Self-Employed Profit & Loss Statement (Free Template + How-To Guide)

What a self-employed profit & loss statement actually is

Let’s keep this simple. A profit and loss statement is just:

All the money that came in (income) minus all the money that went out (expenses) for a specific period.

That’s it. It answers one question: “How much did my business really make over this time?”

It’s typically broken into:

• Income – what you earned from clients, customers, or platforms
• Expenses – what you spent running the business
• Net profit – income minus expenses

When you’re self-employed, this is your “official story” about your business income. Lenders and landlords use it to see if your numbers are real and sustainable.

When you’ll be asked for a P&L as a self-employed person

You won’t always need a profit and loss statement, but when you do, it usually shows up in one of these situations:

• Applying for a mortgage or refinance
• Applying for a business loan or line of credit
• Getting a larger auto loan as a self-employed borrower
• Trying to show income for a high-end apartment
• Sitting down with a CPA or tax preparer

Sometimes they’ll ask for a tax return, a P&L, and bank statements together. That’s normal. They’re just trying to see if everything matches.

Simple self-employed P&L template (structure you can copy)

You can build this in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, or any spreadsheet. Here’s the basic layout:

That’s your skeleton. Once you have that, filling in the numbers is just a matter of sorting income and expenses.

Step-by-step: how to build your P&L from scratch

Step 1: Pick your time period

Most people use:

• Full year (Jan–Dec) – for taxes and bigger loans
• Last 6 months – for up-to-date income checks
• Year-to-date – for the current year so far

Choose one period and stick with it on the whole statement.

Step 2: Gather your income

Pull in all the money you received for your self-employed work during that period. That might include:

• Client invoices you were paid on
• Platform payouts (Upwork, Fiverr, Uber, DoorDash, etc.)
• Stripe, PayPal, Zelle, Venmo business payments
• Cash payments you actually deposited and recorded

Add them up by month, then by year (or by whatever period you chose). That total becomes your Total Income.

Step 3: List your expenses by category

This doesn’t need to be 40 categories long. Keep it simple. Common self-employed expense buckets:

• Advertising & marketing
• Supplies & materials
• Vehicle and mileage
• Home office
• Software & subscriptions
• Insurance
• Professional fees (tax prep, legal, etc.)
• Other expenses

Go through your bank and credit card statements, assign each business expense to a category, and total each one for the period.

Step 4: Calculate your net profit

Once you have:

• Total Income
• Total Expenses

Then:

Net Profit = Total Income – Total Expenses

That net profit number is what many lenders and landlords look at when deciding if you qualify. It’s also what flows onto your tax return (usually onto your Schedule C).

How your P&L connects to pay stubs and proof of income

Here’s where this ties back to the rest of your income story. Your P&L shows your business income and expenses. But when you’re applying for an apartment, auto loan, or personal loan, they also want to see how you pay yourself.

That’s where a self-employed pay stub comes in. Your P&L might show that your business made $60,000 last year. But your pay stub shows how that turns into regular “pay” to you each month.

Using your P&L with lenders, landlords, and CPAs

A well-organized P&L instantly makes you look more serious and less risky. Here’s how it usually gets used:

For lenders

They’ll compare your net profit to your other monthly debts and your requested payment. They may also compare your P&L to your tax return and bank statements.

For landlords

Some larger apartment complexes ask for a P&L to see how stable your self-employed income is. Pairing it with a pay stub and bank statements gives them a full, clear picture.

For your CPA

Your tax preparer can use your P&L to quickly understand your business and make sure you’re not missing deductions. Showing up with a clean P&L instead of a shoebox of receipts is a gift to both of you.

Common mistakes people make with self-employed P&Ls

Here’s where a lot of people accidentally make life harder than it needs to be:

• Mixing personal and business expenses. If everything goes through one account, it’s harder to prove what’s business vs personal.
• Only doing this once a year. That’s better than nothing, but updating your P&L quarterly or monthly helps you stay in control.
• Overcomplicating categories. You don’t get extra points for 50 expense lines. Keep it readable.
• Letting the numbers drift away from reality. Your P&L should match your bank activity and tax return, not wishful thinking.

Real talk: this doesn’t have to be perfect “CPA-level beautiful.” It just has to be honest, consistent, and readable.

Next steps: turn your numbers into a clean income story

If you’ve been putting off doing a P&L because it sounds intimidating, here’s the simple version:

• Pick a time period (last year, last 6 months, or year-to-date).
• Total your business income.
• Total your business expenses by category.
• Subtract expenses from income to get net profit.

Once you have that, you’re not just “self-employed and guessing.” You have real numbers. And from there, you can create pay stubs, income letters, and whatever else you need to prove your income cleanly.

Need more help documenting your income? Start on the SelfEmployedDocs home page, read the main Self-Employed Proof of Income guide, or learn more about the site on the About page. If you have questions, you can always reach out through the Contact page.