Business Plan Financial Projections Template

The financial section is where most business plans fall apart, and the question that kills them is almost never ‘is it profitable’. It is ‘when do you run out of cash’.

This template answers that question directly. Startup costs and funding sources are listed on one sheet, and the difference between them becomes your opening bank balance. Year one is built month by month, and then the cash flow applies your own payment terms — the share of customers who pay a month after the sale — so the bank balance reflects when money actually arrives rather than when you invoiced.

The lowest closing balance of the year is reported as a single figure, along with how much more funding you would need to stay positive. That is the number a lender looks for and the number most plans never state.

The three-year summary applies your growth rates to every year-one line, and break-even is calculated from your own fixed costs and contribution margin. The sample data ships as a plan that works — funded, cash-positive all year, and past break-even — so you can see what a sound plan looks like before you replace it with your own.

What you get

• Ten startup cost lines and six funding sources
• Twelve-month profit and loss with twenty revenue and cost lines
• Monthly cash flow with configurable payment terms
• Loan interest and capital repayment schedule
• Three-year summary driven by your own growth rates
• Break-even revenue and funding-gap analysis
• Revenue and cash chart
• Configurable currency — no currency is hard-coded
• No country’s tax rates or statutory rules built in
• Sheets protected without a password
• No macros, no add-ins, no internet connection required

Who it is for

Anyone writing a business plan for a bank, a grant body, an investor — or for themselves, before committing.

In the download

• Excel workbook, fully formula-driven
• README with the full usage guide
• Licence covering commercial and client use
• Worked sample data throughout, clearly labelled

Sheets in the workbook

• Instructions — How to use the file, colour key, assumptions and limitations.
• Setup — Currency, first month, tax rate, growth rates and payment terms.
• Startup & Funding — One-off costs and where the money comes from.
• Year 1 Monthly — The twelve-month profit and loss. The main input sheet.
• Monthly Cash Flow — Cash in, cash out and the bank balance each month.
• 3-Year Summary — Years 1 to 3, break-even and the funding position.
• Plan Chart — Revenue and cash through year 1.

Requirements

• Microsoft Excel 2016 or later, or Microsoft 365
• Also opens in LibreOffice Calc, Google Sheets (import) and Apple Numbers
• No macros, no add-ins, no internet connection required

Please read

• A planning tool, not financial, tax, accounting or legal advice.
• No country’s tax rules or filing dates are built in.
• A projection is not a forecast and not a promise. Lenders and investors will test your assumptions — be ready to defend every cream cell.
• Have your accountant review the plan before you submit it anywhere.
• Sample data is included and clearly labelled. It is illustrative only.
• This is a tool, not financial, accounting, tax or legal advice.