Lenders read your business plan in a specific order. Write it that way.
By the AceTheSBA team
SBA does not publish a required business plan form. That surprises people, and it leads to plans written like pitch decks: long on vision, short on the facts a lender needs.
How lenders read a plan
An underwriter reads your plan to fill in a credit memo. Write it in the order they need it:
- Management: who runs the business, their experience in this industry and their role every day
- The business: what it sells, to whom and why customers choose it
- The loan request: exactly how much, what every dollar pays for and how much of your own money goes in
- Repayment: how the business will make the payments, with numbers
The rule that matters most
Start-ups, businesses operating two years or less and business purchases need detailed projections with stated assumptions, showing debt service coverage of at least 1.15 within two years. The assumptions matter as much as the totals: an underwriter will test every growth rate against your history and your industry.
The lender’s view
The fastest way to lose a lender’s confidence is a plan that contradicts the rest of your file. If your plan says revenue is $480,000 and your tax return says $410,000, the conversation is no longer about your business. It is about your numbers.
Your move this week
Where do you stand?
The SBA Readiness Report scores documentation, including your business plan, financial statements and tax filings, and lists exactly which documents your program requires. Six minutes, $19.99.
This week’s tool
A business plan laid out the way lenders read them, with guidance on every section and a complete example.
$29.00