In a class I was teaching today, I shared a spreadsheet I created for a High School class I teach. This spreadsheet is a demo model that I built to demonstrate how decisions around spending affect the cash flow of a business. This spreadsheet is useful as a demonstration but it is not a cash flow that you would want to use in its current form. That said, it does contain many of the components of a cash flow that your business might need.
Some of the elements that are less realistic and more for demonstration purposes include:
- Staffing costs calculated as a percent of sales (although you will want to staff consistent with sales)
- Marketing costs calculated as a cost per unit of inventory purchases.
How to use?
- Modify the fields in yellow to project inventory, sales, retail price, services selected, etc.
- Scroll to the bottom to see how your changes affect the cash flow (net profits, cash on hand, etc.)
Enjoy!