Project performance, in focus.

From the Excel structure to a web model

This web tool draws on the structure of REDDCostModel_VN_7_Sep_2026_Edited.xlsm: general information, personnel, contractors, supplies, assets, travel and other costs, including quantities, unit prices and schedules. The supplied file contained no project inputs. Initial figures are illustrative examples created for this application.

This is an extended financial simulation, not a complete equivalent conversion of Excel/VBA. VBA modules were read through text extraction; macros were not executed. Version 2 adds 7 cost sheets, 13 item types, A–I allocation, 3 purpose categories and 6 cost-characteristic categories. Assets include purchase/replacement, maintenance and fuel; travel includes transport, accommodation, per diem and additional lump sums. Classification tables do not automatically apply economies-of-scale factors.

Formulas used

• Cost in year t = all components due that year, converted to USD, multiplied by the escalation factor and (1 − budget reduction). Escalation exponent = max(0, calendar year − price base year). Detailed personnel costs use salary growth. Fees, taxes and forest-use-right fees have an inflation factor of 1, following VBA. Other costs use USD reporting-currency inflation; asset, travel and activity components use their parent item factor. This also applies to older saved files, including those previously using item-currency inflation. VND/EUR inflation is for reference only when reporting in USD.
• Annual saleable credits = area × emission reductions/ha/year × (1 − leakage) × (1 − buffer). Deductions are applied sequentially.
• There is no revenue before the first issuance year, and no accumulation of credits from earlier years. From the first issuance year onward, the same quantity is issued annually.
• Net revenue = saleable credits × selling price × (1 − selling fee). The USD price and exchange rates stay fixed; costs escalate at the entered rates. Convert VND to USD by dividing by VND/USD; convert EUR using VND/EUR divided by VND/USD.
• PV of costs = Σ cost_t / (1 + discount rate)^t. NPV = PV of net revenue − PV of costs. BCR = PV of net revenue / PV of costs.
• Break-even price = PV of costs / [PV of credits × (1 − selling fee)]. Target price = break-even price × (1 + target markup). The markup is cost-based, not a margin on revenue.

Excel/VBA implementation details

• Personnel: core and field teams; number of people × annual salary/benefits per person, over the employment period.
• Contractors & supplies: quantity × unit price, following the recurrence schedule. Unit labels do not automatically multiply costs by 12 months or by area.
• Assets: purchased initially and replaced at the end of each useful life if replacement is enabled. Actual maintenance, including zero, overrides the percentage method and is multiplied by asset quantity. Fuel is the total for the entire item; it is not multiplied by asset quantity again. Maintenance/fuel starts in the purchase year and stops at the end of useful life if replacement is disabled.
• Travel: road, water and air fares are per person/trip; accommodation uses people × (days − 1); per diem uses people × days. Lump sums are per trip and added to other components. Set components already included in a lump sum to zero to avoid double counting.
• Activities: contractors, supplies, fuel, travel and other costs: each component = unit price × quantity/occurrence × occurrences/year.
• End-year treatment: VBA excludes the end year for contractors, supplies, travel and activities; the web tool provides an “Exclude end year” option. The default includes it to preserve older saved results. Personnel and other costs include the end year.
• Allocation: A–I must total 100%; I is unallocated by default. VBA aggregates A–H; the web tool retains I separately and in project totals to prevent loss of budget. This difference is intentional.
• Forest-use rights & land tax: enter the applicable project fee; land tax = area × tax/ha/year. The progressive Indonesian IDR fee formula in General Information B59:O67 is not automatically applied to Vietnam.

Colour rules

Red: negative NPV or no saleable credits. Amber: break-even but below the target markup, or no costs entered. Green: positive costs and credits, NPV ≥ 0 and selling price at least equal to the target. This is a financial assessment under assumptions, not a prediction of success or a quality certification.

Scope & limitations

Year-0 costs are not discounted; years 1…N use end-of-year cash flows. Year 1 is the starting calendar year + 1. The model does not include income tax, financing structure, grants, ancillary revenue, salvage value, wildfire probability or variable credit issuance. Add these if needed before making investment decisions. Budget reductions cannot substitute for MRV, forest protection or community obligations.

References

Kandulu, Pham & Wheeler (2026) — Technical Methodology and Conceptual Framework ↗

Kandulu, Wheeler & Pham (2026) — Benefit–Cost Analysis Tool User Manual ↗

Descriptions and bibliographic information for these two publications were consulted on Research @ Flinders. Full-text PDFs were not obtained to verify each equation. Web formulas are disclosed above and have not been confirmed equivalent to the authors’ model. There is no official endorsement by Flinders University.

Data storage

Data is saved locally in your browser and does not sync across devices. Export JSON for backup and CSV for cash-flow review. This application does not import or execute XLSM files.

1. Prepare and open the practice scenario

1. Prepare forest area, project duration, itemised budgets, exchange rates, expected credits and a sourced purchase offer.
2. If you already have project data, click Export data at the top of the page to back it up first.
3. Download the practice scenario JSON above. Go to Data & costs → Import saved JSON and select the file. Importing replaces the current data and saved scenarios with the file contents.
4. The scenario covers 1,000 ha, 15 items across 13 cost types, over 2027–2061. Total undiscounted cost is USD 2,385,518.34. The Overview rounds this to USD 2.39 million.

XLSM files cannot be imported directly. JSON is for backup/restore; CSV is for reviewing results, not re-importing. Practice data is illustrative, not a market quote or an independently assessed project.

2. Set general assumptions

Enter 3 to mean 3%, not 0.03. Quantities and unit prices must be non-negative; start/end years and recurrence intervals must be integers.

3. Enter all 7 cost groups

In Data & costs, scroll to Cost inventory. Add the appropriate type and open the item to edit its name, currency, quantity, price and schedule. Edit or remove legacy aggregate items when replacing them with details to prevent double counting.

Schedules and allocation

“Every … years” is the gap between costs, not occurrences/year. Enable “Exclude end year” for contractors, supplies, travel and activities to match VBA. Personnel and other costs include the end year.

A–I must total 100%. A–H represent functions; I retains unallocated costs. For VBA comparison, allocate 100% to A–H and set I = 0, since VBA sums only A–H. Purpose and characteristic classifications are two views of the same budget; do not add them together.

4. Read results and warning colours

• Total cost: the full period, undiscounted; use the breakdown to identify large items.
• Break-even price: the price covering discounted costs and selling fees under the assumptions.
• Target price: break-even price × (1 + target markup).
• NPV: PV of net revenue − PV of costs. BCR is the ratio of those two present values.

Green reflects financial assumptions only. The self-completed checklist does not certify eligibility to issue credits. Sensitivity cells use NPV alone and can be green while the overall assessment is amber.

5. Compare prices and adjust your plan

1. Click Save scenario to preserve the original plan.
2. Go to Market references. Read the source, date, standard and transaction scope. Published figures are historical references, not current quotes for your project.
3. Enter a partner/project name, offer price and source/date in the custom reference section to calculate NPV at that price.
4. Return to Overview and try the price slider, or edit individual items in Data & costs. Apply target price identifies a required offer price; it does not guarantee a buyer.
5. Go to Scenarios & sensitivity lets you compare price and cost changes of ±20%, holding other assumptions constant. Save the new plan before restoring an older one.

In the practice scenario, USD 15 gives a red result; break-even is approximately USD 22.56 and target price is USD 25.95. Apply target price to see green under these assumptions. Do not cut MRV, forest protection or community benefits simply to change the colour.

6. Save, export and restore

• Autosave: data stays in this browser on this device and does not sync to an account. Clearing browser data may remove it.
• Save scenario: retain up to 20 assumption sets on this device. Restoring replaces the currently active assumptions.
• Export data: download JSON containing inputs, scenarios and results. Use this backup for re-importing.
• Export cash flow CSV: in Overview; review annual costs, credits, revenue, net cash flow and present values.
• Export detailed costs CSV: in Data & costs; review component totals over the full period.
• Restore original example: replaces current inputs with the default example but retains saved scenarios. Export JSON first.

7. Troubleshooting