Reports

Analyze your financial data with comprehensive reports

Overview

Reports transform your transaction data into actionable insights. Firefly III offers multiple report types to help you understand spending patterns, track income, monitor budgets, and make informed financial decisions.

Report Types

Firefly III provides several report categories:

Default Reports

Standard financial reports

• Income vs. Expense
• Budget Performance
• Category Analysis
• Monthly Overview

Comparison Reports

Compare periods or categories

• Month over Month
• Year over Year
• Account Comparison
• Category Comparison

Custom Reports

Tailored analysis

• Custom date ranges
• Specific accounts
• Selected categories
• Filtered by tags

Audit Reports

Detailed transaction review

• Account Audit
• Transaction History
• Reconciliation Reports
• No Category/Budget

Generating a Report

1. Navigate to Reports

   Go to Reports in the main navigation.

2. Select Report Type

   Choose the type of report you want to generate.

3. Set Date Range

   Define the time period:

   • This month/year
   • Last 30/60/90 days
   • Custom date range
4. Select Accounts

   Choose which accounts to include:

   • All accounts
   • Specific asset accounts
   • Account groups
5. Add Filters (Optional)

   Refine the report:

   • Specific categories
   • Certain budgets
   • Tagged transactions
6. Generate Report

   Click Generate Report and wait for processing.

Default Financial Reports

Income vs. Expense Report

Compare what you earned versus what you spent:

Shows:

• Total income for period
• Total expenses for period
• Net income (income - expenses)
• Daily average income and expenses
• Trends over time

Charts:

• Income and expense bar chart
• Daily balance line chart
• Category breakdown pie chart

Run this report monthly to track if you’re living within your means and identify spending trends.

Budget Report

Analyze budget performance:

Shows:

• Spending per budget
• Budget limits vs. actual spending
• Over-budget categories
• Under-budget categories
• Unbudgeted expenses

Charts:

• Budget progress bars
• Spending by budget pie chart
• Budget trends over time

Category Report

Break down spending by category:

Shows:

• Total spent per category
• Percentage of total spending
• Top spending categories
• Category trends
• Transactions per category

Charts:

• Category pie chart
• Category bar chart
• Category trend lines

Account Report

Track individual account performance:

Shows:

• Starting balance
• Ending balance
• Total deposits
• Total withdrawals
• Net change
• Average daily balance

Charts:

• Balance over time
• Transaction volume
• Income vs. expense by account

Specialized Reports

Tag Report

Analyze tagged transactions:

Use cases for tag reports

• Project spending totals (#kitchen-remodel)
• Event expenses (#vacation-2024)
• Shared expense tracking (#roommate)
• Reimbursable expense summary (#work-expense)

Shows:

• Total spending per tag
• Transactions by tag
• Multiple tag combinations
• Tag trends over time

Bill Report

Monitor recurring bills:

Shows:

• Bills paid vs. unpaid
• Total bill payments
• Bills by category
• Payment history
• Late payments

No Category Report

Find uncategorized transactions:

Shows:

• All transactions without categories
• Total uncategorized spending
• Suggested categories
• Easy bulk categorization

Run this report regularly. Uncategorized transactions reduce report accuracy and make budgeting difficult.

No Budget Report

Identify unbudgeted expenses:

Shows:

• Transactions not assigned to budgets
• Total unbudgeted spending
• Percentage of spending unbudgeted
• Category breakdown of unbudgeted

Comparison Reports

Month-over-Month

Compare consecutive months:

Shows:

• Spending changes month to month
• Income variations
• Category differences
• Trend identification

Example insights:

• “Grocery spending up 15% from last month”
• “Entertainment spending decreased $200”
• “Income increased due to bonus”

Year-over-Year

Compare same period across years:

Shows:

• Annual growth/decline
• Seasonal patterns
• Long-term trends
• Lifestyle changes

Example insights:

• “Housing costs up 5% from last year”
• “Transportation spending down $1,200 annually”
• “Income increased 10% year over year”

Budget vs. Actual

Compare planned budgets to actual spending:

Shows:

• Budget compliance
• Overspending areas
• Underspending areas
• Budget accuracy

Report Components

Summary Statistics

Key metrics at a glance:

• Total income
• Total expenses
• Net income
• Average daily spending
• Transaction count
• Account balances

Charts and Graphs

Visual data representation:

Line Charts:

• Balance over time
• Spending trends
• Income patterns

Bar Charts:

• Category comparisons
• Monthly summaries
• Account activity

Pie Charts:

• Spending distribution
• Income sources
• Budget allocation

Area Charts:

• Cumulative spending
• Stacked categories
• Combined accounts

Transaction Lists

Detailed transaction tables:

• Date, description, amount
• Accounts involved
• Categories and budgets
• Tags applied
• Sortable and filterable

Export Options

Export report data:

• CSV: For spreadsheet analysis
• PDF: For printing or sharing
• JSON: For external tools

Custom Reports

Create tailored reports for specific needs:

1. Choose Base Report Type

   Select which report structure to use.

2. Set Custom Date Range

   Define exact start and end dates.

3. Select Specific Accounts

   Pick only relevant accounts.

4. Filter by Category

   Include/exclude specific categories.

5. Filter by Tags

   Show only tagged transactions.

6. Filter by Budget

   Focus on specific budgets.

7. Generate and Save

   Create the report and optionally save the configuration.

Custom report examples

Vacation Spending Analysis:

• Date range: Vacation dates
• Tags: #vacation-2024
• All categories
• Result: Total trip cost breakdown

Work Expense Report:

• Date range: Last quarter
• Tags: #work-expense, #reimbursable
• Categories: Relevant to work
• Result: Expense report for reimbursement

Investment Account Performance:

• Date range: Last year
• Accounts: Investment accounts only
• Categories: Investment income/gains
• Result: Investment performance summary

Report Interpretation

Understanding Trends

Positive Trends:

• Decreasing expense categories
• Increasing income
• Growing account balances
• Improving budget compliance

Negative Trends:

• Rising expenses in uncontrolled areas
• Decreasing income
• Declining account balances
• Frequent budget overruns

Identifying Problems

Use reports to spot issues:

High spending categories

If a category is unusually high:

• Review individual transactions
• Identify unnecessary expenses
• Set or adjust budgets
• Look for subscription creep

Budget overruns

When consistently over budget:

• Budget might be too restrictive
• Spending might be excessive
• Irregular expenses not accounted for
• Need to adjust priorities

Income volatility

If income varies significantly:

• Identify income sources
• Plan for low months
• Build emergency buffer
• Consider income smoothing

Best Practices

Run Reports Regularly

Establish a report routine:

• Weekly: Quick spending check
• Monthly: Full financial review
• Quarterly: Trend analysis
• Yearly: Annual summary and planning

Compare to Previous Periods

Always look at trends:

• Month-over-month changes
• Year-over-year growth
• Seasonal patterns
• Progress toward goals

Export for Deeper Analysis

Use external tools when needed:

• Export to Excel for custom calculations
• Create custom visualizations
• Combine with other financial data
• Share with financial advisors

Focus on Actionable Insights

Reports should drive action:

• Identify spending to reduce
• Find budget adjustments needed
• Spot savings opportunities
• Validate financial goals

Keep Historical Reports

Save key reports:

• Annual summaries
• Tax preparation reports
• Major purchase decisions
• Financial milestone tracking

Common Report Scenarios

Monthly Financial Review

1. Income vs. Expense

   Verify you’re living within means.

2. Budget Report

   Check budget compliance.

3. Category Report

   Identify spending patterns.

4. No Category Report

   Categorize any missed transactions.

5. Account Balances

   Verify accounts match expectations.

Tax Preparation

1. Set Date Range

   Full tax year (Jan 1 - Dec 31).

2. Income Report

   Summarize all income sources.

3. Category Report

   Focus on deductible categories.

4. Tag Report

   Filter by #tax-deductible tag.

5. Export

   Generate CSV for tax software.

Budget Planning

1. Historical Analysis

   Run reports for last 3-6 months.

2. Category Averages

   Calculate average spending per category.

3. Identify Patterns

   Find seasonal or cyclical expenses.

4. Set Realistic Budgets

   Base budgets on actual spending patterns.

Goal Tracking

1. Tag-Based Report

   Filter by goal-related tag.

2. Calculate Progress

   Total saved vs. goal amount.

3. Project Timeline

   Estimate completion based on rate.

4. Adjust Contributions

   Increase/decrease savings as needed.

Troubleshooting

Report showing unexpected numbers

Check:

• Date range is correct
• All relevant accounts are included
• Transactions are properly categorized
• No duplicate transactions
• Transfers aren’t counted as income/expense

Report takes too long to generate

Optimize by:

• Narrowing date range
• Selecting fewer accounts
• Limiting categories included
• Checking database performance

Charts not displaying correctly

Try:

• Refreshing the browser
• Clearing browser cache
• Checking for sufficient data
• Using different browser

Export not working

Verify:

• Sufficient disk space
• Browser allows downloads
• File permissions are correct
• Try different export format

Advanced Reporting

Multi-Account Consolidation

Combine multiple accounts:

• Household view (all family accounts)
• Business vs. personal separation
• Asset account totals
• Net worth calculation

Tag Combination Reports

Analyze multiple tag intersections:

• Transactions with multiple tags
• Tag A and Tag B together
• Tag hierarchy analysis

Periodic Comparison

Compare any two periods:

• Q1 2024 vs. Q1 2023
• Summer 2024 vs. Summer 2023
• Custom period analysis

Report Scheduling

Some Firefly III installations support scheduled report generation. Check your instance for this feature.

Scheduled reports can:

• Generate automatically (daily/weekly/monthly)
• Email to recipients
• Save to specified location
• Export in preferred format

Related Features

• Transactions - Source data for reports
• Budgets - Budget reports and analysis
• Categories & Tags - Categorized and tagged reporting
• Accounts - Account-based reports