Financial Model Template

A three-statement model is the piece of work that separates a plan from a wish, and it is also the one most people get wrong. The statements have to link: profit has to flow into retained earnings, working capital has to move cash, depreciation has to reduce the asset it came from. If any link is missing the balance sheet stops balancing and the model quietly stops meaning anything.

This one links properly and proves it. Every assumption lives on a single Drivers sheet — revenue growth by stream, cost of sales percentages, overhead growth, capital spending, depreciation, working capital days, borrowing and dividend policy. Everything else is calculated.

The opening balance sheet is entered as it stands today, and retained earnings is computed as the balancing figure so your starting position is consistent before the model runs a single year. A check on the Balance Sheet sheet then confirms, in a sentence, that assets equal liabilities plus equity in the opening position and in all five years.

The Summary sheet condenses everything to one screen: revenue, margins, free cash flow, the lowest year-end cash balance, cumulative cash, and an NPV of the free cash flows at whatever discount rate you set. That NPV is arithmetic on your own assumptions — it is not a valuation, and the workbook says so.

What you get

• Five-year P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, fully linked
• Single Drivers sheet holding every assumption
• Reducing-balance depreciation that never goes negative
• Debt schedule that never repays more than is owed
• Working capital on DSO, DIO and DPO
• Balance-sheet integrity check in plain English
• NPV and IRR on free cash flow, clearly labelled as arithmetic
• Revenue, EBITDA and cash chart
• Configurable currency — no currency is hard-coded
• No country’s tax rates or statutory rules built in
• Sheets protected without a password
• No macros, no add-ins, no internet connection required

Who it is for

Founders raising money, finance managers building a plan, and advisers who need a working three-statement model without building one from scratch.

In the download

• Excel workbook, fully formula-driven
• README with the full usage guide
• Licence covering commercial and client use
• Worked sample data throughout, clearly labelled

Sheets in the workbook

• Instructions — How to use the file, colour key, assumptions and limitations.
• Setup — Currency, first year, tax rate and discount rate.
• Drivers — Every assumption in the model. The only sheet you edit.
• P&L — Five-year profit and loss.
• Balance Sheet — The opening position and five year ends.
• Cash Flow — Operating, investing and financing cash, and the cash balance.
• Summary — The headline numbers on one screen, with NPV and IRR.
• Model Chart — Revenue, EBITDA and cash as a column chart.

Requirements

• Microsoft Excel 2016 or later, or Microsoft 365
• Also opens in LibreOffice Calc, Google Sheets (import) and Apple Numbers
• No macros, no add-ins, no internet connection required

Please read

• A modelling tool, not financial, tax, accounting or investment advice.
• The NPV and IRR figures are arithmetic on your own assumptions. They are not a valuation of a business and must not be presented as one.
• No country’s tax rules, allowances or capital-allowance regime is built in.
• A model is only as good as its drivers. Check every figure with your accountant before it goes to a lender or an investor.
• Sample data is included and clearly labelled. It is illustrative only.
• This is a tool, not financial, accounting, tax or legal advice.