Why does my 'Profit and Loss' section on my HOME page reflect a different 'Spending' amount compared to the TRANSACTIONS page? I have the dates set correctly.

I understand the importance of getting accurate spending data, userhello21.

 In QuickBooks Self-Employed, the Profit and Loss report and Transactions page have different purposes. The report shows your actual expenses tracked in the program, while the Transactions page is from your bank data, whether downloaded or manually entered.

To resolve the discrepancies, I recommend categorizing all the transactions. Doing so ensures that the program matches the expenses.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Transactions menu.
2. Find a transaction on the list.
3. Select Business if the transaction was for business, or select Personal for personal. If the transaction was both, click Split.
4. Review the category in the Category column. QuickBooks tries to categorize transactions for you.
5. If you need to change the category, select the Category link.

Once done, compare the data again. Make sure the dates are correct before doing so.

Moreover, you can check our  Schedule C categories to ensure you've categorized the transactions accurately and the appropriate amount reflects in your financial reports.

In preparation for the end of the fiscal year, I've included an article that can assist you with preparing and filing your taxes: QuickBooks Self-Employed Annual Tax Guide.

I'm here to assist you with any future concerns you may have with QuickBooks Self-Employed. Feel free to post your questions or any follow-up inquiries on this topic, and I'll be happy to help.

Hi there,

What do you mean 'actual' versus 'bank transactions'? Shouldn't all expenses be my actual expenses? Sorry but I do not understand the difference.

Thanks!

Hi there,

What do you mean 'actual' versus 'bank transactions' etc? Shouldn't all my expenses be my 'actual' expenses? Sorry but I do not understand the difference.

Thanks for your help!

I appreciate you returning to the thread and clarifying the details given above, userhello21. Let me join this thread and allow me clear things up on why the spending entries on the Profit and Loss report do not show the same as on the Transaction page.

The data showing on the Transactions page are all the manually entered and downloaded spending transactions from your bank. While the Profit and Loss report will only show self-employed-related taxes. If you have annual types of transactions like vehicle-related expenses, home office, health-related, business assets, or tax payments they won't show on the report. That's the reason the data from the Transaction page and on the mentioned report reflect a difference or don't match.

Lastly, refer to this article if details on how Self-employed taxes work and how QuickBooks calculates them so your data stay accurate: Overview of QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Feel free to comment below and tag my name if you have additional questions about this concern. I'll get back as soon as possible, userhello21. Have a great day!

I have the same question. My expenses on Profit and Loss page are $13,000 but my business spending is $27,000 - a difference of $14,000. So does that mean that $14,000 of my business spending doesn't qualify as a real business expenses as far as the IRS is concerned? So in theory that means I'm paying taxes on that $14K? 

I seem to have the same problem. My "expenses" listed on Profit and Loss are $13,000 - but my business spending is closer to $27,000 - a difference of almost $14,000. I have reviewed all of my transactions, marked them as business expenses, picked a category, uploaded a receipt, etc. So the difference is not unreviewed of personal expenses. Does that mean that those $14,000 worth of expenses are not qualified business expenses for tax purposes - meaning that I'll in theory have to pay taxes on that $14,000? Any clarification you can provide would be helpful, thanks! 

I appreciate you joining this thread and sharing your issue with us, InspectorTom.

The discrepancy between Expenses and the Profit and loss report in QuickBooks Self-Employed can be caused by the date ranges of the reports not matching. Let's verify that the reporting period chosen is correct to ensure consistency in the information or amounts. 

The default display on the Home page appears to be data from the last three months, whereas the Transactions page shows data for the previous twelve months.

You may compare your graph to the actual data of your financial report to get a better view of your business's financial status: You can refer to this article to review transactions: Export transactions and get reports in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Feel free to return if you have any more questions about QBSE or need further assistance with the data in your company. I'm here to assist you with any additional concerns.