Checkout.Com: Strategic Planning for Growth and Financial Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Checkout.Com's growth strategies. It begins with an introduction to growth planning and its importance, followed by an examination of key considerations for evaluating growth opportunities using the BCG and GE matrices. The report then delves into PESTLE analysis to understand the macro-environment and its impact on the company, particularly in the context of expanding into the Australian market. The Ansoff growth matrix is used to identify suitable growth strategies, with market development being identified as the most appropriate. The report also assesses potential funding sources, including internal and external options like bank loans and overdrafts, along with their respective advantages and disadvantages. The report concludes by discussing business plans and exit or succession options for Checkout.Com.

Planning for Growth

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Key considerations for evaluating growth opportunities..................................................3
P2 Ansoff’s growth vector matrix..........................................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
P3 Assess the potential sources of funding............................................................................7
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
P4 Business plan...................................................................................................................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................13
P5 Exit or succession options...............................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Planning for growth is defined as using those strategic tools that can be used by the
business in order to provide assistance in respect to attain growth. Growth planning is an
essential aspect of the business which deals with expanding business in prominent way. These
dimensions are significant for the business to deal with their resources in such a way that proper
results can be attained and the same can be converted into organisational success (Ballaro and
Polk, 2017). In order to attain competitive advantage these activities are playing significant role
and helping the business to target their requisite market and to grab those customers to attain
sustainability. This report is prepared so that to understand concepts of growth planning in the
respect of Checkout.Com which is providing payment processing services to their customers.
Checkout.Com is associated with rendering budgeted payment services to their customers and by
providing high edge services Checkout.Com is having prominent market image. This report is
covering aspects by which Checkout.Com can upgrade their business along with a business plan
which is propounded by them in order to get succession over business objectives.
TASK 1
P1 Key considerations for evaluating growth opportunities
In current business environment profits are one of the primal aspect which is desired by
the business by selling product and services. This is significant for the business that they
examine growth options so that to inhale sustainability opportunities. For Checkout.Com,
manager of the business are required to examine growth opportunities in such a manner that
business can attain high options for growth survival (Pugalis and et. al., 2016).
Boston Consultancy Group Matrix
BCG matrix is a mix of product portfolio in which strategic intent and planning can be
ascertained by the business due to which growth opportunities can be inhaled in sufficient way.
In order to make proper investment in business, BCG is playing significant role in managing the
same. In the context of Checkout.Com this matrix is elaborated as under:

(Source: How to use the BCG matrix model, 2020)
Dogs: This is the dimension under which the product is included which is having low
market share so for these products businesses are not focused over advertising the same as no
returns are expected. In the context of Checkout.Com their Anyvan payment services are
included in this category (Mohajan, 2017).
Cash Cows: This is associated with gaining profits in continual manner so that this
category is profitable to invest. Under this category ACE money transfer systems are included
that are providing safe and reliable payment services to users.
Star: This is associated with the segment of the company under which huge cash is being
generated and the same are included in star category. Checkout.Com is providing card
processing system in which flexible services are delivered to their customer and these are
providing higher profits to Checkout.Com.
Question Mark: This includes the segment under which those services are added as
organisation tends to loose market image. Under this future investments are prepared by the
company so that to fill up market requirements. In the context of Checkout.Com, insufficient
payment services are included in this category.
GE Matrix
This matrix was propounded by McKinsey, this is a nine cell grid in which industry
attractiveness and business units are included (Boafo, 2018). This is an enhanced version of BCG
matrix in which manager can use this aspect in order to determine industry attractiveness. In the
context of Checkout.Com this matrix is explained as under:

Invest/ grow: This is considered as most attractive and productive business unit in which market
growth opportunities can be inhaled. For Checkout.Com the company is investing more in
enhancing gateway of their payment services. This could lead the investors to face
competitions in the market.
Hold/ selective: This cell within GE matrix is associated with question mark products are
included in which low market share and high growth is ascertained. Under this grid industry
attractiveness is moderate due to which modifications can be inhaled. In the context of
Checkout.Com, in order to make their question mark product star best features can be
included in those services. Under this high innovation and improvements are required due to
which high market share can be attained.
Divest/ harvest: This grid is associated with nominal business performance and unattractive
industry results. Under this cell, dog category products are included. In the context of
Checkout.Com the services which are not giving any kind of profit to the company should
be stopped and investment should be made in another type of services so that to enhance
market share (Mittal and et. al., 2018).
PESTLE analysis:-
This aspect is helpful in understanding macro environment and to examine business
impact from the same. For Checkout.com the company is willing to expand their business in
Australian market so in this context PESTLE analysis is elaborated as under:
Political:- These are the factors which relate to rules and governmental regulations which brings
stability within county. Australia is a stable country in which prominent opportunities are
being held by SME's in order to expand and invest. So for Checkout.com the country is
providing higher advantage in terms of balance and certainty.
Economical:- This is associated with fluctuation in foreign exchange, inflation and other factors.
Economy of Australia is providing immense opportunities to businesses for growth and
relatable options. So in this respect, Checkout.com is getting higher support to expand their
business in order to generate high sales (Widiatama, Hamid and Matrono, 2018).
Social:- This is based over taste and preferences of customer as in context of Australia people
are pertained with higher literacy rate along with high purchasing power which could be
helpful for Checkout.com to place their services in the market in appropriate manner.

Technological: These factors are linked with using latest technology in the business so that to
stay aligned with market trends. For Checkout.com their payment services are using high
technology which is laced with safety measures. Being an IT organisation Checkout.com is
managing their business technologies in effective way so that to deal with market and
provide high end success in the market (Semenchuk and Vasiliha, 2020).
Legal:- These factors are associated with usage of legal frameworks in the business so that to
avoid legal boundations. In the context of Checkout.com, the company is undertaking
diversified workforce in their business so that to avoid any redundancy in the business.
Environmental: These are the factors which undertake those practices by which environmental
harm can be minimised. Under this factor, Checkout.com us managing their financials in
digital manner and avoiding paper use.
P2 Ansoff’s growth vector matrix
Ansoff growth matrix is helpful for the business to increase overall revenue in such a way
that most profitable and prominent business strategy can be adopted. This is a strategic planning
tool which can be used by Checkout.com in order to enhance their sales and profits.
(Source: Ansoff Growth Matrix, 2019)
 Market penetration: This is the strategy which can be used by business in order to
enlarge their market share within existing market. This is advantageous for
Checkout.com in order to get more profits which may lead them to fulfil demands of
customer in prominent manner (Cooper, 2020).

 Market development: Under this development strategy, new markets can be unleashed
with existing product. For Checkout.com they are required to measure market demand in
order to provide awareness to their potential customers. Under this strategy promotional
tools are playing significant role by which awareness can be given to customer in
prominent manner.
 Product development: This is the strategy under which new product is developed within
existing market. For Checkout.com the company can come up with new services in order
to deal with their competitors in significant manner and to attain appropriate market share
as well.
 Diversification: This is the strategy which can be used by businesses in order to enter
into new market along with a new product. This is the most risky strategy which requires
high investment. For Checkout.com this strategy may provide higher market size along
with greater opportunities.
From the above discussion this can be concluded that for Checkout.com the most suitable
strategy could be market development. As the company is willing to enter in the markets of
Australia so this could be the best option to inhale. With the help of market development
Checkout.com can attain higher market size along with higher revenue. Market development is
helpful for the organisation to attain success in various market size and deal with market
prominence as well.
TASK 2
P3 Assess the potential sources of funding
In the process of initiating the business, funds are the primal aspects that are required.
Sometimes due to shortage of funds businesses face some time of complexities and in order to
avoid this situation before opting for business initiation funds are arranged so that situation of
short funds can be eliminated (Loredana, 2017). There are two major sources of raising funds
such as internal and external, by taking assistance of these aspects funds can be gathered for
business expansion. In the context of Checkout.com major sources of funds are elaborated along
with their pros and cons:
Internal Sources: These sources are defined as the sources in which businesses tend to
raise funds by their own capabilities. In this fund requirement are met by all aspects existed

within the organisation. Example of this source is, selling of assets, selling of stock, utilising
retained earnings of the company and collection of debts.
External Sources: Sometimes internal funds of the business are not enough to meet
funds requirement during business expansion and in this manner businesses are required to use
external sources of business. Under this various sources of funds are arranged so that to provide
options for survival to the business. These are the sources in which funds are arranged from
sources existed outside the business. In the context of Checkout.com some of the funds that can
be used by them to arrange funds are elaborated as under:
Bank Loan
In current time bank loan is regarded as one of the most trusted ways to arrange funds in
appropriate manner. Loans are taken by the businesses from banks for short or long term in order
to meet finance requirement of the organisation. Under this at an agreed interest rate and time
funds are borrowed from bank (Gardiner and Scott, 2018). The advantages and disadvantages of
bank loan are elaborated as under:
Advantages: The most essential advantage of borrowing loan from bank is that these are
required to be repaid within short instalments due to which this doesn't create burden. These
instalments and time duration are mentioned by the bank at the time of taking loan.
Disadvantages: Sometimes bank loans are difficult to be repaid so this creates difficulties
for the company to survive for long term. Besides this at the time of taking loan some of the
fixed asset is required to be mortgage so that to provide security against funds to the bank. In this
case risk of losing asset is high due to which bank loan tends to be risky aspect of fund source.
Overdraft: When an organisation is required to gather funds and meet short time business
requirement so in order to deal with this banks are granting overdraft facility to their customers.
This means a corporate account holder may avail more amounts from the bank which is
exceeding to their amount in the bank account. The advantage and disadvantage of overdraft
facility is elaborated as under:
Advantages: Overdrafts are cheaper than bank loans due to which this provides situation
of managing their business expansion (Kim, Kim and Kim, 2019). Besides this by having lower
rate interest, Checkout.com can manage their incoming and outgoing of funds in effective
manner.

Disadvantages: By using overdraft as the source of finance for longer duration of time
overall burden of interest over the company may be increased.
Crowd funding
This is an emerging way of financing for SME's in which very small amount of funds are
gathered by sum of people so that to accumulate huge amount in effective manner. This is a
trending method of financing which is used by businesses in significant manner. Crowd funding
is of two types such as Equity based and reward based. In the type of equity based equity can be
given to investors for investing their money whereas in reward based incentives are provided to
investors in lieu of investing their money.
Advantages: This is time saving method of fund raising in which funds can be
accumulated in effective manner. This method is keeping high chances of converting investors
into potential customers so that to provide succession opportunities to the business. This method
is helpful in order to enhance market image and awareness for products of the organisation in
effective manner so by this huge customer base can be attracted (Demarte, 2017).
Disadvantages: This is not an easy process to get funds from people, so the businesses
are required to put high efforts so that to attract investors in prominent manner which makes this
method time taking. There are huge amount of risk associated with the business as in case the
business fails in accumulating funds this may lead in loosing trust of people those have invested
in the company.
Angel Financing
This is a method which is related with using spare cash of people in such a way that
business expansion can be made.
Advantages: One of the most significant sources of funding is known to be angel
financing under which long term access over funds can be enumerated. Most of the angle
investors are friendly with business tactics that may lead the business to attain success.
Disadvantages: One of the most prominent drawbacks for angel financing is that business
control gets divided due to which problems may be faced during business activities.
For Checkout.com the best method for the company to get funds are bank loan in which
they can grab funds as according to the needs of the business. Bank loan is considered as the
most significant method of accumulating funds in such a way that risk of fund shortage can be
minimised. Besides this when Checkout.com requires funds for short term duration them bank

overdraft can be appropriate method to obtain funds otherwise they can opt for bank loan. These
are the two methods which can be used by Checkout.com so that to expand the business in
marketplace (DeVos, Simon and Aluisio, 2020).
TASK 3
P4 Business plan
Business plan is defined as a written document which is helpful in describing plan of
action which is made by the business. Business plan is associated with aspects of marketing,
finance, sales and other strategy which is helpful for the business to gain insight in respect of
profits and market prominence as well. In business plan relevant projection is enlightened due to
which a proper pathway can be created due to which goals and business objectives can be
attained in appropriate manner within stipulated period of time. Business plan is a detailed
inclusion of controlling measures, monitoring measures, evaluation measures and many more so
that to provide appropriate working to the operations and functions by which continuous
improvement can be made within business processes. In order to inhale success in proposed plan
the foremost step for Checkout.com is deciding their vision, mission and objectives so that to get
effective performance throughout the plan. By making effective business plan, the organisation
can stay adhered to business objectives and manuals which could lead in accomplishing market
prominence as well. This is a plan which inculcates all the policies and goals along with the time
frame of achieving the same. Checkout.com is planning to expand their business in Australian
market and for this it is imperative that they formulate plans and actions in appropriate manner
so as to render flexibility within operations and clarity in understanding roles and responsibility
in clear manner (Bione, 2017).
Organisational background: Checkout.com is an business organisation which is
providing services related to payment gateway to their customer so that to make their payment
experience easier and hustle free. The company is engaged in using prominent services in their
business so that to render innovative services along with better payment experience to their
customers. Checkout.com is providing prompt and reliable payment services to their customer so
that to integrate innovation and high technology in their payment services.
 Vision:- Vision of Checkout.com is to cut down major complexities so that to empower
the business and to manage status quo as well. For Checkout.com their vision of the

company is to make positive changes in payment gateway so that to eliminate prominent
errors within payment gateways and to render positive changes.
 Mission: Checkout.com is providing most flexible services to their customer in order to
meet needs and demands. In this manner mission of Checkout.com is to improvise
payment gateway system so that to create prominent value for the organisation.
 Strategic objectives: Checkout.com is aiming at attaining profitability of 25% within 2
years of gap. In order to attain this objective customer demands are analysed in such a
way that higher transparency within business operations.
 Financial information: This is associated with financials capabilities of the company so
that to stay adhered to available resources. Thus Checkout.com is accumulating their
funds from external and internal sources so that to expand their business in easier
manner.
For business expansion an appropriate budget is required so that to recognise areas in
which appropriate investment is required and in this way various operations can be performed in
apt way. Budget is used to analyse sales forecast in a way that overall expenses can be controlled
in better way through analysing need of those expenses in appropriate way. There are varied type
of cost which are available in the form of advertising, promotional activities etc which are
categorised as under:
Total forecasted budget
Particular 31/12/15 ($) 31/12/16 ($) 31/12/17 ($)
Implementing
technology cost
16000 - -
Promotional expense 8000 9000 8000
Advertisement
expense
5000 6600 6800
Catalogues 3000 5000 4000
Training charges 7500 7000 7500
Total Cost 39500 27600 26300

As per the above analysis management of Checkout.com is managing various aspects of
their expenses in such a way that they get effectiveness to operate business functions as in the
process of expanding their business in market of Australia.
The cash flow statement shows that Checkout.com is having appropriate amount of
capital in order to manage assets and liabilities in significant manner. As from the above cash
flow this can be seen that Checkout.com is having appropriate amount of funds as in the year of
2015 the year end cash stood for $102203, 2016 it is $200354 and in 2017 it is $238503. Besides
this average income for coming 3 years of $102203, 2016 it is $200354 and in 2017 it is
$238503 for Checkout.com.
TASK 4
P5 Exit or succession options
Exit Plan: Each SME is required to keep prominent business strategy so that to deal with failure
and to leave the market at a particular point of time. Exit plan is the option by which market can
be left and at the same time money can be received in lieu of this (Saymaz and Lambert, 2019).
The exit plan is made in order to pay off all the liabilities which are required so that to deal with
complexities and unplanned situation. There are various plans which can be adopted by
Checkout.com in order to exit the market which are elaborated as under:
Winding Up: This is an easy way to exit from the market in which assets of the business
can be sold in order to pay off all the liabilities. This is helpful for Checkout.com as in
discharging liabilities which could lead in paying off any remaining debts so that to manage their
position as well. Winding up is associated with two procedures such as voluntary and
compulsory, under compulsory winding up by order of court liabilities are paid off. On the other
hand in voluntary winding up companies get involved in these processes by taking initiatives by
their own.
Advantages: The prominent advantage of winding up that it is a simple process which
can be done in easy and barrier free manner.
Disadvantages: When a business is planning to exit then this is imperative that they are
going to get lowest rate on return. The other disadvantage of winding up is that for the first
instance debts are required to be paid and in case any amount left that can be taken by owner. In