Radical Routes Toolkit - User contributions [en]

Applying for a RR loan

2026-04-29T16:45:56Z

Edarin: /* RR sorts out the legal charge with solicitors */

The decision to approve a loan is made by the gathering where all member coops can feed in.

=Eligibility=
Once a coop is a full member of RR, they can apply for a loan. Technically this can happen at the same gathering as they officially join, but it often comes later. All RR loans made to date have been below £100,000.

The amount RR has available to lend is a factor coops will consider when applications come up, which is reported on in the Finance Report in each gathering agenda.
=Application Process=

In order to apply for a loan, coops should fill in the 40 year modelling spreadsheet and complete a RR loan application form.

It is expected that coops will be in touch with Radical Routes Finance Group (FG) while they are considering applying for a loan. FG can help with filling in a business plan, or this can be completed entirely by the coop.

In all cases, FG will assign the applying coop a liaison. The liaison will look over business plan drafts, answer questions such that there is a viable plan.

If the applying coop has a member of FG, then another FG member will be assigned as the liaison. All communication about specific coop business plans should be done over email, CCing in either the liaison or the FG email.

Once the 40 year spreadsheet is filled in, and the liaison has been over it, multiple FG members will recreate and stress test this model at an internal meeting. It is likely at this point that there will be questions and clarifications. Once FG is satisfied, they will write a recommendation.

Finance Group will then submit this recommendation, along with the modelling spreadsheet, and the RR loan application form to the Agenda Sec, for the upcoming gathering to make a decision on.
=After it has been approved=

==Documents that the coop sends the RR finance worker==
The coop should supply to Radical Routes finance worker, copying in RR Finance Group:
- a copy of up to date buildings insurance policy (in order to assess that the property is adequately insured)
- a bank statement less than six months old which shows the bank details (account number and sort code)
- the most recent annual accounts

AND, IF NEEDED:
- If buying a new property, a copy of (all) valuations and surveys (to assess that the property is in an acceptable condition)
- If required by the proposal, proof that the estimated loan stock figures have been turned into confirmed investments
- If applicable, an outline of how planning regulations/licensing conditions/building regulations will be met/dealt with as needed to make the business plan viable
- If required by the business plan, proof that guarantors have been found

==Coop fills out the Loan Offer Letter Release Form==
Then, RR Finance Worker will send the coop a Loan Offer Letter Release Form to complete (to confirm the coop's name, address, email, reg no., loan amount, loan interest rate, term, fee (flat £350), security, and any special additional conditions.

The RR finance worker then sends this contact and loan info to CCF.
==CCF sets up a loan agreement and direct debit for the coop to sign==
CCF (Coop and Community Finance - who administer RR loans and are authorised to take direct debits) asks the coop for the full name, email and phone number of 2 coop members, and 1 witness, in order to finalise the documentation and issue the DocuSign.

CCF emails the coop a loan agreement - CCF sets up the docusign so that the agreement gets emailed to be electronically signed by the first member, then the 2nd member, then the witness.

CCF then emails the coop an attachment called the Direct Debit instruction (1 page form). This should be printed by the coop, completed, signed (using a pen) and posted back to CCF. CCF will then forward this to the coop's bank in order to set up a regular monthly direct debit payment bank.

This process has a cost (around £350) that should be covered by the coop.

==RR sorts out the legal charge with solicitors==

If it is the first RR loan, then RR and the coop need to sign the legal charge, and register this with the FCA and the land registry.

If another lender is involved (e.g. for the main mortgage), the conveyancing solicitor will also organise the signing of a dead of priority between the main lender and RR. The legal charge and/or deed of priority need signing and registering. The loaning coop must provide the RR’s solicitor with the details of any other lenders involved.

This process has a cost (around £2000) that should be covered by the coop.

==FG holds a loan release meeting==
After these steps, RR Finance Group will hold a loan release meeting to check the documents and confirm the release of the loan.
Currently, this FG meeting requires five individual members representing at least four co-ops with no conflicts of interest in the matter discussed. Previous members of Finance Group may be co-opted. This can consist of individual members of member co-ops or of associates. All involved should have an understanding of the issue being
discussed.

The finance worker will move any money around in the RR bank accounts and set up the payment from the main RR bank account. This will need authorising.

Additional notes:
Finance Group should be kept in the loop about any changes and conditions to the loan proposal. If there are major changes, the loan might need a new proposal to reflect the changes.
RR loans can be drawn down for 9 months after the date of the gathering where the loan was approved. If it is not finalised within 9 months, which is often the case, the coop should apply for an loan extension from the network at a gathering.

Applying for a RR loan

2026-04-29T16:43:45Z

Edarin:

The decision to approve a loan is made by the gathering where all member coops can feed in.

=Eligibility=
Once a coop is a full member of RR, they can apply for a loan. Technically this can happen at the same gathering as they officially join, but it often comes later. All RR loans made to date have been below £100,000.

The amount RR has available to lend is a factor coops will consider when applications come up, which is reported on in the Finance Report in each gathering agenda.
=Application Process=

In order to apply for a loan, coops should fill in the 40 year modelling spreadsheet and complete a RR loan application form.

It is expected that coops will be in touch with Radical Routes Finance Group (FG) while they are considering applying for a loan. FG can help with filling in a business plan, or this can be completed entirely by the coop.

In all cases, FG will assign the applying coop a liaison. The liaison will look over business plan drafts, answer questions such that there is a viable plan.

If the applying coop has a member of FG, then another FG member will be assigned as the liaison. All communication about specific coop business plans should be done over email, CCing in either the liaison or the FG email.

Once the 40 year spreadsheet is filled in, and the liaison has been over it, multiple FG members will recreate and stress test this model at an internal meeting. It is likely at this point that there will be questions and clarifications. Once FG is satisfied, they will write a recommendation.

Finance Group will then submit this recommendation, along with the modelling spreadsheet, and the RR loan application form to the Agenda Sec, for the upcoming gathering to make a decision on.
=After it has been approved=

==Documents that the coop sends the RR finance worker==
The coop should supply to Radical Routes finance worker, copying in RR Finance Group:
- a copy of up to date buildings insurance policy (in order to assess that the property is adequately insured)
- a bank statement less than six months old which shows the bank details (account number and sort code)
- the most recent annual accounts

AND, IF NEEDED:
- If buying a new property, a copy of (all) valuations and surveys (to assess that the property is in an acceptable condition)
- If required by the proposal, proof that the estimated loan stock figures have been turned into confirmed investments
- If applicable, an outline of how planning regulations/licensing conditions/building regulations will be met/dealt with as needed to make the business plan viable
- If required by the business plan, proof that guarantors have been found

==Coop fills out the Loan Offer Letter Release Form==
Then, RR Finance Worker will send the coop a Loan Offer Letter Release Form to complete (to confirm the coop's name, address, email, reg no., loan amount, loan interest rate, term, fee (flat £350), security, and any special additional conditions.

The RR finance worker then sends this contact and loan info to CCF.
==CCF sets up a loan agreement and direct debit for the coop to sign==
CCF (Coop and Community Finance - who administer RR loans and are authorised to take direct debits) asks the coop for the full name, email and phone number of 2 coop members, and 1 witness, in order to finalise the documentation and issue the DocuSign.

CCF emails the coop a loan agreement - CCF sets up the docusign so that the agreement gets emailed to be electronically signed by the first member, then the 2nd member, then the witness.

CCF then emails the coop an attachment called the Direct Debit instruction (1 page form). This should be printed by the coop, completed, signed (using a pen) and posted back to CCF. CCF will then forward this to the coop's bank in order to set up a regular monthly direct debit payment bank.

This process has a cost (around £350) that should be covered by the coop.

==RR sorts out the legal charge with solicitors==

If it is the first RR loan, then RR and the coop need to sign the legal charge, and register this with the FCA and the land registry.
If another lender is involved (e.g. for the main mortgage), the conveyancing solicitor will also organise the signing of a dead of priority between the main lender and RR. The legal charge and/or deed of priority need signing and registering. The loaning coop must provide the RR’s solicitor with the details of any other lenders involved. This process has a cost (around £2000) that should be covered by the coop.
This is dealt with by either the conveyancing solicitor (if the coop is purchasing a property) or the RR solicitor (if the coop is not buying a property)

==FG holds a loan release meeting==
After these steps, RR Finance Group will hold a loan release meeting to check the documents and confirm the release of the loan.
Currently, this FG meeting requires five individual members representing at least four co-ops with no conflicts of interest in the matter discussed. Previous members of Finance Group may be co-opted. This can consist of individual members of member co-ops or of associates. All involved should have an understanding of the issue being
discussed.

The finance worker will move any money around in the RR bank accounts and set up the payment from the main RR bank account. This will need authorising.

Additional notes:
Finance Group should be kept in the loop about any changes and conditions to the loan proposal. If there are major changes, the loan might need a new proposal to reflect the changes.
RR loans can be drawn down for 9 months after the date of the gathering where the loan was approved. If it is not finalised within 9 months, which is often the case, the coop should apply for an loan extension from the network at a gathering.

40-year modelling spreadsheet

2025-05-26T18:29:25Z

Edarin: /* Sheet 4) - New Loans */

The 40-year modelling spreadsheet is also called the '''financial modelling spreadsheet''', the '''Radical Routes spreadsheet''', or the '''40-year spreadsheet'''. This may also refer to the '''business plan''' or simply, '''the plan''' - although sometimes the business plan also includes a narrative to go alongside the spreadsheet.

This spreadsheet gets updated regularly, sometimes multiple times a year, by [https://www.catalystcollective.org/ Catalyst Collective]. At the time of writing, in May 2025, the most up to date version is version 3.3.5. The latest version of the spreadsheet gets updated and is available in the [https://files.radicalroutes.org.uk/s/mtzWPw7DoidqoNf RRModel Spreadsheet] online file storage.

The spreadsheet works best when downloaded to a device, and opened using [https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/ Libreoffice] - in the .ods file format. '''Libreoffice''' is a free, open source office suite similar to Microsoft Office. Once Libreoffice is downloaded, the spreadsheet software we recommend using, and that the spreadsheet was designed to be used on, is called LibreOffice Calc. It is possible to use Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel however we have noticed glitches in the calculations and protected cells, therefore advise against it.
=Information required to enable filling in the spreadsheet=
It can be quite overwhelming to look at this spreadsheet. Some people with more spreadsheet experience have taught themselves how to use it. We recommend collecting all of the figures needed before trying to fill it in. Radical Routes Finance Group are happy to be contacted for advice or support to fill this in.

If you are trying to fill in the spreadsheet, it will help to have the following information to hand. This guidance has come about from filling in the spreadsheet for an already housed coop. Much of it will also be applicable to an unhoused coop, and in some places estimate figures will need to be used.
# '''Cash in the bank''' - This is total money in the co-op's name, in all co-op bank accounts, including savings.
# '''Fixed assets''' - Find this information on the most recent balance sheet, representing the value of all property owned by the coop. This is zero if your co-op does not own any property.
# '''Rental income''' - Be careful to input this correctly, either per week or per month
# '''The most recent mortgage statement''' - The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment.
# '''Radical Routes loan statement''' - The header of this document should say '''Co-operative & Community Finance''' as well as Radical Routes because CCF administer RR loans. The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment'' [[file:a Radical Routes loan statement.png]] 
# '''Outstanding loanstock details''' - This should include 1) starting dates, 2) length in years, 3) interest rate, 4) amount, 5) simple/compound interest. The name of the lender should only include the initials, so for example loanstock from Zara Chowdhary should appear as 'ZC'. This is so that when the spreadsheet is shared externally, the loanstock investors are not identifiable. 
# '''Annual council tax'''
# '''Annual [[Insurance|insurance]] cost'''
# '''Annual maintenance spend''' - This could be the average over 3 years, or an annual maintenance budget, or an estimate with a minimum of £250 per bedroom per year.
# '''Local Housing Allowance rate''' - LHA is calculated by inputting the postcode of the property on the [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ government LHA calulator]. The figure we generally use is the shared accommodation rate - correlating to one person paying 1 rent per bedroom. However, other rates may be applicable if, for example, a member is entitled to the 1 bedroom rate if they are receiving disability benefits, more bedrooms if they have dependents etc.
# '''Bank charges''' - Many RR coops bank with Coop bank (free), or Unity Trust Bank (£6 per month = £72 per year).
# '''RR member payments''' Check your bank statement for how much you pay RR (quarterly) if you are a member of RR. This will correspond to a drop-down menu on the spreadsheet.
# '''Any other regular income''' - For example - regular donations.
# '''Any other regular expenses''' - For example, travel, website hosting costs, internet or a building service charges. This should not include electric, gas or water bills as RR recommends these costs are dealt with as separate from the co-op's expenses, and housing co-ops charge separately for bills. The spreadsheet may or may not include internet expenses, depending on whether this is paid for by the coop.

=How to input data into the spreadsheet=
Only '''the purple cells''' are editable. It is recommended to keep the spreadsheet in protected mode so as not to change any of the formulae.
==Broken down by sheet==
===Sheet 1) - Information and Ongoing income & expenditure===
This sheet goes by the shorthand name '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp'''

Income to input: '''rental income''' and '''other income'''.

Expenses to input: '''void percentage'''; '''house [[insurance | insurance]]'''; '''maintenance'''; '''council tax'''; '''bank charges'''; '''accountant costs'''; '''other expenses.'''

For co-ops applying for a RR loan, rental income will need to be below [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ LHA]. Co-ops should be aware of the risk to losing their exemption for corporation tax if they are receiving any income that is not rent from members.

For insurance, maintenance, and council tax - you can input these as either actual costs or estimated. This won't have any impact on the model and is more to give some background to the figures.

===Sheet 2) - Income and expenses needed at the start===
One reason you might be filling in this spreadsheet is, for instance, you are modelling for an upfront cost to the coop. You can use the sheet (shorthand - '''Day1 Inc&Exp''') to represent initial costs that are not repeated year on year.

Data to input - '''Cash in the bank; day 1 expenditures (such as property purchase cost, mortgage fees, RR loan fees, Day 1 maintenance work, surveys''' etc. Scrolling down to the bottom of this page you should also input the '''value of any existing properties.''' The mortgage fees can be either inputted manually or automatically derived from the new mortgage information.

If you are not taking out any loans, ensure you remove any loan fees on this sheet.

===Sheet 3) - Existing Loans===
This page calculates how much '''already existing loans''' money the coop owes. This could be a mortgage, a "mortgage-type" loans (e.g. RR loans that are repaid on a monthly basis), or loanstock (i.e. loans being reimbursed at once at the end of their maturity period).

The capital balance reading date is the last date covered on the most recent loan statement.

The remaining capital balance is the amount of the loan that the co-op is due to repay - this could be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.

===Sheet 4) - New Loans===
This page models for any new mortgage-type loans, future mortgage-type loans, new loanstock, and future loanstock. The difference between '''new''' and '''future''' is that new starts from the 1st year the spreadsheet is set in, whereas future can be set up to start at any point in the next 40 years.

There are three types of interest rate for mortgage-type loans: '''fixed''', '''variable''' and '''RR rate'''. The RRrate stands for RR loan that are at the lowest interest rate. Indeed this lower interest rate is based on the average interest rate requested by RR investors which might fluctuate. For RR loan at 6% however this should be set as a fixed rate.

====Automatic Loanstock Refinancing====

There is also a function in the 'Future Loanstock' section to turn on '''automatic refinancing'''. This is where the spreadsheet automatically adds in extra loanstock when it is needed. You can turn this on/off by selecting yes/no in the dropdown. To see the where the automatic loanstock has been added in, go to the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page - Money In - Loanstock In, and scroll across to see any non-zero figures. Loanstock In also appears as green vertical bars on the graph at the bottom of the Yearly Breakdown page.

===Sheet 5) - Year 1 Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is in Year 1, broken down by months 1-12. Each column represents 1 month, and you need to scroll sideways, to the right, to see all 12 months.

If you need to input specific income or expenses in Year 1 in a specific month, you can input this here.

For example -
You are going to start doing renovations on a bedroom in month 3, and then the rent from that bedroom only becomes available in the 6th month after the spreadsheet begins. In this case you would:

1) input the extra maintenance cost in 'Year 1 breakdown', under the 'Money Out' section, in the 3rd month, in a purple cell - either in Cell H42 (maintenance), or Cell H50 (other) is fine.
2) input the full rents in the 'Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp' sheet, and then in the 'Year 1 Breakdown' sheet, reduce 1 rent level for the first 5 months. This would represent that the first 5 months has 1 less rent coming in.

===Sheet 6) - Yearly Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is throughout the 40 years, broken down by years 1-40. Each column represents 1 year, and you need to scroll sideways, to see all 40 years.

Check that the rate of inflation is set to 3%, and the rent increase rate is set to at least 2%.

There is a 3% increase in the ‘Mortgage Interest rate change’ sheet over the first 10 years. This is how we '''stress test''' for unforeseen interest rate hikes. The actual interest rate is inputted per loan in the New Loans or Existing Loans sheet. The lender's interest rate (often Ecology Building Society, or Triodos) includes the Bank of England 'base rate' that fluctuates.

=Testing the viability of the spreadsheet=

Once '''all sheets''' have been filled in, there are a number of things to check that the business plan is viable/sustainable, that income covers all expenditure, and that the bank balance remains positive.

On the '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''ongoing surplus''' is positive and ideally above £1200 per year.

On the '''Year 1 Breakdown''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''balance''' is positive. Scroll to the right and check all 12 month bank balances are positive.

The '''Yearly Breakdown''' page is the main page to pay attention to to see that the business plan is viable. The bank balance needs to be positive at all times. On version 3.3.5 of the spreadsheet, the Bank Balance appears on Row 93, but in other versions it may appear higher or lower than this.

At the bottom of the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page, there is a graph that represents the bank balance over 40 years. This should have an upward trend, which means that the co-op is accumulating money over time and therefore can cover any unexpected costs.

40-year modelling spreadsheet

2025-05-26T18:20:22Z

Edarin: /* Sheet 3) - Existing Loans */

The 40-year modelling spreadsheet is also called the '''financial modelling spreadsheet''', the '''Radical Routes spreadsheet''', or the '''40-year spreadsheet'''. This may also refer to the '''business plan''' or simply, '''the plan''' - although sometimes the business plan also includes a narrative to go alongside the spreadsheet.

This spreadsheet gets updated regularly, sometimes multiple times a year, by [https://www.catalystcollective.org/ Catalyst Collective]. At the time of writing, in May 2025, the most up to date version is version 3.3.5. The latest version of the spreadsheet gets updated and is available in the [https://files.radicalroutes.org.uk/s/mtzWPw7DoidqoNf RRModel Spreadsheet] online file storage.

The spreadsheet works best when downloaded to a device, and opened using [https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/ Libreoffice] - in the .ods file format. '''Libreoffice''' is a free, open source office suite similar to Microsoft Office. Once Libreoffice is downloaded, the spreadsheet software we recommend using, and that the spreadsheet was designed to be used on, is called LibreOffice Calc. It is possible to use Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel however we have noticed glitches in the calculations and protected cells, therefore advise against it.
=Information required to enable filling in the spreadsheet=
It can be quite overwhelming to look at this spreadsheet. Some people with more spreadsheet experience have taught themselves how to use it. We recommend collecting all of the figures needed before trying to fill it in. Radical Routes Finance Group are happy to be contacted for advice or support to fill this in.

If you are trying to fill in the spreadsheet, it will help to have the following information to hand. This guidance has come about from filling in the spreadsheet for an already housed coop. Much of it will also be applicable to an unhoused coop, and in some places estimate figures will need to be used.
# '''Cash in the bank''' - This is total money in the co-op's name, in all co-op bank accounts, including savings.
# '''Fixed assets''' - Find this information on the most recent balance sheet, representing the value of all property owned by the coop. This is zero if your co-op does not own any property.
# '''Rental income''' - Be careful to input this correctly, either per week or per month
# '''The most recent mortgage statement''' - The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment.
# '''Radical Routes loan statement''' - The header of this document should say '''Co-operative & Community Finance''' as well as Radical Routes because CCF administer RR loans. The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment'' [[file:a Radical Routes loan statement.png]] 
# '''Outstanding loanstock details''' - This should include 1) starting dates, 2) length in years, 3) interest rate, 4) amount, 5) simple/compound interest. The name of the lender should only include the initials, so for example loanstock from Zara Chowdhary should appear as 'ZC'. This is so that when the spreadsheet is shared externally, the loanstock investors are not identifiable. 
# '''Annual council tax'''
# '''Annual [[Insurance|insurance]] cost'''
# '''Annual maintenance spend''' - This could be the average over 3 years, or an annual maintenance budget, or an estimate with a minimum of £250 per bedroom per year.
# '''Local Housing Allowance rate''' - LHA is calculated by inputting the postcode of the property on the [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ government LHA calulator]. The figure we generally use is the shared accommodation rate - correlating to one person paying 1 rent per bedroom. However, other rates may be applicable if, for example, a member is entitled to the 1 bedroom rate if they are receiving disability benefits, more bedrooms if they have dependents etc.
# '''Bank charges''' - Many RR coops bank with Coop bank (free), or Unity Trust Bank (£6 per month = £72 per year).
# '''RR member payments''' Check your bank statement for how much you pay RR (quarterly) if you are a member of RR. This will correspond to a drop-down menu on the spreadsheet.
# '''Any other regular income''' - For example - regular donations.
# '''Any other regular expenses''' - For example, travel, website hosting costs, internet or a building service charges. This should not include electric, gas or water bills as RR recommends these costs are dealt with as separate from the co-op's expenses, and housing co-ops charge separately for bills. The spreadsheet may or may not include internet expenses, depending on whether this is paid for by the coop.

=How to input data into the spreadsheet=
Only '''the purple cells''' are editable. It is recommended to keep the spreadsheet in protected mode so as not to change any of the formulae.
==Broken down by sheet==
===Sheet 1) - Information and Ongoing income & expenditure===
This sheet goes by the shorthand name '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp'''

Income to input: '''rental income''' and '''other income'''.

Expenses to input: '''void percentage'''; '''house [[insurance | insurance]]'''; '''maintenance'''; '''council tax'''; '''bank charges'''; '''accountant costs'''; '''other expenses.'''

For co-ops applying for a RR loan, rental income will need to be below [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ LHA]. Co-ops should be aware of the risk to losing their exemption for corporation tax if they are receiving any income that is not rent from members.

For insurance, maintenance, and council tax - you can input these as either actual costs or estimated. This won't have any impact on the model and is more to give some background to the figures.

===Sheet 2) - Income and expenses needed at the start===
One reason you might be filling in this spreadsheet is, for instance, you are modelling for an upfront cost to the coop. You can use the sheet (shorthand - '''Day1 Inc&Exp''') to represent initial costs that are not repeated year on year.

Data to input - '''Cash in the bank; day 1 expenditures (such as property purchase cost, mortgage fees, RR loan fees, Day 1 maintenance work, surveys''' etc. Scrolling down to the bottom of this page you should also input the '''value of any existing properties.''' The mortgage fees can be either inputted manually or automatically derived from the new mortgage information.

If you are not taking out any loans, ensure you remove any loan fees on this sheet.

===Sheet 3) - Existing Loans===
This page calculates how much '''already existing loans''' money the coop owes. This could be a mortgage, a "mortgage-type" loans (e.g. RR loans that are repaid on a monthly basis), or loanstock (i.e. loans being reimbursed at once at the end of their maturity period).

The capital balance reading date is the last date covered on the most recent loan statement.

The remaining capital balance is the amount of the loan that the co-op is due to repay - this could be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.

===Sheet 4) - New Loans===
This page models for any new mortgage-type loans, future mortgage-type loans, new loanstock, and future loanstock. The difference between '''new''' and '''future''' is that new starts from the 1st year the spreadsheet is set in, whereas future can be set up to start at any point in the next 40 years.

====Automatic Loanstock Refinancing====

There is also a function in the 'Future Loanstock' section to turn on '''automatic refinancing'''. This is where the spreadsheet automatically adds in extra loanstock when it is needed. You can turn this on/off by selecting yes/no in the dropdown. To see the where the automatic loanstock has been added in, go to the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page - Money In - Loanstock In, and scroll across to see any non-zero figures. Loanstock In also appears as green vertical bars on the graph at the bottom of the Yearly Breakdown page.

===Sheet 5) - Year 1 Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is in Year 1, broken down by months 1-12. Each column represents 1 month, and you need to scroll sideways, to the right, to see all 12 months.

If you need to input specific income or expenses in Year 1 in a specific month, you can input this here.

For example -
You are going to start doing renovations on a bedroom in month 3, and then the rent from that bedroom only becomes available in the 6th month after the spreadsheet begins. In this case you would:

1) input the extra maintenance cost in 'Year 1 breakdown', under the 'Money Out' section, in the 3rd month, in a purple cell - either in Cell H42 (maintenance), or Cell H50 (other) is fine.
2) input the full rents in the 'Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp' sheet, and then in the 'Year 1 Breakdown' sheet, reduce 1 rent level for the first 5 months. This would represent that the first 5 months has 1 less rent coming in.

===Sheet 6) - Yearly Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is throughout the 40 years, broken down by years 1-40. Each column represents 1 year, and you need to scroll sideways, to see all 40 years.

Check that the rate of inflation is set to 3%, and the rent increase rate is set to at least 2%.

There is a 3% increase in the ‘Mortgage Interest rate change’ sheet over the first 10 years. This is how we '''stress test''' for unforeseen interest rate hikes. The actual interest rate is inputted per loan in the New Loans or Existing Loans sheet. The lender's interest rate (often Ecology Building Society, or Triodos) includes the Bank of England 'base rate' that fluctuates.

=Testing the viability of the spreadsheet=

Once '''all sheets''' have been filled in, there are a number of things to check that the business plan is viable/sustainable, that income covers all expenditure, and that the bank balance remains positive.

On the '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''ongoing surplus''' is positive and ideally above £1200 per year.

On the '''Year 1 Breakdown''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''balance''' is positive. Scroll to the right and check all 12 month bank balances are positive.

The '''Yearly Breakdown''' page is the main page to pay attention to to see that the business plan is viable. The bank balance needs to be positive at all times. On version 3.3.5 of the spreadsheet, the Bank Balance appears on Row 93, but in other versions it may appear higher or lower than this.

At the bottom of the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page, there is a graph that represents the bank balance over 40 years. This should have an upward trend, which means that the co-op is accumulating money over time and therefore can cover any unexpected costs.

40-year modelling spreadsheet

2025-05-26T18:18:48Z

Edarin: /* Sheet 2) - Income and expenses needed at the start */

The 40-year modelling spreadsheet is also called the '''financial modelling spreadsheet''', the '''Radical Routes spreadsheet''', or the '''40-year spreadsheet'''. This may also refer to the '''business plan''' or simply, '''the plan''' - although sometimes the business plan also includes a narrative to go alongside the spreadsheet.

This spreadsheet gets updated regularly, sometimes multiple times a year, by [https://www.catalystcollective.org/ Catalyst Collective]. At the time of writing, in May 2025, the most up to date version is version 3.3.5. The latest version of the spreadsheet gets updated and is available in the [https://files.radicalroutes.org.uk/s/mtzWPw7DoidqoNf RRModel Spreadsheet] online file storage.

The spreadsheet works best when downloaded to a device, and opened using [https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/ Libreoffice] - in the .ods file format. '''Libreoffice''' is a free, open source office suite similar to Microsoft Office. Once Libreoffice is downloaded, the spreadsheet software we recommend using, and that the spreadsheet was designed to be used on, is called LibreOffice Calc. It is possible to use Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel however we have noticed glitches in the calculations and protected cells, therefore advise against it.
=Information required to enable filling in the spreadsheet=
It can be quite overwhelming to look at this spreadsheet. Some people with more spreadsheet experience have taught themselves how to use it. We recommend collecting all of the figures needed before trying to fill it in. Radical Routes Finance Group are happy to be contacted for advice or support to fill this in.

If you are trying to fill in the spreadsheet, it will help to have the following information to hand. This guidance has come about from filling in the spreadsheet for an already housed coop. Much of it will also be applicable to an unhoused coop, and in some places estimate figures will need to be used.
# '''Cash in the bank''' - This is total money in the co-op's name, in all co-op bank accounts, including savings.
# '''Fixed assets''' - Find this information on the most recent balance sheet, representing the value of all property owned by the coop. This is zero if your co-op does not own any property.
# '''Rental income''' - Be careful to input this correctly, either per week or per month
# '''The most recent mortgage statement''' - The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment.
# '''Radical Routes loan statement''' - The header of this document should say '''Co-operative & Community Finance''' as well as Radical Routes because CCF administer RR loans. The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment'' [[file:a Radical Routes loan statement.png]] 
# '''Outstanding loanstock details''' - This should include 1) starting dates, 2) length in years, 3) interest rate, 4) amount, 5) simple/compound interest. The name of the lender should only include the initials, so for example loanstock from Zara Chowdhary should appear as 'ZC'. This is so that when the spreadsheet is shared externally, the loanstock investors are not identifiable. 
# '''Annual council tax'''
# '''Annual [[Insurance|insurance]] cost'''
# '''Annual maintenance spend''' - This could be the average over 3 years, or an annual maintenance budget, or an estimate with a minimum of £250 per bedroom per year.
# '''Local Housing Allowance rate''' - LHA is calculated by inputting the postcode of the property on the [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ government LHA calulator]. The figure we generally use is the shared accommodation rate - correlating to one person paying 1 rent per bedroom. However, other rates may be applicable if, for example, a member is entitled to the 1 bedroom rate if they are receiving disability benefits, more bedrooms if they have dependents etc.
# '''Bank charges''' - Many RR coops bank with Coop bank (free), or Unity Trust Bank (£6 per month = £72 per year).
# '''RR member payments''' Check your bank statement for how much you pay RR (quarterly) if you are a member of RR. This will correspond to a drop-down menu on the spreadsheet.
# '''Any other regular income''' - For example - regular donations.
# '''Any other regular expenses''' - For example, travel, website hosting costs, internet or a building service charges. This should not include electric, gas or water bills as RR recommends these costs are dealt with as separate from the co-op's expenses, and housing co-ops charge separately for bills. The spreadsheet may or may not include internet expenses, depending on whether this is paid for by the coop.

=How to input data into the spreadsheet=
Only '''the purple cells''' are editable. It is recommended to keep the spreadsheet in protected mode so as not to change any of the formulae.
==Broken down by sheet==
===Sheet 1) - Information and Ongoing income & expenditure===
This sheet goes by the shorthand name '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp'''

Income to input: '''rental income''' and '''other income'''.

Expenses to input: '''void percentage'''; '''house [[insurance | insurance]]'''; '''maintenance'''; '''council tax'''; '''bank charges'''; '''accountant costs'''; '''other expenses.'''

For co-ops applying for a RR loan, rental income will need to be below [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ LHA]. Co-ops should be aware of the risk to losing their exemption for corporation tax if they are receiving any income that is not rent from members.

For insurance, maintenance, and council tax - you can input these as either actual costs or estimated. This won't have any impact on the model and is more to give some background to the figures.

===Sheet 2) - Income and expenses needed at the start===
One reason you might be filling in this spreadsheet is, for instance, you are modelling for an upfront cost to the coop. You can use the sheet (shorthand - '''Day1 Inc&Exp''') to represent initial costs that are not repeated year on year.

Data to input - '''Cash in the bank; day 1 expenditures (such as property purchase cost, mortgage fees, RR loan fees, Day 1 maintenance work, surveys''' etc. Scrolling down to the bottom of this page you should also input the '''value of any existing properties.''' The mortgage fees can be either inputted manually or automatically derived from the new mortgage information.

If you are not taking out any loans, ensure you remove any loan fees on this sheet.

===Sheet 3) - Existing Loans===
This page calculates how much '''already existing loans''' money the coop owes. This could be a mortgage, a "mortgage-type" loans (e.g. RR loans that are repaid on a monthly basis), or loanstock.

The capital balance reading date is the last date covered on the most recent loan statement.

The remaining capital balance is the amount of the loan that the co-op is due to repay - this could be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.

===Sheet 4) - New Loans===
This page models for any new mortgage-type loans, future mortgage-type loans, new loanstock, and future loanstock. The difference between '''new''' and '''future''' is that new starts from the 1st year the spreadsheet is set in, whereas future can be set up to start at any point in the next 40 years.

====Automatic Loanstock Refinancing====

There is also a function in the 'Future Loanstock' section to turn on '''automatic refinancing'''. This is where the spreadsheet automatically adds in extra loanstock when it is needed. You can turn this on/off by selecting yes/no in the dropdown. To see the where the automatic loanstock has been added in, go to the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page - Money In - Loanstock In, and scroll across to see any non-zero figures. Loanstock In also appears as green vertical bars on the graph at the bottom of the Yearly Breakdown page.

===Sheet 5) - Year 1 Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is in Year 1, broken down by months 1-12. Each column represents 1 month, and you need to scroll sideways, to the right, to see all 12 months.

If you need to input specific income or expenses in Year 1 in a specific month, you can input this here.

For example -
You are going to start doing renovations on a bedroom in month 3, and then the rent from that bedroom only becomes available in the 6th month after the spreadsheet begins. In this case you would:

1) input the extra maintenance cost in 'Year 1 breakdown', under the 'Money Out' section, in the 3rd month, in a purple cell - either in Cell H42 (maintenance), or Cell H50 (other) is fine.
2) input the full rents in the 'Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp' sheet, and then in the 'Year 1 Breakdown' sheet, reduce 1 rent level for the first 5 months. This would represent that the first 5 months has 1 less rent coming in.

===Sheet 6) - Yearly Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is throughout the 40 years, broken down by years 1-40. Each column represents 1 year, and you need to scroll sideways, to see all 40 years.

Check that the rate of inflation is set to 3%, and the rent increase rate is set to at least 2%.

There is a 3% increase in the ‘Mortgage Interest rate change’ sheet over the first 10 years. This is how we '''stress test''' for unforeseen interest rate hikes. The actual interest rate is inputted per loan in the New Loans or Existing Loans sheet. The lender's interest rate (often Ecology Building Society, or Triodos) includes the Bank of England 'base rate' that fluctuates.

=Testing the viability of the spreadsheet=

Once '''all sheets''' have been filled in, there are a number of things to check that the business plan is viable/sustainable, that income covers all expenditure, and that the bank balance remains positive.

On the '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''ongoing surplus''' is positive and ideally above £1200 per year.

On the '''Year 1 Breakdown''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''balance''' is positive. Scroll to the right and check all 12 month bank balances are positive.

The '''Yearly Breakdown''' page is the main page to pay attention to to see that the business plan is viable. The bank balance needs to be positive at all times. On version 3.3.5 of the spreadsheet, the Bank Balance appears on Row 93, but in other versions it may appear higher or lower than this.

At the bottom of the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page, there is a graph that represents the bank balance over 40 years. This should have an upward trend, which means that the co-op is accumulating money over time and therefore can cover any unexpected costs.

40-year modelling spreadsheet

2025-05-26T18:17:05Z

Edarin: /* Sheet 1) - Information and Ongoing income & expenditure */

The 40-year modelling spreadsheet is also called the '''financial modelling spreadsheet''', the '''Radical Routes spreadsheet''', or the '''40-year spreadsheet'''. This may also refer to the '''business plan''' or simply, '''the plan''' - although sometimes the business plan also includes a narrative to go alongside the spreadsheet.

This spreadsheet gets updated regularly, sometimes multiple times a year, by [https://www.catalystcollective.org/ Catalyst Collective]. At the time of writing, in May 2025, the most up to date version is version 3.3.5. The latest version of the spreadsheet gets updated and is available in the [https://files.radicalroutes.org.uk/s/mtzWPw7DoidqoNf RRModel Spreadsheet] online file storage.

The spreadsheet works best when downloaded to a device, and opened using [https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/ Libreoffice] - in the .ods file format. '''Libreoffice''' is a free, open source office suite similar to Microsoft Office. Once Libreoffice is downloaded, the spreadsheet software we recommend using, and that the spreadsheet was designed to be used on, is called LibreOffice Calc. It is possible to use Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel however we have noticed glitches in the calculations and protected cells, therefore advise against it.
=Information required to enable filling in the spreadsheet=
It can be quite overwhelming to look at this spreadsheet. Some people with more spreadsheet experience have taught themselves how to use it. We recommend collecting all of the figures needed before trying to fill it in. Radical Routes Finance Group are happy to be contacted for advice or support to fill this in.

If you are trying to fill in the spreadsheet, it will help to have the following information to hand. This guidance has come about from filling in the spreadsheet for an already housed coop. Much of it will also be applicable to an unhoused coop, and in some places estimate figures will need to be used.
# '''Cash in the bank''' - This is total money in the co-op's name, in all co-op bank accounts, including savings.
# '''Fixed assets''' - Find this information on the most recent balance sheet, representing the value of all property owned by the coop. This is zero if your co-op does not own any property.
# '''Rental income''' - Be careful to input this correctly, either per week or per month
# '''The most recent mortgage statement''' - The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment.
# '''Radical Routes loan statement''' - The header of this document should say '''Co-operative & Community Finance''' as well as Radical Routes because CCF administer RR loans. The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment'' [[file:a Radical Routes loan statement.png]] 
# '''Outstanding loanstock details''' - This should include 1) starting dates, 2) length in years, 3) interest rate, 4) amount, 5) simple/compound interest. The name of the lender should only include the initials, so for example loanstock from Zara Chowdhary should appear as 'ZC'. This is so that when the spreadsheet is shared externally, the loanstock investors are not identifiable. 
# '''Annual council tax'''
# '''Annual [[Insurance|insurance]] cost'''
# '''Annual maintenance spend''' - This could be the average over 3 years, or an annual maintenance budget, or an estimate with a minimum of £250 per bedroom per year.
# '''Local Housing Allowance rate''' - LHA is calculated by inputting the postcode of the property on the [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ government LHA calulator]. The figure we generally use is the shared accommodation rate - correlating to one person paying 1 rent per bedroom. However, other rates may be applicable if, for example, a member is entitled to the 1 bedroom rate if they are receiving disability benefits, more bedrooms if they have dependents etc.
# '''Bank charges''' - Many RR coops bank with Coop bank (free), or Unity Trust Bank (£6 per month = £72 per year).
# '''RR member payments''' Check your bank statement for how much you pay RR (quarterly) if you are a member of RR. This will correspond to a drop-down menu on the spreadsheet.
# '''Any other regular income''' - For example - regular donations.
# '''Any other regular expenses''' - For example, travel, website hosting costs, internet or a building service charges. This should not include electric, gas or water bills as RR recommends these costs are dealt with as separate from the co-op's expenses, and housing co-ops charge separately for bills. The spreadsheet may or may not include internet expenses, depending on whether this is paid for by the coop.

=How to input data into the spreadsheet=
Only '''the purple cells''' are editable. It is recommended to keep the spreadsheet in protected mode so as not to change any of the formulae.
==Broken down by sheet==
===Sheet 1) - Information and Ongoing income & expenditure===
This sheet goes by the shorthand name '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp'''

Income to input: '''rental income''' and '''other income'''.

Expenses to input: '''void percentage'''; '''house [[insurance | insurance]]'''; '''maintenance'''; '''council tax'''; '''bank charges'''; '''accountant costs'''; '''other expenses.'''

For co-ops applying for a RR loan, rental income will need to be below [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ LHA]. Co-ops should be aware of the risk to losing their exemption for corporation tax if they are receiving any income that is not rent from members.

For insurance, maintenance, and council tax - you can input these as either actual costs or estimated. This won't have any impact on the model and is more to give some background to the figures.

===Sheet 2) - Income and expenses needed at the start===
One reason you might be filling in this spreadsheet is, for instance, you are modelling for an upfront cost to the coop. You can use the sheet (shorthand - '''Day1 Inc&Exp''') to represent initial costs that are not repeated year on year.

Data to input - '''Cash in the bank; day 1 expenditures (such as property purchase cost, mortgage fees, RR loan fees, Day 1 maintenance work, surveys''' etc. Scrolling down to the bottom of this page you should also input the '''value of any existing properties.'''

If you are not taking out any loans, ensure you remove any loan fees on this sheet.

===Sheet 3) - Existing Loans===
This page calculates how much '''already existing loans''' money the coop owes. This could be a mortgage, a "mortgage-type" loans (e.g. RR loans that are repaid on a monthly basis), or loanstock.

The capital balance reading date is the last date covered on the most recent loan statement.

The remaining capital balance is the amount of the loan that the co-op is due to repay - this could be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.

===Sheet 4) - New Loans===
This page models for any new mortgage-type loans, future mortgage-type loans, new loanstock, and future loanstock. The difference between '''new''' and '''future''' is that new starts from the 1st year the spreadsheet is set in, whereas future can be set up to start at any point in the next 40 years.

====Automatic Loanstock Refinancing====

There is also a function in the 'Future Loanstock' section to turn on '''automatic refinancing'''. This is where the spreadsheet automatically adds in extra loanstock when it is needed. You can turn this on/off by selecting yes/no in the dropdown. To see the where the automatic loanstock has been added in, go to the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page - Money In - Loanstock In, and scroll across to see any non-zero figures. Loanstock In also appears as green vertical bars on the graph at the bottom of the Yearly Breakdown page.

===Sheet 5) - Year 1 Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is in Year 1, broken down by months 1-12. Each column represents 1 month, and you need to scroll sideways, to the right, to see all 12 months.

If you need to input specific income or expenses in Year 1 in a specific month, you can input this here.

For example -
You are going to start doing renovations on a bedroom in month 3, and then the rent from that bedroom only becomes available in the 6th month after the spreadsheet begins. In this case you would:

1) input the extra maintenance cost in 'Year 1 breakdown', under the 'Money Out' section, in the 3rd month, in a purple cell - either in Cell H42 (maintenance), or Cell H50 (other) is fine.
2) input the full rents in the 'Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp' sheet, and then in the 'Year 1 Breakdown' sheet, reduce 1 rent level for the first 5 months. This would represent that the first 5 months has 1 less rent coming in.

===Sheet 6) - Yearly Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is throughout the 40 years, broken down by years 1-40. Each column represents 1 year, and you need to scroll sideways, to see all 40 years.

Check that the rate of inflation is set to 3%, and the rent increase rate is set to at least 2%.

There is a 3% increase in the ‘Mortgage Interest rate change’ sheet over the first 10 years. This is how we '''stress test''' for unforeseen interest rate hikes. The actual interest rate is inputted per loan in the New Loans or Existing Loans sheet. The lender's interest rate (often Ecology Building Society, or Triodos) includes the Bank of England 'base rate' that fluctuates.

=Testing the viability of the spreadsheet=

Once '''all sheets''' have been filled in, there are a number of things to check that the business plan is viable/sustainable, that income covers all expenditure, and that the bank balance remains positive.

On the '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''ongoing surplus''' is positive and ideally above £1200 per year.

On the '''Year 1 Breakdown''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''balance''' is positive. Scroll to the right and check all 12 month bank balances are positive.

The '''Yearly Breakdown''' page is the main page to pay attention to to see that the business plan is viable. The bank balance needs to be positive at all times. On version 3.3.5 of the spreadsheet, the Bank Balance appears on Row 93, but in other versions it may appear higher or lower than this.

At the bottom of the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page, there is a graph that represents the bank balance over 40 years. This should have an upward trend, which means that the co-op is accumulating money over time and therefore can cover any unexpected costs.