Free Startup Financial Forecast Calculator

1. Input Parameters

You enter:
Forecast horizon (number of months)
Subscription price (your monthly revenue per customer)
COGS (% of revenue spent on cost of goods sold)
Monthly churn rate (customer attrition)
Acquisition budget, CAC, start month, and growth (how much you’ll spend on marketing to acquire new customers, what it costs to acquire each one, and how that budget changes)
One-time costs
Monthly expenses (e.g., product development, operations, plus custom expense lines, each with start month and monthly growth)
Contingency rate (for safety margin)

2. Customer Acquisition & Growth Calculation

New customers each month are calculated by dividing the acquisition budget for that month by your CAC, starting from the specified “start month.” The marketing budget can increase by a set monthly percentage.
Total active customers for each month is the sum of retained customers from previous months (after churn) plus new customers acquired this month.

3. Revenue and COGS Calculation

Gross revenue each month is the number of active customers × subscription price.
COGS is calculated as a percentage of gross revenue.
Net revenue is gross revenue minus COGS.

4. Expense Planning

Acquisition expenses follow your monthly acquisition budget.
One-time costs are applied in the first month.
Monthly expenses (product development, operations, and any custom expense lines) can start in any month and grow at a defined monthly rate.

5. EBITDA and Burn Calculation

Total expenses each month is the sum of all acquisition, one-time, and monthly operating expenses.
EBITDA (operating profit before depreciation/amortization) is net revenue minus total expenses.
You can switch between calculating your capital need as either:
The sum of total expenses over the forecast period (plus contingency), or
The maximum cumulative cash deficit (“net burn”) experienced over the period (plus contingency) — whichever mode you select.

6. Key Metrics Calculation

ARPU (Average Revenue per User): Monthly subscription price minus COGS per customer.
LTV (Customer Lifetime Value): ARPU divided by monthly churn rate.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): As entered.
LTV/CAC Ratio: LTV divided by CAC, color-coded for easy health-check.
Payback period: CAC divided by ARPU (in months).

7. Results & Output

The calculator visualizes all this in a table (per month and total), a stacked bar chart (revenue and expense breakdown), and summary metrics.
Results are shareable as an image with all calculations visible for transparency.

8. Contingency & Capital Requirement

The final recommended capital raise includes your contingency margin (e.g., +20%) to cover unforeseen risks.

Transparency Note:
This tool uses industry-standard Subscription metrics and simple, linear forecasting logic. For more nuanced planning (like tiered pricing, different acquisition channels or detailed analysis), you should use a full financial model template or seek professional advice.