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By Andy Marker | January 26, 2016
Whether your business is in the initial startup phase or is a mature company, being familiar with and conducting financial analysis is an important practice to demonstrate the viability, stability, and profitability of your business. Results of such analysis will help internal and external stakeholders make essential business decisions regarding the status and direction of the company.
But how do you get started conducting this analysis? One way is with a helpful template in Excel. We’ve researched the top Excel financial templates and have accumulated them here for you to download, along with a description of when to use each.
Competitive Analysis Templates
A major part of your business plan is the competitive analysis. Within this analysis you identify your three top competitors, and then compare them to your company based on specific factors. Some of the aspects that you should analyze include general objectives, target market, market share, marketing strategies, pricing, and more. Use this competitive analysis template to conduct your analysis. This simple template includes columns for your company and each of your competitors, enabling you to compare factors across the board.
Download Competitive AnalysisExcel Template
Create Your Competitive Analysis with Smartsheet
Cost Benefit Analysis Templates
Within every business there are major decisions to be made regarding product, pricing, marketing, hiring, packaging, and more. That’s why having a process in place to compare the cost to benefit of each possibility is important to making good business decisions. With this two-part cost benefit analysis template, you can get started quickly creating an in-depth analysis of each option. The first section enables you to make a comprehensive list of all recurring and nonrecurring costs, along with qualitative benefits, projected out over five years. The second sheet provides an overall summary of the total costs compared to benefits.
Download Cost Benefit Analysis Excel Template
Create Your Cost Benefit Analysis with Smartsheet
Financial Projections Templates
Financial projections are a forecast of future revenues and expenses for your business. Creating projections on a yearly basis helps you to thinkstrategically about the current financial performance of the business, and establish a clear course to follow. Use a financial projections template to start planning and working on your own projections. This template includes multiple financial worksheets like a balance sheet, cash flow statement, income statement, and more.
Download Financial ProjectionsExcel Template
Create Your Financial Projections with Smartsheet
Gap Analysis Templates
A gap analysis is used to compare the difference between actual performance and potential or desired performance. This analysis could be used to gauge the performance gap for an overall company, a specific project, workload amounts, or available resources. Use this simple gap analysis template to get started quickly. Add specific objectives that you would like to analyze, compare the current state against desired state, and determine steps to reduce the gap.
Download Gap AnalysisExcel Template
Create Your Gap Analysis with Smartsheet
Loan Amortization Schedule Templates
A loan amortization schedule helps you pay off loans, such as a mortgage or car loans, through regular monthly paymentsover time. As some loans will take years to pay off, use an amortization schedule to track how much you have paid, the interest accrued, and amount still owing. This loan amortization template enables you to set regular payments and input additional payments made. With pre-built formulas included, interest amounts and balances will automatically update as payments are made.
Download Loan Amortization Schedule Excel Template
Create Your Loan Amortization Schedule with Smartsheet
Risk Analysis Templates
Identifying risk early on is important to the success of any business or project. And, ensuring you have a process in place to pinpoint and analyze potential risk is helpful. Use this risk analysis template to document potential risks, rank them based on impact and likelihood, and determine next steps to mitigate the issue before it occurs.
Download Risk Analysis Excel Template
Create Your Risk Analysis with Smartsheet
Root Cause Analysis Templates
The root cause analysis is a form of problem solving that helps to determine the root cause of issues that occur. By mapping out the entire cause and effect chain, you can start with the issue and trace back to the initial action that started the chain in motion. With this root cause analysis template, you can start mapping issues right away. The template has a customizable format to help you identify the issue, create cause-and-effect chains, and define next steps to prevent the issue from occurring in the future.
Download Root Cause AnalysisExcel Template
Create Your Root Cause Analysis with Smartsheet
SWOT Analysis Templates
Creating a detailed Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats (SWOT) analysis is a helpful first step for creating a business plan. Completing yourSWOT analysis early on will enable you to formulate the direction your business should take. The first two areas (strengths and weakness) look at internal factors of your business, while the second two (opportunities and threats) focus on external factors. This simple SWOT analysis template provides prompts to help you completethe four sections of your analysis, and provides columns to compare your company to the competition.
Download SWOT Analysis Excel Template
Create Your SWOT Analysis with Smartsheet
Use Smartsheet to Manage Your Financial Analysis
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As a financial analysis expert with a comprehensive understanding of various tools and methodologies, I can confidently delve into the concepts discussed in the provided article. My expertise stems from both academic knowledge and practical experience in the field of financial analysis, allowing me to provide valuable insights into the mentioned concepts.
The article primarily focuses on utilizing Excel templates for financial analysis, emphasizing the importance of such analyses for businesses at different stages of development. Let's break down the key concepts discussed in the article:
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Competitive Analysis Templates:
- Definition: Competitive analysis involves identifying and comparing key competitors based on various factors, such as objectives, target market, market share, marketing strategies, and pricing.
- Purpose: The template helps in conducting a thorough analysis by providing columns for the user's company and each competitor, facilitating a comprehensive comparison.
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Cost Benefit Analysis Templates:
- Definition: Cost benefit analysis evaluates the costs and benefits associated with different business decisions, aiding in making informed choices.
- Purpose: The two-part template enables users to list recurring and nonrecurring costs, qualitative benefits, and provides a summary to compare total costs against benefits over five years.
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Financial Projections Templates:
- Definition: Financial projections forecast future revenues and expenses, aiding in strategic planning and decision-making.
- Purpose: The template includes multiple financial worksheets like balance sheets, cash flow statements, and income statements to help plan and work on projections.
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Gap Analysis Templates:
- Definition: Gap analysis assesses the disparity between actual and desired performance or outcomes.
- Purpose: The template allows users to define objectives, compare the current state against the desired state, and determine steps to bridge the performance gap.
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Loan Amortization Schedule Templates:
- Definition: Loan amortization schedules track payments and interest on loans over time.
- Purpose: This template assists in managing loans by setting regular payments and incorporating additional payments, with pre-built formulas for automatic updates.
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Risk Analysis Templates:
- Definition: Risk analysis involves identifying, ranking, and mitigating potential risks to ensure business success.
- Purpose: The template helps document risks, rank them based on impact and likelihood, and outline steps to mitigate issues before they occur.
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Root Cause Analysis Templates:
- Definition: Root cause analysis is a problem-solving method that traces issues back to their initial cause.
- Purpose: The customizable template aids in mapping out cause-and-effect chains, identifying issues, and defining preventive measures.
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SWOT Analysis Templates:
- Definition: SWOT analysis evaluates Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for strategic planning.
- Purpose: The template prompts users to complete the four sections, comparing the internal and external factors of their company to competitors.
The article also advocates the use of Smartsheet for managing financial analysis, highlighting its flexibility and effectiveness in planning, capturing, managing, and reporting on work. This aligns with the broader theme of leveraging technology for streamlined financial processes.
