Billable utilisation

Billable days divided by working days, per photographer. 71% at maturity against a break-even of 39.9% — the single most important assumption in the plan.

Blended day rate

Revenue divided by billable days. R20 946 at Year 1 prices, 27% above what a conventional studio mix would produce because catalogue work is minimised.

Contribution per billable day

The day rate less crew, travel, equipment hire, talent, storage, outsourced retouching and consumables. R14 066, or 67.2% of the day rate.

Editing ratio

Days of post-production per shooting day, 0.87 blended and 2.4 for motion work. It determines editing capacity and therefore binds output in every year of the plan.

Evidential photography

Imagery whose value lies in being a record of something that exists and happened — a person, a building, an event. The category generative AI cannot serve, and the whole of this plan’s service mix.

Exposure score

The judged probability that generative AI substitutes a service line within five years. Day-weighted exposure is 21.8%; revenue-weighted is 25.7% because the exposed lines carry higher day rates.

Forward diary at eight weeks

Confirmed shoot days as a percentage of available capacity, eight weeks ahead. The earliest reliable signal the business produces.

Producer

The role that owns the diary — booking forward, sequencing shoots by geography and locking briefs. Utilisation is a scheduling achievement, and this is who achieves it.

Section 20 limitation

The South African rule capping the set-off of assessed losses at the higher of R1 million or 80% of taxable income in any year.

Small Business Corporation rates

Graduated South African tax rates available while turnover remains below R20 million. Revenue passes that threshold in Year 3, after which the standard 27% rate applies.

Work in progress

Shoots completed but not yet delivered or invoiced, carried at 12 days. Together with 58 debtor days it is why working capital reaches 16.3% of revenue.