Building a Revenue Waterfall Model in Google Sheets

Every subscription business eventually asks: "Where is our revenue actually going?" Gross bookings look great, but after refunds, chargebacks, and discounts, net revenue tells a different story.

What is a Revenue Waterfall?

Think of it like a real waterfall: water (gross bookings) starts at the top, then splits into streams (refunds, chargebacks, volume discounts), and a smaller pool (net revenue) collects at the bottom.

Why You Need One

• SaaS investors and buyers love seeing a clean waterfall (it signals operational maturity)
• Founders avoid "revenue mirage" — what you bill vs what you keep
• Auditors appreciate the transparency for ASC 606 compliance

Simple Model Structure

I built a free template (link at end) with these tabs:

1. Dashboard — key metrics auto-calculated
2. Waterfall Data — month-by-month with formulas
3. Revenue Breakdown — by type with drop-downs
4. Scenario Analysis — 3 scenarios for budgeting
5. FX Conversion — multi-currency support

The formulas are straightforward:

• Net Revenue = Gross Bookings + Refunds + Chargebacks + Discounts
• (Refunds etc. are negative values)

For growth projections: =Previous_Revenue * (1 + Growth_Rate)

Pro Tips

• Use ARRAYFORMULA() for column-wide calculations (cleaner than dragging)
• Conditional formatting: green for growth, red for decline
• Protect scenario inputs with sheet protection

Grab the Free Template

I've pre-filled a working version with 24 months of sample data. Download it here:
Revenue Waterfall Model — Google Sheets

It's $27 — about the price of one lunch meeting. Well worth the time it saves building from scratch.

Happy modeling!