| Business
Basics
A well-designed table of contents ensures that the audience
of your business plan doesn't waste time searching through your plan for the information
they are most interested in. Very few investors will read your plan from start
to finish. Instead, they will skip around looking for the details they need to
make an informed investment decision. Keep this in mind when you create your table
of contents, and organize it to make it as easy as possible for readers to find
their way around your plan.
We strongly suggest inserting the table of contents
immediately after the executive summary in your business plan. Most readers will
start with your executive summary, and then want to locate specific information
that they want to address first. Your table of contents should list all
the major sections within your business plan, and can also be broken down into
important or clarifying sub-sections. Be sure to include a page number for each
section and subsection.
Possible numbering systems include simply numbering
the pages in sequence or a sub-section system such as:
>> Company
Description A
>> Legal Description A-1
>> History A-2
>> Current Status A-3
This format may provide better organization
for a lengthy or complex plan. The table of contents should be completed
after the rest of your business plan is finalized. Make sure your table of contents
page is organized, clear, neat, and properly numbered. Mistakes, sloppiness, or
misspellings in the table of contents give your reader the impression that you
are unorganized and careless.
Common
Mistakes to Avoid
Your table of
contents must be clean, well organized, and free of mistakes. Investors are always
surprised by the number of business plans that reach their desks with a sloppy
table of contents, or even worse, without any table of contents at all.
These table of contents mistakes should be avoided:
>> Important
sections and/or subsections are missing
>> Page numbers do not match
up correctly with the content of the plan
>> The table of contents
is two pages in length when it could neatly fit onto one page
>> The
table of contents provides too much detail and is cluttered
>> The
text layout is not uniformly aligned and looks sloppy
>> It appears
that little or no thought went into its design and creation To avoid a
poor initial impression, double check the layout and pages before you send your
business plan.
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