reports

You'll be happy to know you can run a three-year comparison for Profit & Loss report, haggertysrides.

Please know that the Profit and Loss Comparison report can only compare two years at a time.

As a workaround, you can use the Profit and Loss by Month report to compare your income and expenses for up to three periods. This report presents a detailed overview of your business performance during a specific timeframe, giving you a better understanding of how your business is doing.

I'm here to walk you through how to generate this:

1. From the left navigation panel, select Reports. 
2. Look for the Profit and Loss by Month.
3. From the Report Period column, choose All Dates. 
4. In the Display column by, set this to Years. 
5. Click Run report.
    
   
   
   

    

If you wish to have a printed version, click the Print icon, and if you want to send the report via email, click the Email icon. 

Moreover, you can customize your reports in QuickBooks and memorized them. This feature saves you time from doing the customization process again. 

You can reach out again if you require additional help or clarification regarding the Profit and Loss Report. I'm always here to help you. Best wishes!

I am the admin of the company and tried to follow the instructions listed.

The report period column briefly shows then disappears so I cannot edit it.

Disregard - turns out it scrolled down and I didn't see that I could scroll up to find the menu.

I am also trying to run a 3-yr comparison based on a 12 month period (not calendar or fiscal year). I have done this in the past, but now the "Display Columns By" dropdown does not include an option for "Years".  I see Calendar Years or Fiscal Years, but not simply Years. Is this function still available?

The ability to choose years in Display column by is not available in this report, Ncc2024. At the same time, I'm to share some steps on how you can still compare your records using this report. 

The Profit and Loss Comparison report shows the current year-to-date figures of your business by default. To view this report according to your preference, you can use the Compare another period  dropdown to customize it. I'll be here to guide you on how.

1.  Go to Reports.
2. In the search field, write Profit and Loss Comparison, or locate it using the Standard tab.
3. Edit the length of time you want to view in the Report period. Select the start and end dates in the date field.
4. From the Compare another period dropdown, select and modify the Previous year checkbox. You can also choose the Previous Period checkbox.
5. In the same dropdown, click the $ change or % change checkboxes. This way, they will be included.
6. Choose between Cash or Accrual in the Accounting method.
7. Once done, click Run report.

For reference, check out this article: Run a Profit and Loss Comparison Report in QuickBooks Online and Online Accountant.

Additionally, you can read this article to learn more ways to personalize a report in QBO: Common custom reports in QuickBooks Online.

If you have further questions about the functions in this report, I'll be right in the corner to always offer my assistance. Just click the reply button if you have one. 

When I go to the display column by drop-down box, the only option is "Other". How do I get a year to show up (I don't care what type).

You're right that the only option available after clicking the display column by is only others, @hwolken. Worry less. I'll guide you on how you can pull up the report showing the year.

The profit and loss comparison report assists you in comparing your income and expenses in a specific period. To have this shown by year, we can customize this by following the steps below.

1. Go to the Reports menu and select Profit and Loss Comparison Report.
   
2. Under the Report period section, navigate to the Compare another period area.
3. Drill down the arrow and check the Previous Period (PP) box. From there, select the specific period you want in the report.
4. You can also check the Previous Year (PY) box to compare data by year.
5. Lastly, hit the Run Report button.
   

Furthermore, you can save your previous customization to avoid the need to personalize them again. Guidelines for this can be found in this article: Memorize reports in QuickBooks Online.

Keep in touch if you have additional queries concerning reports. I'm always around to lend a hand for help. Stay safe!

This works fine if you only want to compare two years but I want to compare three. How do I compare three years with each year in a separate column?

Comparing three (3) years' worth of data is crucial to gaining insights and reviewing your business performance.

The ability to view a 3-year financial statement with each year in a separate column when running a Profit and Loss Comparison report is currently unavailable.

In the meantime, I suggest customizing the Profit and Loss report period by year and exporting the data to Excel or printing them. This way, you can easily compare your record.

Here's how:

1. Go to Reports and open the Profit and Loss report.
2. Select Custom in the Report period drop-down list.
3. Change the date range for the first year and select Run report.
4. Click the Print or Export icon.
5. Repeat the steps until you get all of the necessary information. Then, you can now compare them. 

The Product Development Team is constantly improving QuickBooks Online (QBO). They are continuously introducing updates and improvements to cater to the diverse business needs of all users. I encourage you to submit a feature request to our product engineers outlining this suggestion.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon and select Feedback.
2. Enter your product suggestions. 
3. Click Next to submit them.

Additionally, I've added these resources to help you learn more about personalizing your reports and saving the current customed settings to access your commonly used reports easily:

• Customize reports
• Custom reports in QuickBooks Online
• Memorize reports in QuickBooks Online

Please do not hesitate to seek help in the forum if you need further help running reports and analyzing data in QBO. The QuickBooks team is always available and ready to assist you.