How do I use the Net Worth report?

The Net Worth report type is used to determine the total value of all your accounts. Your "net worth," also known as your "wealth," is calculated by taking the value of your assets (money you hold) and subtracting the value of your liabilities (money you owe). Cash you have in your accounts is included as well as any investments you hold. iBank's Net Worth report includes a bar graph that shows your net worth over time, pie charts showing breakdowns of your assets and liabilities by account type, and a balance sheet that details your assets and liabilities on a specific date.

Create a Net Worth 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 "Net Worth," 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 Net Worth 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 assets, 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.

   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 net worth into the future. To forecast your account balances in this manner, check "Include scheduled transactions," set "Report on" to "Custom Dates," and enter a specific date in 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 name and type are shown at the top of the report. The date range used for the report follows, along with a description of the information contained within the report. Three charts and a table are displayed below: a bar chart showing your net worth over time, a pie chart showing your assets by account type, a pie chart showing your liabilities by account type, and a tabular balance sheet detailing your assets and liabilities.

Net Worth Over Time:

This is a bar chart depicting your net worth over time. Each bar represents the total value of your accounts at a fixed point in time. Assets are drawn above the horizontal axis and consist of cash (money you have on hand) and securities (shares you hold). Liabilities are drawn below the axis and consist of cash (money you owe) and securities (shares you sold short). The black line that is drawn over the bars indicates your total net worth over time.

Click on a bar to view a detailed balance sheet report for the date it represents (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.

Below the bar chart is a written description of some trends in your net worth. iBank provides the starting and ending net worth figures for the report's timeframe, along with the percent change over that period. It shows the percent change in your net worth over a more recent period of time, and it indicates the change in your rate of wealth accumulation.

Assets and Liabilities by Account Type:

These are pie charts depicting your assets and liabilities at a fixed point in time (the end date of the report) - assets are on the left and liabilities are on the right. 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 are worth more. Below each 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).

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 assets, cash liabilities, security assets, and security liabilities. 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 net worth. Click on the name of any account to view a transaction list for that account (more below).

If you are using multiple currencies, each group will be subtotaled by currency and a third column will appear showing the totals converted into the report's currency (conversions are based on iBank's current exchange rates).

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.