Templates and analytical tools only - not personalized financial, tax, accounting, or legal advice. P&L line classification, revenue recognition (ASC 606 / IFRS 15), and basis-of-accounting choice materially affect the figures. Review with a CPA before sharing externally (lender, investor, tax preparer).
Generate a Profit and Loss statement with period-over-period comparison and key margin metrics.
When to use
- Monthly or quarterly P&L review
- Comparing actuals to a prior period or budget
- Building a financial summary for a business partner, lender, or investor
- Checking gross margin, operating margin, and net margin trends
For advanced financial modeling (scenario analysis, DCF), load the financial-modeler skill.
Required first prompt - basis of accounting
Before generating the P&L, ask:
Basis of accounting:
cash/accrual/modified cash- REQUIRED. This materially changes what counts as "revenue" and "expense" for the period and which schedule (cash vs accrual) ties to the cash-flow statement. Do not generate a P&L without this declaration.
The P&L header MUST display basis_of_accounting: <selected> so any downstream reader sees it.
ASC 606 / IFRS 15 deferred-revenue treatment (accrual filers)
For SaaS / subscription / annual-prepay / multi-element / progress-billed contracts, recognize revenue as performance obligations are satisfied, not when invoiced or cash is collected. Common SMB pitfalls:
- Annual prepay SaaS - invoice $12,000 in January; recognize $1,000 / month; remainder sits in deferred revenue liability. A SaaS SMB selling annual prepay overstates revenue 12× without this treatment.
- Implementation / setup fees - generally recognize ratably over the expected customer life unless distinct from the subscription.
- Variable consideration (rebates, refunds, usage credits) - estimate and constrain per ASC 606-10-32-11.
- Right of return - if material, recognize net of estimated returns.
Cash-basis filers do not apply ASC 606 - revenue equals cash collected in the period - but should still note the deferred-revenue economic reality when sharing the P&L externally.
Inputs
- Basis of accounting: cash / accrual / modified cash (REQUIRED - see above)
- Period: month (YYYY-MM), quarter (YYYY-Qn), or year (YYYY)
- Revenue by category (product, service, subscription / recurring, other) - current and prior period
- Cost of revenue / COGS - current and prior period
- Operating expenses by category (R&D, S&M, G&A) - current and prior period
- Depreciation & amortization (D&A) - current and prior period (REQUIRED operating line)
- Owner compensation / draws (sole-prop or S-corp) - flagged separately for normalization
- Other income / expense (interest, one-time items) - optional
- Tax rate - optional; if unknown, output pre-tax income and note
- Budget - optional; include for budget vs actual variance column
- Business scale: revenue tier (
<$1M/$1–10M/$10M+) - used to set scale-aware variance thresholds
Output format
PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENT
Period: [Period description]
basis_of_accounting: [cash | accrual | modified cash]
Jurisdiction: [SELECTED]
(in dollars, unless otherwise noted)
Current Prior Variance Var %
Period Period ($) (%)
-------- -------- -------- --------
REVENUE
Product revenue $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Service revenue $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Subscription / recurring $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Other revenue $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
-------- -------- --------
TOTAL REVENUE $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
COST OF REVENUE $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
(For SaaS, break out: hosting / direct labor / data / payment fees)
-------- --------
GROSS PROFIT $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Gross Margin XX.X% XX.X%
OPERATING EXPENSES
Salaries & wages $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Owner compensation (S-corp) $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X% ← reasonable-salary
Owner draws (sole prop) $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X% ← BTL: not an expense
Marketing & advertising $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Rent & facilities $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Software & subscriptions $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Professional services $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Depreciation & amortization $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Other operating expenses $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
-------- --------
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
OPERATING INCOME (LOSS) $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Operating Margin XX.X% XX.X%
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)
Interest income $XX,XXX $XX,XXX
Interest expense ($XX,XXX) ($XX,XXX)
Other, net $XX,XXX $XX,XXX
-------- --------
INCOME BEFORE TAXES $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Income tax expense $XX,XXX $XX,XXX
-------- --------
NET INCOME (LOSS) $XX,XXX $XX,XXX $X,XXX X.X%
Net Margin XX.X% XX.X%
Key metrics summary
After the P&L, output:
KEY METRICS
Current Prior Change
Revenue growth (%) X.X%
Gross margin (%) XX.X% XX.X% X.X pp
Operating margin (%) XX.X% XX.X% X.X pp
Net margin (%) XX.X% XX.X% X.X pp
OpEx as % of revenue XX.X% XX.X% X.X pp
Material variance flags (scale-aware)
Apply the threshold appropriate to business scale (single-flat threshold misleads at scale):
| Revenue tier | Variance flag threshold |
|---|---|
| <$1M annual | 10% or $500 (whichever is smaller) |
| $1–10M annual | 5% or $5,000 |
| $10M+ annual | 3% or $25,000 |
Flag any line item exceeding the applicable threshold for investigation:
| Line Item | Variance ($) | Variance (%) | Direction | Likely driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Item] | $X,XXX | X.X% | Unfavorable | Investigate |
Margin benchmarks (SMB reference - split bootstrapped vs venture-funded)
| Business type | Bootstrapped SMB gross | VC-backed gross | Bootstrapped net | VC-backed net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software / SaaS | 75–90% | 65–85% | 5–15% | -50% to +25% (often negative - investing in growth) |
| Professional services | 40–60% | 40–60% | 10–25% | 10–20% |
| E-commerce / retail | 30–50% | 30–50% | 2–8% | -30% to +5% |
| Manufacturing | 25–45% | n/a | 5–15% | n/a |
| Restaurants / food service | 55–70% (food cost 30–45%) | n/a | 2–9% | n/a |
| Agency / services-firm | 40–60% | n/a | 10–20% | n/a (utilization-rate proxy: 65–75% billable) |
Owner-comp normalization note: for sole-prop and S-corp comparisons, normalize net margin by adding back / pulling out owner draws (sole-prop) or reasonable salary (S-corp) so the comparison to benchmarks is apples-to-apples. Owner compensation should be flagged distinct from wages.
Workflow
- Collect inputs (ask for current period revenue and expenses; prior period for comparison).
- Build the P&L table.
- Calculate margins and key metrics.
- Flag material variances.
- Output the statement with observations.
- Offer to save to
pl-<period>.mdin the workspace.
Templates and analytical tools only - not personalized financial, tax, accounting, or legal advice. Generated [DATE]. Jurisdiction: [SELECTED]. basis_of_accounting: [SELECTED]. Revenue recognition for SaaS / annual prepay / multi-element contracts requires ASC 606 / IFRS 15 treatment under accrual basis. D&A line and owner-comp normalization are required for benchmark comparison. Variance thresholds are scale-aware. Review with a qualified CPA or accountant before sharing externally. Wayland and the plugin authors disclaim all liability for use of these templates.