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Prepare an inventory for filing

The Inventory Report lists the estate's assets and liabilities as of one date. This guide covers the choices to make before you file it.

Watch the walkthrough: Creating an inventory report, 6 minutes. The video predates some changes to the app. Where they differ, follow this page.

Steps

  1. Open the matter, click the Reports tab, and choose Inventory Report.
  2. Set the Report Name to what your court calls this document. In Wisconsin it is an Inventory.
  3. Set the Report Subtitle to something that identifies the matter. For a probate, use the case number. For a trust, use the full name of the trust.
  4. Check the As of Date. It should be the date of death.
  5. Leave Show zero value accounts off.
  6. Expand or collapse categories with the arrows until the report shows the detail you want.
  7. Click Export and choose a format.

The subtitle is shared by every report in the matter, so you enter it once.

To reuse a group of settings, save them under Saved Reports. See Customize and save report settings.

Check the As of Date

The As of Date defaults to the date of the matter's earliest transaction. That should be the date of death. If any entry was dated earlier by mistake, the default will be wrong, so check it every time.

Why entry dates matter

The report shows each account's value at the end of the As of Date. It includes every transaction dated that day.

  • An opening balance must carry the date of death. If the opening balance for a bank account is dated one day late, that account is missing from an inventory as of the date of death.
  • Income or an expense dated on the date of death changes the balance the inventory shows. One way to keep the inventory clean is to date those entries the day after the date of death.

Why zero value accounts stay off

With the option on, the report lists accounts that had no value on the As of Date. The estate checking account is the usual example. It did not exist on the date of death, so it does not belong on the inventory.

Export

The report starts fully expanded, with every category and subaccount showing. The export matches what is on screen, with subaccounts indented, report descriptions included, and totals for each group.

Excel is a good choice when you need to adjust page breaks before printing. PDF and CSV are also available.

Amounts and totals in the Excel file are plain numbers, not formulas. Changing one number will not update the totals. This is by design. Make corrections in Estate Bookkeeper and export again, so the books still balance and the report still matches them.

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