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How to reconcile your sales numbers on QuickBooks
Learn how the pre-file check works for QuickBooks Online and Intuit Enterprise Suite.
When the income on your Profit and loss report doesn't match the total sales on your Sales tax liability report, use these checks to find and fix the difference before you file your sales tax return.
| Note: If you use QuickBooks Online Plus, QuickBooks Online Advanced, or Intuit Enterprise Suite, Pre-file check runs this comparison for you and flags the differences automatically. See Review your total sales with Pre-file check. The steps in this article work in all QuickBooks Online plans, including QuickBooks Online Simple Start and QuickBooks Online Essentials. Your Profit and loss report and your Sales tax liability report look at your sales from different angles, so their totals don't always match. Differences usually come from how transactions were recorded. Here's how to track down the most common causes. |
Best practices for reconciling your sales numbers
If you use other plans such as QuickBooks Online Simple Start or QuickBooks Online Essentials, here are some best practices for reconciling your sales numbers for reporting in your sales tax return.
Step 1: Make sure you're comparing the same data
If all your sales are recorded on sales forms (invoices, sales receipts, credit memos, and refund receipts), the total sales on your Sales tax liability report should match the total income on your Profit and loss report.
If the totals don't match, check the report settings first:
Confirm both reports use the same accounting basis (cash or accrual).
Make sure the date range is identical on both reports.
Keep in mind:
Your Profit and loss report shows total income from all sales and other sources.
Your Sales tax liability report shows total sales by tax agency.
To compare totals, you may need to add up each tax agency's total sales, any custom rate sales, and any sales not tied to a tax agency on the Sales tax liability report, then compare that sum with total income on the Profit and loss report.
Step 2: Review nontaxable transactions
If your sales are lower in the Sales Tax Liability report than in your Profit and Loss:
Go to All apps
, then Sales Tax, then Sales tax returns (Take me there).Select the Reports dropdown, then Nontaxable transaction review. This report shows sales that appear in your Profit and loss report but are missing from your Sales tax liability report — often transactions imported from third-party sales platforms without complete sales and tax details.
For each transaction, make sure the following info is present:
Customer
Transaction date
Ship From
Ship To (Location)
Add any missing info to the transaction.
Make sure the tax calculation has updated, then save the transaction.
The transaction should now show in your Sales tax liability report.
Step 3: Check transactions from third-party apps
If you bring in sales from platforms like Shopify, Square, or other connected apps:
Make sure sales tax is turned on in the third-party app and you're collecting tax in every state where it's required.
Make sure the app sends complete sales details to QuickBooks, including:
Customer
Transaction date
Ship From
Ship To (Location)
Product description (what's being sold)
Tax designation
Tax applied (if applicable)
| Important: If service or processing fees appear on a sales transaction, they can reduce your total sales for sales tax purposes. To correct this, record those fees on an expense transaction instead so your total sales stay accurate. |
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