FAQ: Sales Summary Report

Q: What's the difference between Sales Summary and Invoice Detail?

A:

• Invoice Detail: Shows every line item from every invoice (one row per product per invoice). Use this when you need granular, transaction-level data.
• Sales Summary: Shows aggregated totals (one row per customer, product, or date). Use this for high-level analysis and trends.

Think of it as: Detail = zoom in, Summary = zoom out.

Q: How do I see my top 10 customers by revenue?

A:

1. Run the Sales Summary report grouped by Customer.
2. Sort by Revenue (highest to lowest).
3. The first 10 rows show your top 10 customers.

Q: Can I see sales by month to spot seasonal trends?

A: Yes:

1. Run the Sales Summary report grouped by Date.
2. Choose Month as the date granularity.
3. Sort by Date (newest first) to see the trend over time.

Q: Why does my Sales Summary show different totals than my bank account?

A: The report shows sales revenue from invoices, not actual money received. A customer can buy on credit; the invoice is counted, but the payment hasn't arrived yet. Check your Accounts Receivable balance or Payments report for actual cash received.

Q: Does the Sales Summary include draft invoices?

A: No, by default it only shows Posted (finalized) invoices. To include drafts, change the Invoice Status filter to "All" or "Draft."

Q: Can I group by salesperson?

A: Yes, if your system is configured to track salesperson per invoice. When running the report, look for a Salesperson grouping option. If you don't see it, ask your admin if salesperson tracking is enabled.

Q: What if I have sales in multiple currencies?

A: The report shows totals in the invoice currency (not converted). If you want to compare multi-currency sales:

• Export to Excel and convert manually, or
• Filter by a single currency at a time, or
• Ask your admin about currency conversion settings.

Q: How do I know if my "Average Price" is correct?

A: The Average Price is calculated as: Total Revenue ÷ Total Quantity.

• If you sold 100 units for $5,000, the average price = $50 per unit.
• This helps you spot pricing anomalies; if one product has a much higher average price, you may be charging different customers differently.

Q: Can I export the report and add my own analysis in Excel?

A: Yes. Export to Excel, and you can:

• Add formulas (profit margin, growth %, etc.)
• Create pivot tables or charts
• Combine with other data (costs, forecasts, etc.)
• Email it to stakeholders with your own annotations