These 53 prompts take you through writing a business plan one section at a time, in the order a good plan gets written: the problem and solution first, then market research, competitors, the business model, operations and team, the financials, the funding ask and risks, and the executive summary last. The final section turns the plan into a pitch deck and puts it in front of a skeptical lender and a skeptical angel investor before a real one sees it.
Most lists of ChatGPT prompts for a business plan ask the AI to "write a business plan for my bakery". You get a confident document full of market sizes nobody can trace and forecasts nobody can rebuild. A lender spots that in a few minutes. These prompts work the other way round. The AI uses only the facts and sources you give it, marks gaps with [NEEDS SOURCE] instead of inventing figures, and shows every calculation so you can check it in a spreadsheet.
Each prompt has a role, your details as {{VARIABLES}}, clear rules and an output format, and each works in ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Four include a worked example for one fictional bike-repair shop: market sizing, a break-even timeline, a loan repayment check and a lender's critique. The finance prompts are educational, not financial advice.
Problem, Solution & Company Overview
Start here, before any market or money section. These prompts build the fact base the rest of the plan stands on: who has the problem, what you sell, how it works and who owns the business. Several ask you to grade your own evidence, because a reader will. The first prompt interviews you and the second shapes the outline around the person who will read it.
Best for: Anyone starting a plan from a blank page
You are an experienced business-plan writer who has prepared plans for bank loans, grant applications and angel rounds. Before we write any section, interview me to build a fact base.
My business in one or two sentences: {{BUSINESS_SUMMARY}}
Who will read the plan and what I want from them (bank loan, angel investment, grant, internal plan): {{PLAN_AUDIENCE}}
Stage (idea, pre-launch, trading for a number of months): {{BUSINESS_STAGE}}
Do this:
1. Ask me up to 15 questions, grouped under: customers and problem, product and pricing, market evidence, competition, operations, team, and money (startup costs, sales so far, funding needed). Put first the questions my reader will care about most.
2. Next to each question, say in one line why the reader cares.
3. Ask them in batches of five and wait for my answers before continuing.
4. When I've answered everything, produce a fact sheet with three lists: confirmed facts, my estimates (labeled as estimates), and open gaps the plan can't hide.
Rules: don't write any plan prose yet. Don't fill gaps with typical industry figures; list them as gaps. Keep each question short and plain, and if one of my answers is vague, ask one follow-up before moving on.
Fill in: BUSINESS_SUMMARY PLAN_AUDIENCE BUSINESS_STAGE
Run this first in a fresh chat and keep that chat for the rest of the plan, so the fact sheet stays in context.
Best for: Choosing the right structure for a bank, an investor or a grant
Act as a business-plan editor who knows what different readers look for. Build an outline for my plan that fits the person who will read it.
Business: {{BUSINESS_SUMMARY}}
Reader and purpose: {{PLAN_AUDIENCE}}
Amount and type of funding sought, if any: {{FUNDING_SOUGHT}}
Any template or required headings from the lender, investor or grant body: {{REQUIRED_FORMAT}}
Produce:
1. A section-by-section outline in the order this reader expects. If I gave required headings, use them exactly and map my content into them.
2. For each section: its purpose in one line, the questions it must answer, the evidence I'll need (documents, numbers, quotes), and a target length.
3. The three sections this reader will read first and judge hardest, and why.
4. What to cut or move to an appendix for this reader.
5. A writing order, with the executive summary last.
Rules: don't pad the outline with sections this reader doesn't need. A bank cares most about repayment, cash flow and security; an equity investor about growth, the team and an eventual return; a grant body about eligibility and outcomes. Say which applies to me and adjust. If my reader is unclear, ask before outlining.
Fill in: BUSINESS_SUMMARY PLAN_AUDIENCE FUNDING_SOUGHT REQUIRED_FORMAT
Paste the lender's or grant body's required headings if they gave you any; they override any standard template.
Best for: Making the 'why this business should exist' case believable
You are a business-plan coach who insists every claim has evidence behind it. Help me write the problem section of my business plan.
Who has the problem: {{TARGET_CUSTOMER}}
The problem in my words: {{PROBLEM_DESCRIPTION}}
Evidence I have (customer interviews, complaints, waiting lists, pre-orders, my own experience, dated sources): {{PROBLEM_EVIDENCE}}
What people do about it today: {{CURRENT_WORKAROUNDS}}
Do this:
1. Rate my evidence as strong, moderate or weak, with one line on why. Pre-orders and interviews beat opinions; my own experience counts but is one data point.
2. Write a 150-200 word problem section: who has the problem, how often, what it costs them in money, time or risk, and why the current workarounds fall short. Use only the evidence I gave.
3. Mark any sentence that relies on an assumption with [ASSUMPTION] so I can verify or cut it.
4. List the three pieces of extra evidence that would most strengthen this section, and the cheapest way to collect each within two weeks.
Rules: don't add statistics, market figures or quotes I didn't supply. Don't describe my solution here; this section is about the customer's pain, told from their side.
Fill in: TARGET_CUSTOMER PROBLEM_DESCRIPTION PROBLEM_EVIDENCE CURRENT_WORKAROUNDS
Paste interview quotes word for word if you have them; the AI will only use what you give it.
Best for: Describing your product or service so a non-expert gets it in one read
Act as a plain-English business writer. Write the solution section of my plan so a lender or investor with no specialist knowledge understands exactly what I sell and how it works.
Product or service: {{PRODUCT_DESCRIPTION}}
How a customer buys and uses it, step by step: {{CUSTOMER_JOURNEY}}
What is built or ready today, and what isn't yet: {{DEVELOPMENT_STATUS}}
Any intellectual property, licenses, certifications or approvals: {{PROTECTIONS_AND_APPROVALS}}
Produce:
1. A 200-250 word solution section: what it is, who uses it, how it works from first contact to delivery, and how it removes the problem.
2. A 'Status today' box separating what is done, in progress and planned, with dates where I gave them.
3. A short list of claims a reader may doubt, and the proof I should attach for each (photos, a demo link, test results, a supplier quote).
4. Any part of the solution that depends on something outside my control, such as a supplier, a platform or an approval, stated plainly.
Rules: no buzzwords such as 'revolutionary', 'disruptive', 'seamless' or 'cutting-edge'. Don't describe anything as finished if my status says it isn't. If how it works is unclear from my notes, ask me rather than guess.
Fill in: PRODUCT_DESCRIPTION CUSTOMER_JOURNEY DEVELOPMENT_STATUS PROTECTIONS_AND_APPROVALS
Be honest in the development-status field; readers check, and an overstated status costs more trust than an early one.
Best for: Deciding which customers the plan should lead with
You are a positioning strategist. Help me write a value proposition for each customer segment in my business plan, based on what each segment gains compared with what it does today. (Sizing and counting the segments comes later, in the market section.)
What I sell and the price: {{OFFER_AND_PRICE}}
My customer segments, with what I know about each: {{CUSTOMER_SEGMENTS}}
What they use or pay for today instead: {{CURRENT_ALTERNATIVES}}
For each segment:
1. The job they're hiring my product to do, in their words.
2. The gain over their current alternative, quantified only where my inputs allow (time saved, cost avoided, revenue gained). Show the arithmetic.
3. A one-sentence value proposition in the form: For [segment] who [situation], [business] [benefit], unlike [alternative].
4. The proof a skeptical reader would want for that claim.
Then:
5. Rank the segments by how strong the case is, and recommend which one the plan should lead with and why.
6. Flag any segment where the value is weak or the price looks hard to justify against the alternative.
Rules: don't claim savings or gains I haven't given you the numbers for. Mark estimates as estimates. Keep the whole answer under 450 words so it can drop into the plan with light editing.
Fill in: OFFER_AND_PRICE CUSTOMER_SEGMENTS CURRENT_ALTERNATIVES
List segments by what they have in common (situation, need), not by demographics alone.
Best for: The 'who are we dealing with' page every lender reads
Act as a business-plan writer preparing the company overview that a bank or investor reads to understand who they would be dealing with.
Business name, legal structure and where it is registered: {{LEGAL_DETAILS}}
Owners and how ownership is split: {{OWNERSHIP}}
Location and premises (owned, leased, home-based, online): {{LOCATION}}
History so far (founded when, milestones, sales to date): {{HISTORY_TO_DATE}}
Mission or purpose in my words: {{MISSION}}
Write:
1. A company description of 150-200 words: what the business does, legal form, ownership, location, stage and key milestones to date.
2. A short facts table: legal name, structure, registration or tax ID, founded, owners and stakes, premises, employees, website.
3. A mission sentence of under 25 words that a customer would understand. If mine is vague, rewrite it and show both versions.
4. Questions a lender is likely to ask about this section, such as who can sign for the business or whether any owner has other business interests, with blanks for my answers.
Rules: use only the facts I've supplied. Leave registration and tax numbers as [PLACEHOLDER]; never make them up. Keep the tone plain and factual, because this section isn't a sales pitch.
Fill in: LEGAL_DETAILS OWNERSHIP LOCATION HISTORY_TO_DATE MISSION
Have your registration documents and any shareholder agreement to hand so the facts table is exact.
Market Research & Market Sizing
This is where most AI-written plans go wrong: the model fills the gaps with confident market sizes that nobody can trace. These prompts work the other way round. They show you how to find real data, size TAM, SAM and SOM from sources you supply, and turn customer interviews into evidence you can quote. Where a figure is missing, the AI is told to say so.
Best for: A market-size slide a lender or investor can trace back to sources
You are a market analyst who sizes markets transparently. Estimate TAM, SAM and SOM for my plan using only the sources I provide.
What I sell, average price and how often a customer buys: {{OFFER_AND_PRICE}}
The area and customers I can realistically serve: {{SERVICE_AREA}}
Figures I've found, each with its source and date: {{MARKET_SOURCES}}
My capacity and sales target for year one: {{CAPACITY}}
Do this:
1. Choose top-down or bottom-up based on what my sources support, and say why. Prefer bottom-up (customers × annual spend).
2. Calculate TAM and SAM, citing the source next to each number. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
3. Estimate SOM from the reach, conversion and competition evidence I've given. If it's too thin, test my sales target as the SOM and say so. Either way, show the share of SAM it implies and check it against my capacity.
4. Rate each input's reliability, from official statistics down to guesses, and show how that share changes if the weakest input is 25 percent lower.
5. Write a 120-word market-size paragraph for the plan.
Rules: never supply a market size, growth rate or statistic from memory. Where a figure is missing, write [NEEDS SOURCE] and name the kind of source that has it.
Fill in: OFFER_AND_PRICE SERVICE_AREA MARKET_SOURCES CAPACITY
Run 'Where to Find Real Market Data' first if you don't have sources yet. Cite every figure with its source and year.
Example output · Claude (example written by The Prompt Index)
Sample inputs (fictional business)
- Offer and price: Spoke & Wrench, a bike and e-bike repair shop with a mobile van in Millbrook. Average job $110; customers average 1.5 jobs a year, so about $165 a year each (from my three years of service records at my previous employer's shop).
- Service area: two ZIP codes within 15 minutes of the shop, 31,000 households. The wider metro has 88,000 households. Both from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-year table I downloaded.
- Sources: my street survey of 212 adults at the Millbrook farmers' market, September 2026. 46% have at least one working bike; half of those (50%) paid for a service or repair in the last 12 months.
- Capacity and target: 2 mechanics, 8 jobs each a day, 5.5 days a week, 50 weeks. My forecast is 2,070 jobs in year one.
1. Method
Bottom-up. You have household counts from an official source and spend per customer from real service records, so "customers × spend per year" works. A top-down figure would need a published total for bike-repair spending in your area, which you haven't supplied, so I've left it out rather than guess.
2. The calculation
TAM: repair spend by bike-servicing households across the metro
- 88,000 households (ACS) × 46% own a working bike (your survey) × 50% paid for a service last year (your survey) = 20,240 servicing households
- × $165 a year (your records) = $3,339,600
- TAM ≈ $3.34 million a year
SAM: the part one shop and one van can reach
- 31,000 households × 46% × 50% = 7,130 servicing households
- × $165 = $1,176,450
- SAM ≈ $1.18 million a year
SOM: your year-one target, tested
You've given capacity and a sales target but no reach or conversion evidence, so I can't estimate SOM independently. I've treated your year-one forecast as the SOM to be tested.
- 2,070 jobs ÷ 1.5 jobs per customer = 1,380 customers
- 1,380 × $165 = $227,700 (this matches 2,070 jobs × $110)
- Share of SAM: $227,700 ÷ $1,176,450 = 19.4%
3. Capacity check
- Capacity: 2 × 8 × 5.5 × 50 = 4,400 jobs a year
- Year-one forecast: 2,070 jobs = 47% of capacity
Capacity isn't the limit; winning customers is. But note what your target implies: about one in five servicing households in your area choosing you in your first year. A reader will ask how, when three shops already serve this area. Your plan needs a clear answer (mobile van convenience, e-bike specialism) and evidence for it.
4. Reliability of each input
| Input | Value | Source | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households | 88,000 / 31,000 | Census ACS | High: official statistics |
| Own a working bike | 46% | Your survey, 212 people | Low to medium: a farmers' market crowd is likely to be more active than average |
| Serviced in the last year | 50% | Same survey | Low to medium: same sample |
| Spend per customer | $165 | Your previous shop's records | Medium: real data, but a different shop |
The weakest input is bike ownership. If it is 25% lower (34.5% instead of 46%), SAM falls to $882,338 and your year-one target becomes 25.8% of the local market. Before you submit, find a second source for ownership, such as a city or regional transportation survey, or repeat your survey somewhere less bike-friendly, like a supermarket entrance.
5. Market-size paragraph for the plan
Spoke & Wrench will serve two Millbrook ZIP codes containing 31,000 households (US Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates). In our September 2026 survey of 212 local adults, 46% owned a working bike and half of those had paid for a repair in the past year. That implies about 7,130 servicing households in our area. At an average spend of $165 a year (owner's service records), the serviceable market is about $1.18 million a year, within a metro-wide market of about $3.34 million. Our year-one forecast of 2,070 jobs ($227,700) requires about 1,380 customers, or 19% of the local serviceable market. The survey was a convenience sample, and we are cross-checking it before submission.
Best for: Founders who don't know where credible numbers come from
Act as a business librarian who helps founders find credible market data. I need a research plan, not numbers.
My business and what I sell: {{BUSINESS_SUMMARY}}
Country and region: {{COUNTRY_REGION}}
The figures my plan needs (for example number of target customers, average spend, growth, local competitor count): {{DATA_NEEDED}}
My budget for paid reports, if any: {{RESEARCH_BUDGET}}
For each figure I need:
1. The types of source likely to hold it: national statistics office, census, government business registers, trade associations, regulators, public company annual reports, local government or chamber of commerce data, and library business databases.
2. Search terms to use, and what the table or report is likely to be called.
3. A free option and, if my budget allows, a paid option.
4. How to sanity-check the figure (a second source, a bottom-up count, asking a supplier or trade body).
5. How to cite it in the plan (source, table name, year, link).
Then give me a one-week research schedule.
Rules: don't state any market figures, and don't claim a specific report contains a specific number. Name only organizations you're confident exist, and remind me to confirm links myself because they change. If data for my region is likely to be thin, say so and suggest a proxy method.
Fill in: BUSINESS_SUMMARY COUNTRY_REGION DATA_NEEDED RESEARCH_BUDGET
Ask your public library and your local small-business support center too; many give free access to paid databases.
Best for: Testing demand before you write a word of the plan
You are a customer-research coach who follows one rule: ask about past behavior, not future promises. Write me an interview script to test demand before I put claims in my plan.
What I plan to sell: {{OFFER_DESCRIPTION}}
Who I'll interview: {{INTERVIEWEE_PROFILE}}
The assumptions my plan depends on (for example 'people will pay $40 a month', 'they buy weekly'): {{KEY_ASSUMPTIONS}}
Produce:
1. A 20-minute script: a warm-up, 8-10 questions about how they handle the problem today, what it costs them and what they've already tried, and a close that asks for a concrete commitment (pre-order, deposit, letter of intent, introduction).
2. Next to each question, the assumption it tests.
3. Questions to avoid because they invite polite lies, such as 'Would you buy this?', with a better replacement for each.
4. A one-page note-taking template.
5. A rule for what counts as validated: which answers, from how many of the people I interview, would support each assumption, and what would disprove it.
Rules: no leading questions. Don't let me pitch the product until the final two minutes, and remind me to record exact words, not my interpretation.
Fill in: OFFER_DESCRIPTION INTERVIEWEE_PROFILE KEY_ASSUMPTIONS
Aim for at least 10 interviews with people who match your target customer, not friends and family.
Best for: Converting interviews into numbers a reader will trust
Act as a research analyst. I've done customer interviews and need to turn my notes into honest evidence for my business plan.
What I was testing: {{KEY_ASSUMPTIONS}}
Number of interviews and who they were: {{INTERVIEW_SAMPLE}}
My raw notes, anonymized: {{INTERVIEW_NOTES}}
Do this:
1. For each assumption, count how many interviews supported it, contradicted it or didn't address it. Quote the short phrase from my notes behind each count.
2. List the recurring pains, current spending and buying triggers people mentioned, with counts.
3. Pull out any concrete commitments: pre-orders, deposits, sign-ups, introductions.
4. Point out where the sample is biased (friends, one location, one type of customer) and how that limits what I can claim.
5. Write a 150-word 'Customer validation' paragraph for the plan that states the numbers plainly, for example '9 of 14 owners interviewed said...'.
6. List the assumptions still unproven and what to test next.
Rules: count only what's in my notes. Don't turn 'sounds interesting' into demand. Don't convert small samples into percentages that imply more precision than they have.
Fill in: KEY_ASSUMPTIONS INTERVIEW_SAMPLE INTERVIEW_NOTES
Remove names and contact details before pasting. Typed notes work better than summaries written from memory.
Best for: Pinning down exactly who buys, and how many of them exist
You are a market-segmentation adviser writing for a business plan, where the reader wants to know exactly who will buy and how many of them exist.
What I sell: {{OFFER_DESCRIPTION}}
Who has bought or shown interest so far, with any details I have: {{CUSTOMER_EVIDENCE}}
How many of these customers are in my area, with the source, if I know: {{CUSTOMER_COUNT_SOURCE}}
Produce:
1. A primary target customer described by situation and buying behavior: who they are, where they are, what triggers a purchase, who decides and who pays, how they find suppliers, and how price-sensitive they are.
2. One or two secondary segments, and why they come second.
3. A segment table: segment, how to identify and reach them, likely spend per year (my figures only), count and source, and confidence (high, medium, low).
4. Customers I should not target in year one, and why.
5. A 120-word target-market paragraph for the plan.
Rules: base the profile on my evidence. Label inferences as assumptions. Don't invent ages, incomes or population counts; where a count is missing, write [NEEDS SOURCE] and say what kind of source would have it.
Fill in: OFFER_DESCRIPTION CUSTOMER_EVIDENCE CUSTOMER_COUNT_SOURCE
Use real buyers or enquirers where you have them; a plan built on wished-for customers falls apart under questions.
Best for: A trends section with citations a reader can check
Act as an industry analyst writing the trends part of a business plan. I'll give you the sources; you organize them into an honest argument.
My business and market: {{BUSINESS_SUMMARY}}
Articles, reports or data I've collected, each with source and date (paste extracts): {{SOURCE_EXTRACTS}}
The point I think the trends support: {{MY_ARGUMENT}}
Do this:
1. Summarize each source in one line and rate it: primary data, credible secondary source, opinion, or marketing material.
2. Group the findings into 3-4 trends. For each, say whether it helps or hurts my business, and how directly.
3. Test my argument: which sources support it, which cut against it, and what is missing.
4. Write a 200-word trends section with inline citations in the form (Source, Year). Include at least one trend that is a risk to me.
5. Flag sources older than three years, and sources from vendors who sell into the trend.
Rules: cite only the extracts I pasted. Don't add figures, forecasts or sources from your own knowledge, even if you think they're right; put those in a separate 'worth checking' list instead, with no numbers attached.
Fill in: BUSINESS_SUMMARY SOURCE_EXTRACTS MY_ARGUMENT
Paste extracts with the source name and year on each, and include sources that disagree with you.
Competitor Analysis & Positioning
Readers distrust any plan that claims to have no competition. These prompts build a fair competitor matrix from your own field research and look for substitutes, including customers doing nothing. They test whether your difference matters to customers and how long it would last, and they compare competitor prices like for like. Nothing is filled in from the model's memory.
Best for: A fair, evidence-based competitor table for the plan
You are a competitive-intelligence analyst for small businesses. Build the competitor analysis for my business plan from research I did myself.
My business, price and main selling point: {{MY_OFFER}}
Competitors and what I found about each (prices, location, offer, reviews, opening hours, website notes): {{COMPETITOR_NOTES}}
Where I collected this and when: {{RESEARCH_SOURCES}}
Produce:
1. A comparison table: competitor, offer, price point, target customer, strengths, weaknesses, and the evidence from my notes behind each entry.
2. Patterns: what every competitor does (table stakes), what nobody does well (gaps), and where customers complain most.
3. Where my business fits: what I do better, what I do worse, and what is just the same.
4. A 200-word competition section for the plan that names competitors fairly and doesn't claim we have none.
5. Missing information worth collecting, with a quick method for each (mystery shop, review reading, phone enquiry).
Rules: use only facts from my notes; write 'unknown' for gaps. Don't estimate competitors' revenue or customer numbers. Keep a neutral tone, because investors distrust plans that dismiss rivals.
Fill in: MY_OFFER COMPETITOR_NOTES RESEARCH_SOURCES
Visit or call competitors and read their recent reviews before running this; the matrix is only as good as your notes.
Best for: Plans that claim to have no competition
Act as a skeptical investor's analyst. Most business plans list only look-alike competitors and miss the alternatives customers really choose. Find mine.
What I sell and the problem it solves: {{OFFER_DESCRIPTION}}
My target customer: {{TARGET_CUSTOMER}}
Direct competitors I've already listed: {{DIRECT_COMPETITORS}}
Do this:
1. List the indirect competitors and substitutes: different products that solve the same problem, doing it themselves, hiring a generalist, using free tools, and doing nothing at all.
2. For each, explain why a customer might choose it over me (cost, habit, convenience, trust) and how strong that pull is.
3. Identify the single most dangerous alternative and why.
4. Suggest in one line how my plan should answer each, and what evidence would make that answer believable.
5. Write a short paragraph on substitutes for the competition section.
Rules: reason from the customer's point of view, not mine. Don't name specific companies unless I've mentioned them or you're confident they exist; otherwise describe the type. Mark guesses about customer behavior as assumptions to check in interviews.
Fill in: OFFER_DESCRIPTION TARGET_CUSTOMER DIRECT_COMPETITORS
Most useful for new categories, where 'customers keep doing what they do now' is the real competitor.
Best for: Finding a difference that survives a reader's 'so what?'
You are a brand-positioning consultant. Help me define where my business sits against competitors and test whether my difference actually matters to customers.
My offer and price: {{MY_OFFER}}
Competitors and how they position themselves: {{COMPETITOR_POSITIONS}}
What I believe makes us different: {{CLAIMED_DIFFERENCES}}
What customers have told me they value most: {{CUSTOMER_PRIORITIES}}
Do this:
1. Score each claimed difference on three tests, using a 1-3 scale with a reason for each score: does the customer care (from my evidence), can competitors copy it within a year, and can I prove it.
2. Suggest two axes for a positioning map that matter to customers, and place me and each competitor on it, explaining each placement.
3. Write a positioning statement: For [target] who [need], [business] is the [category] that [key benefit] because [reason to believe].
4. Name the differences I should drop from the plan because they're weak or generic, such as 'great service' or 'high quality'.
Rules: base customer importance on what I've reported, not on general assumptions. If none of my differences passes all three tests, say so plainly and suggest where a real difference could come from.
Fill in: MY_OFFER COMPETITOR_POSITIONS CLAIMED_DIFFERENCES CUSTOMER_PRIORITIES
Fill in the customer-priorities field from interviews or reviews, not from what you hope they value.
Best for: Answering 'what stops someone copying you?'
Act as an angel investor who has heard 'we have no real competition' too many times. Assess whether my business has any lasting advantage and help me describe it honestly in the plan.
My business and model: {{BUSINESS_SUMMARY}}
What I think protects us (relationships, location, contracts, skills, IP, cost, brand, data): {{CLAIMED_ADVANTAGES}}
How a well-funded competitor could respond if we succeed: {{LIKELY_RESPONSE}}
Do this:
1. Test each claimed advantage: is it real today, how long and how much would it take a competitor to copy, and what evidence I have.
2. Classify each as durable, temporary (a head start) or not an advantage.
3. Explain what happens to my plan's numbers if a competitor matches my price or offer in year two.
4. Suggest 2-3 ways to strengthen a temporary advantage that suit my size, such as contracts, exclusivity, switching costs, a community or operating know-how.
5. Write a 150-word competitive-advantage paragraph that claims only what holds up.
Rules: be blunt. Being first or working hard is not an advantage on its own. Don't invent patents, contracts or partnerships, and don't treat an idea as protected unless I've said how.
Fill in: BUSINESS_SUMMARY CLAIMED_ADVANTAGES LIKELY_RESPONSE
Expect some advantages to be downgraded; that's the point. A modest, true claim reads better than a big one.
Best for: Setting a price you can defend with real comparisons
You are a pricing analyst. I've collected competitor prices and need to understand the market's price structure before I set mine in the business plan.
What I sell and how it's packaged: {{MY_OFFER}}
Competitor prices I collected, with what's included and the date and source of each: {{COMPETITOR_PRICES}}
My cost to deliver one unit, job or month of service: {{MY_UNIT_COST}}
Do this:
1. Normalize the prices so they compare like with like (per unit, per hour or per month, with or without extras). Show your working and state any assumptions.
2. Present a table from cheapest to most expensive, with what each price includes.
3. Identify the price bands (budget, mid, premium) and what customers get for moving up a band.
4. Show my gross margin at three price points: the median competitor price, 10 percent below it, and the bottom of the premium band. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
5. Recommend where I should price and the evidence I'd need to justify it to a reader.
Rules: use only my collected prices. Don't fill gaps with typical market prices. Flag any price that may be outdated or a promotional rate.
Fill in: MY_OFFER COMPETITOR_PRICES MY_UNIT_COST
Record what each competitor's price includes; a cheap headline price often hides extras.
Business Model, Pricing & Go-to-Market
How the business makes money and how it will win its first customers. These prompts set out your revenue streams and check unit economics. They justify your price, then build a go-to-market plan whose channel numbers add up to your sales target. Every conversion rate is labeled as measured or assumed, so the forecast that follows has a basis you can defend.
Best for: A clear, checkable 'how we make money' section
Act as a business-model analyst preparing the revenue section of a business plan for a reader who will check the numbers.
What I sell and every way I'll charge (one-off sales, subscriptions, fees, commissions, deposits): {{REVENUE_STREAMS}}
Prices and expected volume for each, with my basis for the volume: {{PRICES_AND_VOLUMES}}
How and when customers pay (upfront, on invoice, payment terms, card or cash): {{PAYMENT_TERMS}}
Produce:
1. A revenue model table: stream, price, unit, expected volume per month, revenue per month, share of total, and the basis for the volume.
2. The cash timing of each stream: when money arrives compared with when the related costs are paid.
3. The stream the business depends on most, and what happens if it underperforms for a quarter.
4. Any stream that looks like a distraction in year one.
5. A 150-word 'How we make money' paragraph for the plan.
Rules: use only my prices and volumes. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. If a volume has no stated basis, mark it [UNSUPPORTED] instead of accepting it.
Fill in: REVENUE_STREAMS PRICES_AND_VOLUMES PAYMENT_TERMS
List small add-on streams too; readers want to see what is core and what is extra.
Best for: Proving each customer is worth what it costs to win
You are a startup finance coach who explains unit economics in plain language. Check whether each new customer is worth what it costs to win them.
Average revenue per customer, and how often they buy: {{REVENUE_PER_CUSTOMER}}
Gross margin or cost to serve each customer: {{COST_TO_SERVE}}
Marketing and sales spend, and customers won from it (actual or planned; say which): {{ACQUISITION_DATA}}
How long customers stay or how often they come back, and the basis: {{RETENTION_DATA}}
Calculate and explain:
1. Customer acquisition cost (CAC).
2. Gross profit per customer per month or per purchase.
3. Payback period: months of gross profit needed to recover CAC.
4. Lifetime gross profit (LTV) using a stated retention assumption, and the LTV-to-CAC ratio.
5. A sensitivity table showing LTV:CAC if CAC is 50 percent higher and if customers stay half as long.
6. A plain-English verdict: does the model work, and which number is the weakest link?
Rules: show every formula with my numbers in it. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. Use gross profit, not revenue, for lifetime value. If my retention figure is a guess, say how much the conclusion depends on it. Educational, not financial advice.
Fill in: REVENUE_PER_CUSTOMER COST_TO_SERVE ACQUISITION_DATA RETENTION_DATA
Use actual figures from a test campaign if you have any; planned figures should be labeled as planned.
Best for: Writing a pricing section that answers 'why that price?'
Act as a pricing strategist writing the pricing section of a business plan. A reader should see why the price is what it is and why customers will pay it.
My offer, packages and proposed prices: {{PROPOSED_PRICES}}
My costs per unit or per customer: {{UNIT_COSTS}}
Competitor price range I've found: {{COMPETITOR_PRICE_RANGE}}
Evidence of willingness to pay (pre-orders, quotes accepted, interview answers, past sales): {{PRICE_EVIDENCE}}
Produce:
1. The pricing approach I'm using (cost-plus, value-based, competitive or tiered) and whether it suits my position.
2. Gross margin per package. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
3. A 150-word rationale paragraph linking the price to customer value, competitor prices and my costs.
4. Planned price changes (launch offers, annual increases, volume discounts) and the margin effect of each.
5. The objection a lender or investor is most likely to raise about my pricing, and the evidence that answers it.
Rules: if a launch discount pushes gross margin below what my cost structure needs, say so. Don't cite typical industry margins as fact. If my price evidence is thin, recommend a cheap price test to run before the plan goes out.
Fill in: PROPOSED_PRICES UNIT_COSTS COMPETITOR_PRICE_RANGE PRICE_EVIDENCE
Pair it with 'Competitor Pricing Teardown' so the competitor range comes from real research.
Best for: A launch plan whose numbers add up to the forecast
You are a go-to-market strategist for new small businesses. Build a 12-month launch plan for my business plan that a reader can check against my budget and sales forecast.
What I sell and to whom: {{OFFER_AND_CUSTOMER}}
Channels I'm considering, and any results so far: {{CHANNELS}}
Marketing and sales budget for year one: {{MARKETING_BUDGET}}
Sales target for year one, from my forecast: {{SALES_TARGET}}
Hours I can spend selling each week: {{SELLING_HOURS}}
Produce:
1. A launch sequence in three phases (pre-launch, launch, rest of year one), with dated activities.
2. A channel table: channel, why it reaches my customer, cost, expected leads, expected conversion rate and its basis, and customers won.
3. A check that the channel table adds up to my sales target. If it doesn't, show the gap and the options for closing it.
4. The budget split by channel and by month.
5. Three leading indicators to track weekly, with the level that would make me change course.
Rules: label every conversion rate as either from my own results or an assumption to test. Don't quote industry-average conversion or click rates as fact. Keep the plan within my budget and my hours.
Fill in: OFFER_AND_CUSTOMER CHANNELS MARKETING_BUDGET SALES_TARGET SELLING_HOURS
Use your sales target straight from your revenue forecast so the two sections agree.
Best for: Showing the activity behind every sales number
Act as a lender's analyst who checks whether a sales forecast is believable. Work backwards from my sales target to the activity it needs.
My sales target (customers or revenue per month): {{SALES_TARGET}}
My sales process, step by step (for example enquiry, quote, visit, order): {{SALES_PROCESS}}
Conversion rate at each step, with where each number comes from: {{CONVERSION_RATES}}
Average order value: {{AVERAGE_ORDER_VALUE}}
Do this:
1. Work backwards from the target to the number of enquiries, leads or visitors I need each month at each step. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
2. Translate that into workload: calls, quotes or visits per week, and the hours they take.
3. Grade each conversion rate: measured from my own sales, borrowed from someone else's business, or guessed.
4. Show the sales I'd actually make if every guessed rate came in at half.
5. Write a short 'Sales assumptions' note for the plan's appendix, listing each rate and its source.
Rules: don't replace my rates with 'typical' ones. If the workload is more than my team can handle, say so plainly and show the shortfall in hours. Keep the arithmetic in a table I can copy into a spreadsheet.
Fill in: SALES_TARGET SALES_PROCESS CONVERSION_RATES AVERAGE_ORDER_VALUE
If you've sold anything already, use those real conversion rates, even from a small sample.
Best for: Getting real evidence of demand before the funding meeting
You are a launch coach who helps founders turn interest into evidence before they ask anyone for money. Design a 6-week plan to collect traction I can put in my business plan.
What I'm launching and the price: {{OFFER_AND_PRICE}}
Who I'll approach and how I can reach them: {{REACHABLE_AUDIENCE}}
Budget and hours available for this test: {{TEST_RESOURCES}}
What my reader will want to see (pre-orders, letters of intent, a waiting list, repeat buyers): {{PROOF_NEEDED}}
Produce:
1. Three traction options ranked by how convincing they are to my reader. Paid pre-orders beat sign-ups, and signed letters of intent beat verbal interest.
2. For the top option: the offer, the message, the channel, a week-by-week schedule and a target number.
3. How to record results so they're credible: dates, counts, deposits taken, and conversion from first contact to commitment.
4. What to do if results come in below target: what that tells me, and whether to change the price, the audience or the plan.
5. How to present the result in the plan in two sentences, with no inflation.
Rules: no fake scarcity, no fake reviews, and no taking deposits for something I can't deliver. Include a clear refund promise for any pre-order.
Fill in: OFFER_AND_PRICE REACHABLE_AUDIENCE TEST_RESOURCES PROOF_NEEDED
Run it before you finish the plan; a few real pre-orders outweigh pages of market research.
Best for: Plans that lean on a retailer, distributor or partner
Act as a channel-partnerships adviser. Help me decide whether partners, resellers or distributors belong in my business plan, and how to describe them honestly.
What I sell, the price and my margin: {{OFFER_AND_MARGIN}}
Possible partners or channels I'm considering, and any conversations so far: {{POSSIBLE_PARTNERS}}
How I sell directly today, if at all: {{DIRECT_SALES}}
Do this:
1. For each partner or channel: what they'd do, what they'd expect (commission, discount, exclusivity, minimum orders), how that affects my margin per sale, and how long it usually takes to set up.
2. Compare my margin per sale through each channel with selling direct. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
3. Classify each partnership as signed, in discussion or idea only, and tell me how to describe each in the plan without overstating it.
4. Recommend which one or two to pursue first and what a first-year agreement should cover.
5. The risks: depending on one partner, slow payment terms, and losing the direct customer relationship.
Rules: don't present a partnership as agreed unless I've said it is. Use margin figures only from my inputs, and say which terms I need to confirm with the partner before the plan goes out.
Fill in: OFFER_AND_MARGIN POSSIBLE_PARTNERS DIRECT_SALES
Be strict about 'signed' versus 'in discussion'; readers often ask to see the agreement.
Operations, Team & Milestones
Lenders want to know the work can actually be delivered at the volumes you forecast. These prompts describe your day-to-day operations and check capacity against the forecast. They map suppliers and other dependencies, present your team honestly, tie each hire to a trigger, and set out milestones with proof points. They also build a licensing and insurance checklist to confirm locally.
Best for: Proving the business can deliver the volumes you forecast
You are an operations consultant who writes the operations section of business plans for lenders. Describe how my business will deliver what it sells, day to day.
What I sell and the expected volume per week: {{OFFER_AND_VOLUME}}
Premises, equipment and technology: {{PREMISES_AND_EQUIPMENT}}
Suppliers and what each provides: {{SUPPLIERS}}
Who does what, and the opening or working hours: {{STAFFING_AND_HOURS}}
Produce:
1. A step-by-step delivery process from order to payment, with who does each step and how long it takes.
2. A capacity check: the maximum volume per week with current staff and equipment, compared with my forecast. Show the arithmetic and flag the first bottleneck.
3. Quality control: what could go wrong at each step, and how I'll catch it.
4. A 250-word operations section for the plan.
5. Operational details a lender is likely to ask about (insurance, permits, stock levels, backup suppliers), as a checklist.
Rules: use my volumes and staffing. If the forecast needs more capacity than I've described, say so and show when it runs out. Don't recommend equipment or software brands unless I ask.
Fill in: OFFER_AND_VOLUME PREMISES_AND_EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS STAFFING_AND_HOURS
Use the same weekly volumes as your revenue forecast so the capacity check is meaningful.
Best for: Spotting single points of failure before a lender does
Act as a supply-chain risk adviser for a small business. Map everything my plan depends on that I don't fully control.
My business and how it delivers: {{BUSINESS_SUMMARY}}
Key suppliers, landlords, platforms, licenses and people, with terms where known: {{DEPENDENCIES}}
Contracts or agreements already in place: {{AGREEMENTS}}
Do this:
1. A dependency table: what or who, what it provides, what happens if it stops for a month, how easily it can be replaced, any contract protection, and a risk rating (high, medium or low) with a reason.
2. The top three single points of failure.
3. Practical mitigations sized for a small business: a second supplier, minimum stock levels, a longer lease, written agreements, cross-training.
4. Which agreements a lender will probably want copies of, and which I should get in writing before submitting the plan.
5. A short paragraph for the plan's operations or risk section.
Rules: base terms on what I've told you; where terms are unknown, write 'unknown: confirm'. This isn't legal advice, so recommend that a lawyer reviews leases and supply contracts before I sign or rely on them.
Fill in: BUSINESS_SUMMARY DEPENDENCIES AGREEMENTS
Include people as dependencies too, especially you; key-person risk is the most common one in small firms.
Best for: The team page investors read straight after the summary
You are a business-plan writer who knows that lenders and investors back people first. Write the management team section of my plan.
Team members, roles and time commitment (full-time, part-time, unpaid): {{TEAM_MEMBERS}}
Relevant experience and results for each, with specifics (years, numbers, employers, qualifications): {{TEAM_EXPERIENCE}}
Advisers, mentors or board members, and what they actually do: {{ADVISERS}}
What each owner is investing (money, time, assets): {{OWNER_COMMITMENT}}
Produce:
1. A 60-90 word profile per person, leading with the experience most relevant to this business and one concrete result.
2. A responsibilities table: area (sales, operations, finance, product), who owns it, and the evidence they can do it.
3. Gaps: skills the plan needs that nobody on the team has, and how and when each will be covered (hire, adviser, outsourcing, training).
4. A two-sentence 'Why this team' summary.
Rules: use only facts I've given. Don't upgrade job titles or turn 'helped with' into 'led'. Listing an adviser who isn't really involved hurts credibility, so leave out any I've marked as unsure. Plain, confident tone with no superlatives.
Fill in: TEAM_MEMBERS TEAM_EXPERIENCE ADVISERS OWNER_COMMITMENT
Give numbers wherever you can: years, team sizes, budgets managed, results achieved.
Best for: Showing when and why each hire happens, and that it's affordable
Act as a small-business workforce planner. Build a hiring plan for my business plan in which each hire is triggered by a milestone, not a date.
Current team and what each person spends their time on: {{CURRENT_TEAM}}
Forecast revenue or volume by month or quarter: {{VOLUME_FORECAST}}
Roles I think I'll need, with expected pay including employer costs: {{PLANNED_ROLES}}
Country or state, for employment rules: {{EMPLOYMENT_LOCATION}}
Produce:
1. A hiring table: role, trigger milestone (for example 'over 60 jobs a week for four weeks'), estimated date from my forecast, full annual cost, and the work it frees up.
2. A check that each hire is affordable: gross profit at the trigger point compared with the new monthly cost. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
3. Roles that could start as freelance or part-time.
4. A headcount and payroll summary by year for the financial projections.
5. Employment items to confirm locally (contracts, payroll taxes, insurance, right to work), as a checklist.
Rules: use my pay figures; if one is missing, write [NEEDS FIGURE] rather than quoting a salary benchmark. Not employment or legal advice.
Fill in: CURRENT_TEAM VOLUME_FORECAST PLANNED_ROLES EMPLOYMENT_LOCATION
Put your own pay in the current-team field as well; plans that pay the founder nothing raise questions.
Best for: Turning 'what the money buys' into dated, provable steps
You are an adviser who prepares founders for lender and investor meetings. Turn my plans into a milestone roadmap that shows what I'll achieve with the money and how the reader will know.
What the funding pays for: {{USE_OF_FUNDS}}
Launch date and other key planned events: {{KEY_DATES}}
Forecast targets (customers, revenue, units) by quarter: {{QUARTERLY_TARGETS}}
Produce:
1. A roadmap table for the next 18-24 months: milestone, target date, the evidence that proves it happened (a signed lease, the first 100 customers, a first profitable month), what it depends on, and who owns it.
2. The three milestones that most reduce risk for a lender or investor, and why.
3. An early warning sign for each milestone, and what I'd do if it slipped by a quarter.
4. Which milestones should trigger an update to the lender or investor, and a simple quarterly update format.
5. A 120-word milestones paragraph for the plan.
Rules: dates and targets must match the inputs I've given. If two milestones conflict, for example sales starting before the premises are ready, point it out rather than quietly fixing it.
Fill in: USE_OF_FUNDS KEY_DATES QUARTERLY_TARGETS
Use the same quarterly targets as your forecast; mismatched dates are a common red flag.
Best for: Showing a lender you've thought about permits and insurance
Act as a startup compliance researcher. Build a checklist of the licenses, registrations, insurance and rules my business plan should show I've dealt with.
Business activity in detail: {{BUSINESS_ACTIVITY}}
Country, state or region, and city: {{LOCATION}}
Legal structure, and whether I'll employ staff: {{STRUCTURE_AND_STAFF}}
Anything special (food, alcohol, children, health, financial services, vehicles, customer data, imports): {{SPECIAL_ACTIVITIES}}
Produce:
1. A checklist grouped by: business registration and tax, sector licenses and permits, premises (zoning, building, fire, health), employment, insurance, data protection, and consumer law.
2. For each item: why it probably applies to me, which type of authority usually handles it, when it's needed (before launch, before hiring), and a status column I can fill in.
3. Items with long lead times that could delay launch.
4. A short compliance paragraph for the plan stating what's done and what's in progress.
Rules: rules differ by location and change often, so present every item as 'confirm with [type of authority]'. Don't state fees, deadlines or legal thresholds as fact. This is a starting checklist, not legal advice.
Fill in: BUSINESS_ACTIVITY LOCATION STRUCTURE_AND_STAFF SPECIAL_ACTIVITIES
Take the finished checklist to your local small-business support office or an adviser to confirm it.
Financial Assumptions, Projections & Break-Even
The section readers test hardest. Start with the assumptions register, then build costs, revenue, profit and loss, and monthly cash flow from your own numbers. Each prompt makes the AI show its working so you can check every figure and rebuild it in a spreadsheet. The break-even and scenario prompts show when the plan stops losing money and how much a slow start would cost. Educational, not financial advice.
Best for: The foundation for every number in the financial section
You are a financial-model reviewer. Before I build projections, help me list and grade every assumption, because lenders and investors test assumptions, not spreadsheets.
My business and stage: {{BUSINESS_SUMMARY}}
My draft assumptions (prices, volumes, growth, costs, payment terms, wages, rent, loan terms): {{DRAFT_ASSUMPTIONS}}
Evidence I have for each: {{ASSUMPTION_EVIDENCE}}
Produce:
1. An assumptions register table: ID, assumption, value, unit, source or evidence, confidence (high, medium or low), and what it drives in the forecast.
2. Assumptions I've missed that a forecast for this kind of business needs, such as card fees, bad debts, seasonality, owner pay, equipment replacement and sales-tax timing. List them with [NEEDS FIGURE], not a number.
3. The five assumptions the result is most sensitive to, with a plain reason for each.
4. For each low-confidence assumption, a quick way to firm it up (a quote, a test, an interview, a supplier call).
5. A clean version I can paste into a spreadsheet tab.
Rules: never fill a gap with a typical industry figure. Keep my numbers exactly as given; if two contradict each other, flag it. Educational, not financial advice.
Fill in: BUSINESS_SUMMARY DRAFT_ASSUMPTIONS ASSUMPTION_EVIDENCE
Do this before any projection prompt. Every later financial prompt should use numbers from this register.
Best for: Plans for a business that is already trading and wants to grow
You are a credit analyst who reviews business plans from companies that are already trading. Help me write the historical performance section, which a lender reads before any forecast.
Summary of my last two or three years' accounts (revenue, gross profit, overheads, owner pay, net profit, by year): {{HISTORICAL_ACCOUNTS}}
Current year to date, and the same period last year: {{YEAR_TO_DATE}}
Anything unusual in those years (one-off costs, big customers lost or won): {{ONE_OFF_EVENTS}}
My forecast for next year, in summary: {{NEXT_YEAR_FORECAST}}
Produce:
1. A table of key figures and ratios by year: revenue growth, gross margin, overheads as a share of revenue, and net margin. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
2. Adjusted profit with one-off items shown separately, each with its reason. Don't adjust anything I haven't explained.
3. A 200-word narrative of what happened and why, including the weak years.
4. A bridge from last year's actual results to next year's forecast: each change and its reason. Flag any jump the history doesn't support.
5. The questions a lender is likely to ask about these accounts.
Rules: use only my figures. Don't call a trend 'strong' or 'steady' unless the numbers show it. Not accounting advice; ask your accountant to confirm any adjustments.
Fill in: HISTORICAL_ACCOUNTS YEAR_TO_DATE ONE_OFF_EVENTS NEXT_YEAR_FORECAST
Skip this if you haven't started trading. If you have, use your filed accounts, not management estimates.
Best for: Working out the total you need before you ask for it
Act as a small-business finance coach. Work out how much money I need to open the doors and keep going until the business pays for itself.
One-off startup costs I've identified (equipment, fit-out, deposits, legal, launch marketing), with quotes where I have them: {{STARTUP_COSTS}}
Monthly fixed costs once open: {{MONTHLY_FIXED_COSTS}}
Expected months until monthly cash flow turns positive, and the basis: {{MONTHS_TO_POSITIVE}}
Money I'm putting in myself and any other confirmed funding: {{CONFIRMED_FUNDING}}
Calculate and explain:
1. A startup cost table: each item, amount, whether it's quoted or estimated, and whether it's one-off or recurring.
2. Pre-opening costs plus the operating losses until cash flow turns positive.
3. A contingency line of 10 percent of startup costs unless I give another figure, labeled as my choice.
4. Total cash required, minus confirmed funding, which equals the funding gap.
5. Startup costs people often miss (deposits, insurance, licenses, opening stock, software, sales tax on purchases), listed without amounts.
Rules: If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. Don't invent prices for items I haven't quoted. Educational, not financial advice.
Fill in: STARTUP_COSTS MONTHLY_FIXED_COSTS MONTHS_TO_POSITIVE CONFIRMED_FUNDING
Get written quotes for the big items; readers treat quoted costs very differently from estimates.
Best for: A revenue forecast a reader can trace to real activity
You are a forecasting coach who builds revenue from drivers, not wishful growth percentages. Build a 3-year revenue forecast for my business plan.
Revenue drivers (customers, visits, orders, average order value, purchase frequency): {{REVENUE_DRIVERS}}
Starting values and how I expect each to change, with my basis: {{DRIVER_ASSUMPTIONS}}
Seasonality or ramp-up pattern, if any: {{SEASONALITY}}
Capacity limits (staff hours, seats, machines, stock): {{CAPACITY_LIMITS}}
Produce:
1. A month-by-month table for year one, then quarter by quarter for years two and three: each driver, then revenue.
2. A capacity check for each period. Cap revenue where capacity runs out, and flag when a hire or investment is needed.
3. The implied growth rate each year, with a plain note if it looks steep for a business of this kind and stage. Explain why; don't cite benchmarks.
4. The two drivers that matter most to the result.
5. A 120-word paragraph explaining the forecast logic for the plan.
Rules: If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. Give the formulas in a form I can rebuild in a spreadsheet. Use only my drivers. Educational, not financial advice.
Fill in: REVENUE_DRIVERS DRIVER_ASSUMPTIONS SEASONALITY CAPACITY_LIMITS
Use drivers you can observe in the real world (customers, orders), not a single growth percentage.
Best for: Turning assumptions into the P&L a reader expects
Act as a management accountant preparing projected profit and loss statements for a small-business plan. Use my assumptions only and show your working.
Revenue forecast by year (or paste the table): {{REVENUE_FORECAST}}
Direct costs per sale or as a share of revenue, and the basis: {{DIRECT_COSTS}}
Operating costs by year (wages including mine, rent, marketing, insurance, software, other): {{OPERATING_COSTS}}
Loan interest, depreciation and tax assumptions, if known: {{FINANCE_AND_TAX}}
Produce:
1. A 3-year projected P&L: revenue, cost of sales, gross profit, gross margin, each operating cost line, operating profit (EBITDA), depreciation, interest, profit before tax, tax and net profit.
2. Key ratios each year: gross margin, operating margin, and wages as a share of revenue.
3. A reconciliation note listing any cost I gave that you didn't use and any line you had to leave blank.
4. Anything that looks odd, such as margins that jump, costs that don't grow with sales or no owner pay, with a question for me about each.
5. A 120-word plain-English summary for the plan.
Rules: If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. If tax assumptions are missing, stop at profit before tax and write [CONFIRM WITH ACCOUNTANT]. Not financial or tax advice.
Fill in: REVENUE_FORECAST DIRECT_COSTS OPERATING_COSTS FINANCE_AND_TAX
Feed it the revenue table from the bottom-up forecast prompt so the sections match.
Best for: The month-by-month cash view lenders read first
You are a cash-flow specialist preparing the year-one cash flow forecast that lenders read most closely. Build it month by month from my assumptions.
Opening cash and funding received, with dates: {{OPENING_CASH_AND_FUNDING}}
Monthly sales forecast and how customers pay (cash, card, 30-day invoices): {{SALES_AND_TERMS}}
Monthly costs and when each is paid (rent in advance, stock before sale, quarterly bills): {{COSTS_AND_TIMING}}
Loan repayments, owner drawings, equipment purchases and sales-tax payments: {{OTHER_CASH_ITEMS}}
Produce:
1. A 12-month table: opening balance, cash in by type, cash out by type, net cash flow and closing balance.
2. The lowest closing balance and the month it happens.
3. Every month where the balance falls below zero or below one month of fixed costs, highlighted, with the cause.
4. Three practical fixes for the low point (timing of purchases, deposits, payment terms, funding size), with the effect of each on the balance.
5. A plain-English note on why profit and cash differ in this plan.
Rules: model timing, not just totals; sales on 30-day terms arrive a month later. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. Use only my figures. Educational, not financial advice.
Fill in: OPENING_CASH_AND_FUNDING SALES_AND_TERMS COSTS_AND_TIMING OTHER_CASH_ITEMS
Include the funding in the month you expect to actually receive it, not the month you apply.
Best for: Showing when the plan turns the corner and the cash needed to get there
Act as a finance tutor for founders. My plan needs to show not just the break-even volume but when I reach it, and how much cash is lost on the way.
Average price per unit, job or customer: {{AVERAGE_PRICE}}
Variable cost per unit (materials, card fees, commissions, delivery): {{VARIABLE_COST}}
Fixed monthly operating costs, including my own pay: {{FIXED_COSTS}}
Monthly loan repayments, if any: {{LOAN_REPAYMENTS}}
Expected monthly volume for the first 12 months: {{VOLUME_RAMP}}
Calculate and explain:
1. Contribution per unit and contribution margin.
2. Operating break-even volume per month (fixed costs only), and cash break-even volume (fixed costs plus loan repayments).
3. A 12-month table: volume, contribution, operating result, cash result and cumulative cash result.
4. The first month each break-even is reached, and the deepest cumulative cash loss before that. This is the minimum working capital the plan must fund.
5. How much later break-even arrives, and how deep the cash loss goes, if every month's volume is 20 percent lower than planned.
Rules: show every formula with my numbers in it. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. Round break-even volumes up to whole units. Educational, not financial advice.
Fill in: AVERAGE_PRICE VARIABLE_COST FIXED_COSTS LOAN_REPAYMENTS VOLUME_RAMP
Include a realistic salary for yourself in fixed costs, or the break-even point will look better than it is.
Example output · Claude (example written by The Prompt Index)
Sample inputs (fictional business: Spoke & Wrench bike repair)
- Average price per job: $110
- Variable cost per job: $38 (parts at cost, card fees and consumables)
- Fixed monthly costs: $13,600 (rent $3,200, my salary $4,500, mechanic wages incl. employer costs $4,300, insurance $450, van running costs $500, utilities, phone and software $650)
- Loan repayments: $2,023 a month
- Volume: 90 jobs in month 1, rising by 15 a month to 255 in month 12
1. Contribution
- Contribution per job = $110 − $38 = $72
- Contribution margin = $72 ÷ $110 = 65.5%
2. Break-even volumes
- Operating break-even = fixed costs ÷ contribution = $13,600 ÷ $72 = 188.89, rounded up to 189 jobs a month
- Cash break-even = (fixed costs + loan repayments) ÷ contribution = ($13,600 + $2,023) ÷ $72 = $15,623 ÷ $72 = 216.99, rounded up to 217 jobs a month
Your salary is already in fixed costs, so "operating break-even" here means the business covers everyone's pay, including yours.
3. Month-by-month (contribution = jobs × $72; operating result = contribution − $13,600; cash result = operating result − $2,023)
| Month | Jobs | Contribution | Operating result | Cash result | Cumulative cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90 | $6,480 | -$7,120 | -$9,143 | -$9,143 |
| 2 | 105 | $7,560 | -$6,040 | -$8,063 | -$17,206 |
| 3 | 120 | $8,640 | -$4,960 | -$6,983 | -$24,189 |
| 4 | 135 | $9,720 | -$3,880 | -$5,903 | -$30,092 |
| 5 | 150 | $10,800 | -$2,800 | -$4,823 | -$34,915 |
| 6 | 165 | $11,880 | -$1,720 | -$3,743 | -$38,658 |
| 7 | 180 | $12,960 | -$640 | -$2,663 | -$41,321 |
| 8 | 195 | $14,040 | $440 | -$1,583 | -$42,904 |
| 9 | 210 | $15,120 | $1,520 | -$503 | -$43,407 |
| 10 | 225 | $16,200 | $2,600 | $577 | -$42,830 |
| 11 | 240 | $17,280 | $3,680 | $1,657 | -$41,173 |
| 12 | 255 | $18,360 | $4,760 | $2,737 | -$38,436 |
4. When you get there
- Operating break-even: month 8 (195 jobs, the first month at or above 189)
- Cash break-even: month 10 (225 jobs, the first month at or above 217)
- Deepest cumulative cash loss: $43,407 at the end of month 9
That $43,407 is the minimum working capital the plan must have in place from day one, and it has no margin for error. Year one as a whole runs at an operating loss of $14,160 on revenue of $227,700 (2,070 jobs).
5. If every month is 20% slower
Volumes become 80% of plan, rounded up: 72, 84, 96, 108, 120, 132, 144, 156, 168, 180, 192, 204 for months 1-12.
- Operating break-even (189 jobs) arrives in month 11, 3 months later than planned.
- Cash break-even (217 jobs) isn't reached within 12 months. If the ramp keeps climbing at the same slower rate (80% of +15 jobs a month), month 13 is 216 jobs and month 14 is 228, so it arrives in month 14, 4 months late.
- On the same continued ramp, the deepest cumulative cash loss grows to $68,315 at the end of month 13, $24,908 more than the base case.
Plain-English takeaway: price and costs aren't your main risk; the speed of the ramp-up is. Size the working-capital reserve to the slow case, not the base case, or have a fallback such as an agreed overdraft. Educational, not financial advice: check the final figures with your accountant.
Best for: Answering 'what if sales are slower than you think?'
You are a credit analyst who stress-tests business forecasts. Run scenarios on my plan so I can show the reader I've thought about what goes wrong.
Base-case summary (revenue, gross margin, fixed costs, loan payments, by year or month): {{BASE_CASE}}
Opening cash and any reserve or overdraft: {{CASH_RESERVES}}
The risks I worry about most (slower sales, price pressure, cost rises, a late launch, losing a key customer): {{KEY_RISKS}}
Produce:
1. Three scenarios with every change stated as a number: base; downside (for example sales 20 percent lower and a three-month launch delay); severe (for example sales 35 percent lower and costs 10 percent higher). Adjust these to my risks and explain your choice.
2. For each scenario: annual revenue, operating profit, the lowest cash balance, and whether loan payments can still be made.
3. The break point: how far sales can fall before cash runs out, and in which month.
4. The actions I'd take in the downside case, and the trigger for each.
5. A 150-word 'Sensitivity and contingency' paragraph for the plan.
Rules: If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. Change one assumption at a time before combining them, so I can see which one hurts most. Educational, not financial advice.
Fill in: BASE_CASE CASH_RESERVES KEY_RISKS
Lenders respect a plan that shows the downside and still works; this prompt gives you that page.
Best for: The narrative that makes your forecast tables readable
Act as a finance writer who turns forecast tables into the narrative section of a business plan. Readers skim tables; they read the story around them.
Summary of my projections (revenue, gross margin, operating profit, cash low point, break-even month, funding): {{PROJECTION_SUMMARY}}
The key assumptions behind them, and their sources: {{KEY_ASSUMPTIONS}}
Who will read it and what they care about most: {{PLAN_AUDIENCE}}
Write:
1. A 250-350 word financial overview: what the business expects to earn and spend, when it becomes profitable, how much cash it needs and why, and how the funding bridges the gap.
2. A short 'Key assumptions' list, linked to sources.
3. Three sentences on what happens if the main assumption is wrong, and what the business would do.
4. A check table listing every number in the narrative next to the matching figure in my summary, so I can confirm they agree.
Rules: use only my numbers; don't round them into rosier ones or add new figures. Use 'projected' or 'forecast' for future numbers and never present a forecast as fact. Don't call the plan 'conservative' unless my downside case backs that up. Not financial advice.
Fill in: PROJECTION_SUMMARY KEY_ASSUMPTIONS PLAN_AUDIENCE
Run it after the P&L, cash flow and break-even prompts, and paste their headline figures.
Funding Ask, Lender Pack & Risks
How much you need, what it pays for and how the lender or investor gets their money back. These prompts build a sources-and-uses table that balances and run the debt-service coverage test a bank will run. They compare loans, equity and grants, sanity-check an equity ask, prepare the documents lenders ask for, and write a risk register that admits the real risks. Not financial or legal advice.
Best for: Asking for a specific amount and showing exactly where it goes
You are an adviser who prepares funding requests for small-business loans and angel rounds. Write the funding request section of my plan.
Total needed and how I calculated it: {{TOTAL_NEEDED}}
What the money will pay for, with amounts and quotes: {{USE_OF_FUNDS}}
My own contribution and any other confirmed funding: {{OWNER_CONTRIBUTION}}
The type of funding I'm asking for (loan, equity, grant, a mix) and proposed terms: {{FUNDING_TYPE_AND_TERMS}}
Produce:
1. A sources-and-uses table in which both columns total the same figure. Show the arithmetic, and flag it if they don't match.
2. The amount requested, stated once and clearly, with the type and terms.
3. What the funding achieves: the milestones it gets the business to, and the runway in months.
4. My contribution as a share of the total project cost, and how a reader is likely to see it.
5. A 150-word funding-request section.
6. Any item in the uses list that a lender may refuse to fund or query, such as working capital without a cash flow forecast.
Rules: If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. Don't round the ask up 'for safety' without labeling the extra as contingency. Not financial advice.
Fill in: TOTAL_NEEDED USE_OF_FUNDS OWNER_CONTRIBUTION FUNDING_TYPE_AND_TERMS
Use the totals from the startup-costs and cash-flow prompts so the ask is backed by the forecast.
Best for: Checking the loan is affordable before you apply
Act as a small-business lending officer explaining how a bank checks whether a loan can be repaid. Run the test on my plan before a lender does.
Loan amount, interest rate and term in years: {{LOAN_TERMS}}
Projected operating profit before interest, depreciation and tax (EBITDA) by year, with owner pay included in costs: {{PROJECTED_EBITDA}}
Other debts and their annual repayments: {{OTHER_DEBTS}}
The minimum coverage ratio the lender has told me, if any: {{LENDER_THRESHOLD}}
Calculate and explain:
1. The monthly and annual loan payment, using the standard amortizing-loan formula. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
2. The debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) for each year: EBITDA divided by total annual debt payments.
3. A comparison with my lender's threshold. If I don't have one, use 1.25 and label it as a common rule of thumb, not a rule.
4. Any year below the threshold, and what would fix it: a longer term, a smaller loan, an interest-only period, a cash reserve or higher profit. Show the effect of each.
5. A short repayment-capacity paragraph for the plan.
Rules: use only my figures. Real lenders also weigh credit history, security and personal guarantees; mention them, but don't guess at terms. Not financial advice.
Fill in: LOAN_TERMS PROJECTED_EBITDA OTHER_DEBTS LENDER_THRESHOLD
Use EBITDA with your own salary already deducted; lenders will add it back only if you can show it's optional.
Example output · Claude (example written by The Prompt Index)
Sample inputs (fictional business: Spoke & Wrench bike repair)
- Loan: $120,000 at 10.5% fixed over 7 years
- Projected EBITDA (my salary of $4,500 a month already deducted): year 1 -$14,160, year 2 $61,440, year 3 $78,000
- Other debts: none
- Lender threshold: not given yet
1. Loan payment
Formula: payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n)
- P = $120,000; r = 10.5% ÷ 12 = 0.00875 a month; n = 7 × 12 = 84 months
- (1 + r)^84 = 2.0788, so (1 + r)^−84 = 0.4810
- Payment = 120,000 × 0.00875 ÷ (1 − 0.4810) = 1,050.00 ÷ 0.5190 = $2,023.28 a month
- Annual debt service = $2,023.28 × 12 = $24,279.37
2. Debt service coverage ratio (EBITDA ÷ annual debt service)
| Year | EBITDA | Debt service | DSCR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -$14,160 | $24,279.37 | -0.58 (negative) |
| 2 | $61,440 | $24,279.37 | 2.53 |
| 3 | $78,000 | $24,279.37 | 3.21 |
3. Against a threshold
You haven't been given one, so I've used 1.25, a common rule of thumb rather than a rule. Ask your lender for theirs. Years 2 and 3 clear it comfortably. Year 1 doesn't: the business makes an operating loss, so every year-one payment comes from somewhere else.
4. Fixing year 1
Year-one cash gap with the loan as proposed: $14,160 operating loss + $24,279.37 payments = $38,439.37.
| Option | Year-1 payments | Year-1 gap | Payment from year 2 | DSCR year 2 | DSCR year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As proposed (7 years) | $24,279.37 | $38,439.37 | $2,023.28/mo | 2.53 | 3.21 |
| 12 months interest-only, then 6 years | $12,600.00 ($1,050.00/mo) | $26,760.00 | $2,253.48/mo | 2.27 | 2.88 |
| 10-year term | $19,430.64 | $33,590.64 | $1,619.22/mo | 3.16 | 4.01 |
(Interest-only: 120,000 × 0.00875 = $1,050.00 a month. The 6-year and 10-year payments use the same formula with n = 72 and n = 120.)
Your plan already includes a $55,000 working-capital reserve, which covers the year-one gap in every option. The interest-only option leaves the most headroom in year one, at the cost of slightly higher payments from year 2 onwards.
5. Repayment-capacity paragraph for the plan
The $120,000 loan over 7 years at 10.5% costs $2,023.28 a month ($24,279 a year). Projected EBITDA, after the owner's salary, covers annual debt service 2.53 times in year 2 and 3.21 times in year 3. Year 1 is a ramp-up year with a projected operating loss of $14,160; year-one repayments and losses are funded from the $55,000 working-capital reserve included in the funding request. We would welcome a 12-month interest-only period, which reduces year-one payments to $12,600.
Lenders will also look at your credit history, the security you offer and whether they need a personal guarantee. I haven't assumed anything about those. Not financial advice.
Best for: Choosing the right kind of money before writing the ask
You are a neutral funding adviser for small businesses. Compare the realistic funding options for my plan so I choose deliberately rather than by default.
My business, stage and growth ambition (lifestyle, steady local, high-growth): {{BUSINESS_AND_AMBITION}}
How much I need and what for: {{FUNDING_NEED}}
Assets, savings, trading history and credit position, roughly: {{FINANCIAL_POSITION}}
Country or region: {{COUNTRY_REGION}}
Produce:
1. A comparison table of the options that could fit: own savings, friends and family, bank term loan, government-backed loan schemes, equipment or asset finance, revenue-based finance, grants, crowdfunding and angel investment. Columns: fit for my case, what the funder expects in return, evidence usually required, speed, and the main downside.
2. Options that clearly don't fit, for example equity investors for a business that isn't built to grow fast, and why.
3. A recommended mix and order of approach.
4. How my plan should change depending on the option chosen (more weight on repayment, or on growth and an eventual return).
5. Questions to ask any funder before signing.
Rules: describe types of scheme; name a specific program only if you're confident it exists in my region, and tell me to check current eligibility and terms myself. Don't state interest rates or terms as fact. Not financial advice.
Fill in: BUSINESS_AND_AMBITION FUNDING_NEED FINANCIAL_POSITION COUNTRY_REGION
Run it before you write the funding section; the right kind of money changes what the plan should stress.
Best for: Founders about to name a valuation for the first time
Act as an experienced angel investor who mentors first-time founders. Check whether my equity ask hangs together before I put it in the plan.
Amount I want to raise, and the share I'm offering or the valuation I have in mind: {{EQUITY_ASK}}
Current ownership (founders and anyone else): {{CAP_TABLE}}
Traction to date (revenue, customers, growth): {{TRACTION}}
What the money gets the business to, and when: {{MILESTONES_FUNDED}}
Calculate and explain:
1. The implied pre-money and post-money valuation, and each owner's shareholding after the round. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
2. Ownership after a likely next round, using an illustrative dilution figure I can change.
3. Whether the money gets the business to a milestone that would justify a higher valuation, and how many months of runway it buys.
4. The questions an investor will ask about the valuation, and the evidence I'd need to answer them.
5. One line each on alternatives to a priced round, such as convertible notes or revenue share.
Rules: don't state a 'market' valuation for my business or quote valuation multiples as fact. Explain that terms such as vesting and board seats matter as much as price, and recommend a lawyer for any term sheet. Not investment or legal advice.
Fill in: EQUITY_ASK CAP_TABLE TRACTION MILESTONES_FUNDED
Only for equity raises. If your business won't grow fast, the funding-options prompt will probably point you to debt.
Best for: A risk section that builds trust instead of hiding problems
You are a risk adviser who writes the risk section of business plans for lenders and investors. A plan that admits its real risks is more credible than one that hides them.
My business and plan summary: {{BUSINESS_SUMMARY}}
Risks I already know about: {{KNOWN_RISKS}}
What the funding is for, and how it will be repaid or returned: {{FUNDING_PURPOSE}}
Produce:
1. A risk register covering market, competition, operations, people (including key-person risk), financial, legal and regulatory, and external risks. Columns: risk, likelihood (high, medium or low), impact, mitigation, early-warning sign, and owner.
2. Risks I didn't list that a skeptical reader will think of, marked as added by you.
3. The top three risks ranked by likelihood times impact, each with a mitigation I can act on before the plan is submitted.
4. A 200-word risk section for the plan that names the top risks and their mitigations plainly.
5. Types of insurance worth asking a broker about, without quoting prices.
Rules: be specific to my business. 'The economy may worsen' doesn't count unless you explain how it would hit me. Don't leave out a high-likelihood risk because it's uncomfortable.
Fill in: BUSINESS_SUMMARY KNOWN_RISKS FUNDING_PURPOSE
Name the risks you're already worried about; the AI adds the ones readers think of next.
Best for: Showing a lender the owner can survive the ramp-up
Act as a small-business loan adviser. Lenders want to know the owner can cover their own living costs while the business ramps up, because an owner who can't pay the rent drains the business. Build my personal survival budget.
My monthly household costs (housing, utilities, food, transport, debt payments, childcare, insurance, other): {{HOUSEHOLD_COSTS}}
Other household income (a partner's pay, part-time work, benefits), and how reliable it is: {{OTHER_INCOME}}
What the business plan pays me each month, and from when: {{PLANNED_OWNER_PAY}}
Personal savings I'll keep as a buffer, separate from what I'm investing: {{PERSONAL_BUFFER}}
Produce:
1. A monthly budget table: costs by category, income by source, and the surplus or shortfall.
2. The minimum owner pay I need, and whether the plan's figure covers it. If it doesn't, how many months my buffer lasts.
3. Costs people often leave out (annual bills spread monthly, car repairs, irregular expenses), listed without amounts.
4. What happens if the business pays me nothing for three months.
5. A short statement for the plan or loan application explaining how I'll support myself during the ramp-up.
Rules: If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it. Use only my figures; don't fill in typical household costs. Practical, not judgmental. Not financial advice.
Fill in: HOUSEHOLD_COSTS OTHER_INCOME PLANNED_OWNER_PAY PERSONAL_BUFFER
Some startup-loan applications ask for this as a separate form; build it before you set your salary in the forecast.
Best for: Preparing everything a bank asks for besides the plan
Act as a commercial lending adviser preparing a small-business owner for a loan application. Lenders look at more than the plan; help me organize the rest.
Loan amount and purpose: {{LOAN_REQUEST}}
My personal investment in the business so far, and planned: {{OWNER_INVESTMENT}}
Assets that could be offered as security, with rough values and any existing loans against them: {{AVAILABLE_SECURITY}}
My credit and borrowing history in plain terms, with no account numbers: {{CREDIT_SUMMARY}}
Produce:
1. A plain explanation of what lenders typically assess (repayment capacity, owner investment, security, credit history, experience and the plan) and where my case looks strong or weak on each.
2. A one-page owner's statement draft covering my investment, my commitment and the security available, written factually.
3. A checklist of documents a lender is likely to request (ID, tax returns, bank statements, forecasts, leases, quotes, licenses), with status columns.
4. Questions to ask the lender about personal guarantees, security over assets and fees before agreeing to anything.
5. Weak points to fix before applying, and how.
Rules: describe common practice in general terms, because requirements differ by lender and country. Don't value my assets for me. Not financial or legal advice; recommend independent advice before I give a personal guarantee.
Fill in: LOAN_REQUEST OWNER_INVESTMENT AVAILABLE_SECURITY CREDIT_SUMMARY
Never paste account numbers or ID numbers; describe your history in general terms.
Executive Summary, Pitch Deck & Stress-Tests
Write the executive summary last, from finished sections, so it only claims what the plan supports. Then turn the plan into a pitch-deck outline, rehearse the hard questions, and let a skeptical lender and a skeptical angel investor tear it apart before a real one does. A consistency check catches numbers that disagree between sections, and a short cover email gets the plan read.
Best for: The one page that decides whether the rest gets read
You are a business-plan editor. My plan sections are written; now write the executive summary, the page most readers use to decide whether to read on.
Reader, and what I'm asking them for: {{PLAN_AUDIENCE}}
My finished plan sections, or their key paragraphs (paste them): {{PLAN_SECTIONS}}
Headline figures from my financials (revenue, profit, break-even, funding needed): {{HEADLINE_FIGURES}}
Write:
1. An executive summary of 350-450 words covering, in this order: the business and what it sells; the problem and who has it; the solution and why customers choose it; the market and evidence of demand; competition and advantage; the team; financial highlights; and the ask and what it achieves.
2. An opening sentence that states the business and the ask, with no scene-setting.
3. A fact-check table listing every number and claim in the summary next to the section it came from.
4. A 75-word version for an email or an application form.
Rules: use only what is in my sections and figures, and introduce nothing new. If a section is missing or contradicts another, flag it instead of smoothing it over. Say 'projected' for forecasts. No hype words such as 'unique', 'revolutionary' or 'huge opportunity'.
Fill in: PLAN_AUDIENCE PLAN_SECTIONS HEADLINE_FIGURES
Write this last. If you paste only some sections, the AI will flag the gaps rather than fill them.
Best for: Turning a finished plan into a short, focused deck
Act as a pitch coach who has helped founders turn written plans into investor and lender presentations. Convert my business plan into a slide-by-slide deck outline.
My business plan, or its executive summary and key sections (paste): {{PLAN_TEXT}}
Audience, setting and time allowed (angel group, bank meeting, competition, grant panel): {{PITCH_SETTING}}
The ask: {{FUNDING_ASK}}
Produce:
1. 10-12 slides. For each: a headline that states the point as a sentence rather than a label like 'Market', up to three supporting bullets, the one number or visual that proves the point, and 40-60 words of speaker notes.
2. A recommended visual for each slide (chart type, photo or simple diagram), described so I can build it.
3. The plan details that stay out of the deck and go into the appendix or Q&A.
4. Timing per slide to fit the time allowed.
5. A closing slide that restates the ask and the milestone it funds.
Rules: every number must come from my plan. A lender deck puts repayment and security first; an investor deck puts growth and returns first, so adjust to my setting. No slide may carry more than 30 words of text.
Fill in: PLAN_TEXT PITCH_SETTING FUNDING_ASK
Tell it the exact time slot you've been given; a 5-minute pitch and a 20-minute bank meeting need different decks.
Best for: Rehearsing before a bank or investor meeting
You are a panel of three experienced reviewers: a bank credit officer, an angel investor and an operator from my industry. Prepare me for the questions after my pitch.
My plan summary and key numbers: {{PLAN_SUMMARY}}
Who I'm pitching to: {{PITCH_SETTING}}
Questions I'm dreading: {{DREADED_QUESTIONS}}
Produce:
1. 20 tough questions, roughly seven from each reviewer, covering the market, competition, numbers, team, risks and the ask. Make them specific to my plan, not generic.
2. For each question: the worry behind it, the evidence from my plan a strong answer would use, and a model answer of no more than 60 words in my voice.
3. Questions my plan can't yet answer well, flagged clearly, with what I need to find out before the meeting.
4. Five answers founders commonly give that lose credibility, such as 'we have no competitors', and a better alternative for my case.
5. A mock Q&A to finish: ask me one question at a time, wait for my answer, score it out of 5 and tell me how to improve it.
Rules: model answers use only facts from my summary. Where a fact is missing, write [YOU NEED THIS] rather than inventing it.
Fill in: PLAN_SUMMARY PITCH_SETTING DREADED_QUESTIONS
Do the mock Q&A out loud; typing answers is easier than saying them under pressure.
Best for: Finding the weak spots before a real lender does
Act as a skeptical small-business lender with 20 years of credit decisions behind you. Review my business plan as if deciding whether to lend, and be direct.
My business plan, or its key sections and financials (paste): {{PLAN_TEXT}}
Loan requested, term and purpose: {{LOAN_REQUEST}}
Security and owner investment offered: {{SECURITY_AND_EQUITY}}
Assess:
1. Repayment capacity: can projected cash flow cover the payments with headroom? Recalculate anything you can check from my numbers and show the working.
2. Assumptions: the three most optimistic ones, why they look optimistic, and what evidence would change your mind.
3. Capability: does the team's experience match what the plan asks of it?
4. Cash: is the working capital enough to survive a slow start?
5. Owner commitment and security: is there enough to share the risk?
6. Red flags: inconsistencies between sections, missing documents and numbers that don't reconcile.
Then give:
- A provisional decision: approve, approve with conditions, or decline, with reasons.
- The conditions or changes that would move you to yes.
- A prioritized fix list for the plan.
Rules: base the review on my document only, and quote the line or number behind each criticism. Don't soften it. This is a practice review, not a credit decision.
Fill in: PLAN_TEXT LOAN_REQUEST SECURITY_AND_EQUITY
Run it in a new chat so the reviewer hasn't seen you write the plan, and paste the whole thing including the numbers.
Example output · Claude (example written by The Prompt Index)
Sample inputs (fictional business: Spoke & Wrench bike repair)
- Plan (key sections pasted): owner-mechanic Dana Ruiz, 9 years at a Millbrook bike shop, the last 4 as workshop manager. One employed mechanic. A leased unit plus a mobile van. Average job $110, variable cost $38. Fixed costs $13,600 a month including the owner's salary. Year one runs from 90 to 255 jobs a month (2,070 jobs, $227,700). Year-two EBITDA $61,440 (260 jobs a month on average), year three $78,000. Market: 31,000 households in the service area, with ownership from a farmers' market survey.
- Loan: $120,000, 7 years, 10.5%, to fund the van, fit-out, opening stock, launch and a $55,000 working-capital reserve. Total project $135,000.
- Security and owner investment: $15,000 cash from the owner; the van as security. No property offered.
1. Repayment capacity
I recalculated the payment: $120,000 over 84 months at 10.5% is $2,023.28 a month, which matches your plan. DSCR is 2.53 in year 2 and 3.21 in year 3, which is healthy if those years happen. Year 1 has no coverage at all: an operating loss of $14,160 plus $24,279 of payments. So the whole first year rests on the reserve, and that makes the reserve the real credit question.
2. The three most optimistic assumptions
a) The ramp. "90 jobs in month 1, +15 every month" has no basis in the plan. I re-ran your break-even table with every month 20% lower: the cumulative cash loss bottoms out at $68,315 in month 13, against a reserve of $55,000. That's a shortfall of $13,315. Your base case (deepest point $43,407, month 9) leaves only $11,593 of headroom. What would change my mind: pre-booked jobs, a corporate fleet or bike-share servicing contract, or your own customers following you from your old shop, shown with numbers.
b) Market share. The plan needs about 1,380 customers in year one, which is 19% of your own serviceable-market estimate, against three established shops. The 46% ownership figure comes from a farmers' market, an audience that probably rides more than most.
c) Flat costs. Fixed costs stay at $13,600 for three years. No wage increases, no rent review and no extra mechanic, even though year-three volume is higher. Year-three EBITDA of $78,000 is overstated by however much costs actually rise.
3. Capability
This is the strongest part of the plan. Nine years in the trade and four running a workshop is directly relevant. The gap is the business side: no bookkeeping or marketing experience is mentioned. Name your accountant and say who does the books.
4. Cash
Adequate for the base case and inadequate for a slow start (see 2a). Every job is averaged at $110 with $38 of variable cost. If e-bike battery and motor work carries a lower parts margin, contribution per job falls, and the plan doesn't test that.
5. Owner commitment and security
The owner's $15,000 is 11.1% of the $135,000 project. That's thin. The van is a depreciating asset, and the fit-out and stock have little resale value. I would expect a larger owner stake or more security on a loan of this size.
6. Red flags
- Year-two volume averages 260 jobs a month, barely above month 12's 255, yet growth was +15 a month all year. Either the ramp is too steep or year 2 is under-forecast. Explain the flattening.
- The lease isn't in the appendix. Is it signed, how long is it, and is there a break clause?
- There's no mention of insurance for customers' bikes held on the premises or in the van.
Provisional decision: decline as submitted. I'd reconsider an approval with conditions.
Conditions that would get to yes:
1. A reserve sized to the slow case: raise working capital by at least $13,315, ideally from the owner, which also lifts the owner stake.
2. A 12-month interest-only period, which cuts year-one payments to $12,600.
3. Evidence for the ramp: committed bookings, a fleet contract, or a second ownership source.
4. A signed lease with a term at least as long as the loan, or a clear plan if it's shorter.
Prioritized fix list: (1) re-run the cash flow at 80% volume and resize the reserve; (2) add cost inflation and a year-3 hire to the projections; (3) evidence the first three months of jobs; (4) attach the lease and insurance quotes; (5) explain the year-2 volume.
This is a practice review, not a credit decision.
Best for: Testing whether the plan is really an equity story
Act as a skeptical angel investor who reads hundreds of plans a year and invests in very few. Review my plan as an investment, not a loan.
My business plan or pitch materials (paste): {{PLAN_TEXT}}
Amount sought, and the valuation or terms: {{EQUITY_ASK}}
What I think makes this investable: {{INVESTMENT_CASE}}
Score each of these 1-5, with the evidence from my plan:
1. Problem and urgency: is it painful enough that customers will switch?
2. Market: is the opportunity big enough for an investor's return, based on my own figures?
3. Traction: what has been proven with paying customers, and what is assumed?
4. Business model and unit economics: do the numbers still work as the business grows?
5. Team: why this team, and what's missing?
6. Defensibility: what stops a competitor copying this?
7. Deal: does the valuation fit the stage, and how could an investor eventually get their money back?
Then:
- Pass, maybe or invest, with your top three reasons.
- What would turn a pass into a second meeting.
- If the business suits a loan or self-funding better than equity, say so plainly.
Rules: quote my plan for every point. Don't invent comparable companies or valuations. Practice review only, not investment advice.
Fill in: PLAN_TEXT EQUITY_ASK INVESTMENT_CASE
Use this alongside the lender stress-test if you haven't decided between debt and equity.
Best for: Catching mismatched numbers before a reader does
You are a meticulous business-plan checker for numbers and logic, not grammar. Find every place where my plan contradicts itself.
My full business plan text, including the financial tables (paste): {{PLAN_TEXT}}
The final versions of my key figures, if I've changed any recently: {{LATEST_FIGURES}}
Do this:
1. Extract every number that appears more than once (prices, customer counts, revenue, costs, dates, loan amounts, headcount) and list each place it appears. Highlight mismatches.
2. Check that totals add up: sources equal uses, profit and loss lines sum correctly, and monthly cash flow totals match the annual figures. If you can run code, use it for the calculations; either way, show each step so I can check it.
3. Check the logic between sections: the marketing budget matches the go-to-market plan, hiring dates match payroll costs, capacity supports the forecast volumes, and milestones match the timeline.
4. Flag claims that have no supporting evidence anywhere in the plan.
5. Output a fix table: issue, location, what it says now, what it should say (or the question I need to answer), and severity.
Rules: report problems; don't rewrite the plan. If a figure might be right in one place and outdated in another, ask me which is current rather than guessing.
Fill in: PLAN_TEXT LATEST_FIGURES
Run it after every major edit, and again on the final version before it goes out.
Best for: Getting your plan opened and a meeting booked
Act as a business writer who knows busy lenders and investors decide in seconds whether to open an attachment. Write the cover email for my business plan.
Recipient, and how I know or found them: {{RECIPIENT}}
The business in one sentence, and the ask: {{BUSINESS_AND_ASK}}
The two or three strongest proof points in the plan (traction, team, security, contracts): {{PROOF_POINTS}}
What I'm attaching, and the next step I want (meeting, call, application): {{ATTACHMENTS_AND_NEXT_STEP}}
Write:
1. Three subject-line options, each under 60 characters, that mention the ask.
2. An email under 180 words: who I am and why I'm writing to them, the business and the ask in the first two sentences, the proof points, what's attached, and a specific next step with two time options.
3. A shorter version for a LinkedIn message or a website contact form, under 80 words.
4. A follow-up email for one week later if there's no reply, adding one new piece of information.
Rules: use only facts I supply. No flattery, no hype, and no claims of urgency or scarcity I can't back up. Plain, confident and professional.
Fill in: RECIPIENT BUSINESS_AND_ASK PROOF_POINTS ATTACHMENTS_AND_NEXT_STEP
Send the executive summary first if the recipient doesn't know you; offer the full plan on request.
How to get the best results
1. Work in order, and keep one chat per plan
Start with the intake interview, then go section by section. Keep the same chat (or a ChatGPT or Claude Project) so earlier answers stay in context, and paste finished sections back in when a later prompt asks for them. Write the executive summary last, from the finished sections, so it only claims what the plan supports.
2. Bring real numbers and real sources
Anything in {{CAPITALS_LIKE_THIS}} is a placeholder. Replace it, braces included, with your own facts. Rough figures are fine if you label them as estimates. Invented ones aren't, because every later section builds on them. For market data, run "Where to Find Real Market Data" first and cite each figure with its source and year. If you've collected a stack of reports and PDFs, Decision Lab can turn them into a brief where each claim carries a quote from its source, which you can then paste into the trends and market prompts.
3. Check every calculation
The financial prompts ask the AI to show its working. Use a reasoning or thinking mode if your plan has one, and let the AI run code if it can. Then rebuild the key tables in a spreadsheet and confirm the totals match. If you keep competitor research or interview answers in a spreadsheet, Sheet Scorer can score each row against criteria you set, such as evidence strength or fit with your target customer, before you summarize them.
4. Get it attacked before you send it
Run the lender or investor stress-test and the consistency check in a fresh chat, paste the whole plan, and fix what they find. Then use the pitch-deck prompt and build the slides in Slide Studio.
Model notes
- ChatGPT: keep the plan in a Project, and use a reasoning model for break-even, cash flow and the loan check.
- Claude: good with long pasted plans, which helps for the executive summary, consistency check and stress-tests.
- Gemini: handy if your forecast lives in Google Sheets and your research in Google Docs.