Get the most out of the reports: The income statement

Choose a period, filter by category and compare periods in the income statement.

The income statement answers what has happened during a period. What makes it useful are the three choices: period, category and comparison.

The basics are in The income statement. This page is about getting more out of it.

Choose a period

The period controls everything else in the report. Keep in mind that a period that cuts through the middle of a voucher gives a result that looks wrong but is correct, so check the limits of the period before you look for errors in the accounting.

Choose a category

The categories, that is the dimensions, are what make the report more than a grand total. With them you see the result per business area, cost centre or whatever you have chosen to follow up.

A category that is not used in the account coding gives empty rows. That is not an error in the report but a sign that the account coding does not carry the dimension.

Compare periods

The comparison is the single most valuable function. A result in itself says little. A result against the same period last year or against budget says what has actually changed.

When you compare several years, the oldest year is on the left and the reported period on the far right. Each change column states which period it compares against.

If a budget has been entered, the comparison is made against it. See Budget for how a budget is set up and why an account sometimes cannot be budgeted on.

Permission

Not everyone sees the income statement, and it can also be controlled per category so that a project manager only sees their own area. See Permission for the income statement.