How do I build a 3-year Comparison Report

Hi there, joeybags.

To get a three-year comparison, you can set the Show Columns to Year. Then, you can change the date range to a period of three years. I bet you're trying to check how profitable your business is in the span of 3 years.

Feel free to share some news after creating the report. We're just right here if you need more help.

Jess!!! I am so sorry that I didn't acknowledge your kind reply to my question. And, believe it or not, I didn't do this yet, but am about to since I'm doing a company valuation before i buy out my partner. So, I'll use this info now.

Again, thank you. 

Is there a way to do a 3 year comparison for a Balance Sheet? I'm not seeing any options other than previous year comparison. Thanks!

Hi there, @Bree_Sandoval.

Yes, there is a way to do a three-year comparison for your Balance Sheet in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). You can simply customize the report and filter its date. Let me show you how:

1. Go to Reports and select Company & Financial.
2. Click Balance Sheet Standard.
3. Select Customize Report and go to the Display section.
4. From the Dates drop-down list, choose Custom.
5. Enter the date range to a period of three years.
6. Click OK.

Moreover, you can customize reports in QBDT. That way, you can easily draw the information you needed the most.

Let me know if you need further assistance with this. I'm always around to provide answers and clarifications to your questions. Have a great day ahead and take care.

I want to compare 3 identical periods (ie 1/1-6/30 2020, 2021 and 2022) with a percentage of income column included. Please let me know how to do it. Thanks! 

It's awesome to have you in this forum, @Frandazzo.

I'm joining this thread to share some more insights with this reporting topic.

At the moment, we cannot add an income column in the Balance Sheet report. You will need to pull up a Profit and Loss report separately so you can get the percent change of your income.

You can use the same filters you're using for the Balance Sheet report to get the same data. See this:

Then if you have the data, you can export both reports in Excel and manually collate the data. To export a report, simply click the Excel button on top of the report page.

Please come back anytime if there's anything else I can help you with this reporting topic. I'll be more than happy to help you out anytime. Have a great day!

Unfortunately, this is is not QBO online :( This does not work...

Thank you for joining this thread, DariaFabro. 

The solutions shared by my colleagues will only work for QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) users. If you're using QuickBooks Online (QBO), can you share with us which specific report you're trying to run? Do you also want to create a 3-year comparison? Any information you can provide will help me get on the same page and ensures a timely solution. 

While I wait for the full details, I'm adding some resources that will help you learn how to personalize the information on your reports, memorized one, or export it to Excel.

• Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop 
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Online

If you need help with a specific task in QuickBooks, visit the Community page to access our self-help articles. They're organized by topics and products, so you'll be able to find one quickly. To expedite the process, make sure to select the QuickBooks version you're using.

I'm looking forward to your reply and working with you again. Have a great rest of the day.

I'm looking to build a sales report for a single period but for more than 2 years. So that I can see sales to date over 3 or years in a single report. From what I can see my only option is to create a YTD report and and modify it to show previous year or to change the dates on the report and modify the report to have the columns show years. The problem with each of these is that the first report only compares to one year and the second of these compares the prior two full years to this years YTD. Am I missing something?

Thanks for joining in this thread, Dbraun4.

On the Year Comparison report, you'll want to set the column to Year under the Show Columns drop-down menu. This will separate the columns by year and allow you to view the data for a specific year range.

Another option is to run the Profit & Loss YTD Comparison report. You can simply enter a date range and choose year from the Show Columns drop-down menu.

Please keep in mind that QuickBooks Desktop will always show the year chronologically. Hence, we're unable to specify the year you want to compare the data to. 

You can, however, run separate reports for each year you want to compare. Alternatively, export the report to Excel and then delete the columns (years) you don't want to look at. Here's how:

1. Click the Excel button, then select Create New Worksheet. 
2. Select your options for exporting the report.
3. Once done, click Export. 

Check this article if need more help on how to use the reporting features effectively: Understand reports.

I'll be here to guide you if you need more help with your reports. Take care!

How do I build a 4 year report showing Aug - Jan data for each year?  I am using QBO.

There isn't enough info on the previous reply!

Once you choose your date range, you have to choose to display columns by Year across the top.

By the way, you can choose a longer date range than just 3 years!