This free profit and loss template gives a UK small business or limited company a full income statement on one sheet. Enter the year’s revenue, cost of sales, overheads and interest, and it calculates gross profit, gross margin, operating profit, profit before tax and profit after tax, with a prior-year column and a variance on every line.
How is the statement laid out?
The P&L Statement sheet follows the order an accountant would use:
- Revenue: Sales / turnover and Other income.
- Cost of sales: Materials / cost of goods, Subcontractors and Direct labour, giving gross profit and gross margin %.
- Operating expenses: wages and salaries, rent and rates, utilities, repairs, vehicle costs, marketing, IT and communications, professional fees, insurance, depreciation and other costs, giving operating profit.
- Other income and expenses: Interest income and Interest payable.
- Tax: a corporation tax line for limited companies, then profit after tax.
The tiles across the top show total revenue, gross profit, operating profit and profit after tax for the current year.
Reading the variance column
Variance is current year less prior year. A rise in revenue is good news; a rise in a cost line is worth a second look. Gross margin % is often the most useful single figure, because it shows whether pricing keeps pace with the cost of what you sell.
Which template should a sole trader use?
This statement uses management-accounts headings, which suit companies and businesses reporting to a bank or investor. If you are a sole trader keeping records for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, the self-employed profit and loss template uses HMRC’s 15 expense categories instead, so its totals drop straight into your quarterly updates.
