Budgeting For Corporate Events

How to forecast revenue This is the BIGGEST area of focus in all the financial models I build… and for good reason. Revenue forecasts are like snowflakes ❄️ no 2 forecasts are the same…every company does it differently Here’s my framework that I’ve developed after building over 100 financial models in my career ➡️ Revenue Sources Framework → E•P•N Your revenue can come from one 3 sources: 1️⃣ E→ Existing Customers Here you analyze your current customer contracts Ask yourself the following questions • When will these contracts come up for renewal? • What is the likelihood for renewal? • Will they expand / contract before the contract is up? 2️⃣ P→ Pipeline customers Here you analyze the customers who are warm in your pipeline Ask yourself the following questions: • What is the close likelihood of each contract? • When will the contracts close? You then take the contract value * the close likelihood... and forecast out the sale on the projected close date 3️⃣ N→ New Customers These are customers you’ve never interacted with… but can expect to in the future Here, you move onto the 2nd Framework, the Revenue Growth Framework ➡️ Revenue Growth Framework → A•R•S•R This is all about how you use your business model to close new customers, resulting in new sales 1️⃣ A→ Acquire Here you measure the channels that you use to acquire customers Common ones can be: • Sales reps • Digital marketing • Organic • Partnerships 2️⃣ R→ Retain Now you measure how long this customer will be with you Are they monthly? Annually? Month to month? Once you have this info, you can understand how much you can generate in sales from them 3️⃣ S→ Sell Now that you know how long your customers are with you, you can analyze how often you’ll generate sale from them This can be sales from your New Customers, or sales from your Active Customers 4️⃣ R→ Record Now is when you record all the activity that will hit financial statements Common ones include • Revenue • Deferred Revenue • Cost of Goods Sold • Inventory • Accounts Receivable • Commissions === With this framework in place, you can literally forecast out the details behind ANY business model If you found this post useful, then you’ll LOVE my upcoming live workshop on forecasting that will be launching later this month. Let me know your interest over here: https://bit.ly/3rbVrJd

This is the anatomy of a driver-based forecast for a staffing company. You can apply the same techniques to your business model too. There are two revenue streams within a single business: 1. Temp staffing + contract placements 2. Direct hires They share many of the same recruiters and salespeople. They sit in the same office. But the unit economics are completely different for each line of business. A good driver-based forecast model should treat them as such. Temp Staffing Channel: In temp staffing, you're effectively renting people out. Revenue is the hourly bill rate. Cost is the hourly pay rate. The spread is the mark-up and equals the gross profit per hour. When you multiply that by the hours forecast to be billed, you get the total gross profit per placement. And when you multiply that by the total heads, you get your total contribution. Direct Hire Channel: In direct hire, you're not renting people. You're permanently placing them with a customer, collecting a one-time fee. This is typically a percentage of the hire's first-year-salary. There are usually milestones in the calendar and the fee isn't paid in full until those milestones are met. The volume math, cost structures, and cash conversation are completely different between temp staffing and direct hire. If you build one combined revenue line for both channels, you lose the ability to decipher the drivers of each. When I see FP&As focus on top-down and bottom-up forecasting, they're often missing the reality that forecasts aren't that clean and obvious. There are activities that drive the revenues. Driver-Based Scenario Modeling: On the left-hand side of the model, you see three distinct scenarios: low, mid, and high. Each has its own set of operating assumptions. On the right-hand side of the model, you see a 5-year forecast. But if you look closely, you can see that I've assigned to each year a respective scenario. 2025 pulls from low while 2026-2029 pull from mid. Why are these labels blue? Because I'm using data validation drop-downs. If the FP&A analyst decides to change the scenario or inflation adjustment, it can be done with the click of a button (or alt + down arrow if you're rabidly against using your mouse). I called this a driver-based scenario picker. You don't have any assumptions hard-coded into the forecast. They're all dynamic and flexible, driven by the scenario picked on the left. Why does this matter? Because if you ever want to model different assumptions, you can do it without rebuilding the model. You toggle the tag and everything downstream updates. The objective of a model like this isn't to be fancy or perfect. It's to be useful and defensible. The discussions we'd have with the recruiting and sales team focus on the drivers in play and the plans we have for the future. Question for you: how have you applied similar driver-based methods to your company?

Unlocking New Revenue Streams with SaaS Models A few years ago, I sat across from a startup founder who had built a brilliant product—an AI-powered analytics tool for eCommerce businesses. The problem? They were struggling to scale. Their high upfront costs and one-time licensing fees limited customer acquisition. “We have a great product, but revenue is unpredictable,” he admitted. I’ve seen this challenge time and again—companies with exceptional tech but outdated monetization models. That’s when I asked him, “Have you considered transitioning to SaaS?” Fast forward 18 months, and that same startup saw a 3x increase in revenue, higher customer retention, and expansion into global markets. That’s the power of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Why SaaS is Driving Business Growth The SaaS market is projected to reach $908 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 18.7% (Fortune Business Insights). Businesses are increasingly moving away from traditional software licensing to subscription-based, cloud-enabled solutions, unlocking new revenue streams and market opportunities. At Devsinc, we’ve helped numerous clients transition to SaaS, and the benefits are clear: 1- Recurring Revenue Stability: Unlike one-time sales, SaaS provides predictable, subscription-based income. 2- Scalability: SaaS businesses grow exponentially with minimal incremental costs. 3- Global Reach: Cloud-based delivery removes geographic limitations. The Real Impact of SaaS: A Case Study One of our eCommerce clients, initially selling packaged software, struggled with declining sales. We helped them pivot to a SaaS-based model, offering monthly subscriptions and AI-driven customer insights. The results? A 42% increase in customer lifetime value and 60% higher user engagement. The Future of SaaS: AI, Verticalization, and Automation By 2026, 70% of software products will shift to SaaS-based models (Gartner). Emerging trends include: - AI-powered SaaS: Automating workflows and enhancing decision-making. - Industry-Specific SaaS: Tailored solutions for sectors like healthcare, fintech, and retail. - Usage-Based Pricing: Charging customers based on consumption, increasing flexibility. Building a Successful SaaS Business Transitioning to SaaS isn’t just about moving to the cloud—it’s about redefining how value is delivered. Companies that invest in customer-centric experiences, seamless onboarding, and continuous product evolution will lead the market. The conversation with that founder wasn’t just about switching business models—it was about embracing a new mindset. SaaS is more than software; it’s a strategy for sustained, scalable growth. For companies looking to unlock new revenue streams, the question isn’t whether to adopt SaaS—it’s how quickly they can adapt. The future belongs to those who can innovate, iterate, and deliver continuous value. Are you ready to make the shift? #SaaS #BusinessGrowth #RecurringRevenue #TechInnovation #DigitalTransformation

We'll be at $100M ARR in 18 months. Current revenue? $50K MRR. I immediately passed. It's good to be ambitious, but delusional? That's a no. Not because $100M is not going to happen. Because the path to get there was pure fantasy. Here's the model he showed me: "We'll hire 20 salespeople who will each close $400K annually." Let me check the math: 20 × $400K = $8M ✓ But your CAC is $10K per customer Average deal size is $25K annually So each rep needs 16 customers per year At 6-month sales cycle, that's 96 deals in pipeline per rep That's 1,920 qualified leads needed in month one His current lead gen? 40 leads monthly. The math doesn't math. Founders reverse-engineer projections from outcomes they want instead of building up from unit economics. One founder I backed showed me this: "Month 1: $100K. Month 18: $2M. Here's the exact path he walked through: Current CAC: $3K, close rate 15%, sales cycle 3 months - To hit $2M need 80 customers - At 15% close need 533 leads - Current marketing: 30 leads monthly - Need to 10x marketing = $X spend Here's monthly spend breakdown Here's how close rate improves as we refine positioning Every assumption defended with logic. Still aggressive, but believable. He raised $3M. How to build credible projections: 1. Start with current unit economics. 2. Show how they improve with specific initiatives. 3. Model customer acquisition month by month. Build UP to revenue, don't work backward from it. Ambitious is good. Delusional is disqualifying. #StartupProjections #Fundraising #VentureCapital

If your income depends on one revenue stream You perhaps don't have a business You have a risk Most fractional marketers I speak to are running on 1–2 revenue streams. Something uncovered in a poll we ran in The Slice Network at the end of last year. That's not bad But it is exposed Retainers pause Budgets freeze One email can wipe out 40–50% of your income. It's happened to me. Which is why I don't think the goal should simply be finding more clients. That’s important, but it should also be expanding your revenue streams - without doubling your workload. That only happens when we stop thinking like a service provider and start thinking like a business owner. Here are five revenue streams I believe fractional marketers should seriously consider building: 1️ Consultancy + Advisory (not execution) • Paid thinking, strategic guidance and decision support • High margin. Low delivery drag 2️ Paid research & insights • Industry surveys, benchmarks and reports • Your expertise has standalone value - and many businesses will pay for it 3️ Speaking, workshops & enablement • Leadership offsites, GTM workshops and team enablement sessions • Repeatable, scalable and often built around IP you already have 4️ Referral income • Introducing clients to trusted specialists, service providers or partners can create an additional revenue stream while helping solve client challenges 5️ Creator & partnership income • Sponsored content, event partnerships and brand collaborations As your audience and authority grow, businesses may be willing to pay for access to your reach and credibility. This isn't about doing all five. It's about deciding where else to grow your business. Because fractional isn't about tying your entire livelihood to one income model, one client type or one market cycle. After all, if one client dropped tomorrow, how exposed would you be - honestly? Any others you’d add?

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭 in any good projection: calculate future Revenue. As accurate as possible. That's mandatory!! 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 ✔️Historical Trend Analysis - Leveraging past performance to predict future trends. ✔️Market Analysis - Understanding market segments and potential impacts on revenue. ✔️Customer Segmentation - Analyzing different customer groups to tailor marketing and sales strategies. ✔️Sales Funnel Analysis - Monitoring progression through the sales funnel to anticipate revenue generation. ✔️Product Lifecycle Analysis - Assessing the stages of a product's life to forecast sales and revenue. ✔️Econometric Models - Using statistical methods to forecast revenue based on economic and market variables. 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 ➡️ Driver-Based Forecasting: Focusing on key business drivers like unit sales, market share, or operational efficiency, this method provides a granular view of forecasted revenue, allowing for more targeted strategy adjustments. ➡️ Rolling Forecasts: Instead of static annual forecasts, rolling forecasts update throughout the year to reflect real-time market conditions and business outcomes, providing a more dynamic financial outlook. Curious to know how you all manage forecasting? What methods do you find most useful?

EV charging isn’t a utility play. It’s a business model. If you’re just thinking in cents per kilowatt-hour, you’re missing the big picture and the big profits. Here are 5 real revenue streams that smart EV charging operators are already cashing in on: 1. Energy Arbitrage Buy cheap, sell smart. With time-of-use rates and wholesale access, charging operators can exploit spread pricing, especially when paired with on-site battery storage and smart load shifting. 👉 In markets like California and Texas, this can mean up to 40–60% margin improvement. 2. Dynamic Pricing Surge pricing isn’t just for Ubers. With API-driven tariff engines, you can adjust pricing based on time, load, weather, or station occupancy. Some European operators using real-time pricing models have reported 25–35% increases in revenue per charger, while also reducing congestion during peak hours. 3. Retail & Amenity Revenue DC fast charging = captive audience. A typical session lasts 20–40 minutes, prime time to drive foot traffic to shops, cafes, or services. Big players like Target and Starbucks already co-locate for this reason. A well-placed charger can generate $2–5 in retail profit for every $1 in charging revenue. 4. Fleet Contracts Fleets don’t want chargers. They want uptime. Private depots and public hubs can lock in multi-year agreements with logistics, ride-share, and utility fleets. Bundling charging + service + software turns CapEx-heavy hardware into recurring revenue with 10–15% EBITDA potential. 5. Grid Services Load shedding, demand response, V2G, these are real value streams. Operators can earn $50–150 per charger per year in demand response programs alone (source: NREL, EPRI). As V2G scales, these payouts could double or triple especially for fleet and depot use cases. The real winners in EV charging won’t just move electrons. They’ll move margin, dwell time, customer data, and recurring revenue. Don’t build a charging station. Build a business. #EVCharging #EVROI #ChargingEconomics #SmartCharging #FleetElectrification #V2G #EnergyStrategy #InfrastructureMatters #ChargingBusiness

📊 UPI Is Free. So Where Does ₹15,000+ Crore in Revenue Come From? According to Bernstein, monetisation for platforms such as Paytm and PhonePe “has improved meaningfully in recent years” This is reflected in an estimated net revenue pool of about Rs 15,000 crore in FY25, translating into a gross revenue pool of roughly Rs 250,000 crore. Let's check how this industry is structured and how it earns revenue: 1️⃣ Industry Structure: Zero-MDR Environment UPI (run by National Payments Corporation of India) operates with: ⏩ No user transaction fee ⏩ No MDR on most P2M transactions ⏩ High volume, low friction architecture ⏩ This eliminates direct transaction revenue. So how do players like PhonePe and Paytm survive? They shift from transaction monetisation to ecosystem monetisation. What's that let's see in the next point. 2️⃣ Revenue Architecture (Layered Model): Think of UPI apps as a 3-layer platform model: ✅ Layer 1: Distribution (Free Core Product) Peer-to-peer payments, Merchant QR payments, Bank transfers Objective: 📌 Maximise user base 📌 Maximise engagement frequency 📌 Capture transaction data This layer builds network effects. ✅ Layer 2: Merchant Monetisation (Recurring Revenue) Revenue streams are POS machine rentals, Soundbox subscriptions, Payment gateway fees, Settlement services , SaaS dashboards etc. Example: If 10 million merchants pay ₹200/month ₹200 × 10 M × 12 months = ₹24,000 crore annual revenue potential. Even partial penetration is massive. This converts: Payments to SaaS Infrastructure. ✅ Layer 3: Financial Services (High Margin Engine): This is where profitability scales. Revenue streams are Loan sourcing commissions, BNPL margins, Insurance commissions, Mutual fund distribution, Credit card partnerships etc Why does this work: UPI provides transaction history. Transaction history enables credit underwriting. Underwriting enables lending. Payments become data collateral. And lending margins are significantly higher than payment margins. 💡My take: 💭 Well the revenue grows majorly on Network effects that is more users give more people into the revenue space. 💭 Using UPI as a base, they cross offer their services and generate revenue base. 💭 UPI is managed by NPCI however private companies build layers of their business on the top of UPI which gives it a solid revenue base. 💭 There are business risks like regulatory changes where MDR could be introduced making UPI not free anymore and other product risks, increased competition etc 🤔🔥 Strategic Question: Is India building: A) The world’s most efficient low-cost fintech stack? B) A volume-heavy, margin-thin ecosystem vulnerable to regulation? 💭 Would love perspectives from founders, bankers, and fintech professionals. Do share your thoughts on the same in the comments #india #finance #business #strategy #revenue #consulting #success #fintech #investment #upi #linkedin #content #corporatefinance

You know your revenue projections are fairy tales. I know they are, too. So why continue the charade? Founders often show me beautiful hockey-stick growth. For instance, I recently reviewed a proposal from an emerging startup with a few early adopters, which generated $500,000 in non-recurring revenue during its first year. They project $1.5 million in revenue in the second year and $6 million in the third. How do I know this is a fantasy? I look at three criteria: - What is the Compound Annual Growth Rate? CAGR indicates the rate of return that an investment equivalent to the initial amount would need to grow to equal the final amount. In the example above, the starting amount is $500K, and the ending amount after one year is $1.5M, resulting in a CAGR of 200%. The CAGR for year 2 (from $1.5M to $6M) would be 300%. Can you truly replicate your sales from year 1 in year 2 and then double it? Can you repeat this (and more) from year 2 to year 3? For emerging startups, I anticipate a solid year-over-year CAGR of 70%-100% for the first 2-3 years. Achieving a CAGR of 200% or more would place you at the top of your class. Unless you can demonstrate why you are an outlier, I find this hard to believe. - Have you identified the growth trigger? Even before achieving product-market fit (which relates more to pricing validation), it is essential to demonstrate problem-solution fit (PSF). What is the urgent use case for which you are the preferred solution? Until you have found the niche for which you are the “killer app”, you will encounter high churn, low user engagement, and a reluctance to pay. Your first task is to identify your niche, then secure reference clients who become your strongest advocates. A healthy stream of referrals is a clear signal that you have found the growth trigger and thus, PSF. - What constraints do you face? All growth comes with constraints, and early scaling has more than its fair share. While technology may scale exponentially, people evolve and adapt at a slower speed. At a minimum, you need to build a go-to-market infrastructure, which requires time and expertise. Additionally, you must be realistic about the growing economic headwinds that will impact you, your supply chains and your customers. Scaling means improving how you create and deliver value to customers who appreciate and pay you accordingly. A robust and accelerating create-deliver-harvest cycle generates the resources you need to grow. This acceleration does not happen by magic. Managing uncertainty begins with honesty. Develop your projections based on real constraints, such as sales capacity, implementation bandwidth, and market absorption rate, rather than starting from an aspirational target to impress investors, who, by the way, can see through your claims. If you had to support your revenue projections with evidence rather than hopes and wishes, how would you change your numbers? #momentumscaling #revenue

BESS Revenue Models: The Strategic Shift from #BatteryOwnership to #Revenue Optimization Today, the more important question has become: Which #revenuemodel creates the highest long-term value? Several revenue structures are now available to BESS owners and operators. ➤ Tolling Agreements continue to be one of the most attractive models for investors seeking stable, contracted revenue streams. Under this structure, the off taker pays a fixed fee for the right to charge and discharge the battery while the asset owner maintains operational responsibility. ➤ Energy-Only Agreements provide straightforward revenue based on energy delivery. While relatively simple, they expose operators to fluctuations in market demand and power prices, requiring effective forecasting and dispatch strategies. ➤ Capacity Sale Agreements focus on availability rather than energy delivery. Grid operators pay for guaranteed capacity, creating highly stable income streams while supporting grid reliability. As #renewablepenetration increases globally, capacity markets are expected to become increasingly valuable. ➤ Energy Hedging & Contracts for Difference (CfDs) help manage price risk by providing revenue certainty through predefined strike prices. These mechanisms protect against adverse market movements, although they can limit upside potential during periods of exceptionally high prices. ➤ Top-Bottom Hedge Structures offer a balanced approach by creating a revenue floor while preserving some participation in market upside. These models are gaining popularity among investors seeking both stability & growth opportunities. ➤ Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPA): These financial agreements allow companies to support renewable energy deployment without taking physical electricity delivery. ➤ For operators willing to accept greater risk, Spot Market Participation offers potentially higher returns through energy arbitrage & real-time market opportunities. However, success depends heavily on forecasting accuracy, operational flexibility, and #marketintelligence. ➤ Meanwhile, Ancillary Services are emerging as one of the most attractive revenue streams for modern BESS projects. Batteries can respond within milliseconds, making them ideal for frequency regulation, voltage support, spinning reserve replacement & grid stabilization services. The most successful BESS projects of the next decade will likely not rely on a single revenue stream. This approach, often called Revenue Stacking, transforms a battery from a simple #energyasset into a multi-service platform capable of generating value across several markets simultaneously. The question for developers, investors, utilities, and industrial users is: Which revenue model will unlock the greatest value from storage? What revenue model do you believe will dominate the next decade of energy storage growth—contracted revenues, #ancillaryservices, or #merchantmarket participation?