Society Financial Statements: P&L, Balance Sheet, Trial Balance

Society financial statements: P&L, balance sheet, trial balance

Society financial statements are the three reports an auditor and the AGM expect each year: a Profit & Loss (income vs expenses), a Balance Sheet (assets, liabilities, equity on a date), and a Trial Balance (every ledger account's debit and credit). Plinth generates all three on demand from a double-entry ledger, at Admin → Finance & reports, so treasurers stop rebuilding them by hand in Excel.

Why this matters for housing societies

Audit season (typically January to March) is when committees scramble. Maintenance receipts sit in one sheet, vendor bills in another, and the bank statement in a third — and the CA asks for a balance sheet that ties out. Co-operative society bye-laws expect committees to present accounts at the AGM, and members are entitled to see where their maintenance went. Statements that generate in one click from the same data you already collect turn that scramble into a download.

The double-entry ledger underneath

Every money event in Plinth posts a balanced voucher to a general ledger:

• Invoice issued → debit Maintenance Receivable, credit Maintenance Income and GST Payable.
• Payment recorded → debit Bank (or Cash), credit Maintenance Receivable.
• Expense recorded → debit the expense account (housekeeping, security, salaries, …), credit Bank.
• Late fee added → debit Maintenance Receivable, credit Late Fee Income.

Because every voucher's debits equal its credits, the statements always tie out — the Balance Sheet shows a balanced ✓ check, and the Trial Balance totals match.

The three statements

Profit & Loss

Revenue lines (maintenance income, late-fee income) less expense lines (housekeeping, security, utilities, repairs, salaries, admin, and more) for a chosen period, ending in the net surplus or deficit.

Balance Sheet

Assets (bank, cash, maintenance receivable), liabilities (GST payable, vendor payable), and equity (reserves plus the surplus for the period) as of a date — with a built-in check that assets equal liabilities plus equity.

Trial Balance

A flat list of every account with its debit or credit balance — the working paper a CA reconciles against.

Treasurer dashboard

Alongside the statements, the same page shows a live treasurer dashboard: amount billed, collected, outstanding, collection rate, defaulter count, expenses, and net position for the period — the CFO-level view a committee needs between AGMs.

Honest scope

Plinth produces committee-grade statements for AGM and CA handover from the data you record in the app. It is not a replacement for statutory filing or a chartered accountant's certification — export to your CA (see Tally export) for formal books. Opening balances and assets not transacted in Plinth won't appear unless you record them.

FAQ

Where do the statements come from? A double-entry general ledger that posts automatically from invoices, payments, and expenses — no separate bookkeeping.

Can I pick any date range? Yes. The P&L uses a from/to period; the Balance Sheet and Trial Balance use an as-of date.

Will the balance sheet always balance? Yes, by construction — every voucher is balanced. The page shows a ✓/⚠ check so you can spot data issues.

Is this a substitute for my CA? No. It's committee reporting and CA handover, not statutory certification.

Stop rebuilding accounts by hand. Open Finance & reports or learn how to generate statements step by step.