General auto repair shop
Three-bay independent mechanical repair shop with two technicians and an owner service adviser
192.4
Cash break-even billed technician-hours per month
Financial models behind the business cases
The public cases use linked monthly calculations; the personalized Excel service is still in development.
These pages expose the assumptions and calculated results of ten reproducible operating cases. They help you examine a business before preparing a personalized forecast. Downloadable personalized workbooks are not offered in this edition.
Child care center
Private preschool for ages 3–5: four rooms, assumed licensed capacity of 48; no infant care
34.0
Cash break-even enrolled full-time children
Coffee shop
Counter-service café in an existing leased unit
Calculate café contribution per transaction, operating and debt-service break-even, staffing capacity and a useful weekly scorecard.
Full-service restaurant
60-seat independent restaurant in an existing leased restaurant space; no alcohol sales
2,265.5
Cash break-even guest covers per month
Hair salon
Four-chair employee-operated hair salon with three employed stylists and a working owner
326.4
Cash break-even booked stylist-hours per month
HVAC service and installation
Two-technician residential HVAC operation: working owner, one employee and part-time dispatch support
74.3
Cash break-even mixed jobs per month
Residential landscaping service
One two-person owner-led residential maintenance crew, truck and trailer
91.9
Cash break-even property visits per month
Neighborhood gym
Independent membership gym with limited personal training; no pool or spa
429.6
Cash break-even active members
Residential remodeling contractor
Owner-led residential remodeling crew with two employees and specialist subcontractors
1.7
Cash break-even project-equivalents per month
Self-service car wash
Four-bay retrofit of an existing leased wash site
Model wash contribution, bay capacity, uptime, utilization and break-even without borrowing conveyor-wash assumptions.
Different businesses need different drivers
| Format | Revenue driver | Key constraint |
|---|---|---|
| Café / restaurant | Transactions or covers × receipt | Team throughput or seat turns; payroll remains payable |
| Self-service wash | Paid bay sessions × receipt | Bay time, occupancy duration and uptime |
| Remodeling / HVAC | Project or service/install mix | Productive crew-hours, materials and collection timing |
| Gym | Members after joins and cancellations | Retention and peak concurrent attendance |
| Landscape route | Paid visits × price | Crew travel, on-site time and seasons |
| Preschool | Whole-child enrollment × tuition | Licensed places and qualified staffing steps |
| Auto repair / hair salon | Billed or booked service-hours | Available skilled hours, bays or chairs |
What the model connects
Opening sources and uses establish equity, debt, assets and initial cash. Monthly operations drive profit. Inventory and settlement timing drive working capital. Debt payments split between interest and principal. Cash flow and the balance sheet then reconcile with those schedules.
Each case runs for 60 months with base, lower-demand and higher-demand scenarios and the same opening funding. The preschool roster changes with whole-classroom staffing steps; the gym follows member joins and cancellations. The methodology defines coverage, capital recovery and the exclusions.
What a personal model would add
A real project needs its actual calendar, local prices, tax treatment, seasonality, opening schedule, lender terms and replacement spending. It may also need multiple products, different sites or an acquisition history. Start with the projection guide; do not apply a café demand engine to every business.