2.2 Financial Planning Flashcards
Formula for sales revenue
sales volume x selling price
What are fixed costs
- costs that do not change as output changes
- linked to time (e.g. rent) rather than how busy the business is
- price always stays same- even when business isnt producing/ when business is producing loads
How does a rise in sales affect fixed costs
a rise in sales spreads fixed cost over more units- meaning fixed cost per unit is lower
Give examples of fixed costs
- rent
- heating
- lighting
What are variable costs
- costs that change depending on output
- e.g. if manufacturer doubles amount produced- material costs would double
Give 3 examples of variable costs
- raw materials
- fuel costs
- packaging
What are total costs
-adding together fixed and variable costs
Formula for total variable costs
variable cost per unit x number of units produced (output)
What is sales forecasting
Sales forecasting is the process of estimating future revenue by predicting the amount of product or services will be sold
Name 4 purposes of sales forecasting
- HR plan- ensures staff with right skills are employed and correct number of staff are at work
- marketing budgets- business
- profit forecasts and budgets- when planning how much firm is expecting to make in rev profit- basis will be accurate sales forecasts- help shape expectations of spending
- production planning- to satisfy demand for product businesses need to ensure enough materials are brought and enough products are made- work back from sales forecasts
Name 4 factors affecting sales forecasts
consumer trends -> demand in markets change as consumer tastes & fashions change -> affects market demand, share
economic variables -> demand is sensitive to changes in; interest rates, exchange rates
actions of competitors ->
What is a trend
general path that a variable takes over a period of time
How do consumer trends affect sales forecasting
-tastes and habits change as time passes so effective sales forecasting must allow for changing of this
Give examples of possible consumer trends
- demographics- ageing pop- increased demand for products aimed at elderly
- globalisation- increased willingness to buy products which recognises global nature of todays world
- affluence- consumers have befome wealthier- more able/ willing to spend on luxuries
- economic variables- brand need to be aware of impact on demand if consumers incomes change- recession —> major impaxt on elastic products
How do economic variabkes affect sales forecasts
brand need to be aware of impact on demand if consumers incomes change- recession —> major impaxt on elastic products
How does changes in individual economic variavles effect sales
-name 3 ways
- value of pound- decrease in value of pound makes imports more expensive- push buyers to buy UK-produced products
- changes in taxation-taxes on individual items can affect demand, as well as general taxation (VAT)
- inflation- higher than rate of increase of average incomes- consumers would need to spend less- decrease in sales
Name 3 ways actions of competitiors can affect sales
- changing price- competitor that undercuts ur price- likely to steal sales- making sales forecast optismic
- launching new products- launch of new prodyct or new competitor can have negafive effect on forecasted sales
- promotional campaigns- competitors running succesfdul campaigns- steal market share- make sales forecasts look optimistic
Name a difficulty of sales forecasting
-extrapolation- sales forecasting assumes past trends will continue
-
Name the 3 methods of sales forecasting
extrapolation
correlation
confidence intervals
What is extrapolation
-uses trends established from historical data to forecast future
What is correlation
looks at strength of relationship between 2 variables
What are confidence intervals
gives % probability that estimated range of possible values includes the actual value estimated
Name 3 circumstances where sales forecasts are likely to be inaccurate
new business
product is a fashion item
demand is hughly sensitive to changes in price and income (elasticity)
how do you work out % change
new - old/ old x100
What are the 3 types of correlation
- positive correlation- relationship where independent variable increases so does dependent v
- negative correlation- negative relationship exists where independent v increases and dependent v decreases in value
- no correlation- no discernible relationship between independent and dependent
What is breakeven
where a business is selling just enough to cover its costs without making a profit
To calculate breakeven what does a business need to know
- seling price
- variable costs per unit
- fixed costs
Give the formula for breakeven
fixed costs/ (selling price - variable costs per unit)