HC · COMPANY BUILDER
One company.
Six months of decisions.
Run a fictional café for six months. Learn pricing, stock, profit, cash flow and funding through connected business decisions with worked financial explanations.
Start or resume your company →
Your challenge
Begin with £1,200 owner capital. Finish six months with cumulative profit of at least £1,200, at least £300 closing cash, and no month ending in a cash shortfall. Choose your price, stock order, supplier, advertising, loan funding and capacity investment. Before committing, forecast the separate effects on profit and cash.
Learn from the consequences
A higher price increases revenue per sale but reduces forecast demand. Cheap supplies may arrive late. Buying extra stock costs money, and unsold café stock spoils. Customers paying next month create receivables today. A loan puts cash into the business but also creates a liability and interest costs.
Each completed month saves your decisions and shows a worked explanation. A price comparison lets you revisit the same opening position with another price. The closing company report shows cash, receivables, equipment, debt and owner equity.
The transparent teaching model
- Prices are £8, £10 or £12. Demand is the displayed base demand multiplied by 1.25, 1 or 0.75, rounded down. A £100 campaign adds 35 potential sales.
- Sales are limited by demand, delivered stock and capacity. Initial capacity is 180 units; a £400 equipment purchase adds 60 units immediately.
- Undelivered stock is not charged. All delivered stock is expensed in the same month: units are sold or spoiled, with no closing inventory.
- Revenue equals units sold × price. Profit equals revenue minus delivered-stock cost, fixed costs, advertising, loan interest and depreciation.
- Credit sales are 25% of revenue, or 50% in month three. They are collected in the following month. Opening receivables are zero. Final receivables remain unpaid at the six-month report.
- Cash equals opening cash + customer receipts − cash operating costs − equipment payments + new borrowing − principal repayments.
- Borrow in £500 increments up to £1,000 total over the campaign. Repay up to £250 per month. Fictional interest is 2% of closing loan principal, rounded to the nearest pound, and paid monthly.
- Equipment is purchased once and depreciates £40 per month from purchase, with no separate cash payment for depreciation.
All assumptions and shocks are displayed before decisions. This version uses no random outcomes, AI or live market data. A cash shortfall stops the campaign; the model does not automatically create an overdraft. There is no tax, owner drawing or hidden liability. The cash goal is checked at month end and does not model payment timing within the month.
Connect practice to your learning
These are general business concepts, not a complete exam-board assessment or predicted grade. Read GCSE and A-level business terms and course sources, try the profit margin calculator, and explore enterprise value versus equity value when you review your company.
Your saved company
Progress is saved on this device, separately for a guest or signed-in HC profile. Clearing browser data removes that local save. It does not sync between devices. Starting a new company replaces this campaign only; other HC learning progress is retained.