Financial Reports¶
Last reviewed: 2026-03-31 · Nnamdi
Status: Complete
Route: /reports
1. What is it?¶
Financial Reports is where a business generates and downloads its core financial statements: Profit & Loss (P&L), Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, and Trial Balance. These statements are produced on-demand by reading the General Ledger (COA balances and journal entries) and are the primary output used for management decision-making, investor reporting, and Nigerian statutory/tax filings. All four statements are generated within the same page by selecting the statement type and period.
2. How does it work in Finora?¶
2.1 The Financial Statements page (/reports)¶
Header: - Heading: "Financial Statements" - Subtitle: "View your business financial performance and position" - Upload Historical Data button — for importing opening balances when migrating from another system
Controls:
| Control | Options |
|---|---|
| Statement Type | Profit & Loss / Balance Sheet / Cash Flow / Trial Balance |
| Period Type | Monthly / Quarterly / Annual |
| Year | 2026 (and prior years) |
| Month | January through December (active when Period Type = Monthly) |
| Generate Statement | Triggers generation of the selected statement |
| Export PDF | Downloads the generated statement as a PDF |
| Export Excel | Coming Soon — not yet available |
| Investigate Imbalance | Appears when Balance Sheet assets ≠ liabilities + equity; opens diagnostic tool |
| Refresh live balances | On Balance Sheet view — re-reads COA balances with a timestamp |
2.2 Profit & Loss (P&L)¶
The P&L shows revenue, expenses, and net profit/loss for the selected period. It reads journal entries by date (not COA balances) to produce a period-specific view.
Structure:
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Revenue | All 4xxx account activity in the period |
| Operating Expenses | All 6xxx account activity (salaries, utilities, supplies, etc.) |
| Net Profit / Net Loss | Revenue minus total expenses |
Sample — March 2026 (COA Test School Academy): - Revenue: ₦0 (no invoices posted in March) - Operating Expenses: - 6010 Teachers' Salaries: ₦530,000 - 6015 Employer Pension: ₦53,000 - Total: ₦583,000 - Net Loss: -₦583,000
Known display bug — "Infinity%" on zero revenue: When revenue = ₦0, the percentage change column shows "Infinity%" instead of "N/A" or "–". This is a cosmetic rendering bug (dividing by zero). The naira figures are correct; only the percentage label is affected.
2.3 Balance Sheet¶
The Balance Sheet shows the business's financial position at a point in time: what it owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities), and the owners' residual stake (equity). It reads directly from COA balances.
Structure:
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Assets | Current assets + Fixed assets (1xxx accounts) |
| Liabilities | Current liabilities + Long-term liabilities (2xxx accounts) |
| Equity | Share capital, retained earnings, capital contributions (3xxx accounts) |
Accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity. When this equation doesn't hold, the Investigate Imbalance button appears.
Sample — Balance Sheet for test business (March 2026): - Total Assets: approximately -₦2,908,000 (COA balances with sign convention) - Total Liabilities + Equity: -₦71,250 - Investigate Imbalance button is visible — the test account has an unresolved GL imbalance
"Refresh live balances" button re-reads COA in real time with a timestamp (e.g., "Last updated: 12:45:03"). Use this when you suspect a recently posted transaction hasn't updated the view.
2.4 Cash Flow Statement¶
The Cash Flow Statement categorises all cash movements into three activities for the period:
| Category | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Operating Activities | Cash from/to normal business operations (collections, payments) |
| Investing Activities | Cash from/to buying or selling assets |
| Financing Activities | Cash from/to loans, owner contributions, dividends paid |
| Net Cash Flow | Total movement in cash for the period |
2.5 Trial Balance¶
The Trial Balance lists every COA account with its debit and credit totals for the period. Total debits must equal total credits. This is the foundational check that the double-entry system is balanced.
Columns: Account Code / Account Name / Debit / Credit
2.6 Upload Historical Data¶
The Upload Historical Data button is for businesses migrating from another accounting system. It allows entry of opening balances for all COA accounts so that historical reports reflect prior-period data. This is typically a one-time setup operation — escalate to Tier 2 if a customer needs to use this.
3. Business rules & constraints¶
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| P&L reads journal entries | Period-specific — aggregates JEs by date for the selected period |
| Balance Sheet reads COA balances | Point-in-time — shows the current balance on each account |
| Assets must equal Liabilities + Equity | If the Balance Sheet doesn't balance, "Investigate Imbalance" appears |
| Export Excel is not yet available | Only PDF export is live |
| Generated timestamp is shown | Each statement displays when it was generated |
| Opening balances needed for full history | Without Upload Historical Data, reports only reflect activity since the business was set up in Finora |
| VAT/WHT accounts feed tax returns | 2020 VAT Payable, 2021 Output VAT Payable, 1040 Input VAT Recoverable are COA accounts — their balances drive the VAT Return calculation |
4. Nigerian regulatory context¶
CAMA requirements - Under CAMA, companies must maintain proper books and produce financial statements. The P&L and Balance Sheet generated here constitute those statutory accounts. - The Balance Sheet must balance (Assets = Liabilities + Equity) — an imbalanced Balance Sheet is a red flag for auditors and FIRS examiners.
CIT (Company Income Tax) - The P&L is the starting point for CIT computation — taxable profit adjusts accounting profit for capital allowances, disallowable expenses, and tax deductions - CIT rate: 30% for large companies; 20% for medium companies (₦25m–₦100m turnover); 0% for small companies (< ₦25m turnover) - Finora's CIT Computation module reads from the P&L — keeping the P&L accurate is essential
VAT filing - Output VAT on sales and Input VAT on purchases flow through the Balance Sheet (2021 Output VAT Payable and 1040 Input VAT Recoverable) - The net VAT payable drives the monthly VAT Return — balance accuracy directly affects tax liability
Audit-ready financial statements - FIRS and external auditors expect financial statements that can be traced back to individual journal entries - The Trial Balance is the bridge between individual JEs and the financial statements
5. Common customer questions¶
Q: "My Balance Sheet doesn't balance. What does that mean?"
It means the total assets don't equal total liabilities plus equity — a fundamental accounting error somewhere in the GL. Click "Investigate Imbalance" to see the diagnostic. Common causes: a journal entry was created with mismatched debits/credits, or an opening balance was entered on only one side. Escalate to Tier 3 if the investigate tool doesn't resolve it.
Q: "Why does my P&L show 'Infinity%'?"
This is a display bug that appears when revenue is ₦0 — the system tries to calculate a percentage change and divides by zero, producing "Infinity%". Your actual figures (naira amounts) are correct. The bug is cosmetic.
Q: "Why can't I export to Excel?"
Excel export is coming soon — it's listed as a planned feature but not yet available. For now, use Export PDF.
Q: "The Balance Sheet shows the same figure every time I refresh. Why?"
Click "Refresh live balances" to force a re-read of the latest COA balances. The page may have loaded an earlier snapshot.
Q: "How do I add opening balances from my old system?"
Use the "Upload Historical Data" button to enter opening balances. This is typically done once when a business first sets up Finora. Escalate to Tier 2 for guidance on this process.
Q: "My P&L shows revenue is ₦0 but I have paid invoices."
Check that the invoices are posted (not drafts) and that the invoice dates fall within the selected period. The P&L reflects GL journal entries by date — invoices saved as drafts or dated in a different month won't appear.
6. Known edge cases¶
"Infinity%" on zero-revenue P&L¶
When no revenue has been recorded for a period, the percentage variance column renders "Infinity%". This is a cosmetic bug — the underlying figures are correct.
Balance Sheet "Investigate Imbalance" on test business¶
The test business (COA Test School Academy) has an unresolved GL imbalance — Assets do not equal Liabilities + Equity. This is specific to the test account and does not affect production customer data.
COA sign conventions in reports¶
COA balances for asset and revenue accounts carry negative signs (credit-side convention in double-entry). The Financial Reports module translates these into positive figures for display — a -₦400,000 Cash at Bank balance becomes ₦400,000 on the Balance Sheet assets section.
Period with no transactions¶
If no transactions were recorded in a selected period, the P&L will show ₦0 revenue and ₦0 expenses with Net Profit ₦0. This is valid — the statement reflects the period accurately.
Historical data gap¶
If a business hasn't uploaded opening balances, historical periods will show only activity since onboarding. Earlier periods will appear blank even if business activity existed.
7. Escalation trigger¶
Escalate to Tier 3 (Founder) if: - Balance Sheet does not balance and "Investigate Imbalance" does not explain the discrepancy - P&L figures clearly don't match the known business activity (e.g., posted invoices not appearing) - A COA account balance is wrong and can't be explained by journal entries - Investigate Imbalance points to a system account issue (VAT, WHT, cash accounts)
Escalate to Tier 2 (Support Lead) if: - Business needs to upload historical opening balances (migration from another system) - Business wants to understand the methodology behind the Cash Flow Statement - Business needs an auditor to receive the statements — guide to Export PDF - P&L doesn't match expectations due to wrong account categorisation (escalate for COA review)
8. Last reviewed¶
2026-03-31 — Nnamdi. Verified against production. Generated P&L for March 2026: Revenue ₦0 / Total Expenses ₦583k (Teachers' Salaries ₦530k + Employer Pension ₦53k) / Net Loss -₦583k. "Infinity%" display bug confirmed on zero-revenue P&L. Generated Balance Sheet: Total Assets ~-₦2.9M / Total Liabilities + Equity ~-₦71k / "Investigate Imbalance" button visible on test account. "Refresh live balances" button with timestamp confirmed. Trial Balance and Cash Flow tabs confirmed. Export PDF confirmed. Export Excel shows "Coming Soon". Upload Historical Data button confirmed in header.