Survival templates

Cash flow templates and calculators

Collecting debt calculator

You can improve your cash flow by decreasing the amount of time it takes to collect payment.

Work out the average number of days it takes you to collect debt.

Calculate your charge out rate

How much should you charge? You just need to know how much you want to earn (your profit) plus how much it costs to run your business (your overheads) and then divide this figure by the number of hours you can charge out to customers.

Here's a quick method to approximate how much you should charge for a person's time.

5 ways to increase profit

Small changes in five key areas of your business can have a major impact on your profit.

Calculate how much extra profit your business could make.

Ratio analysis

Ratio analysis is used to assess your past financial information (such as sales), and compare that to previous years, to see if there is a trend.

Use this calculator to quickly work out if your business is improving or declining.

Consolidate your debt

While it is generaly best to be debt free, this may not always be possible. Consolidating your debts into one loan may result in lower costs. A lower overall interest rate and lower combined fees could contribute to improved cash flow overall.

Work out if consolidating all your debt into one loan will be beneficial.

Marketing templates and calculators

Market research survey template

Find out whether the plans you have for your business will meet your customers needs.

Use this form to gauge market demand for your new business idea.

Calculate discounts and loyalty rewards

Large businesses often have sales with big discounts and it's tempting to follow suit to compete. However, unless your business normally has very high margins on the products you sell, you may be surprised how much that sale will cost.

Use this calculater when planning sales, promotions or loyalty discount offers.

Profile your customers

Work out your typical customer profile so that you can target your marketing more effectively.

Download this customer survey template.

Lifetime value of your clients

Right from the start you need to budget for what your customer loyalty will cost you. These include costs such as staff time, advertising, rewards, and promotions.

Calculate your ROI (Return on Investment) for the money you spend on retaining customers.

Advertising budget timeline

Plan what you are doing, when you will do it and how much it will cost.

Use this template to plan your annual marketing budget.

Advertising break-even calculator

Unlike large corporations, few small businesses can afford to advertise purely for brand awareness, so ensure your advertisement will generate a return.

Work out how much new business you need in order to break-even on your advertising.

Competitor research

Researching your competitors' strengths and weaknesses can give you the competitive edge.

Record some data about your competitors that will help you plan how you can compete.

Business planning templates

Setting your goals

Plan what goals you want to achieve, who will do it and when it will be done.

Record the steps you need to take and plan how you can achieve your long-term goals. (66.67 KB, 2 pages)

Conducting a SWOT analysis

A regular SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) of your business can help you identify opportunities and areas for improvement, and head off any looming threats.

Use this SWOT template to help gather ideas for your business.