How do I use the Debt/Liability report?

The Debt/Liability report type is used to analyze the money you owe for loans, credit cards, and other forms of debt (including investments that aren't performing well). iBank's Debt/Liability report includes loan payment schedules, charts of your liabilities by type and over time, and a balance sheet summarizing your liabilities by account.

Create a Debt/Liability report

1. Choose a report type:

   Click the plus (+) button on the toolbar and choose "Add Report," or choose Tools > Add New Report. iBank will ask what type of report you want:

   

   Choose "Debt/Liability," then click "Next" to continue.

2. Choose accounts:

   This screen lets you define the scope of the report by choosing which accounts are included. Using the popup menu at the top of the screen, choose one of the following options and configure its settings accordingly:

   • Limit to Specific Accounts:

     By default, new Debt/Liability reports include all accounts, whether or not they are hidden. If you want to limit the report to certain accounts, choose this option from the popup menu button and check off the accounts you want to include. When no accounts are checked, all accounts are included in the report.

     

     For this report type, only accounts that are considered liabilities (e.g. loans, credit cards, liability accounts) will be counted. You may include other account types, but they will be ignored by the report.

   • Limit to Accounts Using Smart Rules:

     To limit the report to certain accounts based on dynamic criteria, choose this option from the popup menu button. You can then configure a series of rules that define which accounts are included in the report:

     • Any/All of the following are true: If you choose "Any" as the option for this rule, all accounts that match at least one of the rules that follow will be included in the report. If you choose "All," only accounts that match all of the rules that follow will be included. The first instance of this rule cannot be removed. Additional "Any/All" rules can be added by holding the Option key and clicking the '...' button next to one of the existing rules. This will allow you to create more complex rule hierarchies.
     • Group: Use this rule to include or exclude all accounts in a particular account group.
     • Debit: Use this rule to include or exclude accounts of the following types: Credit Card, Line of Credit, Liability, and Loan.
     • Currency: Use this rule to include or exclude all accounts that use a specific currency.
     • Account type: Use this rule to include or exclude all accounts of a particular type.

     

     The advantage of using rules instead of checking off specific accounts is that the report will automatically update itself to include all accounts that satisfy the rules you set up. To illustrate, say you create a report to track your loans by using a rule that only includes loan accounts. Once the report has been created, you can add and delete accounts as needed (of any type), and the report will always show all of your loan accounts.

   When you finish configuring accounts for the report, click "Next" to continue.

3. Choose a date range:

   This screen lets you choose a date range for the report. Click the popup menu button and select from a variety of predefined ranges: options that end with "to Date" indicate periods of time that are relative to the current date; other options represent fixed periods of time.

   Choose "Specific Start and End Dates" to define an exact range by entering two dates. You may also choose "Custom Dates" to specify a range relative to a particular date. Use the "starting/ending" popup to determine whether the report covers a range of dates in the future or past, respectively. Choose "today" to have the report start or end on the current date (regardless of when the report is viewed), or choose "on date" to specify a fixed start/end date.

   

4. Finish creating the report:

   This screen lets you configure a few last settings for the new report. Enter a unique name to distinguish the report from others in the source list, then pick which currency its figures should be displayed in. If accounts that use different currencies are included in the report, their figures will be converted automatically using iBank's current exchange rates.

   

   Check the "Include scheduled transactions" option to include pending scheduled transactions in addition to the transactions that are recorded in your accounts. The scheduled transactions must satisfy the other report options to be included, e.g. fall within the report's range and be scheduled to post to one of the included accounts. These transactions appear with a yellow background in transaction list reports (see below).

   This option can be used to project your debt into the future. To forecast your account balances in this manner, be sure the report is configured with a date range that includes future dates.

   When you are finished configuring these options, click "Next" and then "Done." The new report will be added to the source list, and the report details will be displayed in the main window.

Edit the report settings

Once a report has been created, you can edit its settings at any time. Double-click the report in the source list, or select it and choose View > Show Popup Inspector. The report inspector will open to show you the available options. Make any changes necessary, then click "Save" to record the changes or "Cancel" to discard them.

Interpret the report

The report's name and type are shown at the top of the report, followed by the date range used for the report. Two tables and two charts are displayed below: a table showing information about paying off your loans, a pie chart showing your liabilities by account type, a table summarizing your liabilities by account, and a bar graph showing your total debt over time.

Loan Payoff Info:

This is a table showing each of your loan accounts, with three possible payoff scenarios for each. Along with the name of each loan account is shown the current interest rate and principal balance. On the next line is the minimum payment due on that loan, with the amount of time it will take to pay off the loan entirely at that rate and the total amount of interest you will pay before the loan is paid off. The next two lines show alternative payment amounts and their corresponding payoff times and interest totals. Click on any line to view a detailed payment schedule for that scenario (more below). Use the arrow buttons at the top of the report to navigate back and forth as you "drill down" into the report details.

Loan Payment Schedule:

This is a table showing a payment schedule from the end date of the report to the point at which the loan principal has been fully paid. Above the table, iBank displays the name of the loan account, the current interest rate, the payment amount, and the total amount of interest paid over the course of the schedule. Each row in the table shows the payment number (counting from the next payment due), the portion of the payment taken out as interest, the portion used to pay down the principal, and the remaining principal balance.

Liabilities by Account Type:

This is a pie chart depicting your liabilities at a fixed point in time (the end date of the report). Each pie slice represents the total value of the accounts of a particular type, and the slices are drawn proportionally so that you can see which types of accounts hold more debt. Below the chart is a key that shows which colors correspond to which account types and the total value of each type. Mouse over any account type to highlight the corresponding slice in the pie chart above. Click on any pie slice to view a detailed balance sheet report for the accounts that make up that slice (more below).

Liabilities Summary:

This is a table summarizing your debt by account at a fixed point in time (the end date of the report). The "Account" column lists your accounts in alphabetical order and grouped into cash liabilities and security liabilities (assets may also be shown, if either the cash value or market value of the account is positive). The "Amount" column shows the value of each account as well as totals for each group. The figure displayed at the bottom of the table is your total debt. Click on the name of any account to view a transaction list for that account (more below).

Liabilities Over Time:

This is a bar chart depicting your debt over time. Each bar represents the total value of your liability accounts at a fixed point in time, consisting of cash (money you owe) and securities (shares you own that are worth less than what you paid for them). Assets may appear on this chart if you have investments with a positive cash or market value. The black line that is drawn over the bars indicates the total value of your accounts over time. Click on a bar to view a detailed balance sheet report for the date it represents (more below).

Balance Sheet:

This is a table detailing your net worth at a fixed point in time (the end date of the report). The "Account" column lists your accounts in alphabetical order and grouped into cash liabilities and security liabilities (assets may also be shown, if either the cash value or market value of an investment account is positive). The "Amount" column shows the value of each account as well as totals for each group. The total displayed at the bottom of the table is your total debt. Click on the name of any account to view a transaction list for that account (more below).

Transaction List:

This is a table detailing the transactions in a particular account. Only transactions that are counted in the report are displayed here; other transactions may be recorded in the account but fall outside the scope of the report. Transactions are displayed on this report in chronological order and show their dates, status, payees, categories, and credit/debit amounts. When investment transactions are displayed, their security details are shown. A running balance for the account is also shown. At the top of the report, a total of all the transaction amounts is displayed next to the title. Click on a transaction to open a new window showing that transaction in its account register. You may edit the transaction as needed; when you save your changes, the report will be updated automatically.

Print or save a copy of a report

The main report and any of the detailed reports that you can drill down to can be printed simply by choosing File > Print and clicking the "Print" button. The paper size used for the printout can be changed by choosing File > Page Setup and selecting a different setting, but the orientation is restricted to portrait mode (landscape is not permitted).

To save a copy of a report as a PDF file, choose File > Print, then click the "PDF" button and choose "Save As PDF." Enter a name for the new file, choose where you want to save it, and click "Save." You will then have a copy of the report that you can view and print using the Preview application or any standard PDF reader.

You may also export the data from any table on a report to a tab-delimited file. Mouse over the table you want to export, and a button will appear over the top left corner of the report: Click this button and choose a location where the table data should be saved, then import the file into Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers to use the data in a spreadsheet.