---
name: profit-loss-report
description: Generates monthly or quarterly profit and loss statements from transaction data with revenue breakdowns, expense categories, and margin analysis. Use this skill when a solopreneur or small business owner needs to understand if they are actually profitable, wants a formatted P&L report, or needs to review financial performance over a period.
allowed-tools: Read Write Bash(ls:*) Bash(python3:*)
---

# Profit & Loss Report

## When to Use This Skill

- User wants to know if their business is profitable
- User needs a monthly or quarterly P&L statement
- User has transaction data (CSV, spreadsheet, or manual entries) and wants it organized
- User is preparing for tax season and needs a financial summary
- User wants to compare revenue and expenses across periods

## Core Principle

A P&L REPORT MUST TELL THE TRUTH — CATEGORIZE EVERY DOLLAR, HIDE NOTHING, AND SHOW THE REAL MARGIN.

## Financial Disclaimer

**IMPORTANT: The financial reports generated by this skill are for informational and planning purposes only. They do not constitute accounting advice or audited financial statements. Always consult a qualified accountant or CPA for official financial reporting, tax filings, and compliance matters. Accuracy depends entirely on the data provided by the user.**

## Workflow

### Phase 1: Collect Financial Data

1. Determine the reporting period (month or quarter)
2. Gather revenue data — ask the user for one of:
   - CSV or spreadsheet file with transactions
   - Manual list of income sources and amounts
   - Bank/payment processor summary (Stripe, PayPal, Square)
3. Gather expense data — same formats as above
4. Confirm the business type (service, e-commerce, digital products, hybrid) to set appropriate categories

### Phase 2: Categorize Transactions

5. Sort all revenue into these standard categories:

| Revenue Category | Examples |
|-----------------|----------|
| Product Sales | Physical goods, digital downloads |
| Service Revenue | Consulting, freelance work, coaching |
| Recurring Revenue | Subscriptions, memberships, retainers |
| Affiliate/Commission | Referral fees, affiliate payouts |
| Other Income | Interest, refunds received, misc |

6. Sort all expenses into these standard categories:

| Expense Category | Examples |
|-----------------|----------|
| Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) | Materials, manufacturing, fulfillment, platform fees |
| Marketing & Advertising | Ads, sponsorships, content creation |
| Software & Tools | SaaS subscriptions, hosting, domains |
| Contractor & Freelancer | Outsourced labor, VA, designers |
| Office & Operations | Rent, utilities, supplies, internet |
| Professional Services | Legal, accounting, bookkeeping |
| Travel & Meals | Business travel, client meals |
| Insurance | Business liability, E&O, health (if business expense) |
| Education & Training | Courses, conferences, books |
| Miscellaneous | Anything that doesn't fit above |

7. **GATE: If any transaction is ambiguous, ask the user to clarify before proceeding. Do not guess categories for amounts over $500.**

### Phase 3: Generate the P&L Report

8. Build the report using this format:

```
PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENT
[Business Name]
Period: [Start Date] — [End Date]

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
REVENUE
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Product Sales                          $XX,XXX.XX
Service Revenue                        $XX,XXX.XX
Recurring Revenue                      $XX,XXX.XX
Affiliate/Commission                   $XX,XXX.XX
Other Income                           $XX,XXX.XX
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL REVENUE                          $XX,XXX.XX

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
COST OF GOODS SOLD (COGS)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
[Itemized COGS]                        $XX,XXX.XX
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL COGS                             $XX,XXX.XX

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
GROSS PROFIT                           $XX,XXX.XX
GROSS MARGIN                                XX.X%

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
OPERATING EXPENSES
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Marketing & Advertising                $X,XXX.XX
Software & Tools                       $X,XXX.XX
Contractor & Freelancer                $X,XXX.XX
Office & Operations                    $X,XXX.XX
Professional Services                  $X,XXX.XX
Travel & Meals                         $X,XXX.XX
Insurance                              $X,XXX.XX
Education & Training                   $X,XXX.XX
Miscellaneous                          $X,XXX.XX
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES               $XX,XXX.XX

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
NET PROFIT (LOSS)                      $XX,XXX.XX
NET MARGIN                                  XX.X%
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
```

### Phase 4: Add Analysis

9. Below the report, include:
   - **Top 3 expense categories** by dollar amount
   - **Gross margin assessment**: Above 50% is healthy for services, above 30% for physical products
   - **Net margin assessment**: Above 20% is strong, 10-20% is acceptable, below 10% needs attention
   - **Month-over-month or quarter-over-quarter trend** if prior period data is available
   - **One actionable recommendation** based on the numbers

### Phase 5: Deliver

10. Output the formatted P&L report
11. Output the analysis summary
12. Save to a file if the user requests it

## Example 1: Freelance Designer — Monthly P&L

**Input data provided by user:** "January revenue: 3 client projects at $2,500, $4,000, and $1,800. Sold 12 Canva templates at $29 each. Expenses: Adobe Creative Cloud $55, Figma $15, Webflow hosting $29, hired a VA for 20 hours at $25/hour, Facebook ads $350, co-working space $200, business insurance $89, bought a Skillshare course for $45."

```
PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENT
Ava Park Design Studio
Period: January 1 — January 31, 2026

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
REVENUE
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Service Revenue (3 client projects)    $8,300.00
Product Sales (12 Canva templates)       $348.00
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL REVENUE                          $8,648.00

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
COST OF GOODS SOLD (COGS)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Canva Pro (template hosting)              $13.00
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL COGS                                $13.00

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
GROSS PROFIT                           $8,635.00
GROSS MARGIN                              99.8%

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
OPERATING EXPENSES
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Marketing & Advertising                  $350.00
Software & Tools                          $99.00
  - Adobe Creative Cloud     $55.00
  - Figma                    $15.00
  - Webflow                  $29.00
Contractor & Freelancer                  $500.00
  - Virtual Assistant (20hrs x $25)
Office & Operations                      $200.00
  - Co-working space
Insurance                                 $89.00
Education & Training                      $45.00
  - Skillshare course
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES               $1,283.00

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
NET PROFIT                             $7,352.00
NET MARGIN                                85.0%
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
```

**Analysis:**
- **Top 3 expenses:** Contractor ($500), Marketing ($350), Office ($200)
- **Gross margin: 99.8%** — Exceptional. Typical for service businesses with minimal COGS.
- **Net margin: 85.0%** — Very strong. Well above the 20% benchmark for healthy businesses.
- **Recommendation:** Marketing spend ($350) generated $8,648 in revenue. If those Facebook ads are driving client inquiries, consider increasing ad budget to $500-$700 to test whether revenue scales proportionally.

## Example 2: E-Commerce Candle Business — Quarterly P&L

**Input data:** Q4 2025 — sold 847 candles at $32 average price, 45 gift sets at $78 each. COGS per candle $9, per gift set $28. Expenses: Shopify $79/mo, shipping supplies $1,240, Instagram ads $2,100, hired a photographer $800, packaging designer $450, PO Box $45/mo, product liability insurance $125/quarter, attended a craft fair (booth fee $350 + travel $280).

```
PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENT
Ember & Sage Candle Co.
Period: October 1 — December 31, 2025 (Q4)

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
REVENUE
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Product Sales (847 candles)           $27,104.00
Product Sales (45 gift sets)           $3,510.00
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL REVENUE                         $30,614.00

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
COST OF GOODS SOLD (COGS)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Candle materials (847 x $9)            $7,623.00
Gift set materials (45 x $28)          $1,260.00
Shipping supplies                      $1,240.00
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL COGS                           $10,123.00

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
GROSS PROFIT                          $20,491.00
GROSS MARGIN                              66.9%

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
OPERATING EXPENSES
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Marketing & Advertising                $2,100.00
  - Instagram ads
Software & Tools                         $237.00
  - Shopify ($79 x 3 months)
Contractor & Freelancer                $1,250.00
  - Photographer              $800.00
  - Packaging designer        $450.00
Office & Operations                      $135.00
  - PO Box ($45 x 3 months)
Insurance                                $125.00
  - Product liability (quarterly)
Travel & Events                          $630.00
  - Craft fair booth           $350.00
  - Travel                    $280.00
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES               $4,477.00

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
NET PROFIT                            $16,014.00
NET MARGIN                                52.3%
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
```

**Analysis:**
- **Top 3 expenses (excluding COGS):** Marketing ($2,100), Contractors ($1,250), Travel/Events ($630)
- **Gross margin: 66.9%** — Strong for physical products (benchmark: 30%+). Gift sets have lower margin (64%) vs. candles (72%) due to higher COGS ratio.
- **Net margin: 52.3%** — Excellent. Well above the 20% target.
- **Q4 vs. typical quarter:** Holiday season likely inflated revenue. Track Q1 to establish a non-seasonal baseline.
- **Recommendation:** Gift sets generated $3,510 on 45 units. Test increasing gift set promotion — the AOV ($78) is 2.4x a single candle ($32), and despite the lower margin percentage, profit per gift set ($50) is higher than profit per candle ($23).

## Recovery and Fallback

- If the user cannot provide exact numbers, help them estimate from bank statements or payment processor dashboards (Stripe Dashboard > Payments > Export)
- If categories are unclear, ask the user for the three largest expenses and their purpose — this usually reveals the right categorization
- If the user has mixed personal and business transactions, flag this and only include clearly business-related items — recommend they open a separate business bank account
- If prior period data is unavailable for comparison, note this in the report and recommend starting monthly tracking going forward

## Constraints

- **Always include the financial disclaimer** — this is not a substitute for professional accounting
- Do not estimate tax liability — recommend consulting a CPA for tax calculations
- Do not include owner draws/salary in operating expenses unless the user explicitly requests it (this is an accounting choice)
- If transactions are a mix of personal and business, ask the user to separate them — do not categorize personal expenses as business
- Round all amounts to two decimal places
- Use accrual basis by default (revenue when earned, expenses when incurred), but switch to cash basis if the user specifies
- Do not provide investment advice based on P&L results
