Small businesses run on two financial statements. The income statement shows whether you made money over a stretch of time, and the balance sheet shows what you own and owe on one specific day. We publish three templates below because the income statement goes by two names, and the name on your loan checklist is the one that matters.
None of these are blank spreadsheets that hand the math back to you. Each one is a working generator. Enter your numbers, watch the totals calculate as you type, and download the finished document when it looks right. Everything runs in your browser, so your figures never leave your computer.
Profit & Loss Statement Generator
Revenue in, expenses out, and the profit left over. Add or rename any line to match your business, then see gross profit, operating income, and net income update as you type.
Income Statement Template
The same statement under the name your lender, landlord, or accountant is most likely to ask for. Use this one when the document has to match a checklist.
Balance Sheet Template
Assets, liabilities, and equity on a single date. The totals check themselves, so you know right away when something does not balance.
Which statement do you need?
| What you are trying to do | The statement to build |
|---|---|
| Show whether the business made money over a month, quarter, or year | Profit and loss statement |
| Hand a lender or accountant a document they asked for by name | Income statement |
| Show what the business owns and owes as of one specific date | Balance sheet |
| Apply for a loan or a commercial lease | Usually both an income statement and a balance sheet |
| See whether spending is climbing faster than sales | Profit and loss statement, month over month |
Is a profit and loss statement the same as an income statement?
Yes. Same document, two names. Accountants, lenders, and textbooks tend to say income statement. Business owners and most software tend to say P&L. Both show revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and the profit that survives all of it, over a period you choose.
We publish both versions because people search for both, and because handing a bank a document titled the way they asked saves a round of email. The math underneath is identical.
The income statement and the balance sheet do different jobs
An income statement covers a stretch of time. It answers whether the business made money between two dates, and it resets when the period ends.
A balance sheet covers a single moment. It answers what the business is worth right now, listing assets on one side and liabilities plus equity on the other. It does not reset, because it carries the accumulated result of every period that came before.
You need both for the same reason a doctor takes your temperature and your blood pressure. A profitable month can still leave you unable to pay a bill, and a healthy balance sheet can hide a business that has been losing money for two quarters.
How to build a financial statement
- Pick the period. Monthly for running the business, quarterly for spotting trends, annual for taxes and financing.
- Pull your revenue for that period from your invoices or your bank deposits.
- Separate cost of goods sold from operating expenses. Cost of goods sold is what it cost to deliver what you sold. Operating expenses are what it cost to keep the lights on.
- Enter both, and let the generator calculate gross profit, operating income, and net income.
- For a balance sheet, list assets, then liabilities, then equity, all as of the last day of the period. Confirm the two sides match before you send it anywhere.
- Download the finished statement, or print it.
Mistakes that make a statement hard to trust
Mixing cost of goods sold into operating expenses hides your real gross margin, which is usually the number that decides whether the business works.
Putting a full annual bill into a quarterly statement overstates the expense for that period. Match every line to the period on the header.
Recording owner draws as an expense on the income statement. Draws are not a business expense. They belong on the balance sheet as a reduction of equity.
Building a balance sheet that does not balance and shipping it anyway. If the two sides disagree, something is missing or double counted, and a lender will find it.
When building statements by hand stops making sense
A hand-built statement is a snapshot you assemble one line at a time, and it goes stale the moment you record the next transaction. GlassJar produces these statements from the transactions you have already entered, and its report library lets you pick which reports sit on your dashboard, so you see the ones you actually use instead of scrolling past dozens you do not. See what is included on the features page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these financial statement templates free?
Yes. Every generator is free to use and the finished statement displays on screen with no signup. We ask for an email address only if you want to download the statement as a PDF, Excel, or CSV file.
Is a profit and loss statement the same as an income statement?
Yes. They are two names for the same document. Both summarize revenue, costs, and expenses over a period of time to show whether the business made money. We publish both titles so you can produce whichever version your lender or accountant asked for.
Do I need both an income statement and a balance sheet?
For most loan applications and lease applications, yes. The income statement shows performance over a period, and the balance sheet shows financial position on a single date. Together they answer both questions a lender has: are you profitable, and what do you already owe.
Is my financial data private?
Yes. These tools run entirely in your browser. Your figures are never transmitted to GlassJar or stored on our servers. If you download a file, only your email address is sent to us, never your numbers.
Can I use these statements for a loan application?
You can produce a statement to hand a lender, but it is self-prepared and unaudited. Many lenders accept self-prepared statements from small businesses, and some require statements reviewed by a CPA. Check with your lender, and have a professional review anything you plan to rely on.
Can I download these templates to Excel?
Yes. Each generator exports to XLSX with your line items and formatting intact, plus PDF for sharing and CSV for importing into other software.
How is a generator different from a downloadable template?
A downloadable template gives you a blank grid and leaves the formulas, formatting, and arithmetic to you. These generators do the math as you type and produce a finished, formatted document you can hand to someone.
