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What is a Good Business or Franchise Financial Plan?

Basically it's a document that contains the financial particulars of a company & generally includes the following sections:

- A balance sheet
- A cash flow statement
- An income statement

Your company financial plan is one of the most effective instruments for ascertaining whether a business model is workable. It's 'the plan' encompassing all the present financial issues as well as future predictions for the business. It's what you revert to when things go wrong and when thing go right.

It can be used

AN EFFECTIVE FINANCIAL OUTLINE SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING DETAILS...

- Start up costs
- Operational costs
- Cash inflow
- Other relevant information

WHEN IT COMES TO FINANCING A BUSINESS, THERE ARE OPTIONS...

Option #1 - For a small home operated business, you personal savings my be enough to start up a business. You may wish to think about keeping some funds in an emergency account, just in case.

Option #2 - If you're short of cash you could approach family members or close friends and ask them if they can help. But do, think it through thoroughly.

If you're not absolutely sure that the business is a winner, perhaps you're better off not borrowing from your near and dear ones. It's happened many times, good relationships destroyed over money.

Option #3 - You can turn to the banks or credit unions for finance.

Generally this involves a meeting with the bank manager where you can explain your business financial plan and try to convince him that your business idea is a clear winner and there's no doubt that you'll be able to repay the borrowings without a problem.

Option #4 - You may wish to look for investors to finance your business. Attracting backing from a third party will be difficult and to be successful you'll require a rock solid business plan and be able to 'sell' your dream in such a way that it's irresistible.

Being able to read & comprehend complex business documents is a valuable skill to have. We all know that, in business, the paperwork in the most boring part and we can usually discover something more interesting to do.

A detailed business financial plan is possibly THE MOST important document of the many that are required to kick-off a new business venture or to fund growth for an established company.

Understanding business documents is an extremely important issue when running a business but there are more important issues ahead not the least of which is attracting new customers. With any business you need to analyse the target market, customer density, finances and profitability per client and ensuring your due diligence is done before parting with your money. This way you can be sure in your own mind that you are making a sound investment. The next article will be on creating a good marketing plan and how to analyse the local area to ensure maximum visibility for your business.

Article Source: http://www.bo-knows.com

Matthew Anderson is a franchise consultant and founder of The Franchise Shop, a UK business franchise directory featuring financial franchise opportunities a and franchise directory

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