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), 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:
    • Total Budget - Displays the budget allocated for each account.
    • Total Actuals - Shows the actual amount spent or earned for each account.
    • Variance (Deviation) - Represents the difference between the budgeted amount and the actuals.
    • 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
    • Green Bars indicate favorable performance (within or under budget).
    • 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 aProfit 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!


    • Sticky Posts

    • Tip of the Week - Spot Risky Sales with Conditional Formatting

      In Zoho Analytics, small tweaks can lead to big insights. One such feature is Conditional formatting based on other columns, your key to instantly spotting where sales success is overshadowed by product returns. Our tip this week shows you how to apply

    • Recent Topics

    • Disable fields in During action in Blueprint?

      Hi there. I've tried field disable (setReadOnly(true)) using client script and the event is onMandatoryFormLoad on detail page, assuming it'll work on blueprint fields, but it bears no result. Is this the expected behaviour? That we can't do this yet?

    • From Zoho CRM to Paper : Design & Print Data Directly using Canvas Print View

      Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce a new addition to your Canvas in Zoho CRM - Print View. Canvas print view helps you transform your custom CRM layouts into print-ready documents, so you can bring your digital data to the physical world with

    • Develop and publish a Zoho Recruit extension on the marketplace

      Hi, I'd like to develop a new extension for Zoho Recruit. I've started to use Zoho Developers creating a Zoho CRM extension. But when I try to create a new extension here https://sigma.zoho.com/workspace/testtesttestest/apps/new I d'ont see the option of Zoho Recruit (only CRM, Desk, Projects...). I do see extensions for Zoho Recruit in the marketplace. How would I go about to create one if the option is not available in sigma ? Cheers, Rémi.

    • Best Email Backup Wizard in 2026

      While searching for an email backup solution, my main hesitation was reliability. As a user, I had already seen many tools that looked promising but failed when handling large mailboxes, skipped folders, or caused authentication issues during the backup

    • Subforms and automation

      If a user updates a field how do we create an automation etc. We have a field for returned parts and i want to get an email when that field is ticked. How please as Zoho tells me no automation on subforms. The Reason- Why having waited for ever for FSM

    • Allow Managers to Create Shifts for Their Departments in Zoho People

      Hello Zoho People Product Team, Greetings and hope you are doing well. This feature request is related to Zoho People - please don't move it to zoho one! We would like to submit a feature request regarding shift management permissions in Zoho People.

    • Zoho Learn and Zoho CRM integration

      I would like to see an integration between Zoho Learn and Zoho CRM. 1. To be able to add articles in a related list in all modules 2. Zia to suggest related articles in a Deal or Case or Lead 3. Ability to read / search articles during a call / follow

    • Maintain steady traffic to your domain: How Domain Aliasing helps

      Consider this scenario: An organization has its primary domain as administrator.com. Now it wants to shorten its domain to admin.com because it's simpler and easier to remember. However, changing the domain completely can cause the following problems:

    • Why Sharing Rules do Not support relative date comparison???

      I am creating a Sharing Rule and simply want to share where "Last Day of Coverage" (Date field) is Greater than TODAY (Starting Tomorrow). However, sharing rules don't have the option to compare a date field to a relative date (like today), only to Static

    • How do I migrate OLM file to Gmail?

      Migrating emails from Outlook for Mac to Gmail can be challenging because Gmail does not support OLM files directly. This limitation often causes confusion and delays, especially when users need quick access to important emails and mailbox data on a web-based

    • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

      Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

    • Workflow rule only allows 10 workflow per module

      Apparently a Zoho professional edition only allows 10 workflow rules per module. This makes workflow allocation literally impossible while allocating potential to different members of the team. I have 15 licenses. Is there a way in which related alerts can be varied? In other words, is it possible to have different related alerts be triggered with different rule criteria. so if I say, if potential is 'x' then trigger related alert 'x' and if potential is 'y' then trigger related alert 'y' Thanks,

    • IF Statement in Zoho CRM Formula Field

      Hi, I am attempting to write a formula field that will give me one result if one statement AND another statement are true, then a different value if the first statement AND a different statement are true, else 0. Stated differently: if account = destination

    • CRM Percent custom fields: When will it show the % symbol and behave like %?

      1. Actually Percent custom fields fail to show the % symbol. 2. When in formulas Percent fields work like number: 100 x 5% = 5 ideal world 100 x 5% = 500 what happens actually 3. When importing Percent fields the % symbol has to be removed and the data

    • Free Webinar: Zoho Sign for Zoho Projects: Automate tasks and approvals with e-signatures

      Hi there! Handling multiple projects at once? Zoho Projects is your solution for automated and streamlined project management, and with the Zoho Sign extension, you can sign, send, and manage digital paperwork directly from your project workspace. Join

    • Automatically CC an address using Zoho CRM Email Templates

      Hi all - have searched but can't see a definitive answer. We have built multiple email templates in CRM. Every time we send this we want it to CC a particular address (the same address for every email sent) so that it populates the reply back into our

    • Editing the Ticket Properties column

      This is going to sound like a dumb question, but I cannot figure out how to configure/edit the sections (and their fields) in this column: For example, we have a custom "Resolution" field, which parked itself in the "Ticket Information" section of this

    • "Total Hours" on Employee Attendance Report

      I'm learning that in Zoho jargon, "total hours" does not include paid breaks. Or at least not the way that my setup is working. That seems a little weird to me, since most jurisdictions in the US don't differentiate between time spent on paid break and

    • Integration with...

      Dear Zoho Commerce team, Please could you consider the integration within Zoho Commerce / Inventory and Qapla'? (https://www.qapla.it/en/) This app is better than Aftership in many ways: - Aftership integration require PRO plan and price start from more

    • Repeat Column merge in ZOHO writer columns doesn't allow to set max columns per row

      I'm using ZOHO writer to merge data from a ZOHO CRM subform and I want it to make a table. We're using Insert Table for Column Repeat, because this is what we need. (Name of column (Teamname) and underneath that a list of names of teammembers). It works

    • Generate leads from instagram

      hello i have question. If connect instagram using zoho social, it is possible to get lead from instagram? example if someone send me direct message or comment on my post and then they generate to lead

    • Adding Markdown text using Zoho Desk API into the Knowledge Base

      Hi Zoho Community members, We currently maintain the documentation of out company in its website. This documentation is written in markdown text format and we would like to add it in Zoho Knowledge Base. Do you know if there is REST API functionality

    • Create case via email

      Good Afternoon, I have just registered and am taking a look around the system. Is it possible to create a case via email.  I.e. an employee/client/supplier emails a certain address and that auto generates the case which then prompts a member of staff

    • Need a Universal Search Option in Zohobooks

      Hello Zoho, Need a Universal Search Option in Zohobooks to search across all transactions in our books of accounts. Please do the needful Thanks

    • Locked Notebook

      Hi, I hadn't used my Notebook in some time and was refamiliarizing myself with it. I clicked a lock icon and now I can't unlock. When I hit the information or unlock icons I'm taken to a page with the notebook icon and a keyboard. When I type, nothing

    • Zoho Books blocks invoicing without VeriFactu even though it is not mandatory until 2027

      I would like to highlight a very serious issue in Zoho Books for Spain. 1. The Spanish government has postponed the mandatory start of VeriFactu to January 1st, 2027. This means that during all of 2026 businesses are NOT required to transmit invoices

    • Unable to produce monthly P&L reports for previous years

      My company just migrated to Books this year. We have 5+ years financial data and need to generate a monthly P&L for 2019 and a monthly P&L YTD for 2020. The latter is easy, but I'm VERY surprised to learn that default reports in Zoho Books cannot create

    • Hide fields only for creation

      Hello, I'd like to hide some fields only during the creation of a contact in Zoho CRM. In fact I have some fields that are automatically calculated thanks to an automation, so when my users create a contact I don't want them to fill those fields. I know

    • Issues with Zoho Sheet in Mac

      I have downloaded the Zoho App from App Store but It is failing to Save As, Open & Download Operations. App Store

    • Weekly Sales Summary

      Is it possible to generate a weekly report in Zoho Books to show -$$ amount of estimates generated -# of estimates generated by Salesperson -$$ amount of Sales Orders created -$$ amount of Invoices generated

    • Can I write a check in Zoho Books with no associated bill?

      This currently does not seem possible, and I have a client that desperately needs this function if I am able to convert them with Quickbooks. Thank you in advance for your reply. 

    • OpenAPI Specs are just plain wrong

      The provided yml files for generating the OpenAPI specs are absolutely riddled with errors and inconsistencies. From missing fields on the objects, to just incorrectly named resource objects. I'm having to go through and manually changing the spec to

    • About Meetings (Events module)

      I was working on an automation to cancel appointments in zoho flow , and in our case, we're using the Meetings module (which is called Events in API terms). But while working with it, I'm wondering what information I can display in the image where the

    • Custom Footer – Zoho Writer Document

      Hello everyone, I’m having an issue adding a custom footer in a Zoho Writer document. I would like to insert my company information (including a logo + address) in the footer. The problem is that when I add these elements, the main content of my pages

    • Report grouping

      I have added a grouping in a report but it is not working how i had expected. I wanted to group a summary on a field named Size but when i add the grouping the report is still showing me each record and making a summary at the bottom of the report. What

    • Social Media Simplified with Zoho Social: Preview your Instagram grid before posting

      For a platform like Instagram that relies on visual appeal, it's important that you plan your image and video content in a way that holds your audience's attention. Planning your grid ahead of time gives you the benefit of understanding how your posts

    • VAT rates - exempt and out of scope

      Good Evening, UK based company here. I am a bit confused in respect of setting up VAT rates for exempt goods and services; at present I am simply leaving the VAT rate blank in the transactions in order to prevent any VAT appearing in the VAT return. When

    • How to loop through Multiple Upload and Display Actual File Name

      I have been reading the help on the File Upload Control and reviewed the Deluge help on files and I can not figure out how to loop through the uploaded files and do anything but get the automatically created file names. The code below will run but each

    • abou arattai

      I want to use the Arattai app for business purposes, so please convert my account to a business account.I have my own invoice app, and I want to link it with the Arattai app for direct messaging.

    • Overlapping Reports in Dashboards

      It's rare, but occasionally it would be a good feature if I were able to overlap reports, either fully or partially in the Dashboards. Also, then having the ability to move objects to the front or rear, or make them transparent/translucent would be good

    • Next Page