Budget Planning Across Growth Stages: From Startup to Scale
Long-term budgeting knowledge structured for Beginner to Intermediate participants — delivered live, with time to ask and apply.
A budget that worked at €500k revenue usually breaks at €2 million. The assumptions change, the cost structure shifts, and the planning horizon needs to extend further than most founders are comfortable with.
The core problem this course solves
Most early-stage businesses budget reactively. This course builds the habit and the tools for proactive, multi-year financial planning that scales with the business rather than against it.
What the course covers
You will move through the mechanics of growth-stage budgeting: how to model hiring plans, manage working capital over longer cycles, and set financial guardrails that give the leadership team room to make decisions without constant re-forecasting.
The goal is not a perfect forecast. It is a planning process that keeps the business oriented even when the numbers move.
Practical output
Participants build a three-year financial plan during the course, using their own business data or a structured case study. The plan covers revenue modeling, cost scaling, and cash flow projection across 36 months.
Format
Six live sessions, each 90 minutes, with recorded replays and a private group for questions between sessions. Facilitated by Orla Fennelly, who has worked with over 60 Irish SMEs on financial restructuring.
Program Structure
What the sessions cover and how the material is organised across the full duration.
Program Overview
Session 1: Diagnosing Your Current Budget Process
- Where reactive budgeting creates risk
- Identifying gaps in your current financial model
Session 2: Revenue Modeling for Multi-Year Plans
- Building assumptions from historical data
- Adjusting for market and operational variables
Session 3: Scaling Costs Without Losing Margin
- Hiring plan integration into the budget
- Fixed cost leverage at different revenue levels
Session 4: Working Capital and Cash Flow Over 36 Months
- Cash conversion cycle and its budget implications
- Managing liquidity through growth phases
Session 5: Financial Guardrails and Decision Rules
- Setting spending thresholds tied to revenue milestones
- When to revise the plan vs. when to hold it
Session 6: Presenting the Plan to Stakeholders
- Board and investor communication
- Making the budget useful for non-finance leaders