analytics.

Creating a Balance Sheet Using Finance Data

Generating a Balance Sheet in pivot using Zoho Analytics allows you to visualize your organization’s financial position in a comprehensive and structured way.
  1. Drag and Drop the Data: Start by selecting the Balance sheet base type, Account group, Balance Sheet Account Type, and Balance Sheet Account Name from the Accounts table and drop them into the Rows shelf. Drag and drop the Credit Amount, Debit Amount, and Balance Sheet Total from the Accrual Transactions table into the Data shelf.


  2. Layout Adjustments:
    1. Navigate to Settings > Layout.


    2. Change the Layout to Compact.
    3. Check Increase Font Size for each higher group in Rows.
    4. Uncheck Show row numbers.
    5. Uncheck Show vertical lines between them.
    6. Set Column Width to Fit to Screen.


  3. After making layout adjustments, click Apply to finalize the formatting.

  4. Go to Visuals and select Data Bars With Data to improve the presentation of financial data, making it easier to interpret key insights visually.


By following these steps, you will generate a clear and structured Balance Sheet that highlights your organization's assets, liabilities, and equity.


Key Features of the Balance Sheet Report

  1. Increased Font Size for Key Categories:
    Emphasizes important financial categories like Assets, Equity, and Liabilities, improving readability and focus.
  2. Compact Layout:
    Ensures a clear, organized display of financial data, enabling efficient consumption of the report.
  3. Line Removal for Clean Aesthetics:
    Removal of vertical and horizontal lines results in a cleaner visual presentation, improving the user experience.
  4. Data Bars for Quick Insights:
    Visual data bars provide a quick snapshot of financial status, allowing users to identify key trends at a glance.
  5. Timeline Filter for Flexibility:
    Filters allow users to view financial data across different periods, making it easier to analyze financial trends over time.
In Zoho Analytics, utilizing the Timeline Filter allows users to transform static financial data into a time-based, dynamic report. The formulas used in creating this filter enable detailed insights into financial performance over a selected period. Below, we explain the key aggregate formulas and how they enable users to achieve greater flexibility and customization, going beyond the typical app potential.

  • Opening Balance Formula
    sum_if("Accrual Transactions"."Transaction Date" < ${system.timeline.date.from},if("Accounts"."Account Base Type" in ('Asset') OR ("Accounts"."Account Base Type" in ('Equity') and "Accounts"."Account Name" in ('Drawings')),"Accrual Transactions"."Debit - Credit","Accrual Transactions"."Credit - Debit"),0)
    This formula calculates the Opening Balance for a selected period by summing transactions that occurred before the specified date (timeline.date.from). 
    This approach allows users to view the Opening Balance as of a given date, making it highly flexible for periods that differ across user's datasets.



    if("Accounts"."Account Base Type" in ('Asset') OR ("Accounts"."Account Base Type" in ('Equity') and "Accounts"."Account Name" in ('Drawings')),"Accrual Transactions"."Debit - Credit","Accrual Transactions"."Credit - Debit")
    This part of the formula can be customized based on the unique financial structure you follow.

  • Period Balance Formula

    sum_if("Accrual Transactions"."Transaction Date" > ${system.timeline.date.from} and "Accrual Transactions"."Transaction Date" <= ${system.timeline.date.to},if("Accounts"."Account Base Type" in ('Asset') OR ("Accounts"."Account Base Type" in ('Equity') and "Accounts"."Account Name" in ('Drawings')),"Accrual Transactions"."Debit - Credit","Accrual Transactions"."Credit - Debit"),0)

    The Period Balance formula calculates the net balance of transactions within a specific time range, defined by the timeline filter. The formula sums transactions between the start date (timeline.date.from) and the end date (timeline.date.to). This provides users with a snapshot of their financial activity for any custom date range they select.



  • Closing Balance

    sum_if("Accrual Transactions"."Transaction Date" <= ${system.timeline.date.to},if("Accounts"."Account Base Type" in ('Asset') OR ("Accounts"."Account Base Type" in ('Equity') and "Accounts"."Account Name" in ('Drawings')),"Accrual Transactions"."Debit - Credit","Accrual Transactions"."Credit - Debit"),0)

    The Closing Balance formula calculates the final balance as of a selected date (timeline.date.to). It works by summing all transactions up until the specified date, following the same account type distinctions used in the previous formulas.
     

    This formula is essential for determining the financial standing of an organization at the end of a reporting period, such as the end of a quarter or year.


Follow the below steps to create opening and closing balances with timeline filters:
  1. Drag and drop the created aggregate formulas into the data shelf.
  2. Select Data as row from the drop-down.


  3. Click on Show/Hide, then select Totals.


  4. Click on Columns drop-down, then set the Opening Balance as Top.

  5. Navigate to Settings > Layout and set Column Width as Equal. Provide Width value as required in px.


  6. Click Apply.
  7. Check Include Timeline Filter.


    The Timeline Filter is now enabled, and users can apply time-based filters to their data.


By utilizing these timeline-based formulas, Zoho Analytics allows users to move beyond static, historical reporting and into dynamic financial analysis. With the Timeline Filter, users can interact with their data in a more flexible way, selecting custom periods to analyze financial trends over time.

Click here to access the sample workspace.

Creating a Budget Statement

A Budget Statement helps compare actual financial performance against projected budgets, identifying variances and areas of concern. This visually enhanced report is designed to help businesses quickly assess deviations between expected and real expenditures, allowing for better budget management and financial decision-making.
  1. Drag and drop Account into the Row shelf, and Actuals and Budget into the Data shelf from the Budget vs Actual table.


  2. Add Report Formula:
    1. Click Add Report Formula to create custom calculations.


    2. Name the formula column appropriately (e.g., “Deviation”).
    3. Set Data Type as Decimal Number
    4. Create a formula to calculate the difference between actuals and budget as shown in the image.


    5. Click Save.
    6. By following the same steps mentioned above, create one more formula to calculate the percentage difference between actuals and budget as shown in the image.


    7. Click Save.
      The created formulas will appear in your data shelf and columns, reflecting in the report.


  3. Go to Visuals and choose Data Bars With Data for a more intuitive understanding of budget performance.
By following these steps, you will have a detailed Budget Statement that compares actual spending to the budget, highlighting deviations.


Report Structure and Visuals

  1. Account Breakdown
    The report is organized by account categories, such as Bank Fees, Cost of Goods Sold, and more, showing both Budgeted and Actual amounts for each category.
  2. Key Columns
    The report includes the following key columns:
    1. Total Budget - Displays the budget allocated for each account.
    2. Total Actuals - Shows the actual amount spent or earned for each account.
    3. Variance (Deviation) - Represents the difference between the budgeted amount and the actuals.
    4. Variance Percentage (Deviation %) - This column shows the percentage difference between the budgeted and actual amounts, highlighting under- or over-expenditure.
  3. Data Bars for Clarity
    1. Green Bars indicate favorable performance (within or under budget).
    2. Red Bars highlight overspending or budget deviations (e.g., Office Expenses or Rent).

Key Features of the Budget Statement Report

  1. Visual Representation of Deviations
    Data bars visually indicate how spending aligns or deviates from the budget, enabling quick identification of problem areas.
  2. Concise Overview of Financial Performance
    The report provides a clear overview of actual versus budgeted performance, allowing decision-makers to assess financial health efficiently.
  3. Enhanced Usability with Percent Deviations
    Percentage-based deviation columns allow users to understand the scale of over- or under-performance relative to the budget, making it easy to identify areas that are significantly off track.
Click here to access the sample workspace.

Creating Profit and Loss report

A Profit and Loss (P&L) report in Zoho Analytics helps businesses assess their revenue, expenses, and profitability over a specific period. By following these steps, you can create a detailed and visually engaging P&L report.
  1. Drag and drop Account base type, P&L Operating Profit Type, P&L Gross Type, Base type P&L, and Account Name into the Columns shelf from the Accounts table and Profit and Loss Balance into the Rows from Data shelf from the Accrual Transactions table.


  2. Layout Adjustments:
    1. Navigate to Settings > Layout.


    2. Change the layout to Compact.
    3. Set Indent Level to 3.
    4. Check Increase Font Size for each higher group in Rows to make key categories more visible.
    5. Uncheck Show row numbers for a cleaner report.
    6. Uncheck Show Vertical Line between Each Column to streamline the visual presentation.
    7. Set Column Width to Equal and specify the width as required in px.


  3. Once the layout adjustments are made, click Apply to lock in the formatting.
  4. Click Themes, and select the second theme. Set Row Spacing as 2.


  5. Navigate to Visuals and select Data Bars With Data to provide a quick and clear visual representation.


By following the above steps, you will create a Profit and Loss report which provides a concise and structured view of your business’s financial performance, making it easy to track profitability over time and identify key financial trends.



Click here to access the sample workspace.

Zoho Analytics provides an intuitive and customizable platform for generating comprehensive Balance Sheets, Budget Statements, and Profit & Loss reports. With its drag-and-drop functionality and powerful visual tools, Zoho Analytics transforms finance reporting into a data-driven process that improves decision-making, forecasting, and resource management.
Start leveraging Zoho Analytics today to create reports that provide actionable insights, helping your organization thrive financially!

    • Recent Topics

    • Zoho Books not working/loading

      Hi! I haven't been able to access/load Zoho Books for the past hours. I get a time out (and it is not due to my internet connection). Could you please check this asap? Thank you!

    • Custom Fields with Data Types for Expense and Payments Received in Zoho Books

      Hi all, We are glad to present to you, the option to create Custom Fields for the Expense and Payments received modules in Zoho Books. This also comes with an icing on top of it - Yes, the custom fields can now be created with different data types. Types like Text, Number, Decimal, Amount, Auto Number and Check Box are supported as of now. Rush to the gear icon at the top right corner, select 'More Settings', choose 'Preferences' in the left pane. Click the Expense/Payment preferences where you can

    • [Webinar] Automate sales and presales workflows with Writer

      Sales involves sharing a wide range of documents with customers across the presales, sales, and post-sales stages: NDAs, quotes, invoices, sales orders, and delivery paperwork. Generating and managing these documents manually slows down the overall sales

    • Zoho Cliq - Incident alert (Server outage - IN DC) | August 28

      We've received server down alerts and are currently investigating the issue (IN DC) to find the root cause. Our team is actively working to restore normal operations at the earliest. Status: Under investigation Start time: 09:44:21 AM IST Affected location:

    • Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM Integration – AI-Powered Sales Automation

      Hello Zoho Community 👋 I’m excited to share a recent integration we’ve worked on at OfficehubTech: ✅ Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM This integration connects Zoho CRM with Claude AI through our custom MCP Server, enabling intelligent AI-driven responses

    • How can I see content of system generated mails from zBooks?

      System generated mails for offers or invices appear in the mail tab of the designated customer. How can I view the content? It also doesn't appear in zMail sent folder.

    • Limitations on editing a message in Cliq

      Hi I've checked the documentations and there's no mention of how many times a message can be edited. When trying with code, I get various numbers such as ~1000 edits or so. Please mention if there's a limit on how many times one can change a message via

    • Narrative 10: Assignment Rules - Streamlining Ticket Management

      Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 10: Assignment Rules - Streamlining Ticket Management In the complex world of customer support, a flood of incoming tickets can hit the help desk in seconds. Businesses must do more

    • Free webinar! Digitize recruitment and onboarding with Zoho Sign and Zoho Recruit

      Hello, Tired of being buried in onboarding paperwork? With the integration between Zoho Sign and Zoho Recruit, a powerful applicant tracking system, you can digitize and streamline the entire recruitment and onboarding process, all from one platform.

    • Custom form - Duplicate Value Present

      I am new to Zoho People. I create a new form on Zoho People quite simple. A date (by default the current date) and a radio button with 3 options (Yes, No, Not applicable) I defined the date as ‘No duplicate’ as only one entry by date is allowed. I added:

    • Zoho API connection issues

      Hi, Today at around 1930 GMT our application started experiencing intermittent timeouts from the Zoho API. These intermittent timeouts are not enabling our app to work properly. The API connection was working just fine before. HTTPSConnectionPool(host='www.zohoapis.com',

    • Query Regarding our Partnership between AIC-JKLU and Zoho

      Dear Zoho Team, I am writing to raise a concern on behalf of AIC-JKLU, one of Zoho’s incubator partners. Recently, our startups have been facing difficulties while trying to get themselves onboarded on Zoho through our dedicated partner link. Unfortunately,

    • Disputed Purchase Invoices

      We have recently moved to Zoho Books from Sage. In Sage we were able to post a purchase/vendor invoice but mark it as on dispute. This would usually be a pricing query or if something was damaged. It would show in their ledger, so we could agree their

    • Getting events in the future

      Hi I am trying to get events in the future by calling this API Endpoint https://www.zohoapis.eu/crm/v8/Events?fields=Event_Title,Created_By,Created_Time,Start_DateTime But that gives me all events in the database. How do I make a query that returns all

    • Created Date/Invalid Fields

      Since Saturday we have suddenly had issues with our webhooks and data retrieval from CRM. Specifically how Created Date is handled. It appears there was some sort of change within CRM that broke a lot of our code that has been in place for several years.

    • Zoho Inventory. Preventing Negative Stock in Sales Orders – Best Practices?

      Dear Zoho Inventory Community, We’re a small business using Zoho Inventory with a team of sales managers. Unfortunately, some employees occasionally overlook stock levels during order processing, leading to negative inventory issues. Is there a way to

    • Problem for EU users connecting Zoho CRM through Google Ads for Enhanced conversions

      Has anyone else experienced this problem when trying to connect Zoho CRM through Google Ads interface to setup enhanced conversions? Did you guys get it fixed somehow? The Problem: The current Google Ads integration is hardcoded to use Zoho's US authentication

    • integration zoho form - drive

      I integrated my form with Google Drive. The report of user submissions from the Google Form becomes a Google Sheets table. When I used Google Forms for the same task, the summary sheet adapted to the form. For example, if I added a new field to the form,

    • Revenue Management: #9 Revenue Recognition in Media & Publishing

      Media & Publishing industry has evolved in recent times. It offers subscriptions, bundles digital and print access, runs sponsored content, and sometimes even sells ad spaces. If you run a media or publishing business, you will always get into a situation

    • Zoho CRM Community Digest - July 2025 | Part 2:

      Hello, Everyone! We’re closing out July with a can’t-miss highlight: Zoholics Europe 2025! Happening from September to October, it’s your chance to level up your CRM skills, covering everything from automation and CPQ to dashboards and advanced workflows.

    • How can I trigger a flow action only once while updating contact?

      Hi, we have a trigger to merge&mail file when the field YYY is filled out. For this acion I used "Create or update module entry". But unfortunately we get tens of email on a day with this merged file, because the contact is being regularly updated. The

    • Copy a Record Template from one Form to another

      I have a Creator application with several forms.  I developed a record template for one of the reports/forms but want to use most of it for another of the form/report combinations in the application. Is there a way to copy the template (code or otherwise) to another form?

    • Tip of the Week #70 – Create common team signatures for your shared inboxes

      Did you know that a small detail, such as an email signature, can make a big difference in how your brand is perceived? One simple yet smart way to enhance your team’s communication is by creating common team signatures for your shared inboxes. Instead

    • Enhanced data export features: XLSX format, custom character encoding, and selective record export

      Greetings all, Here are a few enhancements related to exporting CRM data, including the ability to export data in XLSX file format now. The Export feature under Data Administration now offers new options that expand its flexibility and enable users to

    • Invalid value passed for file_name

      System generated file name does not send file anymore - what is the problem?

    • Tip #42 – How to manage data security with Privacy Settings – 'Insider Insights'

      Data privacy is a cornerstone of trust in remote support. Through Privacy Settings in Zoho Assist, you can set up how data is gathered, stored, and handled in your organization. These settings ensure compliance, data protection for sensitive details,

    • Zoho DataPrep and File Pattern configuration

      I'm using Zoho data prep to ingest data from One Drive into Zoho Analytics... The pipeline is super simple but I can't any way to get all the files that I need. Basically I need to bring all the files with a certain pattern and for that I'm using a regex

    • Custom Function for Estimates

      Hey everyone, I was wondering if there was a way to automate the Subject of an estimate whenever one is created or edited: * the green box using following infos: * Customer Name and Estimate Date. My Goal is to change the Subject to have this format "<MyFirm>-Estimate

    • Introducing Dark Mode / Light Mode : A New Look For Your CRM

      Hello Users, We are excited to announce a highly anticipated feature - the launch of Day, Night and Auto Mode implementation in Zoho CRM's NextGen user interface! This feature is designed to provide a visually appealing and comfortable experience for

    • Quick Item Search & Auto-suggestion for Invoices

      Hi Team, I am facing an issue while creating invoices in Zoho Books. Currently, I have to type the full item name in the correct sequence and spelling for it to appear. For example, my item name is: "Distemper Acri Silk Special White 10kg" If I type something

    • Ticketbai! en el Pais Vasco

      Hola a todos, En enero de 2.022 se va a implantar en el país vasco un nuevo sistema de facturación, denominado ticketbai!, ¿hay alguna previsión de realizar las adaptaciones en zoho books o zoho invoices? Ignoro la cantidad de clientes que tienen estas

    • Zoho CRM mobile app feature update: home page widgets, field tooltips and user image upload

      Hello everyone! Your business doesn't pause when you're on the move, and neither should your CRM. That's why in our latest update, we've introduced a few new features to make your mobile CRM experience smoother and more efficient. Let's take a quick look

    • Zoho CRM Plain Text Template: Line Breaks and Formatting Issue

      Hello, I'm following the instructions to create email templates in Zoho CRM, but I'm having a problem with the plain text version. https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/zoho-sign/integrations/zoho-apps/zoho-crm/articles/zoho-crm-email-templates#Steps_to_create_a_custom_email_template

    • Optimizing Task Handling: Auto-Remove Recurrence for cancelled Tasks.

      Hello Everyone, A Custom function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:

    • Important updates to your connectors

      Hello everyone, Greeting from Zoho Creator! We're excited to announce that we'll be rolling out significant backend updates to Zoho Creator's built-in connectors to enhance security by following the latest frameworks. The existing version of some of the

    • Create, collaborate, and manage agreements with Zoho Sign

      Agreements drive business. We launched Zoho Sign in 2017 as a simple digital signature tool to sign agreements from anywhere, at any time. Over the years, we've learned that most agreements go through last-minute changes before they're signed. Our users

    • Function #25: Automatically generate purchase orders from a sales order

      We kicked off the "Function Fridays" series with the goal of helping you automate your everyday accounting tasks. As we delve into today's post, I'm delighted to announce that we're here to present the 25th custom function in this series. While it is

    • Has Anyone successfully integrated Zoho and Sage Intact?

      Hey all, We’re evaluating Zoho One + Sage Intacct and I’m trying to connect with anyone who has actually implemented the two together.Specifically, I’d love to know: -- Which functions you kept in Zoho vs. Intacct (e.g., Product Catalog, AR/AP, invoicing,

    • DNS set up

      I want to create an email with my company domain. When I tried to add new record with cloudflare it didn't work. The DNS record can't be manually added. I followed the instruction but still can't add it. Could you help?

    • 5名限定 課題解決型ワークショップイベント Zoho ワークアウト開催のお知らせ (9/25)

      ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。Zoho ユーザーコミュニティチームの藤澤です。 9月開催のZoho ワークアウトについてお知らせします。 今回はZoomにて、オンライン開催します。 ▷▷参加登録はこちら：https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/6OSF2Bh6TumsMIlDwaY_PQ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Zoho ワークアウトとは？ Zoho ユーザー同士で交流しながら、サービスに関する疑問や不明点の解消を目的とした「Zoho

    • Next Page