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DCF Valuation Model Template

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🎁 Free Excel Model

You are about to commit the capital. One page should tell you if it comes back.

A free Excel model that turns five years of revenue, margin, capex and working capital assumptions into a discounted cash flow valuation, a payback period, a return on capital employed, and two multiple-based cross-checks — on a single summary page. Built by experienced finance professionals.

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  • Experienced finance professionals
  • DCF · payback · return on capital
  • Excel format
  • No credit card required
  • Updated 2026
Output — Valuation summaryUSD $000s
YearRevenueEBITDAEV @ 10× EBITDA
FY251,3502432,430
FY261,8903403,402
FY272,4574674,668
FY282,9485605,602
FY293,5387087,076
Gross return on capital
20.9% → 47.1%
EBITDA against total capital employed, FY25 to FY29 — reported alongside the DCF, not instead of it.
Enterprise value — same forecast, two multiples ($000s)
0 3.5k 7k 2× the answer FY25 FY26 FY27 FY28 FY29
EV at 1.0× revenue EV at 10× EBITDA
Sample output: the forecast is one input, the multiple is another
What's inside the file

One assumptions sheet in. One summary page out. Full workings in between.

Five tabs in total, including a cover sheet with links to each one and a written instruction sheet. Sample data ships in the file, so you can see a completed valuation before you change a single input.

Input · I1

Assumptions

Everything you control, on one page: entity and dates, tax rate, currency and denomination, upfront capex, three revenue streams with growth by year, gross and operating margins by year, capex, working capital and depreciation as percentages of revenue, then discount rate, long-term growth, and the two cross-check multiples.

Working · C1

DCF analysis

The full workings, laid out the way a reviewer expects to read them: revenue by stream, gross margin, EBITDA, depreciation, EBIT, tax, debt-free net cash flow, mid-period discount factors, and the terminal value calculation — plus a working capital schedule underneath.

Output · O1

Valuation summary

Three answers on one page. The DCF split between explicit period and terminal value, the payback period against cumulative cash flow, and gross return on capital employed — with enterprise value on a revenue multiple and an EBITDA multiple alongside as a sanity check.

Inside the model

Every assumption on one sheet. Nothing hardcoded downstream.

The reason most spreadsheet valuations cannot be reviewed is that assumptions are scattered through the workings, so a reviewer cannot tell an input from a calculation. Here they are all in one place, in yellow, and the DCF tab contains no hardcoded numbers at all.

Margins and growth are entered per year rather than as a single rate, which matters — a business at 40% gross margin scaling to 45% is a different investment from one holding flat, and a single blended assumption hides that entirely.

I1_Assumptions — Input sheet
A · General information
Entity NameYour co.
Start Date01-Apr-25
First Year of ForecastFY2025
Tax Rate9.0%
Currency / DenominationUSD 000s
Upfront Capex500,000
B · Revenue & margins · entered per year
Revenue — Stream 1 · base750,000
Revenue — Stream 2 · base500,000
Revenue — Stream 3 · base100,000
YoY Growth Rate · FY26→FY2940% → 20%
Gross Margin · FY25→FY2940% → 45%
Operating Margin · FY25→FY2918% → 20%
Capital Expenditure · per year30,000
Working Capital · % of revenue10.0%
Depreciation & Amortisation · % of revenue5.0%
C · Valuation assumptions
Discount Rate / WACC20.0%
Long-term Growth Rate3.0%
EV / EBITDA multiple10.0×
EV / Sales multiple1.0×
You type here Calculated downstream
Assumptions sheet: every input in one place, nothing buried in the workings
The problem this solves

A single valuation number is a decision waiting to be argued with.

Anyone can produce one enterprise value. The difficulty is that the number is only as good as the method behind it, and different methods applied to the same forecast do not agree — not by a little, by multiples. Here is the sample forecast's final year valued two entirely defensible ways.

FY2029 — same forecast, two methods
Revenue $3,538K at 1.0× revenue$3,538K
EBITDA $708K at 10.0× EBITDA$7,076K
Difference$3,538K
Sample data from the file. Neither multiple is wrong. The entire gap is the market's view of your margin — which is why the model runs the DCF as the anchor and the multiples as cross-checks, not the other way round.

When two methods disagree by that much, the useful work is explaining the gap, not picking the friendlier number. A buyer paying 10× EBITDA is paying for margin durability; a buyer paying 1× revenue is paying for the top line and discounting your ability to hold the margin. Which of those is the right frame for your business is the actual conversation — and you can only have it once both numbers are on the page.

The same discipline applies inside the DCF. Terminal value is typically the majority of the total, and it is driven by two inputs rather than by the forecast: the discount rate and the long-term growth rate. At 20% and 3% the capitalisation divisor is 17%, so moving either input by a single point changes the terminal value by roughly 6% — more than most arguments about year-four revenue ever will. The model separates explicit period from terminal value on the summary page precisely so you can see how much of your answer rests on those two cells.

And valuation on its own is not an investment decision. The summary page also reports payback against cumulative cash flow and gross return on capital employed, rising from 20.9% to 47.1% across the sample forecast. A project can carry an attractive enterprise value and still be the wrong use of capital if it takes too long to return it.

How to use it

One sheet to fill. Three answers out.

Every input sits on the assumptions tab. Nothing downstream needs touching.

1

General information

Entity, start date, first forecast year, tax rate, currency and denomination, and the upfront capital the investment requires.

2

Revenue & margins

Base revenue for up to three streams, then growth, gross margin and operating margin year by year. Use separate streams only where you can forecast them separately.

3

Capital & valuation

Capex, working capital and depreciation as percentages of revenue, then the discount rate, long-term growth rate, and the two multiples you want as cross-checks.

4

Read the summary

DCF value split between explicit period and terminal value, payback period, gross return on capital, and both multiple-based valuations side by side.

Is this for you?

Honest qualification. No fluff.

This model is for you if:

  • You are appraising a specific investment — a new site, a line, an acquisition, an expansion — with an upfront capital cost.
  • You have a term sheet, or a basic set of numbers to work from — revenue, margins, and growth.
  • You have a rough idea of the industry multiples and the discount rate that apply.
  • You want a quick, high-level valuation to anchor a decision — not a formal, fully-built model.
  • You want every assumption visible on one page so a reviewer can challenge it.

This is not for you if:

  • You need a formal valuation opinion for tax, litigation, 409A, or a shareholder dispute — that requires a credentialed appraiser and a written report.
  • You need a full three-statement model with a balance sheet and debt schedule.
  • You need scenario or sensitivity analysis across many variables at once.
  • The business is early stage with no revenue you can credibly forecast — a DCF will tell you whatever you want to hear.
  • You need purchase price allocation or intangible asset valuation post-deal.

This is a high-level appraisal tool for internal investment decisions. For a formal valuation a counterparty will accept — documented methodology and a written report — book a call and we'll build it with you.

Frequently Asked

Questions about the model, answered honestly.

What format is the model?
It is a Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) file with five tabs: a cover sheet, an instruction sheet, an assumptions input sheet, a valuation summary, and the discounted cash flow analysis. No macros and no add-ins. Every input is a yellow cell with blue text; everything else is formula-driven.
Is this a formal business valuation?
No, and it matters to be clear about that. This is a high-level appraisal tool for internal investment decisions: should we commit this capital, what does it return, how long until it comes back. A valuation opinion for tax filings, litigation, shareholder disputes, 409A purposes or a transaction needs a credentialed appraiser, a documented methodology and a full written report — see Business Valuation Services.
Why does the model discount using periods like 0.375, 1.25 and 2.25?
That is the mid-period convention. Cash arrives across a year rather than in a lump on 31 December, so each year is discounted from its midpoint rather than its end. The first period is a part year measured from your start date to the first year end, which is why it begins below 0.5. Year-end discounting would understate the value by several percent, and most reviewers will expect to see mid-period.
How is the terminal value calculated?
Gordon growth: the final forecast year's cash flow is grown at your long-term growth rate, divided by your discount rate less that growth rate, and discounted back. At a 20% discount rate and 3% long-term growth the divisor is 17%, so a single point of movement in either input changes terminal value by roughly 6%. Since terminal value is usually the majority of enterprise value, those two cells deserve more scrutiny than any single forecast year.
Is this really free? Any catch?
Yes, free. We ask for your email so we can send the file and follow up if you have questions. No credit card. No upsell sequence. You can unsubscribe at any time.
What if I need a valuation I can rely on for a transaction?
EasePro's Business Valuation Services cover formal valuations with documented methodology, comparable company and transaction analysis, and a written report — plus deal advisory support through diligence and negotiation. If you need the underlying forecast built properly first, start with Financial Modeling.