Module 8 · Advanced · 9 min read

Sales and purchase reports

You will be able to: Choose between the Sales Register, Sales Analysis and Gross Profit by Line; Avoid the traps that make a sales report show the wrong total; Read Purchase Analysis average and last rate.

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Sales and purchase reports look similar but answer different questions. Pick the right one first, then check the filters that quietly change the totals.

Sales Register: the list of invoices

One row per sales invoice with Taxable, VAT and Total, and where it stands in collection: Received, Balance, Due Date and Days Overdue. Use it to find an invoice, check a customer's invoices or reconcile a total. Clicking a row opens the Sales Invoices list, not the invoice, so search for the number there.

The Sales Register listing every sales invoice with date, due date, party, total, received, balance, days overdue and status.

Sales Register: the list of invoices.

Sales Register: the list of invoices.
Watch outStatus starts on All, so draft and cancelled invoices are in the totals. Choose Submitted, which also leaves out invoices corrected with Amend (status Amended), or ignore the Received and Balance of drafts and cancelled rows. Days Overdue is counted even when the invoice is fully paid, so look at Balance first. POS receipts are not in this report.

Sales Analysis: where profit comes from

Choose a Dimension (Item, Customer, Salesman, Category, Brand or Variant) and each row shows Qty, Revenue, Cost, GP and GP %. It counts submitted and amended sales invoices and POS receipts, with returns taken off. Revenue is without VAT. Cost is the stock cost frozen on each line when the document was submitted. Sales with no customer appear as Cash customer.

The Sales Analysis report showing sales, cost and profit grouped by a chosen dimension.

Sales Analysis: where profit comes from.

Sales Analysis: where profit comes from.
  • Your user needs permission to see cost. Without it the report refuses to run.
  • Invoices made from a delivery note carry no cost on the invoice, because the cost was booked with the delivery note. Their lines show zero cost and a profit equal to the revenue.
  • At present, choosing a Branch leaves the grid empty. Leave it empty and use the Sales Register for one branch.

Gross Profit by Line: another view, different totals

One row per invoice, POS or return line, with Sales, Unit Cost and Gross Profit. But Sales here includes VAT, and returns are listed with positive amounts and added instead of taken off. Its profit is therefore higher than Sales Analysis for the same lines.

The Gross Profit by Line report listing each invoice line with its cost and gross profit.

Gross Profit by Line: profit on each line sold.

Gross Profit by Line: profit on each line sold.
Same customer, two answersA customer bought goods worth AED 10,000 before VAT, costing AED 7,000. Sales Analysis shows Revenue 10,000, GP 3,000, GP % 30%. Gross Profit by Line shows Sales 10,500 (with 5% VAT), Gross Profit 3,500 and a margin of 33.3%. Both are arithmetically right. For margin decisions use Sales Analysis.

Purchase Analysis

Choose a Dimension (Item, Supplier, Requested By, Category, Brand or Variant). Purchase Value is without VAT, less purchase returns. Goods received notes are not counted until they are invoiced. Avg Rate is Purchase Value divided by Qty. Last Rate is the rate on the most recent purchase line in the period. Variance vs Last is Avg Rate minus Last Rate.

The Purchase Analysis report grouping purchases by supplier or item.

Purchase Analysis.

Purchase Analysis.
Is the item getting dearer?In October you buy 100 units at AED 10 and 100 at AED 12. Qty is 200, Purchase Value is 2,200, Avg Rate is 11 and Last Rate is 12. Variance vs Last = 11 - 12 = minus 1. A negative number means your last purchase cost more than your average. Use it with Item or Variant, because for a Supplier it compares different items. The Branch filter has the same empty-grid problem; use the Purchase Register for one branch.

Try it in the demo

  1. Open Sales Register. Look at Status. Does it start on All? Change it to Submitted and compare the TOTAL row.
  2. Open Sales Analysis with Dimension Customer for this month. Note Revenue, Cost and GP % for the top customer.
  3. Open Gross Profit by Line and group by Customer. Compare that customer's Sales and GP with Sales Analysis. Why do they differ?
  4. Open Purchase Analysis with Dimension Item and compare Avg Rate with Last Rate.
Open the live demo

Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.

Key takeaways
  • Sales Register Status starts on All, so drafts and cancelled invoices are in the totals.
  • Sales Analysis revenue excludes VAT; Gross Profit by Line sales include VAT, so margins differ.
  • Sales Analysis and Purchase Analysis need permission to see cost, and their Branch filter is currently empty.
  • Purchase Analysis Variance vs Last is Avg Rate minus Last Rate.

Check yourself

5 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.

1. In Sales Analysis, revenue is:

2. In Purchase Analysis, what is Variance vs Last?

3. The Sales Register Status starts on All. What does that mean for its totals?

4. In Sales Analysis, revenue is AED 20,000 and cost is AED 14,000. What is GP %?

5. You buy 100 units at AED 8 and then 50 units at AED 14. Purchase Analysis shows Avg Rate 10. What is Variance vs Last (Last Rate 14)?

Previous: Filters, columns, grouping and saved viewsNext: Stock and ledger reports

Practice questions for this module · Printable study sheet