Financial ratios provide a means of measuring the overall health of a business. While numerous measures exist, the most popular measure the overall health of your business analyzing income, liquidity, assets, debt and profitability.
Income Analysis
- Gross Profit: Measures total sales less cost of goods sold.
- Operating Income: Income after operating expenses are paid.
- Income Before Taxes: Income after non-sales revenue and interest paid are taken into consideration.
- Net Profit: Total profit generated by the business on a post-tax basis.
Liquidity
- Current: Measures the ability of a business to pay its current liabilities using available assets.
- Quick (Acid Test): Measures the ability of a business to pay its current liabilities using available assets, less inventory.
Asset Management
- Inventory Turnover: An estimate of how many times during the year your inventory is turned over, based on sales.
- Fixed Asset Turnover: An estimate of how many times during the year your fixed assets are turned over, based on sales.
- Total Asset Turnover: An estimate of how many times during the year your total assets are turned over, based on sales.
- Average Collection Period: The average amount of time it takes to receive cash from a sale.
Debt Management
- Debt-to-Assets: Measures the amount of total funds that have been provided by creditors or lenders.
- Times Interest Earned: Measures interest paid against pre-tax earnings as an indicator of a businesses ability to make interest payments to its creditors.
Profitability
- Profit Margin: Measures the percentage of each sales dollar that is generated as profit.
- Return on Assets: Measures the rate at which profit is returned against total assets.
- Return on Equity: Measures the rate at which profit is returned against total shareholder equity.