Do you get these things from your accountant every month?
Issue #3
Aug 18, 2026
∙ Paid
Quick Quiz: What’s the Most Important Report Your Accountant Should Send You?
“A: The tax return every April”
“B: A monthly profit & loss statement”
“C: An annual balance sheet”
“D: Whatever they feel like sending”
[readers scroll to find answer]
The One Report Your Accountant Should Send You Every Month (And Red Flags If They’re Not)
Here’s something that drives me crazy:
A business owner calls me up in March, panicked. “My accountant just sent me my 2024 tax return. I owe $47,000 in taxes. I don’t have it. What do I do?”
And I ask: “Did your accountant send you monthly profit reports last year?”
Silence.
“So you had no idea you owed this much?”
“No. I thought I was doing fine.”
This is preventable. And it’s why I’m writing this issue.
Your Accountant Should Be Sending You a Monthly P&L. Period.
P&L = Profit & Loss statement. It’s literally: revenue minus expenses = profit (or loss).
That’s it. That’s the report.
And if your accountant isn’t sending it to you monthly, you’re flying blind. You’re making business decisions without real data. You’re hoping your numbers are okay instead of knowing.
Here’s what a simple monthly P&L looks like:
Month of [Date]
Revenue: $25,000
Expenses: $18,500
Profit: $6,500
That’s the bones of it. The full version has more detail (breakdowns by expense category), but the core number is always: what came in, what went out, what’s left.
Why Monthly Matters (Not Quarterly, Not Annually)
Monthly gives you:
Real-time visibility. You know this month what you’re making. Not in April when it’s too late to fix anything.
Early warning signs. If profit drops 30% unexpectedly, you catch it in month 2, not month 12. You can adjust.
Tax planning that actually works. If you see profit trending high in month 6, you can plan ahead: take a bigger draw, make equipment purchases, adjust estimated tax payments. You’re not scrambling in December.
Better business decisions. Considering hiring someone? Raising prices? Cutting a product line? You need current numbers, not last year’s numbers.
The Red Flags: Signs Your Accountant Is Dropping the Ball
Red Flag #1: “I’ll send you everything at tax time.”
Translation: “I don’t have systems to give you real-time data.” That’s lazy accounting. You deserve better.
Red Flag #2: “Your profit is whatever your tax return says.”
Nope. Your profit is calculated differently for taxes than it is for actually running your business. You need both numbers—the tax one AND the business one. If your accountant doesn’t distinguish, they don’t understand their job.
Red Flag #3: They take 6+ weeks to send you reports.
If it’s August 15 and they’re just now sending you July’s P&L, they’re too slow. You need timely data to make decisions.
Red Flag #4: You have to ask for it.
A good accountant sends it automatically. Every month. No asking. It’s part of their service.
Red Flag #5: They don’t explain variances.
“Your profit was $8,000 last month. It was $12,000 the month before.” Okay, but why? Did revenue drop? Did expenses spike? A good accountant tells you why the numbers changed.
What to Do About This
If you have an accountant:
Email them today. “Can you start sending me a monthly P&L?” If they say no, or make excuses, that’s your answer. Time to find someone better.
If you don’t have an accountant:
Use QuickBooks (which I’m a ProAdvisor for) and run your own P&L monthly. It takes 15 minutes. The template does the math—you just make sure everything is categorized correctly.
If you want professional help:
That’s literally what K&L does. We send monthly P&Ls, flag issues, and help you understand what the numbers mean.
The Bottom Line
Your accountant works for you. They should be proactive, not reactive. Monthly reporting isn’t a luxury add-on—it’s the baseline.
If you’re not seeing a monthly P&L, you’re not getting full value from your accountant. And you’re running your business half-blind.
Stop doing that.
Next issue: “Tax Season Survival Guide: What to Prepare Now So September Doesn’t Destroy You”
Kristen Leicht
Founder, K&L Business Solutions
Making accounting sexy since 2016
Is your accountant sending you monthly reports? If not, let’s talk about what you’re missing. Schedule a 15-min call or hit reply.
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P.S. — If you’re currently working with an accountant who’s doing all the red flags above, forward this to them. Consider it constructive feedback. 😉
Quiz Answer:
B: A monthly profit & loss statement.
And here’s the kicker: if your accountant said “D,” they’re right in a different way. A lot of accountants send whatever they feel like because they don’t have systems in place for consistent monthly reporting. That’s the problem.
The best accountants (like the ones at K&L) send a monthly P&L automatically, with explanation. That’s how you actually run a business. Everything else is just hoping your numbers are fine.
