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Business
Plan Financials
Since we first published this
page we have produced the finest
business plan financials
software dedicated to pet care
businesses. Please see
Grooming Business in a Box®.
Unless you are an
experienced accountant or bookkeeper, you must seek professional
assistance with your business plan financials. At minimum, your
business plan should have the following:
Income Statement
- Pro Forma - Five Years. Your pro forma should cover
months one through sixty (five years) with monthly, annual and
five-year summaries.
Balance Sheet. Think
of a balance sheet as a snapshot financial of the assets,
liabilities and owner equity at any one moment specified.
Cash Flow
Analysis. Typically, the cash flow is directly tied into
the Pro Forma. It is very important to the banker. Using this
analysis, you can determine if your loan request is just right,
too low or too high.
Use of Funds.
A Use of Funds statement describes in detail how you intend to
spend the money you borrow. Furniture, equipment, tools, leasehold
improvements, caging, supplies, deposits, professionals and more.
R.O.I. - Return
on Investment. What sort of return on
investment can the investor or owner expect each year through
the Pro Forma Income Statement (see above). This is very
important information to include, especially when you are
seeking investors and simply not a personal/business bank
loan.
In addition to your
business plan financials, you should prepare a personal financial
statement with credit references. Well, maybe you have little, so
your credit history will be very important. Maybe you do own
property, but what is the value of your assets, and what are your
liabilities? Your personal financials do not have to be enclosed
with the business plan, but provided with the loan papers
submitted to the bank accepting your loan application. If you have
real estate for loan collateral, it will likely have to be
appraised with arrangements made by the bank. If you are buying a
mobile grooming van on credit, be ready with several credit
references.
It is never too early to
create your professional working relationships if you are going to
be self-employed. You must have a bookkeeper and/or certified
public accountant (CPA), an attorney and perhaps a management or
career counselor. We highly suggest everyone to read From
Problems to Profits on this subject. Business plans submitted
with the names of your company attorney and CPA show that you
understand the need for professional working relationships, and
that can be very important indeed.
Business
Plan Presentations
Your business plan
should be word-processed with no spelling errors. Use quality
paper and if photocopied, no smudges. Add an attractive cover. Use
binder divider tabs between sections and include a cover page and
table of contents. If you write your plan, we suggest you do your
best job and then print a draft copy of it. Hire an proofreader to
read and possibly edit your draft copy. Maybe you have a qualified
relative who can assist you instead. Because you wrote the plan
its content may seem very clear to you, but often the outside
reader who knows nothing of your plan can point out unclear areas.
A business plan with a few or more typos or spelling errors, or
grammatical errors, creates a desultory image. Beware. We tend to
be more loose writing a web page or a memo, but a business plan
requires absolutely meticulous care, no exceptions.
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