Value creation plan

Review forecast earnings and cash effects, then assign the work needed to deliver the plan.

Fictional ExampleCo data. All modeled months are forecasts.

Initiative economics

ExampleCo Services · January–December 2027 · USD

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Initiative tracker

Assign owner roles, target dates, and evidence to the three initiatives.

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Scenario assumptions

Results update as you edit; linked tools carry your assumptions. Revenue growth and hiring are independent.

Month 1 revenue ($)Monthly revenue growth (%)Direct costs (% of revenue)Additional hiresCollection days (DSO)Monthly capital expenditure ($)

More assumptions: cost, working capital, financing, and taxes

Monthly fixed operating costs ($)Hires start in monthMonthly cost per hire ($)Supplier payment days (DPO)Opening cash ($)Opening gross debt ($)Opening receivables ($)Opening payables ($)Annual interest rate (%)Monthly debt repayment ($)Illustrative cash tax rate (%)

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Saved scenarios and case files

Keep up to eight named cases in this browser. Case files contain numeric assumptions only; decision notes, scorecard evidence, and lender checklist marks stay separate. Saving an existing name updates that case.

Case name

Import cases JSON

Import adds cases without changing the active scenario. Matching names with different assumptions receive a numbered name; identical cases are skipped.

Cash and leverage

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Reference case

Numeric assumptions and results for the current and reference cases; no private notes.

The reference is Original Base. This table includes every assumption you change.

Save a named case in Scenario assumptions, then choose it here as a reference.

EBITDA-to-cash bridge

Versus a flat-revenue, no-additional-hires case using the same remaining assumptions. USD thousands.

No double counting. Revenue effects and hiring investment explain the EBITDA bridge. Collections affect cash, not EBITDA. Capex and debt repayment are cash uses. No enterprise valuation uplift is assumed.

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Initiative tracker

Assign owners, milestones, dates, and evidence. Notes save in this browser and export with the scorecard. Status changes do not establish realized benefits.

Decision brief

Export results and assumptions with a decision and owner. Changing assumptions resets these decision fields.

Decision requested / next actionAccountable owner roleNext review date

Include saved scorecard owner roles, milestones, and review evidence in this brief

Preview the decision brief and assumption appendix

Why EBITDA growth barely changes cash

Fixed fictional example · Base preset · full-year 2027. These figures do not change with your edits.

Growth contributes $614,253 of EBITDA; hiring costs $306,000. The net annual EBITDA increase is $308,253. But $219,770 of additional working capital and $77,063 of additional cash taxes leave only $11,420 of extra year-end cash. Interest, capex, and principal repayment are unchanged between these cases.

How the example works and what to review

The Base preset assumes 1% monthly revenue growth and 4 additional hires from April. Its comparison keeps every other assumption the same, with flat revenue and no additional hires.

An EBITDA target alone would miss most of the cash required to support growth. Before approving the plan, ask the commercial owner for demand and pricing evidence, the hiring owner for capacity milestones, and the collections owner for customer payment timing. Record the evidence in the initiative tracker.

Choose Base in Scenario assumptions ↑

Model definitions and limits

January–December 2027 forecast. Historical TTM revenue is $24M; historical monthly EBITDA is $300,000. No historical seasonality is modeled.
Revenue grows monthly. Direct costs are a percentage of revenue. Additional hires become a fixed cost from the selected start month.
Receivables = monthly revenue × DSO ÷ 30; payables = monthly direct costs × DPO ÷ 30. These are steady-state approximations, not invoice-level collection or payment schedules. Opening balances stay fixed when you change assumptions.
Cash change = EBITDA − increase in receivables + increase in payables − interest − illustrative cash taxes − capex − debt repayment. Negative cash represents an unfunded gap; no automatic borrowing is assumed.
Interest is based on opening gross debt. Principal repayment cannot exceed debt outstanding. Cash taxes are a simplified rate on positive EBITDA less interest; depreciation, tax losses, and payment timing are excluded.
Hypothetical gross leverage = closing gross debt ÷ trailing 12-month EBITDA, without addbacks or cash netting. Nonpositive EBITDA is not meaningful. The sample maximum is 4.00×; sample minimum cash is $1M. These are illustrative monitoring limits, not contractual terms.
This model excludes a complete balance sheet, acquisitions, inventory, restricted cash, and a revolver. It is not a three-statement or 13-week cash model.

Review the plan

Agree the baseline and counterfactual. Record the starting KPI, the target, and what would happen without the initiative.
Assign one accountable owner. Set milestones, dependencies, resource needs, and a review cadence.
Separate forecast impact from realized impact. Support realized savings with financial evidence. Track overlapping initiatives to avoid attributing the same benefit twice.
Reconcile to the forecast. Explain timing, costs to achieve, working capital effects, and risks. Update the operating plan when the initiative changes.

Open rolling forecast →Open lender reporting →

ExampleCo Excel workbook

Editable assumptions, forecast, lender schedule, reporting calendar, and initiative tracker. No email required.

The workbook starts with the original Base case. Export CSV for your current browser scenario.

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