Businesses operate to make profits while minimizing expenditure. To do so, companies need to document their expenses and income. A company can do this in various ways.
One of the most effective ways that one can resort to doing so is by creating a financial statement. A financial statement provides information that can help assess the profitability of a company. The profit & loss report is one of them.
This report is also known as the Profit and Loss account. A brief overview of such a report suggests the expenditures and income of a company. The Profit and Loss Report finds utility in the calculation of profits.
What is a Profit and Loss Account
A profit and loss account provides regarding the revenues generated by a company in addition to its expenditures. A Profit and Loss report, when generated regularly to track profitability.
Companies usually differ concerning the time interval between the publishing of this report. These reports are easier to maintain if they follow a cycle.
You could use the Monthly cycle, the Weekly Cycle, or even a Yearly Cycle. You must choose this cycle smartly, as it can either make or break your financial management system.
Smaller businesses should prepare Profit and Loss reports on a more frequent basis, as their transactions are not that vast in number, which makes it possible to assess them frequently. Hence these businesses must make profit and loss reports regularly.
However, bigger businesses can afford to make these reports less frequently. As bigger businesses are usually more stable and are less prone to facing losses due to instability in the market, they don’t have to assess their financial standings as frequently as smaller businesses.
The Profit and Loss formula
The basic formula that is used to create this report is as follows:
Profit= Income/Revenue – Expenses
This formula will allow you to calculate the profits or losses your business is accumulating. An accountant must ensure that the resultant of this formula stays positive, which signifies a profitable business.
Why you should keep making Profit and Loss reports regularly
The Profit and Loss Account of a business allows the management board and third parties to understand the profitability of a business efficiently and without error. This financial statement has been commonly used by business persons and financial accountants while auditing their companies.
Writing a brief report of the net profits made by a company requires simple information, such as the earned revenue and expenditures. If you have access to this information, you can estimate how profitable your business is. If you observe that you are losing money in the business, you will be able to change your business tactics.
Thus, this report can help businesses bounce back after incurring losses. Third parties often try to invest in profitable companies. A clear profit and loss statement can help appeal to investors as well.
Investments made by third parties can help businesses expand. Thus, maintaining regular and clear profit and loss statements can provide multiple advantages to a company.
What comprises the Profit and Loss Report?
The profit and loss statement comprises several entries, such as the Revenue, Gross Profit, Cost of Sold Goods, and Expenses used for the operation of the business.
You can learn about how these entries affect the profit and loss statement so that you can make a profit and loss report or observe the same with minimal errors.
1. Revenue
This entry contains information about the total turnover of a company. Revenues are generated from selling products and primary services in addition to the passive revenue generated from assets.
2. Expenses of Operation
This entry provides information regarding the costs of running a business. Operational Expenses include rents, salaries that the business owes to its employees, and other utilities necessary to keep the business running. Operational Expenses also include the depreciation of services and assets owned by the company.
3. Cost of Sold Goods
This entry contains information regarding the costs of services and products availed by a company.
Learn more about cost of goods sold and how to calculate it.
4. Gross Profit
The gross profit made by a company can be calculated by subtracting the Cost of Sold Goods from the total revenue generated during the specified period. Gross profit is an important entry in the Profit and Loss Report.
5. Net Profit
This entry takes under consideration the total profits made after excluding all the expenses of a company. You can calculate the net profits of your business by subtracting all the costs incurred by the company from the Gross Profit.
Here is an example of Profit & Loss report generated from ProfitBooks accounting software:
What are the different types of Profit and Loss statements?
You can prepare a Profit and Loss Report by following one of two processes, the accrual method, and the cash method.
The Cash Method keeps track of all the cash that goes in and out of the business.
Business accounts for money received or paid by the business as revenues and liabilities, respectively. The use of this method is frequent among small businesses. You can also use this method to keep an account of your finances.
The Accrual Method of accounting mandates the record-keeping of revenues to be earned in the future as well. Similar record keeping can be seen regarding liabilities as well, as the business includes them before they impact the finances of the business.
How to calculate the profits made by a business
One can follow certain simple steps to generate a Profit and Loss Report. These steps include the calculation of the Gross Profit, the Net Profit, Net Operating, Profits before Taxes, and Net Profit.
The Gross Profit is calculated by subtracting the cost of sales from the Net amount of sales. When Operating Expenses are subtracted from the Gross Profit, Net Operating Profits are obtained.
The Profits before taxes are obtained by subtracting all the expenses from the total income of the business. The last step is the subtraction of the Income taxes from its Net Profits before Taxes.
Conclusion
The Profit and Loss Report has been identified as a resourceful statement of finances. One can resort to several methods to produce a Profit and Loss report. The cash method and the accrual methods are the options that a business can choose from, to make a profit and loss report.
The choice of following a method depends majorly upon the scale of the business. It consists of several entries, including the Revenues and Operational expenses.
Businesses must keep their Profit and Loss reports updated, as it leads to improved financial management. Improved financial management can lead to more profitability and growth. Technologies invented for this can help companies carry this out in an efficient manner.
ProfitBooks provides very user-friendly services, which feature several advanced features, making financial management practices easier for the companies. If you have too much on your plate, or if you want to minimize human effort, you can let ProfitBooks do the magic for you.
Head over to creating your account for free today and watch how your accounting needs can be taken care of in an efficient manner.
Also Read:-
- 5 Tips For Reducing Business Expenses
- What is the Cost Of Goods Sold (COGS) and How To Calculate it?
- Understanding Gross Profit Margin with Formula and Example
Top 12 FREE Software For Small Businesses
