Reflecting a Partial Initial Year

Q: Is there an easy way to change the starting month of the initial year? The model seems to start with January, but I would like to change to a start month of May.

A: The model is set up to reflect five full years, so we suggest that you simply enter the sales and cost assumptions starting in May and leave Jan – Apr blank so that all quarterly and annual totals work well and annual reports stay nicely formatted. Investors typically want to see full years in a plan and it is completely understandable to have started at some point during a year, but everyone will still want to see the quarterly and annual totals by calendar year instead of an odd May – April fiscal year. In all reality, the most accurate startup financial models will show expenses in months prior to experiencing revenue as there is usually ramp up time and expenses invested prior to landing customers and recognizing revenue, much like the example shown below: