Guides & learn

Twenty practical, finance-professional guides — organised around the four models we build. Start with a pillar, then go deeper. Every guide links to the tool that automates it.

Financial Modeling

Build the full linked model — assumptions, revenue, statements, valuation and checks. · Open the Financial Model tool →

• ★ How to Build a Financial Model in Excel — A practical guide to building a linked Excel financial model with assumptions, revenue, costs, statements, valuation and checks.
• Quarterly Financial Model: When to Use Quarterly Forecasts Instead of Annual Models — When quarterly financial models are better than annual forecasts for cash runway, lenders, seasonality and investor reporting.
• Industry Financial Model Templates: How to Choose the Right Revenue Drivers — How to choose relevant revenue streams, cost lines, WACC and CAPEX assumptions for industry-specific financial models.

Cash Flow Forecasting

Forecast cash, working-capital timing and runway — when cash peaks, dips or runs short. · Open the Cashflow Forecasting tool →

• ★ How to Build a Cash Flow Forecast in Excel (Free Template + Steps) — Step-by-step guide to building a cash flow forecast in Excel — operating, investing and financing cash flows, working-capital timing and closing cash — with a free automated template.
• 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast: A Practical Guide for Tight Cash — What a 13-week cash flow forecast is, why turnaround and finance teams rely on it, and how to build a rolling short-term liquidity view in Excel.
• Direct vs Indirect Cash Flow Forecasting: Which Method to Use — The difference between direct and indirect cash flow forecasting, when to use each, and how the indirect method links profit to cash.
• Cash Flow Forecasting for Startups: Runway, Burn Rate & When to Raise — How startups forecast cash flow to measure runway and burn rate, avoid running out of cash, and time their next funding round.
• Working Capital Days Explained: DSO, DIO & DPO and Why They Drive Cash — What DSO, DIO and DPO mean, how the cash conversion cycle works, and how working-capital days determine whether a profitable business runs out of cash.

DCF & Valuation

Value a business from its cash flows — WACC, terminal value, enterprise and equity value. · Open the DCF Valuation tool →

• ★ How to Build a DCF Model in Excel (Step-by-Step Guide) — Build a discounted cash flow (DCF) model in Excel step by step — unlevered free cash flow, WACC, terminal value, enterprise and equity value — with a free automated template.
• DCF Valuation Explained for Founders and Analysts — Understand free cash flow, WACC, terminal value and enterprise value in a DCF valuation model.
• WACC and CAPM: Estimating Your Discount Rate — How WACC, CAPM, beta, risk-free rate and capital structure affect financial model valuation.
• How to Calculate Terminal Value in a DCF (Gordon Growth & Exit Multiple) — How to calculate terminal value in a DCF using the Gordon-Growth model and the exit-multiple method, why it dominates the valuation, and how to keep it realistic.
• Enterprise Value vs Equity Value: The Difference Explained — What enterprise value and equity value mean, how the bridge between them works with net debt, and why a DCF computes both.
• DCF for Startups: How to Value a Company With Little or No Profit — How to run a DCF valuation for a startup with negative or minimal cash flow — discount rate, forecast horizon, terminal value and sensitivity — done credibly.
• DCF vs EV/EBITDA Multiple: Which Valuation Method Should You Use? — The difference between DCF and EV/EBITDA multiple valuation, the strengths and weaknesses of each, and why professionals triangulate with both.

Free Cash Flow

Understand the cash a business truly frees up — unlevered vs levered FCF and conversion. · Open the Free Cash Flow tool →

• ★ What Is Free Cash Flow? UFCF vs LFCF Explained Simply — A clear explanation of free cash flow — what it is, how unlevered and levered free cash flow differ, and why investors watch it more closely than profit.
• How to Calculate Free Cash Flow From EBITDA (With Formula) — The formula to get from EBITDA to free cash flow — tax, CAPEX and working-capital adjustments — and the common shortcuts that overstate cash.
• Unlevered vs Levered Free Cash Flow: The Difference and When to Use Each — Unlevered vs levered free cash flow explained — the formulas, the bridge between them, and which one to use for valuation versus equity returns.
• Why Free Cash Flow Matters More Than Profit — Why a profitable company can still run out of cash, how free cash flow differs from net income, and what the gap tells you about a business.
• Free Cash Flow Conversion: What It Is and What's a Good Rate — What free cash flow conversion means, how to calculate it from EBITDA, what a good conversion rate looks like by industry, and how to improve it.