Twenty-four printable tools

Tool 13 · Unit Economics & Growth-Readiness Calculator

conUse this to learn whether each additional unit creates contribution, sumes capacity, and returns acquisition cash soon enough for your situation.

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Purpose and when to use

Complete by product, customer segment, channel, and acquisition cohort before scaling spend or capacity. First define the unit—a paid order, retained customer-month, project, seat, transaction, or another economically coherent event. A blended average can hide an unprofitable segment. Cash timing belongs in Tool 14; accounting close in Tool 15.

Unit and cohort definition

Per-unit contribution bridge

Acquisition, retention, and capacity

Formulas

• • Contribution per unit = net unit revenue − variable cost caused by that unit.
• • Contribution margin = contribution per unit ÷ net unit revenue.
• • Customer acquisition cost = attributable acquisition spend ÷ new customers attributable to that spend.
• • Period retention = comparable customers retained at period end ÷ comparable customers active at period start.

• • Simple contribution LTV = expected contribution per retained period × expected retained periods, only when the retention process is supportable and costs do not change materially.
• • Contribution payback periods = acquisition cost ÷ contribution per retained period.
• • Operating break-even units = relevant fixed operating cost ÷ contribution per unit. If contribution is non-positive, break-even is undefined.

Growth-readiness gate

Cautions, decision output, and cadence

collecDo not use revenue in the numerator and contribution in the comparison denominator. Taxes ted are not revenue. Founder labour is not free; show scarce hours even when it is not booked as payroll. LTV:CAC and payback have no universal good value: timing, uncertainty, gross contribution, working capital, churn, concentration, and the cost of capital determine what survives.

Choose scale carefully; fix price; reduce variable cost; improve retention; change channel; remove the constraint; stop the unit; or collect another cohort. Review monthly and by cohort; rerun before a large spend, hiring, capacity, or pricing commitment.

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Professional review flag: Have the CA or finance owner approve revenue, tax, variable-cost, acquisition, and shared-cost definitions before using the result for financing, compensation, or public claims. Verify current tax and accounting treatment from authoritative sources.

· TABLE p. 24 · TABLE p. 50 · SALES p. 33 · EF pp. 26–27 · EF pp. 84–91 · RM pp. 112–124. Contribution, acquisition, retention, break-even, and growth-gate mechanics consolidated; universal ratio targets rejected.

Tool 14 · Thirteen-Week Cash, Working-Capital & Runway Forecast

Use this weekly. Profit can be present while payroll cash is absent; forecast receipts customer by customer and payments obligation by obligation.

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Purpose and when to use

Update from bank data and named invoices every week. The forecast answers whether unrestricted cash stays above the organization’s chosen protection floor for thirteen weeks and which collection, payment, cost, or funding action must occur first. It is not the income statement and should not be filled from an annual budget without timing evidence.

Cash available now

Receipt schedule—name the counterparty

Payment schedule—name the obligation

Thirteen-week summary

Keep confirmed receipts separate from scenario receipts. Closing cash in one week becomes the next week’s opening cash.

Working-capital drivers

Formulas and cautions

• • Weekly closing cash = opening cash + confirmed receipts + chosen scenario receipts − actual or forecast payments.
• • DSO = average trade receivables ÷ credit sales × days in period.
• • DIO = average inventory ÷ cost of sales × days in period.
• • DPO = average trade payables ÷ relevant credit purchases or cost base × days in period.
• • Cash conversion cycle = DSO + DIO − DPO.
• • Runway = unrestricted cash ÷ representative net cash burn per period, only when burn is positive and sufficiently stable. If the business is cash-generative, report runway as not applicable and still forecast shocks.

Use consistent denominators and disclose approximations. A probability-weighted receivable is still not cash. Do not delay wages, taxes, protected customer funds, or essential suppliers unlawfully. Cash flow and free cash flow can contain classification choices, timing effects, factoring, underinvestment, and working-capital manipulation; reconcile to statements and notes.

Decision output and cadence

Choose collect, invoice, renegotiate lawfully, pause spend, change purchase timing, reduce inventory, secure approved funding, or activate the contingency plan. Update weekly, reconcile forecast to actual every cycle, and escalate immediately when a floor, payroll, statutory, debt, or critical-supplier trigger is forecast to be breached.

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Professional review flag: CA or finance review is required for material forecasts, restricted cash, tax reserves, factoring, solvency judgments, and stakeholder reporting. Current official filing and payment dates must be entered from the competent portal; this page never supplies a statutory deadline.

· TABLE p. 28 · FS pp. 20–24 · FS pp. 52–55 · TABLE p. 50. Cash, runway, working-capital linkage, annual-report, and growth- trigger mechanics consolidated.

Tool 15 · Three-Statement Close, Ratios & Red-Flag Review

ReconUse this after each accounting close and before trusting a narrative. cile the statements, read the notes, then ask what changed and why.

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Purpose and when to use

Complete monthly for management accounts and for every annual report or audited package you rely upon. The tool joins balance sheet, income statement, cash-flow statement, notes, ratios, and red flags. It is an analytical close checklist, not a replacement for books, accounting standards, audit, or professional judgment.

Close and evidence checklist

Three-statement linkage tests

Retained-earnings bridge = opening retained earnings + net income − distributions ± prior-period or other permitted adjustments. Every adjustment needs a cited note. Period comparison and ratios

Formula card

• • Gross margin = (revenue − cost of sales) ÷ revenue.
• • Operating margin = operating profit ÷ revenue.
• • Current ratio = current assets ÷ current liabilities.
• • Quick ratio = (cash + eligible short-term investments + eligible receivables) ÷ current liabilities.
• • Debt/equity = interest-bearing debt ÷ equity. Do not silently substitute total liabilities.
• • Interest coverage = consistently defined operating earnings, often EBIT, ÷ interest expense.
• • Operating cash conversion = cash from operations ÷ net income, interpreted over multiple periods with notes.
• • Return on assets = net income ÷ average total assets; return on equity = net income ÷ average equity.

Red-flag review

Cautions, decision output, and cadence

No ratio has a universal healthy threshold. Compare with the entity’s history, business model, accounting policy, seasonality, covenants, and genuinely comparable organizations. Cash flow is not manipulation-proof. A balanced equation proves arithmetic balance, not economic truth. Read the notes, accounting policies, auditor report, and subsequent events.

Choose close; reopen named account; investigate; correct; escalate to auditor or board; or do not rely on the statements. Run monthly, quarterly in depth, and whenever an annual report, financing package, acquisition, covenant test, or material correction is considered.

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Professional review flag: CA or auditor review is required for accounting policy, tax, assurance, corrections, covenants, solvency, valuation, and external reporting. Use the accounting framework and official filings applicable to the entity and period; do not import a US GAAP or public-company convention by habit.

· FS p. 7 · FS pp. 20–27 · FS pp. 52–55 · EF pp. 70–82. Reading order, statement linkage, ratios, annual-report routine, and red- flag mechanics consolidated and corrected.

Tool 16 · Deal Qualification & Pipeline Scorecard

Use this after discovery to decide where sales time belongs. Unknown is not a soft yes, and activity is not progress without a customer commitment.

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Purpose and when to use

Complete after each material customer interaction and review the whole pipeline weekly. The scorecard tests fit, pain, priority, people, process, proof, and a mutual next step. It reduces storytelling around famous logos and large theoretical deal values. Discovery detail stays in Tool 11; trade terms and contract risk stay in Tool 17.

Opportunity record

Evidence score

Predefine weights for your motion; weights total 100%. Rate each criterion 0 unknown or contradicted; 1 asserted but unverified; 2 verified by behavior, artifact, or responsible stakeholder.

Qualification score = Σ(weight × rating) ÷ 2 = ______%. A failed non-negotiable gate overrides the average.

Pipeline roll-up

Formulas and cautions

• • Weighted pipeline = Σ(opportunity amount × evidence-based probability).
• • Stage conversion = opportunities entering the next stage ÷ eligible opportunities entering the current stage for a comparable cohort.
• • Win rate = won opportunities ÷ decided opportunities; report no-decisions separately.
• • Sales-cycle length = decision date − agreed opportunity-start date.

Weighted pipeline is a planning convention, not cash and not expected revenue when probabilities are arbitrary or outcomes correlated. Derive stage probabilities from comparable outcomes where data permits; otherwise label assumptions. Do not inflate amount with unapproved expansion, extend close dates without a trigger, or keep dead deals to protect morale.

Decision output and cadence

Choose advance; hold for a dated trigger; nurture outside active pipeline; disqualify cleanly; or collect one named fact. Define your own stage and score gates from the sales motion and win/loss evidence; there is no universal pipeline coverage target. Update after each interaction and run a weekly removal-and-resource review. Shared footer

Professional review flag: Ordinary qualification needs no external professional. Bring in authorized technical, security, privacy, finance, legal, procurement, or sector reviewers before representing compliance, approving non-standard terms, or processing protected customer information.

· SALES pp. 9–13 · SALES p. 33 · SALES pp. 24–25. Qualification, funnel, mutual-action, closing, and handoff mechanics consolidated; score weights and gates remain organization-specific.

Tool 17 · Negotiation & Contract Trade Grid

Use this before exchanging terms. Make interests, authority, alternatives, and lawful trades visible before urgency turns every concession into price.

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Purpose and when to use

Complete before a commercial negotiation, major renewal, employment package, supplier commitment, or non-standard contract. It protects the difference between a target, a reservation boundary, and a BATNA—the best lawful alternative if no agreement is reached. Standing ownership and founder governance belong in Tool 19.

Preparation and authority

Trade grid

Concession ledger

Four contract questions

Formula and cautions

Expected scenario value = Σ(probability of each scenario × that scenario’s measurable value) − transaction and implementation costs. Use only for commensurable outcomes; rights, safety, reputation, and irreversible harm need explicit gates, not a forced rupee value.

Never concede without naming what changes in return. Discounts may alter scope, term, payment timing, risk, support, and future reference value. A signed commercial summary is not a sufficient legal review. Silence, intimidation, artificial deadlines, and ambiguous authority are risk signals, not tactics you must imitate.

Decision output and cadence

Choose agree within authority; exchange a conditional trade; revise; pause for evidence or approval; use the BATNA; or walk away. Update after each round and before any redline or signature. Compare the final document with the agreed trade grid, not with memory.

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Professional review flag: A qualified lawyer must review material, unfamiliar, cross-border, lated, employment, data, IP, liability, financing, or property terms. A CA should review tax and financial consequences. Verify current law and authority; this grid is not a contract.

· SALES p. 27 · SALES pp. 28–32 · TABLE p. 7 · ASC p. 136. BATNA, trade, concession, hardball-response, discount, and four- question contract mechanics consolidated.

Tool 18 · Capital, Dilution & Funding Decision Pack

Use this before raising or accepting capital. Name the milestone, compare the no-funding path, and model control as well as headline valuation.

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Purpose and when to use

Complete before debt, equity, convertible, grant, strategic capital, founder infusion, or a decision to remain internally funded. The pack asks what the money buys, how long it lasts, what rights travel with it, and what happens if the next milestone is late. It does not value the company or interpret an instrument without professional advice.

Need, use, and milestone

Source comparison

Terms that move economics or control

Simple priced-round cap-table model

Formulas and cautions

• • Post-money valuation = pre-money valuation + new equity investment.
• • In a simple priced round, new investor ownership = investment ÷ post-money valuation.

• • Holder’s post-round percentage = holder’s post-round fully diluted units ÷ total post-round fully diluted units.
• • Dilution of percentage ownership = 1 − (post-round percentage ÷ pre-round percentage), when comparing the same holder and rights basis.

These simple formulas do not model option-pool timing, multiple share classes, convertibles, accrued interest, anti-dilution, liquidation preferences, taxes, foreign ownership, or control rights. A higher valuation can carry worse terms. Model downside proceeds and future rounds with counsel; never sign from this page.

Decision output and cadence

Choose remain internally funded; reduce need; use named source; negotiate named terms; seek competing terms; or stop. Review before outreach, at each term-sheet revision, before approval, and after close against actual use and milestone evidence.

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Professional review flag: Mandatory lawyer, Company Secretary, and CA review; add an authorized dealer, valuation professional, sector adviser, or other regulated reviewer when applicable. Use current MCA, RBI, SEBI, tax, FEMA, Companies Act, grant, and instrument documents on the transaction date.

· TABLE pp. 56–59 · TABLE pp. 66–67 · EF pp. 84–91 · FS pp. 23–24. Funding-source, debt/equity, dilution, cash-linkage, and milestone mechanics consolidated; legal instrument detail requires current review.