ISP Business Tools

By Michael Patenaude
Global X Change

Copyright © 1999 Global X Change, Michael Patenaude.

This document may be used in its unmodified form by non-profit organizations and others working for international development.

Introduction   |   Cash Flow Forecast   |   Project Estimating   |
Service and Product Differentiation   |   Contract Checklist   |   Marketing Plan Template

4.0 Introduction

The final component of the of the APC Business Planning Toolkit is a collection of five customizable and expandable tools. While other documents in this Toolkit have focused on the various processes of business planning, this section includes freestanding, formula-based tools, each tailored to a specific business planning operation.

1. Cash Flow Forecast Template – forecast month to month cash balances.
2. Project Estimating Template – estimate the budget for a professional services project.
3. Service and Product Differentiation Worksheet – compare your wares to those of your competitors.
4. Contract Checklist – list of possible information to include when writing a contract.
5. Marketing Plan Template – information that may be included in a marketing plan.

Developed out of the experience of private sector and NGO Internet organizations, these tools will help APC members better position themselves in the competitive world of Internet products and services.

4.1 Cash Flow Forecast Template

This spreadsheet is intended to provide an easy to use tool to forecast month to month cash balances. Depending on actual circumstances, it may be necessary to modify the spreadsheet to reflect local variances in needs.

Using the Cash Flow Forecast Template

General Note

A cash flow forecast is intended to predict what the bank account balance will look like at the end of every month. It serves primarily to alert management of possible shortfalls in cash ahead of time, so that necessary steps may be taken to alleviate them. A cash flow forecast identifies all sources and uses of cash, along with the timing of their receipt or disbursement. This includes not only revenue from contracts or grants, but interest, rebates, credits, as well as disbursements beyond payroll and rent (purchasing equipment, lease payments, principle and interest charges, etc). In short, every type of cash receipt and cash payment is included.

Starting Balances

The start point for the cash flow forecast is two months prior to the current month of the forecast. This assumes it takes about 60 days to collect outstanding accounts receivables (if actual experience is longer, the sheet should be modified accordingly). For "Month –2", the actual revenue (new billings or new invoices issued) should be completed and the actual outstanding accounts receivable should be entered. For "Month –1", all the cash collections and cash disbursements should be entered based on actual experience.

Forecasted Balances

Once actual past experience is recorded, all sources and uses of cash should be entered into the sheet. Opening balances, cash collected from invoices, commissions, closing balances, receivables at month end and totals are pre-determined cells and will automatically be calculated.

Assumptions

Note that the commission rate used must be entered into the "Assumptions" section at the bottom of the sheet. The sheet assumes commissions are paid in the month following the invoice being sent to the customer.

Cash Flow Forecast:  (download file-  pdf  |  word/97  |  rtf   )