Understanding your finance dashboard

Finance gives you a simple view of the money and animal values connected to your operation. Start here for everyday tracking, then open Advanced records only when you or a bookkeeper need more detail.

Choose whose records you are viewing

Open Dashboard > Money > Finance, then select Open Finance. The line below the heading shows the person or organization being tracked and the name of its business records. If you manage more than one set, choose the correct owner before adding or reviewing money.

The main dashboard separates two ideas:

• Estimated value is what your owned animals may be worth today. It uses a management value or an eligible Crestimate, Creatures' data-based estimate of current market value, when one is available, then falls back to recorded cost. It is for planning and does not change tax basis or accounting records.
• Profit, Income, and Expenses come from saved money entries for This month, This year, or All time. Profit is income minus expenses for the chosen period.

Under Estimated value, Cost basis shows the recorded starting value of your animals. Unrealized gain or Unrealized loss is the difference between estimated value and cost basis. It is not a completed sale or saved profit.

Review the details behind the totals

The Income and Expenses panels group saved entries by category. Recent activity lists the latest entries and Creatures-generated finance activity. Select a row to review its amount, date, source, who it was with, and any invoice link or attached documents.

The Animals panel lists up to 12 animals owned by the selected person or organization. Value compares their cost basis, estimated value, and unrealized change. Profit shows linked income, expenses, and profit for the chosen period. In Profit, a note identifies any group-only amounts: they count in the overall totals but are not divided among individual animals here.

Use Add animal values or Review current values to update animal estimates. Management balance sheet groups values by intended use. Use View invoices when you need to bill a buyer for a private sale.

If a total looks incomplete, first check the record owner, time period, and whether the entry was connected to the right animal. A saved entry with no animal still counts in the overall totals, but not in an animal row.

Related information

• Recording money in and out
• Reviewing and updating your animal values
• An animal's finances and ROI
• Send and get paid on a private invoice

Updated on: 03/09/2026