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I'm in need of some business plan accounting help...

My best friend (who is also on this site) and I are about to take on our own venture into the business world and are in the middle of writing the formal business plan for the bank. The only bump we've hit is the part about financial predictions/projections, spoilage/loss determination, etc. We've found all of our break even costs, fixed & variable costs (I think... it was done a little unconventional, but we have some solid numbers). Can anyone put me on the right path as to how to go about these projections or what I should be doing? Or maybe even feel like being the nicest person ever and would be willing to sit down and run through some numbers with me... I have a cost analysis book I borrowed and tried to read through it and reaffirmed that accounting is NOT my forte.

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Permalink Reply by Will on April 15, 2010 at 9:50pm

Hi Charlene, you might shoot an email to Abhijit Sheth, who's also in NJYP. He's in Jersey City and recently started a small business financing/advisory firm.

http://ajfcgroup.com/

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Abhijit Sheth on April 18, 2010 at 12:52pm

Hello Charlene, I was referred to your posting by another friend @ NJYP.
I recently started my own business as well (http://ajfcgroup.com) and went through some of the same concerns you have. It was especially tough decision for me considering I have a sizeable mortgage among other things to pay for. I spent good deal of time analyzing various business options and my financial situation, somewhat unconventional way (using spreadsheets etc.)
To state the obvious, many things do depend on the type of business you pick. Mine is a service-oriented business with low overhead - I can operate from home using phone and internet, and occasionally visit clients and business partners as necessary. If you are starting a retail business, your initial capital cost would be quite significant, as it would likely be high - you'd need working space, equipment, construction, franchise fee etc. If yours is a franchise, you can work with the franchisor to figure out these numbers and better establish your cost-benefit analysis. If possible, gather some data for similar businesses in your neighborhood (where you plan to start the business) and use that as a benchmark for comparison.
Here is a web-site that might be useful:
http://www.toolkit.com/small_business_guide/sbg.aspx?nid=P06_7500
I am not an accountant but I went over my daily and monthly expenses for the last few months, made a projection of what they'd be over the next several months and compared them to my current income and savings to figure out how long I can sustain without a profit or even a sale, after my initial investment in the business as well as on-going expenses incurred over the next few months - this includes office furniture & supplies, set-up fees, marketing, travel and other miscellaneous items. Since it's a service-business, my case may have been a bit easier to handle.
You may have already gone through the basics of what I mentioned but feel free to contact me at info@ajfcgroup.com. Also, if you need any financial assistance for your business, check out our website: http://ajfcgroup.com.
Abhijit