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Export your Budget Variance report from Xero directly into Google Sheets as a fully formatted, customizable report — with flexible configuration options and automated updates.

Customize your reports with themes, company colors, and white-label branding to create a polished, professional look.

SECTIONS IN THIS ARTICLE

✅ What are Formatted Reports
✅ How to Generate Formatted Reports
✅ How to Design Reports Using Report Style
✅ Multi-Currency Converter
✅ Schedule Automatic Refresh
✅ Modify an Existing Template
✅ Watch the "Report Style" Video

What are Formatted Reports

Formatted Reports deliver a comprehensive overview of your company's financial well-being and performance. They present a top-level perspective on your business's crucial financial indicators, empowering you to make informed decisions.

These reports come with pre-designed templates that include default styles, fonts, and layouts. G-Accon users have the flexibility to customize these templates to align with their unique requirements.

How to Generate Formatted Reports

To pull your Budget Variance data into Google Sheets, follow these steps:

• • Open your Google Sheet and go to Extensions in the menu.
  • Select G-Accon for Xero.
  • Click Get Accounting Data / Reports.
  • Choose Formatted Reports.
  • Select Budget Variance from the report dropdown.

There are multiple business accounting reports available from the dropdown, each of which can be saved as a reusable template. G-Accon for Xero lets you set up the Date Range manually or refresh your data dynamically.

SELECT PARAMETERS

The Budget Variance report supports three date range modes:

Dynamic Date Range

Report data is calculated based on pre-populated relative periods such as This Month, This Quarter, This Year, Last Month, and more. Ideal for recurring reports that always reflect the current period without manual date adjustments.

Static Date Range

Define a fixed start and end date for the report. The date range remains unchanged each time the report is refreshed, making it suitable for historical snapshots or period-end reporting.

Custom Date Range

Reference cells in your Google Sheet to drive the report dates dynamically, using the icons next to the "To" and "From" fields. This is useful when date inputs are controlled by a dashboard or input sheet, allowing multiple reports to be updated by changing a single cell value.

REQUIRED ATTRIBUTES

The following parameters must be configured before executing the report:

• To Compare With (###) Previous Periods — the number of preceding periods to include alongside the current period for variance comparison.
• Interval — the period granularity for the comparison (e.g. monthly, quarterly).
• Account Types — select which categories of accounts to include in the report.
• Accounts — select the specific accounts to include.
• Budgets — select the budget(s) the actuals should be compared against.

CHANGE PULL SETTINGS (OPTIONAL FEATURES)

Customize how your Budget Variance report is presented in Google Sheets. All settings are optional and can be combined:

• Create a New Google Sheet — generate the report in a new tab or worksheet.
• Hide Grid Lines — conceal grid lines in your worksheet for a cleaner presentation.
• Show Negatives in Red — display negative values in red.
• Create Deep Links to Xero — generate clickable links that open the corresponding records directly in Xero.
• Show Only Whole Numbers — display values without decimals.
• Only Total Summaries — show only subtotal and summary rows, hiding detail lines.
• Add the Last Updated Timestamp to the Title — include a "Last Update" field showing the latest data refresh date and time.

You can also assign a Template Name to identify the report when managing multiple templates in the same spreadsheet.

How to Design Formatted Reports Using the Report Style Feature

REPORT STYLE SETTINGS

Customize the appearance of your Budget Variance report using Report Style Settings:

• Configure various aspects of the report including title, header style, colors, background, and fonts.
• Select specific report sections (title, headers, sub-section totals) and customize font styles, sizes, colors, and borders.

Customize your report to create a unique and distinctive presentation.

Here's the revised design of the Budget Variance report:

MULTI-CURRENCY CONVERTER

If you need to generate the Budget Variance report in a currency other than your Xero base currency, the Multi-Currency Converter lets you select a target currency and choose how exchange rates are applied. Three options are available:

Use Latest Rates

Select your target currency (e.g. EUR) and choose Use Latest Rates. Each time the report is refreshed, G-Accon will automatically fetch the most current exchange rate from its provider and apply it to all values in the report. No manual rate input is required.

Use Custom Rates

Choose Use Custom Rates to manually specify an exchange rate for a particular date. You can either enter the rate directly in the converter panel, or create a dedicated tab in your Google Sheet containing custom rates — useful when you need to lock in a specific rate for audit or compliance purposes.

Use Custom Rates for Periods

For reports spanning multiple periods, Use Custom Rates for Periods lets you assign a different exchange rate to each period in the report. This is essential for accurate multi-period comparisons where exchange rates fluctuated significantly. Rates can be entered in the converter panel or managed in a dedicated Google Sheet tab.

Once your currency settings are configured, click Execute to generate the report. The converted figures will appear directly in your Google Sheet in the selected currency.

How to Schedule Automatic Data Refresh

G-Accon's Automation feature lets you schedule your Budget Variance report to refresh automatically — no manual intervention needed. You can also configure notifications to alert team members, clients, or stakeholders when a refresh completes.

To set up an automated refresh:

• Go to Extensions → G-Accon for Xero → Automation → Create Workflow.
• Add the Budget Variance template to the workflow and set your preferred refresh schedule (e.g. daily, weekly, or monthly).
• Optionally configure email notifications to be sent automatically when the refresh completes.
• Multiple templates can be included in a single workflow, each with its own schedule.

For full details on workflow configuration, refer to the Create Workflow documentation.

How to Modify Your Report and Update Your Template

If you need to change the parameters of an existing Budget Variance report — for example to adjust the date range, change the budget being compared, or update filters — you can edit the template directly without rebuilding it from scratch. You do not need to be signed in to your Xero organisation to modify or refresh a template.

• Go to Extensions → G-Accon for Xero → Edit Templates for Current Sheet.
• Select the template you want to modify from the list.
• Make your changes in the Edit Template panel.
• Click Update to save the changes without re-running the report, or Update and Execute to save and immediately refresh the data.