By the Finalytics finance team · Updated October 2026
You do not need to be an accountant to run a business well, but you do need to read your numbers. These seven reports answer the questions every owner should be able to answer: are we making money, do we have cash, and what is coming next?
1. Profit and loss
What it shows: revenue, costs and profit over a period, usually a month, quarter or year.
Why it matters: it tells you whether the business is making money and where costs are growing. Read it month by month, not just at year end, so trends show up while you can still act on them.
2. Cash flow statement
What it shows: where cash actually came from and went, split between operations, investment and financing.
Why it matters: profit is not cash. A profitable business can still run out of money if customers pay late or growth ties cash up in stock and receivables.
3. Balance sheet
What it shows: what the business owns, what it owes and what is left for the owners, at a single point in time.
Why it matters: it reveals problems the profit and loss hides, such as rising debt, old balances nobody has reconciled, or money the owners have drawn out without anyone recording why.
4. Cash flow forecast
What it shows: expected cash in and out over the coming weeks and months.
Why it matters: it is the only report that looks forward. It tells you whether you can afford the hire, the stock order or the new office before you commit, not after. Cash is King shows how to run a rolling 13-week version.
5. Aged receivables
What it shows: who owes you money and for how long.
Why it matters: late payers are the most common cause of cash pressure in growing businesses. An invoice that is 90 days old is far harder to collect than one that is 30.
6. Aged payables
What it shows: who you owe and when it falls due.
Why it matters: paying too early drains cash; paying too late damages supplier relationships and can cost you better terms.
7. Budget versus actual
What it shows: how the business performed against the plan.
Why it matters: a budget is only useful if you compare against it. The gaps tell you which assumptions were wrong and where to look first.
Making them useful
These reports are only as good as the books behind them. If they arrive weeks late, or you do not trust the numbers, they will not change a single decision. Ask for them every month, on a fixed date, from books that are closed and reconciled, and make time to read them. Between reports, FinPulse keeps your cash, receivables, payables and results live on one screen.
Related: Unreliable numbers · Cash flow visibility · Growing fast, breaking faster
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