A profit and loss (P&L) statement is the key to understanding your grocery store’s financial health.
This critical report summarizes your store’s overall revenue, inventory expenses, and operating costs, giving you a comprehensive overview of the money flowing into and out of your business during a certain timeframe.
It also includes a calculation of gross and net profits, which are the main indicators of your grocery store’s financial health.
In this post, we’ll go over what’s included in a grocery store profit and loss statement (including a free template sheet), why it’s important, and how a modern point of sale (POS) system makes tracking profits easier than ever.
Now that you know the why behind grocery store P&L statements, let’s dive into the how. These reports have five key components:
Let’s take a closer look at these sections and what you should include in each.
The first step to creating a grocery store profit and loss statement is to calculate your grocery store’s overall revenue. This figure should include the total of every sale made in your store during a certain period, plus any extra income from services like delivery or catering.
Check your POS system’s sales reports to ensure the value of every transaction is accurately reflected in your P&L statement.
Next, calculate your grocery store’s COGS. This number represents the total amount of money you spent on inventory during a certain period.
Along with the wholesale cost of the actual goods, make sure to include any shipping and handling costs, taxes, and custom packaging fees. Don’t forget to calculate the labor costs associated with preparing products like meat and freshly-baked goods for sale.
To calculate your COGS, you need three numbers:
Then, plug them into this formula:
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The COGS Formula |
Beginning inventory + Purchases made during the current period – Ending inventory = COGS
Your POS system’s inventory management features should track wholesale costs for each product on your grocery store’s shelves, making it easier to calculate your COGS.
Once you know how much you spent on inventory and expenses, you’re ready to calculate your gross profit. This calculation compares your sales revenue to your inventory costs.
Simply subtract COGS from your revenue, and you’ll have your gross profit number to plug into your grocery store profit and loss statement.
Gross profit doesn’t always tell the entire story when it comes to grocery store financial success — which is why your P&L statement should also include your general operating expenses.
This section should include every dollar you spend to keep your store open, including:
These are just a few examples of what it costs to run a grocery store, so carefully audit your accounts for a full overview of your expenses.
Net profit is the final (and possibly most important) part of a grocery store profit and loss statement. This metric represents the total amount of money your business has generated in profit over a certain period.
To calculate your grocery store’s net profit, simply subtract your operating expenses and COGS from your overall revenue.
More than other grocery store key performance indicators (KPIs), your net profit gives a decisive answer about how your business is performing overall. If it’s lower than expected, you can take concrete steps to adjust your prices, minimize shrinkage, reduce your operating expenses, or improve your marketing approach.
Want a quick look at your grocery store’s net profits? Download a free template by clicking the button below.
A P&L statement is one of the most important reports for understanding a company’s financial health. A grocery store profit and loss statement shows, quarter by quarter or year by year, whether a grocery store is losing or making money.
Unlike a balance sheet, which shows a snapshot of how your business is doing at a specific moment, a P&L statement shows how your business performs over time.
By taking into account all of your inventory and operating costs, this statement helps you spot:
Once you see your overall profitability, you can then dive into the reports on your POS system to take a more granular look at each factor.
While tracking your profits and losses in a spreadsheet is a good start, it still requires a lot of manual follow up to figure out why you were profitable or not in that period.
Also, certain aspects of running a grocery store like shrinkage or damage to goods on receiving are harder to track in a spreadsheet.
That’s why we recommend relying on a POS system with powerful reporting features. With connected inventory, payments, customer data, and everything else, your POS system makes it easy to dive into department-by-department insights so you can pinpoint exactly what’s working (and what’s not).
Looking for a POS system with powerful reporting capabilities and features to help you make more sales? You’re in the right place.
IT Retail is an all-in-one POS solution designed specifically for grocers like you. Along with real-time inventory tracking and in-depth sales reporting, our software includes sales-boosting features like a built-in loyalty program, promotion management, and e-commerce integration.
Discover how IT Retail can boost your grocery store’s profits by scheduling your personalized demo today.