| Line | Actual | Budget | Same month last year |
|---|---|---|---|
Revenue Revenue from operations for the month, net of GST | |||
Gross margin Revenue less cost of sales | |||
Operating expenses Employee, selling, admin and other costs — before depreciation and interest | |||
Profit after tax After depreciation, interest and tax | |||
EBITDA (worked out for you) Gross margin less operating expenses | 185 | 280 | 180 |
| Item | This month-end | Last month-end |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and bank | ||
| Trade receivables | ||
| Inventory | ||
| Trade payables | ||
| Borrowings (total) |
| Line | Actual | Budget | Variance | Var % | Last year | vs LY % | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,840 | 2,000 | -160 | -8.0% | 1,650 | +11.5% | Amber |
| Cost of sales | 1,325 | 1,400 | -75 | -5.4% | 1,170 | +13.2% | Green |
| Gross margin | 515 | 600 | -85 | -14.2% | 480 | +7.3% | Red |
| Operating expenses | 330 | 320 | +10 | +3.1% | 300 | +10.0% | Green |
| EBITDA | 185 | 280 | -95 | -33.9% | 180 | +2.8% | Red |
| Depreciation, interest and tax | 89 | 130 | -41 | -31.5% | 88 | +1.1% | Green |
| Profit after tax | 96 | 150 | -54 | -36.0% | 92 | +4.3% | Red |
| Item | Now | Movement | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and bank | 210 | -55 | Red |
| Trade receivables | 3,650 | +270 | Amber |
| Inventory | 2,400 | +150 | Amber |
| Trade payables | 1,750 | +60 | — |
| Borrowings (total) | 2,900 | +150 | Amber |
A monthly MIS is a management document, so no law prescribes its format. The packs that get read have the same shape: one page that says where the month landed against budget and last year, a page on cash and working capital, a short list of what needs a decision, and the detail behind it for anyone who wants to check. The workbook this page produces follows that order.
Three habits make the difference. Agree the numbers to the trial balance before anything is written, so nobody argues about the figures in the meeting. Keep the layout and the definitions the same every month, so the trend means something. And give every red or amber line an owner and a due date, so next month’s pack opens with what was done about it. If the ratios in the pack need to tie to the annual accounts, the Schedule III ratio calculator uses the year-end constructions; for the full statement of cash flows use the cash flow statement builder.
Receivables flagged? Run the debtors ageing behind the number, or see which measures an audit committee tracks in the internal audit dashboard KPIs guide.
An MIS report (management information system report) is the monthly pack the finance team gives the managing director, the CFO and the board: what the business earned, what it spent, where the cash went, and what needs attention. It is a management document, not a statutory one, so there is no prescribed format. This generator uses the layout most finance teams settle on: an executive summary, the profit and loss against budget and against the same month last year, working capital, a cash flow summary, KPIs, and an exceptions and actions sheet.
You enter revenue, gross margin, operating expenses and profit after tax for the month, each with its budget and last-year figure, and the month-end balances for cash, receivables, inventory, payables and borrowings with last month’s figures alongside. The page works out cost of sales, EBITDA (gross margin less operating expenses) and the charges below EBITDA, so the lines always add up. Variance is actual minus budget; variance per cent is that figure divided by budget.
Each line gets a red, amber or green flag against tolerances you set. A variance counts only when it is adverse — revenue or profit below budget, or cost above it. Below the amber tolerance the line is green; between amber and red it is amber; at or beyond the red tolerance it is red. The three largest budget variances are then written out in a sentence each, with the size, the direction and the comparison with last year.
Working-capital days are computed from the month’s figures annualised: receivables divided by twelve times the month’s revenue, multiplied by 365, for DSO; inventory and payables on twelve times the month’s cost of sales for DIO and DPO. The cash conversion cycle is DSO plus DIO minus DPO. The cash flow summary is a simple bridge from EBITDA through the movement in receivables, inventory, payables and borrowings to the movement in cash, with the remainder — capex, tax, interest and anything else — shown as a balancing figure for the finance team to analyse.
Illustrative figures in ₹ lakh for a mid-size company. Tolerances are set at 5% for amber and 10% for red.
