Excel Income Statement Template for Easy DIY Bookkeeping

Bench makes Excel bookkeeping and accounting easy for small business owners like you with our free Excel income statement template. This comprehensive tool can help you track your revenue, expenses, and profit, making financial analysis simpler than ever. Whether you're managing a growing business or just starting out, our template works to automatically calculate your net income to provide clear insights into your financial performance.

Sometimes called a “net income statement” or a “statement of earnings,” the income statement is one of the three most important financial statements in financial accounting, along with the balance sheet and the cash flow statement (or statement of cash flows).

Why use an income statement template?

Running a successful business requires a deep understanding of your finances. Our Excel template streamlines the process of creating professional income statements, which can speed up the time it takes for you to make better-informed business decisions and save money by seeing where you need to cut costs or plan for future expenses.

Here’s a quick overview of why you should use an income statement template:

i) Understand your business finances

An income statement, also known as a profit and loss statement, is essential for tracking your company's revenues and expenses over a specific period. By organizing your business income and operating expenses, you'll gain clear visibility into your:

• Gross profit from goods sold and services
• Total operating expenses, including direct labor and raw materials
• Net profit after accounting for interest expense and taxes
• Cash flow patterns and financial position

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Understanding these key metrics can help you identify trends, spot potential issues, and make strategic decisions to grow your business successfully.

ii) Stay organized

Maintaining organized financial records is critical for small businesses like yours. Our template helps you:

• Track all revenue sources and business expenses systematically
• Categorize line items for better financial analysis
• Monitor operating income and non-operating revenues
• Keep detailed records for income tax expense calculations
• Generate professional statements for any time period

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With automatic calculations and clear categorization, you'll get to spend less time on bookkeeping and more time on the finer points of doing business.

iii) Save money

Implementing our free income statement template into your business routine can lead to significant cost savings. It will allow you to keep track of the money that’s coming and going so you can identify unnecessary expenses and optimize your costs. 

But that’s not all.

Having an income statement template handy will ensure that you manage your cash flow correctly and make more educated decisions regarding your investments and continuing operations. Plus, having your income documents prepared will yield better results come tax season and likely reduce accounting services fees you’d normally incur if someone else has to fill out these statements for you. 

How to use Bench’s income statement template

Our multi-step income statement template is designed to be user-friendly while providing comprehensive financial information. 

Follow these simple steps to get started:

Step 1: Fill out the form above

Enter your name and email address in the form above, and we'll instantly send you our free Excel template. This template includes everything you need to effectively track your total sales and expenses.

Step 2: Set up your chart of accounts

Once you receive your template, download it and then navigate to the "Chart of Accounts" tab to begin organizing your finances. 

Here is where you’ll:

• List all income sources and revenue streams
• Define categories for operating expenses
• Set up cost of goods sold tracking
• Customize line items to match your business needs

Step 3: Enter your business transactions

In the "Transactions" tab, record all of your business expense-related activities. Be sure to include these details:

• Transaction dates and descriptions
• Payment amounts for expenses and sales
• Categories for each entry as it correlates to your chart of accounts

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Remember to track both regular operations and extraordinary items so nothing is left to chance. The template automatically calculates totals as you enter the information, ensuring accuracy (and saving you time and energy).

Step 4: Generate your income statement

Our template is designed to do the heavy lifting. Once you’ve entered your transactions, all that’s left to do is:

• Select your desired date range
• Watch as your income statement is generated automatically
• Review key metrics like gross profit and net income
• Compare performance across different periods
• Export professional statements for stakeholders

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Our template automatically calculates your total revenue, expenses, and profit, giving you a clear picture of your business's financial health at any moment.

Need more support? Check out our detailed guide to doing your own bookkeeping in Excel.

How Bench can help with building your income statement

Bench is America's largest online bookkeeping service for small businesses. Our dedicated team of experts manage your books and provide easy-to-read accounting and financial reports inside your online account—including a monthly income statement. Take control of your small business finances and join thousands of small businesses already using Bench to streamline their financial management and make better decisions for their business.

Sign up today and we’ll do one prior month of your bookkeeping and prepare a set of financial statements for free.

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Additional small business accounting resources:

• What is a Chart of Accounts? A How-To with Examples
• Financial Statements 101
• Understanding Financial Statements
• A Beginner's Guide to the Accounting Cycle
• The Difference Between Bookkeeping and Accounting
• 8 Bookkeeping Tips to Simplify Small Business Financials
• Free Small Business E-Course: Understanding Financial Statements

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