BS Quick Compare — Skill

What This Skill Does

Runs a period-over-period variance analysis on the Balance Sheet (BS) pulled directly from QuickBooks Online. Outputs a 4-tab Excel workbook: Summary | Detail | Flags | CDC Log.

Mirrors the pl-quick-compare and scf-quick-compare patterns but for the Balance Sheet — Assets / Liabilities / Equity sections, accounting equation validation, and BS-specific analysis notes on flagged items tying changes to SCF, AR/AP aging, capex, debt schedule, and equity activity.

When to Use

Use when:

• - A client needs month-end or YTD balance sheet comparison
• Reviewing BS as part of monthly close deliverables
• Investigating material shifts in assets, liabilities, or equity
• Client asks: "why did our AR/AP/cash/debt change?" or "what happened to our equity?"
• Pre-loan/investor analysis requiring clear BS trend visibility

NOT for:

• - P&L variance analysis → use INLINECODE2
• Cash flow analysis → use INLINECODE3
• AR aging deep-dive → use INLINECODE4
• Financial projections or forecasting → use INLINECODE5
• Full three-statement analysis (run all three compare pipelines and cross-reference)

Script Location

CODEBLOCK0

Requirements

• - pip install openpyxl (already installed in workspace)
• Node.js QBO client with valid auth token
• QBO credentials configured

Usage

CODEBLOCK1

Arguments

Flag	Required	Description
INLINECODE7	✅	Company slug (must be connected in qbo-client)
INLINECODE8

✅* | Current period "as of" date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | --current-start | ❌ | Current period start (default: Jan 1 same year) | | --prior-end | ❌ | Prior period "as of" date (default: 1 month back) | | --prior-start | ❌ | Prior period start (default: Jan 1 same year as prior-end) | | --ytd | ✅* | YTD mode (alternative to explicit dates) | | --year | ❌ | Year for --ytd (default: current year) | | --out | ❌ | Output directory (default: ~/Desktop) | | --sandbox | ❌ | Use QBO sandbox environment |

*Either --current-end OR --ytd is required.

Balance Sheet date note: BS is a point-in-time statement. --current-end and --prior-end are the "as of" dates. The QBO CLI requires start/end dates even for BS — the script defaults --current-start to Jan 1 of the same year if omitted.

Output

Excel file: BS_QuickCompare_{slug}_{as-of-date}.xlsx saved to Desktop (or --out directory).

Tab 1: Summary

• - Total Assets / Total Liabilities / Total Equity (current vs prior, $ change, % change, F/U)
• Total Liabilities + Equity (cross-check row)
• Accounting equation validation: Total Assets = Total Liabilities + Total Equity (both periods, ≤$1 tolerance)

Tab 2: Detail

• - Every BS line item with hierarchy preserved
• Prior period | Current period | $ Change | % Change | F/U label
• Color-coded by section (Assets = blue, Liabilities = gold, Equity = purple)

Tab 3: ⚠ Flags

• - Material changes: ≥10% change OR ≥$2,500 absolute
• Analysis note for each flagged item — plain-English explanation tying the change to relevant follow-up actions
• BS-specific cross-references (see Analysis Notes section below)

Tab 4: CDC Log

• - Change Data Capture: compares current BS flat map against last cached run
• First run: full snapshot saved (no deltas)
• Subsequent runs: shows exactly what line items changed since last run
• Cache location: INLINECODE24

BS Logic

Section Classification

Each QBO BS row is classified into sections by keyword matching:

• - Assets: cash, bank, accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid, property, equipment, fixed asset, accumulated depreciation, investment, due from, notes receivable
• Liabilities: liabilit, accounts payable, accrued, loan, note payable, line of credit, mortgage, deferred revenue, sales tax, payroll, credit card, due to
• Equity: equity, owner, capital, retained earnings, net income, distribution, contribution, member, shareholder, partner, opening balance equity, paid-in, common stock

Children inherit their parent section classification.

Variance F/U Logic

Section	Increase =	Decrease =
Assets	✓ Favorable	✗ Unfavorable
Liabilities

✗ Unfavorable | ✓ Favorable |

| Equity | ✓ Favorable | ✗ Unfavorable |

Strategic exceptions (new LOC for growth, timely AP buildup) are noted in the analysis notes column.

Accounting Equation Validation

Total Assets = Total Liabilities + Total Equity   (≤$1 tolerance)

Runs on both periods and displayed in Summary tab with pass/fail icons.

YTD Mode

--ytd: Current = as of end of last completed month. Prior = same date in prior year. Example: run on March 17, 2026 → Current = as of Feb 28, 2026 | Prior = as of Feb 28, 2025.

Analysis Notes (Flags Tab)

The Flags tab includes an Analysis Note column with BS-specific interpretation for each material change:

Line Item	Analysis Note Focus
Cash / Bank	Tie to SCF — identify source: operating CF, capex, debt, distribution
Accounts Receivable

Run AR aging — check DSO, past-due balances, collection trends |
| Inventory | Monitor turnover — buildup vs. drawdown relative to sales pace |
| Prepaid Expenses | Amortization vs. new prepaid spend |
| Fixed Assets / PP&E | Capex vs. disposal — verify depreciation schedule updated |
| Accumulated Depreciation | Confirm D&A add-back in SCF operating section |
| Related-party Receivables | Repayment terms and tax treatment of officer/shareholder loans |
| Accounts Payable | Run AP aging — confirm no overdue payables; payment terms intact |
| Credit Cards | Full payment schedule; confirm all charges categorized |
| Loans / Notes Payable | New borrowing vs. paydown — tie to SCF financing; verify debt schedule |
| Line of Credit | Draw vs. paydown — monitor utilization rate and available capacity |
| Mortgage | Normal amortization vs. lump-sum payment — confirm against schedule |
| Deferred Revenue | Cash received vs. revenue not yet earned — monitor recognition schedule |
| Payroll / Accrued | Settlement timing — verify no aged accruals outstanding |
| Sales Tax Payable | Confirm remittance current; no penalties |
| Retained Earnings | Tie to net income in P&L |
| Current Year Net Income | Deep-dive in P&L quick compare |
| Distributions / Draws | Verify cash availability; tie to SCF financing section |
| Equity Contributions | Tie to SCF financing; confirm cap table updated |
| Opening Balance Equity | Should zero out once books are fully set up |

CDC Cache

CODEBLOCK3

Stores the flat map of all BS line names → balances for the most recent run. On re-run, diffs against the prior cache and shows exactly what changed. Useful for catching mid-month QBO adjustments, journal entries, or bank feed imports.

Decimal Math

All calculations use Python Decimal with ROUND_HALF_UP — no floating-point rounding errors in financial outputs.

Related Pipelines

Run all three compare pipelines for a complete monthly close package:

Pipeline	Script	What it covers
P&L Quick Compare	INLINECODE28	Revenue, COGS, expenses, net income
SCF Quick Compare

scf-quick-compare.py | Cash flows: operating, investing, financing |
| BS Quick Compare | bs-quick-compare.py | Assets, liabilities, equity positions |

Cross-reference flags across all three:

• - Cash change on BS → tie to SCF net change
• AR/AP change on BS → tie to aging pipelines
• Net income on BS → tie to P&L net income
• Loan changes on BS → tie to SCF financing section