A single Profit & Loss number tells you if you made money. A P&L split by monthtells you the story behind it — which months carried you, when costs crept up, whether things are trending up or down. Here's how to get that month-by-month view in QuickBooks Online, and a faster way when you just want the answer.

The 4-click version

  1. Left menu → Reports.
  2. Open Profit and Loss (it's usually pinned at the top under "Favorites").
  3. Set the Report period to the range you care about — e.g. This year or Last 12 months.
  4. Find the "Display columns by"dropdown (top-left of the report) and change it from "Total only" to Months.

That's it — each month becomes its own column, with a Total column on the end. Now you can read across any row (say, "Sales" or "Advertising") and watch how it moves month to month.

How to actually read it

  • Scan the bottom row first("Net Income"). Green months made money, red months lost it. The pattern matters more than any single month.
  • Look for a creeping cost. A single expense row that quietly grows every month is where margins leak.
  • Cash vs accrual changes the picture. Toggle the accounting method (in Customize) — cash basis follows when money actually moved, accrual follows when it was earned or owed. Pick the one your bookkeeper uses.

Turn it into a trend you can save

Click Save customizationso you don't rebuild it next month, and optionally set an email schedule. QuickBooks will then send this exact report on its own timetable.

Where it gets frustrating

  • "Just show me the months that lost money"isn't a click — you eyeball it or export to Excel.
  • Comparing two specific things (say marketing spend vs revenue, month by month) means juggling reports.
  • Quarter or week groupings need another trip through the settings.

The plain-English shortcut

With AskLedger connected to QuickBooks Online (read-only, official Intuit connection), you skip the dropdowns and type what you want: "monthly revenue for the last 6 months" or "profit by month this year."Every answer shows a "Showing:" line that spells out how it read your question, so you can trust the numbers — and you can save any question to be emailed to you automatically each month.

FAQ

Why are some months blank on my P&L?

Usually no transactions in that category that month, or a report period that starts mid-year. Widen the date range and confirm the accounting method.

Can I compare this year to last year by month?

Yes — in Customize, add a comparison period (previous year). Or ask AskLedger for each year and set both to run monthly.

How do I email myself the monthly P&L automatically?

Save the customization and set an email schedule in QuickBooks, or save the question in AskLedger and switch on its monthly email.