> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.qlero.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Why do some rows show a dash or italics?

> What an empty cell means, and where the grey italic figures come from.

## A dash

A dash means there's nothing to show in that cell, for one of two reasons.

**The amount is zero.** Nothing of that kind happened on that row this period.

**The column doesn't apply at that level.** Each figure belongs where it's produced: costs and earnings on contracts, payments on your payee row, transfers on the rows they move between. So a payee row shows a dash under Earnings even when your contracts earned, because earnings arrive at the payee through the Transfers columns rather than directly.

Opening and Closing are the exceptions. They apply at every level, so they're filled in on every row.

## Grey italic figures

Italics mean the row is collapsed and you're seeing the total of what's hidden underneath. Expand the row and the italics are replaced by the real figures on the rows they came from.

Closing balance is never shown that way. A collapsed payee or account always shows its own closing balance, which isn't the sum of its children: a negative contract balance stays on that contract rather than reducing what the account holds.

## Next steps

* See what each column holds in [What is the ledger view for?](/artists/statements/ledger-what-it-is).