Cottage community financial model: a worked example
Want to know whether a community pays off and how much money you need before the first sales? Three Smart plan screens on a demo community answer it without Excel.
What a financial model is and why a community needs one
A financial model calculates a community from buying the land to the last sale: how many plots sell and at what price, what land, utilities and construction cost, and what is left after taxes.
Its main job is to find the plot price that keeps the project at its planned margin and out of the red.
It is built before buying the land and updated at every sales stage: will the project pay off, how much of your own money is needed before first sales, and what changes if price or timing shift.
- Net profit and project margin
- Peak funding — how much money you need upfront
- Payback period in years
- NPV and IRR — is the project worth your money
- How discounts and price growth change profit
- Price per plot for the return you need
Example on the Smart village demo community: profit ₽297M, peak funding ₽197M, payback 3 years, return 70.6% a year.
Will it pay off, and how much to invest?
The Summary answers at once: is the project profitable, how much money is needed upfront, and in how many years it pays back.
- 1Verdict: return above cost of capital
- 2How much money is needed upfront
- 3Red zone: spending before sales
What happens with a discount?
Set the discount and lot coverage and click “Calculate” — Smart plan shows profit and margin after the promotion and whether the project stays profitable. If it does, create the promotion in “Promotions” with the same discount.
- 1Discount and coverage
- 2Profit and margin after it
- 3Project stays profitable
- 4Type: discount per 100 m²
- 5Discount size
Does demand support the price?
The table shows which plots get opened most. Where interest is higher, there is room on price.
- 1Which plots are opened most
- 2Where there is room on price
How to create the model in Smart plan, step by step
- Step 1
Open the financial model
Objects → your community → “Financial model” in the left menu.
- Step 2
Create the model
No model yet — click “Create financial model”. If there is one — “⋮” → “Create scenario”.
- Step 3
Fill with typical values
Pick the property class and click “Fill with typical” — fields get average values.
- Step 4
Set the dates
“Project dates”: start and end of sales. The model spreads money across months by them.
- Step 5
Choose the tax regime
“Taxation”: general or simplified regime and the VAT rate.
- Step 6
Set the goal and price
“Goal and price”: from target margin or the market, the target margin and planned price growth.
- Step 7
Enter the costs
“Cost and expenses”: construction per 100 m², land and shares of revenue for sales, ads and admin.
- Step 8
Set the financing
“Financing”: project finance, required return on equity and the NPV/IRR rate.
- Step 9
Check the forecast and save
The forecast return and profit show at the bottom right away. Happy — “Save”.
- Step 10
Read the result
The tab shows profit, peak funding, payback and NPV. Below — the P&L by year, quarter or month.
