Skip to main content
J
JAM3guitar
November 1, 2020
Question

QBO reports decimal places

  • November 1, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views

I have seen discussions about not being able to change the number of decimal places in QB Online reports, but have not see this particular issue be raised.

 

For any report that has a % CHANGE column, the percent is set to two decimal places. It would be nice to change that. However, even more important is the fact that the result displayed is not the actual two decimal places, but rather two zeroes. For example, a Current vs. Prior report shows CY=$279 and PY=$162. The actual percent change to two decimal places is 72.22%; however, the result displayed in the % CHANGE column is 72.00%. This is wrong, as it is claiming precision to two decimal places (does anyone remember learning significant digits in their high school chemistry class?), but only displaying the result to the nearest rounded integer.

 

So, QB should either allow us to change the number of decimal places to zero or fix the arithmetic so that the proper answer shows in that column.

    2 replies

    M
    MirriamM
    November 1, 2020

    Hi there, JAM3guitar. I appreciate your input from every angle.

     

    I've replicated this issue in my sample QuickBooks Online (QBO) account, and it seems to have worked. Since it appears that my actual percentage of Change is 9.4519% in which on my report, it is showing 9.45% on the CHANGE column. 

     

    To investigate why this behaviour is happening on your report, I advise contacting our Customer Care Team. Checking the root cause of this requires tools, like screen sharing, that only them has. They can also create an investigation ticket if other customers are experiencing the same thing. Ensure to review their support hours so, you'll know when agents are available.

     

    As for your other concern in changing the number of decimal places to zero, right now it's unavailable. Since the decimal point is set as default in the program. I know how the feature you're looking for would be beneficial to your business. While we continue to make your experience with us even better, I recommend visiting our QuickBooks Blog to get the recent news, information about the latest features, and updates in QBO.

     

    If you have specific questions please let me know. I will be more than happy to further assist you. Have a nice day.

    J
    JAM3guitarAuthor
    November 2, 2020

    MirriamM,

     

    I called QBO support and the phone rep was not able to help me. I am attaching a screen shot of what I am talking about. You will note that every single number in the % CHANGE column ends in .00%. This is because each calculation has been rounded to the nearest whole integer. This would be appropriate if there were no decimal places displayed, but since it is displayed to two places, the calculation should be accurate to the one-hundredths place.

    MichelleBh
    MichelleBh
    November 2, 2020

    Thanks for attaching a screenshot, @JAM3guitar.

     

    We want to make sure all of our customer's concerns will be resolved as soon as possible. And this is not the kind of experience we want you to feel with our support. I know how helpful if there are no decimal places displayed on your transactions in QuickBooks Online (QBO). So, I'll take note of this idea.

     

    I'd also recommend visiting our QuickBooks Blog regularly to check the latest features offered by QBO, as my colleague mentioned above. 

     

    You'll want to learn more about how to customize your reports to personalize them. See this resource for more info: Customize reports.

     

    Furthermore, you can check out this link: QuickBooks Basics. It provides you helpful topics about managing your income, expenses, inventory, banking, and your QBO account. 

     

    Please leave a comment below if you have any other questions. I'm pleased to help. 

    U
    UrbanDad
    March 6, 2025

    @JAM3guitar.  I think I have the answer for you on this gnarly decimal place problem. If your report's dollars values are formatted to include the cents decimal places (e.g. $125.48), then the two decimal places of the percentage point will calculate correctly (e.g. 5.91%). If your dollar formatting does not include the cents places ($125). than the percentage will round to the nearest whole number with two decimal places (6.00%). 

     

    Is this an insult to mathematics and significant digits? Yes.

    Is this a embarrassing math error in a leading software for accurate reporting on accounting numbers? Yes.

    Are the responses from the support staff here misunderstanding what your concern and goal is? Yes.

    And yet, here we are.

     

    I would love to format the percentage to simply be a whole number percentage (6%), as my report's recipients don't need a percentage to 100th of a percent. It just clutters the report. 

    I also don't need to report cents on the dollar amounts, as it clutters the report.

    but, I absolutely do not want to have incorrect numbers on my report and the .00 percentage is laughably incorrect.  Oy.

     

     

      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement