UNDERSTANDING YOUR STATEMENTS

For many, navigating the intricacies of income statements can be a bit like learning a new language.  While the pros in the crowd are quick to understand these concepts with great familiarity, it can take some work for the rest of us.  My accountant's email signature quotes comedian Sage Boggs saying “I’m glad I learned about parallelograms instead of how to do taxes.  It’s really come in handy this parallelogram season.”  This Q&A about reading your monthly EMC income statements will hopefully help all those parallelogram experts read and make sense of all the numbers in your revenue property income statement.

Q: When can I expect my monthly statement of rental income and expenses?
A:  Your financial statement is sent out via email around the 22nd of the following month. Ie. November’s statement is emailed on December 22nd.

Q: Why doesn’t the amount under “Owner payments” match the deposit I see on this month’s bank statement?
A: Be sure to look at the bank statement that matches the same month as your property statement.  The “Owner payment” you see on the statement you just received will be on last month’s bank statement.

Q: Why are there 2 columns of numbers?
A: The left column reflects income and expenses which occurred in the previous month.  The right column reflects Year-to-Date income and expenses.
Your December financial statement serves as your Year-End statement for income tax purposes.  All amounts in the Year-to-Date column reflect the total income and total expense for that given year.

Q: What are the 2 rows at the bottom of the statement showing opening and closing balances?
A: The first row shows what the opening balance in your account was at the beginning of the month/year being reported.  The second row reflects the closing balance in your account as of the end of the month/year being reported.  

Q: What are the amounts in the “Profit” row?
A: These amounts show the difference between your opening balance at the start of the month/year and the closing balance at the end of the month/year reported.  

Q: Where can I find the invoices for expenses incurred?
A: Each month, any applicable invoices for work done on your property will be included in the email with your monthly statement.  These are embedded within the email via a link which you may access and download for your records by simply clicking

We hope this quick Q&A guide helps in navigating your monthly income statement! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us and we'll get back to you asap.