How to read the financial ratios
A ratio is a division between two figures from the company's accounts: it tells you, for example, how many euros the company has in the short term for each euro it owes in the short term. The Financial ratios screen calculates eleven ratios from the company's Balance sheet and Income Statement, for the chosen period.
Where to find it
- Management profile: Management › Results › Financial ratios.
- Accountant profile: Accounting › Review › Financial statements › Financial ratios.
At the top you choose the period (Month, Quarter or Year, and the year), and you can tick Compare with previous period. Export PDF and Export take the table off the screen.
The table has three columns: Line (the name of the ratio and the calculation, in words), Value and Fórmula (rubricas) (the formula, with the names of the Balance sheet and Income Statement lines, for example “Ativo corrente / Passivo corrente”).
What each ratio measures
| Ratio | Calculation | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Current ratio (liquidez geral) | current assets ÷ current liabilities | How much the company has in the short term (customers, banks, amounts receivable from the State) for each euro it owes in the short term. |
| Quick ratio (liquidez reduzida) | (current assets − inventories − biological assets) ÷ current liabilities | The same, without counting what is still in the warehouse. |
| Financial autonomy (autonomia financeira) | equity ÷ total assets | What share of what the company has is financed by the shareholders and by profits, rather than by debt. |
| Solvency (solvabilidade) | equity ÷ total liabilities | How many euros of equity there are for each euro of debt. |
| Debt ratio (endividamento) | total liabilities ÷ total assets | What share of what the company has is financed by debt. It adds up to 1 with financial autonomy. |
| Return on equity (rendibilidade do capital próprio) | net profit ÷ equity | How much the period's profit yields on the shareholders' capital. |
| Return on assets (rendibilidade do ativo) | net profit ÷ total assets | How much the profit yields on everything the company has. |
| Asset turnover (rotação do ativo) | sales ÷ total assets | How many euros of sales the company makes for each euro it has. |
| Inventory turnover (rotação dos inventários) | cost of goods sold ÷ inventories | How many times the warehouse “turns over” in the period. |
| Average collection period (prazo médio de recebimento, days) | customers ÷ (sales and services + VAT) × days | How many days, on average, customers take to pay. |
| Average payment period (prazo médio de pagamento, days) | vendors ÷ (purchases + external supplies and services + VAT) × days | How many days, on average, the company takes to pay its vendors. |
The first seven are a proportion (0.33 means 33%). The two turnovers say how many times (1.33 means 1.33 times). The two average periods are in days.
Example
In Empresa Demonstração, Lda, with the Management profile, the year 2026 (01/01/2026 to 31/12/2026, viewed on 2 November) and Compare with previous period ticked:
| Ratio | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 0.06 | 0.00 |
| Quick ratio | 0.06 | 0.00 |
| Financial autonomy | 0.33 | 0.62 |
| Solvency | 0.50 | 1.67 |
| Debt ratio | 0.67 | 0.38 |
| Return on equity | −0.83 | 0.24 |
| Return on assets | −0.27 | 0.15 |
| Asset turnover | 0.18 | 1.33 |
| Inventory turnover | (blank) | (blank) |
| Average collection period | 55.05 | 0.00 |
| Average payment period | 22.89 | (blank) |
The values match the Balance sheet and the Income Statement for the same year:
- Current assets €1,424.44 ÷ current liabilities €24,036.28 = 0.06. Liquidity is low for two reasons: current liabilities are almost all debt to the State (€21,339.41), and the Caixa e depósitos bancários (cash and bank deposits) line is negative (−€6,609.37). This line is not just the bank balance, which is €30,131.59: it also deducts €36,972.06 of payments already recorded that do not yet appear on the bank statement.
- Equity €71,772.32 ÷ total assets €215,808.60 = 0.33.
- Net profit −€59,331.84 ÷ equity €71,772.32 = −0.83: the company is making a loss in 2026.
- Customers €6,981.73 ÷ (sales €38,393.00 + output VAT €7,901.37) × 365 days = 55.05 days.
How to read the values
- Always compare with another period. A ratio on its own says little: see whether it improves or worsens compared with the previous year (the Compare with previous period option).
- The average periods count the days of the chosen period. With the whole year chosen and the year still running, sales are only those made up to today, but the calculation uses 365 days.
- A negative ratio comes from a negative net profit (a loss) or negative equity. Read the ratio with the Income Statement open.
- fiscaldoo does not say whether a value is good or bad: there are no thresholds or colours in the table. What values are reasonable depends on the company's sector and size. Pending validation by a certified accountant: reference values of the ratios by sector.
What the screen does not see
- It only uses the accounts of the active company (the one chosen in the top right corner).
- It does not make projections: for the money of the coming months, use the Cash forecast.
Common problems
A ratio is blank
- Cause: the calculation cannot be done. One of the Balance sheet or Income Statement lines is missing, or the number it divides by is zero. In the example, Inventory turnover is blank because the company has no inventories on the Balance sheet.
- What to do: nothing, if the company does not have that situation (for example, it has no warehouse). A blank ratio is not zero.
“O referencial contabilístico de … não está definido, por isso esta demonstração não pode ser mostrada…”
- Symptom: in a company with no accounting referential, the screen shows only this message (the accounting referential of … is not set, so this statement cannot be shown) and calculates nothing. Seen with Empresa Teste Filial.
- What to do: ask the tax officer or the system administrator to choose the Accounting referential in Settings › Users & Companies › Companies, PT Localization tab, as the message says. Then open the ratios again.