Formatting the Financial Plan Section of a Business Plan

From startup costs to the day-to-day operational budget, a solid financial plan should be outlined within the overall business plan. It’s advisable to sit down with your accountant, financial advisor or CFO to outline the financial structure of the business before including it in the business plan.

The financial section should outline:

Funds required to start the business

Anticipated funding over the next two, three, and even five years

Use of funding

A timeline for funding

All of these elements of your initial financing should coincide with the goals and visions of the business as stated in other sections of the business plan, including the financing necessary to cover operations, marketing, and promotion.

Financial documents include:

Break-Even Analysis

Balance Sheet

Projected Profit and Loss Statement

Projected Cash Flow Statement

Include month-by-month details for your cash flow projections and income statement for the first year of business. Once established, show quarterly information for two more years.

The financial plan also includes the startup budget and operations budget, indicating what you need to launch the business and how much you require to keep the business going on an ongoing basis. This section includes: salaries, wages, insurance costs, accounting costs, equipment costs, legal fees, taxes, cost of goods sold, advertising and promotional expenses, and all other pertinent costs in each of your two budgets.