Wave · Reporting
How to Fix Wave Report Error
A report shows the wrong numbers, will not generate, comes back empty, or two reports that should agree with each other do not.
At QuickFix Bookkeeping, the first question is almost always accrual or cash? The same business, the same period, run on the two bases, produces two different profit figures. Both are correct. People compare a cash-basis profit and loss against an accrual balance sheet and conclude the software is broken.
What Causes This
Wrong accounting basis
Cash and accrual give different numbers for the same period. Comparing across the two never reconciles.
Date range off
The report period does not cover what you think it covers, especially around a year end.
Uncategorised transactions
Transactions sitting uncategorised are excluded from your profit and loss, understating expenses.
Unreviewed receipts
Scanned receipts never approved never became expenses, so they are missing from the report entirely.
How to Fix It
METHOD 1Check the Basis and the Date RangeNumbers look wrong
1At the top of the report, confirm the accounting basis. Cash basis recognises income when paid. Accrual recognises it when invoiced. They will not match, and they are not supposed to.
2Confirm the date range covers exactly the period you mean. A report ending one day early around a year end can move a large transaction into the wrong year.
3When comparing two reports, make certain both use the same basis and the same dates. Most reported reporting errors are this.
METHOD 2Find Uncategorised TransactionsExpenses look too low
1Go to Accounting, then Transactions and filter for uncategorised entries.
2An uncategorised transaction is not counted in your profit and loss. If your expenses look implausibly low and your profit implausibly high, this is almost always why.
3Categorise everything, then re-run the report. Also check Purchases, then Receipts for scanned receipts still awaiting approval, since those never became expenses at all.
METHOD 3Report Comes Back EmptyNothing generates
1An empty report usually means the date range contains no transactions, or a filter is excluding everything. Widen the date range dramatically as a test. If data appears, narrow it back down until you find the filter at fault.
2If the report still fails to generate, try an incognito window to rule out a browser or extension problem before assuming it is Wave.
METHOD 4Balance Sheet Does Not BalanceAssets do not equal liabilities plus equity
1This nearly always traces to a transaction posted directly to an equity or retained earnings account, or an opening balance entered wrongly at setup. Review the equity accounts for manual entries. See our balance sheet guide.
Reports Are Only As Good As Your Categorisation
Wave will produce a beautifully formatted profit and loss from incomplete data without complaint. If half your transactions are uncategorised and a month of receipts is unapproved, the report is confidently wrong. Clean the data first, then trust the report, never the other way round.
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