When you own a small business, it’s important to have extra cash on hand to use for investing or paying yourliabilities. But with money constantly coming in and going out, it can be difficult to monitor how much is leftover. Use a retained earnings account to track how much your business has accumulated.

了解您的企业所拥有的保留收入数量可以帮助您做出决策和获得融资。了解保留收入是什么，如何计算它们以及如何记录。

What are retained earnings?

Retained earnings are business profits that can be used for investing or paying down business debts. They are cumulative earnings that represent what is leftover after you have paid expenses and dividends to your business’s shareholders or owners. Retained earnings are also known as retained capital or accumulated earnings.

您必须在每个会计期结束时报告保留收入。常见会计期包括每月，季度和每年。您可以将公司从一个会计期与另一个会计期间的保留收益进行比较。

如何计算保留收入

So, what goes into retained earnings? To calculate retained earnings, you need to know your business’s previous retained earnings,net income, and dividends paid.

You can find your business’s previous retained earnings on your业务资产负债表或保留收入的声明。您公司的净收入可以在您的income statement or profit and loss statement. If you have shareholders, dividends paid is the amount that you pay them.

保留收入公式

使用以下保留的利润公式来确定您公司在会计期内的保留收益：

Retained Earnings = Beginning Retained Earnings + Net Income – Dividends Paid

如果您是一家新业务，并且没有以前的保留收益，则将输入$ 0。而且，如果您以前的保留收入为负，请确保正确标记它。

Can retained earnings be negative? If you have a net loss and low or negative beginning retained earnings, you can have negative retained earnings.

On the other hand, if you have net income and a good amount of accumulated retained earnings, you will probably have positive retained earnings.

Retained earnings examples

Let’s say that you have beginning retained earnings of $25,000. For this accounting period, you had a net income of $30,000. And, you paid dividends of $20,000.

Retained Earnings = $25,000 + $30,000 – $20,000

保留收入= $ 35,000

您的保留收益帐户为35,000美元。

现在，让我们来看看一个负面的保留收入示例。您已经开始保留4,000美元的收入，净亏损为$ 12,000。您没有支付股息。

Retained Earnings = $4,000 – $12,000 – $0

Retained Earnings = -8,000

You have a deficit of $8,000 at your business. Because retained earnings are cumulative, you will need to use -$8,000 as your beginning retained earnings for the next accounting period. You will need a high net income to get out of the hole.

Retained earnings accounting

You must adjust your retained earnings account whenever you create a journal entry that raises or lowers a revenue or expense account.

Are retained earnings an asset? Retained earnings are actually reported in the equity section of the balance sheet. Although you can invest retained earnings into assets, they themselves are not assets.

保留收入应记录。通常，您将在“权益”部分下的资产负债表上记录它们。但是，您也可以在单独的财务报告known as the statement of retained earnings.

Thebalance sheetis split into three parts: assets, liabilities, andowner’s equity. The assets section shows you the items of value that your business owns. The liabilities section shows you what you owe. And, the equity section shows you the money you have left over after paying debts.

On the balance sheet, retained earnings appear under the “Equity” section. “Retained Earnings” appears as a line item to help you determine your total商业平等.

Thestatement of retained earningsis a financial statement entirely devoted to calculating your retained earnings. Like the retained earnings formula, the statement of retained earnings lists beginning retained earnings, net income or loss, dividends paid, and the final retained earnings.

With well-managed accounting books, you can create accurate financial statements. Patriot’ssmall business accounting software使您可以轻松地在线跟踪您的收入和支出。今天免费尝试！

This article has been updated from its original publication date of 07/28/2015.

This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, please点击这里。