A merchant services business plan describes how your company can profit by offering intermediary services to merchants. In the most common form of this business model, a company might make use of a credit processor to run their transactions or a shipper to perform their fulfillment to end-use customers. Either of these necessary players “in the middle†of the commerce chain are merchant services providers. The business plan you will need depends on whether you intend to seek funding from outside investors or from a bank (i.e., a simple loan or line of credit). The financial model will vary and the points of emphasis in the plan change somewhat, too. These, however, are consistent no matter who your audience may be:
• What is the exact service you provide?
• Are there ways this suite might expand in the future?
• Who do you target for your sales?
• What does the typical engagement contract look like?
• How will you market the merchant services you can deliver?
• What amount of funding are you seeking?
The funding request can be treated two ways – in an investment plan, you should show the percentage share the investor(s) might take control of in exchange for the capital. For a bank plan, though, it is simply a matter of creating a use of funds table (start-up summary) and ensuring that you can cash flow the loan repayment throughout the life of your plan. This is part of the larger model, of course, which should include the revenue forecast, break-even point, profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheet, and the first year in a monthly format. Need assistance from professionals? MasterPlans has worked with both existing and start-up phase merchant services providers and we can get your plan done fast: (877) 453-2011.
