

Ask HN: Would you pay for revenue forecasting? If so, how much? - PeterWhittaker

I recently worked in a small consultancy with a mix of employees and contractors. Both have advantages: Employees are cheaper with higher margins, but you pay them from day one whether they work or not; contractors can be paid when you are, but for this you pay them more.<p>Forecasting each month&#x27;s &quot;free cash&quot; was a major challenge: With enough cash and a good prospect of a long-term gig, we could hire an employee. Otherwise, a contractor.<p>Accounting packages don&#x27;t help: They track actuals and generally work on an accrual basis. The balance for a month is not just cash on hand but cash plus receivables.<p>I could not find a forecasting system suitable for a smallish consultancy. There are systems for larger firms ($$$) and for manufacturers, etc., but not for us.<p>I created a too-complex spreadsheet to get us kind of close: One sheet per worker with formulas to calculate actual current expense Vs actual current cash on hand, free cash, etc.<p>By adding sheets for prospective workers, I could determine when we could hire them, how long they could sit on the bench (some people you don&#x27;t want to pass up), what bonus structures might work, etc.<p>I&#x27;m back on my own, don&#x27;t have that problem anymore, but thinking we cannot have been the only company with it.<p>Would you pay for a forecasting service? Add entries for workers with daily rates&#x2F;salaries, expected expenses, etc. The system would project expected cash for any period and allow you to play out scenarios (can I hire Bob on Dec 1st and Alice on Jan 15th?).<p>I&#x27;m thinking of starting with a free app using local storage so users can get value without registering, but at the price of always having to use the same browser, same machine, with no export capability, no sharing, etc.<p>Paid services could include cloud storage, access from multiple devices, have multiple editors, ability to limit people to roles (to be defined), export to CSV, Accounting packages, etc.
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cx42net
I really like the idea of using local storage for free version.

This means that the users can see all the potential of your app, not being
limited, and he will have to pay for storage. Really great idea!

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notahacker
Sounds like the free app will be fine for most small consultancies (app sits
on the laptop of the person who looks after the budget) and wouldn't use much
space anyway. They never have to read the marketing material on your website
again, can't be induced to pay if they use the tool intensively via rate
limiting, and you have no ability to analyse which non-paying customers
actually use the service, and whether their usage patterns differ from paying
ones

If you're going for a freemium model, limit the free version's forecasting
horizon and/or the number of fees/expenses/revenue streams that it will factor
into the calculation

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PeterWhittaker
Excellent observations and even better suggestions, thank you!

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AznHisoka
Hmm I would pay for a service that would help me boost my revenue so I could
forecast high revenues :).. but not a service that helps me broadcast. Just
help me boost my revenue, don't predict it.

