Computation methods for financial reports

Computations are a powerful way to add value to your reports. For example, in addition to looking at expenses, you might want to examine the average expense per year or expense per customer.

To give you the most reporting flexibility, we let you:

• Show calculations in either columns or rows
• Select from 2 methods of creating calculated columns, including a quick method that performs a simple operation on existing columns

Add a computation to a column

There are 2 main ways to add a computation to a column.

• Simple operation on existing columns (Summary on columns): In the example below, column 4 computes the average expenses over 2 years by averaging columns 2 and 3. Because this is a simple operation on existing columns, the calculation can be performed directly on the Columns tab.
• Computation on actual or budget: For more complex calculations, you can use the Computations tab of the Financial Report Writer. For example, Column 5 below calculates the expenses per customer by dividing actual expenses by a statistical account group that tracks the number of customers.

Column 1 in this example has the account name and other information.

Column 2 in this example has actual year-end information.

Column 3 in this example has actual year-end information.

Column 4 in this example is a calculation of the average expenses over two years, using column 2 and 3 as the basis for the calculation.

Column 5 in this example is a calculation of expenses per customer by dividing actual expenses by a statistical account group that tracks the number of customers.

Column calculations

Calculation type	Description	Basic steps
Simple operation on existing columns	Use to apply a simple operation to 2 or more columns. Column type = Summary on columns Available operations include: Average, Minimum, Maximum, Median, Add, Subtract, Multiply, and Divide. This type of calculation does not use the Computations tab. You do everything right on the Columns tab.	On the Columns tab, find the columns that you're applying the operation to. Add a new column anywhere to the right of the columns identified above. For the new column, set the Column type to Computation: Summary on columns. Place your cursor in the Summary field, and define the computation. For detailed instructions, see Columns tab: Quick column computations (Financial Report Writer).
Computation column	Use for more complex computations, including calculations that involve other account groups or constants. You can add up to 20 custom computations to a financial report. Column type = Computation on actual or Computation on budget	Creating a computation column is a 2-step process. Create the computation on the Computations tab. Apply the computation on the Columns tab. Add a new column. Set the column type to Computation on actual or Computation on budget, depending on whether you want to apply the calculation to the actual or budgeted amount. Select the Calculation name that you previously added to the Computations tab and the Column to which it will be applied. Computation columns can include a column name and description to help explain what the calculation is used for. For detailed instructions, see Create a computation—Financial Report Writer.

Add a computation to rows

You can also add a computation to the rows of a report. For example, a computation account group can be used to show the "Revenue per Employee." Learn more about Adding a computation to the rows of a financial report.