Build the annual budget from drivers
Build a {{year}} operating plan for {{company}}. Current: {{revenue, growth rate, headcount, cash, burn, margins}}. Plans: {{hiring, launches, pricing changes}}.
1. Model revenue from drivers, not a growth percentage: pipeline or traffic → conversion → new customers → ARPU → expansion → churn. Show each driver's assumed value and its basis.
2. Build costs bottom-up by team, with fully-loaded headcount costs including timing of hires, and separate committed from discretionary spend.
3. Produce the monthly P&L and cash view, showing runway month by month.
4. Give three scenarios with the driver changes that define them — not just ±20%.
5. Identify the two drivers that dominate the outcome and how sensitive the plan is to each.
6. Name the decision points: at what date and what metric do we accelerate hiring, freeze, or cut? Make the triggers specific.
7. List every assumption I should challenge, flagging the ones that look optimistic given our history.
Use my real numbers. Where you have to assume, label it.
How to use it
Step 6's triggers are what make the plan operational. Without them a budget is just a forecast you ignore.
Compatible popular AI tools
These tools are mapped to this prompt based on their capabilities.
People who liked this prompt
4 community likes
No likes yet. Be the first.