Projection of sales is one of the most important parts of the business plan. We have included tables for three years (monthly and quarterly) and five years (annual). Three years should be the minimum, some may wish to include projections for five years.

This worksheet assists you in managing product lines and products. Use the MANAGE PRODUCTS button to Add, Edit, or Remove productlines or products. After you click the button the following screen will open:

ADDING PRODUCTLINES (or MARKET AREAS)

Add a Product line (required)

Enter the name of the product line to be added.
NOTE: if you prefer to enter sales by Market areas (f.e. USA, Europe etc.), enter the name of a Market area instead of a Product line.

Add Other Sales (optional)

Each of the 10 product lines can include an additional row, where you can enter sales by total amounts (in the monthly sales projection worksheet) and their related cost of goods % (in the product details worksheet).
You can always add or remove this additional row in the Edit tab.

Add Rebates & Allowances (optional)

Each of the 10 product lines can include an additional row, where you can enter rebates and allowances in monthly amounts (in the monthly sales projection worksheet).
You can always add or remove this additional row in the Edit tab.

Assign weight (optional)

You can control the order of the product lines by assigning a weight between -5 and +5. The lower the number, the higher the position of the product line. If you select a weight of '0' (default), the product line will be ordered alphabetically in ascending order. You can always change the weight later in the Edit tab.

ADDING PRODUCTS

Select a product line (required)

Select the product line to which you want to add the new product(s).

New product name(s) (required)

Enter the name of the product(s) to be added to the selected product line. Enter multiple products (maximum 10) separated by a comma. F.e. Product A, Product B etc.. You can add more products later in this tab.
The products are always ordered alphabetically in ascending order.

Estimate sales by Units or Amounts (required)

Units: you can choose to enter sales for a product (or multiple products) by units. The product(s) will be added with the units row being the entry row.
Amounts: you can choose to enter sales for a product (or multiple products) by sales amounts. The product(s) will be added with the amounts row being the entry row.

For each product added you'll need to enter the sales price per unit, the raw material cost, the minimum stock level per month, and optionally other cost of goods sold.
In the Other sales row (if added), you only need to enter the percentage of the cost of goods items as a % of the total sales amount entered in the 5 year projection.

NOTE: the maximum number of Product lines you can add is ten (10).
NOTE: if you prefer to enter sales by market areas (f.e. USA, Europe etc.), enter the name of a Market area instead of a Product line.

The sales forecast is generally split into:

• The number of different products you plan to sell
• The number of units of each product that you plan to sell
• The price that you plan to sell each unit for
• The cost of goods of each unit you sell
• The minimum stock level per month you intend to keep

Average increase/decrease %

The following 2 years are semi-automated, you only need to enter the Average Increase/Decrease % for Sales price and Cost of goods. You may decide to modify the resulting values. Doing so will of course overwrite existing formulas.

Monthly sales projection (3 years)

-- FIRST YEAR --

Sales by Units: Enter the estimated unit sales in each month of the 1st year.

Sales by Amounts: Enter the estimated monthly sales amounts in each month of the 1st year.

Other Sales: Each of the 10 product lines can include an additional row in the sales projection worksheets, where you can enter sales by total amounts. The cost of goods % is entered in the product details worksheet.

Rebates & Allowances: If you have added this row, you can enter rebate and allowances amounts as is needed.

-- SECOND & THIRD YEAR --

In the 2nd and 3rd year you only need to enter the Annual Growth % for each product line (see yellow cells on the right site of the table). You can always overwrite the values as is needed.

Sales tax is calculated if you have entered any value in the Sales Tax table. Depending on the value you've entered in the Assumptions for Days Payable for Sales Tax, the sales tax will be calculated in the cash flow forecast accordingly.

Sales projection quarterly (3 years)

The quarterly worksheets are automatically completed from the 3 years sales projections.

Annual sales projection (5 years)

The last two years are pre-filled with average calculations. You may leave as is, or modify as is needed.