Most months follow a pattern. Revenue lands in a familiar range. Expenses hit their usual categories. The P&L looks roughly like last month's P&L, adjusted for seasonality. You know what to say because you have said a version of it before.
And then there is the month where something unusual happened.
Revenue is three times higher than any previous month. Or net income is negative despite normal revenue because a single large expense consumed everything. Or one income category makes up 100% of revenue for the first time. Or a line item appears that has never appeared before.
These months require more care than the routine ones. What you say — and how quickly you say it — determines whether the client feels informed or blindsided.
Spot the anomaly before the client does
The bookkeeper who flags something unusual before the client notices it is trusted. The bookkeeper who sends a routine summary and waits for the client to reply asking "what is this $8,000 charge" has lost an opportunity to demonstrate value.
Before writing the monthly summary for any unusual month, scan the P&L for six things: a net loss when the client normally profits, revenue at zero or near-zero, a single expense category that dominates total costs, a single client or revenue source making up nearly all income, any line item where expenses clearly exceed corresponding revenue, and any negative line items that should not exist.
Each of these warrants at least one sentence of explanation in the email — not buried at the end, but in the body of the narrative where the client will see it.
The language that works for each type of anomaly
Revenue spike: "Revenue this month was $84,000 — significantly higher than your usual range. This appears to reflect [the large project completion in March / the seasonal spike we discussed / a timing difference where February invoices were collected in March]. Worth confirming this matches what you expected."
Revenue near zero: "Revenue came in at $1,200 this month, well below the usual range. If this reflects a planned slow period or a change in the business, no action needed — but I wanted to flag it in case it was unexpected."
One-off large expense: "Total expenses were elevated this month due to the $12,000 equipment purchase. Stripping that out, underlying expenses were in line with recent months."
Revenue concentration: "One client accounted for 94% of revenue this month. That is worth keeping in mind as context for the numbers — strong month overall, but the dependence on a single source is something to watch."
Net loss: "The business finished slightly in the red this month — expenses exceeded revenue by $2,400. The main driver was [specific cause]. [Whether this is a one-off or a trend worth watching]."
In each case, the structure is the same: state what you observed, explain why if you know, and tell the client whether this is something to act on or simply to be aware of.
When you do not know the cause
Sometimes a number looks unusual and you genuinely do not know why. A transaction category that spiked with no obvious explanation. A revenue figure that does not match the activity you can see. In these cases, saying so is better than guessing.
"I noticed that marketing expenses were $6,800 this month — about four times the usual amount. If this reflects a planned campaign or a one-off spend, let me know and I will make a note. If it was not expected, it may be worth checking."
Asking the client a specific, well-framed question is not a sign of weakness. It is evidence that you are paying attention.
The first-draft problem
The challenge with unusual months is that they take more time to write about than normal ones. You have to identify the anomaly, understand it, and then translate it into plain language that a non-accountant can follow. For a practice with 15 clients, this adds up.
Figurenote automatically detects six categories of P&L anomalies — net loss, zero or near-zero revenue, expense concentration, revenue concentration, expenses exceeding revenue, and negative line items — and flags them before generating the draft. The first draft addresses them directly, in plain English, so you are editing rather than writing from scratch when an unusual month lands.
Free for one client. No credit card required.