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Starting a business

A guide to financial statements with template

By QuickBooks Australia

Published on March 5, 20214 min read

Business owners use different types of financial statements to get a better picture of the company’s current financial state. Each of the three main financial statements focuses on a particular aspect of your finances. While an entire set of financial statements tells the complete story of an organisation, each report can stand on its own for different purposes and is often used for external reporting.

Intuit QuickBooks will automatically fill in all the necessary financial reports for your business. With a simple look at your dashboard , you’ll have all the information you need to make those important business decisions.

We’ve made it easy for you to compile all of your financial statements in one place. Download our template to record your income and cash flow, as well as put together a balance sheet.

Income Statement

As a business owner, you need to have a handle on the money coming in and going out of your business; to that end, the income statement reports the revenues and expenses of your company. When you create this report, you group and classify the expenses according to the type of cost.

For example, product expenses relate to the cost to produce the good, selling expenses relate to the costs of customer outreach and product delivery, and administrative costs correlate to general company expenses. After you deduct the expenses from revenues, you report the net income at the bottom of the financial statement.

This income figure comes in handy as an overall summary regarding the profitability of your business. You can use it to track expenses, especially when you compare the information to previous years. Business owners often align the income statement with the budget to analyse spending compared to the budget for the period.

Income Statement Template

Download your free income statement template today!

To use this template simply fill out your cost of sales and its subsections, along with your operating costs. You can change the business name and dates, sub-sections, and amounts in the income statement example. You can also add rows, in order to add new revenue streams and expenses. The total amounts will automatically populate, based on the embedded formulas.

Balance Sheet

A balance sheet reports your company’s assets as they compare to your liabilities and shareholders’ equity. It shows what you own, what you owe, and the amount invested by shareholders. In general, businesses either own assets or finance them through debt. The total dollar amount of your assets equals the total dollar amount of liabilities and owner’s equity. In other words, your assets = liabilities + shareholders’ equity. Both sides of the equation have to be the same to balance it out.

For example, if you have a shareholder who invests $5,000 into your company, your shareholders’ equity increases by that amount as do your assets. Since both sides increase by $5,000, they stay balanced.

In addition, the asset and liability sections break out accounts based on longevity of the balances. For instance, you report long-term debt on a different line than current debt. The balance sheet is most useful in short periods of time: It’s the only financial statement based on a particular moment. While other financial statements, like the income statement, aggregate sales throughout a period, the balance sheet only reflects the current balance, such as how much cash you have in the bank at the date of the report. This makes the report useful for liquidity and solvency analysis.

Balance Sheet Template

Download your free balance sheet template today!

The example balance sheet will help guide you through the process. You can change the account titles and the amounts listed in the spreadsheet to fit your needs. You can also add rows, in order to add new accounts and balances. The total amounts will automatically populate, based on the embedded formulas.

Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement reports the cash inflows and outflows of an organisation based on multiple categories. You can use two different methods of reporting a cash flow statement, but both revolve around the concept of cash entering and exiting a business for different reasons. By using this report, you distinguish between cash received from a loan and cash received from a customer for a sale, for example. This information is vital to your success, as the report helps develop resource forecasts to plan for major upcoming expenditures.

Cash Flow Statement Template

Download your free cash flow template today

To fill out this spreadsheet, enter the applicable values in their respective cells. The total amounts automatically populate based on the embedded formulas. An example cash flow statement is also included to help guide you through the process.

Financial Statements Template

Get started on the success of your small business today by downloading our free financial statement templates!

The formulas are already built in, all you have to do is fill in your business and financial information and watch the numbers add up! You’re one step closer to understanding the financial health of your company.

Having a handle on your company’s financial statements keeps you informed and guides your business decisions. You’re better able to complete those statements when you keep accurate records of your finances in Intuit QuickBooks . Join the many Intuit QuickBooks’ users to help your business thrive!

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