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Xero Profit and Loss report: what it shows and how to use it

The Profit and Loss (P&L) shows income, costs and profit for a period. It's the report most owners and directors look at first, usually monthly with previous months alongside.

Sample Profit and Loss report for a demo company, as sent by Reportpost
A sample Profit and Loss for a demo company, as Reportpost sends it.

What it shows

  • Income and cost of sales, with gross profit
  • Operating expenses and net profit for the period
  • Optional comparison columns for earlier periods, or one column per tracking option

Where to find it in Xero

Reporting > All reports > Profit and Loss.

Settings worth knowing

  • Date range, plus Compare with for earlier periods (months, quarters or years)
  • Compare tracking categories for one column per region or department (not at the same time as Compare with)
  • More > Accounting basis for cash or accrual
  • Ready-made formats such as "Current financial year by month" and "Current and previous 3 months"

Things to watch out for

  • Comparison periods and tracking columns can't be combined in one view.
  • Custom layouts you build in Xero stay in Xero; apps that use Xero's API, Reportpost included, get the standard layout.

Getting it by email on a schedule

Xero can't email reports on a schedule, so the usual routine is to export the report and attach it by hand. Reportpost sends the P&L for the period you pick (last month, last quarter, financial year to date and so on), with up to 11 comparison periods or split by tracking category, on cash or accrual basis. When Xero's comparison dates would cut a month short, Reportpost fetches each period with its exact dates. Choose weekly, every two weeks, monthly or quarterly, and the recipients. You can try the demo without connecting Xero.

Related: Xero profit and loss by month and Reports by tracking category.

Other Xero reports

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Next month's pack could send itself.

Reportpost emails your Xero reports on a schedule, as PDF, Excel or CSV. 14 days free, no card.

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