What is an Appendix?
The appendix of your business plan usually appears at the very end of your document, and it includes surplus information that you refer to within your plan. While this information may be important, to have it in the main bulk of your plan can interrupt the flow of your document and make it feel longer, so it’s a good idea to separate out the extra information and put it into an appendix that the reader can refer to when they need to. For example, if you have a table that spans a few pages, you might want to put this in your appendix if the rest of the section in question provides enough information without it. This keeps your business plan as simple as possible.
What Should You Include In your Appendix?
Some of the documents you might put in your business plan appendix include:
Tables, charts and graphs that illustrate information already in your business plan
Documentation such as licences, patents, permits and trademarks
Contracts with clients or vendors
Marketing materials
Product packaging samples
Contact information for third parties such as accountants or advisors
Remember that your business plan should stand up on its own. Not everyone will read the appendix, so while this section should support your business plan, it shouldn’t be the place where you put information you wouldn’t want your readers to miss.
Do You Need an Appendix?
An appendix is not a requirement for your business plan, so don’t worry if you don’t have anything to add into this section. You may find that everything you need fits neatly into your business plan without it being too long and cumbersome, which is fine.
How Long Should Your Appendix Be?
Your appendix doesn’t need to be too long, so keep it simple. All of the information you do put in your appendix must be relevant to your business plan – don’t put everything but the kitchen sink in there if it isn’t going to help your reader to better understand your business, or help to convince an investor or lender to provide you with funding.
If your appendix does turn out to be quite long, you may want to consider adding a separate table of contents for this section of your business plan.
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