How do I use the sources and uses module?

This article explains how you can use the sources and uses module.

This data enables our software to build your financial statements (balance sheet, P&L, cash flow statement), which can then be downloaded along with your business plan.

It’s fast and easy to do.

a snapshot of all the sources and uses for a business at day one of their business plan

What are sources & uses?

For startups:

The sources and uses section provides a breakdown of:

  • All of your business start up expenses (uses)
  • How these start up expenses have been financed (sources)

For example:

  • A new ecommerce website’s startup expenses may include the website itself, design expenses, and market research costs.
  • They might fund these expenses through a combination of common equity, bank loans and grants.

How does the sources & uses module work?

At the centre of the module, you will find a table which shows a snapshot of the balance sheet of your company on day 1.

You can edit your sources and uses by using the button beneath the table.

The table is calculated by pulling the opening balance of each financial item (business lines, investments, loans, etc.) in your plan.

To include an investment or a loan in this table make sure its date is set to "start of plan".

How does the manage sources & uses module impact my financial forecast?

The Business Plan Shop's Our software will use your sources and uses to create the opening balance sheet of your forecasted financial statements.

If you are on a startup plan, we will also use your start-up expenses to build the opening value of your retained earnings and carry back these losses when computing your corporation tax.

If you are on an existing business plan, we will also use the schedules to allocate the cash movements linked to your opening balance sheet in your first year cash flow statement, and potential deferred costs or revenues in your P&L.

For simplification purposes the retained earnings of existing businesses are used as a balancing figure in the opening balance sheet.

What advice can you give me relating to the module?

The sources and uses table shows a breakdown of your company's financing at day 1.

The sources column shows which sources of finance are being used and the uses column how they are being used. Here you need to make sure that your cash position is positive.

Go further with The Business Plan Shop

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