Model guides

Welcome to ModelPro and thank you for purchasing our Integrated Strategic Financial Model template! We hope you enjoy using it and would love to hear your feedback, including any new features you’d like us to add to the model template.

If you need any further support, please get in touch and we’d be happy to help.

The model structure follows industry best practice convention, with separate sections and tabs for:

• Information (e.g. cover sheet, disclaimers, contents and model map)
• Settings (e.g. model setup, static inputs and lists used in the model)
• Inputs (e.g. inputs and assumptions for revenue, costs, capex and scenarios)
• Calculations (e.g. detailed workings for all financial statement accounts)
• Outputs (e.g. dashboards, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and cash flow statements)

The model flows from left to right (i.e. inputs > calculations > outputs), reflecting the recommended approach for updating and reviewing the model.

Settings and inputs tabs are the only ones which should require user input – all other tabs should not be edited unless fundamental changes to the model are required. Even then, we would suggest that the core structure of the model is maintained.

Model components have been segmented to make the model as modular as possible, which makes updating individual components in the future much easier e.g. if you wish to integrate your own revenue or payroll modelling from other spreadsheets.

As with all templates, the intention of this model is to provide you with a best practice framework and structure, rather than to include every possible feature you might require. For example, the dashboard includes many of the standard tables, graphs and charts you might expect to see. However, these are simply examples to highlight what is possible – you’re likely to want to add additional KPIs and charts which might be very specific to your unique business. As always, if you need any support with this please let us know.

Professional and investor-ready

At ModelPro, we believe that the presentation and quality of your financial model is at least as important as your website or pitch deck. If you’re raising capital, it’s one of only a handful of documents you’ll be sharing with potential investors during the critical early stages. First impressions matter. However, too often we see founders obsess over website copy/design and pitch decks, while the financial model looks like an afterthought. This is likely to impact the way in which investors view your business and the level of trust they have in the integrity of the forecasts and in the competence of the management team. This is why we ensure all ModelPro models are highly professional and “investor-ready”.

Simplicity v flexibility

One of our core principles is “Keep it simple” – based on our belief in the elegance of simplicity. However, some components in this model template include more complicated logic than would otherwise be desirable, to allow flexibility for many different use cases e.g. revenue funnels or OpEx modelling.

When building financial models, there is always a trade-off between simplicity and flexibility. Our approach when building bespoke models is to generally always prioritise simplicity over flexibility; however, when building templates without knowing the specific requirements of the end user, some compromise is needed.

If there are areas of the model which you would like to be simplified, please get in touch and we’d be happy to support.

The model is formatted to reflect the level of professionalism and attention to detail investors and other stakeholders would expect your business to exhibit.

Once you’ve started using the model, you should start to become familiar with the general formatting style and common cell formats, the most important of which are as follows:

Feel free to update any model formatting, for example by adding your company’s logo and brand guidelines.

Note: In the next release we will be adding cell styles, which will make it much easier to update cell formats throughout the model.

Model settings are subdivided into “Settings” and “Lists”.

GENERAL SETTINGS

Model settings mostly consist of:

• Model set-up inputs (e.g. company name, model name, model start date, model duration); and
• Static (or infrequently updated) inputs and assumptions (e.g. tax rates, tax payment timings, debtor/creditor days, fixed asset depreciation policies)

Populating the general settings should be mostly self-explanatory, though additional notes have been included within a helper column wherever necessary.

TIMELINE SETTINGS

Timeline settings are used to set up the timeline used throughout the model, including identifying the date of the latest actuals used in the model.

LISTS

Model lists represent all lists used throughout the model, including via cell data validation. After the initial model setup, it is likely that these lists should require only infrequent changes, for example to add additional forecast drivers.

As a reminder, only input cells (yellow fill, blue font) should be edited e.g. revenue and costs categories to be used throughout the model. Most lists are static and should not need updating.

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If you still need further support, please contact us and we’d be happy to help.

We’re generally able to answer usability queries and make minor amendments free of charge, however any substantial model amendments would be chargeable. Please get in touch if you’d like us to provide a quote for any additional work you need.

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