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Meaning of the colors
Necessary to fill if you are using the slot
Fill it in if you know it. If you don't, I'll research it/create an estimate/choose the standard
Fill in, if applicable
Hello there! Don't worry about the size of this document. There are a lot of examples, guidelines, … . The amount you need to fill in is r
give me the necessary information to build a robust financial plan for your business. Thank You!
(A) The Company - Location of the Headquarters
Choosing your location has an important impact on the rent and taxes
Name of the company Corporate Income Tax
Country Sales Tax
State Reporting Currency
Describe your company
(C) Products/Services - See Exampl
The most crucial part of the entire financial plan. When will you start selling, against which price and what volumes do you expect
remember that simplicity is key to a good financial plan. See below for examples.
For Products:
Selling Price
Name Production
(VAT Incl.) Cost (VAT Incl.)
Product or Service 1
Product or Service 2
Product or Service 3
Product or Service 4
Product or Service 5
Examples of
Product 1 Cupcake $ 5.00 $ 3.00
In this case, we project to sell 100 cupcakes per month at $5 per piece, which results in a gross revenue
growing at 12% per year! Note that the economy grows on average 2% every year.) Producing the cupca
alternative cases such as the worst case where we sell less and have a slower growth rate or the best ca
Product 2 Box of Cupcakes $ 20.00 $13,00*
The difference with this line is that:
- We gave a detail about the composition of the production costs, see the (*) (you are allowed to do this
- When it comes to scenarios, we assume this one will be a hit or a miss (failure or big success), i.e. ther
- We only want to experiment with this product in year 2 (month 24)
Service 1 Advertisement click $ 0.01 $ -
In this case, we mention advertising revenue. The volume here are clicks and the "selling price" is the m
Service 2 Realized commission on sale via fiverr platform $6,00** $ -
We use fiverr as an example. It takes a commission on what is sold via its platform. Here the volume is c
it. F.e. $1 of the $5 gig. Fiverr already exists and is sure about their volume
*$12 for ingredients, $1 for the box
**On the platform, the average price of traded goods is $30, fiverr asks a comission of 20%, so the realized commission per sale is
(D) Employ
This component becomes the most expensive element in the final years of the financial plan horizon. Investors expect you to star
hiring employees. Employees are a challenging financial burden. In order to hire the best, you need to pay the best. Their wages im
You pay a company to create your website, you don't hire permanent ICT staff for a one time project. Only when your company be
Name Amount Monthly wage
CEO 1
CFO
COO/CIO
Employee 1
Employee 2
Employee 3
Employee 4
Employee 5
Examples of
CEO Harvey Specter 1 $4000
CFO Louis Lit 1 $3500
Will McAvoy 1* $2500
Helpdesk
* We hire an additional helpdesk employee for each additional 2000 platform sales
(E) Investm
You create a finanial plan to atract funding. Funding is used to pay for large initial investments (building the website, buying a ma
Working capital is a specific investment needed for every company. It is the buffer you use to operate the business without sales (
Investment Budget Month 1
Investment 1
Investment 2
Investment 3
Investment 4
Working Capital
Examples of
Month 1
Investment 1 Building $ 450,000 $ 400,000
Investment 2 Website $ 60,000 $ 20,000
Investment 3 Website $ 60,000 $ 20,000
=> Investment 3 was incorrectly filled in. You budget to spend $60.000 during the financial planning horizon, but only $40.000 is l
(F) Expenses - Recurring
People tend to focus on this part the most because it can be easily estimated. This part won't make or break your financial plan be
electricity bill...
Average of
Recurring Expenses Monthly Amount other plans
Rent & Rates $2500
Insurance $50
Utilities (electricity, gas, water) $400
Advertising & Marketing $500
General Supplies $50
Internet, mobile, … $100
Vehicle expenses $300
Repairs & Maintenance $25
Accountant fees $75
Legal fees $75
Membership & affiliation fees $80
Licensing $25
Bank fees & Charges $5
Other $10
Non-Recurring Expenses Monthly Amount Average of
other plans
Registrations (Business name,
licences, permits, domain names, $2500
vehicle)
Connections (Phone, Internet, utility) $500
Scanner/Copier/Smartphone/Laptop $250
Marketing Campaign Launch $300
Other $800
(G) Equity & F
Almost there! This is the final part & the most negotiated part between you, co-founders, investors, the bank …
What is equity? This is the buffer of your company. Equity is formed when the company receives capital. Equity grows when the c
business, so their investment grows along with your company. (When you buy coca cola stocks, you own a part of coca cola!). Whe
What is a loan? The company receives money, but needs to repay it (differs with equity, because the later stays in the business!).
the chance to grow.
Equity Investment Ownership (%)
My investment (CEO)
Investor 1
Investor 2
Investor 3
Total should be 100%
Debt
Loan 1
Loan 2
Loan 3
What if you don't fill in the grey zones? I'll calculate the necessary cash infusion you need in order to keep the bank account abov
Done! I'll start with processing your information & create financial statem
Financial Advice
This section is optional for you to read.
(1) Difference between profit & cash
Buying a building does not imply a deep loss for your company. You will use a building for many years, so only a part of the investm
over it's lifetime. This implies that renting a building or buying a building has no impact on your profit statement (costs are similar
The major difference is in the cashflow statement: Buying a building creates a large one time cash outflow, which needs to be cove
outflow. It also influences your balance sheet: The balance lists the property as an asset your company owns
Buying a building provides more certainty for the investor. When your business fails, the investor can sell your building to retrieve
(2) The size of an amount is as important as the timing of an amount
Spending $100.000 in year 1 or $100.000 in year 5 makes a huge difference for the investor. Nobody can predict the future, so am
Also note that, due to inflation, $100.000 in the future represents less buying power
Investors are more likely to agree on giving you money when you reach certain milestones, i.e. after a certain time period.
(3) Being conservative is key to getting a "yes" from an investor
Investors don't like people who think they're the next Zuckerberg. Projecting piles of gold is sensless and they see those type of pl
not come easily.
(4) Money is never free
Investors do not hand out money as a hobby. They expect a return on their investment. They expect a part of your company so th
company
(5) A financial plan tells the story of your business in an objective way.
Investors are not interested in your dreams. They wan't to see your keen insight & sense of reality.
(6) They want to see how sensitive your business model is
Creating scenario's allows investors to see whether your business model survives when you need to change prices, when producti
model that survives when the goods are priced at $6 but not at $5,5 won't get approval. It's to sensitive too the price effect.
mount you need to fill in is rather limited (10 mins). A lot of additional slots are for large/existing companies. Your input on these questions will
(B) The Company - Board of Directors
Who will lead the company?
CEO
CFO
COO/CIO
Other people you would like to mention
ervices - See Examples below to fill in correctly!
what volumes do you expect to reach? Do you have alternative scenario's in mind? You can add additional lines for extra products/services, but
Uncertainty about the volume
Expected Worst Case Best Case
Monthly
volume to sell I will start selling in month …
per month Growth Monthly Monthly
Volume Volume
Growth Growth
Examples of (C)
100 1.00% 75 0.50% 150 1.2% Month 1
h results in a gross revenue of $500 per month. Moreover, we assume that this monthly volume of cupcakes sold will grow with 1% (which is
y year.) Producing the cupcake, results in a direct cost of $3 or $300 a month. We are not sure that we can realize these numbers, so there are
r growth rate or the best case where we sell more and have a higher growth rate.
20 0.80% 2 0% 30 2% Month 24
) (you are allowed to do this, I will adapt the financial plan to this)
ure or big success), i.e. there is a lot of variance or uncertainty about this product line
5000 0.20% 4000 -0.10% 7500 0.30% Month 6
d the "selling price" is the money you receive from someone clicking an advertisement. We expect to start receiving ad revenue in month 6
300 0.50% 300 0.50% 300 0.50% Month 1
tform. Here the volume is composed of products/services sold. The selling price is not the price of the product or service, but the % fiverr takes on
lized commission per sale is $6
(D) Employees
Investors expect you to start as the only employee, often without pay. Only when the company atracts stable sales, it should start considering
pay the best. Their wages imply huge monthly costs, which cannot be easily cut. Avoid mistakes such as "Hiring a developer to make a website".
Only when your company becomes large, it is an option to hire a permanent developer for upkeep.
Wage index Payroll Taxes Pension
This person will Bonus (%) Dental (%) Car (%)
(%) (%) benefits (%)
receive money
from month …
Examples of (D)
Month 6 2% 13% 2% 5% 4% 10%
After breakeven 2% 13% 2% 5% 4% 10%
After 4000
platform sales
(Service 2 of
example in C)
(E) Investments
ng the website, buying a machine, a truck, specific building, …). These costs are not recurring every month!
the business without sales (f.e. buying ingredients in order to create the cupcakes)
Time distribution of budget (=The sum of these amounts should equal the budget)
Month 6 Month 12 Month 18 Month 24 Month 36 Month 48 Month 60
Examples of (E)
Month 6 Month 12 Month 18 Month 24 Month 36 Month 48 Month 60
$ 50,000
$ 10,000 $ 10,000 $ 10,000 $ 10,000
$ 10,000 $ 10,000
orizon, but only $40.000 is listed.
penses - Recurring and non-recurring
break your financial plan because these tend to be unavoidable. Good strategy allows you to influence (C), (D) and (E). Strategy cannot avoid the
(G) Equity & Funding
e bank …
al. Equity grows when the company starts generating profits. Investors tend to give capital in equity form. In return they own a part of your
wn a part of coca cola!). When the company grows larger, equity owners expect a yearly return on their capital (dividends).
ater stays in the business!). Loans are much harder to deal with, because you need to repay capital and interest while your company did not get
eep the bank account above 0
financial statements, calculate your ratios, …
so only a part of the investment is charged as a cost. I.e., a building is consumed
statement (costs are similar)
low, which needs to be covered by an investor. Renting creates a monthly cash
y owns
ell your building to retrieve the money. Rent is permanently lost in his eyes
an predict the future, so amounts in the future are deemed as less important.
certain time period.
nd they see those type of plans everyday. Real life is hard work and money does
part of your company so they can grow their investment along with the
hange prices, when production costs turn out to be higher, … . F.e. a business
ve too the price effect.
on these questions will
products/services, but
will start selling in month …
Month 1
ow with 1% (which is
numbers, so there are
Month 24
Month 6
evenue in month 6
Month 1
e, but the % fiverr takes on
hould start considering
oper to make a website".
Other (%)
1%
1%
Budget left:
0
0
0
0
Budget left:
$ -
$ -
$ 20,000
Strategy cannot avoid the
own a part of your
s).
our company did not get