What should I remove from a business plan when I cannot prove the claim?

Review claims according to what they ask the reader to believe

A business plan contains facts, estimates, intentions and opinions. Problems arise when those categories are blurred. A statement that the company holds a signed contract asks the reader to believe something different from a forecast that it may win work next year. Review the wording and evidence together.

Start with claims that materially affect the decision: demand, revenue, costs, capacity, ownership, qualifications, approvals and use of funds. A polished introduction cannot compensate for unsupported statements about these matters. Mark each important claim and identify what would demonstrate that it is accurate.

The IDC planning guide provides a useful official planning reference. The review method here is an editorial working tool. It is intended to help an owner make the submission more reliable, not to certify that a funder will accept it.

Choose whether to keep, qualify, test or remove

Do not use a footnote to reverse an inaccurate headline. If the main text says a licence is approved, a later note saying application pending does not make the claim clear. Correct the main statement so that a reader sees the actual status immediately.

Keep a record of decisions made during the review. It helps prevent removed claims from returning when someone reuses an older presentation or copies text into a funding form.

Remove invented certainty about customers and orders

Describe each customer relationship at its actual stage. An enquiry is not a sale, a meeting is not a contract and a conditional letter is not unconditional revenue. If a prospective customer has requested pricing, say that rather than calling the company an established supplier to that customer.

Check permission before naming clients or reproducing their logos, testimonials or documents. Even a real relationship may have confidentiality or approval conditions. Use an accurate anonymised example where appropriate, without making it impossible to verify a material claim through an agreed confidential process.

For a forecast pipeline, explain how opportunities are assessed and what conditions remain. Remove double-counted alternatives where winning one project would prevent the business from delivering another. The plan should not present every possible opportunity as simultaneously available revenue.

Attribute experience to the person or entity that earned it

A founder may bring substantial experience to a newly formed company. Describe the individual's role, relevant responsibilities and period of work. Do not convert that experience into a claim that the new company has traded for the same number of years or delivered the former employer's contracts.

Use specific descriptions that can be checked. Managed purchasing for a manufacturing operation is more useful than an unsupported claim to be an industry leader. If a qualification or membership matters to delivery, confirm the holder, status and relevance rather than assuming it covers the whole business.

Where the team still needs a specialist, identify the gap and recruitment or contracting plan. A person who has expressed interest in joining should not appear as a confirmed employee. The reader needs to understand both existing capability and the steps required to complete the team.

Replace unsupported market size with a defined opportunity

A national industry total rarely establishes the market a small business can realistically serve. Explain the intended customer segment, geography, product and route to market. If a statistic is used, retain its source, date, definition and limitations. Check that it measures the same thing the plan discusses.

Remove unsupported statements such as no competition or guaranteed demand. Customers usually have alternatives, including doing the work internally or postponing the purchase. Identify those alternatives and explain the specific reason a customer might choose the proposed offer.

If reliable market data is unavailable, describe the research undertaken and the next test. A limited but honest customer study is more useful than a precise-looking percentage with no source. Do not add decimal places to an estimate merely to make it appear researched.

Show capacity and registration status accurately

Separate equipment owned, equipment hired under an agreement and equipment planned for purchase. State the conditions that affect availability. A supplier catalogue demonstrates that an item exists, not that the business controls it or can obtain it in time for the proposed contract.

Apply the same discipline to premises and registrations. A submitted application should be described as submitted, with any material next step identified. Remove approval badges or statements that imply an outcome before the authority has issued it. Explain what work is dependent on that outcome.

Where the plan includes marketing representations, the Consumer Protection Act is relevant to misleading claims within its scope. The practical rule is straightforward: the plan and customer-facing material should not tell conflicting stories about the company's current capabilities.

Keep useful forecasts without disguising them as facts

A plan needs estimates to explain the proposed future. Removing every uncertain number would make it less useful. Instead, label projections, state their assumptions and show how they were calculated. Distinguish the evidence supporting the input from management's judgement about the result.

For example, a sales forecast may assume that a proportion of enquiries become paying customers. If the business has no trading history, explain the basis and test a lower conversion rate. Do not present that proportion as a measured company result.

Review cost estimates with equal care. An old quotation may be a starting point, but its validity and scope need checking. Record allowances for missing items transparently. Avoid claiming that a budget is fully quoted when installation, transport or necessary operating costs remain unpriced.

Rewrite a claim without losing the useful information

Suppose a new service company writes that it has secured five major clients and can start nationwide immediately. The evidence shows five pricing enquiries, one confirmed local technician and no delivery agreements outside the area. The original statement should not remain.

A more accurate account would identify five prospective customers who requested quotations, the existing local capacity and the proposed approach to serving other areas. It would state which customer decisions and supplier arrangements are still outstanding. Any national revenue forecast would then be conditional on those arrangements.

This revision does not make the business less ambitious. It makes the sequence assessable. The reviewer can see what exists now, what the company intends to build and which evidence would demonstrate progress. The funding request can then explain the resources needed for that next stage.

Check the whole submission for the same unsupported claim

Search the plan, forecast notes, executive summary, slide deck and application answers for the claim being corrected. Update every affected occurrence. A careful body section will not resolve an inaccurate summary that the reviewer reads first.

Ask the owner to approve material factual statements and keep the supporting evidence index. Record unresolved questions and decide whether the application can proceed with a clear limitation or needs more work before submission. For a material third-party statement, retain the original communication and its context. A shortened quotation or cropped document can omit a condition that changes its meaning. Check the full record before relying on it. Do not replace missing approval with a signature from someone who has not checked the facts.

Business-plan support can help organise the review and rewrite claims precisely. The finished plan should let a reader distinguish evidence, judgement and ambition. Its credibility comes from that distinction and from a practical route to resolving uncertainty.