Show Current-Year Net Income Separately from Retained Earnings

Since Manager.io uses a perpetual inventory system and does not currently have a year-end closing wizard, the Balance Sheet shows the current-year net income as part of Retained Earnings.

For U.S. financial statements, I would prefer the traditional presentation where:

  • Retained Earnings = accumulated net income from prior years
  • Current-Year Net Income = net income for the current fiscal year, shown as a separate line on the Balance Sheet
  • At year-end, the current-year net income would be closed into Retained Earnings.

For example, if the company has $100,000 of prior-year retained earnings and $30,000 of net income for the current year, I would like the Balance Sheet to show:

Retained Earnings: $100,000
Net Income: $30,000
Total Equity: $130,000

rather than showing the entire $130,000 under Retained Earnings.

Would it be possible to add an option to the Balance Sheet report to present current-year net income separately from retained earnings, without requiring a year-end closing entry?

This would make the Balance Sheet presentation much more consistent with the financial statements commonly used in the U.S.

You can use the Statement of Changes in Equity for this purpose.

You only need opening balances for profit & loss accounts if you start your accounting in Manager mid-year

Most business would transition from one accounting system to another at the year end