The Differences Between Gross and Net Revenue Reporting

You can choose between gross and net revenues when reporting revenue for a company. While they both indicate revenue, there is a significant variation in how they are calculated. Understanding both forms of revenue is critical because it can provide you a more full picture of a company's financial health and assist you in making strategic decisions. We define gross and net revenue reporting, explain the differences, and present examples of both in this article.

What is gross revenue reporting, and how does it work?

On an income statement, gross revenue is the amount of money collected from a sale. Any expenditures, such as the cost of products sold, are not included in the gross income. The cost of goods sold is the amount of money it costs a company to produce the item it sells. For instance, if a store owner sold $30,000 worth of merchandise in a month, their total revenue is $30,000. This estimate excludes the cost of items sold as well as the shop owner's expenses, such as employee wages, monthly leasing payments, and energy bills.

Because it shows external stakeholders how much money a company has generated, total revenue can indicate its worth. This information can be used by these stakeholders to decide whether or not to invest. You must specify a specific period to report gross revenue, such as monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Then, make a list of all potential sources of revenue. If you have a physical store and an online business, for example, you would report revenue from both. Your gross revenue is the sum of your income from both sources for the stated time period, minus expenses.

What is the definition of net revenue reporting?

When reporting net revenue, gross income is subtracted from the cost of goods sold. You also deduct any other expenditures involved with running a business, such as rent and utility payments, employee salary, and shipping charges. Expenses related with discounted, refunded, or returned items are also subtracted from net revenue. A shop owner, for example, sold $40,000 worth of merchandise in a month. Their entire cost of items sold for the month was $1,000, they paid $1,200 in rent, and their employees were paid $7,200 a month. After deducting those expenses, they end up with $30,600 in net revenue for the month.

The Emerging Issues Task Force established recommendations for deciding between gross and net revenue reporting as part of the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are a set of rules that firms must adhere to when reporting financial data. Businesses can report net revenue to show that an employee received a commission on a sale or that some of the money went to a supplier, for example.

What's the distinction between gross and net revenue?

Gross revenue does not include expenses related to sales or operations, whereas net revenue does. Gross revenue demonstrates a company's worth by demonstrating its ability to create sales. This information can be used by external stakeholders to decide whether or not to invest in it. Gross income might also show signs of expansion. Starting a firm, for example, incurs initial expenditures, which might have an impact on income during that time. Because your gross revenue excludes such expenses, it demonstrates how much you may possibly make in the future without those one-time costs interfering.

Net revenue is also important because it can assist you in determining the worth of your products. Your gross income may indicate that a product is profitable. However, after deducting the costs of selling the goods, you may discover that it is not as profitable as it appears. You may decide to raise your prices to account for the cost of items sold and other expenses, or you may decide to stop selling a costly item, based on these findings. If you don't want to adjust the prices, this research may persuade you to look for cost-cutting opportunities elsewhere in the company.