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Account Transactions Report - Running Balance calculation

Currently the Account Transactions Report calculates Debits minus Credits which means a positive Running Balance shows in brackets and a negative Running Balance shows without brackets. This is totally contradictory to the usual accepted Accounting Rules. Can this be changed so that the Running Balance is calculated as CREDITS MINUS DEBITS please ?

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James Holdridge Properties Ltd shared this idea  ·   ·  Report…  ·  Admin →
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Gaining Support  ·  AdminKelly Munro (Community Manager, Xero) responded  · 

Thanks for your feedback here, community.

Right now the way the running balance in the Account Transactions report works is that it shows a cumulative balance for each account group.

The report must include the Debit and Credit columns for the running balance to work.

It's based on the chronological order of transactions when the report first loads. So if you sort by another column, click Update to refresh the running balance.

We appreciate the difference in how you'd like this calculated here, but want to be upfront this isn't something we have plans to change at present.

We're keeping a close eye on interest around this way of calculating here If there is any plan made we'll let you know.

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  • James Holdridge Properties Ltd commented  ·   ·  Report

    Hi Kelly, see all the comments below since your last reply.

    You state that "The report must include the Debit and Credit columns for the running balance to work "

    I agree with the fact that it must include both columns BUT would argue the running balance does not work correctly.

    The running balance should be the Credit column MINUS the Debit column NOT a cumulative total - as adding them together is not actually a
    " Running Balance " at all,. It is simply "adding two numbers." !!

    Therefore if you had 3 apples and I took 2 apples away, using Xero logic your running balance would be FIVE apples ....................when in fact you would only have ONE.

    Please see attached so you can see an actual example of the issue -

    A Credit of £663 less a Debit of £336.78 should produce a Running Balance of £326.22 but it shows £999.78 ( which is the numbers added together) not Debits subtracted from Credits.

    If you need to keep the Running Balance as it is (for some reason) what we need is for :-

    An extra column included which is headed ( for example ) "plus/minus" or " profit/loss" and for it to subtract the debits from the credits.

    IF the number it generates is positive it needs to be unbracketed BUT if the number it generates is a negative number THEN the figure needs to be shown in brackets.

    XERO is accounting software and, with respect, as stated in my original request, what you are showing in your reports is totally contradictory to the usual accepted Accounting Rules.

    Surely, you can't accept this and not leave it as "something we have no plans to change at present" ?

    PLEASE RESPOND TO US ALL URGENTLY

  • leigh milne commented  ·   ·  Report

    Strangely, Kelly's post here doesn't actually address the issue we are discussing??

  • Bruce Eadie commented  ·   ·  Report

    The Account Transactions report, following a programming change in June 2026, now provides incorrect totals where there is a mix of revenue (credit) and expense (debit) values. In effect the credit values - which are shown without brackets - are treated as debit values in the overall report totals n.b. credits for expense accounts, shown with brackets, are dealt with correctly within the report totals. Having raised this with support, I've been told that this is a 'feature' of the report and to use/develop a different report (GL Details report) instead. Be wary using any report totals!

  • leigh milne commented  ·   ·  Report

    This seems to be reporting correctly now. Fab!

    Woops, na, it's still wrong. Except for bank accounts, wherein money paid out shows in the Credit col correctly, and is treated with (brackets) which is correct as a reduction of equity. But all the P&L accounts are wrong.

  • leigh milne commented  ·   ·  Report

    May 22nd 2026 and still wrong. Sadly that report doesn't have the Layout Editor, so we can't fix it ourselves! :(

  • Astrid Arnold commented  ·   ·  Report

    Edit the layout of account transaction reports (custom reports) or customise it so that the expenses ("Spend money") get subtracted from the income ("Receive money"). This would make custom reports endlessly more useful as they would show what profit or loss there is for each custom report.

  • Lochac Exchequer commented  ·   ·  Report

    In my Xero, the Running Balance column DOES calculate credits minus debits, but it does NOT put brackets around negative numbers. Every running balance line item is shown as a positive number, even when it is actually a debit.
    I'd argue this is even less helpful. And if you add a column for Net, the total assumes all numbers were credits.

  • Emily McCahon commented  ·   ·  Report

    Related to this, I've just discovered that if the debit and credit columns are unselected, the opening balance doesn't show - apparently this is because it needs to show in one of these columns. The system needs updating so that the opening balance shows in the running balance column in brackets if a credit balance and positive if a debit balance.