Using Reports
You're entering transactions and budgeting like a champ. Now it's time to see the big picture. HOB's reports help you understand your spending patterns, track your progress, and make better financial decisions. This guide covers all available reports and how to use them.
Available Reports
HOB offers several report types to help you analyze your finances from different angles.
📊 Spending Report
See where your money went - breakdown by category, trends over time, top spending areas
💰 Income Report
Track income sources over time, see patterns in your earnings, identify your best months
📈 Net Worth Report
Watch your wealth grow (or shrink) - total assets minus total debts over time
🎯 Budget vs Actual Report
Compare what you planned to spend vs what you actually spent - see where you're on track
📅 Monthly Trends
Compare spending month-over-month, identify seasonal patterns, spot unusual months
Accessing Reports
All reports are available from the Reports page in your navigation.
To view a report:
- Click Reports in the navigation
- Select the report type you want to view
- Choose your date range (this month, last 3 months, year-to-date, etc.)
- Optionally filter by account or category
- Click Generate Report
💡 Pro Tip
Reports are most useful when you have at least 2-3 months of data. Give yourself time to build history before drawing conclusions!
Spending Report Deep Dive
This is your go-to report for understanding where money goes. Use it to find spending leaks and opportunities to save.
What the Spending Report shows:
- Category breakdown: How much you spent in each category
- Percentage of total: What portion of your spending went to each area
- Trends over time: Is your grocery spending increasing? Dining out decreasing?
- Top merchants: Where you spend most frequently
📝 Example Insights
"I spent 35% of my income on housing - that's higher than the recommended 30%. Maybe I should look for a cheaper place or find a roommate."
"I've spent $450 on dining out this month but only $300 on groceries. I could save money by cooking more."
Income Report
Track where your money comes from and identify income patterns.
Use the Income Report to:
- Track multiple income sources: Salary, freelance, side hustles, investments
- See income trends: Is your side hustle growing? Are you getting regular raises?
- Plan for variable income: If you're self-employed, see your best and worst months
- Verify paychecks: Make sure you received what you expected
💼 For Freelancers
The Income Report is especially valuable if you have variable income. Use it to calculate your 3-month average for budgeting, identify slow seasons, and see which clients pay consistently.
Net Worth Report
Your net worth is the ultimate measure of financial progress. This report shows the big picture.
Net Worth = Assets - Liabilities
(Checking + Savings + Investments) - (Credit Cards + Loans)
What to look for:
- Upward trend: Your net worth should generally increase over time
- Big jumps: Bonuses, tax refunds, investment gains show up here
- Big drops: Major purchases, market crashes, or new debt
- Rate of growth: Are you building wealth faster or slower than last year?
⚠️ Don't Panic Over Short-Term Changes
Your net worth might drop when you buy a car or when the stock market dips. Focus on the long-term trend (12+ months), not month-to-month fluctuations.
Budget vs Actual Report
See how well you're sticking to your budget - where you're succeeding and where you're struggling.
This report shows:
- Budgeted amount: What you planned to spend
- Actual amount: What you actually spent
- Difference: Over or under budget (and by how much)
- Accuracy rate: Overall, how close are you to your budget?
📊 How to Use This
Categories you're consistently under budget? Maybe you can reduce those budget amounts and reallocate elsewhere.
Categories you're always over budget? Increase your budget amount to be realistic, or work on reducing spending there.
Monthly Trends
Compare spending across multiple months to identify patterns and spot anomalies.
Look for:
- Seasonal patterns: Utilities higher in summer/winter? Gifts spike in December?
- Creeping expenses: Is dining out slowly increasing month after month?
- Unusual months: What made March so expensive? Oh right, the wedding trip.
- Progress over time: Are you reducing debt? Increasing savings?
✅ Action Item
Once a quarter, review your Monthly Trends report. Look for expenses that are slowly creeping up (subscription creep, lifestyle inflation) and make adjustments.
Filtering Reports
Make reports more useful by filtering to specific accounts, categories, or date ranges.
Common filters:
- Date range: This month, last 3 months, year-to-date, custom range
- Accounts: See spending from just your checking account or just one credit card
- Categories: Focus on a specific category like "Dining Out" or "Transportation"
- Income vs Expense: Show only expenses or only income
📝 Example Uses
"Show me only credit card spending for the last 6 months" - spot if you're relying on credit more
"Show me dining out category for the last year" - see if you're making progress on eating out less
Exporting Reports
Need to analyze data in Excel or share with a financial advisor? Export your reports to CSV.
To export a report:
- Generate the report you want
- Click Export to CSV
- Save the file
- Open in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet program
What you can do with exports:
- Create custom charts and graphs
- Share with your spouse or financial advisor
- Perform advanced analysis
- Archive for tax purposes
- Compare across multiple years
How to Actually Use Reports (Action Plan)
Reports are only useful if you actually look at them and take action. Here's a simple schedule:
📅 Weekly (5 minutes)
Quick glance at Budget vs Actual. Are you on track for the month? Any categories need attention?
📊 Monthly (15 minutes)
Review Spending Report. Where did money go? Any surprises? Update next month's budget based on reality.
📈 Quarterly (30 minutes)
Review Monthly Trends and Net Worth. Are you making progress? Any categories creeping up? Celebrate wins!
🎯 Annually (1 hour)
Full year review. Net worth change? Income growth? Where can you improve next year? Set financial goals.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Looking at reports without taking action
Seeing that you overspent on dining is useless unless you actually change behavior.
✅ After each report, write down ONE action item: "Reduce dining out budget," "Cancel unused subscription," etc.
❌ Comparing yourself to others
"The internet says I should spend 10% on food, but I spent 18%!"
✅ Compare yourself to YOURSELF from last month. Are you improving? That's what matters.
❌ Obsessing over small categories
Spending 30 minutes analyzing your $12/month coffee habit.
✅ Focus on your biggest spending categories first - housing, transportation, food. That's where real savings live.
❌ Drawing conclusions from one month
"I spent $800 on groceries in January - I'm terrible at budgeting!"
✅ Look at 3-6 month trends. Maybe January was an outlier because you stocked up at Costco.
Quick Tips
- 📊 Reports need data: Wait 2-3 months before drawing conclusions
- 📅 Schedule report time: Set a calendar reminder to review reports monthly
- 🎯 One action per report: Don't just look - DO something based on what you see
- 📈 Focus on trends: One bad month doesn't matter - look at the 3-6 month pattern
- 💰 Big categories first: Housing, food, transportation - that's where savings live
- ✅ Celebrate wins: Net worth up? Debt down? Acknowledge your progress!
- 📤 Export for deep dives: Use Excel for advanced analysis when needed
Next Steps
Use reports to improve your budget:
- Budget Basics - Adjust your budget based on report insights
- Exporting Your Data - Learn more about exporting for analysis
- Adding Transactions - Better data in = better reports out
Still have questions? Contact support