Using the app
A tour of every section of a Foundation project, and what each one is for.
A project is a set of steps in the sidebar, grouped into five sections. You can move between steps in any order, and everything saves automatically.
Overview
| Step | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Project Overview | The product, its capacity, who it's for, staff count, floor areas, and energy and water use for production sites. |
| Cost Categories | Which cost tables your project uses. Switch off the ones that don't apply; data in a switched-off category is kept, just left out of the totals. |
More in Overview.
Market
| Step | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Market Size | Your TAM, SAM and SOM: the whole market, the part you can reach, and the part you can realistically win. Each with how it was calculated and a source. |
| Competitor Benchmark | A grid of competitors and the features customers compare on, with a tick where a competitor offers a feature. |
More in Market.
Fixed investment
One step per investment category you've switched on (for example fit-out, equipment, furniture or vehicles), plus Pre-Operational Expenses for everything you spend before opening. Investment Summary adds them up.
More in Fixed investment.
Operating costs
One step per running-cost category (rent, marketing, software and so on), plus Human Resources for staff and Products & Revenue for what you sell. Restaurants and cafés also get Ingredients & Recipes, which works out ingredient costs from your menu and sales.
Financial Assumptions holds the tax rate, discount rate, growth, churn and working capital. Cost Structure sets how much of each cost is fixed and how much moves with sales.
More in Operating costs.
Results
| Step | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Feasibility Dashboard | Every result in one place, with sliders to try a different growth rate, discount rate or churn. |
| Scenario Planning | A worst, base and best case side by side. |
| Business Plan | A drafted business plan built around your numbers. |
More in Results.
Every row has a Notes field. Use it to record where a number came from, for example "quote from the landlord" or "industry average of 30% of sales". You'll thank yourself when a lender asks.