Profit and loss report
The profit and loss report in the SeroPOS back office starts from opening and closing stock, adds purchases, expenses and the other costs of the period, and arrives at gross and net profit for any location and date range.
Profit and loss in SeroPOS
Gross and net profit
The report works down from stock, purchases and sales to a gross profit figure, then takes off expenses and other costs for net profit.
Stock at both prices
Opening and closing stock are shown by purchase price and by sale price, so you see both the cost and the selling value on hand.
Expenses included
Expenses recorded in the back office feed the report, so rent, wages or supplies entered there come off the bottom line.
Profit by product
Tabs break profit out by product, category, brand, location, invoice, date, customer and day of the week.
Discounts and returns
Sell discounts, customer reward points, returns, purchase discounts and round off are listed, so their cost isn't hidden.
Location and date filters
Run it for one location or all, for a single day, a month or your financial year.
How the figures are built
Open Reports, then Profit / Loss Report, choose a location and a date range, and the report lays out both sides of the period. Opening stock, purchases, stock adjustments, expenses and shipping charges sit on one side. Sales, closing stock, returns and recovered stock sit on the other. Choose all locations for the business as a whole.
Gross profit comes first and net profit follows once expenses and the remaining costs are taken off. Each line is named, so you can see why a month that felt busy came out thinner than expected. Opening and closing stock are each valued at purchase price and at sale price, so you can also see how much selling value sits on the shelves at either end of the period.
- Opening and closing stock, by purchase price and by sale price
- Total purchases and stock adjustments
- Expenses and shipping charges on purchases, transfers and sales
- Sell discount, customer reward and purchase discount
- Sell and purchase returns, recovered stock and round off
- Gross profit and net profit
Profit by product, category and more
The totals tell you whether you made money. The tabs underneath tell you where. Profit by products shows which items carry their weight and which sell well but leave little behind. Profit by categories and by brands rolls the same numbers up, which is useful when deciding what to reprice or drop.
Profit by locations compares stores side by side. Profit by invoice and by customer points to the orders and accounts that matter most, and profit by date and by day shows which days of the week actually pay. A Tuesday that looks quiet may still be profitable once you see it laid out.
Getting accurate cost figures
Profit is only as good as the cost prices behind it. In SeroPOS, cost comes from what you record on purchases, along with opening stock entered for each product. Keep purchase entries up to date and the report reflects what you really paid. The stock accounting method, FIFO or LIFO, is set under Business Settings on the Business tab.
Expenses come from the Expenses screen, where each one has a category, a date, a location and an amount. Record wages, rent and supplies there and they show up in net profit. Stock you write off through a stock adjustment counts too, with any amount recovered shown separately. Shipping charges on purchases, transfers and sales are counted as well.
Quick checks from the dashboard
For a quick look without opening the full report, the back office dashboard has a Today's Profit view alongside its sales, purchase and expense tiles. It's handy for a mid-day check, while the profit and loss report is the one to run at month end or before a meeting with your accountant.
If you also use recipes and production, part of the Pro plan, the manufacturing report's total production cost feeds the core profit and loss report, so prepared items are costed rather than left out. A bakery or a kitchen that makes its own sauces records each production run with its cost, and the profit and loss report takes that cost into account for the period.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gross profit and net profit?
Gross profit is what's left from sales after the cost of the goods sold, worked out from opening stock, purchases and closing stock. Net profit then takes off expenses and other costs such as shipping, discounts and write-offs. The SeroPOS report shows both, with every line that moves you from one to the other.
Can I see profit by product?
Yes. The Profit by products tab lists each product's profit for the date range and location you picked. Further tabs show profit by category, brand, location, invoice, date, customer and day, so you can roll the same figures up whichever way helps.
Does the profit and loss report include expenses?
Yes. Expenses entered on the Expenses screen in the back office are included for the matching location and dates, and they reduce net profit. Give each expense a category so the expense report can show where the money went in more detail.
Why does my profit look wrong?
Usually cost prices are missing or out of date. If products were added without opening stock or purchases, the report has no cost to work with. Record purchases with their unit cost, add opening stock for existing products, and log stock write-offs as adjustments. Then run the report again for the same period.
Can I run a profit and loss for each restaurant or store?
Yes. Choose a single location in the filter to see that store's profit and loss, or all locations for the business as a whole. The Profit by locations tab also compares them side by side for the same date range.