What Supporting Documents Should You Attach to Your Business Plan?
The appendix at the end of your business plan is the place to include all pertinent supporting documents. The impetus for creating this section is to back up what you have stated in your business plan by providing the full documents. It allows the main body of the plan to read as a cohesive document that focuses on each aspect of your business without getting bogged down with numbers and implicit details.
While researching and writing your business plan, it is likely that you have gathered, or accessed, a significant amount of information. To determine which documents to add, you must reread your business plan to determine places where you have referred to studies or surveys, or made comparisons. Include marketing research studies and other documents that best support your data. All copies of documents should be legible and complete.
There are specific documents that investors may want to see. Although this many vary according to your type of business and stage of business development, such documents may include:
- Cash flow statement
- Income statement
- Balance sheet
- Detailed financial projections
- Capital equipment list
- Resumes of key officers
- Letters of support, reference, or credibility
Other documentation that may assist you in obtaining funding, selling, or monitoring your business may include:
- Blueprints or diagrams of allocated space
- Marketing plans
- Letters of intent
- Credit reports
- Expansion plans
- Quotes or estimates from builders, contractors, etc.
- Legal document applicable to the business
- Census or demographic data
- Industry awards or customer letters
- Newspaper articles
List the documents that are included in the appendices in a separate table of contents and check the order of the table against the order they are found in the appendix.
FAQs about supporting documents for your business plan
Below we have summarized the most important questions and answers on the subject.
Why are supporting documents important to a business plan?
Supporting documents back up what you have stated in your business plan and allow the main body of the plan to read as a cohesive document that focuses on each aspect of your business without getting bogged down with numbers and details.
What is an appendix of supporting documents in a business plan?
The appendix at the end of your business plan is the place to include all pertinent supporting documents that back up places in your business plan where you have referred to studies or surveys or made comparisons. Supporting documents may include a cash flow statement, income statement, balance sheet, detailed financial projections, a capital equipment list, resumes of key officers, and letters of reference. It may also include blueprints or diagrams of allocated space, marketing plans, letters of intent, and legal documents applicable to the business.
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