# Build Your First Report

This tutorial walks you through creating a live financial report on Google Sheets using data from your Bkper Book. By the end, you'll have a working balance report that updates automatically as Transactions are recorded in Bkper.

**Prerequisites**: [Install the Bkper Add-on](https://bkper.com/docs/guides/google-sheets/install.md) and have at least one Book with recorded Transactions.

## Step 1 — Open the Sidebar

Open a Google Sheet and go to **Extensions >> Bkper >> Open**. The Bkper sidebar appears on the right side of your Sheet.

![Bkper Add-on sidebar open in Google Sheets showing Book selection](https://bkper.com/docs/_astro/sidebar-overview.DFYK11zt.png)

The sidebar is your main interface for working with Bkper in Google Sheets. It lets you browse your Books and fetch or save data without writing formulas manually.

Select the **Book** you want to report on from the dropdown. This tells the Add-on which Book to pull data from.

## Step 2 — Fetch Balance Data

Click the **Fetch** tab in the sidebar. This tab lets you pull different types of data from your Book into your Sheet.

![Bkper Add-on sidebar showing the Fetch tab with data type options](https://bkper.com/docs/_astro/sidebar-fetch-tab.CKScWuyK.png)

Select **Balances** as the data type. The sidebar expands to show balance-specific options.

![Bkper Add-on sidebar showing the Fetch Balances options with query input](https://bkper.com/docs/_astro/fetch-balances-sidebar.i-rQLN_U.png)

Configure your fetch:

- **Query** — Enter a query to filter the data. For example, `group:'Revenue' after:01/2024 before:01/2025` fetches revenue balances for the year 2024.
- **Total** — Select this to get total balance values.
- **Function** — Select this so the formula stays connected to your Book (the data updates when you refresh).

Click in a cell where you want the report to start, then press **Fetch**.

## Step 3 — See the Live Connection

The sidebar inserts a formula into your selected cell and the balance data appears in your Sheet.

![Fetching balance data from Bkper into Google Sheets for reporting](https://bkper.com/docs/_astro/intro-fetch-from-bkper.DQ7virNP.png)

What just happened:

- The Add-on created a `BKPER_BALANCES_TOTAL` formula in your cell
- The formula contains your **Book ID** — a unique identifier that connects this Sheet to your specific Book
- The formula fetched live data from Bkper and displayed it in your Sheet

This is the key concept: **Bkper formulas are live connections to your Books**. Unlike static data, these values update whenever you refresh. Post a new Transaction in Bkper, click **Extensions >> Bkper >> Update**, and the report reflects the change.

## Step 4 — Understand the Formula

Click the cell with the formula to see it in the formula bar. It looks something like this:

```
=BKPER_BALANCES_TOTAL("agtzfmJrcGVyLWhyZH...", 1, "group:'Revenue' after:01/2024 before:01/2025", TRUE, FALSE, FALSE)
```

Breaking it down:

| Parameter | Value | Purpose |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **bookId** | `"agtzfmJrcGVyLWhyZH..."` | Identifies which Book to fetch from |
| **cache** | `1` | Controls caching — the Update menu increments this to force a refresh |
| **query** | `"group:'Revenue' after:..."` | Filters which balances to return |
| **expanded** | `TRUE` | Shows individual Accounts within the Group |
| **transposed** | `FALSE` | Results appear in rows (set `TRUE` for columns) |
| **hideNames** | `FALSE` | Shows Account/Group names alongside values |

You can edit any of these parameters directly in the formula bar. For example:

- Change the date range to see a different period
- Change `expanded` to `FALSE` to see only the Group total
- Change the query to `group:'Assets'` to report on a different Group

## Step 5 — Add More Data to Your Report

Now that you understand how the formulas work, build out your report by adding more balance fetches. You can either:

**Use the sidebar again** — Click a new cell, adjust the query in the sidebar, and press Fetch. Each fetch creates a new formula in the selected cell.

**Type formulas directly** — Type `=BKPER_` in any cell and Google Sheets suggests available Bkper functions.

![Google Sheets autocomplete showing available Bkper functions](https://bkper.com/docs/_astro/functions-reference-autocomplete.DeBhL98W.png)

A typical financial report might include:

- `BKPER_BALANCES_TOTAL` with `group:'Assets'` for the Balance Sheet
- `BKPER_BALANCES_TOTAL` with `group:'Revenue'` for Income
- `BKPER_BALANCES_PERIOD` with `group:'Expenses'` for monthly expense breakdown
- `BKPER_BALANCES_CUMULATIVE` with `group:'Assets'` for a running balance over time

## Step 6 — Format Your Report

Use standard Google Sheets formatting to make your report presentable:

- Add a title and date range header
- Apply number formatting to balance values
- Add borders and shading to separate sections
- Use Google Sheets' built-in **Print** to generate a PDF

The Bkper formulas are regular spreadsheet formulas — they work with all standard Google Sheets features like `SUM`, `IF`, conditional formatting, and charts.

## Next Steps

- [Google Sheets Add-on README](https://github.com/bkper/bkper-sheets#readme) — Complete reference for all functions, column headers, and recording behavior
- [Financial Statements template](https://bkper.com/docs/guides/templates/financial-statements.md) — A working example of a complete Balance Sheet and Income Statement
- [Profit and Loss template](https://bkper.com/docs/guides/templates/profit-and-loss.md) — A working example of a dynamic P&L report