A question which seems to come up very frequently among new GnuCash users is how to create custom reports. Maybe you've created your own, highly customized version of one of GnuCash's standard reports. Or maybe you've just been exploring the menus and found there are no custom reports listed in your fresh GnuCash installation. Either way the answer might not be obvious.

I can promise you though, it's simple. Here's how:

1. Start with one of GnuCash's standard reports. Open whichever report most closely matches the one you have in mind for your custom report
2. click the Options icon to open the dialog box for that report. Here you'll be able to customize your report to suit whatever need you have in mind
3. Click the General tab of the customization dialog box
4. If you haven't already, give your custom report a different report name
5. Click OK to save and display your report. Because you changed the name of your custom report from the default, it's stored as a new, custom report

Go ahead, look in the Reports menu under Custom Reports. Your newly created custom report should be listed there. Simple, no? Like many other things in life, the simplest solution is not always the most obvious. In my opinion the simplest solution is always the best solution.

And that, in my opinion is central to the beauty of GnuCash. Many tasks are actually easier to perform in GnuCash than in some other personal finance applications.