How do I use the Forecast report?

The Forecast report type is used to project your account balances into the future based on your scheduled transactions. iBank's Forecast report includes a line graph that shows your account balances over time and a summary table that shows the starting, ending, high, and low balances of each account.

Create a Forecast 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 "Forecast," 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 Forecast 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.

     

   • 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 only your asset accounts, by using a rule that excludes all loan, credit, and liability account types. 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 asset 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. To ensure that the Forecast report projects your account balances into the future, choose a date range that extends into the future.

   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.

   

   The "Include scheduled transactions" option is checked by default. This option includes 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).

   If you disable this option on a Forecast report, the account balances will be based solely on the transactions you have already recorded in your accounts. For a more accurate forecast, be sure to include scheduled transactions and choose a date range for the report that extends into the future.

   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 type is shown at the top of the report, followed by the date range used for the report. One chart and one table are displayed below: a line plot showing your account balances over time, and a summary table highlighting a few key balances for each account included in the report.

Account Balances:

This is a line graph depicting your account balances over time. Time is plotted on the horizontal axis; balance amounts are plotted on the vertical axis. Each account included in the report is plotted on the graph in a different color: assets are plotted in shades of green and liabilities are plotted in shades of red. If you included more than one account, a thick black line is also plotted on the graph to show the total value of all accounts. A legend is provided below the graph to help you identify which account uses which color. Click and drag the vertical black line across the graph to view a pop-up box showing the balance of each account on that date:

The figures shown in the pop-up box provide information about the interval in which the slider rests. Each interval represents the time between two transactions that affect the account balance. If only one account is included in the Forecast report, iBank will shade the current interval so that you can see it on the graph. "Balance" indicates the account balance on the date shown at the bottom of the slider. "High" indicates the higher of the beginning and ending balances for the interval; "Low" indicates the lower of the two.

When a Forecast report is configured to span several years, it may not be possible to plot every day on the graph. In this case, iBank will compress multiple days into a single graph point, and the figures in the pop-up boxes will pertain to all dates covered by that point on the graph.

Click on a pop-up box to view a detailed transaction list for an account during the current interval (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.

Summary:

This is a table summarizing your account balances at a several points in time. The "Account" column lists your accounts in alphabetical order. "Start Balance" indicates the balance of each account on the starting date of the report; "End Balance" indicates the balance on the report's ending date. "Low Balance" indicates the lowest amount reached by each account during the report's time frame; "High Balance" indicates the highest amount within the same range. Click on the name of any account to view a detailed 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.

Transactions that appear in this list with a yellow background represent future instances of your scheduled transactions. These transactions cannot be edited like the transactions in your accounts, because they have not yet been posted to your accounts. To adjust these transactions, you will need to edit the templates on which they are based.

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 depending on the report you are printing (some use portrait mode and some use landscape).

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.