This finance calculation is important for ALL businesses that have any kind of traditional bank loan and regular repayments. The bank wants to know your ability to meet debt obligations and this ratio is a pretty clear indicator of that.
This calculation is not as straight forward as you may think. If you ever tried to calculate the churn rate of a SaaS company, you know it is not straight forward as far as modeling goes. This template is free and makes it a bit more clear the best way to calculate it with accuracy per the renewal rate assumption. The key is to think in terms of cohorts.
SmartHelping / Short-Term Rentals / Excel
Plan a rental arbitrage business across up to 100 properties and 10 years. Connect booking rates, occupancy, lease costs, and operating expenses to cash flow, startup funding, and investment returns.
Immediate download after purchase. By purchasing, you agree to the Terms of Service.
See the model in action
See how property start dates, nightly rates, seasonality, lease costs, and expenses flow into the forecast. Open the screenshots below to preview the workbook.
The rental arbitrage business model
The key financial risk is that booking revenue does not cover lease payments and other expenses. Use the assumptions to compare how different operating plans affect that gap.
Rental arbitrage involves leasing properties and offering them through short-term rental booking channels such as Airbnb or Vrbo. Your forecast starts with the lease expense and expected short-term rental income.
Cleaning, ongoing operating costs, advertising, application fees, furnishings, and deposits can all affect the economics. Include those costs when evaluating cash flow and the capital needed to launch.
Property setup and operating expenses
Keep property-level timing, lease commitments, and upfront cash needs visible as you scale.
Set up each property separately and review the combined portfolio over a forecast of up to 10 years.
Define a start month from month 1 through month 120 for every property, allowing the portfolio to grow in stages.
Set the monthly lease cost for each property and define the expected annual increase.
Account for property setup costs such as application fees, furnishings, and deposits using the one-time cost assumptions.
Enter ongoing costs by property. Variable expenses respond to the seasonality assumptions; monthly expenses can also include advertising and other operating costs.
Include one-time business startup costs incurred before operating activity, such as legal or consulting fees.
Booking revenue assumptions
Compare different pricing, occupancy, and launch-discount assumptions to see their effect on booking income and cash flow.
Enter the base nightly rate for each property rather than relying on one portfolio-wide assumption.
Define seasonality assumptions that vary daily rates and occupancy for each property.
Set the expected annual increase in the base daily rate to reflect your pricing assumptions over the forecast.
Choose whether to discount a property’s daily rate for its first defined number of operating months. Use this to evaluate a lower initial rate while a new listing gets established.
Operating feasibility
Change the underlying assumptions and review the monthly results before committing to a portfolio growth plan.
Compare stronger and weaker occupancy assumptions, different daily rates, and the effect of introductory pricing.
Review how monthly lease payments and annual increases affect the margin available to cover other expenses.
Move property start dates and adjust the upfront cost assumptions to evaluate when the business needs cash as new properties come online.
Financial outputs
Use the model outputs to evaluate the economics of leasing and operating the portfolio. For additional context, explore these hotel and travel financial metrics.
Review the projected operating results on both a monthly and annual basis across the forecast.
Review cash flow after lease payments, ongoing expenses, and the one-time costs entered in the model.
See the minimum equity requirement implied by the operating and startup assumptions.
Review discounted cash flow analysis, internal rate of return, and return on investment to compare the economics of different plans.
Optional joint venture
The optional joint venture analysis lets you consider investor funding alongside the underlying rental operation.
Add an investor, or limited partner, who provides part or all of the initial investment requirement.
Evaluate the investor’s share of future cash flow using the model’s IRR-hurdle structure. A separate waterfall template with a GP catch-up option is also available if you need to explore that structure in more detail.
Portfolio visualizations
See how cash flow changes from month to month.
Review the cumulative cash position across the forecast.
See how the property count grows as the portfolio expands.
Track the monthly lease commitment across the operating portfolio.
A practical input detail
The original customer Q&A explains how to include these costs without changing the workbook logic. For a separate operator forecast, explore the Property Management Business model.
Use the fixed cost per month input for each property in row 11 of the Cost Assumptions tab. Include the management cost with any other fixed monthly costs for that property.
If a manager charges 15% or 20% of booking revenue, calculate the expected monthly dollar amount and enter it manually. The existing input is one combined fixed-cost amount per property; it does not automatically recalculate a percentage-based fee when booking revenue changes.
How to use the template
Enter the properties you plan to lease, their start months, lease costs, annual lease increases, and costs due at signing.
Set base daily rates, seasonal changes in rates and occupancy, annual rate growth, and any introductory discount periods.
Enter fixed and variable monthly expenses and pre-opening startup costs. Include manual management-fee estimates and optional investor participation where needed.
Check the monthly and annual pro forma, cash flow, minimum equity requirement, DCF, IRR, ROI, and portfolio charts. Change the assumptions to evaluate alternative plans.
Also available in these bundles
This template is included in the Real Estate and Hospitality bundles. The Super Smart Bundle includes the complete public template collection.
Explore financial models for property acquisitions, development, rental operations, and real estate investment analysis.
View the Real Estate bundleExplore financial models for short-term rental and other hospitality businesses.
View the Hospitality bundleGet the complete public SmartHelping financial model collection across industries and financial-analysis needs.
View the Super Smart BundleQuestions before you buy
It is a business model in which you lease properties and generate booking revenue by offering short-term stays through platforms such as Airbnb or Vrbo. The model helps compare that revenue with lease costs and the other expenses of operating the properties.
The template supports up to 100 properties over a period of up to 10 years, or 120 months. Each property can start in a different month.
Yes. Define property-specific seasonality assumptions that vary daily rates and occupancy. The variable expense assumptions also respond to seasonality.
Yes. Set an introductory discount for the first defined number of months of each property’s operation.
Calculate an estimated monthly dollar amount manually and include it in row 11, the fixed cost per month input on the Cost Assumptions tab, for the relevant property. Combine it with any other fixed monthly costs in that input. It does not automatically follow a percentage of changing booking revenue.
Yes. The optional joint venture allows an LP investor to contribute part or all of the initial investment requirement in exchange for a share of future cash flow, using IRR hurdles.
The model produces a monthly and annual pro forma, cash-flow analysis, DCF analysis, IRR, ROI, and a minimum equity requirement. It also includes charts for monthly cash flow, cumulative cash, cumulative properties, and total monthly lease.
The Excel model is available for immediate download after the one-time $45 purchase.
Plan the portfolio before taking on the leases
Get the Airbnb Arbitrage Model for $45 and evaluate up to 100 properties across 10 years.
SmartHelping / Hotel Development & Acquisition / Excel
Evaluate a hotel acquisition or development with room revenue, project costs, debt, cash flow, and investor returns in one forecast. Choose the original model or the advanced Hotel Investment Model.
Room bookings, project costs, debt, three financial statements, and two equity-structure options.
Immediate download after purchase. By purchasing, you agree to the Terms of Service.
Adds residence sales, food and beverage, events, and expanded project funding tools. View advanced model details.
Immediate download after purchase. By purchasing, you agree to the Terms of Service.
Each model is a separate purchase. The detailed features and walkthrough below describe the original $45 model.
See the original model in action
Follow the original $45 model’s walkthrough to see how project costs, room assumptions, operating expenses, and equity terms connect to the forecast.
Original model / Acquisition and development costs
Use one section or combine up to six. Each section has 22 input slots for purchase price, closing costs, construction, development, and other hard or soft costs.
Schedule initial costs by month so the forecast reflects when acquisition or development spending occurs.
Set a yes/no financing selector and the financed percentage for each cost row. Sponsor or management fees are excluded from the financed project-cost calculation.
Define optional fees as a percentage of the applicable initial costs, such as acquisition or renovation-management fees. Enter depreciation drivers for each initial cost section.
Original model / Debt and refinancing
Connect the eligible project costs to the financing structure that fits the acquisition or development plan.
Use an interest-only loan for the initial costs when that matches the financing plan.
Fund initial costs through a regular principal-and-interest loan, or use the financing assumptions to evaluate the debt structure alongside project cash flow.
Choose equity funding for costs that will not be financed. The resulting cash-flow requirements feed the equity analysis.
Set a future refinancing month and define the relevant loan terms and prepayment fees.
Original model / Booking revenue
Use the room schedule to connect supply, seasonal pricing, and expected occupancy with the operating forecast.
Enter each room type, its room count, and its base nightly booking rate.
Define the annual increase in the base booking rate.
Set the percentage variance from the base room rate for each month of the year to reflect seasonality.
Enter occupancy assumptions for each month of the year and an annual occupancy-improvement percentage.
Original model / Operating expenses
Define staff type, headcount, monthly cost, annual cost growth, and payroll taxes and benefits.
Enter each fixed expense, its monthly amount, its start month, and its annual growth rate.
Original model / Equity structure
Acquisition and management fees are expenses to the deal and income to the GP. For a separate waterfall tool, explore the IRR-hurdle template with a GP catch-up option.
Define the equity contributed by the limited partner and general partner, then set the percentage of distributions each receives. The model solves for the minimum equity required from the negative cash flows.
Set contribution rates and distribution splits that vary with the return achieved by the LP. Review monthly-cash-flow-based IRR and equity multiple for both sides of the joint venture.
Original model / Reporting and investment analysis
Review operating results and cash-flow detail throughout the forecast.
Review monthly and annual income statements, balance sheets, and cash-flow statements.
Evaluate discounted cash flow and IRR for the project as a whole, the investor, and the sponsor.
Review the main financial results at the deal level.
Use the charts to review the operating forecast and communicate the results.
Review contributions and income sources for the sponsor and investor, including the relevant fee and distribution streams.
Original model / Forecast length and sale assumptions
For separate tools, explore IRR sensitivity to occupancy, leverage, and interest rates or browse the industry-specific financial model collection.
Select the end month for the forecast rather than using the full 10 years for every analysis.
Choose whether the hotel is sold when the forecast ends.
Calculate the exit value using trailing 12-month net operating income and the exit capitalization rate you define.
Review the going-in capitalization rate alongside the operating and investment outputs.
Original model / Debt and fixed-cost improvements
This update video accompanies the original model and explains the changes to its debt and fixed-cost assumptions.
Choose the scope that fits the hotel project
The advanced model has its own detailed product page and purchase option. Review its features before selecting the version for your project.
Focus on room bookings, six initial cost sections, debt and refinancing, staffing, fixed costs, monthly and annual financial statements, and the choice of a simple cap table or monthly IRR-hurdle waterfall.
Model four revenue streams: rooms, residence sales, food and beverage, and events. The advanced version also includes three construction phases, expanded construction and acquisition financing, monthly equity timing, distribution controls, sources and uses, hotel KPIs, and acquisition sensitivity analysis.
Explore the Advanced Hotel ModelHow to use the original model
Choose the initial cost sections, enter monthly spending, and define sponsor fees and depreciation assumptions.
Set financed costs, debt terms, and any future refinance. Choose a simple LP / GP distribution split or the monthly IRR-hurdle waterfall.
Enter room types, room counts, booking rates, seasonality, occupancy, staffing, and fixed expenses.
Choose the end month and optional sale assumptions. Review the statements, cash flow, minimum equity requirement, partner reports, and return metrics.
Also available in these bundles
Both hotel models are included in the Real Estate and Hospitality bundles. The Super Smart Bundle includes the complete public collection.
Explore models for property acquisitions, development, financing, operating forecasts, and investment returns.
View the Real Estate bundleFind financial models for hotels and other hospitality businesses.
View the Hospitality bundleGet the complete public SmartHelping financial model collection across industries and financial-analysis needs.
View the Super Smart BundleQuestions before you choose
The original Hotel Development / Acquisition Model is $45. The Advanced Hotel Investment Model is $75 and has its own detailed product page. Each button purchases the named model separately.
It connects initial acquisition or development costs, room bookings, staffing, fixed expenses, debt, optional refinancing, and the equity structure to monthly and annual financial outputs.
The original model supports up to 20 room types and six initial cost sections, with 22 input slots in each section.
Yes. The initial cost schedule includes a yes/no financing selector and financed percentage for each cost row. Sponsor or management fees are excluded from the financed project-cost calculation.
Choose a simple cap table with defined contribution and distribution percentages, or a monthly IRR-hurdle waterfall in which distribution splits vary with the return achieved by the LP.
If you choose to model a sale, the original model uses trailing 12-month NOI and the defined exit cap rate. You can choose the forecast end month and whether the hotel is sold at that point.
Alongside room bookings, the advanced version includes residence sales, food and beverage, and events. Review the linked advanced product page for its full operating, financing, and funding features.
Each version is a one-time purchase with immediate access to the Excel download after purchase.
Put the hotel plan and investment returns together
Original Hotel Model: $45. Advanced Hotel Investment Model: $75.
SmartHelping / Plumbing Business / Excel
Turn service demand into a 10-year financial plan. Forecast jobs, revenue, plumber headcount, truck requirements, and operating costs, then review monthly and annual financial statements and investment returns.
Immediate download after purchase. By purchasing, you agree to the Terms of Service.
See the model in action
See how service tiers, job growth, staffing, truck costs, and overhead connect to the financial statements and return analysis.
Service demand and workforce planning
Configure three service lines with different skill requirements and services. Set revenue assumptions, variable costs, wages, and benefits for each tier.
Enter starting monthly job completions for each tier. Define monthly job growth and adjust that growth rate by year.
Set the average amount charged per job for each tier to connect service volume with revenue.
Define the average hours needed to complete a job. This assumption drives wage costs and helps you assess the implied workload.
Define how many jobs a plumber in each tier can complete monthly. This capacity assumption drives the required plumber headcount and truck count.
Review job volume, labor time, and monthly job capacity together so the staffing and truck requirements reflect your operating plan.
Labor, trucks, and overhead
Combine these operating assumptions with the CapEx and debt schedules to plan truck purchases and funding.
Set the hourly wage for plumbers in each tier. Combine the wage assumption with the hours required per job.
Configure taxes and benefits separately for each service tier.
Enter the average equipment and material costs associated with completing a job.
Define other costs that scale with plumber headcount or truck count.
Set monthly insurance and maintenance costs per truck so fleet-related expenses grow with the operation.
Define the share of revenue paid by credit card and the applicable processing fee assumptions.
Use the fixed-cost schedule to plan sales and marketing overhead.
Plan fixed administrative expenses separately from job-level and workforce-related costs.
Sanity-check the operating plan
The Revenue Assumptions area brings the resulting operating metrics together, making it easier to spot unrealistic job volumes or workloads as you configure the forecast.
Review average hours worked per plumber to understand the workload implied by the job assumptions.
Review average monthly earnings per plumber alongside the wage and hours assumptions.
Check the annual job volume produced by the starting job count and growth rates.
See the plumber and truck counts required as the business scales.
Review average hours worked per workday per plumber as a practical check on the service-capacity assumptions.
Up to 10 years of financial reporting
Review monthly and annual income statements, balance sheets, and cash-flow statements.
Review the monthly and annual forecast detail behind the financial reports.
Review annual discounted cash-flow analysis for the investor, owner, or investor group, along with IRR and return on invested capital.
Bring the main annual financial results together for review.
Use the included charts to review and communicate the financial forecast.
Review the capitalization table alongside the investment and return analysis.
Plan capital expenditures, including the truck purchases needed for the business.
Review the debt schedule alongside the operating forecast and cash-flow statements.
Make the forecast your own
Review the workbook’s operating and financial outputs as you enter assumptions to keep the forecast consistent with your scaling plan.
Tabs containing input cells are light yellow, and the input cells are clearly marked.
Enter your own assumptions in every relevant area and zero out anything that does not apply to your plumbing business.
How to use the model
Configure up to three service tiers. Enter starting monthly job counts, growth rates, and average ticket values.
Enter hours per job and jobs per plumber per month, then define wages, payroll taxes, and benefits by tier.
Enter materials, other variable costs, truck insurance and maintenance, credit-card fees, and fixed overheads. Review the CapEx and debt assumptions.
Review hours, earnings, annual job volume, and year-end plumber and truck counts. Then examine the monthly and annual statements, cash flow, and return analysis.
Who this model is for
Model how service demand translates into revenue, plumbers, trucks, operating costs, and financial performance.
The structure may also fit an electrician business closely. Adapt the service tiers, job capacity, wages, and costs to the operation you are planning.
Also available in these bundles
The Plumbing Business Financial Model is included in the Industry-Specific and Service Business bundles, as well as the complete Super Smart collection.
Explore financial models built around the operating drivers of different industries.
View the Industry-Specific bundleExplore financial models for plumbing and other service businesses.
View the Service Business bundleExplore the complete public SmartHelping financial model collection.
View the Super Smart BundleAdditional SmartHelping resources
These links lead to separate templates or articles for further planning and analysis.
Explore a separate accounting-system template for financial-statement reporting.
View the resourceExplore a separate human-resources planning and tracking tool.
View the resourceExplore a separate template for payroll calculation and budgeting.
View the resourceRead how a capitalization table represents ownership and investment.
View the resourceExplore a separate model for customer spending and retention patterns.
View the resourceQuestions before you start
The model supports up to 10 years of monthly and annual financial reporting.
You can configure up to three service tiers, each with its own revenue assumptions, variable costs, plumber wages, and benefits.
The average jobs a plumber can complete each month, together with the projected job volume, drives the required headcount and truck count. Average hours per job drives wage costs and the implied workload.
Yes. The Revenue Assumptions area shows resulting metrics including hours worked, monthly earnings per plumber, annual job completions, year-end headcount and truck count, and hours per workday.
The workbook includes monthly and annual financial statements and pro forma detail, annual DCF and return analysis, an annual executive summary, charts, a cap table, and CapEx and debt schedules.
The model’s service-business structure may fit an electrician operation closely. Adjust the service tiers, job assumptions, wage rates, costs, and capacity assumptions to reflect that business.
Use the light-yellow tabs to locate input areas. Replace the relevant assumptions with your own and zero out unused inputs.
The model costs $45 as a one-time purchase and is available for immediate Excel download after purchase.
Plan the next stage of your plumbing business
Plumbing Business Financial Model — $45, one-time purchase.