Income Statement
Revenue and expenses for any period, with comparison columns, built from your ledger.
The income statement (also called the profit and loss statement, or P&L) shows revenue minus expenses over a period: did the business make money between two dates?
It covers a span of time. The balance sheet shows a single date.
Reading it
- Set the periods
Open Options to compare by month, quarter or year and choose how many periods to show. Each period gets its own column.
- Start with revenue
On the accrual basis, revenue is what you earned in the period, not what you were paid. An invoice sent in March is March revenue even if it's paid in May.
- Read the expenses
Costs incurred in the same period, grouped by account. The report is only as detailed as your chart of accounts.
- Compare periods
One month's profit says little on its own. Turn on Period-over-period change in Options to see the difference between columns.
Profit is not cash
A profitable month can leave you with less money, and a break-even month can add to your balance. Neither is an error.
Invoices you haven't collected are revenue you can't spend yet. Loan principal repayments take cash but are never an expense. Equipment purchases take cash now and reach this report slowly, as depreciation. The cash flow statement shows the difference.
It ties to the ledger
The report is computed from posted entries each time you open it, so it can't disagree with the ledger. To trace a figure, open the account and read the entries behind it.
Good to know
- The accounting method (accrual or modified cash) is set for the business in Settings → Accounting → Accounting method.
- Transactions still in Review aren't posted and are left out by default. Options can show them at their suggested category on separate “(in Review)” lines; posted totals don't change.
- Transfers between your own accounts are neither income nor expense. If one shows up here, it was miscoded.
- Export to PDF, Excel or CSV, or print.
Common questions
- Why is my profit high when my bank account is low?
- Usually revenue invoiced but not yet collected, loan principal repayments (not an expense), owner draws (equity, not an expense), or equipment purchases that sit on the balance sheet. The cash flow statement shows each one.
- Can I see this across all my businesses at once?
- No. Each business reports separately.