Profit and Loss Report
Your income, expenses and profit for a period and each month of it, beside the same period last year, with every category of expense, as a CSV or a PDF for your accountant.
The profit and loss report, in Reports > Accounts > Profit and loss, shows your income, expenses and profit for a period and each month of it, beside the same period last year. Like the other reports, it covers one business at a time. It replaced the Overview and Statements reports, which answered the same question with different numbers.
The Figures at the Top
- Income: What you earned in the period, with your tips, less refunds.
- Expenses: What you spent, with any bad debts.
- Profit: Income less expenses. A loss shows in red.
Under each one it says how it compares with the same dates last year, such as +12% on last year, or what it was last year when there was nothing to compare with.
Under the figures are two tabs: Profit and loss, the statement, which it opens on, and By month. Each has the same filters and downloads, so you can change the period on either.
The Statement
The Profit and loss tab sets the period out line by line, with the same period last year beside it:
- Work done or Money received: What you earned, by your accounting basis (see below).
- Refunds: Money you paid back, taken off.
- Tips: Tips you were given.
- Income: Those added up.
- A line for each expense category: Every category you spent on in either period, the most spent on first, shown as minus amounts. An expense without a category is under Uncategorised.
- Bad debts: On the accruals basis, the debts you wrote off.
- Expenses: Those added up.
- Profit: Income less expenses.
How Income Is Counted
The note under the title says how. On cash basis, income is the money you received, so a job counts when it's paid for. On the accruals basis, which you're on unless you choose otherwise, it's the work you did, so a job counts when it's charged for, and debts you write off count as an expense. Choose your basis under When income counts in Settings > Accounts & tax.
Only completed entries count: not payments still pending, failed or cancelled. Opening balances, which bring over what was owed before you used Work Planner, don't count, and nor do missed visits. For a VAT-registered business the figures are before VAT, as the note says. Other businesses see whole amounts, as they can't reclaim the VAT they pay.
By Month
The By month tab has each month's income, expenses and profit, with the total underneath. When the period starts or ends part way through a month, that month is labelled with its dates, such as 5–31 March 2026, so it isn't mistaken for a whole month.
Filters and Downloads
- Date range: Starts as your financial year so far (This Tax Year for most businesses). The choices are This Month, Last Month, This Quarter, This Tax Year and Last Tax Year, the same on every money page, or pick any dates on the calendar. A period still going on runs to today, so it lines up with the same days last year.
- Business: The business the report covers, when you have more than one.
- Clear Filters: Back to your financial year so far.
- Export CSV: A row for each month, with a column for each category of expense, then the total and the same period last year.
- Download PDF: The statement and the months on A4, to print or send your accountant. The same PDF is in the download on For your accountant, with everything else your accountant needs for the period.
It Agrees With the Other Reports
Every report, the Dashboard and your Income Tax figures count money the same way, so the same month gives the same figures wherever you look. The Vehicles Report adds up to the profit here, and its Profit link opens this report for the same period.
Who Can See It
Anyone whose role can see reports. The figures are the business's own, so a role that hides prices still sees them. Exporting and downloading need Export Reports and Lists under Reports on the role: without it, Download PDF and Export CSV aren't shown. They aren't in the iPhone and Android apps either, which can't save a download. See Editing a Role.
Related articles
- Vehicles Report: The same profit, van by van.
- Completed Jobs Report: The work done, job by job.
- VAT Returns: The VAT on your sales and purchases, return by return.
- Income Tax: The same income and expenses for the tax year, with the expenses in HMRC's boxes.
- Accounts and Tax Settings: Where you choose when income counts, and your financial year.
- For Your Accountant: This PDF, with your transactions, expenses, invoices and the rest, in one download for your accountant.