Tag Archive for: Financial Planning

In May, InsYght posted “Money, It’s a Gas,” an article about small business financing, in which we promised to follow up later with some tips on how to prepare a loan application or request for investment.  Detailed and accurate financial projections for your small business, in addition to being valuable business planning tools, are critical to the funding acquisition process.  After all, lenders and investors want to be confident they’re going to get paid back or realize a healthy return on their investment.  To get the money, you need to show it’s possible.

In addition to free, lifetime small business mentoring and a variety of workshops, SCORE, a nonprofit association supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), offers several tools to help you prepare your financial projections.  The newest of those is a multi-page Financial Projections Template to assist SCORE mentors and their clients in developing 3 year pro-forma financial projections for their startup or existing small business.

This tool breaks a complicated and sometimes overwhelming task into manageable steps, making it easier for you and others to evaluate the financial feasibility of your idea or business; information critical to your essential planning, budgeting, and financial modeling process.  To help you maximize it’s benefit, SCORE provides guidelines in both English and Spanish and includes a complete example.  If you’re new to finance, however, it’s still recommended you use these Financial Planning Templates in conjunction with SCORE’s free financial advice via a volunteer counselor or mentor.

Other SCORE programs for small businesses include, but aren’t limited to, Simple Steps for Starting Your Business and Simple Steps for Growing Your Business.  To find a SCORE office near you, click here.