How do i create a report with ytd comparison to prior fiscal year?

Good day, hsinclair,

You can run Profit & Loss Comparison report to get the income and expenses. Then, use the Compare time periods to see how things have changed over time.

I'm glad to show how to run this comparison:

1. Go to Reports from the left navigation bar.
2. Type Profit and Loss within the Search field.
3. Select Profit and Loss Comparison from the selection drop-down.
4. At the top of the report, select the menu under Compare another period. 
5. Select which time period to compare.
   • Previous period: The period right before the report period. Example: If the report period is February, the previous period is January.
   • Previous year: The same period the previous year.
   • Year-to-date: From the start of the year to the start of the report period. Note: Not all reports have this option.
6. Select how you want to compare the difference.
   • $ change: The difference as a dollar amount.
   • % change: The difference as a percentage.
     
7. Select Run report.After selecting Run Report, you'll be able to see your changes.

Check out the How to Customize Financial Reports in QuickBooks Online page to learn more on how to personalize your statements.

Stay in touch if there's anything else you need. I'm always right here to help.

Thanks Mary! However, i'm looking to run a 12/1/19 - 5/31/20 report, compared to 12/1/18 - 11/30/19 report, and none of those options give me that report?

It's good to see you back, hsinclair.

I have an additional workaround for you to get the report you need. You can follow the steps provided by my colleague @MaryLandT above, and choose the Previous year (PY) and Year-to-date (YTD) as the time to compare on step 4.

Also, make sure that you customize the Report period on the data you want to show.

To learn more about running reports in QuickBooks Online, take a look at these articles which you may find helpful:

• Customize reports in QuickBooks Online
• Run reports in QuickBooks Online

Reach back out to me by commenting below if you have any questions concerning QuickBooks. I'm always here to help. Have a great day!

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@hsinclair wrote:

Thanks Mary! However, i'm looking to run a 12/1/19 - 5/31/20 report, compared to 12/1/18 - 11/30/19 report, and none of those options give me that report?

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@hsinclair 

You're comparing different report period. You will need to be able to sort and customize group data features as you want which QBO data reporting can't do.

The best workaround is to download data by historical months from QBO into excel and reformat data in the spreadsheet as you need.

Thanks @vpcontroller. That's what I was afraid of. I just don't understand if this is available in Enterprise, which it is, why this feature is not integrated in QBO. Super sad :(

@vpcontroller I do think @MirriamM's customization may have worked. I did the Custom period of 12/1/19 - 5/31/2020, and the previous period comparison and customized the dates for the previous period comparison to 12/1/18 to 11/30/19, and it appears to work. Hope this helps you as well!

Is there a way to do this for the Cash Flow statement? When I access reports there does not appear to be a way for a comparison on cash flows.

I'll shed some light regarding Cash Flow Statement reports, Aille.

Some reports let you compare time periods side-by-side. However, this option is unavailable when running a Cash Flow Statement. A workaround for this is choosing Custom on the Report period dropdown. Then, select your previous year's duration to compare it with another custom report showing year-to-date. I'll add screenshots below for your visual reference. 

Moreover, check out this article to help you save your report with its current customization settings: Memorize reports in QuickBooks Online.

I'm still all ears if you have other questions about customizing your Cash Flow Statement report or other transactions in QuickBooks. Just add a comment below, and I'll get back to assist you.