How do I run financial reports in MONA?

Quick answer: go to Finance, then Books, then Close pack, pick a month, and click Accrual or Cash. MONA computes the profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, general ledger, project profitability, accounts receivable, accounts payable, sales tax collected, retainer balances, and cash position from its own double-entry ledger, and Download CPA package (.zip) hands your bookkeeper all of it as CSV.

Where the reports live

MONA Books is a double-entry general ledger with a chart of accounts built for design studios. Every report below is computed from that ledger, so the numbers agree with each other by construction.

How do I run the monthly reports?

1. Click Finance in the sidebar, then the Books tab. If you see Turn on Books, click it once. MONA creates the chart of accounts for you.
2. Click Close pack.
3. Pick the month in the Accounting period dropdown. The current month is selected by default.
4. Click Accrual or Cash next to the month. The reports reload on that basis and are labeled Accrual basis or Cash basis. Your studio default is set in Chart of accounts, under Report basis.
5. Read the reports on the page: Profit & loss, Balance sheet, Trial balance, Project profitability, A/R outstanding, Accounts payable, Sales tax collected, Retainer balances, and Cash position.
6. If bank purchases are still waiting in the Bank inbox, categorize them first, and approve the month’s vendor bills in Bills. Each one posts to the ledger and shows up in expenses and project cost.
7. When the numbers are final, click Close month. Entries dated in that month lock, and later fixes post as adjusting entries into the open month. Reopen month undoes it.

How do I export the reports for my CPA?

1. In Close pack, choose the month and click Accrual or Cash.
2. Click Download CPA package (.zip).
3. The zip contains eight CSV files: trial balance, general ledger, profit and loss, balance sheet, project profitability, accounts receivable, sales tax collected, and accounts payable. Its name ends in accrual-basis or cash-basis, so the two never get mixed up.

If your bookkeeper would rather pull the reports themselves, go to Settings, then Team, invite them by email, and choose the Accountant role. It is read-only and covers only the Finance pages.

How do I see what the studio owes vendors?

1. In Books, click Bills.
2. The aging strip at the top shows what you owe on approved bills in Current, 1-30, 31-60, 61-90 and 90+ days past due, and the Total owed. A bill with no due date counts as due 30 days after its bill date.
3. Click Export CSV for the aging by vendor.

The close pack has the same aging under Accounts payable, with the accounts payable balance from the ledger and your Vendor deposits. See How do I enter vendor bills and track what my studio owes in MONA?.

How do I run the 1099 prep report?

1. In Close pack, scroll below the monthly reports to Year-end: 1099 prep.
2. Pick the Tax year. The summary shows eligible vendors, vendors over $600, vendors that need attention, and the total paid to eligible vendors.
3. Each row shows the vendor, classification, payments, and any attention flag such as a missing tax ID, W-9, or address. Toggle the 1099 switch to mark a vendor eligible and assign unmatched payments to the right vendor.
4. Click Download 1099 CSV. Filing the forms stays with your accountant.

Can I just ask the agent?

Yes. In any chat, ask "how did we do last month", "what is my net income", "how much cash do we have", "who owes us money", "what sales tax did we collect this quarter", or "who needs a 1099 this year". The agent reads the same ledger the reports use and answers with the figures. The CSV downloads live in Books.

Is MONA Books cash basis or accrual?

Both. The ledger always records on accrual. When you send an invoice, MONA debits accounts receivable and credits revenue by line type, and any sales tax on the invoice is credited to Sales Tax Payable. A client deposit sits in a retainer liability account until you apply it to an invoice. A payment, whether through MONA Payments or recorded by hand, clears accounts receivable. Voiding an invoice reverses its posting.

On the cost side, an approved vendor bill posts on its bill date to cost and accounts payable, and paying it clears accounts payable. Card and bank purchases you confirm in the Bank inbox post on the date they cleared.

Every report has an Accrual or Cash switch. Cash basis is computed from the same entries: income counts when a client pays, costs count when you pay a vendor, and switching never changes your books. The sales tax collected report stays on the invoice date on both bases, because that is when the tax is owed. See Does MONA do cash or accrual accounting?.

What the reports need from you

• Invoices sent from MONA. Revenue and receivables come from invoices created and sent in MONA after Books is on. Invoices sent before that do not post.
• A connected bank. Go to Settings, then Integrations, and connect a bank so card and bank purchases land in the Bank inbox. Confirm each one to post it.
• A cutover date. MONA has no opening-balance or history import. Start Books on the first of a month or quarter and keep earlier periods in your old tool. See How do I switch from QuickBooks to MONA?.
• Sales tax on the lines. A tax rate on a schedule or proposal line carries onto the invoice and into the reports. See Invoices and purchase orders.
• A reconciled bank account. Tying each statement to the ledger is what makes the reports defensible. Go to Finance, then Books, then Reconcile. See How do I reconcile a bank account in MONA?.

Want a hand?

If your bookkeeper wants to walk through the reports before you switch, book 30 minutes with the founder at calendly.com/mona-justin/30min and bring them along.

Frequently asked questions

What financial reports can MONA generate?

For any month: profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, general ledger detail, project profitability, accounts receivable outstanding, accounts payable with aging, sales tax collected, client retainer balances, and cash position, on accrual or cash basis. Any day: accounts payable aging from the Bills tab. For any year: a 1099 prep report by vendor. The Finance Overview tab adds a profit and loss card with the change from the prior period, an expenses breakdown, bank balances, and a twelve-month cash chart.

Is MONA Books cash basis or accrual?

Both. The ledger always records on accrual: an invoice posts when you send it and a vendor bill posts on its bill date when you approve it. Every report has an Accrual or Cash switch, and cash basis is computed from the same entries, counting income when clients pay and costs when you pay vendors. Your studio default is set in Books, Chart of accounts, under Report basis.

Can my bookkeeper or CPA use MONA directly?

Yes. Go to Settings, then Team, invite them by email, and choose the Accountant role. It is read-only and limited to the Finance pages. They can open the close pack for any month, download the CPA package, and run the 1099 prep themselves.

Can I ask the MONA agent for the numbers instead of opening the reports?

Yes. In any chat ask something like how did we do last month, what is my net income, how much cash do we have, who owes us money, what sales tax did we collect this quarter, or who needs a 1099 this year. The agent reads the same ledger the reports use. The CSV downloads live in Books.

Why does my profit and loss show zero?

Nothing has posted to the ledger yet. Revenue posts only for invoices sent from MONA after Books was turned on, and expenses post for bank transactions you have categorized in the Bank inbox and vendor bills you have approved. Invoices sent before Books was on, uncategorized purchases and draft bills do not appear. On cash basis, an invoice or bill counts only once it is paid.

Does MONA import my history from QuickBooks or Studio Designer?

No. MONA Books has no opening-balance or transaction-history import. Pick a cutover date, usually the first of a month or quarter, and run Books from there. Earlier periods stay in your old tool and can be uploaded to your MONA Library as files so the agent can read them.

What does closing a month do?

It locks every entry dated in that month so the reports you handed your accountant cannot drift. If something needs fixing later, MONA posts an adjusting entry into the open month and keeps the original period label on it. You can reopen a month from the same button.

How is sales tax handled in the reports?

A tax rate on a schedule or proposal line carries onto the invoice. When the invoice is sent, the tax amount is credited to Sales Tax Payable. The close pack shows tax collected this period, year to date, and the payable balance still owed, and the same figures export in sales_tax_collected.csv.

Does MONA do payroll or file my taxes?

No. MONA prepares the books, the monthly reports, the sales tax figures, and the 1099 prep totals. Payroll, tax returns, and filing the 1099 forms stay with your accountant or payroll provider.