How to Create a Profit Before Tax Chart

Profit before tax, or PBT, is a financial term referring to how companies measure their profits before paying corporate taxes. Whether you are a business owner or an investor, it helps to know profit before tax because tax costs change so quickly. PBT allows you to compare variances in a company's profits over time.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Place the company's name and the title, "Profit Before Tax Chart" on a new document. Add a subtitle indicating the period of the data, such as "nine months results." Insert another subtitle specifying the comparison data, such as "year to date actual vs. latest estimates vs. budget."

2. Create a spreadsheet with key data. Include actual sales to date. Compare those to latest estimates, budget numbers and prior year sales. Plan to display these figures in bars on the chart.

3. Format a scale for the chart with numbers along the "x" axis. Insert the number "0" in the middle of the axis. Choose minimum and maximum ranges for the scale that extend beyond the smallest and largest numbers in the key data. Space the numbers in even increments above and below zero.

4. Decide on a color scheme for the data. Use a different color for bars corresponding to each set of figures. Add a value directly on each bar that displays the data in easy to read estimates.

5. Insert a legend at the bottom of the chart. Identify the bars by color and value. Finish the chart by adding small text boxes above each bar. Use the boxes to further explain the chart's calculations.