The distribution waterfall: from project revenue to your payout.

Every month, each project publishes the same table: the distribution waterfall. It answers one question honestly — of the money that came in, what can actually be paid out?

Start with illustrative numbers

Take the charter yacht project in a decent month (illustrative):

• Revenue: AED 100,000 — charter fees collected.
• Operating costs: −AED 55,000 — crew, fuel, berthing, insurance, and the disclosed 1% administration fee.
• Depreciation: −AED 10,000 — the yacht wears out; accounts recognise it.
• Finance costs: −AED 3,000 — interest on the working facility.
• Tax (illustrative): −AED 2,000.
• = Net accounting profit: AED 30,000.

But profit is not cash

Depreciation never left the bank account — so we add it back: +AED 10,000. Then the cash realities: debt principal repaid −AED 8,000, capital expenditure −AED 6,000, and an increase in the cash reserve −AED 6,000 (the buffer that keeps the project alive in a bad month).

Cash available for distribution: AED 20,000. That is the only number a payout can come from — not revenue, not profit.

Then the payout rules apply

Even cash available isn't automatically paid. Distributions require legally distributable profit and available cash, a prepared schedule, and a second approver. In a bad month — an engine rebuild, a charter cancellation — the waterfall can end at zero, and the honest outcome is no distribution. We'd rather show you a zero than manufacture a payout.

How to read your monthly report

1. Check revenue vs the same month last quarter — is the business healthy?
2. Scan the cost lines for anything new or unexplained.
3. Look at the reserve movement — a growing reserve is prudence, not missing money.
4. Read the per-unit distribution and confirm it landed in your verified account.

The waterfall is published monthly, versioned, and never silently edited. If a figure changes, you'll see a new version with the change log — that's what transparency actually means.