Generating a 90-Day Profit Statement
A profit statement, also known as a profit and loss statement (P & L), is one of a number of financial statements that you bank could call for to assess your business’s financial position. A 90-day profit statement is a short-term snap-shot of how profitable your business trading was during a 3 month period.
A profit statement is a recording of all business expenses, including overheads like payroll, rental, etc and all income (sales and other). The expenses and income are netted off to reflect a profit or a loss in trading figures.
Your bank would normally want the 90-day profit statement professionally prepared by a registered accountant. It will have to be prepared within the prescribed standards of the United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The accountant would have to sign-off the profit statement and may include notes relevant to the purpose that the bank wants to review it for.
Why would your bank call for a 90-Day profit statement?
There are a number of reasons why your bank would call for a short-term profit statement. One could be that they have recently received a full set of financial statements covering a 12 month trading period, so they only require short-term insight, or you have run a healthy banking account and your business is regarded as low-risk.
Banks call for profit statements when you apply for credit facilities, overdraft facilities or if your business has existing credit facilities but there are indications that it is experiencing financial difficulties. If your business is experiencing financial difficulties your bank needs to understand if this is a short-term crisis caused by a specific situation, or if this is going to be an ongoing trend, in which case any credit facilities will become high-risk.
Based on the profit statement and accountant’s notes the bank will decide whether to grant your business additional credit or decline your application. If you have not applied for additional credit and the bank is concerned about the financial health of your business, they could ask for personal security on existing credit facilities, or begin to gradually reduce existing credit facilities after discussion with you.
Does it matter if my bank is concerned about my trading conditions?
Yes, very much so! You must always ensure that you advise your bank if your business is experiencing adverse trading conditions. Make an appointment with your banker to discuss the situation before they contact you, especially if you have a number of credit facilities with the bank.
It is very important for the future of your business that your credit rating at financial institutions is kept in good standing. This does not imply that your business will never experience adverse trading conditions; all businesses will go through rough patches! The most important factor is that you are aware of your business’s financial health, that you are in control of the situation and that you are implementing necessary changes that will reverse the situation. For more information about 90-day profit statements or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.