Book Month - How to Use

Understanding the Book Month in Reach Reporting

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

Navigate to your Workspace Home
You will see a Book Month displayed for every connected company
Click on the Book Month next to any company to change it
Select your desired month

From Company Settings

Open the company in Reach Reporting
Click the gear icon in the lower left corner
Navigate to the Book Month setting
Select your desired month
Click Save

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.

Using the Book Month with Dashboards

Dashboards leverage the Book Month to provide dynamic, up-to-date visualizations:

Open any dashboard in your company
Change the Book Month in your company settings (click the gear icon in the bottom left)
Save your changes and refresh the dashboard
All metrics using live dates will automatically update to reflect the new Book Month
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 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.

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 2025, monthly reports will show March 2025 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 2025, quarterly reports will show Q1 2025 (January - March 2025)
If your Book Month is set to June 2025, quarterly reports will show Q2 2025 (April - June 2025)

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 2023 data in an annual report and your Book Month is set to any month in 2024 (e.g., December 2024), the report shows 2023 as the last closed year
To display 2024 data in your annual report, update the Book Month to any month in 2025 (e.g., January 2025 or later)
To display 2025 data in your annual report, update the Book Month to any month in 2026 (e.g., January 2026 or later)

Example: You want to create an annual report showing 2025 financial data. Check your Book Month setting:

If Book Month shows any date in 2025, the annual report will display 2024 data
Update the Book Month to January 2026 (or any month in 2026)
The annual report will now display 2025 data as the last closed year

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. 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:

If the start of the Fiscal Year is set to July and the Book Month is set to March 2025, the Year-to-Date report will display July 2024 to March 2025.

Fiscal Reports

If your company uses a fiscal year that differs from the calendar year:

The fiscal year start date is determined by your bookkeeping software settings or the workspace settings (see Year-to-Date Report Templates section above)
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 2025, the quarterly fiscal reports will show Q4 FYE 2025 (April 2025 - June 2025)
- If your fiscal year runs July - June and your Book Month is September 2025, the quarterly fiscal reports will show Q1 FYE 2026 (July 2025 - September 2025)
- 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 2025, annual fiscal reports will show the fiscal year July 2024 to June 2025

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

Best Practices

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
Refresh After Changes: Always refresh your browser after changing the Book Month to ensure all metrics and statements update properly
Check Report Dates: When using report templates, verify that the displayed date ranges match your intended reporting period, especially for annual reports
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
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.

If you have questions about using the Book Month, please contact our support team via chat or email at support@reachreporting.com.

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