Our parents told us not to compare ourselves to others. But in business, comparisons are useful. Here are some useful comparisons to identify critical trends over time in the P&L: Current year to date vs. prior year to date (a/k/a year over year or YOY) Current month vs. prior months Trailing twelve months (TTM) vs. prior trailing twelve months It's also useful to compare your P&L versus your industry average. Here’s a YOY comparison of an income statement. The change in raw

In Part I of this three-part series, I defined some terms used in this article (click here). By the end of this article, you’ll know how to tell if the products or services you’re selling are profitable or if you’re losing money on them. You can then take action on the troublemakers to increase your bottom line. If you’re an owner or manager, this kind of analysis is critical to your success. If you suffer from arithmophobia (a real word meaning fear of numbers or arithmetic)