Free Profit and Loss Templates

Businesses use profit and loss (P&L) templates to list revenue and expenses to determine profitability. Use a P&L template to calculate your net income (gross income minus expenses), and whether you need to increase income or reduce costs. 

Whether a business sells goods or provides services, a P&L statement can help determine how it has been performing in the past and predict how it may perform in the future. For new businesses, a profit and loss statement will give you a good idea of how things are going. Regardless of the type of business, the first step is to determine the period of time to be evaluated — this is usually a quarter but can be a month, a year, or even a week. 

P&L statements are typically prepared by owners or accountants, and used by owners, officers, and shareholders to get a feel for the state of the business. A P&L statement can also give potential investors or buyers a quick view of the state of the business.

Individuals can also use a profit and loss template to track their personal expenses and income so they know if they are saving money or spending more than they make. 

While P&L templates may vary, most include the following components: 

• Company Name: Enter the name of your company. 
• Statement Reporting Period: Select a reporting period for the P&L statement (e.g., weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.). 
• Revenue: List all sources of revenue (e.g., sales, dividends, interest, rent, etc.) and the associated monetary amounts.  
• Gross Revenue: List and review your gross revenue. 
• Cost of Goods Sold: Enter the cost of goods sold by your company. This figure includes materials and labor costs, but excludes indirect expenses, such as sales and distribution costs. 
• Gross Profit: Review your gross profit (i.e., your gross revenue minus COGS) for accuracy.  
• Expenses: Itemize all of your expenses (e.g., wages and benefits, rent or mortgage, utilities, office supplies, etc.).  
• Total Expenses: Add up all your itemized expenses to find your total expenses.
• Net Income: Calculate your net income by subtracting your total expenses from your gross profit. 

Additionally, some more advanced P&L templates include the following additional components: 

• Reductions: Enter any less sales returns, less sales discounts, or less cost of goods sold related to inventory, which will affect inventory costs (e.g., shipping, handling, insurance, etc.).  
• Net Sales: To calculate net sales, subtract any discounts, allowances, or returns from your gross sales amount. 
• Cost of Sales: List the total of all the costs accrued by selling your products or services. 
• Tax Rate: Enter the tax rate your organization pays on its earned income.  
• Taxes: Itemize your expenses related to taxes to determine your true net income after taxes. Doing so helps you estimate your organization’s income tax liabilities. 
   

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll see your net profit or loss.

Additionally, note that operating income can be determined by subtracting gross profit from total expenses, and that operating expenses can be determined by adding all expenses.

For more resources, see our selection of financial planning templates and business plan templates.