The first job I did on Upwork back in 2015 was for a real estate investment template. That is actually how I started my career in financial modeling and ended up branching into all kinds of industries. I still specialize in real estate templates and it is my favorite type of thing to build out. There are a lot of considerations when doing such work.
How Startups are Valued
Valuing a startup can be a complex process due to the unique nature of these businesses and the high level of uncertainty involved. Here are some of the key methods and factors that are considered:
Business Value Template
A good business value template can serve multiple purposes in various aspects of business management and decision-making. Here's what a well-designed business value template can do and who can benefit from it:
Construction Business Financial Modeling Considerations (periods of negative cash flow)
Modeling a construction business with periods where more bills are paid than cash is collected from the customer is an aspect of financial management that focuses on cash flow. This situation is referred to as a "negative cash flow" period. This is common in construction projects because contractors often have to pay for materials, labor, and other expenses before receiving payment from their clients. It is why I built the financial model for construction businesses based on the timing of cash flows for each job type.
Update to Financial Cohort Analysis Template for Historical Customer Data
After a few weeks of this template being live, I realized there were a few more really important data points that I could add to the template. This ended up increasing the usefulness quite a bit for any recurring revenue business that wants to take a hard look at historical customer spending patterns and retention.
Financial Modeling Templates
I've built my entire career on learning about and building financial modeling templates. It's a fine art and really brings a lot of things to light about how a business makes money and scales. If you have a new business idea, or want to get into an existing business, being able to create a financial projection will force you to deeply understand its' unit economics, potential risks, and general valuation.
Starting an Ad Agency Business
Starting an ad agency is a multifaceted endeavor that requires careful planning, knowledge of the advertising industry, and a clear understanding of your target market. Here are some foundational steps, insights, and strategies to consider:
Real-Time Template Cash Flow Excel
Excel is versatile for creating cash flow templates, from daily to annual tracking. Whether it's monitoring daily actuals, projecting weekly or monthly paces, computing after-tax cash flow, or automating bill payments and invoice collections, there's a style for everyone.
Cash Flow Forecasting Templates
The one thing a business needs to understand and can't get wrong is their cash flow forecasting. If you run out of cash, it could mean you are out of business (or require more debt / fundraising). Either way it isn't great. Using Excel to model your expected cash flow and possible requirements will help.
Pricing Strategy for Online Travel Agency Business
Developing a pricing strategy for an online travel agency (OTA) is crucial for its success and profitability. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you develop an effective pricing strategy:
Foundations of Real Estate Financial Modeling
Understanding the fundamental principles of real estate development and acquisition is paramount. All real estate models encompass general concepts, but certain underwriting models also have unique elements. For instance, the approach to residential real estate differs from self-storage, and mixed-use acquisition / development and rent varies from build and sell condo development at a granular level. However, they all share certain common features. Once you grasp these foundational pillars, a myriad of creative strategies can be devised, scrutinized, and assessed. An effective model aims to be versatile, minimizing the need for tailored logic with each transaction.
Financial Template Excel
Microsoft Excel is widely regarded as a pivotal tool in the world of finance for a multitude of reasons:
3 Statement Model Excel Template
When I originally started building financial model templates, the main request I received was to put together monthly and annual profit / loss summaries as well as a final line that showed cash flow. These were to update as the desired assumptions changed. However, this was quite a bit different from building a 3-statement model in Excel. The 3 statements included in that are the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement. There are all kinds of considerations to keep in mind when modeling this structure.
Self Storage Underwriting Model
I've built two different self storage underwriting models. One of them is based on doing up to 6 deals over 15 years and looking at the deal from the perspective of an LP or a GP. It is complete with cash flow waterfalls and dynamic acquisition, debt, operating, and exit assumptions for each deal. The second was built for the acquisition or development of a self storage facility that may or may not be added onto in the future.
Excel Finance Spreadsheet Template
Upon graduating college in 2012, I was immediately introduced to a robust spreadsheet system at a public accounting firm. This system, built on Microsoft Excel, was elegantly simple yet profoundly effective in generating income statements and balance sheets. Fast forward to 2023, and Excel's dominance in finance and accounting remains unshaken. Throughout my career, I've curated a collection of over 170 templates focused on finance, financial projections, and valuation within this versatile software. Truly, Excel has been the linchpin of my professional journey.
Rent Spreadsheet Template Excel
Over the years I've done many consulting projects for real estate guys (both large and small). They all involve creating a spreadsheet to understand current rent rolls and future rent based on adjustments to occupancy and inflation.
Educational Courses: 10-Year Financial Model Template - Large or Small Operations
The financial intricacies of providing educational classes are profound. Among the numerous financial modeling projects I've undertaken, constructing a scalable model for businesses offering classes or courses stands out as one of the most challenging. This complexity is accentuated when aiming to introduce classes progressively and gauge capacity attainment throughout a course's lifespan. However, I have successfully navigated these challenges with my model.
Pros and Cons of Starting an In-person Educational Courses Business
Starting a business that offers in-person educational classes comes with its own set of advantages and challenges.
How to Analyze a Loan Portfolio in Excel
Analyzing a loan portfolio involves assessing the quality, performance, and risk profile of a group of loans held by a financial institution or individual. The primary goal is to understand the overall health of the portfolio, ensure compliance with lending standards, and make informed decisions for future lending. Here's a step-by-step approach to analyzing a loan portfolio:
SaaS COGS Guide
For a Software as a Service (SaaS) business, the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is somewhat different from traditional manufacturing businesses. SaaS companies typically have minimal physical production costs. Instead, their COGS primarily consists of the direct costs related to delivering the software service to their customers.
The Most Helpful Spreadsheets for Accountants
Accountants utilize a variety of spreadsheets to facilitate their tasks, perform calculations, and organize financial information. There are quite of bit of backend calculations and tracking that go into being able to generate proper financial statements. Here are some of the most helpful spreadsheets for accountants:
Startups and the Path to Stabilization: Guide
Startups typically pass through various stages, from ideation to scaling. Stabilization is a crucial phase in the lifecycle of a startup as it denotes steady growth, consistent revenues, and reduced volatility. Here are some of the key dynamics involved in reaching stabilization:
Cohort Modeling for a Loan Tape
When you're evaluating the performance of loan tapes (data sets containing detailed information on a pool of loans) over time, you can use cohort analysis to group loans by certain shared characteristics (like the month or year of origination) and then measure their performance over time. Here's a breakdown of how to approach this analysis and what metrics/data points you might consider:
Can a Financial Model Be the Difference Between Profitability and Break-even?
A financial model can significantly help in understanding the difference between profitability and only breaking even. Having a usable template can be super valuable if you know how to use it. Let's break down how:
Cohort Modeling Template and Visualizations - Up to 5 Years of Historicals
I've implemented this SaaS cohort modeling approach with numerous clients. Now, with this introductory template, you too can analyze up to 60 months of historical data. Key outputs feature visuals of total monthly customer spending by cohort in a 'layer cake' format and average customer retention, complete with a best-fit curve to predict customer retention rates.
Royalty Licensing Analysis Template
Royalty licensing is a contractual arrangement where one party (the licensor) grants another party (the licensee) the right to use a certain intellectual property (IP) – such as a patent, trademark, copyrighted material, or trade secret – in exchange for compensation. This compensation is often structured as a royalty, which is typically a percentage of the revenue generated from using the IP or a fixed amount per unit sold. The specific details of royalty payments, such as the rate and payment terms, are usually outlined in the licensing agreement.
How to Patent Your New Idea or Product and Costs
Here's a more detailed explanation on how to patent something, including costs, benefits, and important considerations:
Real Estate Market Review: Worst and Best Case Scenarios - 20 Year Outlook
The real estate market, like any investment market, is influenced by a wide range of factors, which can result in both risks and opportunities. Let's take a long term view and see what might happen in the next 20 years, best, worse case scenarios. Keep in mind that the real estate market is complex and influenced by local, national, and global factors, so the exact scenarios may vary by region.
5 Basic Terms You Should Understand When Analyzing Real Estate Deals
When it comes to real estate investing, the lexicon shifts a bit to focus more on financial and strategic aspects. Here are five of the most crucial terms for real estate investors:
Capital Structure Theories in Corporate Finance (funny explanations)
Alright, let's dive into the world of corporate finance with a lighter touch. Imagine capital structure as the recipe for a finance cake. Here's how our pastry chefs (financial theorists) think it should be baked:
Starting a Locksmith Business: Some Considerations
The next financial model template I am building is going to be for a Locksmith business. The start of my research is what you see below. After a lot of research, it turns out this plumbing business financial model has all the logic required for the locksmith business, so that can be used just the same.
REITs with Traditionally Lower Leverage Exposure (who is safe from interest rate hikes?)
The higher for longer narrative has taken a strong hold on the market. As of October 3, 2023, this is hammering the value of public REITs. Normally I don't do much content on things that are timely, but this is a pretty good illustration of leverage and risk so we'll try to get some long-term lesson out of it.
Online Travel Agency Financial Model Template
While traditional travel agencies may have waned, numerous thriving online travel agencies and specialized boutique travel firms exist in various niches. If you're aiming to forecast startup costs, anticipate operational financial outcomes, or evaluate different scenarios and feasibilities, this template offers an excellent starting point.
How to Change the Discount Rate When Projecting at Various Time Intervals (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual)
This is one of the most common calculations you will ever do in the finance industry as an analyst or just someone who is trying to figure out the present value of future cash flows for a business. The DCF Analysis method is very common to use for valuation, but what happens if you are using non-annual periods, but want to apply an annualized discount rate to the future cash flows correctly?
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