Xero custom reports: how to build, save and reuse them

Short answer: a custom report in Xero is a standard report with your own settings and layout saved under a name. Open the report (usually the Profit and Loss or Balance Sheet), set the dates and comparison columns, click Edit layout to group accounts, rename rows and add formula rows such as gross margin %, then click Save as and choose Custom. It then sits in the Custom tab of the reports page for anyone in the organisation who can see reports, and it keeps its layout every time you run it. It does not keep last month’s numbers: it recalculates from the books each time.

Menu names move between Xero releases and differ a little by region. If a label below does not match your screen, search Xero Central for “layout editor” or “custom report”.

What you can change, and where

You want to	Where in Xero	Saved with the custom report?
Show this month beside last month and the same month last year	Report settings: Compare with	Yes
Collapse 20 expense accounts into 5 headings	Edit layout: create a group, move accounts into it	Yes
Rename a row (“Motor vehicle expenses” to “Vans”)	Edit layout: rename	Yes
Show gross margin, net margin or wages as a % of sales	Edit layout: add a formula row, show it as a percentage	Yes
Show operating profit, which the standard P&L leaves out	Edit layout: add a summary or formula row (see operating profit)	Yes
Add a note under a figure	Edit layout: add a text block	Yes, as written; update it each month
See one account’s transactions by supplier	Account Transactions: filter to the account, add the Contact column	Yes
Split by branch, job or channel	Filter or columns by tracking category (see tracking categories)	Yes
Build a report from nothing	Blank report, then add the parts you want	Yes

Two limits are worth knowing before you start. In the newer reports a layout belongs to one report format, so a layout saved on the Profit and Loss is not reused on the Profit and Loss by month: save one for each format you use. And the layout editor can only work with account balances, so it cannot add invoice-level detail or anything from outside Xero.

How to build a custom Profit and Loss, step by step

1. Go to Accounting > Reports and open Profit and Loss.
2. Set the date to last month. Under Compare with, add the same month last year (and, if you like, the 11 months before for a trend; the P&L by month guide shows that layout).
3. Click Edit layout. Create a group called Direct costs and move your cost of sales accounts into it, then groups for overheads that matter to you: People, Vans and premises, Everything else. Fewer, bigger lines are easier to read than 25 small ones.
4. Add a formula row under Gross Profit: Gross Profit divided by Total Trading Income, shown as a percentage. Add another under Net Profit for net margin, and one for wages divided by Total Trading Income if staff are your biggest cost.
5. Click Save as, choose Custom, and give it a name you will recognise, such as “Monthly P&L with margins”. Star it so it sits at the top.
6. Next month, open it from the Custom tab, change the date, and check the comparison columns moved with it before you export or send it.

If you send several reports each month, a report pack puts the custom P&L, the Balance Sheet and the aged receivables in one PDF; the monthly management pack guide shows what to include.

A worked example: the margin row that explained a profit fall

These figures are made up. Greenline Landscapes Pty Ltd, in Brisbane, ran its standard Profit and Loss for September 2026: sales up, profit down, and 23 expense lines to search through. The owner built the custom layout above. With direct costs grouped and two formula rows added, the same month read like this (A$, excluding GST):

Row	Sep 2025	Sep 2026
Sales	44,000	48,000
Materials	12,100	14,400
Subcontractors	7,700	9,600
Gross profit	24,200	24,000
Gross margin % (formula row)	55.0%	50.0%
People (wages and super)	10,400	11,200
Vans and premises	4,300	4,400
Everything else	2,000	2,100
Net profit	7,500	6,300
Net margin % (formula row)	17.0%	13.1%

Sales grew A$4,000, or 9.1%, yet gross profit went down by A$200 and net profit fell A$1,200. Overheads only rose by A$1,000, in line with the extra work. The gross margin row shows where the rest went: it slipped from 55.0% to 50.0%. Had the margin held at 55%, gross profit on A$48,000 of sales would have been A$26,400, so the slip cost A$2,400 in one month.

Splitting the direct costs as a share of sales pointed at both lines: materials went from 27.5% to 30.0% of sales, and subcontractors from 17.5% to 20.0%. A second custom report, Account Transactions filtered to the Subcontractors account with the Contact column added, showed that a new crew had been brought in for two large jobs at a higher day rate, and those jobs had been quoted on the old rates.

What the owner did next: put the new day rate into quotes, and kept the custom P&L as the report they open every month. The why did my profit drop guide splits a fall like this into sales, margin and overheads, and the gross profit margin guide covers the usual reasons a margin moves.

Custom reports worth saving

• Monthly P&L with margins: the layout above, compared with the same month last year.
• Balance Sheet, this month vs last: to see cash, money owed to you and money you owe move. The Balance Sheet guide explains each line.
• Aged receivables, overdue only: who owes you money past its due date (see who owes me money).
• Account Transactions for one cost line: filtered to the account you watch most (subcontractors, fuel, software subscriptions), with the Contact column. Run it for every income and expense account and you have the Profit and Loss detail report Xero does not offer.
• P&L by tracking category: if you track branches or jobs, one column per category shows which one earns.

Common mistakes

• Building a formula on Total Income instead of Total Trading Income. Other Income (interest, grants) is not sales, so it flatters every percentage.
• Grouping accounts that the accountant needs separate. A custom layout is for reading the business; keep the standard report for the year-end accounts and the tax return.
• Forgetting new accounts. An account added after you built the layout may land outside your groups. Glance at the report after the chart of accounts changes.
• Leaving last month’s text block in. A note saved in the layout repeats next month until you change it.
• Saving one layout and expecting it everywhere. Save the P&L, the P&L by month and the budget comparison as separate custom reports.

Common questions

How do I create a custom report in Xero? Open the report you want to start from, set the dates and comparison columns, use Edit layout to group, rename and add formula rows, then click Save as and choose Custom. It appears in the Custom tab of the reports page.

Where are custom reports in Xero? On the reports page under the Custom tab. Starred reports also show in your favourites. Anyone in the organisation with access to reports can run them.

Can I add a percentage to a Xero report? Yes. In Edit layout, add a formula row, for example Gross Profit divided by Total Trading Income, and choose to show it as a percentage.

Does a custom report save the numbers? No. It saves the layout and settings, and recalculates from the books each time you run it. To keep a fixed copy, export it to PDF or Excel, or ask your adviser to publish it, which locks that version.

Why is my custom layout missing on another report? In the newer reports a layout belongs to one report format. A layout saved on the Profit and Loss is not applied to the Profit and Loss by month or the budget comparison, so save one for each.

Can a Xero custom report include data from outside Xero? No. Custom reports and the Blank report work from your Xero ledger. For anything else, export to Excel or use a reporting app.

Your margins, checked for you every Monday

ReportPilot reads your Xero figures and sends a short plain-English email every Monday: sales and profit against last month and the same month last year, and, when cost of sales is coded in Xero, a note when gross margin moves by 3 percentage points or more, without building or running a report. It asks Xero for read-only access, and there is a 14-day free trial with no card.