> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# See Your Profit and Send Your Numbers to Your Accountant

> See what came in, what went out and what you kept, month by month, which costs and suppliers take the most, and download the figures for your accountant

**Profit & Loss** adds up what your customers paid you and what you paid out, so you can see whether the business made money. It counts money when it actually moves: revenue received, less the bills and payroll you paid.

This guide reads Northwind's last 12 months and downloads them for the accountant.

## Open Profit & Loss

Click **Commerce** in the left rail. In the list on the left, under **Reports**, click **Profit & Loss**.

![The Commerce list with Reports and Profit & Loss outlined, above Sales, Recurring revenue and Accounts aging](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/u3WSAWRudln3u3zB/images/how-tos/commerce/pl-01-open-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=u3WSAWRudln3u3zB\&q=85\&s=4c424979d177f1013b322b3a96898192)

Profit & Loss, under Reports

## Read the totals and the months

The four cards at the top total the period: **Revenue**, **Expenses** (bills plus payroll), **Net profit** and **Margin**, the share of revenue you kept. Below them, **Revenue vs expenses** shows each month side by side.

![Profit & Loss, Cash basis: revenue received, less bills paid and payroll paid out. Export CSV and Last 12 months, outlined. Revenue \$5,561.00, Expenses \$6,734.20 (Bills \$6,734.20, Payroll \$0.00), Net profit -\$1,173.20, Margin -21%; and the monthly chart with bills paid and revenue for August, September and October](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/u3WSAWRudln3u3zB/images/how-tos/commerce/pl-02-report-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=u3WSAWRudln3u3zB\&q=85\&s=5e671a483fb55b514f64493c089157b3)

Northwind's last 12 months

Northwind spent more than it took in over these three months, most of it on green coffee. Pick **This year** or **Last year** in the list at the top right to change the period.

## See where the money goes

Further down, **Expenses by category** totals your bills by their category, and **Top vendors** lists who you paid the most.

![Expenses by category: Cost of Goods Sold \$5,650.00, Utilities \$684.20, Other \$400.00; and Top vendors by amount paid: Bluebird Green Coffee Importers \$4,120.00, Cedar Box Packaging Co. \$1,050.00, Ember Street Utilities \$684.20, Willamette Valley Packaging \$480.00, Rivermile Delivery Co-op \$400.00](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/u3WSAWRudln3u3zB/images/how-tos/commerce/pl-03-categories-vendors-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=u3WSAWRudln3u3zB\&q=85\&s=82c03c234c1058889b4c2c6f34ee186c)

Costs by category and by supplier

Give each bill a category when you enter it, so this breakdown stays useful. See [Enter a Bill and Record That You Paid It](https://docs.hiveku.com/how-tos/commerce/enter-and-pay-a-bill.md).

## Send the numbers to your accountant

Click **Export CSV** at the top. It downloads a spreadsheet file with one row per month: revenue, bills paid, expenses and profit. Attach it to an email to your accountant, or open it in Excel or Google Sheets.

## Good to know

* **Only money that moved is counted.** An invoice you sent but haven't been paid for isn't revenue here until it's paid; see [Find and Chase Overdue Invoices](https://docs.hiveku.com/how-tos/commerce/chase-overdue-invoices.md).
* **Sales by client or by product** are in the other reports under **Reports**: see [Read Your Sales and Revenue Reports](https://docs.hiveku.com/how-tos/commerce/sales-reports.md).


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