While not required, a well-structured business plan appendix goes a long way toward convincing lenders and investors that you have a great business idea and a viable business.
This article will cover what should be part of the appendix in your business plan and best practices for making it a useful part of your business plan.
A business plan appendix provides supporting documentation for the other sections of your business plan.
The appendix for business plans typically comes last and includes any additional documents, spreadsheets, tables, or charts that don’t fit within the main sections of your plan.
In general, here is some of the information you might include in your business plan appendix:
You may include some, all, or none of these documents in your business plan appendix. It depends on your business needs and who you share your business plan with.
Tip: Like your executive summary, adjusting what’s in your business plan appendix may be helpful based on the intended audience. For example, if you’re applying for a loan, you may add financial statements from the past 2-5 years to show how your business has performed.
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Here are a few tips to help you create an appendix for your business plan.
If your business plan appendix is more than a few pages long or contains a variety of documents, you may want to consider adding a separate table of contents.
If you share confidential information within the business plan appendix, you will also want to keep track of who has access to it.
A confidentiality statement is a good way to remind people that the content you share should not be distributed or discussed beyond the agreed parties. You can include it as a separate page or as part of your business plan cover page.
Given that the appendix is the last part of the business plan, it’s quite likely your readers will skip it.
For this reason, it’s important to ensure your business plan can stand on its own. All information within the appendix should be supplementary.
Ask yourself: if the reader skipped this part of my plan, would they still understand my idea or business model? If the answer is no, you may need to rethink some things.
Make sure that anything you include in the business plan appendix is relevant to the rest of your business plan. It should not be unrelated to the materials you’ve already covered.
It can be useful to reference which section of your plan the information in your appendix supports. Use footnotes, or if it’s digital, provide links to other areas of your business plan.
This is good general advice for your entire business plan.
You don’t need to include everything. Focus on the relevant information that will give your reader greater insight into your business or more detailed financial information that will supplement your financial plan.
Remember, your appendix is an optional supporting section of your business plan. Don’t get too hung up on what to include. You can flag documents and information you believe are worth including in your appendix as you write your plan.
Need help creating your business plan?
Download our free fill-in-the-blank business plan template with a pre-structured format for your appendix.
And to understand what you should include based on your industry—check out our library of over 550 business plan examples.
Business plan appendix FAQ
How do you write an appendix for a business plan?
Gather relevant documents like financial statements, team resumes, and legal permits. Organize them logically, possibly mirroring your business plan’s structure. If long, include a table of contents, ensure each item is relevant, and focus on keeping it simple. If you’re sharing sensitive information, add a confidentiality statement.
Why is a business plan appendix important?
An appendix in your business plan provides supporting evidence for your business plan. It keeps your main plan more concise, enhances credibility with additional data, and can house all-important business documents associated with your business.
What additional information would appear in the appendix of the business plan?
The following can appear in your business plan appendix:
