The Plan an Investor Reads Is Not the Plan a Credit Committee Reads.
Two Documents, Two Different Readers
The Credit Committee Plan
Audience: your lender
- Repayment first: DSCR, debt schedule, and cash flow that covers the note with room to spare
- Conservative projections tied to defensible assumptions, not hockey sticks
- Management experience mapped directly to the business being financed
- Collateral, injection, and secondary repayment sources spelled out
- Industry data that supports the revenue model, cited
- Three years of projections, monthly for year one
The Investor Plan
Audience: equity partners
- Upside first: market size, growth story, and the path to a multiple
- Aggressive but credible projections showing scale
- Competitive moat and why this team wins the category
- Use of funds tied to growth milestones, not debt service
- Exit logic: who buys this company and why
- Deal terms, cap table, and dilution math
When You Actually Need One
Startup or under two years
No history means the plan and projections carry the entire file. This is where the plan matters most.
Business acquisition with changes
Buying and changing the model, the location, or the concept. The lender needs to see the new math.
Ground-up or major expansion
Construction and expansion deals are projection deals. The plan is the operating history you don't have yet.
Raising equity alongside debt
Two audiences means two versions. Trying to serve both in one document usually fails both.
Lender specifically asked
Some lenders want one on every deal in certain industries. If they asked, the format above is what they meant.
You probably don't need one
Established business, straightforward refinance or equipment deal, strong historicals. Tax returns and a solid package often carry the file without a formal plan.
Tell Us What You're Financing
We'll tell you which document your deal actually needs, what it must cover for your target lenders, and connect you with the right resource to get it written.