Gross Sales and Gross Receipts in QuickBooks: How to Find and Calculate

To calculate net profit, you first need to monitor gross sales. QuickBooks gives business owners the tools to track all company income from sales, subtract the cost of goods sold, and determine net gain. You can also monitor income from sales tax, shipping, interest, and other charges your business may incur. QuickBooks reporting tools display both gross sales and gross income – and this guide walks you through every step.

What Are Gross Sales and Gross Receipts in QuickBooks?

Business gross sales or gross receipts is a kind of measure that determines the amount of revenue that is generated by a company’s trade, without considering any kind of allowances, credits, discounts, etc. that may have been added with the product to push the sale.

Although gross sales is an important metric to determine and evaluate how popular the product of a business is for inventory purposes, it is comparatively a poor measure of how the business is doing, since it does not regard expenses or profitability.

Gross receipts along with Gross Sales both state the total amount of money that a particular business has acquired in a given period, like a year or a quarter. The main difference is that gross sales ideally refer to sales income and gross receipts comprise income from non-sales sources like dividends, interest, donations, etc.

As per market experts, a gross receipt is defined as any income that is not connected with regular business activity. Such income includes donations to non-profit or charitable organizations. It can also comprise tax refunds, royalties, dividend income, interest, etc.

Key Difference: Gross Sales vs. Gross Receipts

Both gross sales and gross receipts represent the total money a business collects in a given period (monthly, quarterly, annually). The distinction is:

• Gross Sales refers specifically to sales income – money received from selling products or services.
• Gross Receipts includes income from all sources, including non-sales income such as interest, dividends, donations, royalties, and tax refunds.

As a rule of thumb: gross receipts is the broader term. Any income that is not tied to regular business activity – donations to non-profits, tax refunds, investment income – falls under gross receipts rather than gross sales.

Note: The government uses gross receipts to state income based on the total cost price of reported inventory sold. Gross receipts do not consider price adjustments or discounts.

Why do You Need to Find Gross Sales in QuickBooks?

Typically, Gross Sales are only crucial to organizations that function in the consumer retail industry, showcasing the number of products that a business sells in comparison to its competitors in the market.

A company may finalize to display deductions, gross sales, and net sales on various lines inside an income statement. When the gross revenue is registered, all the income which is accounted for a sale is accounted for the particular income statement. There is no consideration for any kind of expenditure from any particular source.

Net revenue reporting is, in fact, calculated by subtracting the price of goods sold from the gross revenue and delivers a clear picture of the scenario.

Note: QuickBooks does not have a single dedicated “Gross Sales” report. However, you can view the Sales by Product/Service Summary report for total income. Navigate to Reports → enter “Sales by product” in the search box → select Sales by Product/Service Summary.

How to Find Gross Sales in QuickBooks

In order to find Gross Sales in QuickBooks, first, you need to Record Gross Sales in QuickBooks.

Here are the step-by-step instructions to Record Gross Sales in QuickBooks effectively:

Step 1 – Record Gross Sales (Sales Receipts / Invoices)

• In your QuickBooks account, Create Sales Receipts or Create Invoices.
• Utilize the drop-down list that is labeled as Customer and select the right customer from the particular list. If it is a new customer, select Add new and follow the required setup wizard.
• Add the items that are sold from the particular drop-down list, seen in the Items column of the sales or invoice receipt. Add a quantity for every item in the particular Quantity column. Add any other services, fees, or charges in the particular Items column and then manage any of the rates in the particular Amounts column.
• Select the Save & Close or the Save and New button.
• Do this process once more with all the sales of your organization to register your gross sales.

Step 2 – Create the Gross Sales Report (Income Tax Summary)

• Select the Reports menu and select the Accountant & Taxes option.
• Select Income Tax Summary.
• Edit the date range for the time you wish to have your gross sales report. Select Enter and the amount which is displayed under the Gross Receipts or Sales is the final Gross sales for that particular time period.

Before reviewing revenue reports, make sure you Enter Revenue into QuickBooks accurately so gross sales and income reports reflect the correct financial performance.

Step 3 – Run Gross Sales Report in QuickBooks Desktop (Profit & Loss)

Here is how you run gross sales report in QuickBooks Desktop:

• In your QuickBooks account, navigate to the Reports on the left side of the menu.
• Add Profit and Loss in the particular search box. For a deeper explanation of what these figures represent and how to interpret gross sales vs. gross receipts, see our detailed guide: calculating gross sales and gross receipts in QuickBooks.
• Select the Customize button.
• Choose the date in the particular Report period section.
• Tap to Filter.
• Put a checkmark on the Distribution Account and select the Income accounts.
• Select Run Report.

Tip: You can save these customization settings by clicking Remember this report for quick access in future.

How to Find the Gross Receipt in QuickBooks

You can easily get gross receipts and calculate the total amount by running various reports. It is important to note that QuickBooks Online does not offer a dedicated gross receipt report; but, you are still able to generate a profit and loss report.

Make sure you restrict the report’s personalization to the income account. This enables you to get accurate information for tracking sales and your business’s growth.

Below are the steps that you should follow carefully to search the gross receipt in QuickBooks-

• You have to open QuickBooks.
•  Then you have to click on the option Reports that is located on the left-hand side menu.
•  Now you have to make use of the search bar to find the Profit and Loss report.
•  Click the option of Customize.
•  Now you have to change to the Report Period section and then you have to select the date that is needed and then click the Filter option.
•  After that, you have to give a checkmark for the Distribution Account option.
•  Also, you can choose the Income Account.
•  Lastly, you have to press on the Run Report option.

To get all the details that you want you can also personalize this report. You can also save the personalization settings if required by clicking on the Remember the Report option.

How to Calculate Gross Receipts in QuickBooks

You must keep a few things in mind while calculating the gross receipts. Below are the few mentioned steps that will help you to calculate the gross receipts for your business:

• You have to begin by finalizing a period for which you want to measure. Then, for this particular period, a financial measure is created. When measuring business activities, be sure to use a broad time frame. As an illustration, monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
  • The next step is to check whether the business uses a cash accounting system or an accrual accounting system. When a customer is done or a product is provided, the accrual accounting system records revenue.
  • The cash accounting method, on the other hand, records sales as they are recovered from the customer.
  • Even though many companies favor the accrual system, certain small businesses could function on a cash basis.
• You may now arrange all of the invoices and receipts for the services provided and products purchased throughout the specified period. This will provide you with the amount to use when calculating your gross sales evaluation.
• Once finished, You can add up all the payments for the products or services that were rendered within the financial period. This will support analyzing the revenue generated by the business.

Note: Most businesses use the accrual method, but some small businesses operate on a cash basis. The method affects when income is recognized, not the total over time.

How to Record Gross Receipts in QuickBooks

Here is how you record business gross receipts:

• First finalize the time period that you want to measure and then a financial measure is established for that period. The general period to take into consideration while measuring business activity is quarterly, monthly, and annually.
• Check if your particular business functions under the accrual or cash accounting system. The accrual accounting system identifies income when a particular product is delivered or a particular service to a customer is finished. The cash accounting system identifies sales when it receives cash from a customer. Although most companies use the accrual system, few small businesses and individuals function under the cash system.
• Arrange all the invoices and receipts of products sold or services given for the period. These give you the amounts you require to combine to evaluate gross sales.
• Combine all the relevant sums from the services rendered or products sold in the financial period to evaluate business gross receipts.

Finding Gross Sales in QuickBooks is not rocket science and does not require any strict technical expertise. Anyone who can follow the steps mentioned above can find Gross Sales in QuickBooks very easily.

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