Business Plan Guidelines

General Information:

1.        Name of the company:

2.        Legal form of the company:

3.        Contact person:

4.        Company address:

5.        Telephone number/Fax:

6.        How did you/your company learn about the North Fund?

7.        Please provide the names, positions and telephone numbers/contact info for three people who can provide a business reference for you/your company.

Company History:

1.        When was the company founded?  Please provide a brief history of the company and its activities.

2.        Please attach copies of the company’s official legal documents, permits, licenses, etc.

Organizational Structure:

1.        Please provide the names of the owners of the company along with their ownership percentages.

2.        Are the owners of the company or its managers, or their spouses, active professionally in other companies?  If so, which ones?  Please provide CVs for the company’s key personnel.

3.        Please provide the names of the company’s managers and explain their positions and responsibilities.

4.        How many people are employed by the company and in which departments?  Please attach an organizational chart.

Products:

1.        What are the company’s products?  Please provide figures concerning the sales of specific products.

2.        How does the company determine the price of its products?  Do the prices of products increase faster or slower than the inflation rate?  What trends will shape the prices of the company’s products in the future?

Clients:

1.        What is the demand for the company’s products?  How quickly is the market for the company’s products growing?  What is driving this growth?

2.        Who are the company’s clients? In which commercial sectors do they operate? Who are the company’s biggest clients?  Which group of clients is the most attractive for the company and why?

3.        What criteria do your clients use in making their purchasing decisions?

4.        Please characterize the company’s management of relationships with clients.  What payment terms does the company offer its clients?  Do selected clients pay lower prices?

Sales and Marketing:

1.        How are the company’s products sold?  Does the company have its own distribution channels or does it use distributors?  What incentives does the company use to motivate its sales staff? 

2.        What is the geographical reach of the company’s sales area?  Please provide sales figures by region.

3.        How are the company’s warehousing, distribution, and product delivery organized?

4.        What marketing/promotional activities is the company using in order to increase sales?

Competition:

1.        How many competitors does your company have?  Do you expect an increase or decrease in this number?

2.        Who are the company’s biggest competitors?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of them?  Please provide information concerning the market share of each.

3.        What is the company’s strategy for competing successfully for market share against these other companies?

Logistics and Suppliers:

1.        What kinds of raw materials and supplies does the company use?  Who is your largest supplier and why?  Please characterize the company’s relationships with its suppliers.  What payment terms does the company offer its suppliers?

2.        How many other suppliers offer your company the same products?  What are the criteria that the company takes into account when making its purchasing decisions?

3.        How often does the company purchase raw materials and supplies and in what amounts?  How much advance notice does the company give when it orders supplies, raw materials, and similar products?  How does the company determine how much it needs to buy?

Production:

1.        Please list the machines and equipment used in production.  How old and in what condition is this machinery and equipment?  What, if any, repairs or renovation does the company’s machinery/equipment require?

2.        What is the company’s production capacity?  At what percentage is the company’s current production capacity being utilized?  Does the company own any machinery or equipment that is not being used at present?

3.        How does the company plan the production process?  Is it planned according to product orders placed by clients, the availability of raw materials, or set production targets?

4.        What is company policy regarding invenotry and the optimization of the amounts of inventory and finished goods on hand?  How is this policy implemented?  How is inventory managed?

5.        What are the average salaries of a production worker and a production manager? How are the salaries calculated for employees engaged in production/assembly?  What kind of a bonus system is used?

6.        Please provide the participation in the cost of each unit produced of raw materials, labor, and overhead. 

Accounting/Bookeeping:

1.        What are the accounting reports and management information upon which the company’s management team makes managerial and financial decisions?

2.        Who does the accounting for the company?  What type of accounting information is available to management?  Does the company use any accounting software applications?  If so, what kind?

Financial Statements:

1.        Please attach the company’s most recent F-02 and current F-01 documents.

2.        Please attach the company’s up-to-date balance sheet.

3.        Please attach detailed information concerning any long-term debt, leasing and other agreements, including the information about the amount financed, the current state of the loan/lease, the interest rate, the payment terms, and the collateral.

Financial Planning:

1.        Please provide detailed financial projections for the company or the company’s project for the next three years.  For new projects or startup companies, please provide a monthly breakdown for at least the first year of operation.  The company’s financial projections should contain the following components:

a)       sales forecast

-          sales forecast by product

-          estimated prices

-          total revenue forecast

b)       production/purchasing costs forecast

-          purchasing costs

-          production costs

-          production levels for each product

-          raw materials costs

-          labor costs

-          packaging costs

-          other production costs

c)        forecast costs of individual departments and company overhead

-          sales costs

-          marketing costs

-          administrative costs

-          management salary costs

-          other administrative costs

-          other overhead costs (by type)

d)       planned financing activities

-          existing and planned loans

-          timetable for the repayment of existing and planned loans

e)       plans concerning the purchase of fixed assets (capital budget)

-          fixed assets to be purchased

-          timetable for payment

-          timetable for depreciation of existing and newly purchased fixed assets

f)         pro forma income statements for the next 3 – 5 years

2.  What amount of financing is your company seeking from the North Fund?  How will the proceeds from North Fund financing be used?

3.        Please summarize the market value of the investment project and the North Fund’s participation in it.  For the purposes of valuing the company, please provide valuations of the company’s real estate and assets.

Human Resources/Employment Issues:

1.        How many employees are involved in production?  Administration?

2.        How many of the company’s current employees were unemployed prior to going to work for the company?

3.        What are the average salaries paid to production and administrative employees?

4.        What was the average salary of the company’s employees prior to their employment with the company?

5.        What are the company’s plans, if any, concerning hiring new employees?

6.        How much with employment at the company increase as a result of the proposed investment?

7.        Is the company planning to hire any disabled or unemployed people?

8.        Is the firm currently taking advantage of any type of public financial assistance program?

9.     Does the company qualify for corporate or real estate tax deductions or other tax relief related to the workers it    employs?