Templates & Cheatsheets

5 revenue forecasting methods every finance leader needs to know

Unlike most other SaaS metrics, subscription gross margin can be pretty tough to improve. Our cheat sheet explains why and will give you all the basics you need to know about this important SaaS metric, including why it matters and how to calculate it for your business.

Format

Granularity

Skill needed

Time to first output

Five simple steps to setup your 3 statement model

Set your timeline

Enter the start and end of your actuals period. The forecast picks up the day after.

Check the assumptions

Read the eleven drivers and adjust the ones that don't describe your business.

Drop in actuals

Fill the shaded cells on the income statement and balance sheet. Nothing else needs touching.

Confirm the tie-out

Cash flow builds itself. The balance check should read "Pass" for every month.

Open the dashboard

Charts and the full-year summary are already populated. Share as is, or restyle for your deck.

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What the model covers, dimension by dimension

Dimension	Supported	Detail
Time granularity	Monthly	Every statement rolls monthly. No weekly or daily view.
Horizon	12 months	Ships as 2 months of actuals plus 10 forecast. Copy the last column right to extend.
Actuals vs. forecast	Flag-driven	Each column carries a historical / forecast flag in a collapsed row. Flip a flag to roll the forecast forward one month.
Revenue streams	4 lines	Subscriptions, services, managed services, hardware. Insert rows to add more.
Legal entities	Single	No consolidation, intercompany eliminations or minority interest.
Currency	Single	No FX rates, no translation adjustment.
Departments	Not dimensioned	OpEx rolls up to G&A, R&D and S&M only. No cost-centre or team-level split.
Scenarios	One	Duplicate the file to compare a base, upside and downside case.
Headcount	Not modelled	OpEx scales with revenue, not with a hiring plan. Pair with the headcount planning template if you need role-level cost.
Working capital	DSO / DPO	AR and AP forecast off days outstanding. Inventory is not modelled.
Fixed assets	CapEx waterfall	Opening balance → CapEx → depreciation → closing balance, tied to the balance sheet.
Debt	Partial	Duplicate the file to compare a base, upside and downside case.
Tax	Not modelled	Net income is stated pre-tax. Add a provision line below EBIT if you need one.

Take the template

Free, editable, and yours to keep. Copy it to your Drive and you'll have a model that ties out in about fifteen minutes.

FAQs

Can you connect to our ERP and auto-create our financial statements?

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Can you connect to our ERP and auto-create our financial statements?

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