Plan growth with control
What happens to cash if you hire ahead of revenue, enter a new market or change pricing? Connect the operating plan to capacity, margins and working capital.
Financial modelling services | UK
Turn operating assumptions into connected forecasts, funding requirements and scenarios your management team can explain.
Consult EFC builds practical financial models for founders, management teams and investors. From AI and data businesses to established SMEs, we connect commercial ambition with the revenue, costs, cash and funding behind it.
A clearer brief. Practical outputs.
Use the existing scenario illustration to consider how growth and cash needs can move together. The figures are educational, not a forecast for your business.
Explore the trade-off
Illustrative scenario paths. Your model is built from your evidence and assumptions.
Test whether cash collection and working capital can support growth.
Start with the decision
A larger spreadsheet is not the objective. We start by identifying the decision, the audience and the assumptions most likely to change the outcome.
What happens to cash if you hire ahead of revenue, enter a new market or change pricing? Connect the operating plan to capacity, margins and working capital.
Explain the amount required, how it will be used, the milestones it supports and what happens if the next round takes longer.
Explore acquisition assumptions, debt service, integration costs and downside cases. Keep valuation and investment decisions grounded in a clear operating model.
Built around your business
Choose the decision closest to yours to see a typical modelling focus. These are example scopes, rather than a fixed package.
Revenue drivers, delivery capacity, hiring, overheads and working capital, linked to a monthly cash forecast and management reporting.
A clearer brief. Practical outputs.
A documented set of revenue, cost, headcount and working-capital drivers. Inputs are separate from calculations, and the model connects to the financial statements required by the brief.
A view of the outputs that matter: cash profile, funding requirement, margins, headcount and relevant operating metrics. The dashboard should help the intended reader answer a defined question.
Assumptions, checks, source notes, update instructions and a walkthrough. Agree the editable file, model owner, review process and any continuing support before completion.
Connect customer growth, staffing, delivery costs and payment timing. Show the cash effect of the operating plan and its downside.
Explain funding use, milestones, runway and the assumptions behind the plan. Investor requirements and model scope should be agreed.
Model transaction assumptions, debt service, integration costs and relevant covenant calculations where included in the engagement.
Example dashboard specification: actual-to-forecast revenue, gross margin, monthly cash, minimum cash headroom and funding milestones. Each output should trace to a stated assumption or source. This describes an example deliverable, not a completed client model.
We can build a new model, assess an existing workbook or agree a focused repair. Model review is not automatically an independent audit or assurance engagement. Tell us the decision, deadline, available records, expected users and current file before we quote.
Need near-term weekly cash visibility? ↗ Explore investor-focused modelling ↗
Commercial depth
Customer acquisition, retention and expansion may sit alongside usage volumes, inference and compute charges, data licensing, implementation effort and support. Revenue growth can conceal a weak contribution margin if delivery costs scale just as quickly.
We separate recurring and project income where useful, examine customer and product economics and connect billing terms to cash receipts. Relevant metrics depend on your actual business model.
Models can connect sales volume and pricing to capacity, labour, stock, debtor days, supplier terms and investment needs. Professional services firms may need utilisation and project margins; product businesses may need inventory and purchasing cycles.
The model should make these relationships visible so your team can challenge the plan and update it as evidence changes.
From brief to handover
Define the audience, purpose, time horizon, granularity, outputs and deadline. Identify which questions the model must answer.
Review historical accounts, management reporting, commercial data, contracts and the current plan. Reconcile the opening position and document gaps.
Construct the operating drivers and financial links. Discuss the assumptions with your team and test scenarios, sensitivities and model checks.
Work through the outputs, explain the important limitations and show your team how to maintain the model. Agree any future updates separately.
Modelling is distinct from an independent business valuation, financial due diligence or assurance. Those services can be scoped separately when your decision requires them.
Make the next step practical
You do not need a perfect data room to start the conversation. We can identify what is usable and where assumptions will need to be made.
Free planning tools
Explore the cash impact of a downside case or identify gaps in your AI unit economics.
A three-statement financial model links the profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow forecast. A change to the operating plan flows through all three, so management can see when an apparently profitable decision might require more cash or funding.
For a services firm, build revenue from capacity, utilisation and billing rates. For a product business, start with volumes, prices and returns, then connect inventory and supplier payment terms. Flag which inputs come from actual trading and which still need evidence.
Illustrative example: a £90,000 customer project costs £60,000 to deliver. If £40,000 is paid out before the first milestone invoice is collected, the model shows that cash requirement even though the project has a positive contribution. Testing a later receipt or a different billing schedule helps management decide what it can afford.
Check that the opening balances reconcile, the balance sheet balances across forecast periods and the cash movement ties to the closing cash balance. Keep assumptions separate from formulas and give users a clear way to switch cases without overwriting the base plan.
Tell us what decision the model must support, who will use it and whether there is an existing workbook to review.
Your questions
The agreed scope may include a linked profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow statement, a documented assumptions schedule, operating drivers, scenarios, checks and a management dashboard. We agree the time horizon, level of detail, model format, review rounds and handover before work begins.
Yes. We can assess an existing workbook, trace the main assumptions and formulas, identify structural weaknesses and agree whether to repair it or rebuild. A model review is scoped separately from an audit or assurance opinion.
Yes. We can model usage-based revenue, subscription contracts, implementation work, compute and inference costs, data costs and support requirements. We also work with established SMEs and other sectors, using drivers suited to how each business earns and spends cash.
We provide a scoped fee after discussing the decision, available data, complexity and deadline. Building a new three-statement model, reviewing a workbook and supporting a financing process are different assignments. Fees, VAT treatment and any ongoing support are confirmed in the proposal.
Timing depends on the quality of the starting data, model complexity and stakeholder availability. We agree milestones and information requirements at the outset. Urgent work is subject to capacity and a realistic assessment of what can be completed properly.
It can make your assumptions, funding requirement and sensitivities easier to assess. Investors and lenders make their own decisions and may ask for a different format or further evidence. A model does not guarantee funding, valuation or investment returns.
The handover can include an input guide, assumptions register, model walkthrough and explanation of the main checks. If you need monthly updates or ongoing board reporting, we can scope this through our fractional CFO or financial planning support.
The proposal should specify the workbook or other deliverable, permitted use, edit access, documentation and handover. Update responsibilities and ongoing support should be agreed rather than assumed.
Yes, we can discuss an initial assessment of the file, sources, issues and intended use. The scope may be a focused repair, a more substantial rebuild or a new model if the existing structure cannot support the decision.
Let’s build a clearer view
Tell us what the model is for, who will use it and when you need it.
Kishen Patel leads Consult EFC engagements, bringing an ICAEW Chartered Accountant qualification and a background in Big Four audit, investment banking and corporate advisory.
We will discuss a sensible scope, deliverables, fee and timing. Please describe the requirement here and share confidential records only through an agreed secure process.