07: Financial forecasts and performance

The financial section of any business plan is important, and you should include historical financial information about the company for the last three to five years as well as your financial forecasts for the next three to five years. If necessary, ask for help from us (as your accountants) or other advisers to ensure that your forecast figures are robust and can stand up to external examination.

The amount of information needed will depend on the complexity of the business. For example, a small business may only need to include profit and loss and sales and cash flow statements. But if your company has intricate working capital requirements or it is an asset-based business, you will need to include balance sheet forecasts.

If the aim is to raise finance for the company, you should set out clearly why the cash is needed and use your cash flow forecast to calculate your requirements and their timing.