# Profit and Loss Comparison (Month-over-Month)

A month-over-month Profit and Loss comparison puts a month next to the one before it, so you can catch a cost creeping up or revenue slipping before it becomes a trend. Here's how to build one in QuickBooks Online.

## Steps

### 1. Open the Profit and Loss report

Go to Reports and select "Profit and Loss."

### 2. Set the date range to the month you want to analyze

Use the Report period control to select a single month, for example "Last month" or a custom one-month range. The month you compare against is added in the next step.

### 3. Set "Compare to" to Previous Period

Open the "Compare to" dropdown at the top of the report and check "Previous Period (PP)." Because your period is one month, this adds the immediately preceding month. Then check "$ change" and "% change" to add the dollar and percentage difference columns.

### 4. Review the month-over-month columns

The report updates automatically, showing the selected month next to the prior month, plus the dollar and percentage change between them.

## FAQ

### What is the difference between month-over-month and a Profit and Loss by month?

A by-month report (Display columns by Months) shows every month in your range as its own column so you can scan the whole year. A month-over-month comparison focuses on two consecutive months and adds explicit dollar and percentage change columns. Use by-month to spot trends across the year, month-over-month to quantify a single step change.

### How do I compare this month to the same month last year instead?

Use a year-over-year comparison. Set "Compare to" to "Previous year (PY)" rather than "Previous Period." See our Year-over-Year guide for the full walkthrough.

### Can I compare against a specific earlier month rather than the immediately prior one?

Yes. Choose "Custom period (CP)" in the "Compare to" dropdown and set the exact month you want to compare against.