Success Financials in a Business Plan

Make sure the financial statements are properly completed. If you are unsure about the financial statements section, it would be a good idea to have them reviewed by an accountant or CPA before formally submitting the plan.

Back up all assumptions with data. Most readers of your business plan will recognize when projections/forecasts are unrealistic or claims can’t be substantiated. Backing up these assertions with data leaves the reader with few unanswered questions and provides a strong foundation for the vision and goals of the plan.

Provide rationale and backup for the data included in the financial statements. Don’t assume that these are self-evident. You don’t want to leave the reader with questions about how you arrived at figures.
If you can’t find data or research to back up a statement or support the plan’s assumptions, omit those assumptions or statements from the final plan. If the ideas can’t hold up under scrutiny, they will erode the credibility of the plan.

Breakeven needs to occur within a reasonable length of time. A plan typically should show breakeven by the end of the first year in operation, if not sooner. Evaluate your business model and assumptions to see if costs can be cut or revenue increased to shorten the timeline to less than three years. If even after re-evaluation, the business model creates a sustained period of loss before breakeven, address this fact directly, explain why this is the case, and substantiate that explanation with facts.