How to Create an Expense Report (showing only expenses)

Let me help you run the expense report you need in QuickBooks Online (QBO), jculley.

We can the Transaction Detail Account report and customize it by Class, Transaction type to Journal Entry and Expenses, and All Expenses account in in the Distribution Account field. See the screenshot for your reference:

To run the report, here's how:

1. Go to Reports on the left side menu. 
2. In the search field, type in Transaction Detail by Account.
3. Tap the Switch to classic view tab. 
4. Once the report is open, click the Customize button.
5. Go to the Filter section, then select the desired account/s under Distribution Account, Class, Transaction Type, and Distribution Account. 
6. Click on the Run report button to refresh the page.

In case you want to save the current settings of your report, you can memorize them. For detailed instructions, see this link: Memorize reports in QuickBooks Online. I've also included some links below that outline the list of reports available in each QBO version, as well as steps to fine-tune report layout and data:

• Customize reports
• Reports included in your QuickBooks Online subscription

If you have any questions about the reports or other product-related issues, leave a comment below and tag my name. I'll be right back to help you out. You have a good one. 

No, this does not solve my problem. I don't want to filter down to ONLY Journal Entries. Rather, I want to include Journal Entries along with all the other types of expenses. In other words, the "Expense Only" report that I'm trying to build should include exactly the same transactions and totals as a normal P&L report includes in the Expenses section.

Thank you for getting back to the thread and providing us with additional details of the kind of report you need to pull up. I see that aside from journal entries, you also want to include the other types of expenses. I've got guidelines you can follow to help you get the report successfully and clear some confusion.

In QuickBooks Online, you can create a custom report to include Journal Entries along with other types of expenses. Here's how you can do it:

1. Go to the Reports tab.
2. Type in Transaction Detail by account. Use it as the report basis.
3. In the Rows/Columns section, choose the columns you want to include in the report, such as Date, Account, Description, and Amount.



4. In the Filter section, you can filter by Transaction Type and select Expense or multiple transactions. This will include all expenses from various accounts, including Journal Entries that are categorized as expenses.



5. You can further customize the report by adding other filters or modifying the display options. I'm including these articles you can use in the future as you go through tasks in QuickBooks Online:

• Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.
• Common custom reports in QuickBooks Online.

By following these steps, you can create a custom report that includes journal entries along with other types of expenses, providing you with the Expense-Only report you're looking for in QuickBooks Online. If you have further questions about reports or any QuickBooks-related concerns, I'll be around to help you anytime. That's it for now. Goodbye.

Thank you for your reply. In the list of Transaction Types (the pull-down box), it is unclear to me which of those couple dozen items should be selected so as to make the resulting transactions match the Expenses section of a standard P&L report. I selected everything that I thought was an "expense" from that Transaction List (i.e., Expenditure, Bill, Credit Card Charge, Credit Card Credit, and General Journal), and I could not get the totals to match. I've tried different combinations of these transaction types and can't get it to match the P&L.

Can I get an exact list of Transaction Types that are used in the query that the P&L uses? That would enable me to replicate the query in the Expenses Only report.

Thanks.

Let me guide you on how to view the list of transaction types used in the profit and loss report, Jculley.

Before anything else, please know that the total from the profit and loss and transactions detail by account may not match due to the incorrect report period and the accounting method used. 

Meanwhile, to see all list of transaction type used in the profit and loss, you can follow these steps:

1. Hover to Reports, then select Profit and Loss.
2. Click the expense account, and then you'll see the list of transaction types connected to that specific expense account.

See the attached screenshot for reference.

After reviewing all transaction types, re-run the detail account report.

Moreover, you can memorize the report you generated to save its current customization settings. You can also run the Transaction List by Date to get a view on all payments made to a vendor.

You can always connect with me by tapping the reply button in this thread. I'll get back to you if you need further assistance running reports in QuickBooks. Best wishes!

I am using the same reporting period (July-Nov 2023) and accounting method (Accrual). Also, I did exactly what you described, which is to list out all the different Transaction Types in the P&L expense list and select those same types in the query for the Expenses Only report. That's the first thing I did, and it came up with very different totals, which tells me that the query that the P&L uses under the hood uses a different list of transaction types (and/or some other query term) that is hidden and I can't seem to replicate it in the Expenses Only report.

Honestly, I wish the standard reports would explicitly show the query terms and values in the customization pane so we can tell what those reports are starting with (which helps us know how to modify it). It's like wanting to drive to a friend's house but you don't know exactly where you're starting from.

The reports seem as though they were designed by someone who has no idea what Accountants need. I've complained over and over. I can't understand how this online version lacks the basic reporting formats and options that the desktop versions had a decade ago. It's complete rubbish and wastes more time than anything else. The " support" staff have no clue how to assist.