Business planning readiness
Understand Your Business. Plan Your Next Move.
Get a clearer view of your business's strengths, financial gaps and next steps. Choose your path: you already run a business, or you have never owned one. Answer 20 questions and receive an indicative diagnostic with tailored recommendations.
Start the business assessmentRevenue Bridge is a firm of accountants. We prepare your records and financial projections; we do not arrange funding or recommend funders.
Revenue Bridge is not a Financial Services Provider (FSP) or credit broker. We simply provide financial readiness packages.
Why business plans fall short
Most plans are rejected or abandoned for the same few reasons:
- Goals that are not written down or measured.
- Projections that are not based on actual financial results.
- Heavy reliance on one customer or one person.
- No costing of the investment the plan needs.
- Compliance gaps at CIPC or SARS that undermine credibility.
Each of these can be fixed. Our part is the financial and compliance foundation.
What lenders typically ask for
Funders, investors and partners reviewing a plan usually expect:
- A written plan with goals, market and strategy
- Annual financial statements and recent management accounts
- Three-year projections of income, costs and cash flow
- A break-even analysis and costed investment plan
- Proof of CIPC and SARS compliance
We prepare the financial sections and make sure they agree with your actual results.
How we get your plan ready
Step 1
Assess
We review your bank statements, SARS profile and CIPC status.
Step 2
Map
We set out what is missing and what each item will take to fix.
Step 3
Reconcile
We bring your books up to date and separate business from personal spending.
Step 4
Prepare
We prepare management accounts, three-year projections and a break-even analysis.
Step 5
Submit
We file outstanding returns with SARS and CIPC and hand you a complete document pack.
Step 6
Respond
If a lender asks questions about your financials, we help you answer them.
The three areas we fix
Company compliance
CIPC annual returns, beneficial ownership filings and complete company records.
Tax compliance
Outstanding returns filed, SARS debt resolved and a compliant Tax Compliance Status PIN.
Accounting and bookkeeping
Cloud accounting, monthly management accounts and budgets you can measure your plan against.
Which route fits you?
| Route | Your situation | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| A: Submission Pack | Compliant, with current financials | Prepare projections and the financial sections of your plan |
| B: Accounting Cleanup | Records are behind or incomplete | Reconcile and rebuild your books, then prepare projections |
| C: Compliance Overhaul | CIPC or SARS backlogs | Restore company and tax compliance first, then routes B and A |
Business assessment
Understand Your Business. Plan Your Next Move.
Get a clearer view of your business's strengths, financial gaps and next steps. Complete the Revenue Bridge assessment to receive an indicative diagnostic and tailored recommendations.
The assessment is indicative and based on your answers. It does not guarantee funding, profitability or regulatory compliance.
Test the numbers behind your plan
Three calculators every plan should answer: what the business is worth, what debt it could carry, and what it owes against what it owns. Tick "Include these results" on any calculator to add it to your readiness check.
Sell now, in 5 years or in 10 years?
Sell now
R4 800 000
value in today's Rands
Sell in year 5
R7 257 060
value in today's Rands
Cash collected R4 422 708 (today's value) + sale price R7 052 775 in year 5
Sell in year 10
R8 707 929
value in today's Rands
Cash collected R7 034 273 (today's value) + sale price R10 362 840 in year 10
Highest value on these inputs
- Value of keeping the business (DCF)
- R9 963 172
Free cash flow is the cash the business generates after operating costs, tax and reinvestment. The discount rate is the yearly return you or a buyer would expect for the risk; owner-managed businesses often use 18% to 25%. The sale price uses your exit multiple of that year's free cash flow.
How much funding could your profit support?
- Profit margin
- 15.0%
- Current repayment cover
- 7.50×
- Room for new repayments
- R100 000 a month
- Estimated funding capacity
- R4 419 831
Profit means operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). Many lenders want profit to cover all loan repayments about 1.25 times or more. Business lending rates are usually above prime.
What the business owes versus what it owns
What the business owes
What the business owns and is owed
- Total owed
- R1 650 000
- Total owned and owed to you
- R2 900 000
- Net worth (equity)
- R1 250 000
Estimates only, based on common lender guidelines. Lenders apply their own affordability assessment under the National Credit Act, their own rates and fees. This is not a credit assessment or an offer of finance. These figures are not a formal business valuation.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a business plan credible?
Clear goals, a defined market, and financial projections that start from your actual results. Funders and investors test the numbers first.
Do you write business plans?
We prepare the financial sections: management accounts, projections, break-even and investment costing. You own the strategy and market sections, and we make sure the numbers support them.
How far ahead should projections go?
Three years is common, with the first year shown month by month.
Why does compliance matter in a business plan?
Outstanding CIPC or SARS items raise questions about governance and can stop a funder or partner from proceeding.
Will you find funding or investors for my plan?
No. We are accountants, not credit providers, brokers or financial advisers. We prepare your records and projections. You choose who to approach.
How long does it take?
It depends on your route. With current financials (Route A), projections can be prepared quickly. Backlogs (Route C) are resolved first.
Revenue Bridge is not a Financial Services Provider (FSP) or credit broker. We simply provide financial readiness packages.
Revenue Bridge provides accounting, tax and company compliance services. We are not a registered financial services provider or credit broker, and we do not recommend funders, investors or financial products. Calculator results and scores are estimates, not a formal valuation or credit assessment.
Build your plan on numbers you can defend.
The business assessment gives you an indicative diagnostic across the key areas of your business and tailored next steps.
Start the business assessment