In our dashboard, in the Sales widget - the number shown there doesn't align with our P&L or our Income number - where does this number come from?

Hi there, 

QuickBooks Online conveniently displays important financial snapshots on your Dashboard. This is a great place to capture an overview of your business finances, and it can help you stay on top of your tasks. 

The Dashboard section on Sales includes all sales recorded within the time-frame specified. This means that all sales, including sales you have yet to receive payment for, will be counted. The Dashboard Sales section doesn't include journal entries posted to your sales accounts. 

The Profit and Loss Report will only show sales totals for the transactions you've received payments for. Any outstanding invoices will not be accounted for in this report. 

I recommend comparing your Profit and Loss Report with another sales report, such as the Sales by Customer Summary Report. Ensure you've selected the same reporting method and time period. 

Overall, it's typical to see a different balance in your Profit and Loss Report compared to the Sales section of the Dashboard. 

I hope this helps clear things up for you. If you have any other questions, let me know. 

Have a great day.

Your explanation is close... but doesn't quite get there and address the issue...

"The Profit and Loss Report will only show sales totals for the transactions you've received payments for. Any outstanding invoices will not be accounted for in this report. "

If you do accrual based accounting sales show up when they are earned.

If you do cash based accounting sales show up when the the invoice payment is received.

I use the accrual based method.

I would like my dashboard to also use the accrual based method.

I would also like for "Sales" to not include "other Income" which could be from a number of different sources, such as grants, subsidies, etc.

There is no point in having a dashboard if it doesn't work for that specific company.

Hey service18,

The Dashboard widgets are designed to provide a quick and convenient visual overview of your finances as soon as you sign in. Currently, these are focused on the settings most valuable for small business owners. By default, amounts should be displayed under the accrual method based on the transaction type. The best way to see a detailed breakdown of each account is by running a report, and customizing it as needed. Check out this handy article to get started: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online 

I'll pass your comments along to the team, but you can also play a direct role in shaping the future of the QuickBooks experience. By submitting feedback to our engineers, you're helping us concentrate our development efforts on the features most important to you.

Hope this helps!