Gross Profit  It is a required income statement entry that indicates total revenue minus cost of goods sold. It is the company’s profit before operating expenses, interest payment and taxes. It is also known as GROSS MARGIN. The gross profit on a product is computed as: Net Sales – Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) This concept is well understood if you are able to clearly distinguish between variable and fixed costs. VARIABLE COSTS: Materials used Direct labor Packaging Freight Plant supervisor salaries Utilities for a plant or a warehouse Depreciation expense on production equipment Machinery  FIXED COSTS: Fixed costs generally are more static in nature. They include: Office expenses such as supplies, utilities, a telephone for the office, etc. Salaries and wages of office staff, salespeople, officers and owners Payroll taxes and employee benefits Advertising, promotional and other sales expenses Insurance Auto expenses for salespeople Professional fees Rent  Variable expenses are logged as cost of goods sold. Fixed expenses are counted as operating expenses (sometimes called selling and general administrative expenses). While gross profit is a monetary entity, the margin is expressed as a percentage. It’s equally significant to track since it allows you to keep an eye on profitability trends. Gross Profit Ratio = Gross Profit / Net Sales The gross profit margin is computed as follows: When the ratio is expressed in percentage form, it is known as gross profit margin or percentage. Gross Profit / Net Sales *100 = Gross Profit Margin It is equal to the net sales minus cost of goods sold and net sales are equal to total gross sales less return inwards and discount allowed. Benefits of calculating gross profit: This ratio determines how efficiently the management utilizes labor and raw materials A company uses its gross income to fund activities such as research and development, marketing etc., which are vital for generating future sales. A prolonged decline in this margin is a cleat-cut indication of sales drop-down and ultimately earnings. Trends in this margin reflect basic pricing decisions and material costs of a company. This profit margin is an accounting measure designed to estimate the financial health of a business or industry. It may be noted that generating a profit margin alone cannot vouch for the financial health of a firm; rather the business must have sufficient cash flow in order to pay its bills and compensate employees. An entrepreneur might compare the return that would be available from a bank or another low-risk investment opportunity to that of his EXISTING profit-margin to gauge whether his startup is doing well. → Profitability...

TURNOVER RATIO OR ACTIVITY RATIO  or  ASSET MANAGEMENT RATIO Turnover ratios are also known as activity ratios or efficiency ratios with which a firm manages its current assets.  The following turnover ratios can be calculated to judge the effectiveness of asset use. Inventory Turnover Ratio Debtor Turnover Ratio Creditor Turnover Ratio Assets Turnover Ratio  1.  INVENTORY TURNOVER RATIO This ratio indicates whether investment in stock is efficiently used or not, in other words, the number of times the inventory has been converted into sales during the period.  Thus it evaluates the efficiency of the firm in managing its inventory. It helps the financial manager to evaluate the inventory policy.  It is calculated by dividing the cost of goods sold by average inventory. Inventory Turnover Ratio = Cost of goods sold / Average Inventory (or) Net Sales / Average Stock  Cost of goods sold = Sales-Gross profit Average Stock =Opening stock + Closing stock/2  2.  DEBTOR TURNOVER RATIO Debtors play a vital role in current assets and to a great extent determines the liquidity of a firm. This indicates the number of times average debtors have been converted into cash during a year.  It is determined by dividing the net credit sales by average debtors. Debtor Turnover Ratio = Net Credit Sales / Average Trade Debtors (or) Net Credit Sales / Average Debtors – Average Bills Receivable Net credit sales = Total sales – (Cash sales + Sales return) Total debtors = [ Op.Dr. + Cl.Dr. / 2 + Op.B/R + Cl. B/R / 2]   When the information about credit sales, opening and closing balances of trade debtors is not available then the ratio can be calculated by dividing total sales by closing balances of trade debtor Debtor Turnover Ratio = Total Sales / Trade Debtors Note: Bad and doubtful doubts and their provisions are not deducted from the total debtors. The higher ratio indicates that debts are being collected promptly. 3.  CREDITOR TURNOVER RATIO This is also known as “Creditors Velocity”. It indicates the number of times sundry creditors have been paid during a year.  It is calculated to judge the requirements of cash for paying sundry creditors.  It is calculated by dividing the net credit purchases by average creditors. Creditor Turnover Ratio = Net Credit Purchases / Average Trade Creditor (or) Net Credit Purchases / Average Creditors + Average Bills Payable Net credit purchases = Total purchases – (Cash purchase + Purchase return) Total Creditors = [Op.Cr. + Cl.Cr. / 2 + Op. B/P + Cl. B/P / 2]   The higher ratio should indicate that the payments are made promptly. Net credit purchases consist of gross credit purchases minus purchase return.  When the information about credit purchases, opening and closing balances of trade creditors is not available then the ratio is calculated by dividing total purchases by the closing balance of trade creditors. Creditor Turnover Ratio = Total purchases / Total Trade Creditors  4.  ASSETS TURNOVER RATIO The relationship between assets and sales is known as assets turnover ratio.  Several assets turnover ratios can be calculated depending upon the groups of assets, which are related to sales. a)      Total asset turnover. b)      Net asset turnover c)      Fixed asset turnover d)      Current asset turnover e)      Net working capital turnover ratio a. TOTAL ASSET TURNOVER This ratio shows the firms ability to generate sales from all financial resources committed to total assets.  It is calculated by dividing sales by total assets. Total asset turnover = Total Sales /  Total Assets b. NET ASSET TURNOVER This is calculated by dividing sales by net assets. Net asset turnover =Total Sales / Net Assets Net assets represent total assets minus current liabilities. Intangible and fictitious assets like goodwill, patents, accumulated losses, deferred expenditure may be excluded for...

Profitability ratios are metrics that assess a company’s ability to generate income relative to its revenue, operating costs, balance sheet assets, or shareholders’ equity.  Profitability ratios show how efficiently a company generates profit and value for shareholders. Accounting Basics for Success in Business and in Life! In general two groups of profitability ratios are calculated. Profitability in relation to sales.Profitability in relation to investments. Profitability Ratios can be Classified into five types Gross profit margin or ratioNet profit margin or ratioOperating profit margin or ratioReturn on AssetsReturn on Equity  1. GROSS PROFIT MARGIN OR RATIO It measures the relationship between gross profit and sales.  It is calculated by dividing gross profit by sales. Gross profit margin or ratio = Gross profit X 100 / Net salesGross profit is the difference between sales and cost of goods sold. 2. NET PROFIT MARGIN OR RATIO It measures the relationship between net profit and sales of a firm.  It indicates management’s efficiency in manufacturing, administrating, and selling the products.  It is calculated by dividing net profit after tax by sales.  Net profit margin or ratio = Earning after tax  X  100 / Net Sales 3. OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN OR RATIO It establishes the relationship between total operating expenses and net sales.  It is calculated by dividing operating expenses by the net sales. Operating profit margin or ratio = Operating costs  X  100 / Net sales (0r) Cost of goods sold + Operating expenses * 100 / Net sales Operating expenses includes cost of goods produced/sold, general and administrative expenses, selling and distributive expenses. 4. RETURN ON ASSETS Return on assets is the ratio that is used to measure the company’s ability to generate profit by using its whole resource, the assets. It shows the percentage of the net income or net profit comparing to the average total assets. Return on assets shows how efficient the company is in using the assets to generate profits in a period of time. The high return on assets usually shows that the company performs well in making a profit from the assets it has. Return on assets can be calculated by comparing net income or net profit after interest and tax in the period to average total assets. Return on Assets = Net Profit / Average Total Assets 5. RETURN ON EQUITY Return on equity is the ratio that is used to measure the company’s ability to generate profit by using its investors’ money. It shows the percentage of the net income or net profit comparing to the average total equity. Return on equity shows how efficient the company is in using the investor’s money to generate profits in a period of time. The high return on equity usually shows that the company performs well in making profits from its investors’ money. Return on equity can be calculated by comparing net income or net profit after interest and tax in the period to average total equity. Return on Equity = Net Profit / Average Total...