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LedgerIQ · GuideStep by step

How to prepare management accounts, from the ledger up.

First the method: what goes into a set of management accounts, in what order, and how ratio analysis and a dashboard fit in. Then every screen of LedgerIQ, from exporting the general ledger to the board pack you send the client, with what you will see at each step.

Open LedgerIQ Start with the method
6 steps by hand8 steps in LedgerIQFree sample run on a demo company
Part one · the method

How to prepare management accounts.

Management accounts are the monthly or quarterly report a business runs on: a profit and loss, a balance sheet, cash, a handful of ratios and a page of commentary. There is no statutory format, so the template pack here is a management accounts template rather than a rule. The steps are the same whether you build it in a spreadsheet or in LedgerIQ. What management accounts are, and how they differ from statutory accounts, is in the LedgerIQ FAQ.

  1. Close the period in the booksReconcile the bank, post the period's sales and purchase invoices, and put through accruals, prepayments and depreciation. Management accounts are only as good as the ledger behind them; MatchIQ and CodeIQ do the bank and coding work.
  2. Export the general ledgerThe transaction-level general ledger for the period, not a trial balance: every journal line with its account, date and amount. Where to find it in each platform is in the table below.
  3. Build the statementsA profit and loss for the month and the year to date, with last year or the budget beside it, and a balance sheet at the period end. Free profit and loss and balance sheet templates show the layout.
  4. Work out the ratiosGross and net margin, the current ratio, debtor and creditor days, gearing. The few that tell this business's story, compared with last period. Formulas for each are in the financial ratios guide.
  5. Look ahead at cashA cash flow forecast for the next three to twelve months, from the opening bank balance and the expected receipts and payments. The cash flow forecast template is a free starting point.
  6. Write the commentaryOne page on what changed and why, and what needs a decision. This is the page the board reads; the numbers support it.
Management accounts templateMonthly pack
01Commentary and key figures1 page
02Profit and loss: month, year to date, budget1 page
03Balance sheet at the period end1 page
04Cash: bank balances and forecast1 page
05Key ratios against last period1 page
06Debtors and creditors1 page
07Risks and actionshalf page

A sample management accounts pack in a common format for a small company. A board pack is the same pack with more commentary, written for the directors.

How to do ratio analysis

Pick the ratios that answer a question (can we pay our bills? are we making money on each sale? are customers paying on time?), calculate them from the same period's statements, then compare: with last month, last year and the budget. A single ratio means little; the trend and the comparison carry the meaning.

Current ratio = current assets ÷ current liabilitiesQuick ratio = (current assets − stock) ÷ current liabilitiesGross margin = gross profit ÷ revenueNet margin = net profit ÷ revenueDebtor days = trade debtors ÷ revenue × 365Creditor days = trade creditors ÷ cost of sales × 365Gearing = debt ÷ (debt + equity)

Every ratio with its formula is in the financial ratios guide.

A financial dashboard in Excel

A financial dashboard in Excel is a summary sheet that pulls from a data tab: paste the general ledger into one sheet, build the monthly totals with SUMIFS by account and month, then chart revenue, costs and cash on the front sheet. A management accounts template in Excel works the same way, with the statements on their own tabs. It works, but every month starts with pasting the ledger in again and re-checking the formulas. LedgerIQ builds the same dashboard from the export, and its report composer can still export the result to Excel. For a financial dashboard sample, open the free demo company in LedgerIQ: its overview is the dashboard.

A board pack sample

A board pack is management accounts written for the directors: a summary up front, then the statements, then the detail. As a board pack template, LedgerIQ's runs: executive summary, risk flags (when there are any), RiQ's executive commentary, profit and loss, balance sheet, key ratios, revenue against expenses, monthly performance, seasonality, revenue streams, expense mix, top expenses, cash and liquidity, then RiQ's recommended actions and outlook. Run the free sample in LedgerIQ to see a complete board pack on a demo company.

How to export the general ledger, platform by platform

XeroAccounting › Reports › General Ledger (Detail)
Select the date range and export as CSV. Management accounts from Xero start with this export.
QuickBooks OnlineReports › General Ledger
Customise the date range and export to Excel or CSV. The starting point for QuickBooks management accounts.
Sage 50Nominal codes › Reports › Nominal Activity
Select the criteria and output to CSV. The starting point for Sage management accounts.
PandleReports › All Reports › General Ledger
Select the date range and export as CSV.

The export must include transaction details, account codes, names and types. These four exports are the formats LedgerIQ recognises; the same paths are under the Instructions button on the upload screen.

Part two · in LedgerIQ

The same pack, screen by screen.

LedgerIQ does steps 3 to 5 of the method for you and drafts the commentary, so your time goes on checking and on the judgement. Each step below names the buttons as they appear on screen. Want to see it before you upload anything? See it work on sample data on the upload screen runs the real analysis on a demo company, free.

  1. Export the general ledger

    Export the transaction-level general ledger for the period you want to analyse, not a trial balance: LedgerIQ builds the trial balance, the statements and every module from the journal lines. If you are not sure where the export is, press Instructions on the LedgerIQ upload screen for the export steps.

    A whole financial year gives the trend, seasonality and forecasting modules the most to work with. The export must include transaction details, account codes, names and types.

    Export InstructionsUpload screen
    XeroAccounting › Reports › General Ledger (Detail)
    Sage 50Nominal codes › Reports › Nominal Activity
    QuickBooks OnlineReports › General Ledger
    PandleReports › All Reports › General Ledger

    Ensure the export includes transaction details, account codes, names, and types.

  2. Upload and analyse

    On the upload screen, drop the file on General Ledger (CSV or Excel) or press Choose File. It takes .csv, .xlsx and .xls; for an Excel file, keep the general ledger on the first sheet. Then press Analyze Ledger. LedgerIQ reads the file in your browser, recognises whether it came from Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or Pandle, and parses it.

    The notice above the box says what it costs: 1,000 credits for each general ledger file processed. If your balance is short, a credit check opens before anything is charged. No ledger to hand? See it work on sample data runs the real analysis on Kestrel Precision Engineering Ltd, a demo company with a full year of accounts, and uses none of your credits.

    Tip. The upload box says “any platform”, but the parser recognises four layouts: Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and Pandle. Any other file stops with “Unsupported GL format”.

    LedgerIQUpload
    LedgerIQ analysis costs 1,000 credits per GL file processed
    General Ledger (CSV or Excel)The transaction-level GL export from any platform, not a trial balance.Choose File

    kestrel-precision-engineering-gl.csv

    Analyze Ledger or
    See it work on sample data Free
    Format: pandle-detailed. Parsing...

  3. Answer the classification questions

    A general ledger names its accounts but does not always say what kind of account each one is. Where LedgerIQ cannot tell from the export, it asks before it goes on. A QuickBooks file with unfamiliar accounts, for example, opens A few accounts need classification: choose the type for each account listed and press Continue.

    Some modules ask a question when you first open them, in a window titled for the question: Classify Asset Accounts (current or non-current), Identify Direct Costs (COGS), Configure Fiscal Year-End, opening balances and so on. Suggestions are filled in for you, and where RiQ has given a second opinion it shows when you hover over the suggestion. Check them and press the confirm button (for example Confirm Classifications), or Skip for now. Your answers are kept, and Manage Enrichments in the sidebar lists them all, so you can change any of them later.

    Tip. Classification answers never change the ledger itself; they change how it is grouped, and so the subtotals and ratios built from it. Getting current and non-current right matters most: the balance sheet, cash flow statement and liquidity ratios all depend on it.

    Classify Asset AccountsBalance Sheet

    For each asset account, specify if it is Current (due within one year) or Non-Current (long-term).

    NatWest Business Current AccountCurrent
    Trade DebtorsCurrent
    Plant and MachineryNon-Current
    Motor VehiclesNon-Current
    SkipConfirm Classifications

  4. Open the dashboard

    When the analysis is done, Analysis Complete shows the company, the period, the platform the file came from, and the number of accounts, transactions and the revenue it found. Check those against what you expected, then press Open Financial Dashboard.

    Pressed Not now, I'll open it later? View Financial Analysis stays on the upload screen, and the latest analysis is kept in this browser. Reopening the dashboard with View Financial Analysis is free; uploading the file again is charged again.

    Analysis CompletePandle
    Analysis Complete
    Kestrel Precision Engineering Ltd
    2 Apr 2025 → 31 Mar 2026
    55Accounts
    1,150Transactions
    £1,562,429Revenue
    Open Financial Dashboard → Not now, I'll open it later

  5. Set the period

    The period bar across the top of the dashboard sets the period for every module at once. Use the Start Date and End Date fields and Apply Period, or a preset under Quick periods: full year, year to date (YTD), the trailing twelve months (TTM), quarter to date (QTD) or month to date (MTD).

    Compare adds a comparison: against the prior period, the same period last year, or the budget. For monthly management accounts, set the month and compare it with the same month last year. The currency symbol shown throughout can be changed in the header.

    The periodAll modules
    to
    Apply Period

    Quick periods

    Full yearYTDTTMQTDMTD

    Compare

    vs same period last year

  6. Work through the modules

    The Overview Dashboard opens first: a hero band with revenue, net profit, performance and a written narrative; the financial dimensions; Where every pound went; Cash (the period-end balance, the monthly cash trend and the runway); a what-if band; Intelligent insights; and how much of the ledger the analysis covers. The sidebar groups the 44 modules: Financial Statements, Profitability, Financial Health, Operational Efficiency, Trends & Forecasting, Advanced Tools, Experimental (valuation, credit risk and the other newer modules), Forensic, and Period Comparison. Open a group and choose a module, for example Financial Statements, then Profit & Loss.

    For management accounts, read in this order: Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement, then Liquidity Overview, Working Capital and Return Ratios (ROA/ROE) for the ratio analysis, and Cash Flow Forecast for the months ahead. Ask RiQ in the header, Ask RiQ about Profit & Loss (named for each module) at the top of a module, or Ask RiQ next to a module's view tabs, asks RiQ to explain what you are looking at.

    Tip. When you ask RiQ, or it writes commentary or checks a classification, the figures and account names it needs are sent to our servers. The ledger itself is analysed in your browser.

    Financial StatementsProfit & Loss
    Overview Dashboard Financial Statements Profit & Loss Balance Sheet Cash Flow Statement Profitability Financial Health Trends & Forecasting Forensic Manage Enrichments
    Revenue1,562,429
    Cost of sales(778,672)
    Gross profit783,757
    Operating expenses(580,192)
    Operating profit203,565
    Interest and tax(63,684)
    Net profit139,881
    Ask RiQ about Profit & Loss

  7. Build the report

    Press Export to PDF in the header to open Generate Report, which has three tabs. In Select Components, choose the charts, tables and KPIs to include from any module, or start from a Template: the built-in Management Accounts template takes the profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement and trial balance, and Board Pack swaps the trial balance for liquidity, return ratios and revenue. In White Label, add the logo, company name, Prepared By, colours and fonts, and save it as a branding profile for each client.

    In Preview & Export, choose the Format (PDF, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, CSV, a web link, or a schedule) and press Generate. From the Overview Dashboard, Board pack PDF opens the same window as a full board pack with RiQ's commentary. The buttons on a single chart download it as PNG, SVG or Data (CSV).

    Tip. Save your selection as a template (Save as template) and next month's management accounts are one click: upload the new ledger, open the template, generate.

    Generate ReportBoard Pack
    Select ComponentsWhite LabelPreview & Export

    Format

    PDF
    PDFPowerPointWordExcelCSVWeb linkSchedule…

    The options in the Format list.

    Generate

  8. Share, schedule and add your team

    Choose Web link as the format to publish the report as a page you can send, to Anyone with the link or privately to a client. Shared Reports in the sidebar lists every link, with its activity, and lets you open or Revoke it.

    Schedule… in the Format list opens Schedule this report: give it a Schedule name, a Frequency (monthly, weekly or daily), choose whether to Publish a fresh shareable link or Email the PDF to recipients (and add the Recipients), and press Create schedule. Scheduled Reports in the sidebar lists them, and Run now sends one straight away. Team & Sharing adds colleagues as admin or staff, and clients, who see their reports under Reports shared with you.

    Schedule this reportMonthly

    Schedule name

    Monthly management accounts
    Frequency
    Monthly
    Day of month
    5
    Time
    09:00

    Delivery

    Email the PDF to recipients

    Recipients

    [email protected], [email protected]
    Create schedule
Part three · other routes

From IQ Books, with no export.

If the books are kept in IQ Books, there is nothing to export: LedgerIQ reads the live ledger.

In IQ Books, open Reports, then Analysis (LedgerIQ). The screen shows the period and the number of journal lines, then Open analysis opens the same dashboard as an upload, at 1,000 credits for each analysis period. Opening the same period again within 24 hours is free for anyone in those books, and the GL CSV download beside it is always free.

Reading the live ledger adds two views an export cannot give: a thirteen-week cash calendar inside the cash flow forecast, and credit control inside receivables and payables.

Beside the 44 modules, IQ Books ledgers also get Your Books, then State of the Books, at the top of the sidebar: how far the books are written up, what waits in Review, the period-end checks, findings to act on, what RiQ has found, the deadlines ahead with the payment the cash calendar expects, what changed since the last analysis, and what LedgerIQ saved to the books. Each line opens its fix in IQ Books, behind the analysis.

Several modules also go deeper on IQ Books ledgers: Tax Efficiency adds VAT return: what changed (IQ Books' own boxes against the period before and a year earlier, which customers, suppliers and accounts moved them, and what is worth a second look before filing); the Examination Pack adds segregation of duties and bank reconciliation tests; Credit Risk takes debt service from the loan repayments and interest in the books; and the forensic modules group payments by the real customer or supplier, with a link to each.

Some of the same figures appear in IQ Books itself at no charge: the thirteen-week cash outlook on the dashboard, how customers and suppliers pay on their records, stock life on products, margin on projects, and the answers LedgerIQ saved on the chart of accounts.

Troubleshooting

“Unsupported GL format”LedgerIQ recognises the general ledger exports of Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and Pandle. Re-export using the paths above, and check it is the detailed general ledger, not a summary.
“Parsing resulted in no accounts”The file is empty or not a general ledger, often a trial balance or an aged report. LedgerIQ needs the transaction-level general ledger.
An Excel file will not readPut the general ledger on the first sheet, or export it as CSV instead.
A module asks a question firstSome modules need a classification, such as which accounts are cost of sales or which are current. Answer it once; it is kept, and Manage Enrichments lets you change it.
Period comparison is emptyCompare Periods needs a second general ledger upload for the other period.
Questions

Before you start.

Short answers to what people ask before their first analysis. The LedgerIQ FAQ has more.

How do you prepare management accounts?

Close the period in the books, export the general ledger, build the profit and loss and balance sheet, work out the key ratios, forecast cash, and write a page of commentary. The method above takes each step in turn; LedgerIQ does the statements, ratios and forecast from the ledger export and drafts the commentary.

Is there a management accounts template?

There is no required format. The usual pack is commentary, a profit and loss against budget, a balance sheet, cash, key ratios, debtors and creditors, and risks; the template above lists it. In LedgerIQ, the built-in Management Accounts report template builds the statements section for you.

Can LedgerIQ analyse a trial balance?

No. LedgerIQ needs the transaction-level general ledger, every journal line with its account, date and amount. It builds the trial balance itself, and uses the transactions for trends, seasonality, forecasting and the forensic modules.

How do I export a general ledger from Xero?

In Xero, go to Accounting, then Reports, then General Ledger (Detail), select the date range and export as CSV. The QuickBooks Online, Sage 50 and Pandle paths are in the table above.

What is management reporting?

Management reporting is the regular internal reporting a business runs on: management accounts, KPIs, cash forecasts and budget comparisons, prepared for the owners and managers rather than for Companies House or HMRC.

What are some examples of management accounting reports?

A monthly profit and loss against budget, a balance sheet, a cash flow forecast, aged debtors and creditors, a KPI dashboard, and a board pack that brings them together with commentary.

How much does a LedgerIQ analysis cost?

1,000 credits for each general ledger file processed. Reopening the dashboard with View Financial Analysis is free; uploading the file again is charged again. The sample run on the demo company is free. The free tier's 1,000 credits cover one full analysis once your email is verified, and Starter at £10 a month adds 5,000 credits every month.

Can I use LedgerIQ with IQ Books?

Yes, without an export. In IQ Books, Reports, then Analysis (LedgerIQ), opens the same dashboard on the live ledger, at 1,000 credits for each analysis period, and adds the thirteen-week cash calendar, credit control and, beside the 44 modules, a State of the Books view.

Where next.

Four places to go from here, depending on what you need.

The FAQGeneral ledgers, GL codes, management accounts and every LedgerIQ question.Read the FAQ → Financial ratiosEvery ratio LedgerIQ calculates, with the formula and what it tells you.See the ratios → The templatesFree profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow forecast templates.Open a template → The featuresThe modules, forecasts, valuation, examination pack and reports in one tour.See the features →

Build your first management pack.

One full analysis is 1,000 credits, and the free tier's 1,000 credits arrive once your email is verified. Or run the free sample first and see every module and the board pack on a demo company.

Start free Open LedgerIQ