Understanding Your Financial Reports

Reading Your Profit & Loss Report

The Profit & Loss (P&L) report is one of the most important financial statements for any business. It shows whether you're making money or losing it over a given period.

Accessing the P&L Report

1. Go to Accounting from the sidebar
2. Click Reports
3. Select Profit & Loss
4. Choose a date range — this quarter, last quarter, this financial year, or custom

Understanding the Sections

The P&L report is divided into three main sections:

#### Revenue (Income)

This shows all money coming into your business:

• Invoice revenue — total from paid invoices in the period
• Other income — any additional income recorded
• Total Revenue — sum of all income

Only invoices marked as Paid are included. Draft, sent, or overdue invoices are excluded because the money hasn't been received yet.

#### Expenses

This shows all money going out of your business:

• By category — expenses grouped by type (Office, Travel, Software, etc.)
• Total Expenses — sum of all approved and paid expenses

Only expenses with Approved or Paid status are included.

#### Net Profit

The bottom line:

• Net Profit = Total Revenue − Total Expenses
• A positive number means you're profitable
• A negative number (shown in red) means you're spending more than you're earning

GST Impact

The P&L report shows figures excluding GST by default. This gives you a true picture of your business performance without the tax component. GST details are available in the separate GST/BAS Report.

Monthly Breakdown

The report includes a monthly breakdown showing revenue and expenses for each month in the selected period. This helps you identify:

• Seasonal trends — busy vs. quiet months
• Growth patterns — are you earning more over time?
• Expense spikes — unusual spending in specific months

Exporting the Report

Click Export to download the P&L as a CSV file. You can share this with your accountant, bookkeeper, or business partners.

**Tip:** Review your P&L monthly. Compare the current month to the same month last year to understand true growth, accounting for seasonal variations.