Irrespective of the size of the business idea, the first and foremost activity in a business startup is to estimate the overall cost of starting a business. The estimate of the business expenditure and costs, helps in planning the execution of idea or business model in an efficient and effective manner. There exist a risk of being underfunded, if the overall estimation is not done or done with negligence.
To help you avoid this common mistake, you can use Business Start Up Costs Template to determine how much money or capital you need to get your start up business up and running safely.
Calculating business start up costs should be a part of starting any business. An entrepreneur is usually required to put these costs together as part of a business plan, loan or grant application. They are also helpful when putting together proforma financial statements.
About business start up costs excel template
This Excel Business Startup Template workbook will help you put together an estimate of costs and funding required to start your business. It is pre-populated with expense categories common to many small businesses and home-based businesses, so it can be very useful in helping you identify all of your start up costs. With the help of pre-defined list of possible expenses, it might be helpful in recognizing some of the new expenses.
When you add your own category, the template will help you understand whether you have adequate funding. Once you have your funding secured and you pull the trigger, use the worksheet to track your actual expenditures to help you keep your costs under control.
Start up costs for different business scenarios
Let us discuss the various business scenarios and their possible start up costs wherein this excel template can be helpful. You can customize this excel template to evaluate the business start up cost, as per your requirement.
- Restaurant Business Start Up Costs : Starting a restaurant can be expensive because of the specialized equipment and facilities necessary. There are usually leasing options available for the expensive items and many landlords can work on leasehold improvements. Use the Restaurant specific worksheet in the Business Start up Cost Template to help you consider other expenses such as cleaning costs, uniforms, menu development and supplier sourcing costs.
- Home Business Startup Costs : In a home based business, you can forgo many of the typical expenses of a startup. Things like internet, office space, furniture and utilities are already with the household expenses. However, if you qualify for the home office deduction, you can categorize some portion as office expenses too. Simply put $0 in the template or delete the rows for those expenses already covered.
- Internet Business Startup Costs : A web based business may be one of the least expensive businesses to start, especially if you can do the web development work yourself. Use the basic template and decide which expenses apply to you – simply delete the rest. You may also want to consider some items not listed, such as custom web page design and development work, custom database development and scripting, search engine optimization (SEO) and advanced hosting services to name a few. Also, you can make some customization for affiliate related expenses.
- Franchise Business Start Up Costs : Our Business Start up Cost Template will also help you if you are looking for a start up franchise opportunity or looking for franchises for sale. Along with all of the regular costs of starting a business, the template also includes categories for fixed franchise fees as well as monthly franchise dues and marketing co-op fees.
How to use this business start up costs excel template ?
The key to putting together accurate numbers and estimate is to get into the details. This requires good research by calling suppliers and providers, searching the internet and listing any and all costs that may be applicable. This template provides a pre-defined list of expenditures to make things easier for you.
- Funding Sources : Start by listing the sources of funding that you believe will be available to you in the Estimated column.
- Fixed Costs : After all your funding sources have been outlined, start putting in the estimated fixed costs. These costs are one-time costs associated with getting your business up and running. Two key parts to the fixed costs are the Working Capital and a Reserve for Contingencies. There should be a Contingency Fund OR Emergency Fund as there are always last minute surprise costs and fees.
- Monthly Costs – Until Profitable : Many entrepreneurs fail to understand that businesses are seldom profitable the first day. In order to have a clear picture of actual cash requirement, it is important to estimate your monthly operating costs as well as how many months or period it will take you to move from the red to the black.
- Keeping Things in Check : The excitement of starting the business can cause entrepreneurs to spend more than they planned. Use the template to keep you grounded. As you collect funds and begin to spend money, record the Actual amounts next to the Estimated numbers.
Download and Use Start up costs and Expenditure Excel template
To use this free start up costs and expenditure excel template, you should have Microsoft Office/ Microsoft Excel installed in your system. After installing Excel or Spreadsheet, download the zip file of this template, extract the template using WinRAR or 7Zip decompressing software. Once extracted, you can open the file using Excel and start entering data or customizing the template.
