The balance sheet and income statement are both important documents to business owners everywhere. When a company has a strong income statement it will usually have a good balance sheet, but it is possible for one of them to be weak while the other is strong. You may now be asking yourself what makes this happen—what makes them different? In the balance sheet versus income statement fight, who wins? Show
We can see the difference in what exactly each one reports. The income statement gives your company a picture of what the business performance has been during a given period, while the balance sheet gives you a snapshot of the company’s assets and liabilities at a specific point in time. That is just one difference, so let’s see what else makes these fundamental reports different. What is a Balance Sheet?The balance sheet is a snapshot of what the company both owns and owes at a specific period in time. It’s used alongside other important financial documents such as the statement of cash flows or income statement to perform financial analysis. The purpose of a balance sheet is to show your company’s net worth at a given time and to give interested parties an insight into the company’s financial position. What Is Included in a Balance Sheet?The balance sheet is a financial statement comprised of assets, liabilities, and equity at the end of an accounting period.
The foundation of the balance sheet lies in the accounting equation where assets, on one side, equal equity plus liabilities, on the other. Assets = Liabilities + Equity The formula is intuitive: a company has to pay for everything it owns (assets) by either taking out a loan (liability), taking it from an investor (issuing shareholders’ equity) or taking it from retained earnings. For example, if a company takes out a 5 year, $6,000 loan from the bank not only will its liabilities increase by $6,000, but so will its assets. If the company takes $8,000 from investors, its assets will increase by that amount, as will its shareholders’ equity. \r\n$14,000 (Assets) = $6000 (Liabilities) + $8000 (Equity)<\>\r\n <\>\r\n \r\n $14,000 (Assets) = $14000 ( Liabilities + Equity)<\>\r\n“, “_callout_content”: “field_5d66c8b4cf08c” }, “align”: “”, “mode”: “preview” } /–> The company’s total assets need to equal total liabilities plus equity for the balance sheet to be considered “balanced.” The balance sheet shows how a company puts its assets to work and how those assets are financed based on the liabilities section. Since banks and investors analyze a company’s balance sheet to see how a company is using its resources, it’s important to make sure you are updating them every month. What Is an Income Statement?The income statement, often called a profit and loss statement, shows a company’s financial health over a specified time period. It also provides a company with valuable information about revenue, sales, and expenses. These statements are used to make important financial decisions. Both revenue and expenses are closely monitored since they are important in keeping costs under control while increasing revenue. For example, a company’s revenue could be growing, but if expenses are growing faster than revenue, then the company could lose profit. Usually, investors and lenders pay close attention to the operating section of the income statement to indicate whether or not a company is generating a profit or loss for the period. Not only does it provide valuable information, but it also shows the efficiency of the company’s management and its performance compared to industry peers. What’s Included in an Income Statement?Income statements include revenue, costs of goods sold, and operating expenses, along with the resulting net income or loss for that period. An operating expense is an expense that a business regularly incurs such as payroll, rent, and non-capitalized equipment. A non-operating expense is unrelated to the main business operations such as depreciation or interest charges. Similarly, operating revenue is revenue generated from primary business activities while non-operating revenue is revenue not relating to core business activities. Balance Sheet vs Income Statement: The Key DifferencesIt is important to note all of the differences between the income and balance statements so that a company can know what to look for in each.
Do They Have Anything in Common?Although the income statement and balance sheet have many differences, there are a couple of key things they have in common. Along with the cash flow statement, they make up three major financial statements. And even though they are used in different ways, they are both used by creditors and investors when deciding on whether or not to be involved with the company. While we can conclude that the income statement and balance sheet are used to evaluate different information, we can agree that both statements play important roles to banks and investors because they provide a good indication on the current and future financial health of a company. Want to dig a little deeper to understand how to read each of these reports? Check out our blog post, A Complete Guide to Reading Financial Statements. Even your books need a second opinion.
Learn about financial statements and reports including profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheets. On this page
Financial statements are historical. They show you how your business has been operating in areas such as profitability, cash flow, assets and liabilities. There are 3 major financial statements to understand:
These statements are important to help you:
You should produce financial statements regularly and keep them up to date. Profit and loss statementsA profit and loss statement, also known as an income statement, shows the profitability of your business over a specific period. It can cover any period of time, but is most commonly produced monthly, quarterly or annually. A profit and loss statement is a useful tool for monitoring business activity.
Contents of a profit and loss statementYour profit and loss statement will generally be split into 2 sections:
RevenueThe most important part of the revenue section of your profit and loss statement is total sales. Secondary revenue and other income can be unpredictable, so you should focus on your primary sales revenue to grow your business. Secondary sources of revenue can include:
Note how much sales have risen or fallen since your previous profit and loss statement. Breaking sales figures down into individual products or product lines will help you see which products are performing well and which products need attention. Always look to maintain or increase revenues over time. A pattern of falling revenue may indicate that your business is in trouble. ExpensesThe 2 main sets of figures in the expenses section of a profit and loss statement are:
Aim to minimise your business costs wherever possible. Rising material costs could mean you need to find a different supplier, or find more efficient production methods. Some increases are inevitable, with inflation likely to cause costs to increase across a market over a period of time. Operating expenses can be harder to reduce. For example, if your rent rises it may not be practical to move to alternative premises, or moving may be more expensive than paying the increased rent amount. Check your profit and loss statement for any sudden or unexpected spikes in costs, rather than gradual increases over time (due to factors such as inflation and annual employee pay rises). How to calculate profitUse your profit and loss statement to extract important figures to explain your business's profitability:
Balance sheetsA balance sheet (also known as a statement of financial position) is a summary of all your business assets (what your business owns) and liabilities (what your business owes). At any point in time, it shows you how much money you would have left over if you sold all your assets and paid off all your debts. This is also known as ‘owner's equity’. There are 3 sections in a balance sheet, represented by the following: Formula: Owner's equity = Assets - Liabilities It is called a balance sheet because, at any given moment, each side of this equation must 'balance' out. Assets
Current assets are assets your business plans to keep for a short period of time, usually less than 12 months. They include:
Fixed assets are assets your business plans to keep for a longer period, usually more than 12 months. They are also called non-current or capital assets. They include:
Intangible assets are assets you can't touch and can include:
Learn more about how to value business assets. Liabilities
Current liabilities are usually things you will pay for during the next 12 months. They may include:
Non-current liabilities are things that you will not pay for, or pay off, within a year of your balance sheet date. They include:
Owner's equity, also called shareholders' equity in companies, is the remaining portion of a business that belongs to the owner(s) after deducting total liabilities from total assets.
Make sure you consider depreciation when interpreting your balance sheet. Every time your business uses a fixed asset—such as office equipment or a vehicle—some of its value is lost. Australian tax law requires you to spread the cost of assets over the years in which you use them (depreciation).
A cash flow statement shows how much cash is moving in and out of your business over a period of time. This reflects the 'liquidity' of your business. Having enough cash available to pay your debts and buy materials and assets is an important part of business planning. A cash flow statement will quickly tell you if you are likely to have any issues in this area. Cash flowing in is most often the money you get from sales, but it may also be from:
Your outgoing cash includes expenses such as:
Read more about managing cash flow and cash-flow invoices and payments. There are normally 3 sections in a cash flow statement, each relating to a different area of your business.
This section contains the main cash-generating activities of your business. This is generally any money earned or spent in the day-to-day running of your business. The largest figure in this section should be the net income generated by sales of the goods or services you produce. Accounts receivable (money owed to you) and accounts payable (money you owe) will also appear in this section. If accounts receivable are increasing at a faster rate than income from sales, you may have a problem managing your debtors.
This section measures the flow of cash between your business and its owners and creditors. Cash income in this section can include:
Cash expenditure in this section can include:
Investing activities listed in this section generally include purchases or sales of long-term assets, such as property, plant and equipment. Include the sale or purchase of investment securities here.
Your cash flow statement may include a few or many items, depending on the size and complexity of your business. The most important figure is your net cash flow, found at the bottom of the statement. Compare this figure with the net cash flow from your previous statement. If your cash reserves:
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