diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Amount.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Amount.hs
index c4f6615d3..0679d4461 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Amount.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Amount.hs
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ module Hledger.Data.Amount (
   -- ** rendering
   amountstyle,
   showAmount,
+  cshowAmount,
   showAmountWithZeroCommodity,
   showAmountDebug,
   showAmountWithoutPrice,
@@ -95,6 +96,8 @@ module Hledger.Data.Amount (
   showMixedAmountDebug,
   showMixedAmountWithoutPrice,
   showMixedAmountOneLineWithoutPrice,
+  cshowMixedAmountWithoutPrice,
+  cshowMixedAmountOneLineWithoutPrice,
   showMixedAmountWithZeroCommodity,
   showMixedAmountWithPrecision,
   setMixedAmountPrecision,
@@ -239,6 +242,10 @@ showAmountDebug Amount{..} = printf "Amount {acommodity=%s, aquantity=%s, aprice
 showAmountWithoutPrice :: Amount -> String
 showAmountWithoutPrice a = showAmount a{aprice=NoPrice}
 
+-- | Colour version.
+cshowAmountWithoutPrice :: Amount -> String
+cshowAmountWithoutPrice a = cshowAmount a{aprice=NoPrice}
+
 -- | Get the string representation of an amount, without any price or commodity symbol.
 showAmountWithoutPriceOrCommodity :: Amount -> String
 showAmountWithoutPriceOrCommodity a = showAmount a{acommodity="", aprice=NoPrice}
@@ -260,6 +267,13 @@ showPriceDebug (TotalPrice pa) = " @@ " ++ showAmountDebug pa
 showAmount :: Amount -> String
 showAmount = showAmountHelper False
 
+-- | Colour version. For a negative amount, adds ANSI codes to change the colour, 
+-- currently to hard-coded red.
+cshowAmount :: Amount -> String
+cshowAmount a =
+  (if isNegativeAmount a then color Dull Red else id) $
+  showAmountHelper False a
+
 showAmountHelper :: Bool -> Amount -> String
 showAmountHelper _ Amount{acommodity="AUTO"} = ""
 showAmountHelper showzerocommodity a@(Amount{acommodity=c, aprice=p, astyle=AmountStyle{..}}) =
@@ -559,6 +573,17 @@ showMixedAmountWithoutPrice m = concat $ intersperse "\n" $ map showfixedwidth a
       width = maximum $ map (length . showAmount) as
       showfixedwidth = printf (printf "%%%ds" width) . showAmountWithoutPrice
 
+-- | Colour version.
+cshowMixedAmountWithoutPrice :: MixedAmount -> String
+cshowMixedAmountWithoutPrice m = concat $ intersperse "\n" $ map showamt as
+    where
+      (Mixed as) = normaliseMixedAmountSquashPricesForDisplay $ stripPrices m
+      stripPrices (Mixed as) = Mixed $ map stripprice as where stripprice a = a{aprice=NoPrice}
+      width = maximum $ map (length . showAmount) as
+      showamt a = 
+        (if isNegativeAmount a then color Dull Red else id) $
+        printf (printf "%%%ds" width) $ showAmountWithoutPrice a
+
 -- | Get the one-line string representation of a mixed amount, but without
 -- any \@ prices.
 showMixedAmountOneLineWithoutPrice :: MixedAmount -> String
@@ -567,6 +592,13 @@ showMixedAmountOneLineWithoutPrice m = concat $ intersperse ", " $ map showAmoun
       (Mixed as) = normaliseMixedAmountSquashPricesForDisplay $ stripPrices m
       stripPrices (Mixed as) = Mixed $ map stripprice as where stripprice a = a{aprice=NoPrice}
 
+-- | Colour version.
+cshowMixedAmountOneLineWithoutPrice :: MixedAmount -> String
+cshowMixedAmountOneLineWithoutPrice m = concat $ intersperse ", " $ map cshowAmountWithoutPrice as
+    where
+      (Mixed as) = normaliseMixedAmountSquashPricesForDisplay $ stripPrices m
+      stripPrices (Mixed as) = Mixed $ map stripprice as where stripprice a = a{aprice=NoPrice}
+
 -- | Canonicalise a mixed amount's display styles using the provided commodity style map.
 canonicaliseMixedAmount :: M.Map CommoditySymbol AmountStyle -> MixedAmount -> MixedAmount
 canonicaliseMixedAmount styles (Mixed as) = Mixed $ map (canonicaliseAmount styles) as
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/ReportOptions.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/ReportOptions.hs
index fd8732054..dc14ca64f 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/ReportOptions.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Reports/ReportOptions.hs
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ import Data.Typeable (Typeable)
 import Data.Time.Calendar
 import Data.Default
 import Safe
+import System.Console.ANSI (hSupportsANSI)
+import System.IO (stdout)
 import Test.HUnit
 import Text.Megaparsec.Error
 
@@ -92,6 +94,7 @@ data ReportOpts = ReportOpts {
     ,no_total_       :: Bool
     ,value_          :: Bool
     ,pretty_tables_  :: Bool
+    ,color_          :: Bool
  } deriving (Show, Data, Typeable)
 
 instance Default ReportOpts where def = defreportopts
@@ -120,11 +123,13 @@ defreportopts = ReportOpts
     def
     def
     def
+    def
 
 rawOptsToReportOpts :: RawOpts -> IO ReportOpts
 rawOptsToReportOpts rawopts = checkReportOpts <$> do
-  d <- getCurrentDay
   let rawopts' = checkRawOpts rawopts
+  d <- getCurrentDay
+  color <- hSupportsANSI stdout
   return defreportopts{
      period_      = periodFromRawOpts d rawopts'
     ,interval_    = intervalFromRawOpts rawopts'
@@ -147,6 +152,7 @@ rawOptsToReportOpts rawopts = checkReportOpts <$> do
     ,no_total_    = boolopt "no-total" rawopts'
     ,value_       = boolopt "value" rawopts'
     ,pretty_tables_ = boolopt "pretty-tables" rawopts'
+    ,color_       = color
     }
 
 -- | Do extra validation of raw option values, raising an error if there's a problem.
diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Balance.hs b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Balance.hs
index 0a5828fab..3b15bacfa 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Balance.hs
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Balance.hs
@@ -358,7 +358,7 @@ balanceReportAsText opts ((items, total)) = unlines $ concat lines ++ t
                 let
                   -- abuse renderBalanceReportItem to render the total with similar format
                   acctcolwidth = maximum' [T.length fullname | (fullname, _, _, _) <- items]
-                  totallines = map rstrip $ renderBalanceReportItem fmt (T.replicate (acctcolwidth+1) " ", 0, total)
+                  totallines = map rstrip $ renderBalanceReportItem opts fmt (T.replicate (acctcolwidth+1) " ", 0, total)
                   -- with a custom format, extend the line to the full report width;
                   -- otherwise show the usual 20-char line for compatibility
                   overlinewidth | isJust (format_ opts) = maximum' $ map length $ concat lines
@@ -399,52 +399,69 @@ This implementation turned out to be a bit convoluted but implements the followi
 -- The output will be one or more lines depending on the format and number of commodities.
 balanceReportItemAsText :: ReportOpts -> StringFormat -> BalanceReportItem -> [String]
 balanceReportItemAsText opts fmt (_, accountName, depth, amt) =
-  renderBalanceReportItem fmt (
+  renderBalanceReportItem opts fmt (
     maybeAccountNameDrop opts accountName,
     depth,
     normaliseMixedAmountSquashPricesForDisplay amt
     )
 
 -- | Render a balance report item using the given StringFormat, generating one or more lines of text.
-renderBalanceReportItem :: StringFormat -> (AccountName, Int, MixedAmount) -> [String]
-renderBalanceReportItem fmt (acctname, depth, total) =
+renderBalanceReportItem :: ReportOpts -> StringFormat -> (AccountName, Int, MixedAmount) -> [String]
+renderBalanceReportItem opts fmt (acctname, depth, total) =
   lines $
   case fmt of
     OneLine comps       -> concatOneLine      $ render1 comps
     TopAligned comps    -> concatBottomPadded $ render comps
     BottomAligned comps -> concatTopPadded    $ render comps
   where
-    render1 = map (renderComponent1 (acctname, depth, total))
-    render  = map (renderComponent (acctname, depth, total))
+    render1 = map (renderComponent1 opts (acctname, depth, total))
+    render  = map (renderComponent opts (acctname, depth, total))
 
 defaultTotalFieldWidth = 20
 
 -- | Render one StringFormat component for a balance report item.
-renderComponent :: (AccountName, Int, MixedAmount) -> StringFormatComponent -> String
-renderComponent _ (FormatLiteral s) = s
-renderComponent (acctname, depth, total) (FormatField ljust min max field) = case field of
+renderComponent :: ReportOpts -> (AccountName, Int, MixedAmount) -> StringFormatComponent -> String
+renderComponent _ _ (FormatLiteral s) = s
+renderComponent opts (acctname, depth, total) (FormatField ljust min max field) = case field of
   DepthSpacerField -> formatString ljust Nothing max $ replicate d ' '
                       where d = case min of
                                  Just m  -> depth * m
                                  Nothing -> depth
   AccountField     -> formatString ljust min max (T.unpack acctname)
-  TotalField       -> fitStringMulti min max True False $ showMixedAmountWithoutPrice total
+  TotalField       ->
+    -- TODO: does not color multicommodity amounts
+--    setamtcolor $ fitStringMulti min max True False $ showMixedAmountWithoutPrice total
+    fitStringMulti min max True False $ showamt total
   _                -> ""
+  where
+    showamt | color_ opts = cshowMixedAmountWithoutPrice
+            | otherwise   = showMixedAmountWithoutPrice
+--    setamtcolor
+--      | color_ opts && isNegativeMixedAmount total == Just True = color Dull Red
+--      | otherwise = id
 
 -- | Render one StringFormat component for a balance report item.
 -- This variant is for use with OneLine string formats; it squashes
 -- any multi-line rendered values onto one line, comma-and-space separated,
 -- while still complying with the width spec.
-renderComponent1 :: (AccountName, Int, MixedAmount) -> StringFormatComponent -> String
-renderComponent1 _ (FormatLiteral s) = s
-renderComponent1 (acctname, depth, total) (FormatField ljust min max field) = case field of
+renderComponent1 :: ReportOpts -> (AccountName, Int, MixedAmount) -> StringFormatComponent -> String
+renderComponent1 _ _ (FormatLiteral s) = s
+renderComponent1 opts (acctname, depth, total) (FormatField ljust min max field) = case field of
   AccountField     -> formatString ljust min max ((intercalate ", " . lines) (indented (T.unpack acctname)))
                       where
                         -- better to indent the account name here rather than use a DepthField component
                         -- so that it complies with width spec. Uses a fixed indent step size.
                         indented = ((replicate (depth*2) ' ')++)
-  TotalField       -> fitStringMulti min max True False $ ((intercalate ", " . map strip . lines) (showMixedAmountWithoutPrice total))
+  TotalField       -> 
+--    setamtcolor $ fitStringMulti min max True False $ ((intercalate ", " . map strip . lines) (showMixedAmountWithoutPrice total))
+    fitStringMulti min max True False $ ((intercalate ", " . map strip . lines) (showamt total))
   _                -> ""
+  where
+    showamt | color_ opts = cshowMixedAmountWithoutPrice
+            | otherwise   = showMixedAmountWithoutPrice 
+--    setamtcolor
+--      | color_ opts && isNegativeMixedAmount total == Just True = color Dull Red
+--      | otherwise = id
 
 -- multi-column balance reports
 
@@ -489,8 +506,8 @@ multiBalanceReportAsText opts r =
 -- made using 'balanceReportAsTable'), render it in a format suitable for
 -- console output.
 renderBalanceReportTable :: ReportOpts -> Table String String MixedAmount -> String
-renderBalanceReportTable (ReportOpts { pretty_tables_ = pretty }) = unlines . trimborder . lines
-                         . render pretty id (" " ++) showMixedAmountOneLineWithoutPrice
+renderBalanceReportTable (ReportOpts { pretty_tables_ = pretty, color_=usecolor }) = unlines . trimborder . lines
+                         . render pretty id (" " ++) showamt
                          . align
   where
     trimborder = ("":) . (++[""]) . drop 1 . init . map (drop 1 . init)
@@ -498,6 +515,8 @@ renderBalanceReportTable (ReportOpts { pretty_tables_ = pretty }) = unlines . tr
       where
         acctswidth = maximum' $ map strWidth (headerContents l)
         l'         = padRightWide acctswidth <$> l
+    showamt | usecolor  = cshowMixedAmountOneLineWithoutPrice
+            | otherwise = showMixedAmountOneLineWithoutPrice
 
 -- | Build a 'Table' from a multi-column balance report.
 balanceReportAsTable :: ReportOpts -> MultiBalanceReport -> Table String String MixedAmount
diff --git a/hledger/hledger.cabal b/hledger/hledger.cabal
index 378aee111..4593ef6a0 100644
--- a/hledger/hledger.cabal
+++ b/hledger/hledger.cabal
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ library
   build-depends:
       base >=4.8 && <5
     , base-compat >=0.8.1
+    , ansi-terminal >= 0.6.2.3 && < 0.7
     , directory
     , file-embed >=0.0.10 && <0.1
     , filepath
@@ -169,6 +170,7 @@ executable hledger
   build-depends:
       base >=4.8 && <5
     , base-compat >=0.8.1
+    , ansi-terminal >= 0.6.2.3 && < 0.7
     , directory
     , file-embed >=0.0.10 && <0.1
     , filepath
@@ -231,6 +233,7 @@ test-suite test
   build-depends:
       base >=4.8 && <5
     , base-compat >=0.8.1
+    , ansi-terminal >= 0.6.2.3 && < 0.7
     , directory
     , file-embed >=0.0.10 && <0.1
     , filepath
@@ -292,6 +295,7 @@ benchmark bench
   build-depends:
       base >=4.8 && <5
     , base-compat >=0.8.1
+    , ansi-terminal >= 0.6.2.3 && < 0.7
     , directory
     , file-embed >=0.0.10 && <0.1
     , filepath
diff --git a/hledger/package.yaml b/hledger/package.yaml
index 09721d95d..fc844aba5 100644
--- a/hledger/package.yaml
+++ b/hledger/package.yaml
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ flags:
 dependencies:
 - base >=4.8 && <5
 - base-compat >=0.8.1
+- ansi-terminal >= 0.6.2.3 && < 0.7
 - directory
 - file-embed >=0.0.10 && <0.1
 - filepath