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How to Write a Successful Business Plan for a Loan

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Table of Contents

What does a loan business plan include?

What lenders look for in a business plan, business plan for loan examples, resources for writing a business plan.

A comprehensive and well-written business plan can be used to persuade lenders that your business is worth investing in and hopefully, improve your chances of getting approved for a small-business loan . Many lenders will ask that you include a business plan along with other documents as part of your loan application.

When writing a business plan for a loan, you’ll want to highlight your abilities, justify your need for capital and prove your ability to repay the debt.

Here’s everything you need to know to get started.

How much do you need?

with Fundera by NerdWallet

We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

A successful business plan for a loan describes your financial goals and how you’ll achieve them. Although business plan components can vary from company to company, there are a few sections that are typically included in most plans.

These sections will help provide lenders with an overview of your business and explain why they should approve you for a loan.

Executive summary

The executive summary is used to spark interest in your business. It may include high-level information about you, your products and services, your management team, employees, business location and financial details. Your mission statement can be added here as well.

To help build a lender’s confidence in your business, you can also include a concise overview of your growth plans in this section.

Company overview

The company overview is an area to describe the strengths of your business. If you didn’t explain what problems your business will solve in the executive summary, do it here.

Highlight any experts on your team and what gives you a competitive advantage. You can also include specific details about your business such as when it was founded, your business entity type and history.

Products and services

Use this section to demonstrate the need for what you’re offering. Describe your products and services and explain how customers will benefit from having them.

Detail any equipment or materials that you need to provide your goods and services — this may be particularly helpful if you’re looking for equipment or inventory financing . You’ll also want to disclose any patents or copyrights in this section.

Market analysis

Here you can demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and showcase your understanding of your industry, current outlook, trends, target market and competitors.

You can add details about your target market that include where you’ll find customers, ways you plan to market to them and how your products and services will be delivered to them.

» MORE: How to write a market analysis for a business plan

Marketing and sales plan

Your marketing and sales plan provides details on how you intend to attract your customers and build a client base. You can also explain the steps involved in the sale and delivery of your product or service.

At a high level, this section should identify your sales goals and how you plan to achieve them — showing a lender how you’re going to make money to repay potential debt.

Operational plan

The operational plan section covers the physical requirements of operating your business on a day-to-day basis. Depending on your type of business, this may include location, facility requirements, equipment, vehicles, inventory needs and supplies. Production goals, timelines, quality control and customer service details may also be included.

Management team

This section illustrates how your business will be organized. You can list the management team, owners, board of directors and consultants with details about their experience and the role they will play at your company. This is also a good place to include an organizational chart .

From this section, a lender should understand why you and your team are qualified to run a business and why they should feel confident lending you money — even if you’re a startup.

Funding request

In this section, you’ll explain the amount of money you’re requesting from the lender and why you need it. You’ll describe how the funds will be used and how you intend to repay the loan.

You may also discuss any funding requirements you anticipate over the next five years and your strategic financial plans for the future.

» Need help writing? Learn about the best business plan software .

Financial statements

When you’re writing a business plan for a loan, this is one of the most important sections. The goal is to use your financial statements to prove to a lender that your business is stable and will be able to repay any potential debt.

In this section, you’ll want to include three to five years of income statements, cash flow statements and balance sheets. It can also be helpful to include an expense analysis, break-even analysis, capital expenditure budgets, projected income statements and projected cash flow statements. If you have collateral that you could put up to secure a loan, you should list it in this section as well.

If you’re a startup that doesn’t have much historical data to provide, you’ll want to include estimated costs, revenue and any other future projections you may have. Graphs and charts can be useful visual aids here.

In general, the more data you can use to show a lender your financial security, the better.

Finally, if necessary, supporting information and documents can be added in an appendix section. This may include credit histories, resumes, letters of reference, product pictures, licenses, permits, contracts and other legal documents.

Lenders will typically evaluate your loan application based on the five C’s — or characteristics — of credit : character, capacity, capital, conditions and collateral. Although your business plan won't contain everything a lender needs to complete its assessment, the document can highlight your strengths in each of these areas.

A lender will assess your character by reviewing your education, business experience and credit history. This assessment may also be extended to board members and your management team. Highlights of your strengths can be worked into the following sections of your business plan:

Executive summary.

Company overview.

Management team.

Capacity centers on your ability to repay the loan. Lenders will be looking at the revenue you plan to generate, your expenses, cash flow and your loan payment plan. This information can be included in the following sections:

Funding request.

Financial statements.

Capital is the amount of money you have invested in your business. Lenders can use it to judge your financial commitment to the business. You can use any of the following sections to highlight your financial commitment:

Operational plan.

Conditions refers to the purpose and market for your products and services. Lenders will be looking for information such as product demand, competition and industry trends. Information for this can be included in the following sections:

Market analysis.

Products and services.

Marketing and sales plan.

Collateral is an asset pledged to a lender to guarantee the repayment of a loan. This can be equipment, inventory, vehicles or something else of value. Use the following sections to include information on assets:

» MORE: How to get a business loan

Writing a business plan for a loan application can be intimidating, especially when you’re just getting started. It may be helpful to use a business plan template or refer to an existing sample as you’re going through the draft process.

Here are a few examples that you may find useful:

Business Plan Outline — Colorado Small Business Development Center

Business Plan Template — Iowa Small Business Development Center

Writing a Business Plan — Maine Small Business Development Center

Business Plan Workbook — Capital One

U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBA offers a free self-paced course on writing a business plan. The course includes several videos, objectives for you to accomplish, as well as worksheets you can complete.

SCORE. SCORE, a nonprofit organization and resource partner of the SBA, offers free assistance that includes a step-by-step downloadable template to help startups create a business plan, and mentors who can review and refine your plan virtually or in person.

Small Business Development Centers. Similarly, your local SBDC can provide assistance with business planning and finding access to capital. These organizations also have virtual and in-person training courses, as well as opportunities to consult with business experts.

Business plan software. Although many business plan software platforms require a subscription, these tools can be useful if you want a templated approach that can break the process down for you step-by-step. Many of these services include a range of examples and templates, instruction videos and guides, and financial dashboards, among other features. You may also be able to use a free trial before committing to one of these software options.

A loan business plan outlines your business’s objectives, products or services, funding needs and finances. The goal of this document is to convince lenders that they should approve you for a business loan.

Not all lenders will require a business plan, but you’ll likely need one for bank and SBA loans. Even if it isn’t required, however, a lean business plan can be used to bolster your loan application.

Lenders ask for a business plan because they want to know that your business is and will continue to be financially stable. They want to know how you make money, spend money and plan to achieve your financial goals. All of this information allows them to assess whether you’ll be able to repay a loan and decide if they should approve your application.

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SBA Business Plan Template: Full Guide [2024]

August 7, 2024

In 2020, SBA’s flagship 7(a) loan program approved more than 42,000 loans totalling $22 billion . Yet, SBA loans are notoriously difficult to obtain for small businesses: less than 15% of SBA loan applications were granted by big banks. If you’re applying for a SBA loan , you will need a solid business plan template for your loan application.

In this article we go through, step-by-step, all the different sections you need in your business plan to build a complete, clear and solid business plan lenders will approve. Read on!

Why do you need a business plan for your SBA loan application?

Other than your basic eligibility requirements, the primary element that lenders would review is your business plan. Having a good business plan determines if your business is a lucrative opportunity for SBA lenders.

Also, a solid business plan makes it easier to get your loans approved because banks would be confident that your business would be successful and you would be able to repay your loan.

However, business plans tend to differ depending on the nature and status of your business. If you’re running an independent business or launching a startup for example, your business plan will be reviewed more thoroughly.

1. Executive summary

The executive summary is the most important page of your SBA business plan template . We can’t make this clearer. This is the first section that the lenders will have a look at.

Before we go into specifics, keep in mind the executive summary actually is a summary. Keep it brief: your executive summary should never be more than 2 pages maximum .

Your executive summary should consists of 5 parts:

The “mission statement “: what problem(s) is your business solving?
Product and service : what is it that you sell? to whom? where?
People : who are the founders / management? What about their experience? How many people / teams do you employ?
Key financials and projections : what are your key metrics and financials today (revenues, customers, etc.)? What do you expect these to be in 3/5 years from now?
Funding ask : what (how much) are you asking as part of this loan? Where will you spend it? For what?

2. Company description

The company description is where we go into more details about your business, and which problem(s) it actually solves.

You should explain here clearly:

What is the problem at stake?

You should list here the 2/3 friction points you aim to tackle.

Remember: even if your business isn’t necessarily innovative, your business is potentially solving a problem, as obvious as it may be, for many people out there. The more obvious the problem is, the more people it affects, the better

What is your solution?

Your business is commercialising a product and/or a service which solves the problem mentioned above. Here, you should explain 2 things: how your product / service works, and what benefits it brings to your customers.

Ideally, you should compare the pain points explained earlier (the problem) to the benefits your solution brings to your customers. That way, it is crystal clear to lenders and investors your solution really adds value to potential customers .

When explaining your business’ solution, you should explain clearly who is your customer persona . In other words, who are your customers (or who do you think they will be)? Which gender, age range, social background, interests, etc?

Where are you going?

The third section of the company description should explain what your strategy is in the short to long term. Are you expecting to launch new products? To expand regionally, internationally? Etc.

3. Market plan and analysis

The market plan and analysis section tell investors and lenders that you have extensively studied the market and reveal your competitive plan.

Your market plan and analysis section should include the following:

Industry overview and outlook

Here you need to clearly identify 2 very important metrics:

Market size : how big is your market?
Market growth: how fast does your market grow?

If you are operating in a niche market, chances are that you will face some challenges: the information might not be publicly available. In any case, you should be able to make a high-level estimation of your market. Read our article on market sizing and how to estimate TAM, SAM and SOM for your startup .

When looking for these metrics, you have multiple sources of information: public reports, specialised press, etc. Even public companies publish press releases and annual reports including some of their proprietary market estimates so be sure to look there too.

Competitive landscape

Here we must answer 2 key questions:

How fragmented is your market?

Are there 3 big players sharing 90% market share or thousands of small players? Here, refer to public market reports and your own understanding of the competitive landscape .

A few questions you could ask yourself, among others:

Who are your competitors?
Are they local, regional, national or global?
Are there any product alternatives to your product?
What about their IP / technological advantage?

Where do you position yourself vs. competition?

Is your solution a game changer other competitors don’t have (yet)? Do you have competitors with similar products/services?

Ideally, you would create a small table with, for each type of competitors and their main characteristics.

For instance, do they all a global presence? Do they cover all the products you offer? What is their relative price positioning (expensive vs. accessible)?

4. Organization and management

The amount of details you need to include here varies depending on the size of your company.

No matter how many leadership roles there are, an organizational chart effectively shows lenders and investors how the management system is structured.

If you plan on running your business alone indefinitely, you can write a short paragraph explaining your qualifications and previous professional experiences.

The first thing you should include in this section is a list of each management position. This list includes who will fill the role and the qualifications of these people. These people are the heart of your company, and their skills and experience are vital in ensuring your company’s success.

Next, provide any additional information about how the management team will contribute to the business’s success. Be sure to give as many details as possible since lenders need to be comfortable and confident that you have a good team running your business.

Lastly, include information about the Board of Directors (and/or any other advisors to your business).

5. Service or product line

The level of detail and the content of this section changes depending on the type of business you have. A number of questions you need to answer are shown below (but not limited to):

Are you selling products or services (or both)?
How many products do you sell?
What are they?
What is their pricing?
How do they work?
Are your products protected by any kind of intellectual property (copyright, patent, etc.)?
If you do not manufacture all of your product(s): who are they suppliers? Where do they fit in the value chain ? etc.

Tech startup financial model templates

Download an expert-built 5-year Excel financial model for your business plan

6. Marketing and sales

Your SBA business plan template should include a marketing and sales plan where you describe your strategy for acquiring potential clients.

Here, you should give details about your marketing plan. A few questions you should answer are:

How you plan to build and support your sales strategy ?
What channel(s) are you using (online vs. offline)?
How it makes sense for your target audience (the customer persona mentioned above)?

What about your metrics?

Sales and marketing goals and KPIs are also provided in this section. Don’t forget to include a detailed report about budgets for both sales and marketing.

Include metrics such as conversion rate, customer acquisition cost (CAC) , the efficiency of your sales team, etc.

It’s ok if you don’t know them already (if you are about to launch you new venture for example), yet you should have at least targets for them. How many website visitors do you expect to generate next year? What is your target conversion rate? Etc.

This particular report would be of great interest to lenders since they will glimpse how you handle your budget. Indeed, if you expect to spend in average $100 Customer Acquisition Cost, lenders will tie the number into your financial projections later on (more on that below).

Proving lenders you are able to link your financial projections with your actual business metrics (customers, sales volume, etc.) is a big plus . Indeed, that way you will show lenders you understand very clearly your business and how it ties into your financials (more on that in our article on why you should build a solid financial projections ).

7. Funding request

The funding request is the section of your SBA business plan template where you communicate to your investors how much you need.

This report also includes how you plan on repaying your loan. It’s also essential to explain how you plan to spend the funding you’ll receive for your business.

Will you spend the loan in working capital , in equipment, in inventory, salaries or marketing costs? The more specific you are, the better.

If you haven’t done so, we really recommend you read our article on how to determine how much you should raise for you business . While raising too little creates obvious problems, raising too much isn’t necessarily better.

On top of the amount, a good practice is to include a pie chart of where you will spend that money over a given period (your runway). Will you spend the bulk of it in product development to build your MVP? Or will you use a large portion in sales & marketing to commercialise your product and find product-market fit?

Our financial model templates include a cash burn dashboard where you can easily assess how much you should raise, and where you will spend your money. We also included charts ready to be included in your pitch deck. See how to use our cash burn dashboard here .

The funding request usually includes an overview of the business. You also have to outline how much funding you need for the next five years. The standard timeframe for repaying your loan is usually ten years, so lenders expect to see some success in your business by that time. Mention a detailed explanation of how the funds will be used and strategic financial plans for the future here. Include financial information for current operations if applicable.

8. Financial projections

The financial projections section of your SBA business plan is one of the most important one.

Why? Lenders will have a thorough review of your expected financials over the next 3 to 5 years and judge whether your financial projections:

Are realistic (and use verifiable assumptions)

We are all by nature optimistic, especially when we are running businesses. It’s good to be optimistic, yet it is another one to be unrealistic.

Also, when presenting your financial projections, make sure to make it clear what are your assumptions. The more sources you can find to back up your forecasts, the better.

If you need help building realistic projections for your business, we have lots of free content. Make sure to check out our guides below:

The 5 Mistakes To Avoid For Your Startup Financial Plan
How To Build Realistic Revenue Projections For Your Startup?

Allow you to repay the SBA loan in the future

It’s great if you have built rock-solid and realistic financial projections for your business plan. Yet, if your plan doesn’t allow you to meet your debt obligations (the SBA loan and any other debt your business might have), lenders will not grant you any loan.

When assessing whether your financial plan allows you to repay the debt, you should check if the positive cash flows your business generates are enough to cover your debt repayment (and interests).

What financials should you include?

In short, you should present 3 different set of financials:

Profit-and-loss
Balance sheet
Cash flow statement

If you don’t know them already, these are the financial statements every business need to prepare at least annually (with the help of an accountant). For more information on what they are and how to prepare them, read our articles below:

4 Key Financial Statements For Your Startup Business Plan
SBA Loan Application: 6 Steps To Build Solid Financial Projections

9. Appendix

This section is the best place to add supporting documents like charts, graphs, and data.

For example, a complete list of documents like licenses, contracts, maps, etc. makes you more attractive to lenders as it gives them more content to review. If you do so, make sure to reference the documents in appendix and link them to pages in earlier sections. Avoid using the appendix as a dump section: it should be well organised and structured (else no one will bother looking at it).

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How to Write an SBA Business Plan + Template

Noah Parsons

10 min. read

Updated August 1, 2024

Download Now: Free Business Plan Template →

Applying for a Small Business Administration loan typically requires a business plan.

Unfortunately, there’s no SBA loan business plan format that guarantees approval. The SBA even states you should “pick a business plan format that works for you.”

While I agree with this sentiment, I’ve found that entrepreneurs who explain how funds will be used and how they will repay the loan tend to be more successful.

Luckily, these details can be covered using our SBA-lender-approved business plan format . I’ll go over that structure in this article, and focus on the sections that the SBA prioritizes, so you can maximize your chances of getting funded .

You can even download a free SBA-lender-approved business plan template to fill out as you read.

Let’s get started.

Why you need a business plan for SBA loans

SBA loans require good documentation of your business and personal finances. You’ll need to pull together your past tax returns, bank statements, and various application forms depending on the type of SBA loan you apply for.

The bank issuing the loan will also want to know about the future of your business.

They’ll want to see how the loan will be used and if future cash flow projections are realistic and indicate you can afford loan payments.

That’s where writing an SBA business plan comes in.

Not only will your business plan describe your business to the lender, but it will include the financial projections the bank will use to determine if you qualify for the loan .

What your business plan should include, according to the SBA

Business plans for SBA loans follow a fairly standard structure, but that doesn’t mean you need to follow it exactly.

The SBA even recommends adjusting the plan outline to serve your needs. If a section does not apply to your business, it’s fine just to remove it.

Here’s the successful business plan structure I recommend for SBA loans:

1. Executive summary

A great executive summary is a short, simple overview of your business. It should be easy for a loan officer to read and clearly understand what your business does.

When applying for an SBA loan, highlight your:

Business opportunity
Financial forecast
How much money you want to borrow and how it will be used

Remember, an executive summary should be short and to the point. The rest of your business plan will provide additional details.

[Dig deeper: How to write an executive summary ]

2. Company description

Some people call this section “Products and Services.” Either option is fine. The important thing is that you use this section to explain what your business opportunity is.

You need to cover:

The problem you solve
Who you’re solving it for
What your solution is and why it’s better

Be specific and tell the story of your business and your customers. Focus on your strengths and what sets you apart from competitors.

If your company is developing a product, include information on:

What the product life cycle looks like
Intellectual property filings
Current research and development

If these topics don’t apply to your product, that’s fine. Just be sure that the description of what you sell is clear.

3. Market analysis

The market analysis chapter explains who your customers are. It provides an overview of your target market, competition, and industry.

Your target market is essentially a description of your ideal customers. Be sure to include specific demographic information (like age, gender, location, income) and psychographic information (hobbies, purchasing behaviors).

This data should reinforce that your target market needs your solution .

It’s helpful to also include information on the size of your target market . Lenders will want to see evidence of enough potential customers to drive growth.

While your target market information describes your customers, an industry overview discusses the type of business you’re in and its potential for growth.

For example: If you’re starting a fast-casual restaurant, your industry overview might discuss the increased interest in fast-casual dining and how more people are eating in these types of restaurants every year.

Finally, you’ll need to include a competitive analysis . This is a list of current competitors and alternatives, with explanations of why your business is a better option.

Your goal is to show how your business is unique, what opportunities and threats there are, and how you plan to address the competition.

4. Organization and management

Also known as your company overview, this section is where you describe your legal structure, history, and team .

For your SBA loan application, you should focus on describing who is managing the business as clearly as possible.

You may want to include an organizational chart. You should provide detailed resumes for everyone in leadership positions. Each team member’s experience, skills and professional qualifications can mitigate risk in the eyes of a lender .

To show you’re thinking ahead, it’s also helpful to include key positions you plan to fill as you grow.

5. Sales and marketing plan

Your goal in this section is to summarize how you will attract, retain, and sell to your customers.

The marketing strategies and sales methods you describe should always have the customer top of mind, and demonstrate that you know how to connect with them.

To help a loan officer visualize this, you can provide examples of marketing messaging, visuals, and promotions. If you have any research or results to show that your strategy has merit, include those as well.

6. Financial projections

SBA lenders typically require 5 years of financial projections — including profit and loss statements , balance sheets , and cash flow statements .

Be sure to include the SBA loan in your projections in the following areas:

A liability on your balance sheet.
Payments on your cash flow.
Interest expenses on your profit and loss statement.

I’ll dive into specific details of what you should focus on in the “how to improve your chances” section.

Your first year of financial projections should include monthly details. After that, annual summaries are usually sufficient for most SBA lenders. Occasionally, a lender might require 24 months of monthly projections, so check with your bank before submitting your business plan.

If your business is up and running, you must also provide historical financial reports for the past 12-24 months of operations—including income statements and a current balance sheet.

Typically, you will also need to provide reports on your personal finances , including any assets you have, such as a home or car.

Finally, include a section explaining your use of funds—what exactly you plan to use the loan for.

7. Appendix

The appendix is your chance to provide additional documents that support sections of your business plan.

When applying for a loan, these may include:

Employee resumes
Licenses and permits
Patents and other legal documents
Historical financial statements
Credit histories

Don’t worry about stuffing your appendix full of additional documentation. Only include information if you believe it will strengthen your approval chances, or if your lender specifically asks for it.

How to improve your chances of being approved for an SBA loan

Your SBA business plan needs to focus on the loan you are applying for and how that will impact your business financially.

Make sure to include the following information in your financial plan to increase your chances of success with your lender:

Funding request

In your executive summary, document how much money you are asking for. It’s best to put your number where it can be clearly read, instead of trying to bury it deep within your business plan.

Remember, there are limitations to how much you can borrow through SBA-backed loans. Most have a maximum loan amount of $5 million, while SBA Express loans have a maximum loan amount of $350,000.

Use of funds

You should also describe how you plan to use the loan and which aspects of the business you want to invest in.

Some SBA loans are designed specifically for expanding export businesses or funding real estate transactions. So, make sure your use of funds description is appropriate for the loan you are applying for.

Cash flow forecast

Be sure to include the loan in your cash flow statements and projections . You want to demonstrate that you’ve planned how you will use and repay the loan.

You need to show:

When you anticipate receiving the loan.
How the loan will impact your finances.
Loan payments for the life of the loan.

Having this prepared won’t just increase the chances of your application being approved—It will make it much easier to manage the loan after you receive funding .

Balance sheet

You’ll also want to put the loan on your projected balance sheet , and show how the loan will get paid down over time.

The money you owe will show up on your balance sheet as a liability, while the cash you receive from the loan will be an asset. Over time, your forecasted balance sheet will show that the loan is getting paid back.

Your lender will want to see that you have forecasted this repayment properly.

Profit & Loss forecast

Your P&L should include the interest expenses for the loan, and show how the interest will impact your profitability in the coming months and years.

How long does an SBA business plan need to be?

The SBA doesn’t have an official recommended or required business plan length . As a general rule of thumb, you should make your business plan as short and concise as possible.

Your business plan is going to be reviewed by a bank loan officer, and they will be less than excited about the prospect of reading a 50-page business plan.

If possible, keep the written portion of your business plan between 10-15 pages. Your financial forecasts will take up several additional pages.

If you’re struggling to keep it short, try a one-page plan

A great way to start your business plan is with a simple, one-page business plan that provides a brief and compelling overview of your business.

A good one-page plan is easy to read and visually appealing. Once you have your one-page plan, you can expand on the ideas to develop your complete written business plan, and use the one-page plan as your executive summary.

Loan officers will appreciate a concise overview of your business that provides the summary they need before they start looking at your complete business plan and financial plan .

Resources and tools for writing an SBA business plan

Remember, you can download a free SBA-lender-approved business plan template . It includes detailed instructions to help you write each section, expert guidance and tips, and is formatted as lenders and investors expect.

If you’re looking for a more powerful plan writing tool, one that can also help you create financial forecasts for the use of your loan, I recommend you check out LivePlan .

With LivePlan, you get:

AI-powered recommendations: Generate and rewrite sections of your plan to be more professional and persuasive.
Step-by-step instructions: In-app examples, tutorials, and tips to help you write an impressive business plan.
Automatic financials: Skip the spreadsheets and complex formulas, and quickly create accurate financial forecasts with everything a lender needs.
A built-in pitch presentation: Print or share your full business plan, one-page pitch, and financial reports—all with a professional and polished look.

Whether you use the template, LivePlan, or try writing a business plan yourself, following the structure and tips from this article will improve your chances of getting an SBA-backed loan.

And for additional SBA-focused resources, check out our guide on how to get an SBA loan .

Not sure how much money you need to raise?

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.