How to read a P&L you can drill into
The problem
Your accountant sends you the P&L once a year. A page of totals. Revenue, costs, profit.
It tells you how much. It doesn't tell you where and why. And when the numbers don't add up, that page won't help you see what happened.
A useful P&L is read in depth: from the total, all the way down to the journal entry.
Read by area, not by total
Three moves change everything.
1. Look at the delta, not just the value. Every line compared to last year. A cost growing faster than revenue is a signal, not a detail.
2. Drill by area. A direct cost isn't a single number: it's materials, subcontractors, labour, rentals. The problem lives in one of these, not in all of them.
3. Reach the entries. The suspect area opens into accounts, and accounts into the single journal entries. There the "why" has a name and a date.
Try it here
This is the P&L of a construction company — sample numbers. Start from direct costs and drill down. Every click opens a level.
Sample data
Follow the story the numbers tell:
- Revenue is up 5%. Looks like a good year.
- But direct costs are up 18%: job margin loses €150,000 versus last year.
- Open direct costs: it's Subcontractors (+56%, €252,000 more) doing the pulling.
- Drill again: systems subcontracts go from €120,000 to €250,000 (+108%). The journal entries say it: variations and progress billings that grew mid-job.
The total would never have told you. The tree does, in four clicks.
Do it on your data
Your P&L has the same story inside. You just need to be able to open it.
Want a P&L that opens like this, on your real data? Discover LoomX Analyst — your analyst, in an app — or let's talk: 30 minutes, no sales follow-up.
Read also: Management control for your business: the practical guide and Your revenue is growing but your profit isn't? Here are 3 hidden causes.
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