How to Create a Profit and Loss Report Comparison (Year-to-Date) in QuickBooks Online

A year-to-date comparison answers a simple question: are we ahead of or behind where we were this time last year? It lines the year so far up against the same span in the prior year. Here's how to build one in QuickBooks Online.

New to QuickBooks Online's modern view? See how it compares to the classic view.

Steps

Open the Profit and Loss report
Go to Reports and select "Profit and Loss."
Set the date range to year-to-date
Use the Report period control and choose "This year to date" (or "This fiscal year to date"), so the report runs from the start of the year through today.
Set "Compare to" to Previous year-to-date
Open the "Compare to" dropdown and check "Previous year-to-date (PY YTD)" to add the same year-to-date span from last year. Then check "$ change" and "% change" for the difference columns.
Review the year-to-date comparison
The report updates automatically, showing this year's figures through today next to last year's figures through the same date, with dollar and percentage change.

Calculation columns you can add

Alongside the comparison period, the "Compare to" dropdown offers calculation columns that add computed values rather than another time period:

$ change — The dollar difference between the current period and the comparison period.

% change — The percentage difference between the current period and the comparison period.

% of Row — Shows each amount as a percentage of its row total.

% of Column — Shows each amount as a percentage of its column total.

% of Expense — Shows each amount as a percentage of total expenses.

% of Income — Shows each amount as a percentage of total income.

Other Profit and Loss comparisons

Profit and Loss Comparison (Year-over-Year)Profit and Loss Comparison (Month-over-Month)Profit and Loss Comparison (Quarter-over-Quarter)

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between "Year-to-date (YTD)" and "Previous year-to-date (PY YTD)"?

Year-to-date (YTD) adds a running total from the start of the year through your selected period. Previous year-to-date (PY YTD) adds last year's figures for that same span, which is what you want for a like-for-like "how are we tracking versus last year" comparison.

How do I compare full year to full year instead?

Use a year-over-year comparison with a full-year period and "Compare to" set to "Previous year (PY)." See our Year-over-Year guide.

Why do some percentage-change cells show "n/a"?

That usually means the prior year-to-date had no activity in that account, so a percentage change can't be calculated (division by zero).

Tired of rebuilding reports? Need more customization?

Retriever pulls QuickBooks Online reports like this one into Google Sheets on a schedule. They refresh on their own, and once the data is in Sheets you can pivot, chart, and customize it far beyond QuickBooks' fixed report layouts.

See how Retriever works

Profit and Loss by Month Profit and Loss by Customer Profit and Loss by Class Profit and Loss by Quarter Profit and Loss Comparison (Year-over-Year)Profit and Loss Comparison (Month-over-Month)Profit and Loss Comparison (Quarter-over-Quarter)Profit and Loss Detail (Detail View)Profit and Loss by Location Classic vs Modern View Reporting

Questions about this report? Reach out at aubrey@retrieverhq.com.