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A bank asks for your financial statements before approving a loan. An investor wants to see your books before writing a check. Your accountant needs a year-end snapshot for taxes. They’re all asking for the same thing: your Balance Sheet. The Balance Sheet shows your company’s financial position at a specific point in time. What do you own? What do you owe? What’s left for the owners?

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The fundamental equation

Assets = Liabilities + Equity
This equation always balances—hence “balance sheet.”

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Accessing the Balance Sheet

  1. Go to Reports in the sidebar
  2. Click Balance Sheet
  3. Select the “as of” date

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Report structure

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Assets

What your company owns: 
Current Assets
  - Cash and Cash Equivalents
  - Accounts Receivable
  - Inventory
  - Prepaid Expenses

Long-Term Assets
  - Property and Equipment
  - Less: Accumulated Depreciation
  - Intangible Assets

= Total Assets

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Liabilities

What your company owes: 
Current Liabilities
  - Accounts Payable
  - Credit Cards
  - Accrued Expenses
  - Payroll Liabilities
  - Current Portion of Long-Term Debt

Long-Term Liabilities
  - Loans Payable
  - Notes Payable

= Total Liabilities

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Equity

What’s left for owners: 
Owner's Equity
  - Owner Contributions
  - Retained Earnings
  - Current Year Earnings
  - Owner Draws

= Total Equity

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Key accounts explained

AccountDescription
CashMoney in bank accounts
Accounts ReceivableUnpaid customer invoices
InventoryGoods held for sale
Accounts PayableUnpaid vendor bills
Payroll LiabilitiesTaxes and wages owed
Retained EarningsAccumulated profits from prior years
Current Year EarningsThis year’s profit (links to P&L)

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Date selection

The Balance Sheet shows position as of a specific date:
OptionShows
TodayCurrent position
End of Last MonthLast month-end position
End of Last QuarterLast quarter-end position
End of Last YearYear-end position
Custom DateAny specific date

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Comparison views

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Period-over-period

Compare balance sheets across time:
  1. Select an “as of” date
  2. Click Compare
  3. Choose a previous date
  4. See changes in each account

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Common comparisons

ComparisonShows
This month vs. last monthRecent changes
This quarter vs. last quarterQuarterly trends
Year-end vs. prior year-endAnnual growth

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Drill-down

Click any account to see:
  • Current balance
  • All transactions affecting the account
  • Sub-accounts (if applicable)

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Transaction detail

From account detail:
  • See every debit and credit
  • Jump to source documents (invoices, bills, journal entries)
  • Filter by date range

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Understanding equity

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Owner contributions

Money invested by owners:
  • Initial capital
  • Additional investments
  • Does NOT include profits

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Retained earnings

Accumulated profits from prior years:
  • Auto-calculated by Pluvel
  • Rolls forward each year-end

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Current year earnings

This year’s profit or loss:
  • Equals your year-to-date P&L net income
  • At year-end, moves to Retained Earnings

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Owner draws/distributions

Money taken out by owners:
  • Reduces equity
  • Not an expense (doesn’t reduce profit)
  • Important for personal tax planning

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Export options

FormatUse Case
PDFShare with banks, investors
ExcelDetailed analysis
CSVImport to other systems

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Scheduled reports

Send automatic Balance Sheets:
  1. Click Schedule
  2. Choose frequency (monthly, quarterly)
  3. Select format
  4. Add recipients
  5. Receive on schedule

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Common questions

Possible reasons:
  • Outstanding checks (issued but not cashed)
  • Deposits in transit
  • Unrecorded transactions
  • Timing differences
Reconcile your accounts regularly to match.
Retained Earnings accumulate your company’s profits (minus distributions) from all prior years. Each year-end, current year earnings roll into Retained Earnings.
It should always balance. If it doesn’t:
  • Check for journal entry errors
  • Look for one-sided transactions
  • Contact support if persistent
Pluvel enforces double-entry accounting, so imbalances are rare.
Depreciation is recorded via journal entry:
  • Debit: Depreciation Expense (P&L)
  • Credit: Accumulated Depreciation (Balance Sheet)
Go to Accounting → Journal Entries to record.

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Using the Balance Sheet

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For loan applications

Banks want to see:
  • Total assets (collateral)
  • Debt-to-equity ratio
  • Working capital (current assets - current liabilities)

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For investors

Investors evaluate:
  • Book value (total equity)
  • Asset efficiency
  • Leverage (debt vs. equity)

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For tax planning

Track:
  • Owner draws for distribution planning
  • Equity for S-Corp reasonable compensation
  • Asset values for depreciation

Cash Flow Statement

Track where your cash comes from and goes.