This free profit and loss statement template calculates gross profit, operating income, net income and margins in your browser as you type. Enter revenue, cost of goods sold and operating expenses, compare with a prior period, import a bank CSV, then download a PDF, an Excel file with live formulas or a CSV.
There is no sign-up, nothing is uploaded, and your statements are saved only on your own device.
What is a profit and loss statement?
A profit and loss statement, also called an income statement or P&L, summarises a business’s revenue, costs and expenses over a period such as a month, quarter or year, and shows whether it made a profit or a loss. It starts with revenue, subtracts the cost of goods sold to give gross profit, subtracts operating expenses to give operating income, and ends with net income after other income and expenses. This free template calculates every subtotal and margin for you, uses the expense categories from IRS Schedule C, and exports to PDF, Excel and CSV.
- Price
- Free, no watermark
- Account
- Not needed
- Output
- PDF, Excel with formulas, CSV, print
- Categories
- IRS Schedule C expense lines
- Comparison
- Prior period, with $ and % change
- Import
- Bank or card CSV
- Privacy
- Saved on your device
How to Create a Profit and Loss Statement in 5 Steps
- Add your business and choose the period.
Enter your business name, upload a logo if you want one on the PDF, and pick your entity type and accounting basis (cash or accrual). Choose a month, quarter, year or custom period; the start and end dates fill in for you. Add the name of the person preparing the statement.
- Enter your revenue.
Add one line per source of income, for example product sales, services, shipping income or retainers. Total revenue updates as you type.
- Enter the cost of goods sold, if you sell products.
Turn on “This business sells products” to add purchases, materials, freight and direct labour. The generator subtracts them from revenue and shows your gross profit and gross margin.
- Enter operating expenses.
Seven common Schedule C lines are preloaded: advertising, contract labor, insurance, rent or lease, supplies, utilities and wages. Add any other line from the list, or import transactions from a bank CSV and let the keyword rules sort them into categories for you.
- Review and download.
Add other income or expenses such as interest, check net income and net margin, then download the statement as a PDF, an Excel workbook with live formulas or a CSV, or print it. Every statement is kept in History on your device, so you can reopen it next month and compare periods.
Profit and Loss Statement Example
Here is a complete example for a small online shop for one year, laid out the way the generator and its exports present it. Negative amounts are shown in parentheses, which is the convention on financial statements.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product sales | $112,000.00 |
| Shipping income | $8,000.00 |
| Total revenue | $120,000.00 |
| Purchases | $38,000.00 |
| Freight-in | $4,500.00 |
| Packaging | $2,500.00 |
| Total cost of goods sold | $45,000.00 |
| Gross profit (gross margin 62.5%) | $75,000.00 |
| Advertising | $9,600.00 |
| Commissions and fees | $3,900.00 |
| Insurance | $2,400.00 |
| Rent or lease | $18,000.00 |
| Supplies | $2,600.00 |
| Utilities | $3,000.00 |
| Wages | $9,000.00 |
| Total operating expenses | $48,500.00 |
| Operating income (operating margin 22.1%) | $26,500.00 |
| Interest income | $500.00 |
| Interest expense | ($2,000.00) |
| Net other income (expense) | ($1,500.00) |
| Net income (net margin 20.8%) | $25,000.00 |
Reading it from the top: revenue minus the cost of goods sold is gross profit, which tells you what is left to cover running costs. Gross profit minus operating expenses is operating income, the profit from the business itself. After interest, grants and one-off items you reach net income, the bottom line. Each margin divides that subtotal by total revenue, so you can compare periods of different sizes.
What’s Included in This P&L Template
- Schedule C categories
Expense lines follow Part II of IRS Schedule C, from advertising to wages, so the statement lines up with your tax return.
- Gross, operating and net margins
Turn on cost of goods sold for product businesses and every subtotal and margin recalculates as you type.
- Prior-period comparison
Add a second column for last month or last year and see the change in dollars and percent on every line and total.
- Bank CSV import
Import a transaction export from your bank or card. Keyword rules suggest a category for each line and you confirm before anything is added.
- PDF download
A clean, print-ready statement on A4 or US Letter with your logo, the period, margins and the preparer’s details.
- Excel with live formulas
Subtotals, results and margins are real formulas, so you can keep editing the workbook in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
- CSV export and print
Export the figures as a CSV for your accountant or bookkeeping software, or print straight from your browser.
- Private, with dark mode
No account and nothing stored on our servers. Statements, templates and your logo stay in your browser.
Profit and Loss Templates for Your Business
Start from a template with the revenue and expense lines that fit your type of work. Your business details are kept and the amounts start empty.
Freelancer or self-employed P&L template
Client projects and retainers as revenue, no cost of goods sold, and the Schedule C expense lines a sole proprietor uses most: contract labor, software, office expense, travel and professional services.
Retail or e-commerce P&L template
Product sales and shipping income, cost of goods sold with purchases, freight-in and packaging, plus advertising, commissions and fees, rent and wages.
Contractor or trades P&L template
Job revenue, materials, subcontractors and equipment rental as direct costs, and car and truck expenses, repairs, licences and insurance as operating expenses.
Online business or SaaS P&L template
Subscriptions and one-time sales, hosting and payment processing fees as direct costs, and software subscriptions, contract labor and advertising as operating expenses.
Profit and Loss Statement vs Income Statement vs Balance Sheet
A profit and loss statement and an income statement are the same report: both show revenue, expenses and the resulting profit or loss over a period. A balance sheet is different: it shows what the business owns and owes on a single date. A cash flow statement shows the cash that moved in and out during the period. Together the three make up a set of financial statements; the SEC’s beginners’ guide to financial statements walks through each one.
| Statement | Answers | Covers | Key lines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit and loss (income statement) | Did we make a profit? | A period: month, quarter or year | Revenue, cost of goods sold, expenses, net income |
| Balance sheet | What do we own and owe? | One date, such as 31 December | Assets, liabilities, equity |
| Cash flow statement | Where did the cash go? | A period | Operating, investing and financing cash flows |
How the Expense Lines Map to IRS Schedule C
Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs in the United States report business income on Schedule C (Form 1040), and Part II of that form lists expenses by category (see the IRS instructions for Schedule C for what each line includes). The operating expense lines in this template use the same names, such as advertising (line 8), car and truck expenses (line 9), contract labor (line 11), insurance (line 15), rent or lease (line 20), supplies (line 22), utilities (line 25) and wages (line 26). Keeping your books in these categories through the year means the totals are ready when you or your accountant prepare the return. Cost of goods sold is reported separately in Part III, which is why the template keeps it in its own section.
If your business is outside the United States, or you file a different form, the category names are only labels: rename any line, or add your own, and the maths is unchanged.
Compare This Period With the Last One
Tick “Add a prior-period comparison column” in the sidebar to add a second amount to every line. The statement then shows the change in dollars and in percent next to each line and under every subtotal, with decreases in parentheses. Give the column any heading you like, such as “Last year” or “Budget”. When you start a new statement for the next period, this period’s amounts move into the prior column automatically, so month-on-month comparisons take no extra typing.
Import Transactions From a Bank CSV
Most banks, card issuers and payment platforms let you export transactions as a CSV file. Click “Import bank CSV”, choose the file, and the generator reads it in your browser: it finds the date, description and amount columns (or separate debit and credit columns), skips transfers and card payments, and suggests a statement line for each transaction from its description. Payouts from Stripe, PayPal or Square go to revenue; Meta or Google Ads to advertising; Upwork or Fiverr to contract labor; Gusto or ADP to wages; Verizon or an electricity company to utilities, and so on. You review every suggestion in a table, change any category, untick anything you don’t want, and only then are the amounts added to the statement. The file never leaves your device.
Download as PDF, Excel or CSV
- PDF: a one- or two-page statement with your logo, the period, entity type and accounting basis, every subtotal and margin, and the comparison columns if you use them.
- Excel (.xlsx): the same layout with live formulas. Subtotals are SUM ranges and gross, operating and net income are cell formulas, so the workbook recalculates when you edit it. It opens in Excel, Numbers, LibreOffice and Google Sheets.
- CSV: the figures as plain data for your accountant or bookkeeping software.
- Print: print directly, or choose “Save as PDF” in your browser’s print dialog, which keeps every language and font exactly as typed.
Every export carries the line “Unaudited, prepared by management”, the name of the preparer and the date it was prepared. That is the standard wording for a statement a business prepares itself, as opposed to one reviewed or audited by an independent accountant, and it is what lenders, landlords and grant bodies expect to see on a self-prepared P&L.
This tool and page are a bookkeeping aid and general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Figures you enter or import are not checked against your records. For tax filings, loan applications or anything with legal weight, have the statement reviewed by a qualified accountant or follow your tax authority’s guidance.
Need the sales side first? Create and send invoices with the free invoice generator, then bring the totals into your profit and loss statement at the end of the month. For letters that go with your statements, design a matching letterhead with the same logo.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this profit and loss statement template really free?
Yes. You can create, compare, download and print as many statements as you need. There is no sign-up, no subscription and no watermark on the PDF or Excel files.
Is a profit and loss statement the same as an income statement?
Yes. Profit and loss statement, income statement, P&L and statement of operations all describe the same report: revenue minus expenses for a period, ending in net income or net loss. Small businesses usually say P&L; accountants and larger companies usually say income statement.
Where are my statements saved?
In your own browser, using its built-in storage. Nothing is uploaded to our servers, so only you can see them. They stay until you delete them or clear your browser data, so download a PDF or Excel copy of anything you need to keep.
Can I compare this month with last month, or this year with last year?
Yes. Turn on the prior-period comparison column, type last period’s amounts next to this period’s, and the statement shows the change in dollars and percent on every line and total. When you start the next statement, this period’s figures move into the prior column for you.
Can I import transactions from my bank?
Yes. Export a CSV from your bank, card or payment account and click “Import bank CSV”. The file is read in your browser, each transaction gets a suggested category based on its description, and you confirm or change every line before the amounts are added. Transfers and card payments are skipped so they are not counted as expenses.
Does the Excel file keep the formulas?
Yes. Total revenue, total expenses, gross profit, operating income, net income, the margins and the comparison columns are all written as formulas, not pasted numbers. Change any amount in the workbook and everything below it recalculates.
What does “Unaudited, prepared by management” mean?
It means the business prepared the statement itself from its own records and no independent accountant has audited, reviewed or compiled it. The line appears on every PDF, Excel and CSV export, together with the preparer’s name and the date, so anyone reading the statement knows how it was produced.
Can I use this statement for a loan, a landlord or my tax return?
Many lenders, landlords and grant programmes accept a self-prepared profit and loss statement from a sole proprietor or small business, often alongside bank statements or a prior tax return, but each has its own requirements, so check what they ask for. For a tax return the category totals are a starting point; the figures should be checked against your records by you or your accountant.
Should I choose cash basis or accrual basis?
Cash basis records income when it is received and expenses when they are paid; most freelancers and small businesses use it because it matches the bank account. Accrual basis records income when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred, even if the money moves later, and is usual for businesses that hold inventory or invoice on credit. Pick the one you use for your books; the setting is printed on the statement. IRS Publication 538 explains both methods and when a business must use accrual.
Can I use it outside the United States?
Yes. Choose from 35 currencies and rename any line. The Schedule C names are only the default labels; the structure of revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses and net income is the same in every country.
Need something else? Browse our other free tools for small businesses, including an invoice generator, a letterhead maker and a background remover.