Comparatives: last year's figures beside this year's
The Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and Trial Balance show a second column of figures beside the ones you asked for, headed Comparative, so you can see how the business has moved. A set of accounts must show the previous year's figures beside the current year's, and this column is where they come from.
There is nothing to switch on. The column appears whenever Sales Scribe can work out an earlier period to compare with, and the line under the word Comparative always says which dates it covers.
Before you begin
- Record your financial year end. Without one there is no "last year" to compare with, and none of the three reports shows a comparative column. See Set your financial year end.
- Comparatives come from your posted journals, like every other figure on these reports, and are shown in your functional currency.
Which period the comparative covers
A whole financial year: the year before it
When the report covers exactly one of your financial years, the comparative is the financial year before it. That happens with This financial year and Last financial year, and with a custom range whose From and To are a year's first and last days. The heading shows the earlier year's dates, for example 1 Apr 2025 – 31 Mar 2026.
Only an exact match counts. A range that covers most of a year is treated like any other range, below: calling its neighbour "last year" would put a full year's figures beside eleven months without saying so.
Any other range: the same number of days just before it
For every other range (This quarter, This month, Last month, or a custom range) the comparative is the same number of days, ending the day before your range starts. The heading says how many, for example 31 Mar 2026 – 30 Jun 2026 (preceding 92 days).
It counts days, not months, so it is not always the period you might expect. This quarter from 1 July to 30 September is 92 days, and the 92 days before it run from 31 March to 30 June, not from 1 April. To compare with a particular period, such as the same quarter last year, run the report for that period as well.
The balance sheet: the position at an earlier date
The Balance Sheet is a position at one date, so its comparative is the position at another:
- As at one of your year ends, the comparative is the position at the previous year end.
- As at a date part-way through a year, the comparative is the position on the day before your current financial year began, which is your last year end.
Either way, the figures in the column are the position on the last date in its heading. Part-way through a year the heading is written as a range with its number of days, but it is the balance on its end date that you see.
When there is no comparative column
- No financial year end is recorded.
- The report covers your first financial year exactly, or the Balance Sheet is as at its end: nothing comes before it here.
- The Balance Sheet date is not inside any of your financial years.
When the two columns cover different lengths
A first financial year is often longer or shorter than twelve months. When the comparative covers a different number of days from your report, a notice above the statement says so:
The two columns cover different lengths of time. This period is 365 days and the comparative is 471. They are not directly comparable, and a set of accounts carrying both has to say so.
On the Balance Sheet the notice reads The two columns cover periods of different lengths. Each figure there is a position at its own date, so the figures themselves are comparable, but the trading behind them is not.
Nought, blank and dash
The comparative column can show nothing in three different ways, and each means something different.
- 0.00. On the Profit & Loss, an account that moved in one column but not the other shows
0.00in the other: it was there and did not move. - A blank column. Sales Scribe cannot answer for that period at all. A notice above the statement says why; see Before your records on Sales Scribe begin.
- A dash (–). This is on the Balance Sheet only, and means the account was not under that heading at that date. Each column places an account by its own balance. So a bank account that was overdrawn last year and is in funds this year appears twice: under assets with this year's balance and a dash for last year, and under liabilities with a dash for this year and last year's overdraft. Showing last year's overdraft as a negative asset would understate both last year's assets and its creditors. Hover over the dash and it says Not under this heading that year — see the other section.
On the Trial Balance the comparative is split into Dr and Cr like the other columns, and a nil balance leaves both cells empty. The Totals row tells you which you are looking at: it shows figures when the column has them, and a dash (—) when the column is withheld.
An account is listed if either column has something to show. An account that is nil today but had a balance last year keeps its row, so last year's figure is not lost with it. The same goes for Earnings brought forward on the balance sheet: the line appears when either column has a figure. On the Profit & Loss, an account that had postings which net to nothing, such as a sale and its reversal, is listed at 0.00: it had activity, even though it came back to nil.
What the comparative holds on each report
- Profit & Loss: what each income and expense account earned or cost during the comparative period, and its totals, gross profit and net profit.
- Balance Sheet: each account's position at the comparative date, under the heading that applied then, with Earnings brought forward and Current earnings worked out for that date's own financial year.
- Trial Balance: one column, the position at the end of the comparative period. For income and expense accounts that is what they earned or cost during the comparative period.
Before your records on Sales Scribe begin
If your business moved to Sales Scribe from another system, your history before your opening position is in your old system, not here. When the whole comparative period is before your records begin, the column is shown but left blank, with a notice:
No comparative for 1 Jan 2025 – 31 Dec 2025 (preceding 365 days). Your records on Sales Scribe begin on 31 March 2026, so this ledger does not cover that period. The column is left blank rather than filled with zeros, which would say the business traded nothing that year.
(That is This calendar year for 2026, for a business whose records here begin on 31 March 2026: the whole of 2025 is before them.)
On the Balance Sheet the notice ends "which would say the business owned and owed nothing then". A blank is the truth; zeros would be a claim.
Your first year after moving has no comparative column. Your opening position is stated as at your last year end, so Sales Scribe holds no financial year before your first one to compare it with. Last year's figures are in the accounts your accountant prepared from your old system. That is also why the Opening Position screen warns that mid-year costs you the comparative: converting part-way through a year leaves Sales Scribe holding only part of that year.
A Balance Sheet part-way through your first year does have a comparative: the position on the date your records begin, which is your opening position.
A comparative period that starts before your records begin but ends after shows the figures Sales Scribe holds, which run from the date your records begin, and says so in the column's heading, for example 31 Dec 2025 – 31 Mar 2026 (preceding 91 days) — records from 31 Mar 2026 only. In your first months after moving this is what you will usually see: This quarter in your first quarter compares with a period that is almost all before your records. A nought in that column means nothing was recorded here, not that the business traded nothing. A notice above the statement says the same.
The same goes for the report's own column. A range that starts before your records begin carries records from … only under Amount, as well as the notice above the statement.
The Balance Sheet is different. Its comparative is a position on one date, and a position on or after the day your records begin is complete, so it carries no such note.
Comparatives are always up to date
Comparative figures are worked out from your ledger each time you open the report; they are not a copy kept from last year. If an entry is posted into last year, the comparative changes straight away. The entry must pass the posting lock like any other.
A year that has been finalised and then had entries posted into it carries a warning when you run a report for that year. A report for this year does not repeat the warning for its comparative column, so if last year's figures have moved since they were signed off, run last year's report to see it.
Whether a correction to an earlier year belongs in the current year or needs last year's comparatives restating is your accountant's decision. Sales Scribe records the entry on the date you give it and does not choose for you.
In the CSV export
Each export carries the comparative as its last column, headed with its dates and currency, for example Comparative 1 Apr 2025 – 31 Mar 2026 (GBP). The heading adds — DIFFERENT LENGTH when the two columns cover different numbers of days, adds — records from 31 Mar 2026 only (with your date) when its period starts before your records do, and reads — before these records begin when the column is withheld, with its cells left empty. The Profit & Loss file's Amount heading carries the same note when your own range starts before your records. On the Trial Balance the comparative has separate Dr and Cr columns.
A dash on the Balance Sheet stays a dash in the file, so it can still be told apart from an empty cell.
Troubleshooting
- There is no Comparative column. No financial year end is recorded, the report covers your first financial year exactly, or the balance sheet date is outside your financial years. See When there is no comparative column.
- The comparative is not last year's quarter. For any range other than a whole financial year, the comparative is the same number of days just before it. Run the report for the period you want to compare with.
- The comparative column is blank. The comparative period is before your records on Sales Scribe begin. The notice above the statement names the date.
- An account appears twice on the balance sheet. Its balance was on the other side at the comparative date, for example an overdraft that is now in funds. Each row has a dash in the year it was not there.
- The comparative for your first months shows only noughts. Its heading will say records from … only: most of the comparative period is before your records begin. See Before your records on Sales Scribe begin.