> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://control-dev.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Build and review a P&L

> Organize Income Statement accounts and review financial activity for a selected period.

export const ControlAppLink = ({path, breadcrumb, children}) => {
  const link = <a href={`https://app.control.dev${path}`} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label={breadcrumb ? `Open ${breadcrumb} in Control` : undefined}>
      {children}
    </a>;
  return breadcrumb ? <Tooltip tip={breadcrumb}>{link}</Tooltip> : link;
};

Use the P\&L to review income, expenses, and profit generated during a selected period. Build the reporting structure in the editor, then validate its values in actuals.

## What the P\&L includes

The standard P\&L uses group accounts with the **Income Statement** account type. This account type can include revenue, cost of sales, operating expenses, other income and expenses, financial items, and income taxes, depending on your group chart of accounts.

Control does not determine a P\&L section from an account name alone. Your account mappings and statement layout determine where each Income Statement account appears.

| Behavior                    | P\&L treatment                                                    |
| --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Account type                | Income Statement                                                  |
| Monthly column              | Activity posted within that month                                 |
| Quarter, half-year, or year | Activity within the selected range                                |
| Year to date                | Activity from the beginning of the year through the selected date |
| Comparison                  | The equivalent activity for the comparison period                 |

<Info>
  P\&L values are period activity, not cumulative balances from the beginning of transaction history. Selecting March as
  a month shows March activity; selecting January–March shows activity across those three months.
</Info>

## Before you begin

Complete local-to-group account mappings before creating a P\&L.

## Design the P\&L layout

Open the <ControlAppLink path="/financial-statements/pnl/editor" breadcrumb="Profit & Loss → Editor"><strong>P\&L editor</strong></ControlAppLink>.

Organize the layout into the sections your team reviews. A common structure may include revenue, cost of sales, operating expenses, and financial items, but your layout remains a customer decision.

You can add:

* groups and nested groups that organize accounts;
* Income Statement group accounts that contribute values;
* formulas for subtotals, profit measures, percentages, or other derived rows;
* labels and ordering that match the review workflow.

Place each account once unless the layout intentionally requires another treatment. Check formula operations against the signs of the underlying values; subtracting an already-negative expense can reverse the intended result.

## Review P\&L actuals

Open <ControlAppLink path="/financial-statements/pnl/actuals" breadcrumb="Profit & Loss → Actuals"><strong>P\&L actuals</strong></ControlAppLink> and select the period, entity, dimension, and currency scope.

1. Confirm that the selected period matches the activity you intend to review.
2. Compare the result with the prior period or prior year.
3. Review material income and expense rows.
4. [Open a drilldown](/product-docs/reporting/drill-down) and verify the supporting accounts and transactions.
5. Confirm that subtotals and profit formulas use the intended inputs and signs.

## Troubleshooting

### An account is missing

Confirm that the local account maps to an Income Statement group account and that the group account is present in the selected P\&L layout. Then verify the entity, period, dimension, currency, and transaction-type filters.

### A total has the wrong sign

Inspect both the account values and the formula operations. Formula relations add or subtract the displayed inputs; they do not infer the intended accounting presentation from the row label.

### P\&L does not match the Balance Sheet result for the period

The statements use different time behavior and account types. Compare the P\&L period result with the configured current-period profit treatment in equity, and check mappings, eliminations, and currency conversion before changing either layout.

The easiest way to check that the numbers reconcile is to exclude eliminations and compare entity-by-entity.

## Next steps

* [Build and review a Balance Sheet](/product-docs/reporting/balance-sheet)
* [Analyze the business with a Functional P\&L](/product-docs/reporting/functional-pnl)
* [Drill down from a financial statement](/product-docs/reporting/drill-down)