The bank asked for a business plan. Here's what they actually want.

It's rarely a formality. The lender is asking one question in document form — can this business repay the loan? — and there's a standard shape the answer is expected to take. Here's that shape, what to gather, and how to have the finished document in hand within 48 hours.

What the lender is really checking

Repayment. Cash-flow projections that hold together: monthly Year-1 financials, debt-service coverage (DSCR), and a break-even point — numbers a credit reviewer can trace, not just totals.
Reality. Market claims backed by sources they can open, competitors named honestly, risks acknowledged instead of hidden.
The money. A use-of-funds breakdown for the exact amount you're requesting — what it buys and why that leads to repayment.
The downside. What happens if revenue comes in light, and what you'd do about it. A plan with only a best case reads as a plan with no case.

The sections lenders expect to see

Executive summary
Company overview
Market analysis — with cited, checkable statistics
Competition — named, with honest positioning
Products & services
Marketing & sales
Operations
Management & experience
Financial plan — use of funds, 3-year summary, monthly Year 1, DSCR, break-even, downside case, and an Assumptions Register
Appendix

That's the exact structure we build, every time — read the complete sample plan to see it filled in for a (fictional) SBA 7(a) request.

What to have on hand

Our whole intake is 12 questions — three before checkout and nine after — and it doubles as a solid checklist even if you write the plan yourself: your one-line business description · new or existing (years, revenue) · the loan amount and what it buys · your product and pricing · main monthly costs · customers and capacity · 2–3 competitors · location and service area · who's on the team and their experience · anything the lender specifically asked for · your deadline.

Rough numbers are fine, and “I don't know” is a valid answer — gaps become clearly labeled, industry-sourced assumptions listed in the plan's Assumptions Register for you to confirm or correct.

Straight answers, since money is involved

We write plans — we don't lend. 48 Hour Plan is a document-preparation service: we never arrange financing or touch your loan application.
Nobody can guarantee approval. The decision rests on your credit, collateral, cash flow, and the lender. Anyone who promises approval is someone to walk away from. What we deliver is the document lenders expect, with defensible, cited numbers.
“Lender-format” describes structure — the sections and conventions above — not an endorsement by the SBA or any bank.

On a deadline? The finished document — 25–35 pages, live 3-year Excel model, every statistic cited — is $449 flat, delivered within 48 hours of your confirmed intake. Three questions to checkout, nine after, and a missed deadline means a full refund. Here's exactly where the 48 hours go.

Walk in with the document they asked for.

Answer the 12 intake questions now — confirmation within the hour, delivery within 48, and the price is on the page.

Start your plan — $449