A profit and loss statement is a type of financial statement that summarizes the revenues, costs and expenses that a business or corporation has incurred over a set period of time. These records are vital for any business and provide the written statement of the company's ability to generate profit by increasing revenue and reducing costs. These statements are usually released quarterly to
. business executives as a "state of the business" and basically lets the individuals know if the business is making or losing money.There are many websites that offer free profit and loss statements that can be downloaded and printed for individual use. One site that offers simple and straight forward profit and loss statements that can be used for almost any type of business is found at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/profit-and-loss-statement-TC001115484.aspx. Another site that offers guidelines, tips and free, printable statements is http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/plstatement.asp#axzz1dJxWAf8B. When searching for a form to use as a profit and loss statement it is vital that the right information is included to ensure that an accurate picture of the businesses financial standing is represented.A statement of profit and loss should follow a general form and only include information that is pertinent to the financial aspect of the business in question. These statements are beneficial to companies due to the fact that they allow a business to know estimates of monthly and yearly income amounts as a way of controlling business operation costs. There are several different categories that should be included on profit and loss statements including, total net sales, cost of sales, gross profit, gross profit margin, controllable expenses, fixed expenses, net profit (loss) before taxes, taxes, net profit (loss) after taxes, annual total and percent. The site found at http://www.scoreknox.org/library/profit.htm elaborates on each of these categories and supplies sample profit and loss statements that are free to download and print.