Financial Summary
Overview
The Financial Summary gives you a month-end management pack for your garage. It brings the key financial numbers into one place so you can review performance, send a workbook to your accountant, and understand what changed from one period to the next.
Use this report when you want to answer:
- How much completed work did we invoice?
- What did that work cost us in parts and labour?
- Are we profitable after operating expenses?
- What do customers owe us and what do we owe suppliers?
- What VAT/GST position should we review?
- What cash moved in and out during the period?
How to Access the Report
- Log in to your autoGMS dashboard.
- From the sidebar, click Financial Reporting.
- Select Financial Summary.
- Choose the date range you want to review.
You can also open the previous complete month from the dashboard summary bar.
The selected period and previous complete month are calculated in the garage timezone.
Accounting Basis
The Financial Summary uses an accrual-style operational profit and loss basis.
Revenue is counted from non-deposit work invoices issued in the selected period when those invoices are linked to completed bookings. Draft, void, uncollectible, and deposit invoices are excluded. Credit notes reduce the revenue total.
This aligns with the revenue-recognition principle in IFRS 15 / ASC 606: revenue is recognized when the service performance obligation is satisfied. In autoGMS, a completed booking linked to a work invoice is the operational signal that the service has been delivered.
Profit revenue removes output VAT/GST when a stored tax breakdown is available. Historical revenue records without that evidence remain gross instead of having VAT estimated; the summary, scheduled email, and workbook show the affected record count. P&L costs exclude only recoverable input VAT/GST; non-recoverable VAT/GST, including the non-recoverable part of a partially recoverable expense, remains a cost. Raw expense records, cash flow, and gross reconciliation values remain gross.
Historical compatibility: On-hand inventory acquired before the input-VAT inventory-cost correction keeps its existing recorded cost basis. Job costs already frozen from that inventory are not automatically restated. Any future historical restatement will be a separate, explicitly scoped process.
Important: This is a management report for running the garage. It is not a statutory audited financial statement. Always use your accountant's advice for formal reporting and tax filing.
Main Formula
The Financial Summary follows this structure:
Invoiced Work Revenue
- COGS
= Gross Profit
Gross Profit
- Operating Expenses
= Operational Net Profit
This keeps the report consistent: revenue, direct job costs, and operating expenses are all shown on the same operational P&L basis.
Key Lines
| Line | What It Means |
|---|---|
| P&L Revenue (VAT removed where stored) | Value of non-deposit work invoices issued in the period, linked to completed bookings, net of credit notes, with stored output VAT removed |
| COGS | Direct job costs from those completed bookings, mainly parts cost and labour cost |
| Gross Profit | P&L Revenue minus COGS |
| Operating Expenses | P&L running costs for the period: gross expense value less recoverable input VAT/GST; non-recoverable VAT/GST remains included |
| Operational Net Profit | Gross Profit minus Operating Expenses |
| Expense Records | Gross expense records by expense date, shown for audit and reconciliation. This may differ from Operating Expenses because it is the raw expense-record view |
| Gross Recorded Difference | Gross invoice value minus gross expense records. This is a reconciliation figure, not profit |
| Net Cash Flow | Gross cash movement in the period. This is separate from profit |
| Accounts Receivable | Customer balances still outstanding at the period end |
| Accounts Payable | Supplier and expense balances still outstanding at the period end |
| VAT Due | Output tax minus recoverable input tax for the period |
Why Invoices, Not Payments?
Payments tell you about cash collection. They do not always tell you when revenue was earned.
For example, a customer may pay a deposit before work starts, or pay an invoice after the job is complete. Counting only payments would mix cash timing with business performance.
The Financial Summary therefore uses invoices linked to completed bookings for revenue, and shows cash flow separately.
Deposits and Credit Notes
Deposits are excluded from Invoiced Work Revenue. A deposit is cash received before the final work invoice. It helps with cash flow, but it is not counted as completed work revenue in this report.
Cancellation fees are separate revenue. When a deposit is explicitly retained through the guided cancellation flow, autoGMS creates a cancellation-fee invoice. That invoice is counted as fee revenue only after the linked booking is cancelled.
Credit notes reduce revenue. If an invoice is credited, the credited amount is deducted so the report reflects the effective invoiced value.
Exporting the Workbook
Click Export Excel to download a workbook for the selected period. The workbook includes:
- Executive summary
- Profit and loss summary
- Invoiced revenue detail
- Invoice line items
- Completed jobs and job line items
- Expense detail
- VAT/tax report
- Receivables and payables
- Balance sheet, cash flow, and general ledger sections
Use the workbook for monthly review, accountant handover, and reconciliation.
Sending by Email
Use Send by email to schedule the monthly Financial Summary for selected recipients. The email includes a link to the report and an attached Excel workbook.
The schedule timezone controls when the email is sent. The previous complete month and the report data are still calculated in the garage timezone.
This is useful for:
- Sending month-end numbers to an accountant
- Sharing a monthly pack with owners or managers
- Creating a repeatable financial review process
Reconciling the Numbers
If a number looks different from another page, check the basis:
| Page or Report | Basis |
|---|---|
| Financial Summary | Profit revenue with stored output VAT removed and P&L costs that exclude only recoverable input VAT/GST |
| Profit & Loss | The same profit tax basis for revenue, COGS, and operating expenses |
| Daily Collections | Payments collected on payment date |
| Invoices | Invoice issue dates, statuses, balances, and payments |
| Expenses | Gross expense records by expense date |
| Cash Flow | Gross cash movement, not profit |
Differences are expected when the timing is different. For example, an invoice created in April and paid in May belongs to April revenue in the Financial Summary, but May cash collection in Daily Collections and Cash Flow.
Best Practices
- Review the Financial Summary every month after month end.
- Compare Operational Net Profit to cash flow; both matter, but they answer different questions.
- Check Expense Records if Operating Expenses look unusual.
- Review Accounts Receivable weekly so unpaid invoices do not build up.
- Send the workbook to your accountant before VAT/GST filing or month-end close.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the same as cash collected?
No. Cash collected is payment timing. The Financial Summary focuses on completed work invoiced in the selected period.
Why are deposits excluded?
Deposits are advance payments. They improve cash flow, but they are not counted as completed work revenue until the final work invoice is issued for a completed booking.
Why can Expense Records differ from Operating Expenses?
Expense Records show the gross raw expense-record total by expense date. Operating Expenses are the P&L expense basis: gross cost less recoverable input VAT/GST, while non-recoverable VAT/GST remains a cost.
Is this report suitable for my accountant?
Yes, as a management pack and reconciliation workbook. Your accountant should still review the data and make any required statutory or tax adjustments.