What is a P&L report and how to compile it for a seller on marketplaces?

A P&L report for a seller is a table that summarizes all sales revenue and all types of expenses for a selected period: marketplace commissions and services, cost of goods sold, taxes, and external costs.

To compile a P&L report for a seller, you need to gather sales revenue, subtract marketplace commissions and other services, cost of goods sold, taxes, and external expenses.

What is a P&L report in simple terms

A P&L report (Profit and Loss report) shows how much a business earned and spent over a specific period and what financial result it achieved.

Based on the P&L data, a seller can see:

total revenue from product sales;

the total amount of marketplace deductions (commission, logistics, storage, advertising, etc.);

the cost of goods sold (cost price);

how much was spent on advertising, taxes, and other expenses;

the final net profit or loss.

Why a seller needs to maintain a P&L report

A P&L is needed to understand whether the business is profitable, even if revenue is growing.

Using a P&L report, a seller can:

see real profit, not just turnover;

compare results by week, month, quarter;

analyze the cost structure: commission, advertising, logistics, storage, etc.;

quickly find the reasons for a profit drop (e.g., an increase in commission or advertising costs);

compare the performance of different marketplaces and stores with each other;

make informed decisions on prices, advertising bids, and purchase volumes;

assess the profitability of the business as a whole and individual product lines.

Without a P&L, high sales can easily be mistaken for profitability. After deducting commissions, logistics, advertising expenses, cost price, taxes, and other costs, net profit may be zero or negative.

What data is needed for a seller's P&L on marketplaces

To compile a correct P&L, you need data:

from the seller dashboards of the marketplaces (Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex Market, etc.);

from the seller's internal management and accounting records.

Below are the key data blocks.

1. Sales Revenue

Revenue in a P&L is the sales volume for the period, taking into account:

realized sales;

discounts and promotions;

returns;

order cancellations;

other adjustments.

The main rule: do not use the marketplace payout amount as revenue. The transfers to your account already include commissions, logistics, advertising, and other deductions. If you take the payout as revenue, you will lose some information and won't see the actual sales volume and the structure of deductions.

2. Marketplace Services

This group reflects all deductions made by the platform:

sales commission;

logistics (delivery to the buyer);

return logistics;

storage at marketplace warehouses;

acceptance;

promotion services (internal advertising, promotion on account, etc.);

penalties, compensations;

other charges from the marketplace.

The set of items depends on the platform and the operating model (FBO/FBS, Fulfillment, logistics, etc.), so they need to be analyzed separately for each marketplace.

3. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

The P&L includes only the cost price of those goods that were sold in the reporting period.

What this means:

goods that are in the warehouse and not yet sold are not an expense of the period – they are inventory;

the cost of the sold portion is included in the period's expenses.

Cost price may include:

the purchase price of the goods;

transport to your warehouse;

customs duties;

packaging, if it is not a separate expense item;

other costs that, according to your accounting system, relate to the manufacturing or purchase of the goods.

The composition of the cost price is determined by your management policy, but the P&L always uses the cost of goods sold, not just the total purchase amounts.

4. External Expenses Not Shown in Marketplace Reports

Some costs are not shown by marketplaces. They need to be added manually from your internal records.

External expenses usually include:

employee salaries and bonuses;

contractor services (photography, content, marketing, fulfillment, etc.);

office, warehouse, or coworking space rent;

packaging, if purchased separately;

delivery of goods to the marketplace warehouse;

external advertising (contextual, targeted, bloggers, showcases, etc.);

subscriptions to services and software;

bank commissions and acquiring fees (if any);

accounting and legal support.

Without these items, profit will appear inflated and will not reflect the real picture.

5. Taxes

Taxes are highlighted as a separate block in the P&L, taking into account the applicable tax system:

Simplified Tax System (STS) "income" or "income minus expenses";

General Tax System (OSNO) with VAT;

Self-employed, etc.

If a company pays VAT, it is important in the management P&L to correctly reflect input and output VAT to understand the net tax burden, not just the accruals on invoices.

How to compile a P&L: a step-by-step algorithm

Step 1. Define the reporting period

A P&L can be calculated:

weekly – to quickly catch changes;

monthly – the basic management format;

quarterly – for more strategic analysis.

The key condition: all income and expenses in the report must relate to the same period. You cannot mix August sales with July cost price and September taxes.

Step 2. Calculate gross revenue

Algorithm:

Take sales data for the period for each marketplace. Adjust them for:

returns;

cancellations;

discounts and promotions;

other adjustments.

If you work on multiple platforms: first, calculate revenue for each platform separately; then, if necessary, add them up to get the total business revenue. The result of this step is the gross revenue for the period.

Step 3. Subtract marketplace services and cost price

Gross profit is calculated:

Gross profit = Gross revenue − Marketplace services − Cost of goods sold

A feature for Wildberries: part of the promotion (advertising, promotion on account) is treated as a marketplace service and is included in the "Marketplace services" block.

Gross profit shows how much the business earns from sales after the main variable expenses: commissions, logistics, storage, and product cost price.

Step 4. Account for external expenses and taxes, calculate net profit

After gross profit, costs that are not in the marketplace reports are added:

salaries and payroll taxes;

rent, utilities, office and warehouse maintenance;

contractor services;

external advertising and marketing;

other fixed and administrative expenses.

Then, taxes related to the reporting period are accounted for.

Net profit formula:

Net profit = Gross profit − Taxes − External expenses

If the result is negative, the business operated at a loss for the selected period.

Step 5. Determine profitability

Profitability shows what percentage of revenue remains as net profit.

Formula:

Profitability = Net profit × 100% / Gross revenue

Step 6. Compare results with previous periods

A report for one month without comparison gives a limited picture. It is useful to look at the dynamics:

Analyze:

how revenue has changed;

whether the share of marketplace commissions has increased or decreased;

what portion of revenue goes to advertising;

how logistics and storage costs are behaving;

how gross profit has changed;

whether net profit and profitability are growing along with revenue.

This analysis shows what exactly is driving the change in results: sales volumes, price, commission, logistics, advertising, cost price, or external expenses.

Example of a seller's P&L structure The basic structure of the report might look like this:

Metric	What it includes
Gross revenue	Value of goods sold, considering the accepted calculation methodology
Returns and adjustments	Returned goods, cancellations, and other adjustments
Marketplace services	Commission, logistics, storage, promotion, and other charges
Cost of goods sold	Cost price of goods sold
Gross profit	Revenue minus marketplace services and cost price
External expenses	Salaries, rent, contractors, external advertising, and other costs
Tax	Tax expenses for the period
Net profit	Final financial result
Profitability	Share of net profit in gross revenue

This structure can be detailed:

broken down by marketplace (WB, Ozon, Yandex Market, etc.);

separate stores or brands highlighted;

major expense items (advertising, logistics, storage, salaries) shown as separate lines.

How to generate a P&L in the Torgstat service

"Torgstat" has a ready-made management report "Profit and Loss (P&L)".

The P&L report in Torgstat allows you to:

group metrics by week, month, quarter;

see gross revenue, sales, and returns;

analyze commissions, logistics, storage, and promotion;

account for the cost of goods;

add external expenses manually;

calculate gross and net profit;

monitor margin and profitability;

compare periods and view metric dynamics.

Common mistakes when compiling a P&L

Mistake 1. Taking marketplace payouts as revenue

Payouts are already a "net" amount after deductions. If you count them as revenue:

sales volume will be understated;

commissions, logistics, advertising, and penalties will not be visible separately;

the analysis of profitability and expense items will be distorted.

In the report, marketplace revenue and expenses must be broken down into separate lines.

Mistake 2. Writing off the entire batch purchase as a period expense

A common situation: bought a large batch, recorded the entire amount as an expense for the month. As a result, the P&L shows a large loss, even though a significant part of the goods has not yet been sold and is in the warehouse.

The correct approach:

include only the cost of goods sold in the period's expenses;

unsold stock is accounted for as inventory, not as an expense.

Mistake 3. Ignoring external expenses

If you only account for marketplace deductions, the profit on paper looks inflated. Without external expenses, the following will be distorted:

the real cost of maintaining the team;

the cost of rent and warehouse;

how much external advertising and contractors consume.

For an honest picture, all external costs must be included in the P&L.

Mistake 4. Mixing data from different periods

When sales, cost price, taxes, and expenses are collected for different time intervals, the final profit loses its meaning.

For the report to be correct, all lines must relate to the same period: week, month, or quarter.

Mistake 5. Evaluating only revenue without profit

Revenue growth alone says nothing about the health of the business. It is important to track simultaneously:

gross profit;

net profit;

margin;

profitability.

Only then can you understand whether the business is earning more or just "pumping up turnover."

Frequently asked questions

How often should a seller compile a P&L?

The basic option is monthly. Additionally, it is useful to maintain a weekly snapshot to quickly notice a drop in profit, an increase in expenses, or changes in the structure of commissions and logistics. A quarterly report is convenient for strategic assessment, but without monthly control, the reaction will be too late.

How is a P&L different from a Cash Flow Statement (CFS)?

A P&L shows income, expenses, and profit for a period, based on when sales were made and expenses were incurred. A CFS records the actual inflows and outflows of cash in accounts.

Do I need to account for returns in a P&L?

Yes. Returns reduce revenue and affect marketplace expenses, so they must be accounted for in the period to which they relate.

What marketplace expenses are included in a P&L?

Typically, sales commission, logistics, storage, acceptance, return logistics, promotion, penalties, and other platform deductions are included.

Can I compile a P&L in Excel?

Yes, but you will have to manually combine data from marketplaces, account for cost price, taxes, and external expenses. "Torgstat" has a ready-made P&L report for this purpose.