How to write a business plan for a loan in Australia

A business plan for a loan is a document that tells a lender what the business does, what the money is for and, above all, how it will be paid back. It isn’t a marketing brochure or a vision statement. The lender is reading it to decide whether your repayment story is believable, so every section should help answer that question. Our how-to guides cover the other parts of a loan application.

Do you need a business plan to get a loan?

It depends on the loan. business.gov.au notes that lenders usually want to see a business plan, but in practice the requirement scales with the risk:

Situation	What lenders usually want
Established business, small unsecured or equipment loan	Bank statements, BAS, a sentence or two on purpose
Established business, larger or property-secured loan	Financials plus a one-to-two-page funding summary
New business or startup	A full plan with a detailed cash flow forecast
Buying a business or franchise	A full plan, the vendor’s figures and your forecast under new ownership
Expansion: new site, new product, big contract	A plan focused on the expansion and its cash flow
Turnaround or refinancing after a rough patch	A plan explaining what went wrong and what has changed

If you’re borrowing because current trading already supports the repayment, the bank statements largely speak for you. If the repayment depends on something that hasn’t happened yet, the plan has to do the talking. Our pages on startup business loans and buying a business explain why those two cases lean so heavily on the plan.

What should a business plan for a loan include?

Lenders don’t need a fifty-page document. They need these sections, written plainly:

1. Business overview. What you do, where, for whom, the legal structure, ABN or ACN, and how long you’ve been trading.
2. The funding request. The amount, the loan type you’re seeking, the term and the security you can offer.
3. Use of funds. An itemised list: equipment, fit-out, stock, wages, working capital. Quotes attached where possible.
4. How the loan will be repaid. The source of repayments, whether existing profit, new revenue from the investment, or a future event like a property sale.
5. Market and customers. Who buys from you, why, how you reach them, and who you compete with. Keep it evidence-based.
6. People. Who runs the business, their experience, and who else is critical: key staff, an accountant, suppliers.
7. Financial history. The last two years of profit and loss and the balance sheet, or whatever you have if you’re newer.
8. Cash flow forecast. Month by month, including the new repayments. This is the page most lenders turn to first.
9. Risks and safeguards. What could go wrong and what you’d do about it.

business.gov.au’s free template is designed with finance in mind; its guidance for anyone seeking funding is to show your finances are in order, explain what money you have, what you need and what you expect to earn, and to be realistic rather than over-borrowing.

How do you build a cash flow forecast lenders trust?

A cash flow forecast estimates money in and money out over coming months. business.gov.au’s template uses a simple structure, and it suits a loan application well:

• Opening balance for the month.
• Cash coming in: sales receipts, money collected from debtors, grants, tax refunds.
• Cash going out: purchases, wages, rent, utilities, marketing, accountant fees, GST and PAYG, and the new loan repayments.
• Net movement and closing balance, which becomes next month’s opening balance.

The template also asks you to state clearly whether figures include or exclude GST. Lenders notice when that’s muddled.

Tips that make a forecast credible:

• Base it on history. Start from the last twelve months of actual figures and adjust for known changes.
• Show seasonality. If January is quiet and November is huge, the forecast should say so.
• Use conservative timing. Assume customers pay when they actually do, not on invoice terms.
• Include tax. BAS, PAYG and super are cash outflows that catch many forecasts out.
• Run a downside case. Show what happens if sales come in lower, and that repayments are still met.

Our business loan calculator helps you turn a likely loan into weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments to drop into the forecast.

Already have the plan in good shape? Check what your business might qualify for with a short enquiry; no credit check is run when you ask.

What do lenders look for when reading a plan?

Credit assessors read plans differently from investors. They’re less interested in upside and more interested in what could stop repayments. They look for:

• Consistency. Does the use of funds match the amount? Does the forecast match the history?
• Realism. Is projected growth supported by contracts, enquiries or a track record?
• Margin for error. Is there cash left over after repayments in an ordinary month?
• Management. Do the people running it know the industry?
• Exit. For short-term or bridging loans, is there a clear way the loan is repaid in full?

Our guide to what lenders assess explains how the plan fits alongside credit, security and serviceability.

What makes a business plan fail with lenders?

• Hockey-stick growth with nothing to support it.
• A forecast that leaves out loan repayments, tax or the owner’s drawings.
• A vague use of funds such as “working capital and growth”.
• Copied template wording that says nothing specific about your business.
• Numbers that don’t match the bank statements or BAS.
• No mention of competitors or risks, which suggests they haven’t been considered.

An illustrative funding summary

Illustrative only, with round numbers and no real business. A two-year-old bakery wants $90,000 to add a second oven and a wholesale delivery van to supply cafés.

• Request: $90,000 equipment loan over five years, secured by the oven and van.
• Use of funds: oven $55,000, van $30,000, setup and signage $5,000. Supplier quotes attached.
• Repayment source: wholesale orders from six cafés, three with signed supply agreements.
• History: two years of steady retail turnover and a modest profit after owners’ wages.
• Forecast: twelve months showing wholesale revenue ramping up over the first quarter, repayments met from month one using existing retail surplus, and a downside case with only the three signed cafés.
• Risks: oven breakdown covered by warranty and service contract; van insured; existing staff trained for early starts.

That fits on two pages and answers almost every question an assessor would ask. Our equipment finance page explains how deals like this are typically structured.

How should you present the plan to a lender?

Presentation matters less than substance, but a few habits make an assessor’s job easier and your application stronger:

• Lead with a one-page summary. Amount, purpose, repayment source, security, key numbers.
• Attach evidence. Supplier quotes, signed contracts, leases, letters of intent.
• Send the forecast as a spreadsheet as well as a PDF, so the lender can test the assumptions.
• Label every figure as actual or forecast, and GST-inclusive or exclusive.
• Keep the story consistent with what’s on the application form and in your bank statements.

Can someone help you prepare the plan?

Yes. Your accountant is best placed to prepare historical figures and check the forecast. A business adviser or mentor can help with structure, and business.gov.au’s template walks you through each section. What you shouldn’t outsource is the thinking: you need to understand every number, because a lender may ask you to explain it.

Ready to put your plan in front of the right lender?

A strong plan deserves a lender that understands your type of business. Tell us what you’re planning in about a minute. Asking doesn’t involve a credit check, your details go to one well-matched lender instead of being shopped around, and a real specialist will review your situation before anything goes further. Give us accurate figures and a clear purpose on the form, and we can match you properly from the start.