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Does anyone have an excel spreadsheet of their startup costs? I want to make sure I have not left anything off or forgotten about anything.

Some background info: I have a website and iphone app, and I want to push for some investment. I want to get some things down on paper which relate to startup costs.

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When I think of startup costs I think of it in terms of the IRS definition, which is the total of expenses and fees paid before you officially register your business. The most common startup costs are the fees associated with registering your business in your state, but it can also include such things as market research expenses. (For 2010 the maximum you can deduct in startup costs is $10,000.)

But I'm not sure itemizing startup costs (under the above definition) is super critical in terms of looking for investment, since in most cases it's a negligible amount. Could it be that you are really more interested in initial business expenses? For example, domain registration, web hosting, website design, etc.

In terms of business expenses, you mentioned the big ones in your comment. Other items you may want to add to your list include:

  • Insurance
  • Utilities
  • Supplies
  • Merchant account and payment gateway fees
  • Training (books, courses, conferences)
  • Professional services (accountant, bookkeepper, attorney, web design)
  • Miscellaneous

Also, as WSMM mentioned, add another 15% or so to your estimates to account for unexpected issues, because they will come up.

Hope that helps.

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Thanks a lot Zuly, in terms of setup the company is already set up and registered in the UK. I actually have a working product, but to gain critical mass i do believe i will need to get more people on board, in order to do this i will require investment. These are some things i have so far in addition to the roles i will need to find people to fill; rent Equipment(pc,desks,printers), Software and licensing, marketing/advertising, Professional services, Hosting, Administrative costs – pmillio Apr 9 '11 at 21:59
@pmillio: I think you have the big expenses listed. I edited my answer to include a few more expenses you may want to consider adding to your list. Hope it is helpful. – Zuly Gonzalez♦ Apr 10 '11 at 2:18
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Thanks Zuly, I appreciate your help – pmillio Apr 10 '11 at 21:44
up vote 4 down vote

After you write down all the things you know you're going to need - X # of programmers at Y $'s /hour, etc. make sure you add in a contingency factor for all those things you forgot or didn't anticipate. I'd suggest in the range of 15% of your total expected project plan.

This will help with your planning and help your credibility with prospective investors.

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+1, Good call on mentioning the 15% reserve. – Zuly Gonzalez♦ Apr 10 '11 at 2:16
Thanks alot, i appreciate your response – pmillio Apr 10 '11 at 21:44

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