My books are not showing retained earnings

Glad to have you here in the Community, @prateek2.

Let me provide you some information about the Retained Earnings account in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

When a new fiscal year starts, QuickBooks automatically adds the net income from the previous fiscal year to your Balance Sheet. To view your Retained Earnings in the Balance Sheet, here's how:

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. Select Balance Sheet.
3. In the report, locate the Retained Earnings item to see your company's reported net income.

You can also distribute the amounts in the Retained Earnings account at the end of your fiscal year using a journal entry. The Debit column will decrease while the Credit will increase your Retained Earnings.

For more details about this account, you can check this article: How to view Retained Earnings account details.

Stay in touch if you have any other questions. Have a great day ahead.

I know how to see the retained earning, but even after closing the books, its not reflecting in the retained earnings - chart of accounts.

You have to run reports to see data of your retained earnings, @prateek2. Let me show you how. 

In QuickBooks, the chart of accounts shows no balance for retained earnings account so you'll need to run a report. If you'll notice a balance for retained earnings in the Balance Sheet report, it is the Net Income from the previous year. The system closes income and expenses to start the first date of next year to zero. 

For better understanding, let's compare these two financial reports. First, run your Profit and Loss report for this year and see the Net income. 

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. Scroll down under Business Overview and click Profit and Loss. 
3. Look for the Net Income below. 

Then, run the Balance Sheet report with the same year, you'll see the same Net Income under Equity. Refer to the steps below:

1. Navigate to the Reports menu.
2. Go to the Business Overview section and select the Balance Sheet report. 
3. See the Net Income under Equity.

Balance Sheet data is explained in detail by relating to the info in the Profit and Loss report. 

Now for further info, let's change the date in the Balance Sheet to the first day of the new Fiscal year it should be one date later than the Profit and Loss. Once you run the report, you'll no longer see the Net Income line (except if there's an activity in the P&L for that date) and you'll see Retained Earnings is keeping that amount. 

For more details, please open this article: How to view Retained Earnings account details.

Also, if in case you want to add or delete columns, add or remove information, and filter them to show specific accounts or customers. You may open this helpful article for the detailed instructions: Customise reports in QuickBooks Online. 

Don't hesitate to get back here if you have a further concern about retained earnings in QuickBooks. I'm always here to help you in any way I can. Have a good one.