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The Nominal Profit and Loss Report

Learn how to generate a Profit and Loss Report, with the option to include the Balance Sheet Report in the same document

Written by Serena Santamaria

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Profit and Loss Report helps you answer the million-dollar question every business owner faces: Am I earning more than I'm spending? By summarising your income and expenses for a selected period, it shows whether your business made a profit or incurred a loss.

For a bigger picture, include a Balance Sheet Report alongside your Profit and Loss data. Together, they provide a clearer view of both business performance and financial position.

In this article, we'll show you how to generate a Profit and Loss Report and, when required, include the Balance Sheet Report.
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The Report

To run the report:

  1. Go to Nominal > Reporting > Nominal Profit and Loss Report.
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  2. Set up the Report Options as needed in the Profit and Loss Report page:
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    • Financial Year: select the financial year you want to report on.

    • Period From: enter the month number (e.g. 1 for January) you want to the report to start from.

    • Period To: enter the month number (e.g. 12 for December) you want to the report to end.

    • Exclude Accounts With Zero Balance: hides income and expense accounts with no balance.

    • Include Balance Sheet Report: includes Balance Sheet account figures after the Profit and Loss section in the same report.

    • Start Balance Sheet Report on New Page: starts the Balance Sheet section on a new report page. This keeps the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet sections separate and prevents them from appearing on the same printed or PDF page.

    • Detailed Report: tick it to run a detailed report, untick it to run a summary report.

    • Extend Across Periods: breaks down report figures into monthly amounts for the selected period range, allowing you to analyse trends and compare results month by month.

  3. Filter and select the data you want to report on in the left grid, if necessary.

  4. Choose the report format and generate the report at the bottom right of the page.
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⚠️ Important: User permissions and active system record filters influence the data displayed in the report selection grid and the resulting report. Excluded records may cause incomplete figures or unexpected totals.

The Result

The regular and extended Profit and Loss Report can be generated in either PDF or Excel format, for both the Summary and Detailed versions.
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Summary and Detailed: Regular

After a successful run, the Summary and Detailed regular reports will display the the following columns, both in PDF and Excel formats: Code, Name, Movements [starting period] to [ending period (EUR), and Year to [ending period] (EUR).

PDF

Side-by-side regular Summary and Detailed P&L report in PDF format

Excel

Side-by-side regular Summary and Detailed P&L report in Excel format

Summary and Detailed: Extended Periods

Successfully generated Summary and Detailed reports for extended periods include the following columns in both PDF and Excel formats: Code, Name, Opening Balance, Year to [ending period] (EUR), and a separate column for each selected period. For example, if you select three periods, the report will display individual columns for January, February, and March.

PDF

Side-by-side Extended Summary and Detailed P&L report in PDF format

Excel

Side-by-side extended Summary and Detailed P&L report in Excel format

P&L Report Including Balance Sheet

Below is an example of Summary Profit & Loss Report including the Balance Sheet Report, in both PDF and Excel format.

Note: Start Balance Sheet Report on New Page checkbox was unticked, so the Balance Sheet appears in the same document page.

Side-by-side PDF and Excel regular Summary P&L report including Balance Sheet report

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