QuickBooks can generate over fifty different reports. Your clients need two or three of them.
The challenge is not running the reports — that part takes sixty seconds. The challenge is deciding which ones actually serve the client, formatting them so a non-accountant can read them, and writing the explanation that makes the numbers meaningful. That's where the time goes.
Here is a clear guide to which QuickBooks reports belong in your monthly client delivery, which ones don't, and what to do with them once you've run them.
The Profit and Loss: Always
The Profit and Loss statement is the starting point for every monthly client delivery. It shows what came in, what went out, and what remained — and it does so in a format that most business owners can follow with minimal explanation.
When you run it in QuickBooks, use the current month as your date range. The default "This Month" filter in QBO works well. Export to PDF, not to Excel — a PDF looks intentional and professional; an Excel file looks like a working document and invites the client to start editing numbers.
If your client actively tracks performance over time, add a month-over-month comparison column before exporting. This adds a single column to the report that shows the prior month alongside the current month, which is useful context without adding complexity.
The Balance Sheet: Usually
The Balance Sheet belongs in most monthly deliveries, particularly for clients who carry loans, maintain significant inventory, or operate as an S-Corp.
It answers a different question than the P&L. The P&L says what happened during the month. The Balance Sheet says where things stand right now — what the business owns, what it owes, and what remains. For a business owner making decisions about paying down debt, taking a distribution, or planning a large purchase, this snapshot is essential.
Run it as of the last day of the month just closed. Export it as a PDF and include it as a second attachment alongside the P&L.
The clients who never mention it still benefit from having it. The clients who do want it will notice when it's missing.
The Account Transactions Report: Sometimes
This one is not for every client. An account transactions report — the detailed list of every transaction categorized during the month — is most useful in three situations: clients who like to review the underlying work, clients whose CPA or tax preparer requests it, and as a paper trail for your own records.
In QuickBooks, you can run this from Reports → Account List → select the period. Export as PDF with transactions organized by category, not by date. A categorized view lets a client scan for a specific line item without having to scroll through every transaction in chronological order.
If you do send it, mention it briefly in your summary email: "The detailed transaction report is included as a third attachment if you'd like to see the specifics." This signals its presence without implying that the client is required to review it.
What Not to Send
The reports worth leaving out are the ones designed for internal analysis rather than client communication. Accounts Receivable Aging, Budget vs. Actuals, Sales by Product — these belong in specific conversations, not in a standard monthly delivery.
Sending reports a client hasn't asked for and doesn't know how to use creates a false impression of complexity. It can generate questions that take more time to answer than the reports are worth. And it trains clients to skim everything you send, including the things that matter.
If a client does ask for a specific report, add it to their standard delivery going forward and note it in their client record. But default to the minimum that covers their needs, not the maximum that QuickBooks can produce.
The Report Isn't the Deliverable — The Email Is
Here is the thing most bookkeepers get backwards: the reports are supporting material. The email is the deliverable.
Your clients will read the email. They may or may not open the PDFs. The explanation in the email — the plain-English summary of what happened, why it happened, and what to pay attention to — is what they are actually paying for. The reports are the evidence that supports it.
This is why sending three clean PDFs without any explanation is less valuable than sending one paragraph of clear English alongside the same three PDFs. The numbers are in QuickBooks. The meaning is what the bookkeeper provides.
Figurenote connects to QuickBooks Online and generates that explanation automatically. It pulls the monthly P&L, identifies key movements, flags anything unusual, and writes a plain-English summary email in the tone you've set for each client. You review it, attach your reports, and send. The part that usually takes 20–30 minutes per client takes about two.
Free for one client. No credit card required.