Report Templates in Action Webinar Questions

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1 Report Templates in Action Webinar Questions How do we add an Excel spreadsheet and link it into a report template? You can copy and paste information from Excel into blank text blocks in your Xero templates or, alternatively, if you had particular document in Excel you wanted to show in the reports, you can insert a blank page into the report pack then just add the document manually or by using a PDF merger tool. If we save the draft and then see that a name is too general like "reserves" can we edit the name to the account via the edit name function and have it update the draft? Yes, you can edit the account code name and reporting name (via COA). For group names in reports, these can be edited directly in the report itself also. Does the date in the Compilation Report update to the current date every time you run a set? Yes. The report field "Current Date" does get updated to today's date when generating the report template. Is it possible to show the percentage (%) sign next to the gross profit percentage figure in the Profit & Loss statement? No, it is not possible at this stage. However you can multiply the formula by 100 (Gross Profit / Total Income * 100) to show the figure as a percentage. And label the formula as "Gross Profit %" The only place to have % is in the title. Can we save a template at client (Blue Xero) level so we don't have to tweak our Green xero report template every year? If you are after less tweaking i would suggest using the copy and edit function on the report you created for the client last year. This will have all the editing you did specific for the client all you will need to do is change the date. In the depreciation schedule can you add a private use adjustment? No at this stage private use adjustments must be made via a manual journal. The product team are aware of the importance of this and have this in their development roadmap.

2 Is it possible to split the report templates between old template & new template? No, you will be using either the new reports or the old reports. However we recommend that you use the new reports as all further development will be added to these and already has much richer functionality with editing and layouts than our older versions. There may be some exceptions where you wish to use the older reports and although that is absolutely fine, be aware that we would eventually like to have everyone using the new ones and phase out the old. Is it possible to create new management reports with the new templates? Yes the new reports are very flexible. Very soon we will also be bringing out custom column work which will enable you to compare your custom management reports against budget and custom formulae. We would also like to have other management reports available soon also (e.g. acc receivable, payable etc). Do you have a template report for term loans and hire purchases? No we don't have template reports for these however you can create your own custom schedules specifically for these accounts using the loan and hire purchase report codes. If you create these custom schedules on a blank report or as part of your Financial Notes, you can save them as in your template which can then be pulled down to your client level (Blue Xero) reports. Once a report is published, can you re publish it to make any changes? Published reports are locked and are no longer editable. However, you can use the "Copy & Edit" button on the published report, make your changes and then publish the updated report. The original report will remain in the Published tab unless you delete or archive it. How can we create a template for a monthly analysis? Yes. In your report template you can change the settings to be for the last month and build your template accordingly. How do I add a new template? In Green Xero if you click on the Reports tab on the far right hand side of the screen you will see "New Template" or you will find a drop down next to each report to copy it which can be a fast approach.

3 Can you change the font size? And remove/reduce spacing on the contents page/directory so that it doesn t go over multiple pages? No there is not any additional formatting settings for font, spacing or page breaks. Some tips though could be to use carriage returns (enter) in text blocks to force page breaks or if placing text on multi lines to use Shift + Enter which doesn't space out the lines for you. Can we pull /add notes from another client? You can add any notes page that you have saved as a template. you cannot add notes pages from other clients. If there is a particular client that you have done a lot of work on their notes i would suggest you copy paste these notes into a new notes template in green Xero. When we update a client's notes to the latest Xero update, do we need to customise the notes after the update? We provide notes the meet the IRD & CAANZ requirements and any customisation you want to do with them you are welcome to. Please check you have got the latest version of Notes in your templates (if you don't you can add these to your templates by selecting the Xero Notes to Financial Statements). How do notes get updated each year? Notes are made up of text blocks and schedules. These can be edited at any point. Many notes will be consistent from year to year. There are some schedules like the tax note or equity that will update automatically each year. Other notes will always need to be reviewed and updated. Is it intended to set up financial statement templates for incorporated societies? We don't have plans at the moment to build these for you. These can be built by you, but please talk to your Xero account manager if you have a great need for these. How would you get a shareholder current account opening balance to format in the accounts when entering from a conversion balance? This is a very common issue. Any balances that were opening balances at the start of the year of your conversion balances like opening equity and shareholder funds you must add these amounts in as comparative balances to your conversion balance to prevent them coming is as movements for the year. We have help centre content on this if you get stuck.

4 Can you copy a report template so that you can keep the original Xero created template? Yes, under the Reports tab in My Xero, click the New Template dropdown button and choose "Copy From" then select the Xero created template you want to copy. This will then save as a unique report. When will the Income Tax switch rule be fixed? The switch rule automatically flips the overall tax liability for you to assets. There have been some minor switch rule issues that the team are working on but not aware of any issues with the tax liability switching. Please talk to Xero support if you are having ongoing issues with this. Can FAS be shown in portrait rather than landscape? If referring to the Fixed Assets Schedule, yes this can be shown in portrait but this entirely depends on how many columns you are wanting to show. If you want to switch to portrait deselect some fields you don't need to show and it will automatically revert to portrait. We hope to allow more flexibility around layouts in the near future. Can we get rid of the lines in between each row? No if this is a feature you would like please provide feedback to us or via the community and let us know. How to change the reporting period date? For example, from the year ended 31 March 2016 to the 9 months period end 31 March You can change the report title when publishing the report, but at the moment it works only for the cover page. The product team are aware of this issue. Can we insert external reports? For example, inserting a tax summary in the reports before we publish them. You can add blank reports into your template and name it how you like, e.g. "Audit Report" or "Tax Summary" which acts as a placeholder in your template, then you can manually add the page into your document after it has been published or use a PDF merge tool.

5 Is there any way to store some templates in a folder so they are not all there on the landing page? Unfortunately you can't create folders to store or categorise the reports. You can only archive report templates you don't need. so it doesn't show up under "Ready to Use" in the Reports tab in My Xero. To do this, hover over the report that you want to archive and click on the grey arrow on the right and choose Archive. This report will now show under the Archive tab. Can you use departmental/tracking in the new reports? Yes, go to report settings in your report on the top right hand side of the report and select filter by. When will page breaks be available? Our product team are aware of this feedback and have plans in their roadmap to address this with further development. Apologies we don't have a current ETA for this. Can you change the font and colour of the of the reports, remove the lines? No, not at this stage. Is there a way to change all the titles on the Profit and Loss etc to say for the six months ending xxxx? You can change the report title when publishing the report, but at the moment it works only for the cover page. The product team are aware of this issue. Is the shareholder current account available in the standard template? I seem to have the old version. Yes, the updated shareholder current account report is in our standard template. You can delete the old version in your template by clicking on the dropdown box on the top left which lists all of your reports, then "edit" and click on the "x" next to the Shareholder Current Accounts. To insert the updated shareholder current account, click on + Add a Report, scroll down to the header "Xero Company Annual Accounts" and choose "Shareholder Current Accounts". Do you have a rental report template available for use? No, however you can create your own rental report template by creating a new report in your Practice template which can then be pulled down at the client (blue Xero) level.

6 If you delete a text block or schedule, is it possible to add it back? Can you hide notes? No, however you can copy and paste them back from another report template. How can we populate our practice name and practice address in the reports? I have entered the details in report fields. In your report template on the compilation report, delete "Practice Name" and "Practice Address" which is highlighted at the bottom of the report. Then click "insert field" and choose "Practice Name" and repeat the step for "Practice Address. Is there any option for reporting current year actuals against this year's budget? This will be available with our custom columns release due soon. Will a draft set of accounts print the same as a published report? There are additional publishing options such as colour theme, logo, selecting which reports you wish to publish, changing report names, hide decimals, but otherwise the financial data and report content is the same. Are there annual minute templates available in the report templates? No, we do not provide template minutes. However, you can create your own template as seen in Jon's example by copying and pasting your minutes into a blank report and saving this as a new report in your templates.