Congratulations! You’re are ready to complete the financial section of your business plan.
The purpose of this Section is to determine if your business will make money. In this section you will be working with the Biz4Caster that is included on the Business Planner Download.
Here are the business plan Elements in this Section and the corresponding RoadMap™ steps:
Step 54: Forecast Your Sales
Step 55: Explain Your Projections
Step 56: Estimate Your Market Share
Step 57: Present Your Cost of Goods Sold
Step 58: Summarize Labor Projections
Step 59: Develop Your Cash Flow Forecast
Step 60: Identify Your Operating Expenses
Step 61: Develop Your Projected Income Statement
Step 62: Determine Your Break-Even
Step 63: Build a Pro Forma Balance Sheet
Step 64: Identify Your Start-Up Expenses
Step 65: Clarify Sources and Uses of Funds
A Brief Introduction to Financials and Forecasting
It is important to understand that the Financial Section of your business plan is not just for the gatekeeper, it’s also for you. It is an opportunity to learn how money flows in and out of your business.
As mentioned at the beginning of this 99-step process, your business plan consists of three main parts: narrative, financial, and supporting information.
In building your Financial Section, it’s critical that you understand that you are forecasting, not accounting. The difference between forecasting and accounting is illustrated in the following table
Action
Read the Financial Section of the Macrolink Business Plan to get a sense of what you are trying to achieve in this Section.