The QuickBooks Profit and Loss report contains everything your client needs to know about their business finances. The problem is it was designed for accountants, not business owners.
A standard P&L from QuickBooks lists every income and expense category in accounting terminology, with no context, no explanation, and no indication of whether the numbers are good, bad, or normal. Most small business owners open it, feel confused, and close it.
Your job as their bookkeeper is to translate it. This guide shows you exactly how.
What the QuickBooks P&L Actually Shows
Before you can explain it, you need to be clear on what you're looking at.
A Profit and Loss report has three sections:
Income — everything the business earned during the period. QuickBooks may break this into multiple income categories depending on how the chart of accounts is set up. The total at the bottom of this section is Total Revenue.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) — the direct costs of producing whatever the business sells. Not all businesses have COGS. Service businesses often have nothing here. Product businesses will have materials, manufacturing costs, or wholesale purchase costs.
Expenses — the operating costs of running the business. Rent, utilities, software subscriptions, staff wages, marketing, insurance — everything that isn't directly tied to producing the product or service.
The bottom line is Net Income (or Net Loss): Total Revenue minus COGS minus Expenses.
That's it. Everything else is detail.
The Three Numbers Your Client Actually Cares About
When a business owner asks "how did we do this month?" they are really asking three questions:
- How much did we bring in?
- How much did we spend?
- How much did we keep?
Those map directly to Total Revenue, Total Expenses, and Net Income. Pull those three numbers first before you look at anything else. They tell you whether the month was good, bad, or average — and they tell your client everything they need for a high-level picture.
How to Read the P&L Before You Write Anything
Before drafting a client summary, spend two minutes reviewing the report with these questions in mind:
Revenue — up, down, or flat? Compare to last month and the same month last year if available. A 20% revenue increase is meaningful. A 5% decrease might be noise. Know which it is before you write.
What drove revenue? If the client has multiple income categories, which one moved? A consulting business that had a strong month because of one large project is different from one that grew across the board. That context matters to the client.
What were the biggest expenses? Find the three largest line items. Are they recurring and expected, or did something unusual happen? A $3,000 equipment repair that won't recur is very different from a $3,000 increase in ongoing staff costs.
Any anomalies? Anything that looks out of place — an expense category that jumped significantly, a revenue category that dropped to zero, a line item you don't recognise. Flag these before you write, because your client may ask.
What's the net profit margin? Net Income divided by Total Revenue. A 20% margin in a service business is generally healthy. A 5% margin might be a concern worth mentioning. Know where your client sits relative to what's normal for their industry.
How to Write the Summary Email
Now that you understand the numbers, write the email in this order:
Opening — one sentence setting the tone Don't lead with numbers. Lead with the narrative. "March was a solid month for [Business Name]" or "February had a few moving parts worth walking through." One sentence. Then get into the detail.
The three numbers — clearly formatted Present Revenue, Expenses, and Net Income in a simple format. A small table or three lines works better than burying them in paragraphs.
Revenue: $X
Expenses: $X
Net Income: $X
Revenue explanation — two sentences maximum Was it up or down? Why? Keep it in plain English. "Revenue came in at $42,000, up 12% from January. The increase was driven by the two new retainer clients who started in February."
Expense explanation — two sentences maximum What were the main costs? Anything unusual? "Expenses were $28,000, broadly in line with last month. The main costs were staff wages ($14,000), rent ($4,200), and software subscriptions ($1,800) — all as expected."
Net income — one sentence Is it good? Is it a concern? What does it mean for the business? "Net income of $14,000 represents a 33% margin — your strongest month since September."
One observation or next step Something forward-looking that shows you're paying attention. "You're tracking ahead of your Q1 target" or "The software subscription costs have increased 40% over the past six months — worth a review."
Total length: 150-250 words. That's enough. More than that and most clients won't read it.
Common Mistakes When Summarising a P&L
Attaching the full P&L report. Most clients won't open it. If they want the detail, they can ask. Your summary should stand on its own.
Using QuickBooks terminology. "Other Income", "COGS", "Accounts Payable Aging" — these mean nothing to most clients. Translate everything.
Giving percentages without context. "Expenses increased 15%" means nothing without knowing whether that's good or bad. Add the context: "Expenses increased 15%, which reflects the new team member who started in February — as expected."
Ignoring the comparison. A number in isolation is meaningless. Always give context — compared to last month, last quarter, or the same period last year.
Being vague about problems. "There were some unusual expenses this month" is less useful than "There was a $2,400 equipment repair in March that won't recur." Specificity builds trust.
How Long This Should Take
Writing a good P&L summary email from scratch takes most bookkeepers 20-30 minutes per client. That time breaks down roughly as:
- 5 minutes reviewing the P&L and identifying the key numbers
- 10-15 minutes writing and editing the email
- 5 minutes proofreading
With a solid template, you can cut this to 10-15 minutes. With AI assistance that generates a first draft from the QuickBooks data automatically, you can get it to under 5 minutes.
Figurenote connects to QuickBooks Online, pulls the P&L automatically, and drafts the plain-English summary email in seconds. You review, edit if needed, and send. Free for one client.
A Complete Example
Here is a full P&L summary email based on a real QuickBooks report structure:
Subject: March Financial Summary — Hartwell Consulting
Hi James,
March was a strong month for Hartwell Consulting.
Revenue: $54,200 Expenses: $31,800 Net Income: $22,400
Revenue came in 22% above February, driven by the completion of the Henderson project and two new client engagements that started mid-month. This is your highest revenue month since last October.
Expenses were in line with expectations. The main costs were contractor fees ($14,200), software and tools ($3,100), and your office lease ($2,800). No unusual items this month.
Net income of $22,400 represents a 41% margin — well above your typical 30-35% range. You're tracking comfortably ahead of your Q1 target.
One thing to watch: contractor costs have been rising steadily over the past three months. Still within a healthy range, but worth keeping an eye on as you take on more project work.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Sarah
That email took about 8 minutes to write. It answers every question the client has, in language they can follow, in under 200 words.
Figurenote generates the first draft of that email from your QuickBooks P&L in seconds — free for one client, no credit card required.