In this video we will look at the Budget and Business Plan template that is used to apply for the International Business Development strand of the UK Global Screen Fund.
You will find the template on the BFI website under UK Global Screen Fund -> International Business Development Strand and then Guidelines, under “How to apply” and then scrolling down.
The template is one of the two templates that need to be provided together with the Previously Produced Content template. You can open the template in any Excel software including the Office 365 free online version.
In the template you are going to see two tabs: the Budget tab and the Business Plan tab. Let’s focus first on the Budget tab. Start by filling in your applicant company’s name as well as your screen sector.
You’ll see from the start that there are some sections in which are marked “autocompletes”. Please do not fill these in, as they contain formulas. Please don’t change the formulas and don’t try to manually add numbers here. If you have any questions for us email us at ukglobalscreenfund@bfi.org.uk.
The Budget tab represents what you are going to ask of us as part of your grant in order to implement your international business growth strategy. We don’t expect these to be all of the funds that you need for your strategy. However, these are the items that we are going to be funding.
Type in your items in these rows, starting with Row 15, together with how it relates to your international business strategy and any further explanation notes as needed. Please add how you want the funding for these items to be spread out over the three years of the grant, keeping in mind that in this case Year 1 starts at the point of contract signature when you’re going to get your first grant instalment.
There are also a number of rules that you need to follow when it comes to filling this in. First of all the total amount of the grant cannot be more than £200,000 over three years. If the total in cells D22, F22 and H22 is over £200,000, you will notice that cell C8 will highlight in red as that is over the amount we can fund.
Secondly, the total amount of the grant cannot be more than 25% of the applicant company’s aggregate annual turnover over the three year period over which the amount is paid out. This includes the turnover of any related SPVs (Special Purpose Vehicles).
We take into account SPVs which are either wholly or partially owned by the applicant company or by any of the applicant company’s directors. Then the first grant instalment — the sum for the Year 1 column — cannot be more than 60% of the total grant.
For example, if you add 100 in cell D15, you’re going to see that cell D24 highlights in red. You also need the third instalment of the grant to be a minimum of 20% of the total amount that you are asking for, which you’re going to get at the end of Year 3 in arrears.
For example, if your amount for Year 1 is 100 and for Year 3 was 10, you’re going to see that both cells D24 and H24 highlight in red as Year 1 is over 60% and Year 3 is under 20%. For full guidelines and eligibility, please consult our website.
Moving on, if you are planning to add match funding of your own towards the whole strategy, not necessarily just the costs highlighted above, you should check the box in cell A27 and add in the sum you will match fund each year in cells D27, F27 and H27.
Then, tell us a little bit about how the money is being sourced by filling in cell D30. For example, this could be from your revenues, cash at hand, raising further investment, and so on.
Lastly, in cells D33 to D45, provide the narrative for how the company is funding itself for the next three years. You need to tell us a bit about the visibility of your revenues, the amount of cash currently on your balance sheet, additional shareholder funding you might have, or any other sources of third-party funding, such as other grants, development funding, third-party investment, debt, or any other sources.
Now, let’s have a look at the Business Plan tab. The first thing you need to do is select the end of your financial year from the drop-down list in cell C8. You will notice that this tab also has a number of gray fields that autocomplete. Please do not change these!
You just need to fill in the cells in yellow and add any notes that you might want us to read under the Notes section in Column K.
You will need to fill in the last two completed financial years and forecast to the end of the current one – Columns C, D, and E — both in Table 1 – Company P&L with UKGSF Support, until Row 33, and Table 2 – Company P&L without UKGSF Support, rows 35 to 56.
We require you to fill in both to allow the assessors to understand the impact that the funding will make to your company, especially when it comes to changes in Revenues, Cost of Sale, Total Salaries, Benefits & Wages, and Other Expenses, together with the difference in Net Profit Post Tax.
You need to provide your total Revenues for the financial year — this is the total amount of money earned by your company and any of your SPVs. Add in your total Cost of Sale — this refers to the total direct costs involved in producing and selling your products and services. For example, this would cover production expenses, distribution fees, marketing costs, and contractor costs but not PAYE salaries.
Under Total Salaries, Benefits, and Wages add the total amount spent on compensating employees, including salaries, bonuses, and benefits.
Additional Costs not directly tied to the company’s core revenue-generating activities, such as office rent, utilities, insurance, and admin expenses, need to be added under Other Expenses.
Net Profit Post Tax is the company’s final profit after all of its expenses, including taxes, have been deducted from the total revenues.
Total Current Assets are the short-term assets that can be easily converted into cash or are expected to be used up within one year, such as cash, accounts receivable — the money you are owed for the work you have already done but hasn’t been paid yet, and inventory.
Total Current Liabilities are the short-term obligations that the company must pay within one year, such as accounts payable, which is money you owe for work that has already been done for you, but you haven’t paid yet, short-term loans, and other unpaid expenses.
Fixed Assets are long-term tangible assets used in the production or sale of goods and services, such as buildings, equipment, and vehicles, which are expected to provide economic benefits over several years.
Net Worth is the difference between the company’s total assets and total liabilities.
Then, Debt refers to any money borrowed by the company from external sources such as banks or investors, which must be repaid, usually with interest.
Cash is the money readily available for the company either in the form of physical currency or easily accessible bank balances, which can be used to pay expenses or make investments.
Now, if you’re applying under the Film Transformation Track, you’re going to need to forecast all of these numbers for the next five financial years with and without the UKGSF support. If you’re applying, however, for the General Track, you just need to forecast the next three financial years, both with and without the UKGSF support.
And this is how you fill in the Budget and Business Plan template. If you have any questions, please let us know at ukglobalscreenfund@bfi.org.uk and good luck!