What does a lender need to see in a business plan?

Written by Kaz · Published 27 September 2026 · How figures are checked

Summary

Mostly two sections: a funding request that says how much you need, in what form and for what, and financial projections that cover the next five years and agree with that request. SBA's own guide says lenders and investors commonly ask for the full traditional plan, which can run dozens of pages. A one-page lean plan is allowed, but SBA warns that some lenders may come back for more.

The funding request

Beyond the amount, SBA's guide asks you to say whether you want debt or equity, the terms you would like, and how long the request is meant to cover. The use of funds should be specific: equipment, materials, salaries, or particular bills you need covered until revenue picks up. It closes with your longer-range financial plans, such as paying the debt off or eventually selling the business. That level of detail is what lets a lender check the request against the products it offers and against the projections that follow.

The projections behind it

SBA lists these for the financial projections section:

If the business already operates: income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for the last three to five years.
For everyone: a five-year outlook with forecast income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and capital expenditure budgets.
For year one: quarterly or even monthly projections.
Collateral: any assets you could pledge against a loan.

The guide's instruction is to explain the projections clearly and match them to the funding request. The match is the part a lender reads closely: the cash flow forecast has to show the loan payments being made from the revenue the plan describes, and the capital expenditure budget has to contain the equipment the funding request says the money will buy.

Traditional or lean

A traditional plan follows nine sections (executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, service or product line, marketing and sales, funding request, financial projections, appendix) and takes real work up front. SBA suggests it if you plan to request financing from traditional sources, and says the executive summary should carry financial information and growth plans when you are asking for money.

A lean startup plan can take about an hour and usually fits on one page. SBA points it toward simple businesses and plans you expect to revise often. It has no room for the statements listed above, which is why a lender that wants them sends the applicant back to the traditional format.

Where SBA lenders expect a plan

For SBA loans the plan is more than a formality. On its Lender Match page SBA says most lenders expect a business plan for startup funding, and a feasible business plan is one of the general eligibility standards for a 504 loan.