Operating account: complete guide for managers

Updated April 4, 2026 - The operating account is one of the most useful documents for a manager who wishes to understand the real profitability of his activity. Unlike the legal income statement imposed by the General Accounting Plan (PCG), the operating account is a flexible management tool which isolates the operational performance of the company. At Hayot Expertise, we use it daily to help our clients make informed decisions.

The operating account is a management document which lists all of the operating income and operating expenses of a company over a given period. It makes it possible to generate an operating result by comparing what the current activity generates and what it consumes.

Quick answer: the operating account is a management table which contrasts the income and expenses linked to the operational activity of the company. It is calculated as follows: Operating result = Operating income − Operating expenses. This indicator measures pure economic performance, before financial and exceptional items.

In French accounting language, we also speak of operating income statement or intermediate management balances (SIG). The PCG, in its consolidated version as of January 1, 2026 (ANC regulation no. 2014-03 amended by ANC no. 2022-06), defines the normative framework for the legal income statement, of which the operating account constitutes the operational part.

To extend, see SME financial management: dashboards and KPIs 2026, 5 KPIs for SME financial management 2026 and Taxation and business taxes.

This is the most common confusion among leaders. Here are the essential distinctions:

• The income statement is a mandatory legal document, presented according to a model imposed by the PCG (basic system or abbreviated system). It covers all income and expenses: operating, financial and exceptional.
• The operating account is an internal management tool. It only includes operations linked to current activity, excluding financial, exceptional and property elements.
• The net result of the income statement includes corporate tax. The operating result comes before any tax consideration. In summary, the operating account is an analytical sub-part of the income statement. It answers a simple question: is my main activity profitable in itself?

A well-constructed operating account is broken down into two main masses, in accordance with the logic of classes 6 and 7 of the PCG.

Operating income (class 7 of the PCG)

Operating products represent all of the resources generated by the company's current activity:

• Turnover (account 70): sales of goods, finished products, provision of services, works
• Stored production (account 71): change in stocks of in-progress and finished products
• Capitalized production (account 72): goods produced by the company for itself
• Operating subsidies (account 74): public aid linked to current activity
• Other operating income (account 75): royalties, commissions, ancillary products

Operating expenses (class 6 of the PCG)

Operating expenses include all expenses necessary for operational functioning:

• Purchases of raw materials and goods (accounts 60): purchases consumed, inventory change
• External services (accounts 61-62): rent, insurance, fees, advertising, subcontracting, travel expenses
• Taxes and charges (account 63): CFE, CVAE, property taxes, payroll taxes
• Personnel costs (accounts 64): gross salaries, social charges, manager's remuneration
• Allocations to depreciation and provisions (accounts 68): depreciation of fixed assets, provisions for risks and operating expenses

The calculation of operating income is based on a simple formula, but its analysis requires method.

The basic formula

Operating result = Operating income − Operating expenses

A positive result indicates that the current activity generates sufficient resources to cover its costs. A negative result signals that the company's business model needs to be questioned.

Intermediate management balances (SIG)

For a more detailed analysis, the PCG provides a cascade of intermediate balances which break down the formation of the result:

1. Trade margin = Sales of goods − Purchase cost of goods sold
2. Production for the financial year = Production sold + Production stored + Production capitalized
3. Added value = Commercial margin + Production for the year − Consumption from third parties
4. EBE (Gross Operating Surplus) = Value added + Operating subsidies − Taxes − Personnel costs
5. Operating result = EBITDA + Other operating income − Depreciation and provisions

The EBE is particularly followed by banks and investors because it measures the company's ability to generate cash through its activity, independently of its investment policy and its debt.

Hayot Expertise advice: never stop at turnover alone. A company can show growth in its turnover while deteriorating its operating margin. It is the EBITDA and operating income that tell the real story.

Let's take the example of a digital services SARL with an annual turnover of €800,000.

In this example, the operating margin rate is 23.3% (189,000 / 812,000). This level is consistent for a high value-added service company. The EBE, for its part, amounts to €224,000 (812,000 − 180,000 − 28,000 − 380,000), or an EBE rate of 27.6%.

This type of analysis allows the manager to:

• compare your performance from one year to the next
• position yourself in relation to the ratios of your sector of activity
• identify expense items that are progressing abnormally
• anticipate the impact of an increase in costs or a drop in activity

We regularly see the same pitfalls during our support missions:

• Mixing operational, financial and exceptional: a financial product (interest, capital gains) has nothing to do with operational performance. The operating account must remain specific to current activity.

• Monitor turnover only: turnover is an indicator of volume, not profitability. A company can grow in turnover while destroying margins.

• Do not isolate variable and fixed costs: this distinction is essential to calculate a profitability threshold and simulate the impact of a variation in activity.

• Release a document too late: an annual operating account often arrives 6 to 9 months after closing. In 2026, effective management requires quarterly, or even monthly, monitoring for fast-growing SMEs.

• Neglect uncash costs: depreciation charges do not consume cash, but they impact operating income and taxation. You have to know how to read them correctly.

Hayot Expertise advice: the correct operating account is a management document. It must allow a decision. If it is too technical, too late or too vague, it loses its value. Ask your accountant to provide you with a summary and commented version, not just a raw tax package.

Several action levers are available to the manager to improve operational performance:

Act on operating income

• Revise your pricing policy based on the price elasticity of your market
• Diversify your sources of income (ancillary services, subscriptions, recurring products)
• Optimize your product mix by favoring lines with higher margins
• Valorize capitalized production when it is significant

Control operating costs

• Regularly renegotiate external service contracts (insurance, telecoms, supplies)
• Rationalize the purchasing of raw materials via periodic calls for tenders
• Analyze the relevance of certain outsourcing versus internalization
• Benefit from applicable tax measures (CIR, CII, tax credits)

Manage intermediate balances

• Monitor the EBE monthly to detect deviations before the annual closing
• Calculate the profitability threshold: Fixed charges / Margin rate on variable costs
• Compare its ratios to the sector averages published by INSEE and the Banque de France

We can help you transform accounting data into margin reading and a decision tool for the manager.

Quick link: Structuring your financial management