Why is my ACCRUAL sales on my activity report less than when I run the report based on CASH?

Hi @mpc060,

Thank you for posting here in the Community. I can share some information about the reports in QuickBooks Online.

Cash and Accrual basis are two different accounting methods you can choose when running reports. The data displayed will depend on the transactions you enter into the system.

An accrual-basis report shows income regardless of whether your customers have paid your invoices. Case like this usually happens if the invoices are lesser than the payments.

For now, I recommend reviewing your sales transactions. You can run the Transaction List by Date report and filter to only show your sales data.

Here's how:

1. On the left navigation bar, click Reports.
2. Scroll down and select Transaction List by Date under For my accountant.
3. Press Customize.
4. Go to Filter.
5. Choose the Transaction Type drop-down.
6. Select the transaction types you want to show.
7. Hit Run report.

For more information about the accounting methods, as well as how to chane, I recommend the following article:

• Choose between cash and accrual accounting methods in reports
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Online

Drop me a comment below if you have any other questions about running reports. I'll be happy to help you some more.

I did review our transactions.  When I run the income statement as "CASH" the sales are accurate.  But when I change it to ACCRUAL sales are significantly less.

Transactions that are already paid will no longer be shown in the accrual report, mpc060.

Please take note that closed invoices and cash-based sales transactions (sales receipt) are automatically excluded in the report. This can be the reason why the amount is lower when you change the accounting method to Accrual. 

If you're missing unpaid invoices in the report, make sure the date is correct. You might also need to recreate them if they were accidentally deleted. You can use this article as a guide: Use The Audit log to Re-enter Deleted Transactions. 

Check out these additional articles in case you might need them in the future:

• Memorize Reports in QuickBooks Online
• Common Custom Reports in QuickBooks Online

Add another reply below if you have other questions. We're always here to help. 

Thanks for your response.

This is the opposite of how I expected it to work.  I thought the CASH report would show only paid invoices + any other cash/check sale, and the ACCRUAL would show all invoices (paid & outstanding).