Prepare a Business Plan a Lender Can Review
Connect the business story to documented assumptions, costs and cash flow.
I prepare a business plan from the owner's records and a defined brief. I do not claim a record of financing approvals. The lender makes its own decision and may request a different format or further evidence.
The questions the plan needs to answer
Write down what the business sells, who buys it, how the work is delivered and how the proposed borrowing will be repaid. State the operating location, ownership, stage and relevant founder experience. Separate completed work from forecasts.
BDC's business-plan guide covers the company profile, sales and marketing, operations and financial information. It explains that lenders assess repayment risk and want realistic assumptions and contingency plans. Use its business-plan template as a starting structure. Ask your intended lender for its current requirements.
Build an evidence folder first
I ask for the offer, prices, available customer records, supplier quotes, operating costs, capacity and the intended use of funds. An established business also needs its actual financial statements and debt obligations. A new business needs clearly labelled estimates with their sources.
- Save each quote or record with its date and owner.
- Give each forecast input a source or an explicit assumption.
- Keep customer permissions and private records out of public examples.
- Mark an unanswered question as unresolved.
A large market statistic cannot prove that a solo business can reach paying customers. Identify the customers you can contact, the competing offers they can buy and the reason your proposed scope fits. Record the outreach method, its cost and the test that will establish whether it works.
The financial section that needs to reconcile
I connect service prices, sales assumptions, delivery capacity, direct costs, overhead and payment timing in one model. Every total must reconcile with the narrative. If the plan assumes more work than the available hours permit, change the sales forecast or state the cost and timing of extra capacity.
Show profit and cash separately. A profitable project can still require money before the client pays the balance. Put deposits, final payments, supplier payments, tax obligations and debt payments in their expected months. Record opening cash and any proposed financing as separate inputs.
Test a delay in customer payments and a lower sales level. State what you would postpone or reduce, how much cash that preserves and the point at which you must act. Do not make a negative cash balance disappear by adding an unexplained loan.
Write the funding request as a purchase list
List the amount requested, the specific expenditure, the quote supporting it and the intended payment date. Separate owner contribution, borrowed funds and any unconfirmed grant. Include the proposed repayment source and existing commitments.
If equipment is part of the request, document the exact model, total landed cost, required insurance or operating permissions, useful life and the work it enables. Treat prospective revenue from that equipment as a forecast until there are orders or measured results.
Write the executive summary last
Summarise the offer, customers, owner, operating plan, funding need, repayment source and main risks. Keep the figures consistent with the completed model. A reader should understand the proposal without having to guess what an unexplained term means.
I check that the summary does not present an ambition as traction. A planned service, projected sale and signed order are different records. Name each correctly.
Check the plan before submitting it
- Confirm the recipient's current document checklist.
- Reconcile the revenue and costs with the model.
- Check each source, date and forecast label.
- Explain the principal risks and response triggers.
- Have the owner approve all factual statements.
- Keep the final version and submission receipt.
I provide preparation support. I do not replace accounting, legal or regulated financial advice. The lender determines eligibility and approval.
Choose a defined next step
Inspect my planning model specimen and the Business Plans & Funding Support scope. The public model uses illustrative inputs. Send the purpose, recipient, deadline and records available through Book a free call. I will confirm the preparation scope and price before work starts.