Five-year financial projections for E-2 business plans
An E-2 business plan has to show that the enterprise is not "marginal": that it can generate more than a minimal living for the investor and their family, or make a significant economic contribution, within about five years. The financial projections carry most of that argument. StartupModel builds them in Excel from the client's numbers: five years of P&L, cash flow and balance sheet, a hiring plan and a low / base / high scenario switch, checked before delivery. This page is written for business plan writers and immigration attorneys who prepare these plans for clients.
What the rules say
The Foreign Affairs Manual, the State Department's guidance for consular officers, defines the test in 9 FAM 402.9-6(E):
- "A marginal enterprise is an enterprise that does not have the present or future capacity to generate enough income to provide more than a minimal living for the treaty investor and their family."
- "An enterprise that does not have the capacity to generate such income but that has a present or future capacity to make a significant economic contribution is not a marginal enterprise."
- "The projected future capacity should generally be realizable within five years from the date the applicant commences normal business activity of the enterprise."
Source: 9 FAM 402.9 — Treaty Traders and Treaty Investors.
That five-year window is why E-2 projections are normally built for five years, and why the numbers have to hang together: a consular officer reading the plan is looking for a business that plausibly grows into its claims.
This page is general information, not legal advice. The attorney on the case decides what the plan needs.
What a strong E-2 projection shows
From the numbers side, a plan that holds up usually shows:
- Investment and use of funds that tie out. The amount invested appears as equity, and what it pays for (fit-out, equipment, inventory, opening cash) appears as capital spending and working capital. If the use-of-funds table and the model disagree, the plan looks careless.
- A credible ramp. Revenue that starts below maturity and grows for stated reasons.
- Hiring. Roles, start dates and salaries by year, which matters both for operating costs and for the economic-contribution argument.
- Profit by year five. Enough to support the non-marginality argument.
- Three statements that agree. P&L, cash flow and a balance sheet that balances every period.
- A downside. What the business looks like if revenue is lower, and whether it still survives.
What StartupModel produces
Full model ($349), five-year horizon:
- Inputs sheet, with every assumption in its own labelled cell and low / base / high values
- Monthly or annual detail: revenue build, costs, payroll by role, working capital, depreciation, loan and equity
- Annual P&L, cash flow statement and balance sheet
- Headcount sheet: roles, FTEs and payroll cost by year, with payroll taxes and benefits and wage growth
- Dashboard with the scenario selector
- Checks sheet: balance sheet balances every period, closing cash reconciles, annual totals tie to period detail, scenario inputs ordered correctly
Before release, every scenario and year is recomputed independently, outside Excel, and must match the workbook within $1. A model that fails is never sent.
You write the narrative: market, management, strategy, and how the business fits the treaty. The model supplies the numbers and the tables you lift into the plan, and the client keeps an editable Excel file if the consulate or the attorney asks for changes.
How plan writers use it
- Collect the client's numbers with our questionnaire, or fill it in yourself from your intake: business type, the investment, rent, menu or price list, staffing plan, any loan.
- Review the model with the client. Change any blue input and the five years recalculate.
- Lift the tables into the plan: the five-year P&L, cash flow and balance sheet, the hiring plan, and the capital spending and funding (equity and loan) that tie to the investment.
- Keep the file for revisions. If the attorney asks for a more conservative case, flip the scenario switch or edit an input instead of rebuilding the spreadsheet.
Pricing for firms
- Single model: Full, $349.
- Pack of 5 Full models: $1,250 ($250 per model), for firms that prepare plans regularly.
Once the client has the file, they or you can change any input without coming back to us.
Which businesses are covered
Templates today cover restaurants and cafés, SaaS and software, retail and e-commerce, professional services, rental real estate, fitness studios and gyms, and home services and trades, and the questionnaire lists only what can be ordered. If a client's business doesn't fit a template, we'd rather say so than sell a model that misrepresents it.
Sample
Download a sample five-year café model (.xlsx), generated by the same engine that builds client models.
What we don't do
- We don't write the narrative business plan or give immigration advice.
- No model is "visa-approved". The consular officer decides on the whole application.
- We don't guarantee any outcome. What we guarantee is that the arithmetic in the file is consistent and checked.
Questions
Can the model run in annual rather than monthly detail? Yes. Choose monthly or annual when ordering. Many E-2 plans present annual figures for five years with more detail in year one.
Can I adjust the model for the client after delivery? Yes. It's a standard Excel file with live formulas.
Is there StartupModel branding in the file? No. Delivered models carry no StartupModel name or logo, so you can hand the file to the client and the attorney as part of your own work.
Refunds? If a model doesn't fit the business, write to us within 7 days for a full refund.
Order a five-year model — $349 · Ask about the 5-model pack · All custom financial models