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# How sub-accounts show on Profit & loss and the Balance sheet

A sub-account is an account filed under a parent, like **Fuel** and **Parking & Tolls** under **Automobile Expense**. It lets you keep the detail without losing the big picture: the report lists each sub-account under its parent, then a **Total** line adds the group up.

Open **All pages** in the left sidebar, then click **Reports** and [**Profit & loss**](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/profit-loss) or [**Balance sheet**](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/balance-sheet).

## What the rows mean

![Profit and loss with Automobile Expense nested: Fuel $123.45, Parking and Tolls $12.00, Total Automobile Expense $135.45](https://booksgpt.ai/help/reports/nested-path.png)

- Each sub-account sits indented under its parent, with its own coloured name and amount.
- **Total Automobile Expense** is the parent plus every sub-account. It is the only line that adds them up.
- A parent that exists only as a name has a blank amount, not $0.00. This happens with an imported name such as `Automobile Expense:Fuel`. Its **Total** line still adds the sub-accounts.

A real parent on your chart, like Insurance, shows its own postings, then the sub-accounts, then the **Total**:

![Profit and loss with Insurance nested: Insurance $100.00, Liability $85.00, Workers Comp $40.00, Total Insurance $225.00](https://booksgpt.ai/help/reports/nested-parent.png)

BooksGPT builds the tree two ways:

1. On [**Chart of accounts**](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/chart-of-accounts), tick **Make this a sub-account** and pick a **Parent account**, or use **Create sub-account** in a row's menu. See "Build and edit your chart of accounts".
2. An account name that already holds a colon, like `Automobile Expense:Fuel`, or the › that QuickBooks Online uses. Imported charts often arrive this way.

## Open an account's lines

On **Profit & loss**, click a coloured account name. A window lists the lines behind that figure for the period: journal entries, invoices, bills and bank transactions.

![Service Income: Lines behind this figure, Aug 2026, Accrual, $2,200.00 from 4 contributions](https://booksgpt.ai/help/reports/pnl-lines-accrual.png)

- The total at the top matches the figure you clicked.
- Click a bank row to change its category beside the list. An invoice, bill or journal entry opens in a new tab.
- A transaction split across accounts shows only the part that lands on this account.
- **Full ledger** opens the account's register. On a parent, **With sub-accounts** opens the whole group as its own report.

On the **Balance sheet**, the same click lists the account's transactions through the report date.

|| A parent's window lists only its own postings, so its total matches the parent's row, not the **Total** line.

## By month, By year, and By dimension

Above the report, pick **Total**, **By month** or **By year**. If you track classes or locations, there is also **By** that dimension, for example **By Class** (on the Balance sheet, **By dimension**). Sub-accounts nest the same way in every view.

![Profit and loss by month: Fuel and Parking indented under Automobile Expense, with Total Automobile Expense closing each month](https://booksgpt.ai/help/reports/by-month.png?v=2026-09-16)

- **Total Automobile Expense** closes the group in each column.
- A month figure opens the same window for that month. An empty month shows a dash.
- On the Balance sheet, **By month** and **By year** have no Total column: each column is the balance on that date.
- The headings and the **Account** column stay in view while you scroll.

## Export, print, and email

Click the **Export** icon (the download arrow at the top of the report), then pick **Excel (.xlsx)** or **CSV (.csv)**.

![Profit & Loss with the Export menu open, and Total, By month, By year and Leave out accounts under the title](https://booksgpt.ai/help/reports/sub-accounts-export-2026-10.png)

- **Section**, **Code**, **Account** and **Amount** come first, so summing **Amount** still ties. **Level**, **Row type**, **Parent** and **Rollup** are added at the end.
- A sub-account's Total row, such as **Total Automobile Expense**, leaves **Amount** empty and puts its figure in **Rollup**, so each section's account rows still add up to its total.
- Excel indents each sub-account and bolds the **Total** lines. CSV is plain text with the same figures.
- The **Account** column keeps the stored name, such as `Automobile Expense:Fuel`, even when the screen shows Fuel.

Print, email and [**Report packs**](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/report-packs) nest the same way.

## See one account group as its own report

The **Account group** report shows one account and every sub-account under it, with the transactions behind them. It answers questions like how much went on Office this year.

- On **Profit & loss**, click the name on a **Total** line, such as **Total Automobile Expense**. It keeps the report's period and basis. (Balance sheet Total lines are not links.)
- Or open **All pages**, click **Reports** and **Account group**, then click **Choose an account**.

The report lists each account's total, then its transactions by **Date**, **Type**, **Name**, **Description** and **Amount**. Save, print, email and export it like any report.

## Leave accounts out of a Profit & loss

Use this to show a P&L without, say, one project's costs or a one-off expense.

1. On **Profit & loss**, click **Leave out accounts**, in the row with **Total**, **By month** and **By year**.
2. Tick each account to leave out. Ticking a parent leaves out its whole group.
3. Click **Apply**.

Every total recalculates without them, including **Net Income**. A note above the report names what it leaves out, and it prints and exports with the report so nobody mistakes it for your whole books. **Show every account** puts them back. A saved report keeps the choice.

|| A report can leave out at most 40 accounts or groups. Tick a parent to leave out its whole group at once.

## If something goes wrong

- **A parent shows a blank amount.** It exists only as a name, so it has no postings of its own. Its **Total** line is the figure to read.
- **By month says the period is too long.** It shows up to 60 months. Narrow the period, or switch to **By year**.
- **A parent or its Total line disappeared.** **Hide zero rows** (under **Rows**) hides a group whose accounts are all zero, and also a group that adds up to zero: its parent row and Total line go, while any sub-account with a figure stays.

Nesting never changes **Total Income**, **Gross Profit** or **Net Income**. Only leaving accounts out does. To put last period beside this one, see "Compare periods and save a report".