Chapter 12 -
Conclusion and supporting documents

Most of your business plan follows a structure designed to make sure you answer all the key questions financial backers may have. It covers virtually everything that affects your prospects of future success.

But perhaps you find that the business plan’s structure prevents you from adequately discussing some important issues. That’s why you include a catchall business plan section — a place where you can lay out matters that don’t really fit elsewhere. You can address these issues in a conclusion

The legal proceedings portion of the “Management strength” section, for example, is concerned primarily with proceedings in which the company and its managers are the target. But what if you are suing a freight forwarder or another trucking company for some reason?

Or suppose you are negotiating to hire a vice president for business development who has great relationships with traffic managers in your market. Because he isn’t currently on your management team, you probably wouldn’t discuss him elsewhere in the business plan. If your business plan can’t wait until you actually hire him, you might discuss the situation here.

You can also use this section to summarize the reasons someone should support your business plan with a loan. Like a lawyer giving closing arguments, this is your last chance to “spin” the material for the reader — highlight the good and downplay the bad.

If this were a stock prospectus, such a self-serving pitch probably would be inappropriate and might get you into legal trouble. But in the context of a business plan, this is your one chance to have full freedom to present arguments the way you want. Just don’t expect them to have much impact if your plan is weak to start with. A banker won’t be persuaded by your passionate prose.

Supporting documents
Your business plan should be easy to read. You don’t want to throw documents like contracts and employment agreements into the middle of your narrative. When, for example, you discuss your arrangements with your suppliers, you describe them in just a few sentences; you don’t include the entire text of your contract. But the contract might include details that seem minor to you but aren’t for your banker.

That’s why you include supporting documents. Such records give the business plan reader the detail they may need without distracting from your presentation. Although some supporting documents are typical of most business plans, your lender may ask for specific documents depending on what actions your plan envisions. Supporting documents for small trucking companies might include:

• Tax returns of principals for the last three years
• Personal financial statements (forms for which are available at your bank)
• Leases or purchase agreements for existing and proposed new facilities
• Leases or purchase agreements for existing trucks and trailers
• Copies of licenses, such as your oper ating authority
• Resumes of all principals
• Contracts with or letters of intent from suppliers and customers

Although the business plan itself should be succinct, don’t skimp on supporting documents. Include any document you believe would help the reader understand either your plan or your existing operation better.

In Summary
The conclusion and supporting documents sections provide the reader material that doesn’t fit well within the basic narrative of your business plan. The conclusion is your chance to step outside the normal business plan format and discuss issues that don’t really fit into the formal structure. It’s also your last chance to sway the lender’s opinion on the substance of your plan. Supporting documents are the items lenders and other business plan users want to see in their entirety. Include records such as tax returns, personal financial statements, leases, purchase agreements, contracts and letters of intent.