Profit and Loss Template

Free Profit and Loss Template (P&L Template)

Download CFI’s free Profit and Loss template (P&L template) to easily create your own income statement.  After downloading the Excel file, simply enter your own information in all of the blue font color cells which will automatically produce a monthly or annual statement as the output.  The downloadable Excel file includes 4 templates. A Statement of Profit and LossProfit and Loss Statement (P&L)A profit and loss statement (P&L), or income statement or statement of operations, is a financial report that provides a summary of a company's revenues, expenses, and profits/losses over a given period of time.  The P&L statement shows a company's ability to generate sales, manage expenses, and create profits. (also called an Income StatementIncome StatementThe Income Statement is one of a company's core financial statements that shows their profit and loss over a period of time. The profit or loss is determined by taking all revenues and subtracting all expenses from both operating and non-operating activities.This statement is one of three statements used in both corporate finance (including financial modeling) and accounting.) summarizes a company’s income and expenses for a period of time to arrive at its net earnings for the period.

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How to use the Profit and Loss Templates

Here are the steps to follow to effectively use your templates:

1. Download the Excel file (see all free templatesExcel & Financial Model TemplatesDownload free financial model templates - CFI's spreadsheet library includes a 3 statement financial model template, DCF model, debt schedule, depreciation schedule, capital expenditures, interest, budgets, expenses, forecasting, charts, graphs, timetables, valuation, comparable company analysis, more Excel templates)
2. Use the monthly or annual worksheet, depending on what type of statement you want to produce
3. Replace all the blue cells that contain hardcoded numbers with your company’s information
4. Double-check to ensure all the formulas in black cells are working properly
5. Save as a new file and consider saving a version as PDF as well as XLS

The two types of templates included in the file are shown below.

#1 Monthly Profit and Loss Template (P&L Template)

The monthly P&L template is perfect for businesses that require regular reporting and detail.  By showing all of the information in a series of monthly columns, much more detail is visible than if only the annual figures were shown.

The monthly profit and loss template is perfect for small, medium, and large businesses as it can easily be adjusted to add or eliminate detail as required. Learn more about monthly cash flow forecast modelingMonthly Cash Flow Forecast ModelWith a rolling cash flow forecast, the number of periods in the forecast remains constant (e.g. 12 months, 18 months, etc.).  The forecast is rolled forward every time there is a month of historical data to input.  Rolling forecasts work best when key cash flow drivers are modeled explicitly and directly drive.

Fill out the form above to download the Excel file.

#2 Annual Profit and Loss Template (P&L Template)

For businesses that have been in operation for several years, it may be helpful to show an annual (full fiscal yearFiscal Year (FY)A fiscal year (FY) is a 12 month or 52 week period of time used by governments and businesses for accounting purposes to formulate annual financial reports. A Fiscal Year (FY) does not necessarily follow the calendar year. It may be a period such as October 1, 2009 – September 30, 2010. or year-to-dateYear to Date (YTD)Year to date (YTD) refers to the period from the beginning of the current year to a specified date. Year to date is based on the number of days from the beginning of the calendar year (or fiscal year). It is commonly used in accounting and finance for financial reporting purposes.) statement.  The annual profit and loss template below follows the same format and structure as the monthly version, however, it doesn’t have a total column at the end that sums up each of the periods.

This template is ideal for any size business and can easily be changed by adding or removing line items (rows) as necessary. It is also useful for performing year-over-year (YoY) analysisYear over Year Analysis (YoY) TemplateThis Year over Year Analysis (YoY) template demonstrates how to perform a YoY analysis in financial data. YoY stands for Year over Year and is a type of.

Fill out the form above to download the free annual P&L template Excel file.

Components of the Template

While each income statement is unique to every company, there are many common line items that you will see over and over again.

The most common P&L line items include:

• Revenue streamsRevenue StreamsRevenue Streams are the various sources from which a business earns money from the sale of goods or provision of services. The types of revenue that a business records on its accounts depend on the types of activities carried out by the business. See categories and examples (also called sales streams)
• Returns, Refunds, Discounts
• Total Net Revenue
• Cost of Goods SoldAccountingOur Accounting guides and resources are self-study guides to learn accounting and finance at your own pace. Browse hundreds of guides and resources.
• Gross ProfitGross ProfitGross profit is the direct profit left over after deducting the cost of goods sold, or "cost of sales", from sales revenue. It's used to calculate the gross profit margin and is the initial profit figure listed on a company's income statement. Gross profit is calculated before operating profit or net profit.
• Advertising & Promotion
• DepreciationDepreciation ExpenseDepreciation expense is used to reduce the value of plant, property, and equipment to match its use, and wear and tear, over time. Depreciation expense is used to better reflect the expense and value of a long-term asset as it relates to the revenue it generates. & Amortization
• Rent and Office
• Salaries, Benefits & Wages
• Telecommunication
• Travel
• Utilities
• Selling, General & AdministrativeSG&ASG&A includes all non-production expenses incurred by a company in any given period. This includes expenses such as rent, advertising, marketing, accounting, litigation, travel, meals, management salaries, bonuses, and more. On occasion, it may also include depreciation expense (SG&A)
• Earnings Before Interest & TaxesEBIT GuideEBIT stands for Earnings Before Interest and Taxes and is one of the last subtotals in the income statement before net income.  EBIT is also sometimes referred to as operating income and is called this because it's found by deducting all operating expenses (production and non-production costs) from sales revenue. (EBIT)
• Interest ExpenseInterest ExpenseInterest expense arises out of a company that finances through debt or capital leases. Interest is found in the income statement, but can also be calculated through the debt schedule. The schedule should outline all the major pieces of debt a company has on its balance sheet, and calculate interest by multiplying the
• Earnings Before TaxesEarnings Before Tax (EBT)Earnings Before Tax (EBT), is found by deducting all relevant operating expenses and interest expense from sales revenue. Earnings Before Tax is used for analyzing the profitability of a company without the impact of its tax regime.  This makes companies in different states or countries more easily comparable (EBT)
• Income TaxesAccounting For Income TaxesIncome taxes and its accounting is a key area of corporate finance. Having a conceptual understanding of accounting for income taxes enables a company to to maintain financial flexibility. Tax is an intricate field to navigate and often confuses even the most skilled financial analysts.
• Net EarningsNet IncomeNet Income is a key line item, not only in the income statement, but in all three core financial statements. While it is arrived at through the income statement, the net profit is also used in both the balance sheet and the cash flow statement.

How to Modify the Profit and Loss Template (P&L Template)

All the CFI templatesExcel & Financial Model TemplatesDownload free financial model templates - CFI's spreadsheet library includes a 3 statement financial model template, DCF model, debt schedule, depreciation schedule, capital expenditures, interest, budgets, expenses, forecasting, charts, graphs, timetables, valuation, comparable company analysis, more Excel templates included in the free Excel file can be easily edited and changed to suit your own business.

If you require more line items, simply insert additional rows in the section where you need to add revenues or expenses.  Then check to make sure the formulas adding up the totals capture those new rows.

If you need to remove line items from the templates, simply delete unnecessary rows and ensure all formulas are still working properly.

To learn more about the details of financial reporting, check out PWC’s free guide to financial statement presentation https://www.pwc.com/financial-statement-presentation.

Additional Resources

Thank you for checking out CFI’s free templates for making your own annual and monthly P&L statements in Excel.  To keep learning and advancing your career as a certified financial analystCertified Financial AnalystCFI Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst program is your path to become a certified financial analyst. With 12 required courses on topics ranging from accounting and finance fundamentals to financial modeling, valuation and advanced Excel skills, the CFI financial analyst certification will help, these additional resources will be helpful:

• Analysis of financial statementsAnalysis of Financial StatementsHow to perform Analysis of Financial Statements. This guide will teach you to perform financial statement analysis of the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement including margins, ratios, growth, liquiditiy, leverage, rates of return and profitability. See examples and step-by-step instruction
• What is financial modeling?What is Financial ModelingFinancial modeling is performed in Excel to forecast a company's financial performance. Overview of what is financial modeling, how & why to build a model. A 3 statement model links income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. More advanced types of financial models are built for valuation, plannnig, and
• Valuation methodsValuation MethodsWhen valuing a company as a going concern there are three main valuation methods used: DCF analysis, comparable companies, and precedent transactions. These methods of valuation are used in investment banking, equity research, private equity, corporate development, mergers & acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and finance
• DCF financial modeling guideDCF Model Training Free GuideA DCF model is a specific type of financial model used to value a business.  DCF stands for Discounted Cash Flow, so the model is simply a forecast of a company’s unlevered free cash flow discounted back to today’s value.  This free DCF model training guide will teach you the basics, step by step with examples and images