Retained Earnings

Retained Earnings account shows the total of your company's income and expenses from all previous years, Flor. Let me go into details about this. 

Retained earnings represent the accumulated profits of a company that have not been distributed to shareholders as dividends. Its figure is derived from the company's net income or net loss, which can be found on the income statement. 

If you started a company in QuickBooks Online (QBO) and you don't have prior retained earnings, the number shown as retained earnings likely comes from any net income your company has generated since its inception, minus any dividends you may have paid out.

It's important to note that retained earnings are an essential component of a company's equity and are used to reinvest back into the business or pay down debt. It is not advisable to delete the retained earnings column from the balance sheet as it provides critical information about a company’s financial health and profitability.

You can visit this article for more details: View Retained Earnings account details in QBO.

Moreover, you might want to check this helpful resource to give you a better picture of how your business is doing: Run Reports In QBO.

Please don't hesitate to loop me in if you have further questions about retained earnings in QBO. I'd be glad to assist. Have a great day ahead of you. 

I appreciate your response. So because I don’t have prior retained earnings, the number I show should match the net income. (Would this number be in my P&L? How can I verify if it is correct? 

Thanks for your enthusiasm to learn more about QuickBooks Online (QBO), Flor. You’re absolutely right, the figures you’re seeing should line up with your net income, particularly since there are no previous retained earnings recorded in your QBO account. 

Additionally, the amount you're viewing is already included in your Profit and Loss statement, categorized as net income. Apart from this, during the same accounting period, this net income figure will also appear on your Balance Sheet. It will be labeled either as Net Income or Retained Earnings, which depends on the specific structure and type of your business.

To ensure that all financial data reflects accurately, you have to make sure to continue updating your income and expense transactions regularly. By doing so, QBO efficiently handles all necessary calculations on your behalf.

Moreover, you can visit this article for more details about Retained Earnings and how it works in your QBO account: View Retained Earnings account details in QuickBooks Online.

Furthermore, if you plan to run reports, you can also read this article for a list of modified reports in QBO, along with the steps on how to generate them: Common custom reports in QuickBooks Online.

It’s fantastic to see you proactively monitoring these financial statements, Flor. Keep up the diligent work as it's always a key to maintaining the health of any business finances. You can always Reply on this forum if you have any further questions with regard to your net income in P&L. I'm always one click away to help. 

Thank you. I guess the problem then is that there is some kind of glitch in the system. When I pull my reports from October 2023 to September 2024 my P&L looks ok, but the balance sheet is giving me information only from January-September 2024. So I guess this is why I can’t match the numbers. I already customized the dates but when I press on the number for my retained earnings it takes me to the P&L and shows a different date (January-September). I tried this from different devices and also in incognito mode…. Any suggestions?

Thank you for bringing this up, Flor. I appreciate your initiative in tackling the basic troubleshooting yourself when you encounter these issues. 

You are on the right track by ensuring that the reports you generate from fiscal years 2023 to 2024 match the date range you previously used in your balance sheet. Making sure these date ranges are consistent allows you to accurately compare transactions from your current and past reports.
 

To effectively resolve this situation, I highly recommend contacting our QuickBooks Live Experts Team. They are well-equipped to assist you further by hosting a live screen-sharing session to thoroughly investigate your account's details. 

Here's how you can reach them:
 

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online (QBO) company.

2. Select (?) Help in the upper right corner of your screen.

3. Type a question or topic you need to help with, then select Contact a human.

From there, they’ll be able to provide you with personalized assistance to ensure everything is aligned correctly in your reports.

Moreover, I also want to make sure your issue gets taken care of right away. Thus, I suggest reviewing our support hours as your guide. 
 

Once the issue has been resolved, you can always refer to this article to guide you on how to memorize your report. This feature simplifies the customization process, allowing you to concentrate on other essential tasks.

We're committed to helping you feel comfortable and confident with our product, ensuring you have all the tools you need for success. If you require any further assistance with running reports or have other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out by commenting on this post. We're here to support you every step of the way.

@Flor Isola 

"Can someone helm me understand 1-where does the retained earnings come from?"

Retained Earnings (RE), is the accumulated amount of previous fiscal year's net income.  Any reductions in RE have to be posted manually - QB doesn't automatically reduce RE.  QB closes current year net income to RE at the end of your fiscal year, so if your year-end is Dec. 31, as of Jan. 1, QB closes the balance in net income to RE.  That's all QB automatically does.

"I started a company in QB so I don't have previous retained earnings, what is being considered to show my a number that is not zero?"

If you have a balance in RE, then you have transactions that are dated prior to your fiscal year-end and the balance sheet date is after your fiscal year-end. 

"Also, can I delete this column from the Balance sheet?"

No, you cannot delete RE. 

I’m on the phone with a representative and they tell me that you can only pull calendar year reports for the Statement of Financial Position. So the custom option where I can put October 2023-September 2024 doesn’t exist. I’m confused. So there is an option to put a custom report but the numbers only show for calendar year? January 2024-September 2024? 
I believe there is a problem in the system since the Balance sheet is only showing me the numbers for January-September 2024 even though I need and I’m entering dates October 2023-September 2024

Problem has been resolved. After requesting for a supervisor they told me I had to change the fiscal year month under advanced options.