Financial statements

Profit and loss and the balance sheet are the two statements that show the financial health of your business. Every scale-up founder needs to read them as fluently as they read their own product.

Chapters

Article1 min
Below the line
Net profit can look wrong when interest, tax and one-off items are mixed into operating costs. This shows how to separate them so the P&L reads clearly.
Article1 min
Cost of sales
Confused by cost of sales calculations? Learn to track them accurately to improve financial reporting and protect your profit margins effectively.
Article1 min
Operating expenses
Without a clear view of each operating expense line, B2B finance teams struggle to see what drives their margins and why overhead keeps climbing.

Tools

Databox
Pulls metrics from 130+ tools into custom dashboards and reports to consolidate your KPI visibility.
DataFree plan
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Exact Online
Bookkeeping and accounting software for managing business finances and keeping complete financial records.
Bookkeeping
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Moneybird
Send invoices, track expenses, reconcile banks and prepare VAT returns for Dutch small businesses.
Invoicing
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Toggl
Log hours across devices with reporting and billing features for freelancers, agencies and teams.
Master your workweekFree plan
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Twinfield
Cloud accounting and bookkeeping platform for managing your business finances and financial reporting.
Bookkeeping
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About this playbook

The P&L shows revenue, costs and profit over time. The balance sheet shows what the company owns and owes at a point in time. Together they tell you whether the business is sustainable and where the money is going. This section explains what each line means, how to read it and what numbers matter most when you are small and growing fast.