Forecasts and Financial Presentation


Forecasts or Projections are the steak to the Business Plan’s 
sizzle…with the basic and not so basic facts and assumptions.  
Business Plans often fail in their objective to raise capital because
their Forecasts are viewed as insufficient, incomplete, 
unprofessional, and/or lacking in detailed notes and supporting 
information for assumptions of revenue and expenses.  
 
We are frequently asked by clients to complete Forecasts and 
related Exhibits only, with the clients developing their own 
Business Plans.  When we receive a “tight and concise plan,” 
we can focus on providing related Sections of the Business Plan 
for Forecasts inserted in a summary format, with attached 
detailed forecasts, Sources and Uses of Funds, and other 
custom financial analysis. 
 
It is imperative that an Executive Summary contain inserted 
summary charts for Forecasts and Uses and related detailed 
narrative in the Business Plan and detailed Forecasts and 
supporting documents like Marketing Budget or Market Penetration
Analysis as Exhibits.  
 
Senior Executives and Senior Vice Presidents at both larger 
financial institutions and private investors typically prefer financial 
summary presentations. When they are interested, they then 
want their analysts or advisors to see the detail.
 
Excel is the most universal software for Forecasts, with formulas 
often tied to various worksheets like cumulative cash flow by 
month until the break-even point is reached, which is then a 
single line item in the Sources and Uses of Funds Schedule.
 
Forecasts or Projections
 
 These are the types of Forecasts most lenders, investors, and 
grant sources expect: 

¨       Annual Summary Forecasts, typically for Five Years 

¨       Detailed Forecasts are completed on an accrual month-to-
month basis to establish cash flow requirements and to determine
which month startup companies or expanding companies with 
new business lines will reach “break even” and become profitable.
Often, two years are sufficient.

¨       Both the Annual Summary Forecasts and Detailed Forecasts 
need Footnotes in a separate Worksheet that can usually support 
each with easy to understand notes and references for virtually all 
income or expense assumptions.  Do you think your lender wants 
to guess the source of an assumption?  Should he assume you are 
right?  Keep in mind the definition of “assume”: When you do, you 
make an “ass” of ‘u” and “me.” As the old idiom goes. Lenders and 
investors like answers, not questions or assumptions without a 
detailed explanation or source. 

¨       Cash Flow Analysis - Needed as an alternative or in addition to 
Detailed Forecasts that are completed on an accrual basis to 
address issues like the timing of receipt of AR.

¨       Sources and Uses of Funds – Typically this 1-2 page 
worksheet includes the financial projections, allowing the working 
capital to be calculated within the detailed forecasts.

¨       Marketing Budget – The marketing budget is often a critical 
and substantive portion of the Sources and Uses of Funds and 
Business Plan and, therefore, should be a standalone worksheet 
that closely tracks narrative within Section(s) of the Business Plan.

¨       Schedules and Charts for Key Assumptions – Some items, 
like Market Penetration or Costs of Products need stand alone 
schedules in the Forecasts and/or the Business Plan. We know 
the “what, when, where, why and how” to add these added 
schedules to meet your needs and goals.

Financial Presentation

Detailed Footnotes to Forecasts are just part of the “financial 
story," usually left for an analyst or advisor to review. Senior 
Executives and Private Investors also expect, and often only 
review, the concise narrative and summary forecast and Uses 
that are within the Executive Summary or the Business Plan. 

Many private or angel investors think more in words and numbers,
and your Executive Summary and Business Plan need concise 
narrative that ties to Forecasts and Uses. Developing Synergies 
between words and numbers is an area where we excel
…in Excel or in Word!