Bring in previous year’s net income From different software

I'm here to share some information when recording Retained Earnings, Jessv2017,

The Retained Earnings is automatically generated when we run a report such as the Balance Sheet.

It will be the Profit and Loss of the previous period, based on the date range we selected on the Balance Sheet.

For us to have the Retained earnings for this year, we'll have to put the opening Balance of the P&L accounts to 2019. This way, the 2020 Balance Sheet of the Retained Earnings will be generated.

I've added this article for more information in viewing the Retained Earnings account: How To View Retained Earnings Account Details.

Feel free to get back to me if there's anything that I can help. Keep safe!

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I understand all that and how to see the details of the retained earnings.

But I set up quickbooks in Jan. How and what numbers being put where need to be brought in from 2019 in order to have RE accurately reflect last period? That is where I believe I went wrong. 

Based on last year’s P&L (which was created in other software), my number in RE for the 2019 period is so far off. 

Thanks for following up with the Community, Jessv2017.
 

Your Retained Earnings account is a rollover of all previous fiscal years' net profit (or loss). QuickBooks automatically and electronically swaps funds from your net income/loss into the account and doesn't record any visible transactions for it.
 

If the amount on your Profit and Loss report is different from the amount for your Retained Earnings account, transactions only affecting Balance Sheet accounts might've been entered against it.
 

You can review these user-created transactions on your Quick Report:
1. Click your Gear (⚙️) icon and go to Chart of Accounts.
2. Find the Retained Earnings account, then use your Acton ▼ drop-down menu to select Run Report.
3. In your Report period drop-down, choose All Dates.
4. Press Run report.
 

To make the Retained Earnings accurately reflect a previous period, you'll want to get in touch with your accountant. If you don't already have one, Intuit has a useful tool called Find an Accountant, which can be used to locate the right bookkeeper for your business. Each ProAdvisor you find on that part of our website is a QuickBooks-certified accounting professional. They'll be able to provide helpful insights to drive your business's success.
 

Here's how it's used:
1. Go to https://quickbooks.intuit.com/find-an-accountant/.
2. In the Find an expert in section, choose what you're looking for, then use your search field to enter a City or ZIP code.
3. Select Search.
4. Browse through the results and find one that works best for your business. You can click on each ProAdvisor's profile to learn more information about them and the services they offer.

Once you've found an accountant, they can be contacted through their Send a message form.
 

Additionally, you'll be able to find many resources about using QuickBooks Online in our help article archives.
 

Please feel more than welcome to post a reply if there's any additional questions. Have a great day!

Adrian_A,

You mentioned, "For us to have the Retained earnings for this year, we'll have to put the opening Balance of the P&L accounts to 2019. This way, the 2020 Balance Sheet of the Retained Earnings will be generated."

This makes sense! Any chance you could detail how to do what you suggested? Newbie here. 

Hi there, Jessv2017. 

Thanks for dropping by, don't worry if you're new to the QuickBooks product, I'm happy to help. Follow these few short steps below to run the P&L report for 2019. 

Here's where you view the Profit and Loss report by year to track Retained Earnings over time:

1. Click Reports.
2. Locate and choose the Profit and Loss report.
3. In the Profit and Loss report, you can select Customize.
4. In the Customize report panel, click the Rows/Columns item and open that section.
5. From there, the Columns drop-down list, you can select 2019.
6. Select the Run report option.

The report displays the year-by-year amounts so it will be 2019.  You can see the amount from the Profit and Loss transferred into the Retained Earnings account as it had occurred. If there's a difference between the current Retained Earnings amount and the amount on the Profit and Loss report, view the account Quick Report.

You can find this information as well as much more, at the following link down below. Just click on the underlined words:

• How to view retained earnings account details. 

Thanks again for dropping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. If there's anything else you need. The Community is just a few clicks away!