--- title: Using the Book Month description: The book month makes it easy for reports and dashboards to adjust to the month your bookkeeping is finished for. Any metrics/statements or Live Text that is set as a range without live updating will n --- [Skip to content](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#main-content) ![Reach Reporting](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Asset%201.png?height=22&name=Asset%201.png) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Reach Reporting Status](http://status.reachreporting.com/) [Reach Reporting Status](http://status.reachreporting.com/) How can we help improve your Reach? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Knowledge Center](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [Workspaces](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/workspaces?hsLang=en) # Using the Book Month ## The Book Month allows you to use Live Dates and Live Text to respond to the month you set. ### **In this article:** - [Overview](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#overview) - [How the Book Month Works](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#how-the-book-month-works) - [Accessing and Changing the Book Month](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#accessing-and-changing-the-book-month) - [From the Workspace Home](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#from-the-workspace-home) - [From the Company Settings](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#from-company-settings) - [Revert](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#revert) - [Using the Book Month with Dashboards](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#using-the-book-month-with-dashboards) - [Using the Book Month with Report Templates](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#using-the-book-month-with-report-templates) - [Monthly Report Templates](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#monthly-report-templates) - [Quarterly Report Templates](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#quarterly-report-templates) - [Annual Report Templates](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#annual-report-templates) - [Fiscal Report Templates](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#fiscal-report-templates) - [Year-to-Date Report Templates](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#year-to-date-report-templates) - [Important Notes About Live Dates](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#important-notes-about-live-dates) - [Best Practices](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#best-practices) - [Troubleshooting](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#troubleshooting) - [My annual report is showing the wrong year](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#annual-report-showing-wrong-year) - [My metrics aren't updating when I change the Book Month](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#metrics-not-updating) - [My Book Month isn't auomatically updating each month](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/book-month-how-to-use#book-month-not-automatically-updating) --- ### **Overview** The Book Month is one of the most powerful features in Reach Reporting. It acts as your last closed month and enables reports and dashboards to automatically update using live dates. This means you can build reports once and have them dynamically adjust to different time periods without rebuilding anything. --- ### **How the Book Month Works** The Book Month represents the most recent month for which your bookkeeping is complete. By default, it is set to the **last month**, but you can modify it at any time to view data from different periods. When you change the Book Month: - Live dates and live text automatically update throughout your reports and dashboards - Metrics and statements that use live date ranges adjust accordingly - Custom equations respond to date changes without manual updates This powerful functionality allows you to roll forward or backward through time periods effortlessly, making it easy to review historical data or prepare reports for different months. --- ### **Accessing and Changing the Book Month** You can view and modify the Book Month in two locations: #### **From the Workspace Home** 1. Navigate to your Workspace Home 2. You will see a Book Month displayed for every connected company 3. Click on the Book Month next to any company to change it 4. Select your desired month ![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-52-6386-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-52-6386-PM.png) #### **From Company Settings** 1. Open the company in Reach Reporting 2. Click the **gear icon** in the lower left corner 3. Navigate to the Book Month setting 4. Select your desired month 5. Click **Save** **![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-55-2363-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-55-2363-PM.png)** **![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-53-0110-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-53-0110-PM.png)** **Important:** If you manually change the Book Month, you will see a **"Revert"** button next to it. This indicates that the Book Month has been modified from its default setting and **will not automatically update** each month. Click **"Revert"** to return to the default behavior where the Book Month automatically updates to the last month. ![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-54-3325-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-54-3325-PM.png) ![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-52-2297-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-52-2297-PM.png) --- ### **Using the Book Month with Dashboards** Dashboards leverage the Book Month to provide dynamic, up-to-date visualizations: 1. Open any dashboard in your company 2. Change the Book Month in your company settings (click the gear icon in the bottom left) 3. Save your changes and **refresh the dashboard** 4. All metrics using live dates will automatically update to reflect the new Book Month 5. You can use the Last Closed Month Dropdown to show historical data up until your book month. This feature can also be shared with your audience. Check out this Knowledge Center article on[How to Publish Dashboards](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/how-to-publish-dashboards?hsLang=en) to learn how to toggle this setting This feature allows you to quickly view how your business performed in different time periods without rebuilding metrics or creating duplicate dashboards. ![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-54-7353-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-54-7353-PM.png) **Book month on charts:** you can highlight the book month on charts, the same way it's highlighted on tables, so the current period stands out at a glance. --- ### **Using the Book Month with Report Templates** Report templates in Reach Reporting use live dates that automatically adjust based on your Book Month setting. Understanding how the Book Month affects different report types is essential for accurate reporting. #### **Monthly Report Templates** Monthly reports automatically display data based on your current Book Month setting. If your Book Month is set to **March 2026**, monthly reports will show **March 2026** data. #### **Quarterly Report Templates** Quarterly reports display data for the most recently completed quarter based on your Book Month: - If your Book Month is set to **March 2026**, quarterly reports will show **Q1 2026** (January - March 2026) - If your Book Month is set to **June 2026**, quarterly reports will show **Q2 2026** (April - June 2026) - If your Book Month is set to **August 2026**, quarterly reports will show **Q2 2026** (April - June 2026) To view a specific quarter, adjust your Book Month to the **last month of that quarter**. #### **Annual Report Templates** Annual reports display data for the **last closed year** based on your Book Month year setting: - If you see **2024 data** in an annual report and your Book Month is set to any month in **2025** (e.g., December 2025), the report shows 2024 as the last closed year - To display **2025 data** in your annual report, update the Book Month to any month in **2026** (e.g., January 2026 or later) #### **Fiscal Report Templates** You can search "Fiscal" within the Reach Reporting Report Library to view pre-made report templates that were designed to follow the fiscal year. You can also check the Report Description to check if the report is utilizing a fiscal year date range: ![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Jan-15-2026-10-15-51-1477-PM.png?width=670&height=318&name=image-png-Jan-15-2026-10-15-51-1477-PM.png) If your company uses a fiscal year that differs from the calendar year: - The start of the Fiscal Year will follow the month set in your bookkeeping software. If you are working in a Consolidation or a CSV trial balance, you can set the start of the Fiscal Year in the Workspace: ![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-53-5307-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-53-5307-PM.png) - Quarterly fiscal reports will display the last completed quarter based on your Book Month - For example, if your fiscal year runs July - June and your Book Month is **August 2026**, the quarterly fiscal reports will show **Q4 FYE 2026** (April 2026 - June 2026) - If your fiscal year runs July - June and your Book Month is **September 2026**, the quarterly fiscal reports will show **Q1 FYE 2026** (July 2026 - September 2026) - To view a specific quarter, adjust your Book Month to the **last month of that quarter** - Annual fiscal year reports will display the last completed fiscal year based on your Book Month - For example, if your fiscal year runs July - June and your Book Month is **August 2026**, annual fiscal reports will show the fiscal year **July 2025 to** **June 2026** #### **Year-to-Date Report Templates** Year-to-date reports will display data from the start of the company’s Fiscal Year to your current Book Month setting. If the start of the Fiscal Year is set to **July** and the Book Month is set to **March 2026**, the Year-to-Date report will display **July 2025 to March 2026**. --- ### **Important Notes About Live Dates** **Live Dates vs. Static Dates:** - Metrics, statements, and live text with **live dates enabled** will automatically update when you change the Book Month - Any content with **live dates disabled** will NOT update when the Book Month changes - When building metrics or statements, you can turn the live dates on or off by clicking the gear icon above a column and toggling the "Live Dates" option ![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-53-9878-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-02-41-53-9878-PM.png) --- ### **Best Practices** 1. **Keep Book Month on Default:** Unless you need to review historical data, leave the Book Month on its default setting (with no "Revert" button visible), so it automatically updates each month 2. **Refresh After Changes:** Always refresh your browser after changing the Book Month to ensure all metrics and statements update properly 3. **Check Report Dates:** When using report templates, verify that the displayed date ranges match your intended reporting period, especially for annual reports 4. **Freeze Reports When Needed:** To preserve a report for a specific time period: - Set the Book Month to the desired period - Export the report as a PDF or save it to the Client Portal - The exported version will remain static regardless of future Book Month changes 5. **Use for Multiple Periods:** The Book Month makes it easy to generate reports for different time periods without creating separate templates - simply change the Book Month, export your report, then change it again for the next period --- ### **Troubleshooting** **Problem:** My annual report is showing the wrong year - **Solution:** Check your Book Month year. The annual report shows the last closed year. If you want to see 2025 data, your Book Month must be set to any month in 2026. **Problem:** My metrics aren't updating when I change the Book Month - **Solution:** Check if live dates are enabled. Edit the metric/statement, click the gear icon above the column, and ensure "Live Dates" is checked. **Problem:** My Book Month isn't automatically updating each month - **Solution:** Look for the "Revert" button next to the Book Month. If present, click it to return to automatic monthly updates. --- The Book Month feature empowers you to build flexible, dynamic reports that adapt to your needs. By understanding how to use it effectively, you can streamline your reporting process and quickly access data from any time period. 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