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Are you wondering how to do the financial planning process right? Creating a financial plan for your business sounds complicated if you have never done one before, but it is really not that difficult with the right tools and guidance. You can have a professional financial plan done within a day.
\n\n\n\nA financial plan is a forecast of the future financial performance of a business, meaning forecasted Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet and a Cashflow Statement.
\n\n\n\nBusinesses that plan grow 30% faster than those that don’t. But why? A financial plan used to better manage your business, raise funding, set goals, and guide strategic, operational and investment decisions. A well-done financial plan makes you think through every aspect of your business and find ways to improve it.
\n\n\n\nI will now go into detail explaining the financial planning process. If you rather watch than read, here is a video explaining it.
\n\n\n\nThere are 4 steps in the financial planning process:
\n\n\n\nThe purpose for creating your plan will define the required complexity and detail for your plan. For example, if you need a plan to apply for a bank loan, you will need a simpler financial plan. You will need high level financial statement projections, sense checks against historical performance and with healthy ratios that banks care about.
\n\n\n\nOn the other hand, if you need a financial plan to raise VC funding, you will need a more detailed, high growth, driver-based financial model. It will need to be sense checked against industry benchmarks and clearly presented to tell a story of an excellent investment opportunity.
\n\n\n\nIt is more difficult for new companies to define the values of their assumptions because they do not have past performance data. So, for new companies, benchmarks from similar companies, also known as industry benchmarks, would be a good place to start and tweak those benchmarks based on your specific situation. If your assumptions are in line with industry benchmarks, it is fairly easy to defend them. If they defer significantly from industry benchmarks, you should have a good and logical explanation why this is the case.
\n\n\n\nWhether you use past company performance data, industry benchmarks or a combination of both, the values of your assumptions need to be logical and defendable.
\n\n\n\nThe financial model are all the formulas and calculations that calculate your Revenues, Cost of Goods Sold, Employee Costs, Operating expenses, Taxes, Assets and Financing Needs based on the assumptions. And then calculating the main outputs for the financial plan: Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet and Cashflow Statement.
\n\n\n\nThis is by far the most difficult and time-consuming step in creating a financial plan. If you are not an expert in excel and financial planning, you might struggle with this step. Luckily, there are softwares like Modeliks that does these calculations for you, so you can have a professional financial plan even if you have never done one before in your life. What’s even more important, specialized financial planning software ensures that your calculations are correct, while building a financial plan in excel is very prone to errors.
\n\n\n\nYou have come to the end. You defined your financial plan structure, gathered data from reliable sources and created your financial plan (i.e. your forecasted Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet and Cashflow Statement). Now you need to step back and see if your numbers make sense. Just one mistake in assumption can make your whole financial plan unrealistic and unreliable.
\n\n\n\nTo sense check your financial plan, make sure the following indicators make sense when you compare them to your past performance or industry benchmarks.
\n\n\n\nEvery business will have a few additional key numbers that you need to sense check. For SaaS businesses, sense-check customer acquisition costs and churn rates. Regarding hotels check occupancy rate assumptions and average room rates. For manufacturing businesses cost of materials, etc. Sense-check the assumptions that have the highest impact on your business results for your type of business.
\n\n\n\nFinancial planning can seem complex and scary if you have never done it before. But with the right tools, anyone can create a professional financial plan.
\n\n\n\nWhether you are a startup or an established and successful business, a financial plan will help you think through every aspect of your business and find ways to improve it. It will help manage your business better by setting clear targets for everyone in the company and tracking performance against those targets. It will help you make informed decisions and evaluate new initiatives. And it will help you raise funds, if you need them.
\n\n\n\nIf you need a financial plan, check out Modeliks, a financial planning a performance tracking software for SMEs and startups.
\n\n\n\nAuthor:
Blagoja Hamamdjiev, Founder and CEO of Modeliks, Entrepreneur, and business planning expert.
In the last 20 years, he helped everything from startups to multi-billion-dollar conglomerates plan, manage, fundraise, and grow.
\n","slug":"financial-planning-process-explained","date":"2025-01-24T09:50:31","categories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybToxNA==","name":"Financial Forecast"},{"id":"dGVybToxMw==","name":"Reports & Dashboards"}]},"mainCategory":{"mainCategory":["financial-forecast"],"videoHeader":null},"tags":{"nodes":[{"name":"business planning"},{"name":"financial modeling"},{"name":"financial planning"},{"name":"financial reporting"},{"name":"small business"},{"name":"startups"}]},"featuredImage":{"node":{"id":"cG9zdDo4NDcy","sourceUrl":"/images/cms/getty-images-EUykNk8-9yo-unsplash.jpg","altText":"financial planning process"}},"seo":{"metaDesc":"Are you in need of an explanation on how the Financial Planning Process works? How to do it? Look no further."},"modified":"2025-01-24T09:50:38","related":[{"id":"cG9zdDoxMTU0MQ==","title":"How Accountants Can Offer High-Margin Advisory Services","content":"\nThe accounting profession is shifting. Compliance and bookkeeping remain essential, but today’s clients expect more. They want guidance on how to run their business smarter, manage cash flow, and plan for the future.
\n\n\n\nAccording to a CPA.com survey:
\n\n\n\nThis means the demand is already there. The opportunity for accounting firms is clear: move beyond bookkeeping into high-margin advisory services.
\n\n\n\nFor most small and mid-sized firms, the hesitation is simple:
❌ Limited staff time
❌ No standardized tools for forecasting & reporting
❌ Concern about overcomplicating workflows
The good news? Advisory can be delivered at scale, without adding headcount or creating inefficiencies — if you have the right system.
\n\n\n\nModeliks helps accountants transform their existing relationships into advisory partnerships by automating the heavy lifting.
\n\n\n\nHere’s how it works in practice:
\n\n\n\n1️⃣ Connect QuickBooks in Minutes
Sync client actuals directly — no messy spreadsheets or manual imports.
2️⃣ Build Budgets & Automated Financials
Instantly generate a forward-looking P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow statement, tailored to each client.
3️⃣ Deliver Dashboards & Variance Analysis
Clients see Actual vs. Plan vs. Previous Periods. You provide insight into why numbers moved — without building reports from scratch each month.
Firms using Modeliks see:
✅ New revenue streams by offering planning & reporting as premium packages
✅ Higher client retention thanks to consistent value beyond compliance
✅ No extra headcount required, since processes are automated
✅ Improved positioning as trusted advisors, not just bookkeepers
As one accountant put it:
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“Our clients can now make confident decisions. For us it’s a game-changer — we finally sell insight, not just compliance.”
\n
Client expectations are rising. Competitors are moving into advisory. Technology makes it easier than ever to scale.
\n\n\n\nIf you’re an accountant or firm owner, now is the time to position your practice for the next decade. Advisory services are not just an add-on — they’re the future of accounting.
\n\n\n\n📽️ Watch the full video playbook here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlQEwnWOdKQ.
🌐 Explore how Modeliks can help you launch advisory services in under an hour -> HERE.
📩 Or reach out to us directly to explore how Modeliks can be tailored for your firm.
\n\n\n\nEnjoy Modeliks! We know we are!
\n\n\n\nAuthor:
Modeliks Team
Running a professional services business is demanding. Whether you’re a founder, consultant, accountant, or finance leader, the challenges are similar:
\n\n\n\nThe truth? Many services firms outgrow spreadsheets faster than they realize. A project-based business requires a planning and reporting framework that adapts as you grow – not one that breaks every time a new client, project, or team member comes onboard.
\n\n\n\nThat’s where having a structured financial planning and reporting system becomes a game-changer.
\n\n\n\nThis strategic framework is designed for:
\n\n\n\nIf you run a project-based business, use timesheets, or manage multiple clients, this playbook is for you.
\n\n\n\nProfessional services firms often face profitability challenges because margins are tied to capacity, efficiency, and client mix. Here’s where the right planning approach makes a difference:
\n\n\n\nEach project has its own revenue, costs, and resources. Without project-level visibility, it’s impossible to know which work is actually profitable.
\n\n\n\nIt’s not enough to create a yearly budget. Monthly actuals vs. plan reporting helps you quickly see where projects are off track and adjust before problems snowball.
\n\n\n\nWhat happens if a big client leaves? Or if you add two more consultants next quarter? Scenario planning gives you the confidence to make tough decisions with numbers to back them up.
\n\n\n\nEmployee utilization is the heartbeat of a services firm. By linking financial forecasts to billable hours, staffing, and client demand, you can identify bottlenecks and prevent costly underutilization.
\n\n\n\nAt Modeliks, we’ve built a platform that turns these best practices into a structured, repeatable process.
\n\n\n\nWith Modeliks, you can:
\n\n\n\nMost firms wait until they have 100+ employees to rethink planning. But the truth is, dimensional planning and reporting matters at 20 employees, as much as at 200.
\n\n\n\nThe earlier you set up a scalable framework, the faster you can:
\n\n\n\nGrowing a professional services business isn’t just about winning more clients — it’s about building a system that lets you manage projects, measure performance, and grow profitably.
\n\n\n\nThat’s what this playbook is about — and why we built Modeliks.
\n\n\n\n👉 If you want to see how Modeliks can help you manage and grow your services firm, watch the full video walkthrough here.
\n\n\n\n📩 Or reach out to us directly to explore how Modeliks can be tailored for your firm.
\n\n\n\nEnjoy Modeliks! We know we are!
\n\n\n\nAuthor:
Modeliks Team
Today we released a massive new update of Modeliks. A multidimensional Modeliks 2.0. I am both happy and sad to see Modeliks grow up. I liked baby Modeliks. He was cute and a little clumsy. Now, we created a beast.
\n\n\n\nWe listened to your feedback and made Modeliks by far the best financial planning and reporting tool for SMEs. Alright, I might be a bit subjective, but here is what’s new:
\n\n\n\nAnd there is a lot more to come in the next few months. Stay tuned for new features, and in the mean-time, plan, manage and grow your business with Modeliks 2.0.
\n\n\n\nLet’s recap. Now you can:
\n\n\n\nEnjoy Modeliks 2.0! We know we are!
\n\n\n\nAuthor:
Modeliks Team