Assemble the financial statements and send them to the client
The Financial statements module brings together presentation (language, format, sections), complementary notes (system-suggested or custom), and the print bundle. Once the PDF is ready, the Send to client button prepares an email with the transmission letter pre-filled (federal and QC income tax, payment code), and lets you attach the PDFs manually.
Open « Print and configuration »
In the engagement's left menu, under FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, click Print and configuration. The page has two tabs :
- Presentation : language, format, sections to include, print bundle.
- Notes & schedules : complementary notes and schedules management.
Pick language and format
In Presentation, section Output options :
- Report language : Français or English. Cover, professional report, statements, and notes all render in this language.
- Format : Short (light) or Full. Full format includes TOC, all statements, and all activated notes.
Check the sections to include
Section Sections included. Each row toggles on or off for printing. Saved per engagement.
Typical case : for a CSRS 4200 compilation, everything except cash flows (not required in compilation). For an « Internal use » file, check the mention to appear on the cover.
Notes & schedules tab : enable the applicable notes
Ledger proposes two categories :
- System-suggested : notes that the TB makes likely (long-term debt, contractual commitments, capital assets…). Click to activate.
- Custom : you add manually. Button Add a custom note or Add from catalog.
Each note is editable (FR/EN title, FR/EN body, moved up/down, deactivated, deleted). Locked notes are mandatory (referenced by the engagement letter) and can't be moved or removed.
Ledger can fill in certain values by itself inside a note: the client's name, the fiscal year end, or an account balance from the trial balance. You type a small placeholder and the right value appears at print time; the list of available placeholders is shown right under each note's text area. Bracketed zones [LIKE THIS] are prompts you replace with your own wording before printing.
Schedules (cost of goods sold, selling expenses, operating expenses…) are also listed in this tab, but their content is configured in the print preview, Schedules button : which sections they detail, by grouping or by account, and the folding on the income statement.
The Copy notes button copies all active notes to the clipboard, ready to paste into TaxPrep.
Preview and print
Open print preview button at the top. A new tab opens with the full report laid out, ready to print via the browser dialog (Ctrl+P / ⌘+P) or save to PDF via the virtual printer.
Those lines at the top and bottom of the pages come from the browser, not from Ledger. In the print dialog, open More settings and untick Headers and footers : they disappear from the printout and the PDF. The setting sticks for future prints.
At the top of the preview, an options bar lets you adjust the report without going back to the file :
- Language : Français or English, switching the whole report in one click.
- Status : Final or Draft. In Draft mode, a "DRAFT" watermark runs across every page, on screen and in the PDF.
- Years : 2 years or 1 year. By default the preview follows the client file's First year setting ; you can still choose here to print only the current year, or bring the comparative column back, without changing anything in the file.
- Expense presentation : group income statement sections (for example everything under operating expenses), without touching groupings or GIFI.
- Labels editable in one click : the income statement and balance sheet titles (section headings, subtotals such as « Raw material purchases », gross margin, totals) are edited directly in the preview : click the title, type the new text, Enter. Per engagement and per language ; clearing the field restores the default ; carried forward at rollover. Presentation only : groupings, GIFI and income are unchanged.
- Schedules : the income statement schedules mapping. Each schedule (lettered A, B, C) details one or more expense sections, or a single line item (for example Rent), by grouping or by account. The Fold option shows the covered sections as a single line with the (schedule A) reference ; the breakdown prints on the schedules page and its total always equals the folded line. Without folding, the detail stays on the statement and each covered line still carries the reference. Presentation only : income, groupings and GIFI are unchanged ; saved with the engagement and carried forward at rollover.
If the balance sheet doesn't balance (total assets don't equal liabilities plus equity), a red "OUT OF BALANCE" watermark covers every page of the preview and the PDF, and a badge next to the Print button shows the gap. Fix the trial balance or your adjusting entries before releasing the statements : the watermark clears on its own as soon as the balance sheet balances.
To print several documents at once, section Print bundle : check the documents (Financial statements, Trial balance, Adjusting entries, Grouped TB), then click Print bundle. Each opens in its own tab and triggers print, in its own PDF file.
The bundle opens several tabs in sequence. If your browser blocks pop-ups, allow them for ledger.inspiretax.ca, otherwise only one document will open.
Send to client : the pre-filled email
The Send to client button at the top opens an email compose window, pre-filled with the standard transmission letter :
- The recipient (client's main email, adjust if you want to CC/BCC anyone else).
- The subject (« Financial statements, {client.name}, fiscal year ended {fiscalEnd} »).
- The body with the federal and provincial income tax amounts to pay, and the Québec payment code if applicable, auto-pulled from the Income taxes worksheet.
Ledger doesn't auto-attach the PDFs to this email : you drag them in yourself. First open the print preview (step 5), save as PDF, then drop the PDF into the compose window's attachment zone. Do the same for the TB and adjusting entries if you want to include them.
The email body is editable before sending. Firms that customized their signature or tone see it here.