Online Course Provider Multichannel Financial Plan

Financial Model, Marketplaces, Online Businesses, Schools and Education

10-year Financial Projections, 5-year Financial Projections, Break-Even, Budget, Budgeting, Cash Flow Analysis, Cash Flow Projections, Cash on Cash Yield, Conversion, Cost Calculation, Debt Schedule, Discount Rate, Dividends, Excel, Financial Analysis, Financial Feasibility, Financial Model, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning, Financial Projections, Financial Statements, Income Statement, IRR (Internal Rate of Return), NPV (Net Present Value), Online Courses, Payback Period, PDF, Pricing, Profitability Analysis, Uses and Sources of Funds

This Online Course Financial model uses assumptions such as lists of 50 to 100 online courses to be sold that are categorized into types, product life cycle types, start and end date of sales by course, individual prices per course, sales channel, and respective sales allocation percentage expected breakdown of the required website traffic, direct costs, operating costs and much more.

The model also includes break-even analysis as well as the calculation of the relevant financial ratios and metrics (such as profit margin, IRR, and NPV). This allows us to obtain an understanding of an Online Course Provider’s Financial Plan and targets to answer the question: Is investing in online courses worth it?

What makes this Online Course Provider – Multichannel Financial Model unique?

Compared to other financial model templates, this financial has the following unique aspects:

1. Product Life Cycle – course sales are forecasted using an annual growth rate. However, often this does not reflect reality. Course Sales will follow a Product Life Cycle: Sales first will start to increase, then they will peak, and over time, as more competitors come, online sales per course will decrease. Our Online Course Provider model considers this and allows forecasting up to 5 types of product life cycles and assigning them to the courses.

Product Life Cycle Index model showing sales performance and lifecycle changes over 12 months.

Product lifecycle index chart illustrating sales performance trends over ten years.

The effect of this way of modeling is that you will obtain more clarity on how many courses will need to be produced by when and you can estimate the corresponding costs better. That should lead to a higher degree of planning accuracy.

2. Product Lifetime – Each course can be set to use flexible start and end dates of sales.

Revenue analysis chart showing courses started over ten years.

3. Multichannel Sales – allows taking into account that online courses can be sold via a course provider’s website and up to 5 other marketplaces. The breakdown by sales channel can be estimated in this spreadsheet template.

4. Website Traffic – refers to the number of web users that visit a website. The Online Course Provider’s financial model determines how many visitors are required to meet the targeted website sales based on a conversion rate. The user should indicate where website traffic will be coming from and allocate percentages. Website traffic sites require marketing-related costs; this financial model also enables users to calculate such.

Deciding whether to invest or not in the startup of an online training course provider requires a well-prepared and executed finance plan. Developing financial projections can clarify the possible profit margins, the funding required, and the expected returns. A solid financial model template can be the missing piece to bringing the e-learning business ideas towards financial success.

Online Course Provider Spreadsheet Template Structure

This Financial Model Excel template has instructions and formulas that are simple and easy to follow, which allows users to run simulations by varying the input assumptions.

The elements of this financial model template are enumerated below:

1. Terms contain the cell color codes and the terms and abbreviations used.

2. General Assumptions that are necessary and applicable in Online Course financial planning are presented in the assumptions’ worksheets:
• Currency
• Cost Inflation Rate
• Income Tax Rate
• Net Working Capital
• Capital Expenditures, CAPEX Schedule, and Maintenance per year
• Depreciation and Amortization periods
• Uses and Sources of Funds
• Interest Rates
• Financial Assumptions such as Interest Rates, Bank Covenants, and Dividend Policy
• Exit and Valuation assumptions such as the Investment Period, Discount Rate, and Exit Valuation Multiples

3. Course Assumptions are mandatory to be completed for the financial model to operate effectively:
• Online Course Types
• List of up to 50 – 100 Online Courses depending on model versions
• Product Lifetime – First and last years and months of sale
• Product Life Cycle Types
• Sales Channel and respective allocations
• Website Traffic Allocations
• Other Income
• Direct Costs – Sales Channel Commission Costs, Transaction Fees, Variable Cost per Course type, and Traffic-Related Marketing Costs.
• Operating Expenses

Special features of the assumption worksheets include the following:
• User may encode up to 5-year assumptions
• 5-Yearly summaries are also computed and shown immediately to give the user a brief idea of the output of encoded assumptions

4. Executive Summary includes charts to understand your Online Course Provider’s financial reports and business plan better and to answer the questions –
• How much do online courses make?
• Is selling online courses profitable?
• Which online courses are in demand based on Product Life Cycles?
• How many visitors are needed to meet website traffic? and
• How much to charge for online courses?

5. 5 to 10-year summary – This spreadsheet includes summaries, depending on the model version, of the following:
• Projected online course provider financial statements overview, including income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
• Levered and Unlevered Free Cash Flows calculating key financial feasibility metrics such as the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Payback Period, Net Present Value (NPV), and expected investment multiple
• Forecasted Company Valuation, Uses, and Sources of Funds
• Overview of Online Courses Prices and Revenue per type, category, and sales channels
• Product Lifetime and Life Cycle Analysis
• Website Traffic Analysis
• Online Courses Cost Analysis; and
• Monthly Plan Summary at chosen year.

*In the premium version, the Executive Summary contains results of the Break-Even Analysis of the chosen year and the Shareholders’ Summary.

6. CAPEX (Capital Expenditures) sheet contains computations of total CAPEX based on the CAPEX Schedules assumption:
• List and identify assets, tangible or intangible.
• Allocation of the amount of CAPEX spent by spreading their percentages through the current year up to the first.
• Annual maintenance percentage.

This sheet also shows the Fixed Assets’ depreciation and amortization schedule and the yearly summary of Gross Fixed Assets, Depreciation, and Net Fixed Assets.

Special features of this worksheet include:
• Calculated Drawdown CAPEX, which is to be linked to the Debt Schedule, could be used as a suggested assumption in which funds are borrowed under the loan agreement.
• Maintenance CAPEX will only begin the year after the Initial CAPEX drawdown is at 100%

7. Monthly worksheet contains a detailed calculation of the 5 to 10-year summary, depending on the model version, and a monthly assessment of online training course financial planning and feasibility.

This monthly report presents the operational forecasts of:
• Product Life Cycle and Sales Index
• Online Courses Sold in Units
• Online Course Price Assumptions
• Revenue Breakdowns
• Sales per Channel and Costs
• Website Traffic Analysis
• Direct Costs
• Operating Expenses
• Financial Statements – Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement
• Unlevered and Levered Free Cash Flow Statement
• Funding Required

8. Yearly worksheet contains a comprehensive and detailed 5 to 10-year summary, depending on the model version, of the monthly forecast of the Online Course financial plan.
• Financial Statements – Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement
• Financial Ratios and Standardized Income Statement
• Online Courses Sold Summary
• Pricing Summary
• Breakdown of Revenues per:
o Online Course,
o Online Course Type,
o Product Life Cycle; and
o Start year of Course
• Website Traffic Analysis Summary
• Projected Enterprise Value
• Unlevered and Levered Free Cash Flow
• Financial Metrics, and
• Equity Funding and Divided Policy Schedule

9. Debt Schedule is specially prepared to be presented to banks and investors for funding purposes. It contains financial ratios the banks and investors want to see when evaluating a project’s feasibility. The debt schedule comes with two debt facility options and adjustments for drawdowns and repayments.

10. Break-Even Analysis (only in Premium Version) shows the break-even calculations at a selected year at an EBIT level of the following:
• How many courses do you need to sell at a given price to reach break-even or
• What average price do you need to sell a given number of courses at break-even

This sheet also shows a break-even sensitivity analysis.

11. Shareholders’ Cash Flow (only in Premium Version) is prepared to show the Equity Multiple and Investors’ IRR calculations, which helps determine if their funding and equity stake percentages would result in a profit on their end. The user can select which Cash Flow – Levered Cash Flow or Cash In/Out will be used to compute investment and proceed.

Prepare your own next Online Course Provider – Multichannel Financial Model now!

This Online Course Provider Excel spreadsheet template contains valuable tools that allow users to better understand whether selling online course training programs is profitable by testing various scenarios and assessing how they affect your project’s viability. The financial model template comes pre-filled with a 10-year monthly forecast, which users may modify easily by updating the marked assumptions in blue or light blue.

With the output of the financial analysis and key metrics of this financial model, entrepreneurs will decide whether to invest in setting up an online course provider business.

The model, current version 2.2, is available in two fully editable Excel versions:
Premium Version
• Up to 100 Online Courses
• 10-Year monthly financial projections
• Break-Even Analysis
• Shareholders’ Cash Flow Analysis

Basic Version
• Up to 50 Online Courses
• 5-Year monthly financial projections
• DOES NOT INCLUDE Break-Even Analysis nor Shareholder’s Cash Flow Analysis

Both the Premium and Basic versions are available in PDF Demo Preview (which outlines the details of the model structure).

File types:
.xlsx (MS Excel)
.pdf (Adobe Acrobat Reader)