Almost every owner discovers, sometime in their first quarter on nouz, that their monthly numbers don't match what the accountant sent them. This is expected — and understanding why prevents weeks of trying to reconcile two things that genuinely shouldn't reconcile exactly.
01 Why is the difference expected?
Because nouz is built for operators making daily decisions, while accountants build for regulators and tax authorities. The two have genuinely different definitions of "correct", and that difference shows up as line items that don't match — sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. It isn't a bug in either system; nouz answers "did today pay?" while your accountant produces the legal statement for the period.
02 What are the main reasons the numbers diverge?
- Daily allocation vs monthly recognition. nouz subtracts a daily slice of rent. Your accountant subtracts the full €2.800 on the first. End-of-month totals match; mid-month, they diverge.
- COGS timing. nouz captures COGS per-sale (per-unit snapshot × units sold today). Your accountant uses end-of-period inventory math (opening + purchases − closing). Both are correct accounting; they just compute differently.
- Capital purchases. Bought a €4.000 espresso machine? nouz logs it as a single expense on the purchase day. Your accountant depreciates it over 4-7 years. Very different EBIT impact.
03 How do I reconcile the two P&Ls?
Don't try to make them match line for line — that fights both systems. Instead, use nouz EBIT to make operational decisions like pricing, product mix, and hours, and use the accountant's P&L for tax filing and bank reporting. Then cross-check monthly totals: net revenue after VAT and fees should agree closely. If it's off by more than a few percent, that's a real data issue worth investigating.
- Use nouz EBIT to make operational decisions (pricing, product mix, hours).
- Use the accountant's P&L for tax filing and bank reporting.
- Cross-check monthly totals. Net revenue (after VAT and fees) should match closely between the two. If it's off by more than a few percent, there's a real data issue worth investigating.
04 When is it safe to ignore the difference?
Most monthly differences between nouz and your accountant's P&L are expected and benign, so you can usually leave them alone. Two thresholds tell you when to look closer: if net revenue is off by more than 5%, the two systems disagree on what customers paid minus VAT and fees, which points to a data issue; and if EBIT is off by more than 20%, that may mean a missed fixed cost in one system or the other. Both are detailed below.
- Net revenue off by more than 5%. The two systems should agree closely on "what customers paid you minus VAT and fees". If they don't, there's a data issue.
- EBIT off by more than 20%. Some divergence is normal (capex, depreciation, accrual timing). A lot of divergence might mean a missed fixed cost in one system or the other.
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