As the fiscal year concludes, organizations using Aplos must generate accurate reports for auditing, budgeting, and internal review. This article will guide you through the most common and essential reports to utilize at year-end, focusing on the Balance Sheet, the Income Statement, and the Trial Balance.

Crucially, we'll explain the common pitfalls and questions regarding report comparison, specifically addressing when and why you should compare the Trial Balance to the Balance Sheet, and how to reconcile variances between your Donations by Contact Report and your Income Statement. Understanding these relationships is key to a clean close and seamless transition into the next year. Take a look at this recording from a webinar with one of our services specialists.

Your Core Financial Pictures

You'll start by looking at your two main financial reports: the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement.

The Balance Sheet (Where You Are)

The Balance Sheet shows your financial position at a single point in time—the last day of the year.

• What it covers: It tells you what you own (Assets, like cash and property), what you owe (Liabilities, like loans), and your Equity (which in Aplos, is divided into your Funds).
• Checking Your Funds: It's important to look at your Fund balances. If a fund is negative, it usually means you spent more from it than it had. You can then decide if you want to replenish it by performing a fund transfer from your general, unrestricted fund.

The Income Statement (What Happened)

The Income Statement summarizes all the money that came in and went out over the entire year.

• What it covers: It shows your Income (contributions, dues, rental income, etc.) and your Expenses (supplies, payroll, utilities, etc.).
• Why it Matters: This report is key for seeing if you stayed on budget and tracking your overall financial performance for the year.

Understanding Report Differences

A common point of confusion is comparing the Trial Balance to the Balance Sheet.

Trial Balance vs. Balance Sheet

When you compare your reports, you'll notice the Equity (or Fund) balances are different between the Trial Balance and the Balance Sheet. This is normal and relates to how accounts close out:

• Permanent Accounts (Assets, Liabilities, and Equity/Funds) keep their balances and roll over to the next year.
• Temporary Accounts (Income and Expenses) reset to zero at year-end. The net difference (Income minus Expenses) is rolled into your Equity/Funds.

1. Balance Sheet: Shows the final, closed figure, where the year's net income/expense is already included (rolled up) in your Funds.
2. Trial Balance: Shows the accounts before closing, so Income and Expenses are still listed separately and not yet rolled into your Funds.

Fact-Checking with the Fund Activity Summary

To verify this difference, use the Fund Activity Summary.

• How it Works: This report lays out the complete "story" for each fund: starting balance, total income, total expenses, transfers, and the ending balance.
• Reconciliation: The difference between the Equity balance on your Balance Sheet and your Trial Balance should exactly match the Net Income or Net Expense figure shown on the Fund Activity Summary for that fund. This confirms that the variance is simply the year's financial activity.

Donations and Income Report Variances

Sometimes your Donations by Contact Report won't match your Income Statement. Don't worry, there are a few simple reasons why.

Common Causes for Variance

1. Non-Donation Income: Your Income Statement includes all revenue (like rent or interest), while the Donations report only tracks contributions entered in the Donations tab.
2. Unposted Donations: Aplos lets you manage donations separately from accounting. The variance often occurs because:
   • You entered contributions but didn't deposit them, so they haven't made it to the accounting records.
   • You created a deposit but intentionally marked it as "not to be posted to accounting."

Finding Unposted Items

You can quickly check for these items within Aplos:

• In Contributions: Filter your search by "Undeposited" to see which contributions still need to be recorded in accounting.
• In Deposits: Filter the "Accounting Status" to "Unlinked" to see deposits that were prevented from posting to your accounting reports.

Checking and resolving these unposted transactions will help your donation records match your income statements more closely.

Effectively wrapping up the fiscal year in Aplos depends on understanding the function and relationship between your core financial reports.

By focusing on the Balance Sheet and Income Statement, you establish your financial position and performance. When reconciling reports, remember the key principle: the difference in Equity between the Trial Balance and the Balance Sheet is naturally explained by the year's Net Income or Net Expense. The Fund Activity Summary serves as your definitive tool to verify this reconciliation.

Finally, tackling variances between your Donations by Contact Report and your Income Statement is a matter of checking for unposted contributions and unlinked deposits. By utilizing these reports correctly and understanding their inherent differences, you can achieve a clea