SaaS Financial Plan

Description
This model provides a simple plan for an early-stage SaaS startup, with a low-touch sales model – minimised human interaction for each step of the sales funnel, replaced by automated processes. For example, a company that markets a SaaS solution via its website, offers a 30-day free trial, gets most of its trial users organically and through online marketing, and then converts them into paying customers. Thus, in this model, the key drivers of the hypothetical startup are: organic growth rate, marketing budget and customer acquisition costs, conversion rate, ARPU and churn rate.

If, in reality, your SaaS startup has a higher-touch sales model, with more human involvement in the sales process and where revenue growth is more driven by sales headcount, the model should be modified accordingly.

Other features of the module include:
o Support for multiple pricing tiers
o Support for annual contracts with annual pre-payments
o Solid headcount planning
o Visibility into “MRR movements”
o Cash-flow planning
o Charts

The spreadsheet is largely self-explanatory but comments have been included to help you better understand the model. These can be accessed by hovering over the small red triangles.

Thanks for this model should also be given to Chris Amani, Sr. Finance Director at Humanity, and Pawel and Dominik of Point Nine, who all contributed by reviewing drafts of the model and providing valuable feedback.

- Christophe Janz, www.christophjanz.blogspot.com