How to write a business plan investors and lenders will read

Requirements change. Before you submit anything, read the current application pack on the official website of the bank, funder or programme you are approaching. For South African banks, the NEF or SEFA, use the companion guide on a business plan for a bank loan in South Africa.

Write for the reader, in their market and currency

Investors, lenders and grant panels are not a single audience. An angel investor is trying to understand the opportunity, the team and the return. A bank is trying to understand repayment. An accelerator or grant programme will have its own form and eligibility rules. The document should use the currency, legal structure and market evidence that belong to the business and to that reader — pounds sterling and a UK company for a UK lender, US dollars and a US entity for an SBA lender, and so on.

Do not paste unsourced global market totals into a local loan application, and do not switch currencies mid-model. If a figure is still an assumption, label it as an assumption.

What almost every investor or lender wants to see

Formats differ, but the questions underneath are stable:

• What the business does, who it is for, and where it operates
• Why a customer would pay, and who the competitors are
• How the operation will run day to day
• Who is in the team, and why they can deliver the plan
• How much you are asking for, what it will be used for, and — for a loan — how you will repay it
• Financial projections that match the written story, with clear assumptions

A short executive summary should let a busy reader grasp the offer, the ask and the numbers before they read the rest. For a slide-length version of the same story, see what to include in an investor pitch deck.

United Kingdom: banks, investors and Start Up Loans

If you are applying for a commercial bank loan or presenting to UK investors, write a complete plan in sterling, with UK market evidence and a use-of-funds table that matches the cash-flow forecast. Follow the lender’s or investor’s own list if they give you one.

One well-documented public programme is Start Up Loans, a government-backed scheme delivered through the British Business Bank. Their published guidance on writing a business plan for that application asks you to cover the business, objectives, skills and experience, target customers, market and competition, sales and marketing, operations, a back-up plan, and any supporting evidence. That is a useful checklist for a UK start-up plan even if you are not applying to the scheme — it is not a rigid template for every UK bank.

Start Up Loans also publish what you need to apply. Alongside the plan they require a 12-month cash-flow forecast and a personal survival budget. Other items, such as recent personal bank statements, appear in public summaries of the process. Eligibility rules (for example UK residence, the age of the business, and credit and affordability checks) are set by the scheme and should be read on their site, not inferred from this page. A business plan writer cannot complete those checks for you, and cannot guarantee a loan.

United States: banks, investors and SBA-backed loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) publishes a clear description of a traditional business plan. The sections it lists are an executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, the product or service, marketing and sales, a funding request, and financial projections. Use that structure if you are writing a full plan for a US bank, an SBA-participating lender, or many US investors — and still follow any shorter template a specific lender or programme gives you.

On financials, the SBA’s guidance is that an established business should include historical income statements, balance sheets and cash-flow statements, and that forward-looking projections should cover several years, with the first year set out in more detail (quarterly or monthly). The funding request should state how much you need, whether you want debt or equity, what the money will be used for, and how you will repay a loan or, for equity, how you think about the future of the business.

The SBA does not usually lend directly. SBA-guaranteed loans are made by participating lenders. A professional plan is one part of that pack. Credit history, collateral, owner contribution and the lender’s own rules still apply. Do not treat an SBA-style outline as a promise of approval.

Europe and other markets

There is no single European business-plan template. Write to the currency, company form and checklist of the country and the institution you are approaching. The same rule applies elsewhere: the plan should read as if it was prepared for that reader, not copied from another jurisdiction.

What I can write, and what you must supply

As a business plan writer I can structure the document, research the market from public sources, and build financial projections from the figures you provide, in the currency you specify. Only you can supply identity documents, bank statements, tax records, collateral details and the facts about your own contribution. I do not submit applications, and I do not offer legal, tax or credit advice. All communication and delivery is through Fiverr, in English, with prices in USD.

If you want help, order a plan on Fiverr or message me first with the country, the currency and the reader you have in mind.