For-profit organization | Not-for-profit organization |
The primary objective is profit-making | The main objective is to cater for the welfare of its members |
The main sources of income are from sales of goods and the rendering of services. | Their main sources of income are donations, subscriptions, membership fees, and grants. |
Tax is paid on taxable profit | Basically, they are tax-exempt, except from commercial activities undertaken by them. |
They are usually in the form of sole proprietorships, partnerships, and companies. | They are usually in the form of clubs, benevolent associations, trusts, societies, schools, hospitals, etc. |
Management is vested in the owner for sole proprietorships, partners for partnerships, and directors for companies. | Management is vested in the board of trustees, committee, or governing bodies |
The components of their financial statements are the income statement, cashbook, balance sheet, and statement of cash flow | The components of their financial statements are receipts and payments account, income and expenditure account statement of affairs, and balance sheet |
They employ experts to run the business | They rely more on members voluntary services to run the organization |