Financial Planning

A financial plan is crucial to every business.

It involves creating a budget, forecasting income and expenses, and setting goals for the future so that you can make sound decisions about finances that allow you to maximize revenue and minimize expenses.

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There are over 30 million businesses in the United States employing 58.9 million people

28,860,000 of businesses DO NOT have a financial forecast

Less than 5% measure their performance.
(actual/forecast)

Payments are made with precious working capital 98% of the time.

39% of all invoices sent are paid late.

Very few businesses inform their strategy with learnings from actuals.

50% of businesses fail within 5 years and
82% of them cite cashflow as the main reason

Budget

A budget is a framework within which you plan your finances. By identifying the various inputs and outputs, even before quantifying them, you can ensure that you are considering all aspects of your business. Sometimes a budget can be referenced by a chart of accounts

Begin your financial plan by identifying your budget categories.

Types of Revenue
  • Subscription, fees, product
Types of Expenses
  • Employee payroll and benefits
  • COGs (Costs of Goods sold)
  • Office and Supplies
  • Company costs, like business insurance and licensing

Revenue

Once you have identified your budget categories, further craft your plan by quantifying the monthly expected income for each over at least the next 12 months. At Arena, we believe in setting your revenue targets first so that your planned expenses can represent what it will take to achieve those targets.

Revenue can come in different forms.

  • Subscription or Retainer revenue is predictable and reliable regardless of usage.
  • Usage revenue is charged as a product or service is used.
  • Transactional revenue occurs when a product or service is purchased.

Expenses

Aligning your expenses to your revenue targets ensures symmetry within the big picture and clarifies areas that require additional attention. This visibility enables you to optimize decisions about when to spend, how you pay, and what types of financial commitments to make.

Expenses also take different forms.

  • Prepaid expenses require upfront payment prior to receipt of product or service.
  • Recurring expenses happen repeatedly regardless of use and can often be overlooked.
  • Per-use expenses only impact your business as you use the product or service.
  • Financed expenses can work both for and against your business objectives.

Goals

While goals do not guarantee success, they provide a sense of direction when navigating the financial complexities of a small business.

How you set your goals is as important as the goals themselves.

  • Define reasonable targets; it is not helpful to set unrealistic goals that are unattainable.
  • Ensure your goals are measurable so that it is clear how you are progressing towards your goal and when you have accomplished it.
  • Set interim milestones to breakdown large tasks into more easily achievable steps.

Understanding historical performance will ensure your targets are realistic.

Our Commitment

We believe that your growth will start with our managed process. We deliver qualified advice from CFOs who understand your business with tools to create a successful financial plan and regularly measure progress.

Our Expert Staff

Take the assessment today for your business. With Arena, you can have an expert finance team to guide informed operational investment decisions about your business and provide a solid strategy optimized for your goals.