When looking for a business loan, most financial institutions will require that you have a properly prepared business plan that showcases your business, your usage of business loan funds, the industry in which you are operating within, how you intend or how you will continue to market your business, and the expected financial results of the business over the next three to five years. It is always preferable to have a five year financial projection in your business plan when you are applying for a business loan. As we have discussed through our other articles, banks and finance companies have increased their lending standards significantly, and by providing a full five year financial statement – you will show them a level of seriousness and professionalism that is not often provided by other business people.
As an example format, your business plan for a business loan should be formatted in this manner (this is not a steadfast rule):
Executive Summary
Usage of Debt Funds
Products/Services Offered
In business everyone is out to grab, to fight, to win. Either you are the under or the over dog. It is up to you to be on top.
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)
Corporate Organization and Management Biographies
Economic, Industry, Customer, and Competitive Analysis
Marketing Plan
Personnel Budgets and Head Count
Financial Plan
There is nothing so bad or so good that you will not find Englishmen doing it; but you will never find an Englishman in the wrong. He does everything on principle. He fights you on patriotic principles; he robs you on business principles; he enslaves you on imperial principles; he bullies you on manly principles; he supports his king on loyal principles and cuts off his king’s head on republican principles. His watchword is always Duty; and he never forgets that the nation which lets its duty get on the opposite side to its interest is lost.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
In regards to your financial plan, you should have a standard profit and loss statement, common size income statement, cash flow analysis, balance sheet, breakeven analysis, and business ratios page. The sample business plan available on LookingForBusinessLoan.com provides you with all of the tools that you need to draft an appropriate business plan.
As we have stated before, it is very important that your business plan or prepared financial statements are reviewed by a certified public account prior to submitting a business loan application. This individual can ensure that there are no factual or material errors on any of the documents that you have produced or have had a third party produce on your behalf.
LookingforBusinessLoan.com is a specialty website that provides content that focuses on the needs of small business owners and people seeking start up business loans. We encourage you to visit our website if you are looking a for business loan.