Your first step is to create a sales forecast (in sales dollars) when no historical data is available. Use methods such as historical analogy, expert judgment, consumer surveys, the Delphi method, or calculations based on population distributions, estimated growth rates, or expected market penetration rates to arrive at reasonable sales figures for your business for the next 5 years. Use the Budget Proposal Workbook.xlsx and Budget Proposal Template.docx.

You will be graded on correct analysis, proper use of spreadsheet technology, and business-like presentation of the information.

Grading Rubric

Section 2.0 Sales Forecast (Draft) Deliverable	Points
There is a 5-year sales forecast in the Word document Section 2.1 and the Excel spreadsheet (in sales dollars).	3
The 5-year forecast appears to be based on research, reasonable assumptions, and the methodologies described in the course based on the description in section 2.2 of the template.	6
The 5-year forecast calculations appear to be correct.	6
Total Points	15

Company info :

For a landscaping company with the following info:

The Cutting Edge Landscaping

The area is expected to showing slow economic growth of about 1% per year over the next five years.

b) Product

The product is lawn maintenance and landscaping services as well as minor irrigation equipment repair. The primary source of income is expected to be in the form of lawn-cutting, debris-blowing, and edge trimming services. However, the company will also do reseeding, landscaping and foliage/tree planting, tree trimming and light irrigation system repair when necessary to keep their customers lawns watered and healthy.

c) Basis of Competition

Customers hire the Cutting Edge due to its reliability in showing up when they are supposed to, quality lawn service, as well as their ability to keep lawn sprinkler systems in good repair, sparing the homeowner of the inconvenience of calling a sprinkler repair for minor repairs such as broken or clogged sprinkler heads, or other minor sprinkler system repairs.

Startup Requirements*

Given Costs

The cost of registering a Limited Liability Company in Florida, filing fees listed at the bottom of the application form located at http://form.sunbiz.org/pdf/cr2e047.pdf Business Insurance, estimated at $1000 per year No health benefits except for the owner of the business Workmans compensation fees The cost of the initial route of 100 homes, at a cost of $120,000

Costs you should estimate through research, experience or other methods

• Team equipment for lawn cutting, which includes equipment for a two-person team:

• A pickup truck
• A trailer
• A large riding lawnmower
• A smaller riding lawnmower
• A push lawn-mower
• Two gas-powered lawn-trimmers
• Two gas-powered lawn edgers
• Safety equipment for eyes and ear protection
• Tools for minor equipment repair on the job
• A drink cooler
• 2 gas powered blowers
• 2 tree/hedge trimmers
• 2 long ladder
• Buck Saws for cutting branches
• The cost of 10 workers, two per team
• All operating costs such as advertising, phone, as well a small 400 square foot office complete with utilities, internet a laptop computer and accounting software like QuickBooks, as well as office supplies, as well as annual depreciation on equipment.

Given Financial Assumptions*

• The owner will be granted a loan for the initial startup, repayable over 10 years at current interest rates for small business loans
• The owner will use personal funds to operate the business until it generates enough cash flow to fund itself.
• Essentially, 60% sales are made by credit card and 40% are made by check. All credit card sales are a paid to the restaurant daily by the credit card company.
• 2.5% of sales is paid to a credit card company in fees
• The average lawn service costs $150 per month. Irrigation repairs are minimal at an average of $50 per customer per year, landscaping and other services are about $200 per customer per year.
• Equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over 5 years
• The owner has health benefits, other workers do not.
• Each lawn takes about 1.5 hours to cut and manicure, as well as any other repairs or extra services like tree or shrub trimming.

• The entrepreneur will manage the company and draw a salary, but will not service lawns or perform other services.

*If you believe any other assumptions are necessary, then please state them in your budget proposal