Business types
The starting cost categories Foundation sets up for a café, restaurant, shop, software startup, service firm or manufacturer.
When you start a project, you pick a business type. It only decides which cost categories are switched on at the start. You can switch any of them on or off later on the Cost Categories step, so a business that doesn't fit one type exactly is never stuck. Products & Revenue is always on for every type.
The lists below are what each type starts with.
Coffee shop or café
A café or coffee shop, with or without seating.
Fixed investment: Pre-Operational Expenses, Leasehold Improvements & Build-Out, Espresso & Kitchen Equipment, Furniture & Fixtures, POS & Point-of-Sale Setup, Signage & Branding, Initial Inventory.
Operating costs: Coffee & Ingredient Cost of Goods, Human Resources, Rent / Lease, Payment Processing & POS Fees, Administrative & Overhead, Marketing & Customer Acquisition, Maintenance & Repairs.
Restaurant
A sit-down or quick-service food business.
Fixed investment: Office & Administrative Equipment, Pre-Operational Expenses, Leasehold Improvements & Build-Out, Kitchen Equipment, Furniture & Fixtures, POS & Point-of-Sale Setup, Signage & Branding, Initial Inventory.
Operating costs: Food & Beverage Cost of Goods, Human Resources, Rent / Lease, Payment Processing & POS Fees, Administrative & Overhead, Marketing & Customer Acquisition, Maintenance & Repairs.
Retail shop
A storefront selling physical goods.
Fixed investment: Office & Administrative Equipment, Pre-Operational Expenses, Leasehold Improvements & Build-Out, Furniture & Fixtures, POS & Point-of-Sale Setup, Signage & Branding, Initial Inventory.
Operating costs: Merchandise / Cost of Goods, Human Resources, Rent / Lease, Payment Processing & POS Fees, Administrative & Overhead, Marketing & Customer Acquisition, Maintenance & Repairs.
Software startup
A software product or service business, no physical production.
Fixed investment: Office & Administrative Equipment, Pre-Operational Expenses, Furniture & Fixtures, Computers & Dev Equipment.
Operating costs: Human Resources, Rent / Lease, Cloud Hosting & Infrastructure, Software Licenses & SaaS Tools, Legal & Professional Services, Administrative & Overhead, Marketing & Customer Acquisition.
A fully remote team can switch off Rent / Lease. If you take card payments, switch on Payment Processing & POS Fees.
Service or consulting firm
A consulting, agency, or other professional-services business.
Fixed investment: Office & Administrative Equipment, Pre-Operational Expenses, Furniture & Fixtures, Computers & Dev Equipment.
Operating costs: Human Resources, Rent / Lease, Software Licenses & SaaS Tools, Legal & Professional Services, Administrative & Overhead, Marketing & Customer Acquisition.
Manufacturing
Builds or assembles a physical product on its own site.
Fixed investment: Land, Landscaping, Building, Machinery & Production Equipment, Electrical Installation, Water Supply Installation, Fuel Supply Installation, Compressed Air Equipment, Heating & Cooling (HVAC), Other Facility Equipment, Logistics & Transport Vehicles, Office & Administrative Equipment, Pre-Operational Expenses.
Operating costs: Raw Materials & Components, Human Resources, Administrative & Overhead, Marketing & Customer Acquisition, Maintenance & Repairs.
Manufacturing is the only type that starts with land, building and utility categories. Foundation works out the yearly energy cost from the power, water and gas use you enter on the Project Overview step.
Anything else
Start with a blank slate and pick your own categories.
Fixed investment: Pre-Operational Expenses.
Operating costs: Human Resources, Administrative & Overhead.
Pick the categories that fit on the Cost Categories step. See Overview for how categories work.