Profit and loss, and tax

Before you start

• You are an owner or manager.
• Kade has some sales, purchases and expenses this month (see the Expenses and cheques lesson).
• For the tax report, your business is registered for tax.

Step by step

1. The accounting overview

Open Accounting from Home. Every sale, purchase and payment is posted automatically, so there is no bookkeeping to do.

2. This month at a glance

The cards show this month's Gross profit and margin, and Net profit after expenses. The third card, Tax payable, is tax collected less tax paid. When you've paid more, it shows as a Tax credit.

3. Recent documents

Beside them, Recent documents lists the latest receipts, invoices, returns and credit notes as they are recorded.

4. Profit and loss

Choose Profit & loss. It runs from sales, less the cost of goods sold, to gross profit, then expenses, down to net profit.

5. Expenses by category

Click Expenses to open them up by category, so you can see where the money went.

6. Compare periods

Pick a period: This month, Last month, This year, or your own dates with Custom. Compare with the Previous period to see the two side by side.

7. The tax report

Tax reports shows tax collected on sales and paid on purchases, month by month from the start of your financial year.

8. By rate

Click a month to split it by tax rate, here VAT at 18 percent. Payable is tax collected less tax paid, ready for your return.

Good to know

• Net profit on the Profit & loss is the same figure as on the overview.
• You can also compare with the Same period last year. Print and Export give you the Profit & loss as it is on screen.
• If your business isn't registered for tax, turn it on in Administration › Tax & fiscal to start producing returns.
• A return takes its tax from the original sale. Expenses without a category show up as a warning, so categorise them when you record them.

Try it yourself

1. Open Accounting and read this month's gross and net profit.
2. Open Profit & loss, choose Last month, and compare with the previous period.
3. Open Tax reports and click this month to see it by rate.

Recap

That's Accounting: the overview for the month, profit and loss for any period, and the tax report ready for your return.