A financial plan sets out where money will come from, where it will go and how goals will be funded over a set period. For a business, it covers revenue forecasts, expenses, cash flow and funding needs, and it is a core part of any business plan. Founders seeking a loan or investment, foundations preparing budgets and managers costing a new project all prepare one.
There are 30 financial plan templates here. You’ll find a complete plan with full projections, a summarized or brief version for a pitch, a detailed plan, a blank layout, and versions built for a single project or a foundation. Use any of them as a business financial plan template or adapt it into a financial projections template for lenders.
Build three versions: a base case, a cautious case and a strong case. Lenders want to see that the business survives if sales come in lower than hoped, and an accountant should review the figures before you share them.
Best Financial Plan Templates
Complete Financial Plan Template
Summarized Financial Plan Template
Official Financial Plan Template
Brief Financial Plan Template
Detailed Financial Plan Template
Blank Financial Plan Template
Project’s Financial Plan Template
Foundation’s Financial Plan Template
Monthly Financial Plan Template
Itemized Financial Plan Template
Sample Financial Plan Template
Personal Financial Plan Template
Special Financial Plan Template
University Financial Plan Template
Family Financial Plan Template
General Tips for creating an Effective Financial Plan Template
Following are some common tips for creating an effective financial plan template:
- Analyze and properly calculate your set-up costs. These costs will occur no matter what. Once you estimate them, you can tell whether you need a loan.
- Estimate your other expenses and your sales to work out your profit or loss. Sales can be estimated monthly, quarterly or yearly. This helps you set sales targets, raise or lower profit margins and adjust many other factors. Base your estimates on industry or market analysis.
- Don’t focus only on the profits shown in your books. Sometimes businesses that show good profits on paper run out of resources like cash. Your business must always have some liquidity. Prepare a proper projected cash flow statement to help you assess your business’s liquidity.
- After the projected cash flow statement, prepare a projected statement of financial position, or balance sheet. Estimate the assets, liabilities and equity your business will have at the end of its first year. A projected balance sheet lets you assess your business’s financial condition and standing after one year.
- A business’s break-even point is where it makes neither a profit nor a loss. Find this break-even point for your business so you can see how much revenue you need to cover all your expenses.
- When preparing a financial plan template, the most important thing to keep in mind is to base all your estimates on industry analysis, market norms and market standards.
More Financial Plan Templates
Updated Financial Plan Template
Example Financial Plan Template
Annual Financial Plan Template
Standard Financial Plan Template
Specific Financial Plan Template
Unique Financial Plan Template
Typical Financial Plan Template
10 Year Financial Plan Template
Detailed Financial Plan Template
Long Term Financial Plan Template
Proposal Financial Plan Template
Film’s Financial Plan Template
Formal Financial Plan Template
Business Financial Plan Template
Agreements Financial Plan Template
Importance of a Financial Plan Template
A financial plan template has following common benefits:
- A financial plan saves you a lot of time and resources that you would otherwise waste without one.
- Through a financial plan template, you make sure that adequate funds or capital is available.
- A financial plan template is easy to use, because you only need sound knowledge of your business to complete it.
- A financial plan maintains a proper balance of finance or funds so as to maintain stability.
- A financial plan ensures that you borrow only the loans or funds you need, and no excess money.
- Investors supply the necessary funds, so give them your official financial plan to convince them.
- Unless major changes or events occur, a financial plan helps minimize the uncertainties that can affect the overall growth of your business.
Connecting Financial Projections to Assumptions
Choose a financial-plan layout that links income, expenses, assets, liabilities and cash timing. A forecast is a model of assumptions, not a promise of results. To examine the timing of money coming in and going out, use WordNExcelTemplates’ cash flow projection templates alongside the wider financial plan.
- State the planning period and document key assumptions such as volume, price and collection timing.
- Prepare consistent income and cash-flow projections and check linked balances.
- Test a cautious scenario and identify when funding or cost changes may be needed.
Worked Example
Illustration: a business invoices 10,000 this month but expects payment next month. The income forecast and cash forecast may therefore show different timing. A plan that treats every invoice as immediately available cash can hide a short-term funding gap.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Avoid presenting unsupported growth rates as facts or confusing profit with cash available to spend. Have significant financing or investment plans reviewed appropriately.
Related Templates
- Sales Forecast Templates
- Travel Budget Templates
- Investment Tracker Spreadsheet Templates
- Business Budget Templates
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can a profitable plan still run short of cash?
Receipts and payments may occur at different times, and purchases or debt repayments affect cash differently from accounting profit. Model timing explicitly.
Should I prepare more than one scenario?
A base case and a cautious case can reveal sensitivity to slower sales, higher costs or delayed receipts. Explain the assumptions behind each rather than changing totals arbitrarily.
