Financial plan template in Excel

What does this tool do?

Who is it for?

• Start-ups incorporating a bv, nv or cv who have to draw up the mandatory financial plan for the notary.
• Self-employed people and SMEs applying for an investment loan or overdraft who want to present the bank with a substantiated plan.
• Anyone unsure whether an idea is financially viable and wanting to know what revenue is needed to break even and pay themselves a salary.
• Existing businesses planning a new activity, location or major investment and wanting to see the impact on result and cash.

What is included?

• Input sheet with revenue assumptions per month for year 1 and per year for years 2 and 3, and a cost list split into variable and fixed.
• Income statement per year: revenue, variable costs, gross margin, fixed costs, depreciation, remuneration and result before tax.
• Cashflow table per month for year 1 and per year after that, with opening balance, receipts, payments and closing balance.
• Automatic break-even revenue per year and per month, with a chart of revenue against costs.
• Investment table with depreciation, financing plan with own contribution and loan with repayment schedule (extended version).
• Opening balance sheet and balance sheet per year, VAT effect on cashflow and ratios such as solvency, liquidity and profitability (extended version).

How do you use the file?

1. 1

   Open the file and go to the “Input” sheet. Enter the start date, the legal form and the VAT rhythm. Only the yellow cells are meant to be filled in.

2. 2

   Build your revenue bottom-up: number of customers, assignments or hours per month times your price. Be cautious in the first months; a new business rarely runs at full speed from month one.

3. 3

   Enter the variable costs as a percentage of revenue or as an amount per unit: raw materials, goods for resale, subcontractors, transaction fees.

4. 4

   Enter the fixed costs per month: rent, insurance, accountant, software, telephony, marketing and your own remuneration or social contributions. Do not forget the costs you only pay once a year.

5. 5

   In the extended version, enter the investments with their depreciation period, the own contribution and the loan with its term and interest rate. The file builds the repayment schedule and the balance sheet.

6. 6

   Look at the “Overview” sheet: income statement, cashflow, break-even revenue and charts. Check above all the lowest cash balance in year 1: that determines how much starting capital or credit you really need.

Worked example

Year 1 of a starting service business in a bv, with planned revenue of €120,000 and variable costs of 20 % of revenue. The figures are rounded and serve only as an illustration.

At €83,750 of revenue, roughly €7,000 per month, all costs including the director’s remuneration are covered. Everything above that is profit before corporate tax. Note that remuneration is the largest fixed cost: leaving it out understates the break-even revenue by more than half.

Sources & calculation method

This is how the calculation is built:

1. Revenue per month = volume × price, excluding VAT. Years 2 and 3 start from year 1 with a growth percentage you enter yourself.
2. Variable costs = revenue × variable cost percentage. Gross margin = revenue − variable costs. Result before tax = gross margin − fixed costs − depreciation − remuneration.
3. Break-even revenue = fixed costs (including depreciation and remuneration) ÷ (1 − variable cost percentage). Per month: divided by twelve.
4. Depreciation is straight-line: investment amount ÷ depreciation period in years. The loan uses a constant monthly instalment (annuity) split into principal and interest; only the interest is a cost, the full instalment is a cash outflow.
5. The cashflow places receipts and payments in the month the money moves, with the payment terms of customers and suppliers and the VAT rhythm as settings. The balance sheet per year follows from the opening balance sheet, the result, depreciation, loan repayments and the changes in receivables, payables and stock.

Assumptions

• The file calculates before tax. Corporate or personal income tax depends on your situation and you enter it yourself as an estimate, together with the advance tax payments you plan for it.
• The director’s remuneration is entered as the total cost for the company, including social contributions. The file does not calculate social contributions or withholding tax.
• Growth percentages for years 2 and 3 and the payment terms of customers and suppliers are free input. The example values are indicative.
• The VAT effect in the extended version assumes the normal VAT regime with periodic returns; the exemption scheme, flat-rate scheme and mixed VAT liability are not modelled.

Limitations

• The file is a calculation model, not advice. For the incorporation of a company the notary asks for a financial plan that meets the legal content; have it reviewed by your accountant.
• The balance sheet and ratios in the extended version are simplified and do not follow every heading of the official annual accounts format of the Central Balance Sheet Office.
• Several activities, product lines or locations with their own margins need an adapted model; the basic version works with one revenue line and one variable cost percentage.

Sources

This page and the file were last updated on September 24, 2026. Legislation and rates may have changed since.

Frequently asked questions