Developing a financial forecasting tool for a pre-revenue B2B SaaS early stage startup company
Tsiamis, Anastasis (2019)
Tsiamis, Anastasis
2019
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019060615243
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019060615243
Tiivistelmä
This thesis aims to create an easy-to-use and scalable financial forecasting tool for the needs of a commissioning company, a B2B SaaS pre-revenue early-stage startup. The primary objective is to construct a tool in an Excel spreadsheet tailored for the company to assist in its financial planning.
The need for the tool arose when the author joined the company as a financial intern. Based on discussions with the company's management team, it was clear that a lack of financial planning and expertise existed. Through this thesis, the author seeks to create a tool that will allow the management to more efficiently plan the company’s finances for the future; this in turn can help the business when preparing financial forecasts to obtain funding and other forms of investments.
The author reached the goals of the thesis through the study of relevant accounting principles and theory regarding how financial projections are built. He did this in relation to the SaaS industry in which the company operates, and in doing so, key industry characteristics are mentioned throughout the process. He then assessed the internal structure of the company and attempted to understand the goals and targets of the business and to determine many of the assumptions that will were utilised for the design of the tool and the financial projections.
In addition, several recommendations were provided to the company to improve its efficiency and maximise the use of the tool, and the author ends the thesis by discussing the key outcomes, recommendations and suggestions for further research. The author’s personal evaluation on the project and his reflection on learning are also covered at the end.
The need for the tool arose when the author joined the company as a financial intern. Based on discussions with the company's management team, it was clear that a lack of financial planning and expertise existed. Through this thesis, the author seeks to create a tool that will allow the management to more efficiently plan the company’s finances for the future; this in turn can help the business when preparing financial forecasts to obtain funding and other forms of investments.
The author reached the goals of the thesis through the study of relevant accounting principles and theory regarding how financial projections are built. He did this in relation to the SaaS industry in which the company operates, and in doing so, key industry characteristics are mentioned throughout the process. He then assessed the internal structure of the company and attempted to understand the goals and targets of the business and to determine many of the assumptions that will were utilised for the design of the tool and the financial projections.
In addition, several recommendations were provided to the company to improve its efficiency and maximise the use of the tool, and the author ends the thesis by discussing the key outcomes, recommendations and suggestions for further research. The author’s personal evaluation on the project and his reflection on learning are also covered at the end.