Reports
Income statement
Revenue minus expenses over a period. The bottom line is net income — what the business kept.
The income statement (sometimes called "profit and loss" or "P&L") answers one question: did I make money over this period?
How to read it
The page is split into three sections:
- Revenue — every revenue account with activity, plus a subtotal.
- Expenses — every expense account, plus a subtotal.
- Net income — revenue minus expenses, displayed prominently. Green if positive, red if negative.
The numbers are net amounts in the period you picked. A revenue account that received $10,000 in sales and then $200 in refunds shows $9,800.
Picking a period
Use the period picker above the report:
- All time — every transaction since inception.
- This month — first day of this month through today.
- This year — Jan 1 through today.
- Custom — two date inputs.
Leave both blank for all-time. Pick just from for "since X." Pick just
to for "everything up to X."
What it doesn't tell you
A few things that often surprise first-time readers:
- It's not your bank balance. Net income shows what you earned, not what's sitting in checking. Those differ because of timing, owner draws, loan payments, etc. For balance, look at the balance sheet.
- It can be negative. Net loss is fine for a young business — it just means you spent more than you earned during the window.
- Owner draws don't show up here. Those are equity reductions, not expenses. You'd see them on the balance sheet.