# Comparing cash and accrual side by side

> Two reports show both bases in adjacent columns with the difference broken out and explained.

Section: Cash and accrual basis · Canonical: https://intubu.intuitivecapital-dai.com/docs/basis-comparison-report

Two reports put the bases next to each other:

- **P&L — Cash vs Accrual** (Reports → Financial)
- **Balance Sheet — Cash vs Accrual**

Each has three columns: Accrual, Cash, and Difference.

**Why this matters:** the most common question a business owner asks an accountant is "if we made money, where is it?" The difference column answers it. A profitable accrual month with negative cash means the profit is sitting in receivables.

**The reconciliation walk:** below the table, the P&L comparison shows the bridge explicitly:

    Accrual net income
    Less: increase in receivables    (revenue earned but not collected)
    Add:  increase in payables       (expenses incurred but not paid)
    = Cash net income

It also shows how many invoices and bills are outstanding, so you can go straight to the cause.

On the Balance Sheet comparison, receivables and payables largely vanish from the cash column — because on a cash basis those amounts have not happened yet.