2diff Business Guide

Last verified against the app: November 2, 2026

Introduction

This guide documents every 2diff Business screen: account setup, getting your numbers in (type your own figures or connect QuickBooks® Online), data controls, the Dashboard, the three financial statements and the Combined view, common-size analysis, ratios, Goal Center, valuation, trends, AI Insights, the forecast, the chart of accounts, company info, settings and resources, with a troubleshooting section at the end.

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Account Setup

Creating Your Account

Step 1: Navigate to the App Dashboard.

1. Go to 2diff.io/apps/dashboard
2. You will see the Sign In screen

Step 2: Choose Your Sign-In Method.

2diff Business supports two authentication methods:

Step 3: Complete Sign-In.

• Google: Click the Google button and select your Google account
• Email and password: Enter your email, create a password, and click Create free account

Step 4: Verify Your Email.

If you signed up with email/password:

1. Check your inbox for a verification email from Second Difference Solutions
2. Click the verification link in the email
3. Return to the App Dashboard and sign in again

Subscribing to 2diff Business

Step 1: Access the Subscription Page.

1. From the App Dashboard, click on 2diff Business
2. Or visit the Apps page directly

Step 2: Choose Your Plan.

Prices for each plan are on the Plans and Pricing page. Pick Bronze if you want to type your annual figures in yourself and do not need AI. Pick Silver if you want AI Insights, or your accounting data connected directly. On Silver you can still type your figures: set the Data Source to Manual entry (see Settings below).

1. Select 2diff Business Bronze or 2diff Business Silver
2. Click the Start button for that plan (for example, Start 2diff Business Silver)

Step 3: Complete Payment.

1. You will be redirected to our secure Stripe checkout
2. Enter your payment information
3. Click Subscribe

Step 4: Access Your App.

After successful payment:

1. You are automatically redirected to your App Dashboard
2. Your new app appears on your App Dashboard, shown as 2diff Business Bronze or 2diff Business Silver depending on the plan you chose
3. Click that card to launch the application

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Getting Your Numbers In

2diff Business reads your numbers one of two ways. Both feed the same statements, ratios, trends, and forecast.

Type Your Figures

No accounting software needed. You type the headline numbers you already have (revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities) one year at a time, and 2diff Business calculates the totals, the cash flow statement, and the ratios. On Bronze the app opens on the Enter Data screen. On Silver, set the Data Source to Manual entry in Settings.

The Enter Your Own Figures chapter covers statement entry, the Balance Check, part-year figures, and how each screen reads typed figures.

Connect QuickBooks Online (Silver and Gold)

2diff Business uses OAuth 2.0 to securely connect to your QuickBooks Online accounting software account. This industry-standard protocol means:

• 2diff Business never sees your accounting password
• You authorize access directly through the provider
• We only read your reports; 2diff Business never creates, changes, or deletes anything in your books
• You can revoke access at any time

Connection Process

Step 1: Launch 2diff Business.

1. Sign in to your App Dashboard
2. Click 2diff Business on your App Dashboard

Step 2: Initiate Connection.

1. In the sidebar's Accounting Data panel, you will see Not connected
2. Click the Connect to QuickBooks button (its text reads Connect Account if the button image does not load)

Step 3: Authorize Access.

1. You are redirected to the secure authorization page
2. Sign in to your accounting software if prompted
3. Select the company you want to connect (if you have multiple)
4. Review the permissions requested
5. Click Connect

Step 4: Return to 2diff Business.

1. You are automatically redirected back to 2diff Business
2. The status changes to Connected with a green indicator
3. Your company name appears in the sidebar's Accounting Data panel
4. Data begins loading automatically

Verifying Your Connection

After connecting, verify everything is working:

1. Check the status badge: Should show green dot with "Connected"
2. Check company name: Your business name should appear
3. Check Dashboard metrics: Revenue, Expenses, Net Income, and Cash should display actual values rather than empty placeholders

Disconnecting

If you need to disconnect:

1. Open the Accounting Data panel in the sidebar
2. Click Disconnect QuickBooks
3. Confirm the disconnection

After disconnecting:

• Access to your accounting data is revoked, and your saved goals, valuations, and financial analysis are permanently deleted (the confirmation prompt says so before you confirm)
• To reconnect, click the connect button again
• You will need to re-authorize access

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Application Layout

Top Bar

The top bar contains:

Your connection status and company name appear in the sidebar's Accounting Data panel, not the top bar.

Sidebar

The left sidebar is organized into grouped navigation with collapsible control panels:

1. Accounting Data - Connection status and the Connect Account button (Enter Data when you type your figures), and the Dashboard link
2. Data Controls - Collapsible panel with Period, Detail, and Years
3. Financial Statements - Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, Combined
4. Analysis - Trends, Ratios, Forecast, Goal Center, Valuation, plus a Forecast columns toggle
5. AI Insights - The AI Insights chat plus the AI Model and AI Context control panels (Silver and Gold; Bronze shows no AI Insights group)
6. Account - Chart of Accounts (with QuickBooks Online connected), Company Info, Settings, Resources
7. Sign Out (mobile) - Available in the sidebar on mobile devices

Main Content Area

The main area displays the currently selected section. Each section may contain:

• A section heading
• Tabs to switch between views within a section
• Tables of financial data
• Charts of trends
• Metric cards with key numbers at a glance

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Data Controls

The Data Controls panel sits below the Accounting Data panel in the sidebar. Click the Data Controls header to expand or collapse it. All three controls apply the moment you click them, so there is no separate Apply step, and they frame every section at once.

Period, Detail, and Years

Data Controls has three segmented controls:

On typed figures, Period is Annual only, because annual figures have no quarterly or monthly series.

Choosing a Time Window

2diff Business frames every section by these controls rather than by a start and end date:

• Set Period to Annual for a yearly view, or Quarterly or Monthly to zoom in
• Set Years to 3, 5, or 10 to choose how far back to look
• Set Detail to Summary, Detailed, or Compact

Every section refreshes immediately as you change them.

Display Mode (on each statement)

The display mode is set on the statement itself, not in Data Controls. At the top of Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, or Combined, use the Mode control:

Selecting a mode immediately updates the displayed statement.

Forecast Columns

To add projected columns to the statements and ratios, set Forecast columns to On in the sidebar's Analysis group. The dedicated Forecast tab has the full projection view with its Method, Growth, and Horizon controls (see Forecast below). Projected columns are visually distinguished from actual data columns.

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Dashboard

The Dashboard provides a snapshot of your business health.

Accessing the Dashboard

1. Click Dashboard in the sidebar
2. The Dashboard is the default view when you launch 2diff Business

Key Metrics

Four metric cards display at the top, under the heading Year-to-date snapshot. Together they answer: Am I selling? What is it costing me? Am I keeping any of it? How much is actually in the bank?

On manually entered figures the cards read Latest-year snapshot instead, because each figure covers a whole entered year. If your latest year has a Figures through date, they read Year-to-date snapshot, because that year is only partly entered.

Financial Charts

Below the metrics, under Trends at a glance, four line charts stack one above the other. They plot one point per full year across the years you have, each under its own year label, so you can read the direction of the business at a glance.

When the latest year is only partly complete (the current year to date, or a manual year with a Figures through date), the three dollar charts end on it as a hollow point labelled with its year to date, joined by a dashed line, so you can see where the year stands. Hover it for the date its figures run through. The Growth Rates chart skips that year, because a few months against a full year would look like a false decline. A note on the Profit & Loss overview names that year and the date its figures run through, and the cards above show its revenue, expenses, net income and cash so far.

Together the four charts tell one story:

1. Profit & Loss overview: is the business selling more, and keeping any of it?
2. Balance sheet health: is the underlying foundation getting stronger or weaker?
3. Cash: is the profit actually turning into money in the bank?
4. Growth Rates: which way, and how fast, is the business moving?

Chart 1: Profit & Loss overview

What it shows: Revenue, Operating expenses, and Net Income as three lines on one dollar axis.

What an owner can learn:

• Is revenue growing, flat, or shrinking? The Revenue line tells you scale and direction.
• Is the growth healthy? The classic trap is Revenue climbing while Net Income stays flat or falls. You are selling more but keeping less of every dollar. Often a sign of rising cost of goods sold, discounting, or a mix shift into lower-margin work.
• What is your overhead load? When the Operating expenses line climbs as fast as Revenue, overhead is eating the growth. The Ratios screen has the margin percentages behind this picture.

Chart 2: Balance sheet health

What it shows: Total Assets and Total Liabilities as two lines on one dollar axis.

What an owner can learn:

• Equity wedge. The gap between the Assets line and the Liabilities line is your net worth in the business. You want that gap growing.
• Leverage direction. When liabilities climb faster than assets, growth is being financed with debt and the cushion is shrinking.
• Short-term solvency. The Current Ratio (Current Assets divided by Current Liabilities) is on the Ratios screen. Above 1.0 means you can cover near-term obligations; 1.5 to 2.0 is typical for healthy small businesses.

Chart 3: Cash

What it shows: Operating Cash Flow (the cash the business generated or used each year) and Cash Position (the balance at each year end) as two lines on one dollar axis.

What an owner can learn:

• Did the business itself generate or burn cash? Operating Cash Flow separates operational activity from financing and investing.
• Is cash actually accumulating? Profit on the P&L does not always translate to cash. Accounts receivable grow, inventory builds, customers pay slowly. The Cash Position line tells you what is actually in the account.
• The "profitable but broke" warning. A profitable P&L combined with negative Operating Cash Flow and a flat or falling Cash Position almost always means a receivables or inventory problem.

Chart 4: Growth Rates

What it shows: Revenue YoY % and Net Income YoY % as two lines, each year compared with the year before.

What an owner can learn:

• Direction and momentum. Revenue growth above zero means revenue is expanding against the prior year. Below zero means it is contracting. The dollar charts tell you where you are; this one tells you which way you are moving.
• Operating leverage. When the Net Income line sits above the Revenue line, profit is growing faster than sales, meaning you are getting more efficient as you scale. When it sits below, profitability is decaying as you grow.
• Part years get no growth point. While the latest year is only partly complete it has no growth point, because comparing a few months against a full prior year would show a false decline. The note on the Profit & Loss overview names that year and the date its figures run through.

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Financial Statements

Accessing Financial Statements

Each financial statement has its own tab in the Financial Statements group in the sidebar. Click Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, or Cash Flow to navigate directly to the statement you need.

Use the Mode control at the top of each statement to change the display (dollars, dollar change, percent change, common size), and the Forecast columns toggle in the Analysis group to add projected periods. The Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow tabs read the same way, so the sections below describe what each statement contains.

Profit & Loss (Income Statement)

What it shows: Revenue, expenses, and profit for the selected period.

Sidebar tab: Click Profit & Loss

Table columns:

• Account - Category or line item
• One column per period in range, plus projected columns when Forecast columns is on

Key sections:

1. Income - Revenue sources
2. Cost of Goods Sold - Direct costs
3. Gross Profit - Income minus COGS
4. Expenses - Operating expenses by category
5. Net Operating Income - Profit from operations
6. Other Income and Other Expenses - Non-operating items
7. Net Income - Bottom line profit

Balance Sheet

What it shows: Assets, liabilities, and equity at a point in time.

Sidebar tab: Click Balance Sheet

Key sections:

1. Assets
   • Current Assets (cash, receivables, inventory)
   • Fixed Assets (equipment, property)
   • Other Assets
2. Liabilities
   • Current Liabilities (payables, short-term debt)
   • Long-Term Liabilities
3. Equity
   • Retained Earnings
   • Owner's Equity

Cash Flow Statement

What it shows: How cash moved in and out of your business.

Sidebar tab: Click Cash Flow

Key sections:

1. Operating Activities - Cash from business operations
2. Investing Activities - Cash for equipment, investments
3. Financing Activities - Cash from loans, owner draws

Exporting a Statement

Each statement has export buttons above the table:

In the default layout, both workbook exports open with a short Assumptions block above the statements: the base year the figures start from and four figures read from that year (cost of goods sold as a share of revenue, operating expenses, receivable collection days and payable days). When Forecast columns is on, the block also names the forecast method, the growth rate if one applies, the horizon and the frequency, so anyone reading the file sees the settings behind the projected columns. A figure the base year cannot supply is left blank, never shown as zero.

On mobile, these are grouped under an Export menu. The Combined view shows every year side by side and offers the same workbook exports.

Beside the workbook buttons (beside the Export menu on mobile) is a Planning workbook layout checkbox. Check it and both workbook buttons download a planning layout instead; Download CSV is not affected. It is available when Forecast columns is on, Method is Drivers, and your base year has both a Profit & Loss and a Balance Sheet. Until then the box is greyed out and a line under it says what is missing. With the box unchecked, the workbook exports keep the layout described above.

The planning layout is always annual, whatever Frequency is set to. It has one column per year, your base-year actual first and then each forecast year up to your Horizon, and its blocks run in this order:

1. Assumptions: every driver for each forecast year, including the growth opportunity and its Combined switch once the opportunity has a first-year revenue.
2. Income Statement. Operating income is shown before depreciation and amortization, which is its own line, and again after it as EBIT.
3. Balance Sheet, with Needed Financing.
4. Cash Flow Statement, for the forecast years only; its base-year column is blank.
5. Common-size: the income statement as a share of revenue and the balance sheet as a share of total assets. A figure is left blank when the base it divides by is zero.
6. Ratios, worked out on year-end balances. A ratio is left blank when it cannot be worked out, for example when the figure it divides by is zero; the leverage ratios and Dupont ROE are also blank when equity is zero or negative, and Revenue Growth is blank in the base-year column, which has no prior year. Operating Margin and Times Interest Earned use operating income before depreciation and amortization, as the Ratios screen does. Interest Debt to Equity counts all short-term debt, including borrowings filed under other current liabilities, so it can differ from the Ratios screen. In a year where Needed Financing is above zero, the ratios built on total or current assets note that it is not counted as debt.

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Common-Size Analysis

Common-size analysis expresses each line item as a percentage, making it easy to compare periods or benchmark against industry standards.

Accessing Common-Size Analysis

1. Navigate to Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet in the sidebar
2. Set the statement's Mode control to Common Size
3. The statement immediately updates to show percentage values

Profit & Loss (Common-Size)

Each line item is shown as a percentage of Total Revenue.

How to read it:

• Revenue = 100%
• All other items are percentages of revenue
• Example: If Payroll shows 25%, labor costs are 25% of revenue

What to look for:

• Gross profit as a percentage - Higher is generally better
• Each expense line as a percentage - Compare to prior periods
• Net income as a percentage - Your profit margin

Balance Sheet (Common-Size)

Each line item is shown as a percentage of Total Assets.

How to read it:

• Total Assets = 100%
• Each asset category shows its proportion
• Liabilities and Equity also sum to 100%

What to look for:

• Cash as a percentage - Liquidity position
• Receivables as a percentage - Collection efficiency
• Liabilities as a percentage - Leverage level

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Ratios

Accessing Ratios

1. Click Ratios in the sidebar
2. Switch between the Ratios and Recommendations tabs

Financial Ratios

The ratios table calculates 23 ratios for every year in view, grouped into the same four categories the app uses. For what each ratio measures and a worked example, see Financial Ratios Explained.

A few of the common ones, with what a healthy reading usually looks like:

When the latest year is only partly complete, a note above the table says so. When your connected accounting data can supply the same period one year earlier, that year shows Revenue Growth against the same period last year, and the ratios that divide a flow by a year-end balance (the turnovers, collection and payable periods, operating cycles, and the returns on assets and equity) on a trailing twelve month basis (the prior full year plus the year so far, less the same period last year). When there is no prior same period to compare against, for example manually entered annual figures, those ratios are left out for that year instead. Margins and liquidity ratios always show.

Recommendations

The Recommendations tab provides rule-based observations about your data:

• Highlights ratios outside normal ranges
• Identifies significant changes from prior periods
• Flags potential areas of concern
• Suggests areas of strength

Custom Ratios

Below the built-in ratios, the Custom ratios card lets you build your own ratio from any two of the standard statement figures (revenue, expenses, assets, and so on) or your own saved figures, and save it, so a metric specific to your business is calculated for every year in view alongside the standard set.

The card has two parts:

• Custom variables: a named number you type once, such as an owner salary addback, with a Name, a Value, and a Unit (Currency, Percent, or Number). The unit only sets how the value displays; the number you type is used as is, and a variable has the same value in every year. Select Add variable to add one (up to 20).
• Ratio definitions: a name, a numerator, a denominator, and a display format (Percent, Multiple (x), or Currency). Each side of the ratio is either a standard figure (Revenue, Gross Profit, Net Income, Total Assets, Accounts Receivable, Interest-Bearing Debt, and the other statement lines in the list) or one of your custom variables. Select Add ratio to add one (up to 20).

When the denominator is zero or missing for a year, that year shows a placeholder instead of a number. Custom ratios are labelled as yours and are saved to your account.

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Goal Center

Goal Center is included with your 2diff Business subscription.

What It Does

Goal Center lets you set financial targets and track actual performance against them:

• Define revenue, profit, expense, asset, and liability goals
• Set target dates (annual, quarterly, or monthly)
• Track progress with visual indicators
• Use goals as forecast inputs
• Quick-fill goals from existing forecasts

Accessing Goal Center

Subscribers see Goal Center in the Analysis group in the sidebar. The goals table lists each goal's metric, target, actual, progress, year-end pace, deadline, frequency, and status. Year-end pace projects your year to date to the full year and reads Ahead of pace or Behind pace; it reads No pace when a projection does not apply, such as a balance-sheet goal or a past deadline. Use Create Goal or Quick Fill to add goals, and the actions (...) menu on a row to edit or delete it. You can export your goals and their tracked progress to CSV or an Excel workbook; the export lists your active goals with Progress (%), Status and Year-end pace columns. The History panel shows goals you have archived so you can review past targets over time.

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Valuation

Valuation estimates what your business is worth using six methods side by side. For how earnings multiples give a planning estimate, and why it is not an appraisal, see Business Valuation.

Accessing Valuation

Click Valuation in the Analysis group in the sidebar. Each method shows its estimate with adjustable inputs:

• Book Value - Assets minus liabilities
• Revenue Multiple - Revenue times an industry multiplier
• SDE Multiple - Seller's discretionary earnings times a multiplier
• EBITDA Multiple - EBITDA times a multiplier
• Capitalized Earnings - Earnings divided by a capitalization rate
• Discounted Cash Flow - Projected cash flows discounted to today

A cross-method summary compares the results. The multiplier-based methods also show a sensitivity range: the same estimate at multipliers a half-step below and above the one you chose, so you can see how much rides on that one assumption. Set your default assumptions in Settings, on the Valuation Defaults card. Valuation is included with your 2diff Business subscription.

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Trend Analysis

Trend analysis has two homes: the dedicated Trends tab and the display modes on each statement.

Accessing Trend Views

From the Trends tab: click Trends in the sidebar for a period-over-period change table. Use its toggle to switch between $ Change and % Change, and the Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow tabs to change statement.

From a statement: navigate to Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, or Cash Flow and set the Mode control to a trend view:

• $ Δ - Shows the dollar change between consecutive periods
• % Δ - Shows the percentage change between consecutive periods

Reading Trend Data

When using the $ Δ or % Δ modes:

• Positive values indicate growth or increases from the prior period
• Negative values indicate declines or decreases from the prior period
• The first period column will not show a change value (no prior period to compare against)

Interpreting Trends

Upward trends: Growth in revenue, improvement in cash

Downward trends: May indicate declining sales or increasing costs

Seasonal patterns: Regular peaks and valleys tied to business cycles

Anomalies: Unusual spikes or dips worth investigating

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AI Insights

Accessing AI Insights

1. Click AI Insights in the sidebar
2. The first time, a Before you start note explains that the AI can be wrong and that important figures should be checked against the statements. Tick I understand and want to continue. and click Continue to AI Insights
3. The AI chat interface loads: a summary card of the current model and context, then the chat, with suggested questions above the message box and Clear chat history next to Send

AI Controls

The AI Model and AI Context items in the sidebar's AI Insights group configure how AI Insights analyzes your data. Both start closed; each shows its current setting (the model name, or how many context sections are on) so you can read it without opening it.

Choosing a model

Open AI Model to choose from a curated selection of AI models across three providers (new models added as they ship):

• OpenAI: GPT-5.5, GPT-5, GPT-5 Mini, GPT-5 Nano
• Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 4.7 (2diff Business Silver default), Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Haiku 4.5
• Google: Gemini 2.5 Pro, Gemini 2.5 Flash, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

The picker lists each model by name only. The models your plan includes sit under Your plan; any model that needs a higher plan appears greyed out in a separate group, and a note under the picker says greyed models need a subscription. The AI Models page groups every model into Flagship, Everyday, and Budget and shows which plan includes it.

Response Length

The Response Length control, inside AI Model under the model picker, sets how long answers are: Quick (short, to the point, and the default at the start of each visit), Medium, or Thorough (longer and more detailed). It changes the length of the answer, not the model.

Financial Context

Open AI Context. The Financial Context checkbox controls whether AI has access to your financial data:

• Off: General business questions, no data access
• On: AI analyzes your actual financial statements, ratios, and more

With Financial Context on, checkboxes let you include or exclude specific data types:

Financial Data:

• Profit & Loss: Income statement data
• Balance Sheet: Assets, liabilities, equity
• Cash Flow: Cash movement analysis
• Ratios: Calculated financial ratios
• Forecast: Your projected periods
• Goals: Your Goal Center targets
• Valuation: Your valuation inputs and results

Company Info (no PII):

• Industry & fiscal year: Your industry context and fiscal calendar

Unchecking data types reduces context size for focused queries.

Below the checkboxes, AI Context also shows which years the AI is reading, sets the trend detail (Annual, Quarterly, or Monthly), and, when Forecast is ticked, sets the forecast method and horizon.

Saved preferences

On the AI Preferences card in Settings, you can set your default model. This preference persists across sessions.

AI Reports

AI Reports are one-tap questions. On a phone, expand AI Reports above the message box for the chip row (the All reports chip lists every question by group); on a tablet the same strip sits above the message box, and from laptop width up they are the column beside the chat. The groups ask what the statements show about cash, spending, decisions and the bank, for example "Do I have enough cash to cover the next three months of expenses?" and "What should I fix before I talk to the bank?". The Standard reports group holds the pre-built analyses:

• Performance Summary - Overview of your financial position
• Key Ratios - Analysis of important ratios
• Cash Flow - Cash flow trends and observations
• Red Flags - Potential areas of concern
• Industry Benchmarks, Balance Sheet, and Profit and Loss prompts round out the set

Tap any report to send it. Every answer is analysis of your statements, not advice.

Custom Questions

To ask your own question:

1. Type in the input field at the bottom
2. Press Enter or click Send
3. Wait for the AI response (may take 5-15 seconds)

Example questions:

• "What are my top 5 expense categories?"
• "How does my gross margin compare to last year?"
• "What's driving the change in net income?"
• "Are there any concerning trends in my receivables?"

Understanding AI Responses

AI Insights analyzes your actual financial data to provide:

• Specific numbers from your financials
• Calculated ratios and percentages
• Period-over-period comparisons
• Contextual observations

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Forecast

Enabling Forecast

Two paths add a forecast:

1. In the sidebar's Analysis group, set Forecast columns to On to append projected columns to the statements and ratios
2. Or open the Forecast tab for the full projection view, with charts and its own controls

How Forecasting Works

2diff Business forecasts use your actual data to project future periods:

1. Actual periods - Periods with real data (shown normally)
2. Projected periods - Future periods appended to the right (visually distinguished)

For the method behind a week by week view of cash, see the 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast guide.

Forecast Settings

The Forecast tab's Projection Controls card holds the settings:

Method

• Level (copy) - Projects future periods from the most recent actual period (flat projection)
• Growth (compound) - Applies a compound growth rate to project increasing or decreasing values
• Goals (targets) - Holds each metric at its Goal Center target for every forecast year (Level when no goal has a target)
• Drivers (assumptions) - Builds the profit and loss from a short list of assumptions, described below

Growth

• Only visible when Method is set to Growth
• Set an annual rate (percent per year); positive values project growth, negative values project decline

Drivers

When Method is Drivers, a Drivers box opens under the controls. Revenue grows by your revenue growth percent each year; cost of goods sold is a percent of that revenue, and gross profit is what is left; operating expenses start from a dollar figure and grow at their own rate, so a business can show costs growing slower than sales; interest is your rate on the average of each year's opening and closing debt, from the year-end debt you type for each year; income tax is your rate on earnings before tax, and a loss year pays none; net income is what remains. Every box you leave blank uses your base year, so with every box blank the profit and loss matches Level. The Summary table adds Interest Expense, Earnings Before Tax (EBT), and Income Tax Expense rows. The Profit & Loss forecast columns on the Statements tab show each account at Level, and the exported workbook lists the driver values in its Assumptions block.

Under the Drivers boxes, twelve optional boxes take next year's revenue by month. Fill in all twelve and their total becomes that year's revenue in place of the revenue growth percent, and when you switch Frequency to Monthly or Quarterly, that year's revenue follows the pattern you typed, month by month and quarter by quarter, and so does cost of goods sold when it is a percent of revenue. Operating expenses, interest, income tax, and the cash flow split evenly across the year, and profit carries the difference. Later years still grow from your base year at the revenue growth percent, and the balance sheet still shows year-end figures. The months are used only when all twelve are filled in; until then a line under the boxes says how many you have entered, and the forecast keeps using the growth percent. A blank month is never read as zero. With a growth opportunity added to the statements (Combined), the twelve months are your existing business's revenue and the growth opportunity's revenue adds to them.

A Balance sheet drivers box sits under the Drivers box, with one row per year. The Accounts receivable (days), Inventory (days), Accounts payable (days), and Accrued expenses (% of operating expenses) boxes, and the Other current assets ($) and Other assets ($) boxes, use your base year in the first forecast year when left blank; in a later year, a blank box carries the year before. A blank Capital expenditure ($) box equals that year's depreciation, so your equipment value holds steady. The Minimum cash ($) box sets the lowest cash balance you want to keep each year (0 when the first year is blank; a blank later year carries the year before). Cash is the balancing figure: it is whatever is left once every other asset, debt, and equity line is set. If that would put cash below your minimum, cash stays at the minimum and the shortfall shows as Needed Financing. The Needed Financing card on the Forecast tab shows the peak amount and the first year you need it; the balance sheet shows the running total under Total Liabilities and Equity; the cash flow shows each year's amount. The app never borrows on its own. To close the gap, type more debt in the debt table or an owner investment. In the Owner investment (draw) box, a positive number is money you put into the business and a negative number is a draw you take out. Under Drivers, the forecast balance sheet and cash flow appear on the Forecast tab, the Combined tab, and the exported workbook; the Balance Sheet and Cash Flow tabs show actuals only.

When you type your own figures (2diff Business Bronze, or 2diff Business Silver with Data Source set to Manual entry) and pick the Drivers method, Add a growth opportunity under the Balance sheet drivers box plans one new revenue stream, such as a second location or a new product line. A company connected to an accounting system does not see it. It has no history, so you type its first-year revenue; until you do, the card asks you to type year-one revenue to run the growth opportunity. A later year takes a dollar figure, or a growth percent when its revenue box is blank. The stream has its own cost of goods sold percent, operating expenses, depreciation, receivable, inventory, and payable days, accrued expenses, and capital expenditure. The Add to the statements (Combined) switch sets what the forecast statements show: off, the existing business only; on, the business plus the stream, still on one Revenue line, with interest, tax, cash, and Needed Financing worked out once on the combined figures. Your minimum cash, debt, and owner investment apply either way. Remove growth opportunity deletes the stream and turns the switch off. The Growth opportunity on its own card (titled with your stream's name, for example "Growth opportunity on its own: Second location") shows the stream by itself, including its return on investment (operating profit after depreciation over the working capital and fixed assets it has needed so far), and, when your base year has a balance sheet, the Needed Financing with and without it. A year with no revenue shows a dash for the operating margin, and a year with no positive investment (nothing spent yet, or a stream its own payables fund) shows a dash for the return.

Horizon

• Sets how many years forward to project, 1 to 10 (default 3)

Frequency

• Shows the projection by year, quarter, or month (Annual / Quarterly / Monthly); quarterly views cover up to 5 years and monthly views up to 3
• When your latest year is only partly complete and an earlier full year is loaded, the forecast starts from that full year, and a note under the table says which year it used

Goals Method

When you have goals defined in Goal Center, the Goals (targets) option in the Method selector projects from them:

1. Set goals in Goal Center for key metrics
2. Open the Forecast tab, or turn on Forecast columns
3. Choose Goals (targets) in the Method selector
4. Statements display projections based on your goal targets

Annual goals are used directly for annual forecasts. For quarterly forecasts, targets are divided by 4. For monthly forecasts, targets are divided by 12. If no goals have target values, the system automatically falls back to the Level method.

This feature is included with your 2diff Business subscription.

Supported Statements

Forecast works on all three financial statements:

• Profit & Loss - Projects revenue and expenses
• Balance Sheet - Projects asset and liability positions
• Cash Flow - Projects operating, investing, and financing cash flows

Reading the Forecast Table

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Chart of Accounts

Accessing Chart of Accounts

1. Click Chart of Accounts in the sidebar
2. Your complete account listing loads

Table Contents

Using the Chart of Accounts

• Search: Use the search box to find specific accounts
• Verify: Confirm your account setup is correct

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Company Info

Accessing Company Info

1. Click Company Info in the Account group in the sidebar
2. Business profile information displays

Information Displayed

With QuickBooks Online connected, Company Info groups the profile from your accounting software into cards. A field only appears when your file has a value for it. When you type your figures, it shows the company name you entered.

• Business Identity - Company Name, Legal Name, Entity Type, Country
• Industry - Business Industry, Industry Detail, NAICS Code
• Contact - Address, Phone, Email, Website
• Accounting Details - Fiscal Year Start, Company Start Date, Time Zone
• Subscription - Status, Payroll, Accountant Access

Your connection status lives in the sidebar's Accounting Data panel, not on this screen.

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Settings

Accessing Settings

1. Click Settings in the Account group in the sidebar
2. The Settings page displays configuration cards

Account Information

View your account details:

• Email address
• User ID
• Account created date
• Last sign-in time
• Subscription status

Data Source

On 2diff Business Silver, the Data Source card switches between Accounting connection and Manual entry. Manual entry is the typed-figures path: you type annual figures on the Enter Data screen, and for a year you have only partly entered, fill in Figures through so the dashboard, ratios, and forecast treat it as a part year (see Entering Part of a Year). Bronze always uses typed figures, so it shows no Data Source card. To connect or disconnect QuickBooks, use the Accounting Data panel in the sidebar, not Settings.

Data Management

With QuickBooks Online connected, the Data Management card has a Refresh data button that pulls the current year again from your accounting software.

AI Preferences

On Silver and Gold, set your default AI model and review which context types are available. Saved preferences apply on each visit. Bronze has no AI, so this card does not appear.

Forecast Defaults

Set your preferred forecast settings. These are applied automatically when you turn on a forecast:

• Method - Level, Growth, Goals, or Drivers (with the Drivers box when Drivers is picked)
• Growth - Default annual growth rate
• Horizon - Default number of years to project

Valuation Defaults

Set default assumptions (multipliers, discount and growth rates) for the Valuation methods, so the Valuation tab opens with your preferred inputs.

Account Actions

Sign out of 2diff Business.

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Resources

Accessing Resources

1. Click Resources in the Account group in the sidebar
2. Links to support and compliance documents display

Available Links

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Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Problem: Cannot connect to your accounting data

Solutions:

1. Ensure you are signed in to 2diff Business
2. Check that pop-ups are not blocked
3. Try a different browser
4. Clear browser cache and cookies
5. Contact support if issue persists

Problem: Connection expires frequently

Solutions:

1. Tokens refresh automatically
2. If you see "Not Connected" after being connected, refresh the page
3. If connection fails repeatedly, disconnect and reconnect

Data Issues

Problem: Data shows empty placeholders or does not load

Solutions:

1. Verify your data connection is active
2. Check that your selected years have data
3. Try refreshing the page
4. Use the Refresh data button in Settings, under Data Management

Problem: Data seems incorrect

Solutions:

1. Verify the selected years match what you expect
2. Check the same report in your accounting software
3. Remember: 2diff Business only reads your data; it never writes to your books
4. Contact support with specific discrepancies

Display Issues

Problem: Tables or charts do not display properly

Solutions:

1. Refresh the page
2. Try a different browser (Chrome recommended)
3. Clear browser cache
4. Ensure JavaScript is enabled

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Getting Help

Support Channels

Email Support

Contact us at info@2diff.io

When contacting support, please include:

• Your account email
• Description of the issue
• Screenshots if applicable
• Steps to reproduce the problem

Response time: 1-2 business days

Additional Resources

• 2diff Business Quick Start - Simplified overview of both ways to start
• Enter Your Own Figures - The typed-figures chapter of this guide
• AI Insights Guide - Getting the most from the AI assistant (Silver and Gold)
• 2diff Business FAQ - Common questions
• Security Information - Data protection details

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Disclaimers

Data Accuracy

With QuickBooks Online connected, 2diff Business displays data retrieved directly from your accounting software. The accuracy of this data depends on:

• Correct data entry in your accounting software
• Proper account classification
• Timely transaction recording

2diff Business does not modify, create, or delete any data in your accounting software.

When you type your figures, 2diff Business builds your statements and analysis from what you enter, so the results are only as accurate as the figures you type. It calculates totals and derived statements from your inputs; it does not verify them against source records.

Financial Analysis

2diff Business provides financial analysis tools for educational purposes only. The information presented:

• Is not professional financial, tax, or legal advice
• Should not be the sole basis for business decisions
• Does not replace consultation with qualified professionals

Always consult with your accountant, bookkeeper, or financial advisor for important business decisions.

AI-Generated Content

AI Insights and other AI-powered features (Silver and Gold):

• Use artificial intelligence to analyze your data
• May occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information
• Should be verified against source data for critical decisions

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This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, accounting, or legal advice. Consult with a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. AI-generated insights may contain errors; verify information before taking action. Intuit and QuickBooks^® are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. Used with permission. Second Difference Solutions^®, LLC is an independent software provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Intuit Inc. Our applications integrate with QuickBooks^® products via Intuit's official APIs.