# Feasibility study financial model preparation in Saudi Arabia

Canonical: https://finbryn.com/sa/services/virtual-cfo-advisory/feasibility-studies

A feasibility study (دراسة جدوى) tests whether a project earns enough, soon enough, to justify the cash it needs: market inputs, capex and operating cost, a three to five year projection, funding needs, payback, NPV and IRR. Finbryn prepares the financial model and figures from inputs you source. The calculator below gives a first look.

## What the financial side of a feasibility study answers

A feasibility study answers one question before money is committed: does this project return enough, soon enough, to justify the cash it needs? The financial half is a small set of linked schedules. Market inputs (customers, volumes and price) feed revenue. Capital expenditure and opening working capital make the upfront investment. Operating costs run month by month in the first year and annually after that, usually for three to five years. From those come the funding need and the three return measures lenders and boards read: payback, net present value and internal rate of return.

## Inputs first, then the model

A projection is only as good as its inputs. Market size, price and volume come from you, from a market study or from the funder's own sector guidance, and each one goes into an assumptions sheet with its source and the person who supplied it, so a reader can see which numbers are evidence and which are judgement. Tax lines follow ownership: Zakat on the Saudi and GCC share and 20% corporate income tax on the non-Saudi, non-GCC share, computed separately, so the ownership split is an input too.

## Funders set their own rules

A lender, a development fund or a programme decides what it will accept. The Saudi Industrial Development Fund lists a feasibility study among its project financing application requirements and publishes a preparation guideline on that page. On the SIDF, Kafalah and MISA pages we read we did not find a rule that the study must come from a licensed or accredited consulting office, but those pages are not every condition a funder can set. If yours asks for a study from a licensed or accredited office, it has to come from one. Finbryn is not a licensed or accredited consulting office and does not describe itself as one. What we prepare is the financial model and the figures that you, such an office or your lender work from.

## Where the calculator fits

The free calculator below takes your own estimates and returns payback, NPV, IRR and break-even volume. It is a first filter: if a project fails here on your most hopeful numbers, the longer study is not the next spend. If it passes, the real work starts, which is testing each input.

What you get: An assumptions sheet listing each input, its source and who supplied it; A monthly first-year and annual three to five year projection with a base case and stated alternatives; Capex, working capital and funding need schedules; Payback, NPV, IRR and break-even analysis with a sensitivity table; The model file, handed over so your team can update it

Software we work in: Excel, Google Sheets, QuickBooks Online, Xero

## Payback, NPV, IRR and break-even calculator

Enter the upfront investment, the net cash flow you expect in year 1, how that cash flow changes each year, how many years to project and the return you require (the discount rate). The calculator discounts each year's cash flow, finds the payback period, solves for the IRR and reports the NPV. The second block takes fixed costs, price and variable cost per unit and returns the volume at which the project stops losing money. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

An illustration only, not a forecast: an investment of SAR 1,000,000 with year 1 net cash flow of SAR 300,000, growing 10% a year for five years and discounted at 10%, pays back in about 3.02 years, has an NPV of about SAR 363,636 and an IRR of about 22.45%. For break-even, fixed costs of SAR 90,000 for the period, a price of SAR 50 and a variable cost of SAR 20 a unit leave SAR 30 a unit to cover fixed costs, so the project breaks even at 3,000 units, or SAR 150,000 of revenue.

## What goes into the financial model

A model built for a lender or a board usually carries these schedules, each tied to the assumptions sheet:

- **Revenue build.** Volume times price by product or service line, with the ramp-up period stated rather than assumed away.
- **Capex and opening working capital.** Fit-out, equipment, licences and pre-opening costs, plus the cash needed to carry stock and receivables until sales arrive.
- **Operating costs.** Payroll including GOSI, rent, utilities, marketing and the cost of sales, split fixed and variable so break-even can be read from it.
- **Three to five year statements.** Income statement, cash flow and balance sheet that tie to each other, with a monthly first year.
- **Funding need and structure.** The peak cash requirement, how much is equity and how much is debt, and the repayment schedule if there is debt.
- **Returns and sensitivity.** Payback, NPV and IRR in a base case and in downside cases, with a table showing which input moves the answer most.

The tax lines depend on who owns the company. Zakat applies to the Saudi and GCC share and corporate income tax to the non-Saudi, non-GCC share, so a mixed-ownership company carries both. We show them as separate lines instead of one blended rate.

## Reading payback, NPV and IRR together

No single measure settles a decision. Payback says how long the money is at risk, but it ignores what happens after the money comes back and treats a riyal in year 4 like a riyal today. NPV discounts each year's cash flow at the return you require, so a positive NPV means the project earns more than that return and a negative one means it earns less. IRR is the discount rate at which the NPV is exactly zero, which makes it easy to compare with the cost of funds, but it can mislead when cash flows change sign more than once or when projects differ greatly in size.

Read them together with the downside case. A project with a short payback and a positive NPV that turns negative when sales arrive six months late is a different decision from one that stays positive.

## Licensed offices, funders and what Finbryn prepares

Finbryn is a financial services company (accounting, tax-preparation support, audit support and part-time CFO work). For a feasibility study we prepare the financial model and its supporting schedules: the assumptions sheet, the projections, the funding need and the return measures. We do not issue a feasibility study in the name of a licensed or accredited consulting office, we do not approve a study on behalf of any funder, and we do not give legal or investment advice.

Before you commission any study, ask the funder or programme in writing what it requires: the format, whether a template or guideline applies, and whether the preparer must be licensed or accredited. SIDF publishes a feasibility study preparation guideline for its project financing applicants. The Kafalah application page tells applicants to attach the documents related to the activity and leaves the list to the cooperating financier. Where a licensed or accredited office is required, we work with the numbers that office signs off on, and the opinion stays with it.

## The process

1. **Agree the decision and the funder**: State what is being decided, the amount sought and who will read the study, and collect the funder's own requirements and template if it has one.

2. **Collect and source the inputs**: Gather your market, price, volume, cost and ownership inputs and record the source and the supplier of each one in the assumptions sheet.

3. **Build the model**: Revenue, capex, operating costs, three to five years of linked statements, funding need and tax lines by ownership share.

4. **Run the returns and the downside cases**: Payback, NPV and IRR in a base case and in stated alternatives, with a sensitivity table.

5. **Review with you and hand over**: Walk through each assumption with you, then hand over the model file so your team or your adviser can update it.

## Common problems we fix

| The problem | How we fix it |
| --- | --- |
| Revenue is a top-down share of a big market | Rebuild it from volumes and prices you can defend, and keep the market share as a cross-check, not the driver. |
| Opening working capital is left out | Add the cash needed to carry stock and receivables until sales arrive, since it is part of the upfront investment and of the funding need. |
| One case only | Add a downside case with late sales and higher costs, so the funder sees what the project does when the base case slips. |
| The tax line is a single flat rate | Split Zakat and corporate income tax by ownership share and show them as separate lines. |

Pricing: Feasibility study financial models are scoped by the number of products or sites, the projection length and what the funder asks for. There is no published rate card for Saudi Arabia yet, so the fee is quoted in writing in Saudi riyals before work starts. ([See pricing](https://finbryn.com/sa/pricing))

## Glossary

- **Payback period**: The time it takes for cumulative net cash flow to cover the upfront investment.

- **Net present value (NPV)**: The sum of each year's net cash flow discounted at the required return, less the upfront investment.

- **Internal rate of return (IRR)**: The discount rate at which the net present value of the cash flows is zero.

- **Break-even volume**: The number of units at which contribution after variable cost covers fixed costs.

- **Capex**: Capital expenditure: spending on assets and setup before and during the early life of the project.

## Frequently asked questions: Feasibility study financial models

**Q: What is a feasibility study (دراسة جدوى)?**

A: A study that tests whether a project is worth doing before money is committed. It covers the market, the operating plan and the financial case: investment, projected statements, funding need and measures such as payback, NPV and IRR.

**Q: What does Finbryn prepare for a feasibility study?**

A: The financial model and its supporting schedules: the assumptions sheet, the three to five year projection, capex and working capital, the funding need, the return measures and a sensitivity table. We do not prepare a licensed consulting office's study or sign one.

**Q: Do banks, SIDF, Kafalah or MISA require a licensed consulting office?**

A: On the SIDF, Kafalah and MISA pages we read on 24 October 2026 we found no such rule, but a funder can set its own condition. SIDF lists a feasibility study among its project financing requirements and publishes a preparation guideline. Ask your funder in writing, and if it requires a licensed or accredited office, the study has to come from one.

**Q: Is Finbryn a licensed or accredited consulting office?**

A: No. Finbryn does not describe itself as a licensed, accredited or approved consulting office. We prepare the financial model and figures.

**Q: Will a funder approve a study you prepare?**

A: That is the funder's decision. We cannot approve a study for it or promise acceptance. We build to the format and guideline the funder gives us.

**Q: Is the calculator on this page a feasibility study?**

A: No. It applies standard payback, NPV, IRR and break-even formulas to your own estimates as a first filter. It does not test your market, prices or costs.

**Q: What is the difference between payback and NPV?**

A: Payback measures how long it takes to recover the investment and ignores what comes after. NPV discounts every year's cash flow at your required return, so it shows whether the project earns more than that return.

**Q: What do you need from us to start?**

A: The decision and the amount sought, the funder's requirements, your estimates of volume, price, cost and investment with whatever evidence you have, and the ownership split of the company.

**Q: Who keeps the model?**

A: You do. The model file is handed over so your team or your adviser can update it.

Related services:
- [Fundraising financial models](https://finbryn.com/sa/services/virtual-cfo-advisory/fundraising-financial-models)
- [Budgeting](https://finbryn.com/sa/services/virtual-cfo-advisory/budgeting)
- [13-week cash flow forecast](https://finbryn.com/sa/services/virtual-cfo-advisory/13-week-cash-flow-forecast)
- [Zakat and income tax return preparation support (with a Zakat split calculator)](https://finbryn.com/sa/services/tax-preparation-support/zakat-return-preparation-support)
- [Pricing and unit economics](https://finbryn.com/sa/services/virtual-cfo-advisory/pricing-unit-economics)

Industries:
- [Restaurants and multi-entity franchise groups](https://finbryn.com/sa/industries/restaurants-franchise-multi-entity)
- [Real estate and property management](https://finbryn.com/sa/industries/real-estate-property-management)

## Sources

1. [Saudi Industrial Development Fund, General Requirements for Loan Application (feasibility study and financial model are mandatory documents)](https://www.sidf.gov.sa/-/media/PDFs/LoanFiles/General-Requirements-for-Loan-Application.pdf) (2026-10-24)
2. [Saudi Industrial Development Fund, Project Financing (application requirements and Feasibility Study Preparation Guideline)](https://www.sidf.gov.sa/en/FinancialSolutions/financialSolutionsServices/ProjectFinancing) (2026-10-24)
3. [Kafalah, How to apply for a financing guarantee](https://kafalah.gov.sa/en/Help/Pages/HowTo.aspx) (2026-10-24)
4. [Ministry of Investment, investor information](https://misa.gov.sa/en/) (2026-10-24)
5. [Monsha'at, SME classification](https://monshaat.gov.sa/en) (2026-10-24)
6. [ZATCA, Tax journey (corporate income tax and Zakat by ownership)](https://zatca.gov.sa/en/HelpCenter/CustomerJourney/Pages/tax-journey.aspx) (2026-10-24)

Reviewed October 2026

[All services in Virtual CFO and advisory](https://finbryn.com/sa/services/virtual-cfo-advisory)

## Contact
- Phone: +966 54 478 2054
- Email: hello@finbryn.com
- Booking page: https://finbryn.com/sa/book