Income statement
The income statement sets the income and expenses of a financial year against each other and presents the profit or loss as the result.
Definition
The Code of Obligations permits two forms: the statement by nature of expense and the statement by function. In SMEs the first is common because it works without cost accounting.
It only becomes informative over time: a profit of fifty thousand francs means nothing until you know what it was last year and where the change comes from. That is why prior-year figures belong in the same presentation.
Where to read it
What the software must be able to do
The check is the statutory structure, reporting by month or quarter, and the ability to bring in cost centres or projects. An income statement for the full year only comes too late to steer by.
Checked Aug 2026
More terms under Bookkeeping and retention: Accrual principle Accrued liabilities Annual accounts Association accounting Balance sheet Balance sheet total Book value Break-even point Business assets Business expenses Cash book Cash flow statement Cash receipts Contribution margin Cost centre Current assets Debit and credit Depreciation Double-entry bookkeeping Duty to keep accounts EBIT EBITDA Equity Equity ratio Financial year Fixed assets Fixed costs Foreign currency General ledger Gross profit Hidden reserves Inventory count Journal Journal entry Liabilities Liquidity Loss carry-forward Membership dues Net profit Opening balance sheet Overheads Pass-through item Prepaid expenses Provision Record-keeping ordinance Reserves Retained profit Simple accounts Swiss SME chart of accounts Tamper resistance Turnover Value adjustment Variable costs Volunteer-run structure Voucher Year-end closing modules