Looking for an Australia visa business plan? You're in the right place.
The Business Innovation and Investment program closed to new applicants in July 2024, so the question is now narrower than it used to be. A founder who already holds a subclass 188 visa has to show Migration Queensland a real business: who owns it, who runs it, what it earns, who it employs and what funds moved into Queensland. A template doesn't show what a real answer looks like for a small technical firm.
In this article we'll walk through a complete sample plan for a flood and stormwater modeling consultancy in Brisbane, written around the documents Migration Queensland lists. We'll cover the executive summary, the SWOT analysis and, in particular, all of the financials.
Here's what you'll take away:
- The route check: see what is still open in Queensland and what is closed, so you know which pathway a plan like this serves before you write one
- The document map: match each item Migration Queensland lists to the section of the plan that covers it, so nothing is left to a reader's guess
- The hours table: check billable hours against the people on the payroll before an assessor or an accountant does
- The Queensland jobs and spending figures: show payroll, rent and hiring dates in numbers that can be tested
- The SWOT analysis: name the thin spots, such as a firm of three, without putting a reader off
- The five-year profit, cash flow and balance sheet: understand how a firm with no debt shows it can last
- The stress table and downside case: have an answer ready for "what if fees run 20% short?", with the steps you would take
We write business plans. We don't give immigration advice, and Migration Queensland and the Department of Home Affairs make the decisions. The business is fictional, so take what fits and change the rest.
In this plan
- Corymbia Hydraulics in Brief
- What Corymbia Does
- Who Buys a Flood Study, and What Else They Could Do
- Hours, Fees and Fixed-Fee Projects
- Finding Work Without a Sales Team
- The People Behind Corymbia
- Queensland Jobs and Spending
- Cash Lows, Stress Cases and the Cash Floor
- Funding, Hours and the Five-Year Numbers
- Sources
Want your own version of this australia visa business plan: flood modeling consultancy business plan? We can write it for you.
Corymbia Hydraulics in Brief
Corymbia Hydraulics Pty Ltd is a flood and stormwater modeling consultancy in inner Brisbane, Queensland. It builds hydraulic models of creeks, drains and floodplains, and turns them into the flood impact assessments and drainage designs that developers, civil consultants and property owners need to lodge development applications. Marek Lindqvist founded the company and owns all of it. He holds a subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa that was granted before the program closed.
The company has $550,000 of Marek's funds, with no debt. It bills $536,963 in 2027, $830,400 in 2028 and $1,085,900 in 2029, and the team grows from three people to six by April 2030.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $536,963 | $830,400 | $1,085,900 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($153,015) | $6,406 | $65,761 |
| Closing cash | $281,550 | $267,744 | $317,845 |
Year 1 loses money because three salaries are paid while sold hours climb from 55% to 92% of capacity. Year 2 earns $6,406, Year 3 $65,761 and Years 4 and 5 $75,063 and $89,732. The downside case cuts every revenue line by 20%, and the company stays cash-positive at every year end with a response described below. The stress table shows that a 10% shortfall in fees leaves the company without a profit in any of the five years.
Reading notes. Corymbia is invented. Amounts are in Australian dollars, shown with a plain dollar sign and before GST. The plan is addressed to one reader: Migration Queensland, which assesses Queensland nominations for holders of a subclass 188 visa applying for the permanent subclass 888 Business Innovation and Investment visa. Home Affairs decides the visa, and the Queensland agency decides the nomination. Neither decision turns on a plan, and Corymbia gives no immigration advice. Rules and amounts change, so the sources at the end say which page each rule came from.
Which route does this plan serve?
The Business Innovation and Investment Program has been closed to new applications since 31 July 2024, and applications lodged earlier are still processed. Migration Queensland now assesses nominations only for eligible 188 holders applying for an extension or for the permanent 888 visa. The National Innovation visa (subclass 858) is a separate route for people with an internationally recognised record of exceptional achievement, applied for by invitation with a nominator, and it does not ask for a business plan. This sample therefore does not serve a new founder arriving without a visa; no route that assesses a business plan for one was found. It serves a founder who holds a 188 and whose Queensland company is the subject of the 888 nomination.
For an Expression of Interest submitted after 1 July 2021, the Queensland page lists at least AUD 1.25 million transferred to Queensland after the 188 was granted, and at least AUD 400,000 invested in one or two qualifying businesses in Greater Brisbane or the Gold Coast (AUD 300,000 in regional Queensland). Earlier Expressions of Interest have different figures, so the founder's own date decides which tier applies, and this sample does not state one. The $550,000 here is the part of the transferred funds that sits in the company.
Migration Queensland lists evidence, not a plan template. Its page for the Business Innovation stream asks for a summary of business activity, an organisational chart, ownership and management documents, tax records, financial documents, evidence of employees, net assets and evidence of funds moved to Queensland. It does not name a business plan as a required document, so this plan works as a supporting description that sits beside the records.
| Item Migration Queensland lists | Where this plan covers it | What the plan cannot replace |
|---|---|---|
| Summary of business activity | This section and "What Corymbia Does" | Nothing: this is the summary |
| Organisational chart | "The People Behind Corymbia" and the personnel table | A signed chart from the company |
| Business ownership and management | "What Corymbia Does", "The People Behind Corymbia" | Company registry extracts |
| Taxation (Business Activity Statements) | Not covered | The company's actual lodged statements |
| Financial documents and net assets | The five-year model and the balance sheet | The accountant's actual accounts; the model is a projection |
| Evidence of employees | "Queensland Jobs and Spending" | Payroll records |
| Funds transferred to Queensland | The funding table and note | Bank and transfer evidence |
| Evidence of living in Queensland | Not covered | Lease, rates or utility records |
What Corymbia Does
Legal name: Corymbia Hydraulics Pty Ltd, a private company registered in Queensland. Owner: Marek Lindqvist, 100%. Premises: an inner-Brisbane office of about 150 square meters, leased for three years. Model start: 1 January 2027. The model opens a fresh set of books on that date. The company has traded since 2025 from the founder's home on small projects, which the model does not carry. Stage: trading, with a pipeline of quoted projects worth about $140,000 on 1 January 2027 and none yet under contract. The first three months of billing, $103,833, rest on that pipeline, which is the thinnest evidence in the plan.
Purpose
Give a developer, a civil consultant or a council a flood model it can defend, built to the brief a planning assessor will apply to it.
How does Corymbia earn its fees?
| Revenue line | Pricing | Year 1 share of fees |
|---|---|---|
| Flood and drainage assessment reports | A fixed fee per site, about 90 hours and $17,500 on average in 2027 dollars | 52.0% |
| Stormwater and drainage design | A fixed fee per project, scoped from the drawings | 34.0% |
| Model maintenance and advice retainers | A monthly fee, $1,800 on average, to keep a finished model current and answer questions | 14.0% |
What must a Queensland engineering firm have in place?
Anyone providing professional engineering services in an approved area of engineering in or for Queensland must be a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ), work only under the direct supervision of an RPEQ, or work only to a prescriptive standard (Board of Professional Engineers Queensland guidance). Marek holds RPEQ registration. The senior flood engineer, hired in January 2027, is also an RPEQ, so two registered engineers can sign reports from the first month. The graduate, the modeler and the project engineer work under their direct supervision. Registration fees and renewal dates are not in the figures as separate amounts and sit in the registration, memberships and training line.
Goals through 2029
- Fees of $536,963 in 2027, $830,400 in 2028 and $1,085,900 in 2029.
- About 26 fixed-fee projects in 2027 and 46 in 2029, and retainers rising from about four clients in December 2027.
- First profit in 2028, at $6,406, and $65,761 in 2029.
- Five full-time people by April 2029, all employed in Brisbane.
What Corymbia will not do
Corymbia does not certify structures, design roads or buildings, or act as a surveyor. It sells models and the engineering opinion that goes with them. A client keeps its own civil designer, planner and surveyor.
Who Buys a Flood Study, and What Else They Could Do
Who are the buyers?
Three kinds of client account for the fees, and each reads a report differently.
The development manager. A residential or mixed-use developer needs a flood impact assessment to lodge with a council. The report has to answer the assessor's questions on the first pass, because every request for more information adds weeks to a program with a bank behind it.
The civil consultant. A multidisciplinary civil firm without its own flood modelers buys the hydraulic work and builds its drainage design on top. These clients return with a new site every few weeks and become retainer clients when they want their models kept current.
The property owner. A landowner or body corporate asks whether a site floods and what an extension or a flood-resilient rebuild would need. Projects are small and fees are lower, and many come by referral from a planner or a lender.
What do clients do today?
A client has four options: a large multinational engineering firm with a hydraulics team, a mid-size civil design firm with in-house hydraulics, a sole-trader modeler, or a council's own flood study where one exists. The large firm brings depth and a price to match. The mid-size firm bundles flood work with its own design and is slow to take work that is not already its own. The sole trader is quick and cheap but is one illness away from missing a lodgement date. No market size or competitor figure is quoted, because none was found from a primary source that fits a firm of this size.
| Alternative | What it does well | Where a client may still hesitate | Corymbia's response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large multinational firm | Depth, resources, a name a lender recognizes | Price, and a junior team on small sites | A principal on every job, fixed fees quoted before work starts |
| Mid-size civil design firm | One firm for flood and drainage | Flood work is a side line and the queue favors its own design clients | A flood-only team that takes work from civil firms |
| Sole-trader modeler | Speed and a low rate | Cover for leave, review by a second registered engineer | Two RPEQs from the first month and a graduate to do the routine work |
| Council flood study | Free where it exists | Often too coarse for a single site and cannot be relied on for a development application | A site-specific model that refines the council's results |
SWOT
| Strengths | An RPEQ principal with 12 years of flood-model work, a senior engineer in post from month 1, fixed-fee quotes, no debt and a retainer line that earns while projects are quiet. |
| Weaknesses | A firm of three in Year 1, fees that depend on the principal's own sales, no signed contract at model start and thin margins (6.1% net in Year 3). |
| Opportunities | Retainers from civil firms that already send work, a second senior engineer in April 2029 who frees the principal to sell, and referral work from planners and lenders. |
| Threats | A fall in development applications in Queensland, a larger firm cutting its price, the loss of one registered engineer, and a council changing the flood modeling standard it accepts, which would mean updated models for retainer clients. |
Hours, Fees and Fixed-Fee Projects
How are fees built?
Fees are hours sold times a rate. The principal sells 1,000 hours a year at full pace, because he also sells and manages. Each senior engineer or modeler sells 1,350 hours and the graduate and the project engineer 1,300. The 2027 hourly rates are $260, $200, $140, $165 and $160 for the principal, senior, graduate, modeler and project engineer, rising 3% a year with pay. All rates are planning figures to test against Brisbane quotes.
| Year | Hours at full pace | Hours sold | Share sold | Fees per hour sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 3,650 | 2,753 | 75.4% | $195 |
| Year 2 | 4,888 | 4,301 | 88.0% | $193 |
| Year 3 | 6,013 | 5,411 | 90.0% | $201 |
| Year 4 | 7,325 | 6,592 | 90.0% | $203 |
| Year 5 | 7,650 | 6,885 | 90.0% | $208 |
Hours sold divide by about 90 hours a project to give roughly 26 fixed-fee projects in Year 1, 46 in Year 3 and 54 in Year 5, in addition to the retainers. A 90% share sold is high for a small firm, and it is the first number a reader should push on. The stress table shows the effect of five points fewer.
Why fixed fees?
Clients ask for a number before work starts, and the fixed fee goes into a developer's budget before a site is bought. The risk is the firm's: a model that needs more runs than quoted costs the firm hours, not the client. Each quote carries an allowance for two rounds of council comment, and a third round is billed at the hourly rate.
What do retainers add?
A retainer keeps a finished model current as drawings and rainfall data change, and answers a civil consultant's questions without a new quote. At $1,800 a month it takes about nine hours at the blended $200 rate. Retainers are 14.0% of fees in Year 1 and 26.0% in Year 5 and are the most predictable revenue in the plan.
What does the work cost beyond people?
Modeling and GIS software is $24,000 in Year 1 and $46,000 by Year 5, and survey, LiDAR data, printing and subcontracted drafting come to 6% of fees. Professional indemnity and public liability insurance is 3.5% of fees, or $18,800 in Year 1. These lines are planning figures that a broker's and a software supplier's quotes replace before the lease is signed.
Finding Work Without a Sales Team
What does Year 1 marketing cost?
Year 1 marketing is $38,000: $14,000 of launch spending from the raise plus $24,000 of operating budget. Over about 26 projects and four retainer clients that is roughly $1,270 a client. The operating budget rises to $40,000 by Year 5.
| Where the money goes | Year 1 spend | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Website and capability statement (launch) | $8,000 | One page for each client type and a worked example with the client's details removed |
| Introductions to planners, councils and developers (launch) | $6,000 | Meetings in the first quarter with the people who commission flood work |
| Industry events and memberships | $8,000 | Conference and chapter attendance for the principal and the senior engineer |
| Technical notes and short articles | $5,000 | One note a month on a single flood or drainage question |
| Lunch sessions for planning consultants | $4,000 | Four sessions explaining what a development-application flood report must show |
| Search and professional-network ads | $4,000 | Searches from managers who need a flood report for a site |
| Tender portal subscriptions | $3,000 | Notice of public-sector drainage and flood work |
No client is planned to carry more than 15% of fees in any year. In Year 1 that means at least seven fixed-fee clients, and the plan has no figure for how many of the first projects come from one civil consultant.
Milestones
- January 2027: model start, with the principal, a senior flood engineer and a graduate in post.
- March 2027: first three months billed from the quoted pipeline.
- October 2027: first month of positive EBITDA.
- February 2028: the modeler and GIS technician starts.
- April 2029: the second senior engineer starts.
- April 2030: the project engineer starts.
The People Behind Corymbia
Marek Lindqvist, principal engineer and founder
Marek has 12 years in flood and stormwater modeling: seven in municipal and river-basin work in Sweden and five in Queensland, the last three as a senior engineer at a Brisbane civil firm before he set up his own company. He is an RPEQ and holds a subclass 188 visa. He draws $140,000 a year and puts in $550,000 of his own funds.
Where is the team thin?
Marek has no experience running a payroll for more than one person, and no one other than him can win and price a large project. Outside bookkeepers and an accountant keep the books from the first month. He has no business partner and no board; one outside adviser, a retired civil-firm director, is to be asked to meet him each quarter, which carries no budget in the plan. A single senior engineer, hired in January 2027, is the only other registered engineer until April 2029.
What happens if Marek is out?
The senior flood engineer can sign and run live projects for a month, and the graduate can run models under that engineer's supervision. A written handover of the active projects and the retainer list sits with the company's accountant. The plan makes no allowance for key-person insurance.
The hiring order
The principal, a senior flood engineer and a graduate engineer start in January 2027. A modeler and GIS technician starts in February 2028, a second senior engineer in April 2029 and a project engineer in April 2030. The first hire follows when sold hours reach 88% of three people's capacity. The second senior engineer is added when Year 3 fees pass $1,000,000, and the project engineer when sold hours reach 90% of capacity.
Ownership
Marek owns 100% of the company. No dividend is paid in the five years, and the company has no outside investors, so no investor reporting is needed. All figures in the model are the company's, and Marek's own visa costs are personal and outside them.
Queensland Jobs and Spending
How many jobs does the firm create?
By year end the firm employs 3, 4, 5, 6 and 6 full-time people, the founder among them, and all work in Brisbane. The roles are two engineers and a graduate in Year 1, a modeler in Year 2, a second senior engineer in Year 3 and a project engineer in Year 4. Revenue per full-time person rises from $178,988 at the end of Year 1 to $238,517 at the end of Year 5.
Where does the money go?
Payroll with on-costs is $424,560 in Year 1 and $655,750 in Year 3 on the personnel table; with the pay-rise line of $39,935, wages and on-costs paid in Year 3 come to $695,685. Rent is $42,000 in Year 1 and $55,000 in Year 3, on a three-year lease with a Brisbane landlord. Marketing, insurance, software and professional fees add $137,000 in Year 3. How Migration Queensland weighs these figures is for the agency to say; the plan states them and does not score them.
Which businesses does the Queensland page exclude?
The Queensland 888 page lists export, general importing and property development businesses as subject to extra rules or not accepted. Corymbia sells engineering services to Queensland clients. It exports nothing, imports nothing and does not develop property.
Cash Lows, Stress Cases and the Cash Floor
How low does the cash go?
Only 2027 has a monthly path. Its lowest point is about $261,000 in October: month-end cash of $341,490 less $80,100 for 45 days of that month's billing. December's balance sheet carries receivables of $66,201 and shows $281,550. After 2027 the model works in whole years, so the figures quoted for later years are year-end balances. Across the five years the base case bottoms out at $267,744 in Year 2, and the downside case at $94,304 in Year 4.
The stress table
Each row reruns the whole model with a single change, and direct costs stay at 6% of fees throughout.
| Case | Year 1 net income | Year 3 net income | First profitable year | Lowest year-end cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | ($153,015) | $65,761 | Year 2 | $267,744 (Year 2) |
| Fees 5% lower in every year | ($178,252) | $14,724 | Year 3 | $208,460 (Year 2) |
| Fees 10% lower in every year | ($203,489) | ($36,314) | None in five years | $34,441 (Year 5) |
| Sold hours 5 points lower from Year 2 | ($153,015) | $9,053 | Year 3 | $225,010 (Year 3) |
| Wages 5% higher, pay rises included | ($174,243) | $30,977 | Year 3 | $219,351 (Year 2) |
| Rent 10% higher | ($157,215) | $60,261 | Year 2 | $259,214 (Year 2) |
| Clients pay in 75 days, not 45 | ($153,015) | $65,761 | Year 2 | $199,492 (Year 2) |
| The 20% downside, with the management response | ($242,577) | ($11,618) | Year 5 | $94,304 (Year 4) |
| The 20% downside with 75-day payment | ($242,577) | ($11,618) | Year 5 | $6,306 (Year 4) |
A 10% fall in fees wipes out the Year 3 profit, and five points fewer sold hours cut it to $9,053. The base-case profit is therefore fragile. No row runs out of cash, and the lowest balance anywhere in the table is $6,306.
The cash floor
The owner sets a cash floor of $100,000 at every year end, about one month of Year 4 costs. The base case stays above it in every year. The downside case ends Year 4 at $94,304, $5,696 below the floor, and the downside with 75-day payment ends at $6,306. In either case the owner's choices are to arrange a standby overdraft against receivables or to move more of his own funds into the company; neither is in the numbers, and the plan does not say a bank would lend.
What would a reader still ask?
- Evidence for the pipeline: none of the $140,000 of quoted projects is under contract.
- Proof that sold hours reach 88% in Year 2 and 90% after, with no one hired to sell.
- Whether the $200 blended rate holds against the large firms and the mid-size firms in the table.
- The thin profit: 6.1% of fees in Year 3, and how little a fall in sold hours is needed to remove it.
- Dependence on one senior engineer as the only other registered engineer until April 2029.
- Insurance cost and cover, which are set at 3.5% of fees and not quoted by a broker.
- Where the $550,000 came from and how it reached Queensland, with the statements to show it.
- What the model does if the company's actual 2026 accounts differ from the opening position here.
- What a council changing its flood modeling standard would cost the retainer clients.
Funding, Hours and the Five-Year Numbers
One five-year model produces every table in this section: month by month for 2027, then year by year. All amounts are in Australian dollars and exclude GST. The funding and the inputs come first, so a reader can test them before looking at results. Year 1 loses money, Year 2 earns a small profit, and Year 3 earns $65,761 on fees above $1,000,000. With no loan there is no interest or debt cover. The books open on 1 January 2027 for the model; a real file would carry the company's actual accounts.
What opening costs and who pays
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Office fit-out: partitions, meeting room and cabling | $30,000 |
| Six high-memory modeling workstations, screens and a file server | $36,000 |
| Company formation, accounting set-up and lease review | $16,000 |
| Launch: website, capability statement and council and developer introductions | $14,000 |
| Modeling and GIS software set-up and data subscriptions | $12,000 |
| Lease bond (three months) | $12,000 |
| Operating reserve for slow client payment, the first loss-making year and the downside case | $430,000 |
| Total uses | $550,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marek Lindqvist: funds transferred to Queensland and invested in the company | $550,000 |
| Total sources | $550,000 |
Marek Lindqvist puts $550,000 into the company, all in January 2027 and none of it borrowed. Fit-out takes $30,000 and six workstations and a server $36,000. A further $54,000 is expensed at opening: $16,000 for formation, accounting set-up and the lease review, $14,000 for launch marketing, $12,000 for modeling and GIS software set-up and $12,000 for a three-month lease bond. The remaining $430,000 is the operating reserve. It carries the $153,015 loss of Year 1, the first-year slowness of client payment, and the downside case, whose lowest year-end cash is $94,304. The $550,000 is part of the funds the founder has moved to Queensland; the rest is outside the company and outside these figures, as are his own visa and migration costs. Whether any amount counts as a qualifying investment is for Migration Queensland to decide, not this plan.
Rates, hours, payroll and the other inputs
- Fees are hours sold times a rate. Billable hours at full pace are 1,000 a year for the principal, who also sells and manages, 1,350 for each senior or modeller, 1,300 for the graduate and the project engineer. The 2027 rates are $260, $200, $140, $165 and $160 an hour for the principal, senior, graduate, modeller and project engineer. Rates rise 3% a year, the same as pay. They are planning figures; each is tested against quotes from Brisbane firms before the plan is used.
- Year 1 sells 75.4% of capacity, climbing month by month from 55% in January to 92% by November. Years 2 to 5 sell 88%, 90%, 90% and 90%. That is 2,753, 4,301, 5,411, 6,592 and 6,885 hours, a blended $195, $193, $201, $203 and $208 for each hour sold.
- Revenue is split across three lines. Fixed-fee flood and drainage assessment reports are 52% of fees in Year 1 and 44% in Year 5; stormwater and drainage design is 34% falling to 30%; and monthly model-maintenance and advice retainers rise from 14% to 26% as finished models need upkeep. The average fixed-fee project is $17,500 in 2027 dollars, about 90 hours, which gives roughly 26, 46 and 54 projects in Years 1, 3 and 5. A retainer averages $1,800 a month.
- Direct costs are 6% on every line: survey and LiDAR data, printing and subcontracted drafting. One rate on every line avoids the engine's habit of applying the Year 1 blended rate to every year.
- Pay is $140,000 for the principal, $130,000 for each senior engineer, $78,000 for the graduate, $92,000 for the modeller and $100,000 for the project engineer. On-costs are 22%, which covers superannuation, payroll tax where it applies, workers' compensation and leave loading; an accountant confirms the figure. Pay rises 3% a year from Year 2 on a separate line. There is no office manager: bookkeeping and administration are bought in under professional fees at $27,000 a year in Year 1.
- The office is about 150 square meters in inner Brisbane at $42,000 a year in Year 1, with a larger space at $55,000 from Year 3 as the team passes five. These are planning rates, not quotes. Utilities and communications are $6,000.
- Professional indemnity and public liability insurance is 3.5% of fees ($18,800 in Year 1). Modeling and GIS software is $24,000 in Year 1 rising to $46,000. Registration, memberships and training are $9,000 to $16,000, travel and site inspections $8,000 to $16,000. Recruiting fees are $14,000 in Years 2 and 4, when a hire is made. Computers and new-hire kit are $7,000 to $16,000. Bad debt is 1% of fees. These are planning figures for a firm of this size.
- Fit-out depreciates over five years ($6,000 a year) and the workstations over four ($9,000 a year).
- The model applies a flat 25% company tax rate as a planning figure. The rate that applies depends on the company's turnover and income mix, so an accountant confirms it. Losses are carried forward, which is why tax is nil until Year 4. The tax base ignores the $54,000 of start-up costs and does not apply any limit on losses carried forward.
- Clients pay in 45 days, so receivables at the end of Year 1 are $66,201. Suppliers are paid in 20 days. There is no stock.
Where the fees come from
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood and drainage assessment reports (fixed-fee projects) | $279,222 | $415,200 | $521,200 | $615,600 | $629,700 |
| Stormwater and drainage design (fixed-fee projects) | $182,566 | $265,700 | $325,800 | $401,500 | $429,300 |
| Model maintenance and advice retainers (monthly) | $75,175 | $149,500 | $238,900 | $321,200 | $372,100 |
| Total revenue | $536,963 | $830,400 | $1,085,900 | $1,338,300 | $1,431,100 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 55% | 31% | 23% | 7% |
Retainers are 14.0% of fees in Year 1 and 26.0% in Year 5, a rise from $75,175 to $372,100. Assessment reports fall from 52.0% to 44.0% of fees and design work from 34.0% to 30.0%. Year 2 fees are 55% above Year 1 because Year 1 starts at 55% of capacity and holds only three people, and the modeller joins in February 2028. Growth then slows to 31%, 23% and 7%, because no one is hired in Year 5 and sold hours are held at 90% of capacity. Year 3 is the first year above $1,000,000.
The first twelve months of trading
| Month | Flood and drainage assessment reports (fixed-fee projects) | Stormwater and drainage design (fixed-fee projects) | Model maintenance and advice retainers (monthly) | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $16,969 | $11,095 | $4,569 | $32,633 | ($18,388) |
| Feb 2027 | $17,895 | $11,701 | $4,818 | $34,414 | ($16,714) |
| Mar 2027 | $19,129 | $12,507 | $5,150 | $36,786 | ($14,484) |
| Apr 2027 | $20,363 | $13,314 | $5,482 | $39,159 | ($12,254) |
| May 2027 | $21,597 | $14,121 | $5,815 | $41,533 | ($10,022) |
| Jun 2027 | $22,831 | $14,928 | $6,147 | $43,906 | ($7,792) |
| Jul 2027 | $24,066 | $15,735 | $6,479 | $46,280 | ($5,560) |
| Aug 2027 | $25,300 | $16,542 | $6,811 | $48,653 | ($3,330) |
| Sep 2027 | $26,534 | $17,349 | $7,144 | $51,027 | ($1,098) |
| Oct 2027 | $27,768 | $18,156 | $7,476 | $53,400 | $1,133 |
| Nov 2027 | $28,385 | $18,559 | $7,642 | $54,586 | $2,248 |
| Dec 2027 | $28,385 | $18,559 | $7,642 | $54,586 | $2,248 |
Billing starts at $32,633 in January and reaches $54,586 in November and December, as sold hours climb from 55% to 92% of capacity. EBITDA is negative until September, from $18,388 below zero in January to $1,098 below in September, then positive in October ($1,133) and in November and December ($2,248 each). The monthly view spreads annual costs evenly, so it is approximate. The month-end cash path has no receivables timing and reads above the annual balance; after 45 days of receivables the lowest point is about $261,000 in October 2027.
Who is on the payroll
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Principal engineer and founder (Marek Lindqvist) | $140,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Senior flood engineer | $130,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Graduate engineer | $78,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hydraulic modeller and GIS technician | $92,000 | Month 14 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Second senior engineer | $130,000 | Month 28 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Project engineer | $100,000 | Month 40 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $424,560 | $527,447 | $655,750 | $786,900 | $817,400 |
The principal, a senior flood engineer and a graduate engineer open the company in January 2027. The modeller and GIS technician starts in month 14, February 2028, when sold hours reach 88% of three people's capacity. The second senior engineer follows in month 28, April 2029, and the project engineer in month 40, April 2030. At year end the payroll has 3, 4, 5, 6 and 6 full-time people. Payroll with on-costs is $424,560 in Year 1 and $817,400 in Year 5 before pay rises.
Profit and loss
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $536,963 | $830,400 | $1,085,900 | $1,338,300 | $1,431,100 |
| Direct costs (survey and LiDAR data, printing and subcontracted drafting) | ($32,218) | ($49,824) | ($65,154) | ($80,298) | ($85,866) |
| Gross profit | $504,745 | $780,576 | $1,020,746 | $1,258,002 | $1,345,234 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($424,560) | ($527,447) | ($655,750) | ($786,900) | ($817,400) |
| Rent | ($42,000) | ($43,300) | ($55,000) | ($56,700) | ($58,400) |
| Utilities | ($6,000) | ($6,200) | ($7,400) | ($7,600) | ($7,800) |
| Marketing | ($24,000) | ($28,000) | ($32,000) | ($36,000) | ($40,000) |
| Insurance | ($18,800) | ($29,100) | ($38,000) | ($46,800) | ($50,100) |
| Professional fees | ($27,000) | ($29,000) | ($31,000) | ($33,000) | ($35,000) |
| Software subscriptions | ($24,000) | ($30,000) | ($36,000) | ($42,000) | ($46,000) |
| Engineer registration, memberships and training | ($9,000) | ($11,000) | ($13,000) | ($14,500) | ($16,000) |
| Travel and site inspections | ($8,000) | ($10,000) | ($12,000) | ($14,000) | ($16,000) |
| Recruiting fees | $0 | ($14,000) | $0 | ($14,000) | $0 |
| Computer replacement and new-hire kit | $0 | ($7,000) | ($9,000) | ($14,000) | ($16,000) |
| Bad debt allowance | ($5,400) | ($8,300) | ($10,900) | ($13,400) | ($14,300) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($15,823) | ($39,935) | ($72,967) | ($102,591) |
| EBITDA | ($84,015) | $21,406 | $80,761 | $106,135 | $125,643 |
| Depreciation | ($15,000) | ($15,000) | ($15,000) | ($15,000) | ($6,000) |
| Interest | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Income tax | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($16,072) | ($29,911) |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($99,015) | $6,406 | $65,761 | $75,063 | $89,732 |
| Start-up costs expensed at opening (formation, launch marketing, software set-up, lease bond) | ($54,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($153,015) | $6,406 | $65,761 | $75,063 | $89,732 |
Year 1 loses $99,015 before start-up costs and $153,015 after them: EBITDA is $84,015 below zero and depreciation adds $15,000. Year 2 earns $6,406, a net margin of 0.8%, which is break-even in practice. Year 3 earns $65,761 (6.1%), Year 4 $75,063 after $16,072 of tax and Year 5 $89,732 after $29,911. Five-year net income after start-up costs is $83,948. Payroll with pay raises is 79% of fees in Year 1 and 64% in Years 3 to 5. The margin is thin for a firm of this kind, and the stress table shows how little a fall in sold hours is needed to remove the profit.
Where the cash goes
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($202,450) | ($13,806) | $50,101 | $59,775 | $84,596 |
| Fit-out and workstations | ($66,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $550,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loan principal repaid (no debt) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Owner distributions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net change in cash | $281,550 | ($13,806) | $50,101 | $59,775 | $84,596 |
| Closing cash | $281,550 | $267,744 | $317,845 | $377,620 | $462,216 |
Year-end cash never reaches zero. Closing cash is $281,550 in Year 1, $267,744 in Year 2, $317,845 in Year 3, $377,620 in Year 4 and $462,216 in Year 5. Year 2 is the only year cash falls after Year 1, by $13,806, because receivables grow by $36,177 on 45-day terms while the profit is only $6,406. There is no debt and no payout to the owner, so the cash that builds in Years 3 to 5 stays in the company. Fit-out, workstations and start-up costs of $120,000 leave the account in January 2027 out of the $550,000.
What the company owns and owes
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $281,550 | $267,744 | $317,845 | $377,620 | $462,216 |
| Accounts receivable | $66,201 | $102,378 | $133,878 | $164,996 | $176,437 |
| Fit-out and workstations (net) | $51,000 | $36,000 | $21,000 | $6,000 | $0 |
| Total assets | $398,751 | $406,122 | $472,723 | $548,616 | $638,653 |
| Accounts payable | $1,765 | $2,730 | $3,570 | $4,400 | $4,705 |
| Debt (none) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Paid-in capital | $550,000 | $550,000 | $550,000 | $550,000 | $550,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($153,015) | ($146,608) | ($80,847) | ($5,784) | $83,948 |
| Total liabilities and equity | $398,751 | $406,122 | $472,723 | $548,616 | $638,653 |
Break-even and the weight of the payroll
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | -15.7% | 2.6% | 7.4% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -18.4% | 0.8% | 6.1% | 5.6% | 6.3% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 79% | 65% | 64% | 64% | 64% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $178,988 | $207,600 | $217,180 | $223,050 | $238,517 |
| Average monthly revenue | $44,747 | $69,200 | $90,492 | $111,525 | $119,258 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $52,195 | $67,302 | $83,332 | $102,116 | $108,120 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | – | – | – | – | – |
Fees cover operating costs once average monthly fees pass the figure in the second-to-last row. Year 1 averages $44,747 against $52,195 needed, and Year 2 $69,200 against $67,302, the first year to clear it. Year 3 averages $90,492 against $83,332, Year 4 $111,525 against $102,116 and Year 5 $119,258 against $108,120. There is no debt, so no debt cover is shown.
If fees run 20% short
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $429,570 | $664,320 | $868,720 | $1,070,640 | $1,144,880 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($188,577) | ($51,121) | ($11,618) | ($15,903) | $34,406 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($242,577) | ($51,121) | ($11,618) | ($15,903) | $34,406 |
| Closing cash | $204,874 | $140,584 | $119,437 | $94,304 | $125,801 |
In this case all three revenue lines fall 20% from the first month to the last. The owner responds as follows: from September 2027 the principal's pay drops from $140,000 to $112,000; each hire from month 13 onward starts six months later, so the modeller joins in August 2028 and the second senior engineer in October 2029; marketing is cut by 20% from Year 2; and the project engineer is not hired, because at 80% of base fees the existing team has the hours. Nothing else is cut: rent, recruiting fees, computer replacement, insurance, bad debt and professional fees stay at base figures. On those terms the lowest year-end cash is $94,304, in Year 4, and the Year 1 closing equity is $307,423. The case loses money through Year 4 and earns $34,406 in Year 5. Year-end cash sits below the base case throughout. The monthly view covers Year 1 only, so a lower month inside a later year is not shown.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs, Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa, subclass 188: the program is closed as of 31 July 2024 and applications made before that date are still processed.
- Migration Queensland, Business visas: Queensland continues to assess nominations for eligible 188 holders applying for an extension or the permanent subclass 888 visa.
- Migration Queensland, 888 Business Innovation stream: eligibility, the evidence of commitment to Queensland, the investment amounts for each EOI period, the extra rules for export, importing and property development businesses, and the document checklist. The Home Affairs criteria for the 888 visa itself, in the Migration Regulations, were not read for this sample and are not described.
- Department of Home Affairs, National Innovation visa, subclass 858 and National Innovation visa overview: invitation-only, for people with a record of exceptional and outstanding achievement; the Expression of Interest asks for a passport, a CV and evidence of qualification, not a business plan.
- Board of Professional Engineers Queensland, Become a RPEQ: who must be registered, the supervision and prescriptive-standard exceptions, and the eligibility test. This is regulator guidance and the Professional Engineers Act text was not read.
- Hourly rates, pay, rent, insurance, software, the tax rate, on-costs, project hours and the retainer price are the plan's own planning figures and carry no source. The plan quotes no market size, competitor fact or approval statistic, and no visa fee; fees change, and the current amounts are on the Home Affairs site.
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