How to: Create your first project
Setting up a project takes about 10 minutes. A guided wizard walks you through your base year figures — after that, the entire forecast model runs automatically. You only need to set forward drivers and capex.
How the wizard works
The onboarding wizard has three steps. Once complete, your three-statement model is live — P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow all derive from what you entered. Forecast depreciation, interest and working capital are calculated automatically.
Name your project, set your base year and choose your forecast horizon — between 3 and 10 years.
Enter your actual figures for the base year — revenue, COGS, employee expenses, opex, depreciation, interest and tax.
Enter end-of-year balances — fixed assets, working capital, equity and debt. Depreciation % and interest rate entered here drive all forecast years automatically.
Step-by-step
- 1. Click "New project" from your projects dashboard
Each project contains one integrated three-statement model. Create separate projects for different companies or independent planning scenarios.
- 2. Set your base year
The base year is your last actual fiscal year — the one for which you have real figures. It anchors the entire forecast. All forward years are derived from what you enter here.
- 3. Choose your forecast horizon (3 to 10 years)
Select how many years to model, including the base year. 5 years is a good default. The forecast horizon cannot be changed after the project is created — start a new project if you need a different horizon.
- 4. Enter your base year P&L actuals
The wizard asks for annual totals for the base year:
- – Revenue — total turnover for the year
- – COGS — direct cost of delivering your product or service
- – Employee expenses — total payroll including social charges
- – Other operating expenses — rent, software, marketing, advisors, etc.
- – Depreciation — accounting depreciation for the year
- – Interest — net interest expense for the year
- – Taxes — corporate income tax paid or accrued
- 5. Enter your base year Balance Sheet (end-of-year)
All figures as end-of-year values on 31 December (or your fiscal year end). Cash is shown live as a balancing item so you can verify the balance sheet closes correctly before saving.
Two inputs here drive all forecast years automatically:
- – Depreciation % — applied to the fixed asset base each year
- – Interest rate % — applied to the average debt balance each year
Working capital ratios (DSO, DPO, DIO) are also derived from your base year figures and projected forward automatically.
- 6. Your model is ready
Once you save the Balance Sheet, your three-statement model is live. The Dashboard, Cash Flow and financial ratios all update immediately. From here you only need to:
- – Set forward P&L drivers — growth rates, PxQ model or SaaS ARR waterfall
- – Enter planned capex (investments) per year in the Balance Sheet
- – Optionally adjust working capital ratios if you have an improvement plan
Everything else — depreciation, interest, working capital, cash flow — calculates automatically.
What runs automatically after the wizard
Once the wizard is complete, X-ASTRiS derives most forecast items from your base year inputs. You don't enter them manually.
- Depreciation — depreciation % × fixed asset base
- Interest — interest rate % × average debt
- Working capital — from DSO / DPO / DIO ratios
- Full cash flow statement
- All financial ratios on the dashboard
- Monthly cash runway view
- Forward P&L drivers — growth %, PxQ or SaaS waterfall
- Capex — planned investments per forecast year
- Debt changes — repayments or new financing per year
- Dividends or equity injections (if applicable)
- Working capital ratio adjustments (optional)
Common mistakes
- – Using start-of-year instead of end-of-year balance sheet values
X-ASTRiS uses end-of-year convention throughout. Entering opening balances will cause the cash reconciliation to be off.
- – Not checking that the balance sheet closes in the wizard
The wizard shows a live calculated cash figure. Make sure it matches your actual cash before saving — if it doesn't, one of your inputs is off.
- – Starting scenarios before the baseline is complete
Complete the wizard and check the health score first. Scenarios built on an incomplete baseline produce unreliable comparisons.
- – Trying to change the forecast horizon later
The horizon is fixed at project creation. Create a new project if you need a different number of years.
Once the wizard is complete, set your forward P&L drivers. Choose a simple growth rate, the PxQ revenue model or the SaaS ARR waterfall — then add capex in the Balance Sheet.
FAQ
No — the horizon is fixed at creation. Create a new project if you need a different number of years.
Use your best estimates and complete the wizard. You can re-run it to update base year figures later — though this resets any detailed revenue or employee models built on top.
No. Scenarios live inside one project so they share the same base year and can be compared consistently. Use the scenario analysis tool within a single project.
It's a live calculated closing plug — total assets minus all other liabilities. If it matches your actual cash, your inputs are consistent. If not, review your P&L, fixed assets or working capital entries.