But it's a binary choice for a company to select one method of accounting or the other. I know you can get both views from within QB but for tax filing purposes you're either cash or accrual.

If we've elected to use accrual-basis accounting then when we sign the contract for a deal we book that revenue immediately (whereas if we're cash basis it's not on the books until it's in our bank acct). But by using a P&L report that shows us as having made all that money which can be dangerous if you're using those numbers to plan.

I'm just wondering what the conditions are under which it's desirable for a startup to elect to use accrual-basis accounting for their books? You can get the cash-basis view in QB while being an accrual-basis company but what's the advantage of introducing that complexity?