Financial Reports

Overview

TimelyChurch provides several built-in financial reports that give you and your church leadership a clear picture of your financial health. All reports pull data directly from your accounting transactions, so they are always up to date -- no waiting for month-end processing.

Who Can Open Financial Reports

Financial reports live in the Accounting module, so they follow the Accounting row of your role (under Finances in Administration → Roles & Permissions). The Accounting row's actions are View, Create, Edit, Delete, Reconcile, Close, and Void; viewing reports needs View. Church administrators have access by default -- unless your church's Donation Privacy setting keeps Finance away from the Administrator role (see Who Can See Giving and Donations). The Giving Statements card also needs the Bookkeeper Giving level or higher and the role's Giving Statements permission.

Accessing Reports

Open Finances > Accounting, then click the Reports tab in the accounting tab bar (the row that runs across the top: Dashboard, Check Register, Transactions, Giving, Bills, Reports). This opens the Financial Reports hub.

At the top of the hub you'll see quick-stat cards summarizing your finances, followed by a grid of report cards. Click any card to open that report. At the bottom, Quick Report Links open common views in one click: Treasurer's Report, Current Balance Sheet (Full Accounting), YTD Income Statement, This Month P&L, Last Month P&L, Budget Variance Report (when a budget is active, Full Accounting), and the current year's Giving Statements.

Throughout this article, when a section says "open the Balance Sheet," it means: go to the Reports tab and click the Balance Sheet card.

Simple Checkbook vs. Full Accounting

The Reports hub follows your personal accounting view (switch it with the Accounting Mode button on the Finance Dashboard -- see Simple vs. Advanced Accounting Mode).

• In Full Accounting, the hub shows four stat cards -- Total Assets, Total Liabilities, Net Worth, and YTD Net Income -- and every report card described below: Treasurer's Report, Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Trial Balance, General Ledger, Budget vs Actual, and Giving Statements.
• In Simple Checkbook, the hub is streamlined for a volunteer treasurer: two stat cards (In the Bank and YTD Net), the Treasurer's Report as the large flagship card, the Income Statement renamed Money In vs Money Out, and Giving Statements. The Balance Sheet, Trial Balance, General Ledger, and Budget vs Actual cards are hidden (Trial Balance and General Ledger stay available from the More ▾ menu).

In Simple Checkbook you'll also notice a few relabels elsewhere in the accounting tab bar: Transactions reads as Money In / Out, and the Setup ▾ menu is labeled More ▾.

Balance Sheet

The Balance Sheet shows a snapshot of your church's financial position at a specific point in time. It answers the question: "What does the church own, what does it owe, and what is left over?" It is the foundation document for any audit, loan application, or annual filing.

Note: The Balance Sheet card appears in Full Accounting only. In Simple Checkbook it is hidden, since most volunteer treasurers rely on the Treasurer's Report instead -- switch your view to Full Accounting to open it.

Running a Balance Sheet

1. On the Reports tab, click the Balance Sheet card (or Current Balance Sheet under Quick Report Links).
2. By default, the report shows balances as of today ("Financial position as of ...").
3. To view a historical balance sheet, choose an As of Date and click Update Report.

Sections

The report is organized so that Assets = Liabilities + Equity.

• ASSETS -- All active asset accounts (checking, savings, cash on hand, receivables, investments, and any property or equipment you track) with their balances, followed by Total Assets.
• LIABILITIES -- All active liability accounts (credit cards, loans and mortgages, accounts payable, payroll liabilities, deferred revenue) with their balances, followed by Total Liabilities.
• NET ASSETS (EQUITY) -- All active equity accounts (for a church these are usually called net assets -- for example Unrestricted Net Assets and Temporarily Restricted), followed by lines that TimelyChurch calculates for you:
  • Retained Earnings (prior years) -- the net income of all earlier years (shown when it is not zero).
  • Unrestricted Net Income (YTD) -- this year's income minus expenses so far.
  • Opening Balance Equity -- the balancing amount from the opening balances you entered when you started (shown when it is not zero).
  • Net Assets (Assets - Liabilities) -- the bottom-line "what we have left" figure.
  • Total Equity (Equity Accounts + YTD Net Income).
• Summary -- Total Assets, Total Liabilities, and Net Assets side by side.

Net income is added to equity live, on every run of the report -- there is no closing entry to post at year-end. This year's activity appears as Unrestricted Net Income (YTD), and earlier years' results appear as Retained Earnings (prior years). In a balanced set of books, Net Assets equals Total Equity; if they differ, opening balances were probably never fully entered or equity transactions were categorized unusually -- bring it up with whoever set up your chart of accounts.

How Balances Are Calculated

For today's date, the report uses each account's live balance. For a historical date, TimelyChurch recalculates every balance from the account's opening balance plus all transactions (income, expenses, and transfers in and out) dated on or before the selected date, using the same rules as the live balances. Liability and equity accounts use the mirror-image sign convention, which is what makes the two sides balance.

As long as you don't backdate or delete transactions in old periods, re-running a historical balance sheet produces the same numbers -- this is the report to archive for your annual financial statements or to hand to an auditor. For example, to produce a balance sheet as of December 31 of last year, set As of Date to that day and click Update Report.

The Balance Sheet and the Trial Balance always show balances as of the date you pick. Entries dated after that date are left out, so entries dated in the future never creep into today's totals, and the sheet balances.

Using the Balance Sheet

• Healthy patterns: Total Assets comfortably above Total Liabilities; enough cash (not just property) to cover several months of operating expenses; liabilities paying down month over month (compare with a balance sheet from 12 months ago).
• Warning patterns: Net Assets shrinking for 3+ months in a row (spending faster than you bring in); a liability growing without a matching asset (for example, a credit card balance rising to cover operating losses); a negative bank balance (a real overdraft, or deposits that were never recorded).
• Restricted vs. unrestricted matters. $50K in Net Assets may include $40K donor-restricted to the building fund. Use Funds to track restrictions; the balance sheet rolls them up by account.
• Present the Balance Sheet at board meetings, and compare month-over-month or year-over-year by running it for the last day of each period.

The Balance Sheet does not show period activity (use the Income Statement) or balances by fund (use the Treasurer's Report or the Funds page).

Income Statement (Profit & Loss)

The Income Statement shows your church's financial activity over a period of time. It answers the question: "How much money came in, how much went out, and what is the net result?"

Note: In Simple Checkbook this card is labeled Money In vs Money Out (the YTD figures on the card read "YTD In" and "YTD Out"). It's the same report -- only the wording is friendlier for non-accountants.

Each split line counts under its own category, so a split transaction no longer lands in Uncategorized. The category filter, the Income Statement, the Treasurer's Report, budget actuals and variance all work this way.

Sections

• INCOME -- All income grouped by category (e.g., Tithes & Offerings, Designated Gifts, Fundraising, Interest Income), with totals for each category.
• EXPENSES -- All expenses grouped by category (e.g., Payroll, Utilities, Building & Maintenance, Missions), with totals for each category.
• Total Income and Total Expenses.
• NET INCOME -- Total Income minus Total Expenses. A positive number means the church took in more than it spent; a negative number means it spent more than it took in.

Split transactions are counted line by line, so each split portion lands in its own category.

Running an Income Statement

1. On the Reports tab, click the Income Statement card (the Money In vs Money Out card in Simple Checkbook).
2. By default, the report shows the current year (January 1 through today).
3. Adjust the Start Date and End Date to view any period.
4. Click Update Report.

Tip: Use the Quick Report Links at the bottom of the Reports hub for one-click ranges -- YTD Income Statement, This Month P&L, and Last Month P&L are pre-set for you.

Using the Income Statement

• Run monthly for finance committee meetings (set dates to the first and last of the month).
• Run quarterly for board reports.
• Run annually for year-end review and tax preparation.
• Compare to the same period last year to identify trends.

Trial Balance

The Trial Balance lists every account on a single page with Debit and Credit columns, as of a date you choose. It's the classic accountant's first sanity check -- if total debits equal total credits, the page says In balance; otherwise it shows Out of balance and the difference. Like the Balance Sheet, it adds calculated lines for Retained Earnings (prior years), Current Year Earnings (YTD net income), and Opening Balance Equity.

This is an accountant-oriented report. Its card appears on the Reports hub in Full Accounting only, but you can open it in either view from the Setup ▾ menu (labeled More ▾ in Simple Checkbook) under Trial Balance.

Choose the As of Date and click Update Report. Use it to confirm your accounts are balanced before generating other reports or handing your books to a CPA.

Balances are as of the As of Date you choose; entries dated later are not included.

General Ledger

The General Ledger lets you pick a single account and see every transaction posted to it in a date range, along with a Running Balance after each entry, the Opening Balance, Net Change, and Closing Balance. It's the report to reach for when you need to trace exactly how an account reached its current balance.

Like the Trial Balance, the General Ledger card appears on the Reports hub in Full Accounting, and is available in either view from the Setup ▾ / More ▾ menu under General Ledger.

To run it, select the account, set the Start Date and End Date, and click Run Report.

A refund no longer sits in the Debit column of the General Ledger.

Treasurer's Report

The Treasurer's Report is a one-page summary designed specifically for board meetings and church business meetings. It presents the most important financial information in a clear, non-accountant-friendly format.

Tip: The Treasurer's Report is the flagship card at the top of the Reports hub in both views, since it's the report most volunteer treasurers need most often.

Contents

• Beginning Balance -- Total bank account balances at the start of the month.
• Net Change -- The overall increase or decrease for the month.
• Ending Balance -- Total bank account balances at the end of the month.
• INCOME -- How much came in, by category, with TOTAL INCOME.
• EXPENSES -- How much went out, by category, with TOTAL EXPENSES.
• FUND BALANCES -- The balance of each fund.
• BANK ACCOUNTS -- Individual balances for each bank account.
• A Signature: line for the treasurer.

Running the Treasurer's Report

1. On the Reports tab, click the Treasurer's Report card.
2. Pick the month you want to report on (it defaults to the current month) and click Update.
3. Review the report on screen.
4. Click Download PDF to generate a formatted PDF suitable for printing or emailing.

The report header and the dates on it use your church's own calendar date.

Using the Treasurer's Report

• Generate monthly and present at board or business meetings.
• Email the PDF to board members who cannot attend in person.
• Keep printed copies in your church's financial records for auditing purposes.

Tip: The Treasurer's Report calculates beginning and ending balances from actual transaction data, not just current account balances. This means you can generate accurate reports for any past month.

1099 Vendor Report

The 1099 Vendor Report helps you identify vendors who may need an IRS Form 1099 at year-end. See the Managing Payees and Vendors article for details on setting up 1099 tracking.

Contents

• Summary cards -- Total 1099 Vendors, Requiring 1099, Below Threshold, and Missing Tax ID.
• Vendors Requiring 1099 -- All 1099-designated vendors paid the year's threshold or more during the selected tax year ($600 through 2025, $2,000 from 2026), each marked Ready or Need W-9, with their Tax ID and address.
• Vendors Below Threshold -- 1099-designated vendors paid less, with the amount remaining until threshold.
• Action Required: Missing Tax IDs -- Flags any vendor requiring a 1099 who does not have a Tax ID on file.
• Total Reportable -- The sum of all payments to vendors at or above the threshold.

Important: Confirm the current IRS 1099 threshold and filing deadlines with your tax advisor before you file. TimelyChurch does not file 1099 forms for you.

Running the 1099 Report

1. In the accounting tab bar, open Setup ▾ (or More ▾) and choose 1099 Report. (The report is not a card on the Reports hub.)
2. Select the tax year and click Update.
3. Review the report on screen.
4. Click Download PDF for your records.

Tip: Run this report in early January to identify which vendors need 1099 forms.

Giving Statements

The Giving Statements card opens the page where you preview, download, and email year-end contribution statements. See Giving Statements.

Budget Reports

Three budget reports are available from each budget's detail page (Finances > Budgets, then open a budget):

• Variance Report -- Compares planned amounts to actual transactions for every line item, with income and expense totals.
• Monthly Breakdown -- Shows planned and actual amounts per category for each month of the budget period. Useful for spotting seasonal patterns.
• Download Board Report (PDF) -- A print-ready PDF summary designed for board meetings.

The Budget vs Actual card on the Reports hub (Full Accounting) shows your active budget's totals and variance and opens the Budgets page. See Budget Management for the full details on each report.

Transaction Export (CSV)

While not a formal report, the CSV export feature lets you extract transaction data for use in spreadsheets or external tools.

1. Go to Finances > Accounting and open the Transactions tab (labeled Money In / Out in Simple Checkbook).
2. Apply any desired filters (date range, account, category, type).
3. Open the New Transaction split-button menu and choose Export CSV (it downloads the filtered list).

The export includes: Date, Type, Description, Account, Category, Payee, Fund, Amount, Check #, Reference #, and Reconciled.

The Check Register also has an Export CSV button for the selected account.

Tip: Use the CSV export to create custom reports in a spreadsheet, share data with an external accountant, or import into tax preparation software.

Reconciliation Report (PDF)

For each completed bank reconciliation, you can download a PDF report showing:

• Account name and statement date.
• Beginning balance, cleared deposits, cleared payments, and ending balance.
• A list of all cleared transactions.

Open the Reconciliation page (Setup ▾ / More ▾ > Reconciliation) and click Report on a completed reconciliation. See the Bank Reconciliation article for details.

Tips for Financial Reporting

Run reports monthly at minimum. Even if your board only meets quarterly, running monthly reports helps you catch issues early.

Use consistent date ranges. When comparing periods, use the same date boundaries (e.g., always use the first and last day of the month, not arbitrary dates).

Present the Treasurer's Report to your board. This is designed to be understood by people without an accounting background. It covers the essential information a church board needs to provide financial oversight.

Keep PDF copies. Download and archive PDF reports monthly. This creates a paper trail that is valuable for audits, insurance claims, or leadership transitions.

Reconcile before reporting. Run your bank reconciliation before generating reports for a period. Reconciliation catches errors that would otherwise appear in your reports.

Related Articles

• Budget Management
• Bank Reconciliation
• Managing Payees and Vendors
• Year-End Close
• Giving Reports and Analytics

Last updated: 2026-10-21 (8.205.306).