How to Create a QuickBooks Income Statement

The QuickBooks income statement summarizes a company’s financial performance with revenue, expenses, and net income. It is vital for evaluating business finances. Regularly review it to identify improvement areas and gain crucial financial insights. Income statements offer a detailed snapshot of a company’s financial position. Read this guide to understand the definition and uses of QuickBooks profit and loss statement.

What is an Income Statement in QuickBooks?

Through a comprehensive examination of the income statement on QuickBooks, valuable insights regarding a company’s profitability and future growth potential can be obtained.

• The QuickBooks income statement summarizes financial performance for a specific accounting period.
• It details revenues, gains, expenses, and losses to determine net income.
• Also known as a profit and loss statement.
• Follows a simple formula which is: total revenue minus total expense = net income

What are QuickBooks Income Statements Used For?

 QuickBooks profit and loss statement aids in assessing a business’s profitability and decision-making. Analyzing it yields valuable financial performance insights, including areas for improvement. It enhances the company’s financial position such as:

• Which business activities should receive increased funding?
• Where should expenses be reduced?
• What are some ways to increase the efficiency of using business resources?

Why Should You Create a Profit and Loss Statement in QuickBooks?

• QuickBooks income statements should be generated quarterly and annually.
• This practice aids in forecasting business growth and providing visibility throughout the year.
• For small businesses, monthly income statements can be useful in identifying financial trends.
• EPS (Earnings per share) measures profitability.
• It’s calculated by dividing a company’s profits by the number of common stock shares.
• The information needed for this metric is obtained from the income statement.
• Combining QuickBooks’ profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement offers key insights for business growth decisions.

How to Pull Up a Profit and Loss Statement in QuickBooks Online?

As a QuickBooks user, it’s crucial to know how to find the profit and loss statement. It summarizes revenue and spending over a period of time, indicating profit or loss. To locate it in QuickBooks Online, follow the steps below:

Important: Report availability in QuickBooks varies. Non-profits use Statements of Financial Activity instead of Profit and Loss. It shows income and expenses.

To view a financial statement in QuickBooks, follow these steps:

• Open the Reports menu on the left-hand panel.
• From the Business Overview section.
• Pick “Financial Activities”
• Customize the reporting period to your preference.
• Tap on the “Run Report” button to generate the statement.

How to Create an Income Statement in QuickBooks?

To create an income statement in QuickBooks, follow these five steps based on your version of QuickBooks: QuickBooks Online Accountant, QuickBooks Online, and QuickBooks Desktop (Pro, Premier, Enterprise).

Step 1: Locate the Income Statement in QuickBooks

For QuickBooks Online Accountant:

To locate the income statement, which is referred to as the profit and loss statement, 

• Access the QuickBooks search bar at the top right corner of the screen.
• Type “profit and loss” in the search bar and select the relevant option from the search results.
• Select the desired format for the report.
• QuickBooks will automatically generate the report in the chosen format.
• Your income statement report will be available for use.

For QuickBooks Online:

To find the income statement in QuickBooks online, 

• Open the left navigation bar in QuickBooks and select “Reports”.
• Scroll down to find and select “Profit and Loss”.
• Alternatively, use the search bar and type “profit and loss” to locate the report.
• Open the “Profit and Loss” report from the available options.
• Select your desired report format before opening it.

For QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, and Enterprise:

There are two ways to find the income statement in these versions of QuickBooks Desktop 2023, Pro, Premier, etc, as follows:

Method 1

• To view QuickBooks Desktop insights, click the “insights” tab at the top of the home screen.
• Select the profit and loss statement to view it on the same screen.
• The profit and loss statement will then be displayed on your dashboard.
• You can customize your report and visualize it as a graph on the dashboard.

Method 2

To generate an income statement in QuickBooks, follow these steps:

• On the QuickBooks desktop, go to the Reports tab on the home screen.
• Choose Company and Financial from the options.
• Select your preferred Profit and Loss format from the available choices.

QuickBooks offers various income statement formats to choose from. 

• Use the customer profit and loss or less than a percentage of the entire income format for the management level.
• The normal statement format is ideal for tax purposes.
• The mode or format of QuickBooks income statement can be set as preferred by the loan officer.

Step 2: QuickBooks income statement customizing.

Customize your financial statement in QuickBooks financial by choosing cash or accrual basis, setting the date range, and selecting which columns you want to appear on the report.

• Statement basis
• Range of Date
• Customizing columns
• Alternate customizing 
• Note Adding

Step 3: Generate The QuickBooks income statement.

Once you have customized the QuickBooks income statement, you can start the data by following these steps:

QuickBooks Online: 

• Select the report run button located near the upper right corner of your revenue report.
• This will generate your customized QuickBooks online income statement.

QuickBooks Desktop: 

• When customizing your income statement in QuickBooks desktop, the report revives routinely.
• To ensure customizations have taken effect, 
• Click on the Refresh tab at the top upper corner of your revenue statement.

Step 4: Save, Print, and Send Your QuickBooks Income Statement

After customizing and generating your income statement in QuickBooks, you can easily access and save it with just a few clicks. If required, you can also print and send the statement to the relevant parties.

How to Save QuickBooks Income Statement?

To save your income statement in QuickBooks Online, simply 

• Tap on the “Save customization” button that you find at the top right corner of the statement. 
• Give the report a name for easy future reference. 
• You can also group the customized report with others and set access permissions for specific users.

In QuickBooks Desktop

• The income statement in QuickBooks desktop can be saved by selecting the “Memorize” tab located at the top of the profit and loss statement.
• The “Memorize” option provides the same customization features as QuickBooks Online.

How to Print Profit and Loss in QuickBooks?

If you wish to print profit and loss in QuickBooks, you can follow the steps below:

Print income statement in QuickBooks Online: 

• Click on the printer icon at the top of the profit and loss statement to print it in QuickBooks Online.
• Tap the document image beside the printer image to transfer the data to PDF or Excel and save it on your hard drive.

Print financial statement in QuickBooks Desktop: 

To print or export your QuickBooks Desktop profit and loss statement in, 

• Click the “Print” tab at the top of the report.
• It can be exported as PDF or directly printed.
• To export the report to Excel, use the separate “Excel” button.

How to Email QuickBooks Profit and Loss Statements?

There are two distinct methods to send QuickBooks income statements via email. These methods are as follows:

• To send the QuickBooks income statement to others via email, you may export it as either an Excel or PDF file and attach it to the email.
• It is possible to send the income statement directly to others from your QuickBooks account.

What are the Pros and Cons of Income Statements and Balance Sheets in QuickBooks?

Here are the pros and cons of using balance sheets and income statements in QuickBooks:

Pros:

• Income statements provide a snapshot of your business’s financial performance over a specific period.
• Balance sheets offer a complete picture of your business’s financial position at a specific point in time.
• Both statements are customizable in QuickBooks, allowing you to view and analyze your financial data in a way that suits your business’s needs.

Cons:

• Income statements only show your business’s financial performance and do not give a complete picture of your financial position.
• Balance sheets can be complex and difficult to understand, especially for those without a financial background.

By following five easy steps, you can learn how to create an income statement using QuickBooks. These steps include selecting the format, customizing it, and generating the statement. Once you have created the income statement, you can save it, print it, or send it directly from your QuickBooks account, regardless of whether it is online or desktop based

Frequently Asked Questions