Profit and loss statement — it all goes into the income statement

June 14, 2022

Profit and loss statement — it all goes into the income statement

Mit dem Jahresabschluss wird die Buchführung eines jeden Geschäftsjahres abgeschlossen. Der Jahresabschluss hat große Relevanz, unter anderem, weil er die gesamtwirtschaftliche Situation eines Unternehmens repräsentiert. Ein Jahresabschluss kann jedoch auch nichtig sein. Wir von der Steuerkanzlei Martin Bleckmann in Köln erklären Ihnen, ab wann das der Fall ist und welche rechtlichen Folgen ein nichtiger Jahresabschluss mit sich bringt.

  • The most important things in brief
  • Meaning and purpose of a profit and loss statement
  • This is how a profit and loss statement is structured
  • This content belongs in a P&L
  • Not everything is intended for the profit and loss statement

It is sometimes not so easy to consider the success or loss of your own company. Those affected often only include some of the important key figures and draw incorrect conclusions. With the help of a profit and loss statement (P&L for short), you can see exactly how much money you earn and how much your expenses are. This results in a Exact statement about the situation of your company formulate.

Strictly speaking, the income statement is a Equity sub-account, which is broken down in more detail for better traceability. For larger companies in particular, the preparation of a P&L can be confusing and lengthy. That is why bringing in a tax advisors or useful to a tax advisor. At Martin Bleckmann Tax Office, we are happy to advise you on your profit and loss statement at any time.

The most important things in brief

  • A profit and loss statement is used to determine the profit or loss of a period of time.
  • Expenditure and revenue are compared.
  • A balance in income means loss, and one in expenditure corresponds to profit.


Meaning and purpose of a profit and loss statement


A profit and loss statement is ultimately an accurate Breakdown of all income and expenditure. These will Faced withto be able to identify a loss or gain. Expenses and income are divided according to account management categories. This provides a better overview and any errors are noticed more quickly.

In addition to the balance sheet, the profit and loss statement is an important Part of the financial statements of your company. It must be produced by every company that double bookkeeping subject to. You decide for yourself the period for which the income statement is created. However, they must be part of the financial statements.

This is how a profit and loss statement is structured


In principle, you can choose between two forms of presentation for the P&L. At the Squadron form Are the costs and income after Gross profit, operating profit and profit after tax calculated. All items, regardless of whether revenue or expenditure, are written one below the other and added or settled accordingly.

At the Account form As with account management, debit and debit are available on one page each. Alle Expenditure is on target written. Die Income belongs to you and include your company's revenue. Both sides must be balanced in the end. The side with the larger final amount determines the amount of the difference with the balance of the other side. A balance on the debit side means a profit. If it is on the credit page, your company has made losses.

This content belongs in a P&L


As already mentioned, the income statement is a comparison of income and expenditure. The latter in particular result in a relatively large number of entries based on the subdivision of accounting. Die most important expenditure They look as follows:

  • operating costs
  • personnel costs
  • production costs
  • advertising costs
  • Depreciation
  • energy costs
  • taxes

In terms of income, however, only few points can be found in the income statement. In particular, these include the following categories:

  • Sales revenue
  • interest income
  • Other operating income

Not everything is intended for the profit and loss statement


Even though all expenditure and revenue are compared with each other in the income statement, not all types of data are included. These include Changes in equity by third parties. Furthermore, only income accounts with the income statement are included. This means that any inventory accounts automatically not part of it. This is due to the fact that the income statement is a sub-account of equity, which is a passive account. It is important that in the income statement Expenses and revenues are not calculated may be allowed. On the contrary, it makes sense for the data to be subdivided in as much detail as possible. A profit and loss statement continues to have never an initial valuebecause it relates to a specific period of time. If you have any questions about the income statement, please contact our tax office Martin Bleckmann.

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