Business Services

Business Plan Writing & Financial Projections in Thailand

Start with who reads it, and what they need to see to say yes

Business Services

Start with who reads it, and what they need to see to say yes

Plans that come back rarely come back because they were badly designed. They come back because they answered the wrong question: a loan plan with pages of vision and no month-by-month proof that cash covers the instalments; a BOI application whose machinery figures do not match the criteria of its activity category; an investor deck that never says how much of the company the money buys or how the investor gets out. We write the plan from its reader backwards and build the financial projections in-house, with the accounting team we work with day to day. Because we are a law firm, we check at the same time that everything the plan describes can lawfully be done — the registered capital, the shareholding, the licences required and the contracts the business will depend on. We work with small businesses writing their first loan plan as well as companies applying for investment promotion or raising capital.

What we cover

Business plans for commercial-bank and specialised-lender loan applications

Business plans and financial projections for BOI promotion applications

Business descriptions and operating plans for Foreign Business Licence applications

Plans, pitch materials and financial models for investors and new partners

Project feasibility studies, including legal feasibility

Market and competitor analysis, a financial model you can audit, and business valuation for funding rounds

Review of existing plans, and answers to the reviewer's questions after filing

Each reader looks for something different

A bank reads a plan to see whether the business can service its debt, even in months when sales disappoint, and what stands behind the loan if it cannot. The BOI reads to see whether the project fits a promoted activity and its published conditions — investment size, capacity, machinery, employment and technology. The authority considering a Foreign Business Licence reads to see what the business contributes to Thailand. An investor reads to see whether the market is big enough, whether the team can deliver and what the money buys. A prospective partner reads to see who contributes what, who does what and how results are shared. The underlying data can be the same, but the order, the level of detail and the figures that matter are different every time — which is why our first question is always who the plan is for.

What goes into our plans

The order and emphasis change with the reader, but the building blocks are the same. An executive summary says on one page what is being asked for, what it will be used for and how it will be repaid or rewarded. The market analysis separates the total market, the part the business can actually serve and the share it expects to win (TAM, SAM and SOM), built bottom-up — target customers times purchase frequency times price — rather than quoting a national market figure most reviewers set aside. Then come competitors and the reasons customers will choose this business; the business model, summarised on a Business Model Canvas; the go-to-market plan, with channels and the cost of acquiring each customer; operations, team and organisation; the financial projections; and a risk section that says plainly what could go wrong and how it would be handled. Many plans leave that last section out, although it is what makes a reviewer believe the rest.

Financial projections you can check

Our figures are built as a model in which the income statement, balance sheet and cash-flow statement are linked, so changing one assumption moves all three consistently. We start from unit economics — revenue, cost and gross margin per product, per customer or per branch — and find the break-even point. We then model working capital: how long customers take to pay, how long the business takes to pay suppliers, and how much stock it carries, because many businesses are profitable on paper and still run out of cash. Every plan carries at least three scenarios — base, upside and downside — with a sensitivity analysis showing which variables move the result most. The metrics shown depend on the reader: lenders look at debt-service coverage (DSCR) and gearing; capital projects at net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period; investors at use of funds, runway and valuation. The model is delivered as a file with every formula open, so you and the reviewer can trace each figure to its source.

BOI applications: the numbers become conditions

An application for investment promotion needs the project description, production capacity, machinery list, employment plan and financial projections. Once approved, much of this tends to be written into the conditions of the promotion certificate, which the company then has to meet. Inflating figures to make a project look attractive becomes an obligation later; understating them can leave a project below the minimum for its activity category. We set these figures alongside the capital to be registered, the machinery import plan and the number of foreign experts who will need work permits, so that every document on the route uses the same numbers. Filing, answering the BOI's questions and post-approval compliance can be handled by our investment team within the same engagement.

Foreign Business Licence applications: describing the business

A foreign-majority company that will carry on a business on the restricted lists of the foreign business law needs a licence before it starts. The authority has to see what the business is, how it operates and how it benefits Thailand — employment of Thai staff, transfer of knowledge and technology, investment, and the effect on Thai operators in the same field. Descriptions that are too broad tend to draw requests for clarification; descriptions that are too narrow limit what the company may do once licensed. We write the description around the activities the company will actually carry on in its first years, and check at the same time whether another route fits better, such as investment promotion or a treaty-based certificate.

Raising investment into a Thai company

Investors read a plan for three answers: is the market large enough, can the team deliver, and what does the money buy. We prepare the plan, the pitch materials and a financial model showing the use of funds and the shareholding before and after the round — and, because this is legal work too, we shape the proposed terms around what Thai law allows from the start. A Thai private limited company cannot issue debentures, so money meant to convert into shares later has to be documented as a loan with conversion terms, which needs careful drafting. New shares must, as a rule, first be offered to existing shareholders in proportion to their holdings, so the waiver steps have to be done properly. And where the investor is foreign, the post-money shareholding can make the company foreign in law, with consequences for restricted businesses and for land. Once terms are agreed, we can take the same engagement through the term sheet, the shareholders' agreement and registration of the capital increase.

Valuing the business for a funding round or share sale

When a plan is used to bring in investors or a new partner, the question to answer is how much of the company the money buys, which depends on the pre-money valuation. We value the business using several methods together — the present value of future cash flows (DCF), comparison with similar businesses (multiples) and net asset value for asset-heavy companies — and present a range with the reasoning behind each method, rather than a single figure that cannot be defended in negotiation. The result feeds directly into the term sheet, the allotment of new shares and the shareholders' agreement, which we prepare in the same engagement. Where land or other assets need a formal appraisal, we work with an independent valuer.

Market entry and feasibility: the legal half

Feasibility studies usually cover the market, the technical case and the financials — payback period and project returns. The part most often skipped is legal feasibility, even though it decides whether the project can happen at all. Does the zoning allow this use on this land? Which licences are needed, and how long before the business can open? Does the project trigger an environmental impact assessment? Is the land title or lease secure for the full payback period? If there are foreign investors, can the shareholding lawfully be structured the way the model assumes? Common failures are hotels whose returns rely on room counts the zoning or licence will not allow, and projects on leased land where the lease is shorter than the payback period. We prepare this part from the actual documents, not as an assumption in a report — and for businesses entering Thailand, we compare selling through a distributor with setting up their own entity.

Bank financing: what lenders check

A loan officer's first question is whether cash flow covers the instalments — not how high future profits could be. A usable loan plan therefore shows cash flow monthly or quarterly, including the period before revenue is at full strength, and shows what happens if sales fall short. The figures need a basis: sales history, customer contracts or orders, and quotations for the equipment or works the loan will fund. The point Thai lenders question most often is a gap between the plan and the financial statements already filed with the Department of Business Development and the tax returns filed with the Revenue Department. Where a plan shows healthy profits and the filed statements show losses, the bank believes the filed documents. Our accounting team looks at this before drafting begins, and we do not prepare plans whose figures contradict what has already been filed — it will not win the loan, and it creates legal risk for the applicant.

How the work runs

We start by agreeing the purpose: who the plan is for, what amount or outcome is sought, and by when. We then collect the documents and baseline data, and set out every assumption behind the figures for you to confirm before the model is built — a good plan rests on assumptions the owner believes and can explain when asked. The projections and the plan follow, then a draft for your review and revisions. After filing, reviewers often come back with questions or requests for more information, and we help prepare the answers and revise the documents until the process is complete. Fees depend on the type of plan, the size of the project and how ready the data is, and are agreed before work begins.

Talk to us about this

Free initial consultation. Tell us what your business needs and we'll map the steps and a quote.

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Frequently asked questions about Business Plans & Feasibility Studies

10 questions answered

Nobody can promise on the reviewer's behalf. Lending is the bank's credit decision; promotion and licences are for the authorities. What we can do is make the plan answer the questions the reviewer will ask, with numbers whose basis can be explained and nothing that contradicts the other documents on file — which is where many plans are sent back.

We build them in-house — revenue and cost forecasts, profit and loss, cash flow, and a test of what happens if revenue comes in lower than planned — working with the accounting team we use day to day wherever accounting or tax data is involved. Projections are forecasts on assumptions you confirm; they are not audited financial statements.

The same underlying data, yes — and it should be, because the figures given to each reviewer ought to match. The plan itself should be written for its reader: a bank needs to see debt-service capacity, the BOI needs to see that the project qualifies, an investor needs to see growth and an exit. A plan that tries to answer everyone at once rarely answers anyone clearly.

It depends on the type of plan and how ready the information is. A loan plan for a small business with complete records is relatively quick; a BOI application plan or a feasibility study for a larger project takes longer because more has to be checked. The biggest source of delay is usually waiting for data, so we send the full document list on day one.

No, but it is a good place to start. A Business Model Canvas summarises the whole business on one page — customers, value proposition, channels, revenue and costs — which makes it ideal for thinking and for getting everyone aligned. We use it as the first step. Banks, the BOI and investors, however, need figures and reasoning in far more detail, and that is what the full plan provides.

Mainly debt-service coverage from cash flow (DSCR), gearing, a revenue history that matches the statements already filed, and collateral or guarantees. Each bank sets its own minimums, which vary by loan type. We calculate these metrics before filing so you can see whether the amount requested is reasonable for the cash flow; if it is not, adjusting the amount or the term before applying is better than being declined and starting over.

Yes. We check whether it answers the questions of the reader you intend to file with, whether the figures have a basis and agree with the statements already filed, and whether anything in it conflicts with the company's structure or existing licences. We then tell you what needs changing — we can make the changes or you can.

Yes. The figures then need other support: the owners' track record in the same business, contracts or letters of intent from customers, market data and costs taken from real quotations. It is worth knowing that for new businesses, lenders usually place more weight on collateral or guarantees than they would for a business with a trading history.

Yes, in either or both. That is often necessary when the readers include foreign investors or an overseas parent company, or when foreign shareholders and directors need to understand and sign the same set of documents as their Thai counterparts.

Lawyers owe a duty of confidentiality to their clients. The figures, customer information and plans used to prepare your business plan are used for this work only, and we can sign a separate confidentiality agreement if you prefer.