disclaimer on business plan

Small Business Trends

10 disclaimer examples.

Owning a business comes with risk, but you want to limit unnecessary risk wherever possible. A disclaimer is a simple statement that may dramatically impact your legal liability. Including one on your website footer, products, or client agreements can go a long way toward protecting your business. Here’s a guide to these statements.

What is a Disclaimer Statement?

A disclaimer is a statement that specifies or places limits on a business or individual’s legal liability. For example, a company’s disclaimer statement may state that they cannot be held responsible if their products or services are used without following instructions in the owner’s manual.

They can also be used to limit an individual’s liability when sharing tips or opinions. Some disclaimers are required by law, while others are just a good idea to prevent lawsuits or disputes. You can also create a funny email disclaimer if you don’t want to take yourself seriously.

How do I Write a Disclaimer?

Crafting a disclaimer requires a balance between clarity and comprehensiveness. A well-written disclaimer should clearly articulate the limitations of your liability and professional responsibilities. Here are key steps and tips to guide you in writing an effective disclaimer:

• Be Clear and Direct : Use simple and straightforward language to ensure that your disclaimer is easily understandable by your audience. Avoid legal jargon or complex terms that could confuse the reader.
• Specify Limitations : Clearly outline the specific limitations of your liability. For instance, if you’re providing advice, state that it shouldn’t be taken as a substitute for professional consultation. If selling products, clarify the scope of your responsibility regarding the use or misuse of those products.
• Be Comprehensive, Yet Concise : While it’s important to cover all necessary aspects, avoid making the disclaimer excessively lengthy. A concise, well-crafted disclaimer is more likely to be read and understood by your customers.
• Customize to Your Business : Generic disclaimers may not adequately cover the unique aspects of your business. Tailor your disclaimer to address the specific operations, products, or services you offer. This customization is particularly crucial if your business operates in a niche industry or provides specialized services.
• Use Disclaimer Generators as a Starting Point : Online disclaimer generator tools and templates can be a good starting point. However, it’s important to modify and adapt these generic templates to fit your specific business needs. Add or remove clauses to ensure that all aspects of your business are covered.
• Seek Legal Advice : Especially for businesses in highly regulated industries, or those dealing with complex liability issues, it’s advisable to seek legal counsel. A lawyer can help ensure that your disclaimer is legally sound and fully protective of your interests.
• Regular Updates : Keep your disclaimer up-to-date with changes in your business operations, products, services, and relevant laws. Regularly revisiting and updating your disclaimer ensures its continued effectiveness.

By following these guidelines, you can write a disclaimer that effectively minimizes legal risks, clarifies your liabilities, and aligns with your business’s operations and offerings. Remember, a well-crafted disclaimer is an integral part of your risk management strategy and contributes to building trust with your customers.

Customizing Your Disclaimer

Customizing Your Disclaimer is a critical step in ensuring that your disclaimer effectively addresses the specific risks and operations of your business. A one-size-fits-all approach is rarely sufficient. Tailor your disclaimer to reflect the unique aspects of your products, services, and customer interactions.

For instance, if your business operates online, include clauses relevant to online transactions, digital content, and user interactions. For a service-oriented business, focus on aspects like service outcomes, client responsibilities, and limitations of your professional advice. Review industry-specific legal requirements to ensure your disclaimer covers all necessary bases.

Types of Disclaimer

There are several types of disclaimers that are applicable to various individuals and businesses. When crafting your own, it helps to be specific in your searches. For example, search “trigger warning disclaimer examples,” “email disclaimer examples,” “product disclaimer examples,” or “views expressed disclaimer examples” instead of browsing through tons of generic templates.

Here are some of the most common types of disclaimers:

• Responsibility disclaimer
• Fair use disclaimer
• Past performance disclaimer
• Copyright disclaimer
• Warranty disclaimer
• Risk disclaimer
• Medical disclaimer
• Errors or omissions disclaimer

Legal Considerations for Disclaimers

Legal Considerations for Disclaimers should not be overlooked. While disclaimers are a vital tool for mitigating liability, their legal effectiveness can vary. Courts will consider the clarity, visibility, and reasonableness of a disclaimer when determining its enforceability.

Overly broad or hidden disclaimers might not hold up legally. This is particularly relevant in sectors with stringent regulations, like healthcare or finance.

Therefore, consulting with legal experts to draft or review your disclaimer is highly advisable. They can help ensure that your disclaimer is not only clear and fair but also compliant with current laws and regulations in your jurisdiction.

10 Disclaimer Statement Examples

The type of disclaimer you include on your website or other materials depends on your business and the type of liability you want to avoid. Here are some types of common disclaimers.

1. Testimonial Disclaimer

A testimonial disclaimer specifies that the experiences or results shared in a testimonial are not guaranteed. A disclaimer protects the business from unhappy clients who may believe they were promised certain results.

2. Affiliate Disclaimer

An affiliate disclaimer lets anyone using your website know that you may share links from affiliate companies. A disclaimer lets customers know that you earn a commission from these sales, allowing them to make informed buying decisions.

3. Trademark Disclaimer

Including trademarked product or brand names on your website or marketing materials may be misleading. A trademark disclaimer specifies that you are not affiliated with these other brands.

4. Copyright Disclaimer

A copyright disclaimer states that certain elements of a business, website, or other materials are protected by copyright. This may include things like photos or text within a website or app. It may also lay out how others can and cannot use these materials.

5. Views Expressed Disclaimer

A views expressed disclaimer is often used when an individual or group shares opinions within a forum associated with a business. Many organizations require or encourage employees to use these disclaimers when sharing views online.

6. Warranty Disclaimer

Warranty disclaimers state that a product or service, or any information provided by a company, is not protected by warranty.

7. Fair Use Disclaimer

U.S. law allows some copyrighted material to be used without permission if it is for education, criticism, or commentary. This type of disclaimer states your use of this material and specifies that you don’t have direct permission from the copyright owner.

8. Errors and Omissions Disclaimer

Those who share professional advice online may be vulnerable to errors and omissions lawsuits. These are especially common with things like legal advice or investment advice. These disclaimer types limit your liability if someone suffers damages due to your guidance.

9. Past Performance Disclaimer

If you share successes on your website, some could construe that as a guarantee. This disclaimer of liability states that you cannot guarantee those results.

10. Legal Disclaimer

Sharing legal advice online can open you up to lawsuits. This disclaimer states that your content is for general informational purposes so you cannot be held responsible.

Disclaimer Template

Every business needs a disclaimer to protect itself from potential liabilities and to set clear expectations for its users. While each disclaimer should be tailored to the specific business and its offerings, using a template can serve as a helpful starting point. Here’s a more comprehensive outline you can customize to suit your needs:

• General Information: The information provided on this website is intended for general informational purposes only. It should not be considered as professional advice or a substitute for seeking professional guidance.
• No Warranty: [Business name] makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or availability of the content on this site. The use of the information is at the user’s own risk.
• Not Financial, Legal, or Medical Advice: The content on this website does not constitute financial, legal, medical, or any other professional advice. Users should consult with the relevant professionals for specific advice related to their situation.
• Third-Party Links: This website may contain links to third-party websites or content. These links are provided for convenience only, and [Business name] does not endorse, warrant, or assume liability for the content or practices of these third-party sites.
• No Endorsement: The presence of any link or reference to a third-party website, product, or service does not imply an endorsement or recommendation by [Business name].
• No Guarantee of Results: [Business name] does not guarantee any specific results or outcomes based on the use of its products, services, or information provided on this website.
• Copyright and Intellectual Property: All content, including text, images, logos, and graphics, on this website is the property of [Business name] and is protected by applicable copyright and intellectual property laws.
• Changes and Updates: [Business name] may update, modify, or remove any information on this website without prior notice. It is the user’s responsibility to stay informed of any changes.
• Indemnification: By using this website, users agree to indemnify and hold harmless [Business name] from any claims, damages, losses, or liabilities arising from their use of the site.
• Governing Law: This disclaimer shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of [your jurisdiction], and any disputes arising out of or in connection with this disclaimer shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in [your jurisdiction].

Remember to review and customize this template according to your business’s specific needs and consult legal counsel if necessary to ensure it aligns with your operations and protects your interests appropriately.

Do I need a disclaimer?

Most businesses and websites can benefit from a disclaimer. They are especially useful if you include any copyrighted material or share professional advice or personal views.

Where do I put my disclaimer?

For a disclaimer to be legally viable, it must be visible to users. Many businesses put them in their website footer, a separate page, product pages, or in their terms and conditions agreement.

Updating Your Disclaimer

Updating Your Disclaimer is as important as creating it. Your business will evolve, laws will change, and new risks may emerge. Regularly review and update your disclaimer to reflect these changes. An outdated disclaimer may not offer the necessary legal protection.

A good practice is to review your disclaimer annually or whenever significant changes occur in your business model, product line, or regulatory environment. Involve legal counsel in this process to ensure that your disclaimer stays relevant and robust against emerging risks and legal shifts.

Navigating the business landscape inevitably involves managing various risks. For entrepreneurs keen on safeguarding their ventures, one key strategy is the effective use of disclaimers.

Far from being just simple statements, disclaimers serve as a crucial shield against legal liabilities and play a vital role in protecting your business’s interests.

This guide has delved into the essence of disclaimer statements, offering insights into their creation, customization, and the diverse types that cater to different business needs. The essence of a disclaimer lies in its ability to delineate the legal boundaries of a business or individual’s responsibilities.

Whether it’s stating non-liability for product misuse or setting clear parameters when offering advice, disclaimers help in pre-empting potential legal disputes and misunderstandings.

Crafting a disclaimer is not necessarily an overwhelming task. The objective is to be precise and succinct, explicitly demarcating your professional limitations and responsibilities.

While templates and generator tools offer a starting point, personalizing your disclaimer to fit your business’s unique context is key. This customization ensures that the disclaimer resonates with your specific operations and adequately addresses your liability concerns.

The range of disclaimers available is diverse, each designed to address specific legal aspects:

• Testimonial Disclaimers safeguard against expectations of guaranteed results based on customer testimonials.
• Affiliate Disclaimers maintain transparency about potential commissions on sales through affiliate links.
• Trademark Disclaimers clarify non-affiliation with mentioned trademarked products or brands.
• Copyright Disclaimers protect your intellectual property while stipulating usage rules for your content.
• Views Expressed Disclaimers dissociate personal opinions from organizational stances in professional contexts.
• Warranty Disclaimers state the absence of guarantees with your products or services.
• Fair Use Disclaimers align with copyright law for educational or critical uses of copyrighted material.
• Errors and Omissions Disclaimers limit liability for potential damages from professional advice.
• Past Performance Disclaimers clarify that historical successes don’t assure future results.
• Legal Disclaimers underscore that provided content is informational, not a substitute for professional advice.

Leveraging a disclaimer template is practical, but remember, the effectiveness of a disclaimer is significantly enhanced by tailoring it to your business’s unique operations. When in doubt, consulting with legal experts can ensure your disclaimer is not only comprehensive but also adheres to relevant laws and regulations.

In summary, integrating well-crafted disclaimers into your business practices is not just a legal formality; it’s a strategic move towards minimizing legal exposure and reinforcing the credibility and reliability of your business.

Image: Depositphotos

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10 Disclaimer Examples to Help You Stay on the Right Side of the Law (Updated 2023)

By Jimmy Marshall

Last updated on February 24, 2023

One of the best ways of getting to grips with the functions and applications of disclaimers is to consult a variety of disclaimer examples. Particularly if you plan on publishing any disclaimers personally, consulting approved disclaimer examples beforehand is the way to go.

But what is a disclaimer and where should disclaimers be used? Is it ever advisable to use an automated disclaimer generator, or is it better to learn how to write a disclaimer manually?

While disclaimers exist in a wide variety of forms, their basic purpose is usually the same. Whether it’s an important legal disclaimer or an everyday website/blog disclaimer, its purpose is to deny something and/or deny responsibility for something.

Protecting yourself and your interests from potential legal repercussions means knowing when, where, and how to use disclaimers appropriately.

What is a Disclaimer?

A disclaimer is a statement that limits your liability and is usually found on websites or apps. It can be used to protect you from any legal action that a visitor may take against you, by outlining the limits of what they can expect from using your website or app.

If you need a disclaimer, it’s important to make sure it covers all the potential liabilities of your business. This could include anything from giving advice to selling products, and even disclaiming warranties. Having a disclaimer in place will help protect you and your business if any legal issues arise.

It’s always best practice to use a disclaimer on any website or app that deals with sensitive information, as it helps to limit your liability should something go wrong.

Why is it Important to Have a Disclaimer?

It is important for small businesses to have a disclaimer in order to protect themselves from errors and omissions. A disclaimer helps inform users of any potential risks or liabilities associated with the product or service being provided by the business.

Having a disclaimer ensures that the business is not held liable for any damages resulting from products or services provided by them. Without a disclaimer, businesses could face costly legal action if something goes wrong, so it’s essential to create one as soon as possible.

Disclaimers also protect businesses from copyright infringement, so it’s important to ensure that your website or product has proper permission to use any images or content taken from other sources.

In conclusion, having a disclaimer is an important step in protecting your small business and informing users of potential risks associated with their purchase.

Free Disclaimer Generator?

Generate a disclaimer to comply with any legal or third-party requirements using this free disclaimer generator.

10 Popular Disclaimer Examples to Inspire You

The exact content and coverage of any given disclaimer will usually be 100% unique. However, the vast majority of disclaimers fall within one of the following categories:

Affiliate Disclaimer

Copyright disclaimer, fair use disclaimer.

• Confidentiality Disclaimer (for Emails)

Warranty Disclaimer

• No Responsibility Disclaimer (Liability Disclaimer)

Views Expressed Disclaimer

Investment disclaimer, no guarantee disclaimer, past performance disclaimer.

While it’s perfectly possible for there to be a degree of overlap between one or more disclaimer types, it is vital to understand how each type of disclaimer works and which meets your requirements. In addition, ensuring the content of the disclaimer is clear, concise, and unambiguous is also essential.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common types of disclaimers in a little more detail:

The FTC (and most good affiliate programs) requires that anyone taking part in an affiliate scheme publishes an acceptable affiliate disclaimer. At its core, an affiliate disclaimer is simply used to inform people that you are taking part in an affiliate program and stand to earn money by doing so.

An affiliate disclaimer will typically indicate that while the information and advice provided by the entity in question are predominantly objective, there may be a degree of bias due to their money-making intent.

Here’s an example of a concise affiliate statement from Amazon to illustrate the content you’re looking for:

Typically the most concise of all disclaimers, a copyright disclaimer – aka a copyright notice – simply lets others know that the material they are accessing belongs to you. A copyright notice will typically include the name of the author, the year of the copyright, the internationally recognized copyright symbol and an indication of reservation of rights.

All such information will usually be presented in a concise ‘bar’ at the bottom of the page, though must be prominent enough to be visible. Here’s an example of a copyright disclaimer:

Anyone who intends to use the work of someone else without their direct permission may need to include a fair use disclaimer, which can prevent legal action from being taken against them.

‘Fair use’ refers to the use, citation, or incorporation of another author’s work to an extent that doesn’t contribute to copyright infringement or plagiarism. For example, the content may have been used by a third party for commentary purposes, teaching, researching, news reporting, and so on.

A common example of ‘fair use’ in practice is a movie review that includes clips from the film, or the use of extracts from a copyrighted book during an English language lesson.

Here’s a fair use disclaimer used by several YouTube Channel:

Confidentiality Disclaimer

Confidentiality disclaimers are usually part of the signature line in an email, which subsequently ensures that it appears in every email communication. These email disclaimers are used to inform the recipient that the content of the email is confidential in nature and must not be shared in full or in part with anyone else.

In addition, email disclaimers can sometimes be used to warn recipients of potential computer viruses and other security risks, thus limiting the liability of the sender in the case of such scenarios.

A typical confidentiality disclaimer used in an e-mail signature line is as follows (from Fasanara Capital):

As the name suggests, a warranty disclaimer is effectively the opposite of a conventional warranty. Where issued, a warranty disclaimer informs the receiver of the product or service the provider does not offer any promises or guarantees, typically in relation to the quality, dissatisfaction, and so on.

However, all sellers and service providers are bound by certain national and international rules regarding minimum quality and safety levels for products and services offered. Therefore, a warranty disclaimer cannot be used to sidestep all responsibility on the part of the seller or service provider.

This is how Amazon words its warranty disclaimer:

No Responsibility Disclaimer

Also referred to as a disclaimer of liability, a no-responsibility disclaimer offers protection from potential repercussions in a variety of scenarios. In simple terms, to take a position of ‘no responsibility’ is to accept no liability for the consequences that may occur, due to the use of the information or resources provided on your website (as an example).

This kind of disclaimer is used to inform people that if they take any given action, they take full responsibility for the potential consequences. Most websites feature one or more no-responsibility disclaimers, as online information and resources can be interpreted and acted upon in an infinite variety of ways.

Here’s the current no-responsibility disclaimer from BCS:

One of the most important disclaimers for use in forums, blogs, and other online and offline publications, a ‘views expressed’ disclaimer distances the author or business from the content published.

The disclaimer informs readers that the content published (which may include guest posts, comments, replies, third-party entries etc.) in no way conveys the thoughts, sentiments or intents of the author, the website, or the business. This ensures that in the event any questionable or controversial content is published, the author/website is not held liable for the consequences.

Here’s a simple yet effective example of a views-expressed disclaimer:

Specifically, it is used to inform the reader that the author is not a qualified financial adviser, investment specialist, dealer, or broker and that they cannot and will not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information they provide.

As a result, the reader accepts complete liability for the consequences that may arise, due to their use or interpretation of the information published.

A good example of an effective investment disclaimer from SilverBarter:

Again, this means that irrespective of the outcome, the author or website accepts no liability or responsibility for the consequences. It is implied that the information/content is provided simply for reference purposes, rather than viable or valid advice to be followed.

Wikipedia has a simple yet effective no-guarantee disclaimer in place, which reads as follows:

Last up, the ‘past performance’ disclaimer is used to advise readers that future results can in no way be attributed to past performance. Hence, irrespective of the strong and successful past performance of any activity or entity, this doesn’t guarantee similar results in the future.

Past performance disclaimers are used to inform readers that in the event that they make decisions based on past performance alone, they accept full responsibility for the outcome. They are warned that such assumptions are neither advisable nor condoned by the author, therefore should be avoided.

Here’s how Maple Leaf Funds issues its past performance disclaimer:

What to Include in an Effective Disclaimer

An effective disclaimer should include a description of the limitations of the product or service being offered, as well as any potential liabilities that may arise from its use.

It should also provide a statement of warranty, and explain any disclaimers related to performance, availability, accuracy, and merchantability.

Additionally, it should list any conditions that must be met before using the product or service in question. Lastly, the disclaimer should set out the rights of all parties involved in using and accessing the product or service.

A good disclaimer will help protect both parties and ensure that their rights are respected. To help you, check out this list of important clauses to add to your disclaimer.

Limitation of Liability

A disclaimer that states that your business is not responsible or liable for any damage or loss caused by the use of your website content are a must.

This is a key component to protecting your business. You should include a disclaimer on your disclaimer page that limits your liability in case you are sued for something that occurred from the use of your website content.

Indemnification Clause

You should also include an indemnification clause in your disclaimer. This clause should state that your business is not responsible for any claims, costs, or damages that arise from the use of your website content.

It should provide protection for you in the event that a customer or other third party files a lawsuit against your business because of something related to the use of your website content.

Exclusion of Warranties

You should also include an exclusion of warranties in your disclaimer. This means that your business is not responsible for any warranties, expressed or implied, regarding the use of your website content.

This serves to protect you in the event that a customer or other third party makes a claim against your business due to a malfunction or error in the use of your website content.

Choice of Law

You should also include a choice of law clause in your disclaimer. This clause should state which jurisdiction’s laws will be used to settle any disputes that arise from the use of your website content. This is important to protecting your business from being sued in a jurisdiction that does not have the same laws as your business. 

Severability Clause

Lastly, you should include a severability clause in your disclaimer. This clause should state that if any part of your disclaimer is found to be unenforceable, the remaining parts of the disclaimer shall remain in effect.

This is important to protect your business from having the whole disclaimer ruled invalid if one part of it is found to be unenforceable.

When deciding which type of disclaimer you need, it is important to consider these components and make sure that you have all of them included in order to effectively protect your business.

By understanding the content of each component and how it applies to your business, you can create a disclaimer that will help protect your business from any legal issues that may arise.

How to Write an Effective Disclaimer 

A website disclaimer is one of the most important legal documents for any online business or website. It can help protect the site and its owners from potential legal issues arising from the content or activities on their website.

To write an effective disclaimer, it should be written in plain language so that anyone visiting the site can understand it, include a clear statement on the limits of liability, mention any applicable laws that may govern the site’s activities, and clearly identify who owns or is responsible for the website.

Additionally, disclaimers should be visible on every page of a website in order to maximize their effectiveness. By following these steps and making sure to keep your disclaimers up-to-date with any changes that occur in your business, you can ensure that your website has an effective disclaimer.

Understand Your Business

Before you can begin writing an effective disclaimer, it is important to understand your business and the types of risks it may face. Consider the products or services that you offer and the potential liabilities that they may create. Research common disclaimers in your industry to get a better understanding of what types of risks should be addressed in your disclaimer.

Consult with a Lawyer

Legal disclaimers can be complex, so it is important to consult with a lawyer to make sure that your disclaimer is accurate and legally binding. A lawyer can help you create a disclaimer that meets the legal requirements in your jurisdiction and is tailored to the needs of your business. 

Consider Your Audience

When writing your disclaimer, consider the needs of your audience. Your disclaimer should be easy to understand and written in plain language. Avoid using technical legal terms so that they can be understood by all readers. 

Write in Plain Language

When writing your disclaimer, it is important to use plain language. This means avoiding technical legal terms and using straightforward language that is easy to understand. Use simple words and sentences and avoid making assumptions about the reader’s knowledge. 

Use Clear Formatting

The formatting of your disclaimer is just as important as the content. Use clear formattings such as headings, bullet points, and white space to make the disclaimer easier to read and understand. Place a disclaimer statement at the beginning of the document so that readers can quickly identify it. 

Your disclaimer should state that the information contained in your product or service is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as legal advice.

It should also state that you do not assume any responsibility for any omissions or errors in the information you provide. Furthermore, you should include a disclaimer to protect yourself from any potential liabilities that may arise from the use of your product or service.

Additionally, you should include a disclaimer to limit your liability for any damages that may arise from the use of your product or service. Finally, you should disclaim all warranties, including implied warranties, regarding the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in your product or service.

It should also be noted that the information contained in your product or service may also be used for other purposes without your consent.

Final Thoughts

As a business owner, having a disclaimer on your website is essential to protect yourself from potential legal issues. The disclaimer should include information on the privacy policy and terms and conditions of using the content on your website.

It is important to update this information regularly as laws change and new risks arise. Additionally, it should be easily accessible for visitors to understand what they are agreeing to when accessing your website.

Overall, having a clear and updated disclaimer is an important part of protecting both you and your customers from any potential legal issues that could arise from the use of your website’s content.

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Writing a Business Plan Confidentiality Statement

Business Startup Checklist

• December 12, 2023

Ev ery company has a unique identity that sets it apart from its rival companies in the industry. It’s a combination of various aspects: The way you set your goals, marketing strategy, manufacturing process, or entire business plan.

As crucial as it is to create a business plan that helps you stand out, it’s perhaps just as crucial to protect your plan from any potential intellectual property theft. This is where a confidentiality statement for your business plan helps you safeguard your valuable assets.

A business plan confidentiality statement is a document that states that the information disclosed to the recipient can’t be disclosed to anyone outside the agreement. It’s an agreement made between two parties before they enter a deal or exchange any sensitive and confidential information.

Why do you need a confidentiality statement?

Even though trust is essential between partners or investors, there’s always a need to stay cautious while handing over your business plans. Even though the organization you plan to work with values confidentiality, everyone involved in it may not.

Your business plan is one of the most elaborate and classified documents. Before disclosing any information, the first and foremost thing is to sign a confidentiality statement. This will avoid the misuse of any information disclosed between the two parties.

How does a confidentiality statement protect you?

When a confidentiality statement is signed, it’s agreed upon by both parties that they won’t expose any of the information that’s discussed or presented in the business plans. Additionally, the document should also mention the penalties in case of a violation of the agreement.

If the other party violates the statement of confidentiality, you can take legal action and receive compensation for the damages you had to bear because of the violation. As per the contract, the compensation is paid.

The absence of a confidentiality statement is an invitation for others to use parts of your business plan. Although copyright laws can help you claim most of your information, some, still, stay unprotected.

Creating a Confidentiality Statement for the Business Plan

Most companies include a brief confidential statement on their business plan cover page. Although it’s not a requirement, it delivers a quick message that the document is highly classified. Furthermore, it’s essential to create an exclusive document.

After you write your business plan , create a stringent confidentiality statement and ensure that it includes the following key elements.

1. Date of Effect

The date of effect is the date from which the confidentiality statement becomes active. An agreement isn’t valid until all the parties sign it; the date of effect follows this.

2. Parties Involved in the Agreement

It’s crucial to specify the parties that will sign the agreement. If someone, you want as a part of the confidentiality statement, hasn’t signed it, they’re not bound by the clauses mentioned in the document.

For instance, two companies are getting into a contract, and the CEOs, representing the entire company, are signing the document. Here it’s essential to mention that all employees are also bound by the agreement even when they haven’t signed it.

3. Agreement Terms

Describe and mention all the terms that both parties are agreeing to. This is crucial to the agreement and requires confidentiality. Anything that isn’t included isn’t protected.

Clarify that a recipient would require prior written consent before disclosing any confidential information to a third party.

4. The Non-Confidential part

Along with mentioning the confidential part of your business plan, you should also include the non-confidential part of the agreement. In most cases, there’s a lot of information that’s acquired from other sources. This information won’t show under confidential.

Information relevant to the receiving party won’t be listed under confidential, some of these are:

• The information they owned before the agreement
• If they legally received it from another source
• The information they need to disclose in a lawsuit or administrative proceeding
• If they have developed or are developing the information.

5. Consequences in case of Agreement’s breach

Here, you mention all the legal consequences that will follow if the receiving party violates the agreement. This can include the procedure and the monetary penalties. According to the uniqueness of the information exposed, the compensation can vary.

6. Limits of the Usage of Information

The objective of a statement of confidentiality is to restrict the usage of the information that is disclosed to the recipient. Here, you mention the extent to which the data can be used. Also, specify the standard of security that needs to be followed while handling confidential information.

7. Date of Termination

Every agreement has an expiry date, after which both parties are free of the binding clauses. This termination date is set based on various factors like the end of the partnership, the end of a project or an event, or simply the end of the period mentioned in the agreement.

8. Miscellaneous Clauses

This part of the agreement is usually at the end of the document, which includes any other clauses that don’t necessarily fit into the above categories, but the owner of the information wants to include.

9. Signatures of all Parties

Clearly, this is the most important part of an agreement. Without the signatures of all the parties, the document is pointless and of no value. The agreement, as mentioned previously, can’t go into effect unless everyone involved signs it.

We have written a confidentiality statement example for you, including the above-mentioned elements. This will help you get a better understanding of how to write a confidentiality statement for your business plan.

Business Plan Confidentiality Statement Example (Key Points)

This BUSINESS PLAN NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT (hereinafter known as the “Agreement”) between ______ (hereinafter known as the “Company”) and ________ (hereinafter known as the “Recipient”) becomes effective as of this ____ day of ____, 20___ (hereinafter known as the “Effective Date”).

Article III: Term

– The Recipient’s obligations of non-use and non-disclosure concerning Confidential Information will remain in effect in perpetuity. – The Recipient’s obligations of non-use and non-disclosure concerning Confidential Information will remain in effect for ____ years from the Effective Date.

Article VIII: Governing Law

This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of ____________, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Article XII: Notices

Company’s Address ______________________________

Recipient’s Address ______________________________

Representative Signature: Date: Representative Printed Name: Representative Title:

Recipient Signature: Date: Recipient Printed Name:

Protect your information with a confidentiality statement

As a business owner, it’s extremely important to protect your business ideas, trade secrets, and high-value information from the competitive world. Creating a confidentiality statement ensures that your data doesn’t get shared without your permission.

Now quickly draft your confidentiality statement following the example above and add it to your business plan.

However, if your business plan isn’t ready yet, quickly whip up a fresh plan using Upmetrics’s AI business plan generator . Simply enter your business details, answer a few strategic questions, and see your plan coming together in a few minutes.

Build your Business Plan Faster

with step-by-step Guidance & AI Assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a business plan need a confidentiality agreement.

A confidentiality agreement may not be compulsory. However, it’s highly recommended to maintain the secrecy of your marketing strategies, business ideas, intellectual properties, and proprietary information in the highly competitive world.

Who should sign the confidentiality statement?

A confidentiality statement should be signed by anyone and everyone who would get access to your business plan. This includes potential investors, business partners, employees, and anyone you have a business relationship with who would be coming in contact with your business plan.

Do I need a lawyer to draft a Business Plan Confidentiality Statement?

You don’t need a lawyer to draft a business plan confidentiality statement, especially if you’re on a strict budget. Use a sample template to draft it and customize its content keeping your unique business needs in mind.

Is a Confidentiality Statement legally binding?

Yes. Non-Disclosure Agreements(NDA) when drafted properly bind the person receiving the information legally. It acts as a contract and obligates the signees to keep the information confidential, and lays out legal consequences for the agreement breach.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Forward-Looking Statements Example

Below is an example of a common forward looking statements disclaimer used in investor presentations.

Example of Forward-Looking Statements

This is an example of forward-looking statements for an investor relations presentation on behalf of a public company.

Note: this example is for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon for any other use.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this presentation contains “forward-looking information”, including “future-oriented financial information” and “financial outlook”, under applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as forward-looking statements). Except for statements of historical fact, the information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements and includes, but is not limited to, the (i) projected financial performance of the Company; (ii) completion of, and the use of proceeds from, the sale of the shares being offered hereunder; (iii) the expected development of the Company’s business, projects, and joint ventures; (iv) execution of the Company’s vision and growth strategy, including with respect to future M&A activity and global growth; (v) sources and availability of third-party financing for the Company’s projects; (vi) completion of the Company’s projects that are currently underway, in development or otherwise under consideration; (vi) renewal of the Company’s current customer, supplier and other material agreements; and (vii) future liquidity, working capital, and capital requirements. Forward-looking statements are provided to allow potential investors the opportunity to understand management’s beliefs and opinions in respect of the future so that they may use such beliefs and opinions as one factor in evaluating an investment.

These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or result expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Although forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are based upon what management of the Company  believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

When to Use the Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

The forward-looking statements disclaimer should be used whenever a company makes written or oral statements about any of the following types of information:

• Projected financial performance
• Expected development of the business
• Execution of the vision and growth plans
• Future M&A activity and global growth
• Financing for the company’s business and projects
• Completion of projects that are underway, in development, or under consideration
• Renewal of current customers, suppliers , and other material agreements
• Future liquidity, working capital , and capital requirements
• Anything else that deals with the future performance of the business

Additional Resources

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to Example of Forward-Looking Statements. To continue advancing and developing your career we highly recommend the following resources:

• All transaction templates
• Valuation resources
• Financial modeling guide
• The role of investor relations
• See all accounting resources

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No-Responsibility Disclaimer with Templates & Examples

by Masha Komnenic CIPP/E, CIPM, CIPT, FIP

July 27, 2022

After investing significant time, energy, and funds into establishing a business, one of your top priorities is to protect it. No-responsibility disclaimers are one of the easiest ways to guard against legal risks for your business.

A no-responsibility disclaimer — aka no-liability disclaimer — is a statement that helps prevent claims of civil liability by your customers.

Read on to learn more about no-responsibility disclaimers, see some examples, and learn how to create one.

What Is a No-responsibility Disclaimer?

What can be covered in a no-responsibility disclaimer, who needs a no-responsibility disclaimer, benefits of a no-responsibility disclaimer, no-responsibility disclaimer examples, how to write a no-responsibility disclaimer.

A no-responsibility disclaimer is a statement that indicates you are not responsible for damages that result from the use of your product or service.

For example, on a website that deals with any advice related to health, you should include a disclaimer to indicate that content on the site does not take the place of a formal medical assessment by a doctor.

Whether you are writing a blog, selling a new tool for the kitchen, or offering your expertise in the form of advice, a no-liability disclaimer is an essential document for you and your customers.

Disclaimer of Liability and No-liability disclaimer

The no-responsibility disclaimer is also known as a “disclaimer of liability” — or “no-liability disclaimer” — because it refers to a lack of legal obligation on the part of you or your business.

These terms are used interchangeably, and posted disclaimers are sometimes labeled differently within the document.

For instance, a webpage might simply say “Limitations on Liability.” What follows that title, however, is still a no-responsibility disclaimer.

Consider this example of a disclaimer taken from a medical blog called Life in the Fastlane . Notice that it clearly points out that the information on the site is not a replacement for actual medical coverage:

Does a No-responsibility Disclaimer Offer Legal Protection?

A disclaimer isn’t a suit of armor that protects you from all potential litigation. For example, someone buys your product and then suffers an injury because you were negligent in the construction of that product, a disclaimer is unlikely to save you.

However, assuming you were not negligent, disclaimers are excellent support in your defense if you ever face legal action. If you can demonstrate that you notified the injured party in advance that you had no responsibility for damages, it will typically work in your favor.

On top of the evidence of your warning to customers, no-responsibility disclaimers are also a good way of deterring people from engaging in a legal battle in the first place.

They are less likely to sue if they know that you fairly warned them about potential consequences.

Consider this hypothetical scenario:

You wrote a blog post about how to avoid costly attorney fees by planning and managing your own divorce. The post describes the required forms and recommended strategies for the best possible financial outcomes.

Now imagine that someone followed your advice to the letter without confirming that there had been no changes or updates to the necessary forms. As it turns out, the courts changed the required documentation after you uploaded your post, the reader’s divorce has been delayed, and there are potential financial repercussions.

In this situation, the reader might try to blame you for offering flawed information, thus causing considerable emotional and financial suffering.

You would have much better protection against any claims of liability by the reader if you protected yourself by posting a disclaimer stating that:

Your suggestions do not constitute legal advice, and you cannot guarantee that the information is always up to date.

This statement will not necessarily stop a civil lawsuit from moving forward, but it will put you in a much better position to defend yourself before the court.

The disclaimer you write for your business can be as detailed as you want it to be and can cover any or all of the goods or services you provide.

You should remember that goods can be:

• Tangible: Like an item or object
• Intangible: Such as advice or information
• Both: Like a book you have written that compiles your suggestions or ideas

In most cases, no-responsibility disclaimers protect you in specific ways:

• The accuracy of content or information
• Physical liability
• Third-party links

The coverage you will need depends entirely on your business and what it offers.

In short, if a customer suffers damages because you have been negligent, you will most likely be held legally responsible for those damages. For example, selling a product for small children you know is especially dangerous because you use low-quality materials.

There are many situations in which a no-responsibility disclaimer is helpful. Any business, from marketers to bloggers to online merchants, could use a liability disclaimer in one form or another.

However, certain industries are particularly vulnerable to litigation, and in those situations, a disclaimer is even more crucial. These are usually businesses for which outdated or incorrect information can cause significant financial or emotional distress, or products can potentially cause substantial bodily harm.

No-Responsibility Disclaimer for Intangible Goods and Services

Although it seems like they would be less likely to lead to civil liability claims, intangible goods without disclaimers can quickly lead to trouble. After all, if someone misuses or over-relies on information, there can be enormous ramifications.

This is especially true in areas that affect financial and medical well-being, such as:

• Health, wellness, or medical advice
• Legal advice
• Financial advice
• Mental health information
• Workout programs
• Business building
• Life coaches

In each of these cases, the business disseminates information and recommendations that can be especially consequential for the customer.

For example, if a reader uses a recommended workout program without consulting a doctor, they might do something unsafe or beyond their body’s capabilities, resulting in a severe injury.

No-Responsibility Disclaimer for Tangible Goods and Services

When it comes to tangible goods, essentially any product can cause harm if it’s misused or by the wrong person. However, as with intangible goods, some categories are more troublesome than others, including:

• Products for children
• Vitamins and supplements
• Workout gear
• Tools and equipment

All of these items, even if they are perfectly designed and constructed, are capable of causing considerable physical harm.

A product-centric disclaimer indicating that customers assume the responsibility for any risks associated with the products helps safeguard you from liability.

Customers may interpret a disclaimer as a company trying to evade responsibility, but in reality, it should be beneficial for all parties.

At the same time that you are shielding your business from legal entanglements, you are also making it possible for customers to learn about any potential risks or damages related to your products or services.

In this way, they can approach the purchase or use of your goods with open eyes and total awareness.

Risks of Not Using a No-Responsibility Disclaimer

Disclaimers may not offer complete liability protection, but failing to use them leaves the door open for future civil litigation.

If you do not include a disclaimer, your customers can rightly state that you gave no warning that what you were offering could be damaging. Your failure to warn them may entitle them to compensation for the harm that they have suffered.

Furthermore, the failure to include an appropriate disclaimer increases the chance that a negative experience will occur. People deserve to be fully informed, and if the advice or item you offer can possibly cause someone to suffer in some way, you should tell them as much before moving forward.

Examples of no-responsibility disclaimers are everywhere, which is no surprise, considering how critical they are to protecting your business.

The American Bar Association

This example, taken from the American Bar Association , makes clear that, even though it’s an especially authoritative source in the law, the site’s content is not equivalent to legal advice. At the same time, reading the information does not create any kind of client-attorney relationship.

It’s also a good demonstration of how to effectively protect yourself from the liability of third-party sites that your page may link to:

The next example, taken from Walmart’s website , includes a variation of language frequently seen in disclaimers: “at your own risk.”

This phrase is a common way of expressing that the company has no responsibility for any damages that you may experience:

Essentially Yours

Finally, the vitamin and supplement company Essentially Yours has a no-liability disclaimer that clearly shows that it’s protecting itself from potential damages that may result from the use of its products:

When you’re writing a no-responsibility disclaimer, one crucial thing to remember is how comprehensive it needs to be. In other words, carefully identify any tangible or intangible goods or services that a customer could argue caused damages and include those in your statement.

Your liability disclaimer will be most effective if it:

• Gets placed clearly and obviously on the page so that site visitors can find it easily
• Uses simple, straightforward language that will be easy for everyday users to comprehend
• Explains that your business is not responsible for any damages incurred from the use of your products or services

When considering the placement of your disclaimer, remember that it will be effective only if the user can actually find it. For that reason, disclaimers are frequently placed in a site’s footer or immediately after content or included within the terms of service.

Lastly, you should avoid using a generic or vague disclaimer, which would unlikely cover the points relevant to your business. The wording of your no-responsibility disclaimer needs to be unique to your situation.

Even if you feel that your online content, service, or product is entirely harmless, it’s still a good idea to include a no-responsibility disclaimer. Almost every business is at least somewhat vulnerable to claims of civil liability, and a no-responsibility disclaimer is the best way of avoiding severe financial consequences.

The liability disclaimer you write doesn’t need to be elaborate or complex. Instead, make sure that it identifies what products and services your business offers and articulates that you are not responsible for any adverse outcomes that customers might experience.

Most aspects of business are complicated, but in this case, a no-responsibility disclaimer is a simple strategy that offers necessary legal protection.

More about the author

Written by masha komnenic cipp/e, cipm, cipt, fip.

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A disclaimer is a crucial component of any project , providing clarity and mitigating legal risks. It serves as a preemptive shield, clarifying the scope and limitations of information or services offered. In the context of positive feedback or reviews, disclaimers underscore transparency by acknowledging that individual experiences may vary. They ensure that accolades or testimonials don’t imply guaranteed outcomes for all users. Through disclaimers, projects uphold integrity, encourage honest discourse, and foster trust by setting realistic expectations amidst the landscape of positivity.

What is Disclaimer?

A disclaimer is a statement intended to limit or exclude legal liability or responsibility for certain actions, situations, or information provided, often used to mitigate risks or clarify terms.

Disclaimer Examples

1. general website disclaimer.

“The information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith; however, we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on the site.”

2. Medical Disclaimer

“This website does not provide medical advice. The information, including but not limited to text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this site, is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.”

3. Financial Disclaimer

“All information provided on this website is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. You should consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.”

4. Affiliate Disclaimer

“Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Our recommendations are based on our research and experience.”

5. Product Disclaimer

“The products and services sold on this website are provided ‘as is’ without any warranties or guarantees. We do not warrant that the products will meet your requirements or that the performance of the products will be uninterrupted or error-free.”

6. Legal Disclaimer

“The information provided on this website is not intended to be legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. For legal advice, please consult a qualified attorney.”

7. Earnings Disclaimer

“Any earnings or income statements, or examples of earnings or income, are only estimates of what we think you could earn. There is no assurance you will do as well as stated in any examples.”

8. Testimonial Disclaimer

“Testimonials appearing on this site are received via text, a, or video submission. They are individual experiences, reflecting real-life experiences of those who have used our products and/or services in some way. However, they are individual results and results do vary.”

9. Copyright Disclaimer

“All content on this website, including text, graphics, logos, icons, and images, is the property of [Company Name] or its content suppliers and is protected by international copyright laws. Unauthorized use of any materials on this site is prohibited.”

10. Content Disclaimer

“The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.”

11. External Links Disclaimer

“This website may contain links to external websites that are not provided or maintained by or in any way affiliated with [Company Name]. Please note that we do not guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any information on these external websites.”

12. Social Media Disclaimer

“The opinions expressed by our employees or agents on social media are their own and do not reflect the opinions of [Company Name]. We are not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of any content posted by our employees or agents on social media.”

13. Blog Disclaimer

“The content of this blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.”

14. Service Disclaimer

“We strive to ensure that our services are reliable and of high quality. However, we do not guarantee that our services will always be available or uninterrupted, or that they will meet your requirements or expectations.”

15. Educational Disclaimer

“The information contained in our courses and educational materials is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice. Participants are encouraged to consult with professionals for specific advice.”

16. Health and Fitness Disclaimer

“This website offers health, fitness, and nutritional information and is designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.”

17. Opinion Disclaimer

“The opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of [Company Name] or its members.”

18. Software Disclaimer

“The software provided on this site is distributed ‘as is’ and without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. Use of the software is at your own risk.”

19. Environmental Disclaimer

“While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information on environmental issues, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. Users are encouraged to verify information through independent sources.”

20. Event Disclaimer

“Event details are subject to change. We are not responsible for any cancellations or changes to events, including but not limited to venue changes, date changes, or program modifications.”

When Do You Need a Disclaimer?

• Products or Services: If you sell products or offer services, a disclaimer can limit your liability for any damages or injuries resulting from the use of those products or services.
• Websites and Blogs: Websites and blogs often use disclaimers to clarify the purpose of the content, such as stating that information provided is for informational purposes only and not intended as professional advice.
• Health and Fitness: If you provide health or fitness advice, a disclaimer can inform users that the information provided is not a substitute for professional medical advice and encourage them to consult a healthcare professional.
• Financial Advice: For financial blogs, newsletters, or services, disclaimers can clarify that the information provided is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice.
• Affiliate Marketing: If you use affiliate links on your website or blog, a disclaimer can disclose your participation in affiliate programs and clarify that you may earn commissions from purchases made through those links.
• External Links: When linking to external websites, a disclaimer can clarify that you are not responsible for the content or actions of those websites.
• User-Generated Content: If you allow users to contribute content to your platform, a disclaimer can clarify that you are not responsible for the accuracy or legality of user-generated content.

Benefits of Disclaimers

Disclaimers offer various benefits by clearly communicating the limitations and boundaries of provided information, products, or services. Here are some key benefits:

• Legal Protection : Safeguards against legal liability by clarifying limitations.
• Risk Management : Informs users of potential limitations and uncertainties.
• User Awareness : Ensures users understand terms and conditions.
• Trust Building : Builds trust through transparent communication.
• Compliance : Helps meet legal and regulatory requirements.
• Clarification of Responsibility : Sets realistic expectations for users.
• Intellectual Property Protection : Deters unauthorized use of content.
• Liability Limitation : Reduces liability for misuse or unmet expectations.
• Professional Boundaries : Maintains boundaries in medical, legal, and financial advice.
• Privacy Assurance : Reassures users about data handling.
• Clear Communication : Simplifies complex legal and professional boundaries.
• Customer Expectations : Sets appropriate expectations to reduce disputes.
• Prevention of Misuse : Discourages improper use of information or services.
• Third-Party Content Protection : Shields from liability related to external links or user-generated content.
• Financial Protection : Limits scope of guarantees and warranties to prevent financial loss.
• Enhanced Credibility : Shows commitment to transparency and user protection.
• Complaint Reduction : Manages expectations, reducing complaints.
• Adaptability : Easily updated to stay compliant with changing laws and practices.
• Professional Integrity : Upholds integrity by clarifying service limitations.
• Global Compliance : Addresses legal requirements across jurisdictions.

How To Write a Disclaimer

• Identify Purpose and Scope: Define the purpose of your disclaimer. Determine what aspects of your project, service, or content you want to address. Consider potential liabilities and areas where clarification is necessary.
• Understand Legal Requirements: Research relevant laws and regulations pertaining to your industry or jurisdiction. Understand what information must be included in your disclaimer to comply with legal standards.
• Start with a Clear Statement: Begin your disclaimer with a clear and concise statement that sets the tone. For example, “This disclaimer applies to all users of [project/service].”
• Acknowledge Limitations: Acknowledge the limitations of your project, service, or content. Use terms such as observation to convey that your information is based on observation rather than absolute certainty.
• Address Feedback and Reviews: Include a section addressing feedback and reviews. Acknowledge that individual experiences may vary and that positive feedback does not guarantee similar outcomes for all users.
• Provide Guidance: Offer guidance on how users should interpret the information provided. Encourage them to use their discretion and seek professional advice when necessary.
• Clarify Liability: In the legal document , clarify your liability or lack thereof concerning the use of your project, service, or content. Utilize language similar to: “This legal document asserts that we bear no responsibility for any damages resulting from [actions taken].”
• Be Transparent: Be transparent about any affiliations, conflicts of interest, or biases that may influence your project, service, or content.
• Review and Revise: Review your disclaimer for clarity, accuracy, and completeness. Revise as needed to ensure it effectively communicates the intended message and complies with legal requirements.
• Seek Legal Advice if Necessary: If you have any doubts about any aspect of your copyright disclaimer statement or its legal implications, consider consulting a legal professional specializing in copyright law or intellectual property rights.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclaimer

Types of Disclaimer

• Liability Disclaimer: Limits the legal liability of the provider for any damages or losses incurred by users of a product or service.
• Endorsement Disclaimer: Clarifies that opinions expressed or products mentioned do not imply endorsement by the provider.
• Medical Disclaimer: Indicates that information provided does not constitute medical advice and encourages users to consult with healthcare professionals.
• Financial Disclaimer: Warns users that financial information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice.
• Privacy Disclaimer: Outlines how personal information collected from users will be handled and protected.
• Accuracy Disclaimer: States that while efforts are made to ensure accuracy, information provided may not be complete or reliable.
• External Links Disclaimer: Disclaims responsibility for the content of external websites linked from the provider’s platform.
• Legal Disclaimer: Clarifies that information provided does not constitute legal advice and recommends consulting a qualified legal professional for specific legal matters.

Can a disclaimer protect against all risks?

No, a disclaimer cannot protect against all risks, especially those arising from negligence or intentional harm.

Are there standard disclaimer templates available?

Yes, there are templates available, but it’s important to customize them to fit your specific needs.

Can a disclaimer be waived?

In some cases, users may be asked to agree to waive certain rights or claims by accepting the disclaimer.

What happens if a user doesn’t agree to the disclaimer?

Users who don’t agree to the disclaimer may be denied access to the project or service.

Do disclaimers apply to all users?

Disclaimers typically apply to all users unless specifically exempted by separate agreements.

Can disclaimers be enforced retroactively?

Disclaimers are generally enforceable from the moment they are agreed upon by users.

Can disclaimers protect against fraudulent claims?

Disclaimers may provide some protection against fraudulent claims but cannot prevent them entirely.

Are disclaimers required for personal blogs or websites?

While not always required by law, disclaimers can provide protection and clarity for personal blogs or websites.

Can disclaimers be revoked?

Disclaimers can be updated or revoked, but changes should be communicated clearly to users.

How detailed should a disclaimer be?

A disclaimer should be detailed enough to cover relevant risks and limitations without being overly burdensome.

Where should a disclaimer be displayed?

Disclaimers should be prominently displayed where users can easily access and review them, such as on a website’s footer or terms of use page.

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How to Write a Legal Disclaimer for Your Business

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jennifer Mueller, JD . Jennifer Mueller is an in-house legal expert at wikiHow. Jennifer reviews, fact-checks, and evaluates wikiHow's legal content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. She received her JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 491,494 times.

Getting a legal disclaimer drafted for you can be expensive, especially for a small business owner or freelance worker. Luckily, you can learn how to write a legal disclaimer for your business on your own. A legal disclaimer is a statement intended to protect the services, information, and property (both physical and intellectual) of your business or organization. It limits the legal liability of the entity presenting the disclaimer and also protects the entity’s legal rights in its work. A disclaimer is typically a short paragraph. If you are not sure whether you have drafted a solid disclaimer, consult with an attorney.

Identifying Your Need for a Disclaimer

• Also the good provided may be both tangible and intangible. For example, you might sell paintings. A painting is both a tangible good (the canvas and paint) and an intangible good (the likeness depicted). If you created it, it also represents a service.

• Alternately, someone may rely on information you provide to their detriment. They might then want to turn around and sue you for “causing” their injury.
• Some people may also claim injury from words alone. If you write about people, those people could claim that you harmed them because the information was false and malicious. [2] X Research source Although defamation cases require the false statement to be untruthfully or negligently presented as a statement of fact, you don't want to give anyone even the possibility of a reason to try to bring a case against you. [3] X Research source
• You should also write a disclaimer if you run a social media page or website where others can leave comments, so that you cannot be held responsible for someone else's words.

• If you write, or create images or music, then you will want to assert your rights to that intellectual property. Although your copyright exists from the moment you create your intellectual property, you still want to bring that information to the attention of consumers. Registering your work creates a "paper trail" so that it is easier to prove that your property is yours. [6] X Trustworthy Source United States Copyright Office Part of the Library of Congress, responsible for maintaining copyright records Go to source

• Nevertheless, to protect yourself as much as possible you should still write a broad disclaimer. A customer reading a disclaimer may assume that he cannot sue you and therefore not pursue a case.

Writing the Disclaimer

• You should warn consumers of any dangers or hazards posed by your product. You should list specific risks while at the same time acknowledging that the list is not exhaustive. For example, you could write, “NOTICE OF RISK. This product [or service] can at times involve substantial risk of injury, property damage, and other dangers. Dangers peculiar to such activities include, but are not limited to, [list the dangers].” [8] X Research source
• You may want to limit the time period in which someone can return a product or seek a refund to avoid being held liable, for example, for normal wear-and-tear to the item. Be as specific as possible. For example, you might state, “We do not accept returns or exchanges after 30 days unless the item you purchased is defective. If you received a defective item, please contact us at [inset contact information] with details of the defect. You can send the item you consider defective to: [insert address].”

• You can attempt to protect yourself from liability for defamation by stating, “The information provided herein is the author’s opinion and provided for entertainment purposes only.” The key to protecting yourself is to make the reader aware that the post is opinion, not provable fact.
• If you are providing information, you might want to include a disclaimer as to its accuracy. Here is a disclaimer from the U.S. Department of the Interior: "While the Department of the Interior strives to make the information on this website as timely and accurate as possible, the department makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this site, and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this site." [9] X Research source
• You may also want to warn others against relying on the information. If you publish information about health and medicine, for example, you may want to include a long disclaimer, stating that you are not providing medical advice and encouraging readers to seek professional medical assistance.

• For example, if you own a gym, you would include in your disclaimer language that the customer acknowledges there are certain risks inherent in using exercise equipment and that the customer assumes all responsibility for her use of the equipment. [11] X Research source
• However, you should note that a disclaimer is not likely to protect you from liability if the injury is caused to your own negligence or your failure to maintain your equipment properly.

• For example, if you provide original content created by you, you might want to state: "All content is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without express written consent of the author."
• You should note that copyright in the US is a complex legal concept and is not unlimited. For example, the "fair use" doctrine allows others to use your content in certain circumstances and under certain conditions. [12] X Trustworthy Source United States Copyright Office Part of the Library of Congress, responsible for maintaining copyright records Go to source ]

• For example, if you run a wedding planning business, you could include in your disclaimer that you cannot be held responsible for the failure of contractors (decorators, musicians, etc.) to perform their duties.
• Your liability disclaimer can extend to include third parties such as subcontractors, if you desire.

• For example, if you sell computers, you could include in your terms and conditions that you are not responsible for damage to the computer if the customer does not use it appropriately.
• If you own a coffee shop with wi-fi, you could include that you do not collect personal information over wi-fi, but that others could possibly do so. By agreeing to those terms and conditions, the customer agrees to be responsible for any information sharing if she uses your wi-fi.

• Contact information also helps generate business. If someone wants to license your image, song, poetry, or essay, then providing contact information helps facilitate that. Include language about requesting permission to use material: “The contents of all material available on this website are copyrighted unless otherwise indicated. All rights are reserved and content may not be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, published, or transferred in any form or by any means, except with the prior written permission of [insert your name]. Requests for permission to reuse copyrighted content should be submitted to [your address].” [13] X Research source

• Cover all of your bases. Have your legal disclaimer on any paperwork that your customer might come across to guarantee that they see it.

Sample Disclaimer

Expert Q&A

• If desired, have customers agree to your terms of service before proceeding. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 0
• Have a lawyer proof your disclaimer if you are unsure of its content or completeness. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0
• If you have no idea what possible rights you want to protect or lawsuits you want to avoid, then search online. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1

• If your business or service has the potential for injury to your customers (such as skydiving), a disclaimer is not adequate. Binding liability contracts should be drafted by a legal professional. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 1
• If you are unsure about the legal liability of something that you want to write, consider not writing it. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 2
• A disclaimer does not guarantee your protection from liability in the case of legal action. A disclaimer, however, does provide notice. If the consumer then decides to assume the risk, you could be protected from liability. [15] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/191778
• ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/23/nation/la-na-blogger-suits-20100823
• ↑ http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/defamation-libel-slander-key-elements-claim.html
• ↑ http://copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what
• ↑ http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/trademark-basics
• ↑ http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/automobile-mechanic-liability.html
• ↑ https://www.lawinsider.com/clause/risk-warning-notice
• ↑ http://www.doi.gov/disclaimer.cfm
• ↑ http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-disclaimer-of-liability.htm
• ↑ http://disclaimertemplate.com/free-gym-disclaimer-example/
• ↑ http://copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
• ↑ http://www.asha.org/sitehelp/copyright/
• ↑ http://www.adamsdrafting.com/all-capitals/
• ↑ http://www.bakerdonelson.com/the-sky-is-not-the-limit-limitation-of-liability-clauses-may-be-the-solution-to-cap-your-contractual-liability-05-10-2007/

About This Article

A legal disclaimer is a short paragraph that describes any possible risks your business or products could pose to customers. It’s meant to protect you and your business from any liabilities if things don’t go as planned. Before you write one, figure out what potential liabilities you have. For example, if you sell gym equipment, you could be held liable for a customer’s injury while using one of your products. Alternatively, if you sell vacation packages, you could be held liable if a customer gets lost or injured during the trip. Once you understand your liabilities, write your disclaimer by listing the potential risks of your product or service. You might say, “Notice of risk: This product can at times involve risk of injury, property damage, and other dangers.” Additionally, if your business involves third party contractors, you could say, “We cannot be held responsible for the failure of contractors to perform duties.” To read more sample legal disclaimers from our Lawyer co-author, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Disclaimer Examples

Sara Pegarella

Widener University School of Law graduate, Managing Legal Editor at TermsFeed.

Disclaimers are statements of information that help limit your legal liabilty for things such as errors and omissions, giving instructional guidance and sharing your personal opinions.

They can also be used to keep your users informed about different things such as affiliate link usage, medical risks, atypical results and other things they would surely like to know.

This article will give you an overview of some of the most common and imortant disclaimer types with practical examples, while giving you a better idea of what options you have for your own website or mobile app when it comes to posting disclaimers.

Our Disclaimer Generator can generate a legal disclaimer for your business, website or mobile app. Just follow these steps:

At Step 1, select where your Disclaimer will be used.

At Step 2, add in information about your website/app and business.

Answer some questions about your business practices.

Enter an email address where you'd like to receive your Disclaimer and click "Generate."

Done! You'll be able to instantly access and download your new Disclaimer.

• 1. Disclaimer Examples
• 1.1. "Views Expressed" Disclaimer
• 1.2. "No Responsibility" Disclaimer
• 1.3. "Past Performance" Disclaimer
• 1.4. "Use at Your Own Risk" Disclaimer
• 1.5. "Errors and Omissions" Disclaimer
• 1.6. "Fair Use" Disclaimer
• 1.7. "Investment" Disclaimer
• 1.8. "Copyright Notice" Disclaimer
• 1.9. "Email" Disclaimer
• 1.10. "Medical" Disclaimer
• 3. Disclaimers FAQ

Generate a Disclaimer in just a few minutes

"Views Expressed" Disclaimer

A "views expressed" disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Another common use of a "views expressed" disclaimer is by people who are endorsing or critiquing a product that a company they work for produces or is involved with .

This type of disclaimer is typically seen on blogs or other online media publications, posts or articles that are more opinionated than factual in nature. They're seen most often in personal opinion writing by experts or professionals working in the same field of study as their post.

For example, a climate change scientist writing an editorial or opinion piece that involves the topic of climate change may include a disclaimer saying that the opinions are his own and not that of his employer.

Otherwise, what one employee says may be construed as being what the entire company believes, thinks or condones, and this may be very inaccurate and even damaging to reputations.

In this situation, a disclaimer will let readers know that the writer is speaking solely for herself, not for the company or as a formal representative of the company.

It's not uncommon for companies, universities and organizations to have some sort of social media policy in place to dictate how and when these disclaimers must be used .

Here's how the National Institutes of Health (NIH) handles how employees of the NIH or US government must use disclaimers.

At NIH, official duty activities carried out on behalf of the government don't need a disclaimer.

However, when engaging in outside activities, such as a personal blog or as a member of an organization, an employee " may not use or reference their titles or NIH affiliation " except if it's as part of a multi-detailed biographical summary, or if a disclaimer is included.

Writing a "views expressed" disclaimer is very easy . All you have to do is basically state that the opinions and views you're expressing at that time are yours and not your employers or anyone else's.

Here are a few examples of "views expressed" disclaimers.

Examples From Blog Posts and Articles

If you have a personal website or a blog, a "views expressed" disclaimer helps make it clear to your readers that what they're reading is a product solely of your own.

Rigaku has one "Disclaimer" page where it combines a number of disclaimer types and text into one. Here you can see the views expressed section highlighted. It notes that " the views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the offical policy or position of Rigaku. "

Examples from Podcasts

Even podcasts can have "views expressed" disclaimers.

This is seen below in the disclaimer for The World of Anesthesiology podcast series , where listeners are told that " the views, information, or opinions expressed during [the] series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and its employees. "

Examples from Slideshows and Presentations

If you're giving a presentation, you may want to (or even be required to) include a "views expressed" disclaimer.

This type of disclaimer will inform viewers that you created the presentation, not your employer.

In the example below, even though the creator of the slideshow works for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas , and that bank is also hosting the event where the presentation is given, the presenter still adds a disclaimer stating that the views in his presentation are his own and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve:

"No Responsibility" Disclaimer

A "no responsibility" disclaimer works to keep your business from being held responsible for or held liable for things like damages that arise from using your website or app.

A "no responsibility" disclaimer is not disclaiming any warranties, either implied or specific/required by law.

CNN Money has a disclaimer of liability for LIBOR rates:

"responsibility or liability for the frequency of provision and accuracy of the BBA LIBOR rate or any use made of the BBA LIBOR rate by the subscriber, whether or not arising from the negligence of any of BBAE or the Suppliers."

Here it is:

Limitation of liability clauses are common in end user license agreements so that users are aware that they will not be able to hold the company liable for any damages arising out of the use of the application.

"Past Performance" Disclaimer

A "past performance" disclaimer informs people that past performance doesn't guarantee future results .

The "past performance" disclaimer is seen commonly in investment and other financial markets where there are unpredictable and ever-changing results and outcomes.

Nordea posts a "past performance" disclaimer:

"the performance represented is historical" and that "past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and investors may not recover the full amount invested."

Here it is, highlighted:

You can even include a "past performance" disclaimer slide in a slideshow about investing or investment strategy, as seen here from Anand Rathi .

"Use at Your Own Risk" Disclaimer

A "use at your own risk" disclaimer will make it so that you cannot be held legally responsible for sharing your method when it doesn't work for someone. Otherwise, someone may attempt to sue you and claim that following your advice landed him in the hospital.

This type of disclaimer is handy for websites or app that share things like recipes, instructions, advice, medical information, articles and more.

Whenever you're sharing information with people that they may actively use or follow, you should include the "use at your own risk" disclaimer so that your business can't be held liable.

Here's an example why it's useful to include this type of disclaimer.

Imagine you write an article telling people about a method you've used to successfully treat a skin condition, and someone who reads your article decides to follow your method and has a terrible allergic reaction and ends up in the hospital.

Wikipedia has a disclaimer that states:

"none of the authors, contributors, administrators, vandals, or anyone else connected with Wikipedia, in any way whatsoever, can be responsible for your use of the information contained in or linked from these web pages."

Additionally, Wikipedia users are informed that they should " take all steps necessary to ascertain that information you receive from Wikipedia is correct and has been verified " by doing things like checking references and revision history, double-checking information with independent sources and remembering that " anyone can post " on Wikipedia:

"Errors and Omissions" Disclaimer

An "errors and omissions" disclaimer works to let users know that if there are any errors in the material, or omission of information that turns out to be material, the site-owner/author isn't to be held liable for damages that arise out of them.

At Forensic Accounting , a disclaimer states:

"[The author] assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this site. The information contained in this site is provided on an "as is" basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness..."

PwC includes a paragraph that states:

"PwC is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information in this site is provided "as is", with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information..."

If your website contains information about topics that a user may rely on for practical information, such as legal advice, medical diagnosing, financial subjects and others, consider including an "errors and omissions" disclaimer just in case you accidentally leave something out or get something wrong that may affect your users.

"Fair Use" Disclaimer

A fair use disclaimer is where you state that you're using certain copyrighted material under the Fair Use Act. This helps protect you from being accused of copyright infringement.

While using copyrighted work can lead to copyright infringement issues, the "Fair Use" doctrine is an exception to this.

Under the "Fair Use" Act, a copyrighted work can be used, cited or incorporated within another author's work legally without needing a license if it's being used explicitly for things like news reporting, researching purposes, teaching, commentary, criticism, and other such uses.

Things like movie reviews that quote the movie, or using sections of a published book for a teaching lesson in a classroom are examples of common scenarios that are protected under this act.

There is four-factor balancing test considered when deciding if a particular use of a copyrighted work is a "fair use":

• What's the purpose and character of the use? Is it commercial, or educational? Is the material transformed, or reproduced?
• What's the specific nature of the copyrighted work being used? Is it a work of fiction, or factual research? How much personal creativity and unique expression went into the work?
• How much of the original work is used?
• Will the use drastically affect the market or potential market for the copyrighted, original work?

Clean Air Revival has a Fair Use Notice that lets users know that " this site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. "

Clean Air Revival states that it's using this material as part of its "effort to advance the understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, and social justice issues, etc." and that it believes that this constitutes a "fair use" of the material in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 .

Mass Equality has a "Fair Use Policy and Legal Disclaimer" that includes the same standard notice:

"this site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner."

The disclaimer from Mass Equality then continues on to lets users know that:

"making such material available to advance understanding of same-sex marriage and efforts to codify anti-gay discrimination in Massachusetts."

Here's a screenshot:

With a "fair use" disclaimer, all you have to do is inform the public know that you're using parts of copyrighted work, and using them under the "Fair Use" act for appropriate purposes.

"Investment" Disclaimer

The "investment" disclaimer informs users that you're not an investment advisor, broker or dealer and that you don't have any insider information.

If you have an investment website or app that provides general news, publicly-available information, analyses, or other materials that would help someone while making investment decisions, you're going to want to have an "investment" disclaimer in place.

The Sequoia disclaimer page has a section at the bottom of its first paragraph where investment advice is mentioned.

Sequoia states:

"website and the information contained herein is not intended to be a source of advice or credit analysis with respect to the material presented, and the information and/or documents contained in this website do not constitute investment advice."

The Investment Blog includes a paragraph in its disclaimer that addresses investment advice and disclaims it as being based on "personal opinion and experience" and that it "should not be considered professional financial investment advice."

The author of the Investment Blog goes on to add that " the ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional. "

Stockopedia has a very robust "investment" disclaimer section with a lot of sections relating directly to the issue of investment advice:

• First, users are presented with a " Do Your Own Research " section where they're encouraged to "do their own research." Users are told that the content on Stockopedia is " intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only " and that they should " take independent financial advice from a professional " and " independently research and verify " information.
• The next section titled " No Investment Advice " lets users know that the website is " a financial data and news portal, discussion forum and content aggregator " as well as an " educational forum for analysing, learning and discussing general and generic information. " It is " not a broker/dealer " nor an investment advisor" and the site-operators or authors have " no access to non-public information about publicly traded companies. "
• Then, users are told that " this is not a place for the giving or receiving of financial advice, advice concerning investment decisions or tax or legal advice. "

Here's a screenshot of this disclaimer from Stockpedia:

"Copyright Notice" Disclaimer

A copyright notice lets the world know that your website material is yours, and commonly contains the copyrighted year, the author's name, the copyright symbol and the reservation of rights the author wishes to copyright.

Here's how Credit Karma includes a copyright notice in its website footer:

Books include a copyright notice on one of the first few pages. This example shows a different copyright in place for the introduction of the book, as well.

Etsy has a very simple and short copyright notice, but it works just fine. Copyright notices are very common and universally understood, so this basic notice will still suffice:

"Email" Disclaimer

"Email" disclaimers are added to at the end of an email, usually in the signature section, so that the disclaimer automatically becomes a part of every email sent. They can include any type of disclaimer content that you wish to send with every email.

While it hasn't been determined whether having an "email" disclaimer actually helps you avoid liability in a court of law, having the "email" disclaimer in place does come with some general benefits .

These benefits include:

• Informing the recipients of your email of confidentiality, potential computer viruses and more
• This disclaimer may also deter the recipients from trying to file a lawsuit against you for something covered by your disclaimer

The most commonly used "email" disclaimer is a " breach of confidentiality " disclaimer .

This "breach of confidentiality" disclaimer used in email informs the recipient of the email that the communication is of a confidential nature, and that the information within the email is meant solely for the person to whom the email is addressed.

Below is an example of a common "breach of confidentiality" disclaimer used in emails:

"Medical" Disclaimer

Medical disclaimers are a great way to let people know that your content is not a substitute for a doctor.

The Fitbit mobile app includes this medical disclaimer with its heart rate variability information screen so users are aware that the information on the screen is not medical advice:

To summarize, disclaimers are a very important aspect of limiting your liability and keeping your users informed. The nature of your website or business will dictate what types of disclaimers you may need. For example, you won't need a disclaimer addressing using information at your own risk if you don't share any information.

Include disclaimers in a way that makes them easy for your users to notice and understand. You can include them in your website footer if they're short enough. Or, if you have a number of disclaimers, consider creating a specific Disclaimer page where you can note them all.

Disclaimers FAQ

Here is a list of frequently asked questions that you may find useful.

1. Do I need to use disclaimers?

There are a few disclaimers that are regulated by law and mandatory in certain situations, but generally disclaimers are optional and used to benefit business owners.

For example, affiliate disclaimers are required by the FTC and by many third parties . Disclaimers like "Views Expressed" and "Errors and Omissions" disclaimers are not required, but having them will help limit your legal liability.

2. Why should I use disclaimers?

You should use disclaimers because they help limit your legal liability and keep your users informed. In some circumstances, you should use disclaimers because they're legally required.

For example, if you operate a blog that gives financial advice, having a "Use at Your Own Risk" disclaimer can help limit your liability in the event that someone takes your advice and loses a fortune. The disclaimer makes it clear that you aren't responsible for anyone who uses your advice and has adverse consequences.

If you engage in affiliate marketing , the FTC and many third parties require you to post a disclaimer informing the public that you use affiliate links. You should use a disclaimer here to avoid violating the law.

3. What type of disclaimer should I use?

This depends on the nature of your website, business or blog.

Here are some of the most common disclaimers and when each should be used:

• Views Expressed : Used by experts or professionals when writing personal opinion content that's in the same field of study as their career. For example, a climate change scientist would use this disclaimer when writing an editorial or opinion piece that involves the topic of climate change. The disclaimer would say that the opinions are his own and not that of his employer.
• No Responsibility/Disclaimer of Liability : Used mostly by ecommerce companies, software companies and others that offer products or services. This disclaimer limits liability for any damages that may arise by the use of the products or services.
• Past Performance : Used mostly with products and services that seem to promise results. For example, a diet pill company or a financial planning company can disclaim that " past performances don't necessarily indicate future results. "
• Use at Your Own Risk : Used often with businesses that sell products that may be considered dangerous or risky to use. For example, a company selling chainsaws can disclaim that you're using their chainsaws at your own risk and if injury arises during the use, it isn't the company's fault.
• Copyright Notice : Used almost universally to protect personal content, intellectual property, website designs and other proprietary creative content.
• Errors and Omissions : Used universally to protect businesses in the event that the website content has an error or omission in content that a user may rely on to some detriment.
• Affiliate Links : If you use affiliate links, the FTC and third parties such as Amazon require this to be disclosed.
• No Professional Relationship : Used mostly with professional bloggers. For example, a lawyer who runs a personal blog dissecting legal cases and explaining laws would use this disclaimer to let her readers know that there is no professional relationship formed between her and her readers. Her blog is simply there for information and entertainment purposes, not professional purposes.

4. Where do I display my disclaimer?

Disclaimers should always be displayed somewhere conspicuous .

Some people choose to create a separate "Disclaimers" webpage and link it to their website footer alongside other important legal pages (such as a Terms and Conditions agreement and Privacy Policy).

Others choose to place the disclaimer text directly on webpages or directly in the website footer .

You can include disclaimers in your Terms and Conditions agreement .

Note that legally-required disclaimers like affiliate disclaimers must be displayed as close to the affiliate links as possible .

Comprehensive compliance starts with a Privacy Policy.

Comply with the law with our agreements, policies, and consent banners. Everything is included.

Generate Privacy Policy

This article is not a substitute for professional legal advice. This article does not create an attorney-client relationship, nor is it a solicitation to offer legal advice.

Last updated on

12 May 2024

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Disclaimer: Definition, Types, Examples

Jump to section.

Disclaimers are legal texts that offer businesses protection from legal liability. While disclaimers can provide some level of protection, they do not completely shield a company from legal claims. Disclaimers are just one factor that may be considered by a court in determining liability. They shield a company from legal claims associated with user and third-party risk. In general, customers must usually agree to all terms and conditions before using a product or service. While it is common for businesses to require customers to agree to terms and conditions, it is not always a legal requirement. Whether or not a customer is required to agree to terms and conditions depends on various factors, such as the jurisdiction and the nature of the transaction.

In this article, we’ve shared what business owners should know about disclaimers in general:

What is a Disclaimer?

Disclaimers are legal texts that offer businesses protection from legal liability. They shield a company from legal claims associated with user and third-party risk. In general, customers must agree to all terms and conditions before using a product or service.

Here is an article which also defines disclaimers.

What is a Disclaimer Used For?

A disclaimer is used to protect your company from claims. You can utilize a disclaimer to limit the scope of your rights and responsibilities. Both parties can exercise and enforce these terms in a contractual relationship.

A disclaimer is also vital to protect you from third-party claims. They’ll let your users know that you’re not responsible for any damages related to the use of your website, services, products, and those with whom you affiliate.

What a Disclaimer Doesn’t Cover

If a consumer files a legal claim against your company, your disclaimers will provide you with the legal lifeline you need. However, disclaimers don’t shield you from acts of gross negligence . The level of negligence required to overcome a disclaimer may vary depending on the jurisdiction.

For example, if you’re a SaaS provider, you must ensure that you’re working in good faith to guarantee system uptime. This guarantee means that you’re upgrading equipment, conducting routine maintenance, and more. Customers can hold you liable for their associated losses when the system goes down too frequently due to carelessness.

Benjamin W.

Types of Disclaimers

Contract law offers flexibility when it comes to using disclaimers. As such, there are several types of disclaimers that a business might want to know about and use.

Below, we’ve described ten different types of disclaimers:

Type 1. Third-Party Disclaimers

Most websites include links to other websites or services. It’s a way for the website to earn credibility, increase traffic, or build a brand.

These “third-party services” usually sponsor affiliate links strategically to generate revenue. This disclaimer informs users that your site contains third-party links, and users click them at their own risk.

Type 2. Warranty Disclaimers

Websites most often use warranty disclaimers. These disclaimers state what the website does and does not promise to users. They also acknowledge that you aren’t responsible for claims arising from service unavailability.

Type 3. Limitation of Liability Disclaimers

A limitation of liability specifies the extent of your responsibilities and obligations. This disclaimer is essential for safeguarding your website if a user encounters issues while using your site. Limitation of liability disclaimers make it clear that subsequent damages are not your fault.

Type 4. Industry-Specific Disclaimers

General liability disclaimers do not apply to all websites. Think about including industry-specific disclaimers if you have a website or blog that offers tips, advice, or sells products in certain types of industries that have industry-specific rules, regulations, or laws governing professional services:

Governing bodies and associations generally determine which disclaimers are necessary. Check with their offices if you have questions about your requirements.

Type 5. Shipping Disclaimers

Shipping disclaimers are for eCommerce websites that ship their products to customers. A shipping disclaimer limits your liability when something goes wrong, such as damage and delays, beyond your control.

Type 6. Product Return Disclaimers

Product return disclaimers, like shipping disclaimers, outline restrictions that apply to customer returns and exchanges. For eCommerce stores, it’s a must-have.

They’re usually found in a Return Policy. Some stores have many restrictions, while others have few. Others, such as final sale items, allow returns, and others don’t.

Type 7. Expressed Opinions Disclaimer

Expressed opinions disclaimers inform users that the author’s views and opinions are solely their own. They generally release a publisher from claims. Otherwise, readers might reasonably assume the opposite.

Type 8. Past Performance Disclaimer

Past performance disclaimers protect a company from former outcomes. For example, diet supplements may describe an average weight loss for a control group but don’t guarantee the same results for every customer. While the product or service works as intended, a company cannot become liable for every failure.

Type 9. Professional Advice Disclaimers

Advice from authors, doctors, lawyers, accountants, and business owners use disclaimers to protect themselves from specific legal actions. Professional advice disclaimers are helpful if users misinterpret published materials as guidance for their unique situation.

Many businesses purchase general or professional liability insurance to protect them after being hired. Your insurance company may require your customers to sign a release of liability with a release clause for enforceability purposes.

Type 10. Errors & Omissions (E&O) Disclaimers

Another major issue that many unwitting website owners face is accuracy. It’s common to publish factual errors and misleading content, but it exposes you to liability even when it’s unintentional. Use an errors & omissions disclaimer to protect you from these types of claims.

Image via Pexels by Karolina

What’s Typically Included in Disclaimer Language?

Disclaimer language typically includes terms and conditions that limit company liability. However, it’s hard to imagine what that looks like if it’s your first time drafting one.

Every disclaimer is unique, which means that the language in each one is different. As such, the best approach understands what type of disclaimer you need and shaping it based on the principles below:

Relevant Terms and Conditions

Disclaimer language typically includes information that is suitable for the specific situation. It should also be relevant to the end-user or customer.

Clear Legal Language

It’s wise to make your disclaimer clauses unambiguous. There’s an ongoing misnomer that complicated agreements are better. This assertion isn’t true.

Transparent terms and conditions help users quickly find information that they need. This simple feature alone can avoid many future problems.

Application Matters

It would help if you also prioritized a full review of your disclaimers before publishing. Analyze the text to ensure that words cannot be misapplied or misunderstood.

People often misinterpret information, which isn’t your fault, but you can lessen the chance of dealing with a complaint in the first place.

Fact-Based Wording

Ensure that your disclaimers are factual. You also can’t apply disclaimers to non-legitimate business purposes and still expect them to achieve enforceability. Write your disclaimers so that they are accurate, honest, and fact-based.

Disclaimer Examples

Knowing which type of disclaimer to use is one of the most challenging aspects of using one. How would you know if you have the right kind? We recommend, at a minimum, reviewing real-life disclaimer examples to help you solidify your understanding, especially for more complicated situations.

Here’s an example of how a lawyer would apply a disclaimer to their website:

• Marc is a lawyer in New Mexico
• He is building a website for his law firm
• Marc plans to share legal information that attracts website visitors
• He’s concerned about visitors interpreting his website as legal advice
• Marc limits his liability by placing a disclaimer in the footer of his website
• He decides to use an industry-specific disclaimer for lawyers
• The legal industry uses professional advice disclaimers in general
• Visitors understand that they may not sue Marc for his website content when he applies a professional advice disclaimer to his website

Take the guesswork out of creating a disclaimer. Hire business lawyers or contract lawyers to help you draft your to help you prepare a myriad of liability waivers .

They’ll not only help you work through crucial legal issues, but they’ll also help you handle the process entirely. From offering thoughts on a consent form to the contract signing, speak with a legal professional for the best result.

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Confidentiality Disclaimers

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Confidentiality Disclaimer. Those are two words that can be very intimidating. What exactly is a confidentiality disclaimer, and what are you supposed to do with one?

Even if you aren't a lawyer, you probably understand what "confidential" means. Whether the word has come up in a chat with one of your friends or during an important meeting with your boss, keeping something confidential means one thing -- not sharing the information you've just been given.

A disclaimer is used when someone wants to avoid legal liability. For example, when you watch a TV show, look carefully at the credits. You'll probably see that there's a disclaimer in the fine print.

For example, take a look at this disclaimer from MGM :

The part at the end where it says, " The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious, and any similarity to the name, character or history of any person is entirely coincidental and unconditional, " is MGM's disclaimer .

In layman's terms, it means the creators of the show didn't model their characters after any real people.

So, if a guy in this show acts just like your Uncle Fred, it's purely a coincidence -- and that would be MGM's response if Uncle Fred tried to sue them.

OK, so you understand confidentiality, and you understand disclaimers. So how do the two go together?

Confidentiality disclaimers are used on important documents -- both online and off -- to try to limit the legal liability of the sender. They're included in hopes that a judge will agree that the sender did everything he could to protect the information. That way, if the document accidentally winds up in the wrong hands, the sender may not face such a large legal threat as he would have without the disclaimer in place.

That's why most confidentiality disclaimers specifically mention accidental recipients. For example, look at the message that John Doe included at the bottom of his email for anyone who "received this email in error":

Some disclaimers will even instruct the mistaken recipient to destroy the information so that no one else can see it:

Confidentiality disclaimers may also include details about exactly how the information should be used. That way, if someone decides to misuse the information in any way, the sender isn't legally responsible for what happens as a result.

For example, look at the confidentiality disclaimer that asset management company Fasanara Capital uses:

In layman's terms, that last sentence means that this information isn't designed to convince you to buy or invest in anything. If you decide to use it as your reason to invest in a specific security or asset, the company is not liable for what happens to your money because you misused their information.

Confidentiality Disclaimers for Emails

While they show up on all kinds of documents, confidentiality disclaimers are most common in emails.

After all, the contents of an email can be forwarded to countless other people in a matter of mouse clicks.

If you want to see a confidentiality disclaimer at work, look carefully at some of your important emails. If there's a confidentiality disclaimer, you'll probably find it towards the bottom.

Here's an example:

While this language may look like something that only a lawyer would need to use, that's not the case.

Bankers, accountants, financial advisors, doctors, business partners, startups looking for capital, companies that are merging, and anyone else who has access to important, sensitive information likely uses a confidentiality disclaimer in their emails.

Large companies tend to use them, too, even if they don't fall under one of the examples we just mentioned.

In many of these cases, the company would rather be safe than sorry. Including a confidentiality disclaimer at the bottom of every email reminds recipients that the information is sensitive and needs to be treated as such. That reminder alone may prevent future trouble from popping up.

Bottom line -- there are almost as many different kinds of confidentiality disclaimers as there are people who use them .

Some confidentiality disclaimers are narrow in scope. For example, a lawyer may use a short confidentiality disclaimer aimed solely at anyone who mistakenly receives an email from him because he's bound by professional ethics to uphold attorney-client privilege.

Or, a company may include a confidentiality disclaimer that specifically addresses any discussion of trade secrets that may be included in the document.

For example, the recipes for Coca-Cola or a Big Mac's Secret Sauce are trade secrets that require some extra protection if you're going to be sending out any information that pertains to them!

Some confidentiality disclaimers are much broader and include things like any misstatements about a person, any employee opinions that the parent company doesn't agree with, and even viruses that may accidentally have come through with the email.

If you run a business and you want to make sure that your employees are all sending emails with the proper confidentiality disclaimers on them, you don't have to rely on them to set everything up. You can actually do all of the legwork yourself.

If you're the Administrator of your company's Office 365 service , you can create a confidentiality disclaimer that will appear on every single outbound message. If you don't have Office 365, ask your IT department for help. They should be able to automatically add a confidentiality disclaimer to every outgoing email on your server.

If you run a smaller business without an IT department and you want some help setting up the right disclaimer, you're in luck. Email confidentiality disclaimers are so popular that there are templates for creating them.

Check out this one from Exclaimer , which allows you type any disclaimer language you want into the editor.

Or, if you'd rather not spend money on a template, you can simply type your confidentiality disclaimer into the signature part of your email.

If you're not sure how to set up a signature, Gmail and Outlook offer easy, step-by-step instructions.

However, while most email confidentiality disclaimers can be found in the signature or footer, you may want to move yours up to the top of your emails. That way, the disclaimer is the first thing the recipient sees instead of the last thing .

And don't forget about your internal communication. After all, confidentiality applies to everyone who has access to sensitive information, whether they work at your company or not.

You can use a universal confidentiality disclaimer that goes out on all of your communications with your co-workers.

Or, you can create different disclaimers depending on what department the recipient works in, what project the recipient is working on, or what level the recipient is on (ex: senior-level management vs. a junior associate).

But confidentiality disclaimers don't just apply to emails. There's another type of document where you're going to see a lot of confidentiality disclaimers pop up -- business plans .

Whether they're printed out or sent out electronically, business plans contain all kinds of sensitive information, so it makes sense to include a confidentiality disclaimer on them.

In fact, keeping the content of your business plan confidential is so important that the experts at Qutball-Hoda suggest putting a confidentiality disclaimer at the very beginning of your business plan and even including it in your Table of Contents:

AllBusiness.com lists a confidentiality disclaimer as one of their top tips for properly formatting your business plan. The example they use takes things a step further by listing the name of the person who's receiving the plan (John A. Smith), and it even requires his signature.

Because your business is only a plan right now, it's vital that anyone who sees any of your ideas be warned with a confidentiality disclaimer.

That includes the loan officer at your bank, potential business investors, professional colleagues that you approach for advice, along with potential manufacturers, vendors, wholesalers, and product importers.

Remember -- before you have any kind of copyright or patent protection, ANYONE can steal your idea and start their own business . That's why it's so important to cross your T's and dot your I's with confidentiality disclaimers.

Do you really need to get a signature, though?

It may seem like overkill now, but if you ever need to take someone to court for violating your confidentiality disclaimer, your case will be much stronger if there's an actual signature. It proves that the other person saw and agreed to your confidentiality terms and then breached them.

But are these disclaimers really enforceable? After all, you probably haven't been arrested for removing a mattress tag! Do they actually protect you from liability?

Absolutely.

Here are some examples:

• A confidentiality disclaimer can help a law firm if privileged information is accidentally leaked.
• A confidentiality disclaimer can protect a company if its information is used improperly. It may even prevent the company for being sued for negligent misstatement altogether.
• A confidentiality disclaimer can protect large companies from the information that their employees send out. After all, adding an automatic disclaimer to every email is a whole lot easier than trying to monitor every single email that's sent on the company server.
• A confidentiality disclaimer can prevent certain professionals and companies from violating industry regulations. In some cases, each violation comes with a hefty fine, so be sure to do everything that's required of you.

Confidentiality Disclaimers around the world

What about specific countries? Are there laws that relate to confidentiality disclaimers?

Because email is so widely used -- and has the biggest possibility of being easily misused -- most of the laws on confidentiality disclaimers relate to emails.

Confidentiality Disclaimers in the US

The Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) is the updated version of the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002. It applies to government information. In order to comply with it, there has to be a confidentiality disclaimer in all emails that include such information.

Government information also falls under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This law allows for either the full or partial release of information that's controlled by the federal government. Since email is such an easy way for the government to comply with FOIA requests, there needs to be a disclaimer just in case the wrong information is released.

American financial institutions -- including banks, securities firms, and insurance companies -- have to comply with The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB). Among other things, these institutions are required to include confidentiality disclaimers on all of their emails.

Depending on the exact type of business, either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for enforcing The GLB Act.

Any business that has access to a patient's medical data has to follow The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and part of HIPPA compliance includes using a confidentiality disclaimer. HIPAA also requires these businesses to inform their patients about the risks associated with transmitting their personal medical information.

Confidentiality Disclaimers in the UK

The UK does not have any specific laws that relate to confidentiality disclaimers.

However, according to Out-Law , British courts have the discretion to ignore them. As a result, the confidentiality disclaimer you place at the bottom of your emails may or may not limit your legal liability if something goes wrong.

If your company monitors email data and/or email content, you'll have to comply with the Telecommunications Regulations of 2000. Specifically, all of your outgoing emails will have to include a disclaimer that says, " (Name of Company) may monitor email traffic data," or "(Name of Company) may monitor email traffic data and also the content of email for the purposes of (list the reasons - like employee training, for example). "

That way, recipients know that the information is being seen by more than just the sender -- and it's not quite as confidential as they may have otherwise thought!

Confidentiality Disclaimers in Canada

There are no specific laws in Canada that require confidentiality disclaimers.

However, the experts at Tech Soup Canada say that including a confidentiality disclaimer in your emails is a good idea. Why? They say that if an email recipient sees one of these disclaimers, he's less likely to run out and try to sue you. Consider it to be a "placebo effect" for your emails.

And when it comes to confidentiality, violating a disclaimer could actually turn into legal trouble for the recipient.

However, there are no absolutes in Canadian courts. You may be able to lessen your liability, but you may not.

Confidentiality Disclaimers in the EU

The EU created Directive 95/46/EC to protect the privacy of personal data when it's being collected, processed, or transmitted.

However, the European Commission has also told courts that it can ignore any "unreasonable contractual obligation" if the consumer has not freely negotiated it.

In other words, the confidentiality disclaimer you use may or may not stand up in court if the recipient didn't explicitly agree to it.

Final verdict

Even if you're not in an industry or a country that requires the use of a confidentiality disclaimer, it certainly won't hurt you to start using one.

If nothing else, it shows that you take sensitive information very seriously, and no one will ever be able to fault you for that.

Business Plan Confidentiality Statement

A business plan serves as a comprehensive roadmap that outlines the strategic vision, objectives, and operational framework of a business venture. It encompasses critical details such as market analysis, financial projections, marketing strategies, and operational procedures, providing a comprehensive overview of the business’s objectives and trajectory. In the process of developing a business plan , entrepreneurs often encounter the necessity of safeguarding sensitive and proprietary information, prompting the inclusion of a confidentiality statement within the document. A business plan confidentiality statement is a vital component that underscores the commitment to protecting confidential information and proprietary data, ensuring that the business’s competitive edge and strategic insights remain secure and safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure or misuse.

Purpose and Scope of the Confidentiality Statement

The primary purpose of a business plan confidentiality statement is to establish a legally binding agreement between the business and the intended readers or recipients of the business plan. This agreement emphasizes the confidential nature of the information contained within the business plan and serves as a formal acknowledgment of the recipient’s responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of the proprietary data and insights shared by the business. By clearly defining the scope and parameters of confidentiality, the statement reinforces the business’s commitment to protecting its intellectual property, trade secrets, and strategic business insights from unauthorized access, distribution, or exploitation.

Key Components of a Business Plan Confidentiality Statement

A robust business plan confidentiality statement typically includes the following key components:

• Definition of Confidential Information: Clearly defining the scope of confidential information that is encompassed within the business plan, including proprietary data, financial projections, marketing strategies, operational procedures, and any other sensitive business insights that are not intended for public disclosure.
• Non-Disclosure Commitment: Outlining the recipient’s obligation to maintain strict confidentiality and refrain from disclosing, reproducing, or distributing the confidential information contained within the business plan to any external parties without the prior written consent of the business.
• Limitations on Use: Stipulating the permissible uses of the confidential information solely for the purpose of evaluating the business proposal and facilitating potential business collaborations or investment opportunities, emphasizing the restriction on using the information for personal gain or competitive advantage.
• Duration of Confidentiality: Specifying the duration of the confidentiality agreement, including the timeframe during which the recipient is obligated to maintain the confidentiality of the information, as well as any provisions for the perpetual protection of certain proprietary information beyond the termination of the business relationship.
• Legal Recourse and Remedies: Enumerating the legal remedies and consequences associated with the breach of confidentiality, including potential legal action, financial penalties, and the imposition of injunctive relief to mitigate the unauthorized dissemination or misuse of the confidential information.
• Binding Nature of the Agreement: Expressing the mutual agreement and understanding between the parties involved, highlighting the binding nature of the confidentiality agreement, and underscoring the significance of adhering to ethical business practices and professional integrity throughout the business engagement.

Ensuring Comprehensive Protection of Intellectual Property

By incorporating a well-crafted confidentiality statement within the business plan, entrepreneurs can proactively safeguard their intellectual property, trade secrets, and proprietary business insights, fostering a secure and trustworthy environment for sharing confidential information with potential investors, business partners, or stakeholders. The inclusion of a confidentiality statement not only fortifies the legal protection of sensitive data but also reinforces the business’s commitment to transparency, integrity, and ethical business conduct, fostering a culture of mutual trust and respect within the realm of business collaborations and strategic partnerships.

Examples of Confidentiality Statements For Business Plans

Here are a few examples of business plan confidentiality statements that you can use as references or templates for drafting your own business plan confidentiality agreement:

Simple Business Plan Confidentiality Statement:

“This business plan and the information contained herein are confidential and proprietary to [Company Name]. The recipient acknowledges that the information provided in this document is solely for the purpose of evaluating potential business collaborations or investment opportunities and agrees to maintain strict confidentiality. The recipient further agrees not to disclose, reproduce, or distribute any part of this business plan without the prior written consent of [Company Name]. Any unauthorized use or disclosure of this information may result in legal action and other appropriate remedies.”

Comprehensive Business Plan Confidentiality Statement:

“The contents of this business plan, including all financial, operational, and marketing data, are the sole and exclusive property of [Company Name]. The recipient acknowledges that the information provided in this document is strictly confidential and is disclosed solely for the purpose of evaluating potential business opportunities. The recipient agrees to exercise the utmost discretion in safeguarding the confidentiality of this information and to refrain from disclosing, reproducing, or disseminating any part of this business plan to any third party without the express written consent of [Company Name]. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, or distribution of this information may result in legal action, financial penalties, and injunctive relief to protect the proprietary interests of [Company Name]. This confidentiality agreement remains valid for a period of [specify duration] following the termination of any business relationship or engagement.”

Confidentiality Statement for Business Plan Presentation:

“This presentation contains confidential and proprietary information belonging to [Company Name] and is intended solely for the use of the intended recipients. The recipient acknowledges that the information provided in this presentation is of a sensitive and confidential nature and agrees to maintain the strictest confidence in safeguarding the proprietary data and insights shared herein. The recipient further agrees not to disclose, reproduce, or distribute any part of this presentation without the express written consent of [Company Name]. This confidentiality obligation extends to all discussions, materials, and information shared during or following the presentation. Violation of this confidentiality agreement may result in legal action and other appropriate remedies to protect the intellectual property and business interests of [Company Name].”

Everything you need to know about business plan cover pages

You have only one chance to make a good first impression with the readers of your business plan.

People do judge books—and business plans—by their covers. A quick glance at the cover can easily be enough to make up one’s mind.

So set yourself up for success with a powerful cover page that stands out and entices the reader to find out more about your business.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Definition: What is a Business Plan Cover Page?

Cover page (also known as title page or cover sheet) is the first page of a business plan that communicates what the enclosed document is about and highlights the key company information like name, logo and contact details, making a good impression with professional and attractive appearance.

Purpose: Why is Business Plan Cover Page Important?

Many businesses spend hours preparing their business plans but then do not pay enough attention to the title page. This is a huge mistake .

5 ways a strong cover page can help you make a positive first impression:

• Clearly indicate what the presented document is about
• Provide the necessary information for a reader to contact you
• Create a powerful first impact that sets the stage for how readers will engage with your document
• Avoid falling victim to negative preconceived notions as a result or unprofessional or unattractive cover
• Maximize the chance of the plan being read by making the document stand out from the crowd and immediately drawing your reader’s attention

Keep reading to find out which elements you need to include in the cover page, how to structure it to maximize the impact of your business plan, and to take a look at some successful examples .

Contents: What Should You Include in a Business Plan Cover Page?

Surprisingly, there are no strict rules about what to show on your business plan cover sheet, but there certainly are best practices that you should follow.

Here are 9 elements that are typically included on business plan covers, 3 of which are essential and you should not miss to include them. The remaining 6 are optional for your consideration.

1. Must-haves: 3 mandatory cover page elements

1.1. Business name: The name of the company that is the subject of the plan.

1.2. Document title: The words “ Business Plan ” in a prominent spot so that it is clear what kind of document this is.

1.3. Contact information: Name, title and contact details (e.g., phone, email, social media, website, address) of the primary contact persons presenting the plan (e.g., CEO, Founder, Owner, President) so that any interested parties know exactly to whom to direct their inquiries and can reach them quickly and easily.

2. Nice-to-haves: 6 optional cover page elements:

2.1. Company logo: The logo of the company if available and desired.

2.2. Tagline: Short, memorable summary of the business described in the plan.

2.3. Date: In order to make sure your plan does not look outdated, include only the year of the business plan completion date. If you are including both the month also, it is advisable to create a new cover sheet each time you send out the plan.

2.4. Version control: Numbering each copy of the plan enables you to more easily keep track of who you sent what version of the document to.

2.5. Disclaimer: Disclaimer can help protect you and your company from confidentiality and other legal issues resulting from the distribution of the business plan by indicating that the plan is for information only, not an offering of stock in the company, and not to be shared with third parties without your prior consent.

2.6. Visuals: Graphic elements or images to enhance the professional look and visual appeal of the document.

Let’s have a more detailed look at these cover page elements so you know what exactly to include into each of them:

Business Name

The most prominent feature on your business plan cover is the name of your company.

Instantly, the reader should notice the name of your business. In fact, if readers take away nothing else from the cover page, they should remember your company’s name.

As this is the most noticeable feature on the page, use a large font that stands out, but is easy to read, looks professional and corresponds to the typeface that you used for the rest of the document.

Company Logo

Placing a high-quality company logo on the cover page helps to make the business plan look more professional and establish a brand identity by allowing readers to connect visually to the business right from the beginning.

If your logo includes the full name of the company, you do not have to display both the company name and logo on the cover page, it is sufficient to choose one of the two.

Document Title

The readers need to know what the presented document is about – immediately and clearly.

The cover page should clearly state whether it is a Business Plan, Executive Summary, Financial Forecast, Marketing Plan, Recovery Plan, or any other kind of plan.

For example, write the words “ Business Plan ” in a prominent spot on the cover sheet to make it crystal clear what type of document this is. You may include any additional words that are part of the title, such as “Three/Five-Year Business Plan” if needed or relevant.

As a focal point on the cover page, the document title should be in a large font size .

There is no rule though about whether the Document Title or Company Name and Logo should be of the largest font size, as all are of key importance. So it is entirely your decision what feature you prefer to highlight on the cover page of the document.

Contact Information

Contact details should always be on the business plan cover page, letting the reader know who is presenting the document and how to contact them if they need more information.

It is helpful to indicate the names and titles of the company’s primary contact persons for investors and other business plan readers, such as:

• External distribution: company founder, owner, president, partner, CEO
• In-house corporate plans: head of division, departmental manager, executive officer

Next, provide the contact details that will allow the interested parties to reach these primary contact persons quickly and easily, including:

• Name and title of primary contact(s)
• Phone number
• Email address
• Social media handles
• Website address
• Postal address

The contact information is typically displayed in the smallest font on the cover page.

Company tagline, or a motto , is a catchy memorable marketing slogan that captures the essence of a business in a few short and simple words: >> What you do >> How you do it >> Why are you different from the competition

For example, you will undoubtedly recognize the following company mottos:

As such, the tagline is a useful part of the cover page as it helps the business plan readers better understand what you do straight away, and even excite them to read the business plan and study it with more interest.

When was this business plan finalized and issued ? The readers will be interested to know. Hence, it is advisable to state the document completion date on the cover page.

Strictly speaking, you do not need to denote anything more specific that the year in which you completed the business plan. (“Business Plan: 2021”) This will ensure that the plan does not appear outdated for an entire year.

Imagine that you are a potential investor who in December 2021 receives a business plan dated January 2021. It would be natural to assume that the document has been rejected many times by other investors over the last 12 months.

Alternatively, you can include both the current month and year on the cover sheet. (“Business Plan: January 2021”) Each time you update the document and send it out or present it, you will need to check if this date of completion needs updating .

The date is featured on the cover sheet less prominently and in a smaller font size than the document title and company name, and is often displayed below the plan title.

Version Control

As your business develops, you may revise your business plan any number of times and send it to multiple recipients . To keep track of the different versions of the plan that you produce and which version you sent to whom, you may decide to use a version control system.

However, it does not make the best impression when someone receives a “Version 25” of your plan.

Instead, consider devising a simple coding system . For example: “Copy D.5” would indicate it is the fifth copy of a fourth version of the document or “Version 4.5” could mean a fifth copy of a document version completed in April.

Numbering each copy of your business plan before distribution, and keeping a list of which individual has received which copy, would enable you to keep track of how many copies are in circulation, and, if needed, ask to have a copy returned, or trace the responsible party in case a copy is circulated without your permission.

Confidentiality Statement & Disclaimer

Why should your plan include a disclaimer.

Legal issues may arise as a result of circulating your business plan. 

For example, anyone who is in the possession of the document could potentially divulge the confidential information. 

Also, in some countries, offering ownership in your company in return for an investment is considered as selling of stock, which is a regulated activity. The best way to protect yourself is to consult a lawyer.

Nevertheless, including a disclaimer in the business plan helps to protect your company by indicating the plan itself is not an offering of stock for sale but rather a document for information purposes only.

The same disclaimer can also be used to help protect the confidentiality of the information disclosed in your business plan by informing the reader that the plan is confidential and not to be shared with other parties without the owner’s consent, especially when you are not adding a non-disclosure agreement.

What Should the Disclaimer Say?

These are the two most common ways how to show the disclaimer in the business plan:

1. Display a brief disclaimer , just one or two sentences, directly on the front cover , probably at the bottom of the page. Consult a lawyer for the most appropriate wording, but a standard disclaimer might look something to the effect this:

2. Write “ Confidential ” on the cover sheet and include a longer disclaimer and confidentiality statement in the main body of the business plan, perhaps on the first page after the cover sheet.

In addition, you can also include the text “Confidential” into the header or footer of the document.

Design: How Should You Format a Business Plan Cover Page?

The cover page is the first thing the readers will see when they open your business plan. Thus, your business plan cover should be neat , clean , attractive , and professional enough to draw your readers’ attention , make a good first impression and set the tone for your business plan’s content.

Cover page that is messy, dated, unattractive or in any way unprofessional can create negative preconceptions in the recipients’ minds before they even start reading the business plan.

Your design should be clean and professional, which can be accomplished by observing the following best practices:

Visual Identity

Most successful businesses have a strong association with their brand identity , including a company logo, typeface and color scheme. Visual identity helps to establish recognition, familiarity, trust and confidence in customers by evoking the right emotions and sending the right message.

As a result, companies take care to develop a brand identity and keep consistent across all marketing collateral and business materials.

Likewise, your brand identity should be integrated into all parts of your business plan, including the cover page. The best practice is to make the plan consistent with the logo, font type and color scheme as they appear across your other company’s documents.

If you do not have a brand identity created yet, keep the color scheme of the plan cover simple.

The easiest is to have a logo designed, which is inexpensive and easy to do nowadays, and then use your logo colors across the business plan. Alternatively, consider using an online color scheme generator to select colors that go well together.

To stay on the safe side, use maximum of two to three colors, one of which should be black. You can use different shades of the same color (e.g., light blue and dark blue).

First and foremost, the fonts you use in the business plan, including its cover, need to be readable .

The most important information should be displayed in a way that it stands out from the rest of the elements on the business plan cover page, for example, differentiated by font size , weight or color .

Ideally, the typefaces and their color(s) should be consistent with the brand identity used in all of the other company’s marketing materials.

Do not combine more than two typefaces. It is ok to combine a sans-serif (e.g., Times New Roman) with a sans-serif (e.g., Arial) typeface.

Again, less is definitely more here. Refrain from cluttering the business plan cover sheet with photos and graphics.

If you do use a visual element, make sure to leave enough white space around it so the page does not look too busy.

The resolution of any images, including the company logo, should be of high enough quality to not look pixelated.

There is no need for a fancy over-designed cover page, unless you are a large corporation or perhaps a design agency. Equally, beware of any templates with outdated designs that will make your cover look like it was created back in 1999.

Professional designers often combine different alignments (left / right / center) of elements on a page (text, images) to achieve a desired design effect. However, a design novice should play it safe and keep the alignment simple and consistent , especially when it comes to professional documents, such as a business plan.

You should be able to comfortably fit all of the recommended elements on the cover sheet (e.g., company name and logo, document title, contact details, date, disclaimer), and still leave enough white space on the page.

Making a great first impression does not equal to creating a cover that is graphically busy and cluttered with unimportant details. Instead, set yourself up for success by keeping the business plan cover sheet neat , clean , simple and concise .

Proofreading

Carefully proofread the cover page to avoid, at all costs, any mistakes and typos , which would do you a great disservice in the eyes of the reader. Even better, have someone else to look it over.

Finally, make sure that the cover page looks good in every format you will be distributing the business plan in, probably including a PDF electronic file and a printed hard copy.

Some common issues include:

• Photos look pixelated due to low image resolution
• Colors do not print well (e.g., dark font color on a dark background)
• White space left at the edges of a printout because and image does not stretch (i.e., “bleed” in designer terms) enough into the edges of the page

Most importantly, the cover page should look professional and stand out from the crowd so that your business plan has a better chance of being read.

Finally, remember that these aren’t rigid rules. The overall goal for a cover page is to look neat and professional so that it stands out from the crowd and your business plan has a better chance of being read. In the end, that’s the most important outcome.

The cover sheet is the first thing the readers of your business plan will see. Make a good first impression.

Examples: Sample Images

Here are some examples to further illustrate the structure and format of a business plan cover page:

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Disclaimer Examples with Samples

What exactly is a disclaimer and why do you need one?

A website disclaimer is a legal statement that helps reduce legal liability for the website that displays it. It identifies areas of your business or website that could create some confusion or misinterpretation from your users and helps to protect the content and services you provide.

On this page

What Do You Need in Your Disclaimer?

Do you need a disclaimer?

Firstly, recognize your need for a disclaimer. If you provide products, services or both then you are going to require a disclaimer. Products are easily identified but services may be more difficult to identify. A service can be providing information, such as articles or other media, or providing assistance such as IT, financial services or medical services.

What might you be you liable for?

Once you recognize the need for the disclaimer, then you will need to give thought to the type of liabilities you might face. If you have any written content on your website, you may face being held liable for the information you have provided. If you sell a product you may face customers claiming they were injured by that product. If you allow comments on your website or social media page you will need to add a disclaimer removing any liability of users content.

What would you like to protect?

Your written and media content is owned by you, this is your intellectual property and as such you would want to include an intellectual property disclaimer. You may also want to protect your logo and any symbols or words that identify your business. Often the copyright and intellectual property disclaimers are found in your terms and conditions agreement.

Examples of Useful Website Disclaimers

We are going to take a look at a host of disclaimers than can be useful in helping reduce legal liability for you and your website. You will find that there will be a number of them that will be suitable for your circumstances and that by combining them all in your disclaimer statement you will effectively cover yourself.

The disclaimers that we are looking at can all be found on our disclaimer generator and they are:

• External links

Testimonials

• Personal responsibility
• No professional relationship
• Social media channel
• Price Inaccuracy
• YouTube Video Disclaimer

The consent disclaimer is one that every website should have. It is a general disclaimer outlining no liability for any damages in connection with your website.

The content disclaimer is used for websites which allow comments from users. It removes any liability and responsibility from you in connection to whatever your users have written.

External Links

Most websites contain links to other websites as a reference. Having an external links disclaimer explains to your users that you do not endorse or assume any responsibility for the information that is found on the third party website.

The U.S. Dept of Defense's external links disclaimer is a great example of this type of disclaimer.

No Professional Relationship

If your website provides information on a professional topic such as law, medicine or fitness, then you may want to add this disclaimer. The no professional relationship disclaimer explains to your users that your website content is not a substitute for professional advice and that by using your website their is no professional relationship between you and your user. Your website content is provided for informational purposes only.

A counseling website like the K5 Counseling website is a good example of the kind of professional website that requires a no professional relationship disclaimer.

Investment Disclaimer

The investment disclaimer removes any liability or responsibility from you for providing information relating to investment analysis, news or any other investment related data.

If your website deals in this topic then you are going to want to include this disclaimer.

Stockopedia have included a No Investment advice disclaimer on their disclaimer page. This is a great example of type of website that would want to include an Investment disclaimer.

Affiliate Disclosure

If your website contains affiliate links then you must comply with the FTC's policy and include an affiliate disclaimer .

As part of the Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreement you are required to identify yourself as an associate and disclose that you earn money from purchases made through your affiliate links.

Below is an example of a good website affiliate disclosure disclaimer from the website Preppers.com

The reviews disclaimer is useful for any site that reviews products, services or other resources. It outlines that the reviews are opinions of the author and that the products or services that are being reviewed may be given to the you at a discounted price or for free in exchange for the review. It also discloses that any incentives will be made known to the reader.

A small but effective review disclaimer can be seen in the below screenshot from product review alliance.

An earnings disclaimer is a useful addition to your disclaimer page if you are a website that reports the earnings of any of your clients or customers who use your information, products or services. Using positive examples of your services working with other customers does not indicate the success of each individual customer and expressing this via a disclaimer is important.

Earnings Digital, a website dedicated to all things to do with making money online has a thorough earnings disclaimer.

Does your website have testimonials from users who love your product or service? If not are you planning on adding some of these? If you said yes to either of these questions then a testimonials disclaimer is an important additions to your website legal products.

The testimonial disclaimer explains that just because that user had that experience, it may not necessarily represent the experience of all users.

Below is the testimonial disclaimer from a weight loss company "idealshape".

As you can see idealshape have expressed in their testimonial disclaimer that individual results may vary and that the testimonial results are not necessarily representative of everyone using their products.

If your website offers fitness, health or nutritional information, you should consider adding the fitness disclaimer . The fitness disclaimer explains that your information is for educational purposes only and shouldn't be substituted for professional advice. It also helps limit any liability by suggesting that you consult your health care professional before beginning any fitness program.

FM Fitness and Nutrition offer a great example of a fitness disclaimer.

Does your website offer any information on medical topics? If so it's important that you add a medical disclaimer to your legal documents.

The medical disclaimer will assist you in reducing any liability for the use of content on your site. Once again it should be stated that it is not a substitute for professional medical advice and advise users to seek medical attention immediately in the case of a medical emergency.

The DanneMiller website adds this medical disclaimer:

The legal disclaimer is a must have for any website that deals in any legal subjects. You need to ensure that your users are aware that there is no lawyer-client relationship between the two of you. It should also be noted that the content provided is only for informational purposes.

Here is an example of a legal disclaimer from Law Depot:

Social Media Channel

The social media channel disclaimer is a brief general disclaimer covering videos podcasts or other media you publish. It covers they are your copyrighted material.

Do you publish a Google Map on your website for directions? If so then you may wish to add this map disclaimer . It removes any idea that you have any opinion regarding anything that is shown on the map on your website.

Do you run a personal blog? Do you write informative articles which include your opinions or views? Yes? Then add a blog disclaimer to your website.

The blog disclaimer will help to minimize any legal liability with your website content and let your readers know that your posts are for informational purposes only. You are not liable for any injuries or damages for the use of your information.

Taipan Brokers website has added a Personal Blog disclaimer which covers this.

If your website sells any products then it's advisable to add a product disclaimer which limits your legal liability with the products. It should also state that the use of the product is at the users own risk.

Microchips website has a product disclaimer that outlines the necessary information so that their customers understand that the purchasing and using of the products is their own responsibility.

Price Inaccuracies

The price inaccuracies disclaime r is useful for websites that sell products. It covers you in the event that prices on your website are incorrect and then you are not obliged to sell them to your customer at the erroneous price.

YouTube Video

A lot of websites embed YouTube videos in their posts on on their pages. If you are using content from YouTube, that is not your own, or you are using your own YouTube videos then having this disclaimer is helpful.

The YouTube video disclaimer lets your users know that the video is under YouTube's terms of service agreement and not yours, as the video is hosted on YouTube's servers. It also outlines that the content is not yours, in the case of using others content.

If it's your own content then it is still of use as it explains that the related links that are suggested by YouTube are not your responsibility.

Fair Use Notice

A fair use disclaimer clarifies that your website may contain material that you do not own the license to. You believe the use of copyrighted material on your website constitutes fair use. It also needs to specify section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

If you are using any copyrighted work then under the fair use act you are required to have a fair use disclaimer on your website.

Personal Responsibility

The personal responsibility disclaimer is a general disclaimer, useful for all websites. It outlines that the person using your website is doing so voluntarily and that any actions they take are their own responsibility.

Disclaimers are a useful addition to any website. They help reduce legal liability in a number of areas that are not included in the terms and conditions agreement.

Disclaimers are generally short paragraphs that is intended to protect the content and services of your website.

Our disclaimer generator offers all of the above mentioned disclaimer statements. Some of the more generic ones are free, while there is a small charge for the more specialized ones. Our disclaimers were drafted by a lawyer, so you can feel secure knowing that your business has a solid disclaimer.

The information in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any matter and does not create a lawyer-client relationship

Related posts:

• Medical Disclaimer with Examples
• Website Disclaimer (what you need to know about disclaimers)
• How to Create Your Legal Documents with the privacyterms.io Generators

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How to write your business plan cover page

When you think of putting together your business plan , the business plan cover page may not be the first thing that comes to mind. While it’s traditionally one of the last sections you create in a business plan, it’s one of the most important.

Definition: What is a business plan cover page?

The cover page of a business plan is used to give an overview of all the key information of your business. This includes your company name, logo, address, and any other information that may define your business. It's the first page of your plan, so it should look professional, visually pleasing, and informative.

When potential investors or banks read a business plan, their first impression is the cover page—but don’t overthink it. A business plan cover page is meant to be simple and straightforward, with some important contact information and, more importantly, your logo.

Use this breakdown to find out what the purpose of your cover page is, which elements you need to include, and how to structure it to maximize your impact:

What is the purpose of a cover page?

Your cover page exists to communicate what the enclosed document is and to provide the necessary information for a reader to contact you about your business.

The appearance and quality of a business plan cover page will set the tone for your business plan’s content, so make sure it’s visually appealing, free of errors, and concise.“ Simple, clean and powerful are the three goals of a strong business plan cover,” suggest the experts at Growthink . Don’t clutter your cover page with details about how your business will operate—save those important details for the executive summary .

What should you include on a business plan cover page?

To keep it simple, your business plan cover page should include:

Company logo

• Document title
• Business name
• Business address and contact information
• Business plan completion date
• Confidentiality statement

How should you format a business plan cover page?

Once you know what information belongs in this section, all that remains now is to organize it. If you need some further guidance, these downloadable templates can streamline the process of drafting a cover page—and the rest of your business plan, too.

1. Company logo

Add a high-resolution thumbnail of your logo at the top of the cover page. This will help establish a brand identity and allow readers to connect visually to the business right from the start.

Hot tip: people are 89% more likely to remember your logo if you put it in the top left corner.

Give the logo some space and then include the words “Business Plan” in a large, bold font. You can also frame the title as “Three–” or “Five–Year Business Plan,” if you intend to make those kinds of financial projections in the document.

3. Business name

Beneath the title, write your company name in a bold font. This should be the most noticeable and prominent feature on the page, so choose a large typeface.

4. Tagline (optional)

This part is optional, but you can also include a catchy slogan or motto that describes your company and what you do.

5. Address and contact information

Under the company name, include your business’s physical address and website if you have one. Provide the details necessary for interested parties to contact you, such as a phone number and email address.

It’s also helpful to include your name as the business owner and the names of any partners or executive officers so that potential investors know where to direct their inquiries.

6. Date of completion

Below the contact information, write the year (or year and month) in which this business plan was finalized and issued. If you’re including the month, it’s a good idea to update it throughout the year as you send out your business plan so readers don’t assume it’s outdated.

7. Confidentiality Statement

At the bottom of the page, include a sentence to the effect of:

“This document contains confidential and proprietary information created by [business name]. This document is issued exclusively for informational purposes and should not be reproduced without the consent of [business name].”

Adding this confidentiality statement offers a protective measure against the disclosure of your business idea , according to this cover page guide .

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Cover page design

Now it’s time for the finishing touches: the actual design of your cover page. Your business plan’s cover page gives the first impression of your business, so your company logo, fonts, and brand colors should all work together to make people want to read more.

Brand colors

90% of a customer’s impression of your business comes from the brand colors you choose, so it’s important to choose colors that represent your business’s personality and elicit the right emotions from your readers.

Don’t know where to start? Grab a pen and paperand write down three emotions you want your customers to feel when they think of your brand. Now you can brainstorm some colors that represent those emotions. For example, you might choose blue if your product is associated with reliability, or yellow if your product is supposed to make your clients feel happy. It’s safer to only choose 2-3 colors , including black, for your color scheme.

You can also analyze the competition and choose colors that help you stand out. Canva has more detailed instructions on how to create your brand color palette .

When it comes to fonts, it’s best practice to stick to one type of typeface, such as serif or sans serif . It’s also important to choose fonts that are simple, easy to read, and represent your brand.

Serif fonts give off the impression that your brand is trustworthy and dependable, and work great for more traditional businesses, like law practices. “Serif fonts have been widely used in books, newspapers, and magazines, which is why they remind us of more classical, formal and sophisticated themes—think of Old English and Roman scripture,” Robyn Young, founder of branding agency robyn young & co, told Canva .

But if you’re going for a more contemporary and youthful feel, then sans serif is the way to go. “Brands that want a modern aesthetic that scales well at different sizes and is easy to read on screens are going to choose sans serif for their main branding elements,” said Young .

When it comes to choosing a logo, simplicity is key. Try to create something that represents your brand and speaks to your audience without being too busy (in other words: white space is your friend).

It’s also important to remember to be practical: your logo should look good in any medium, size, color, and even time period. Beyond your business plan cover page, you’ll need it for your social media, marketing material, or labels.

Business plan cover page examples

To further illustrate the structure and format of a business plan cover page, we’ve compiled a few cover page template examples. The first example from officetemplatesonline is simple but attractive and effectively emphasizes pertinent information. The next cover page example is from a fictional clothing store . They usea pop of color to instantly tell you about their brand personality.

Keep your business plan cover page simple

As you prepare to write your business plan , remember to keep your cover page simple and concise. With your logo, business name, and contact information, you’ll introduce the reader into your business plan quickly and easily—and set yourself up for success as a result.

Just don’t forget to proofread and keep an eye out for typos!

Business plan cover page FAQs

How can businesses make sure their business plan cover pages stand out to investors or lenders.

You can spice up your business plan cover page by including elements that’ll grab the attention of investors or lenders. Beyond basic contact information and a logo, you could include compelling visuals, like graphics or images that represent your business or industry. You could also highlight key achievements or milestones to showcase your potential for success

Are there any specific rules or tips for designing a business plan cover page that make sure it matches a business’s brand?

When designing a business plan cover page, it's key to align it with your business's brand identity. This means choosing colors, fonts, and imagery that reflect your brand's personality and values. Following industry standards for design and layout can help ensure professionalism while still allowing for creativity that helps your business stand out.

How can a business use their cover page to show their business strategy?

Your cover page can serve as an opportunity to convey important aspects of your business strategy or unique value proposition. Beyond listing basic details, you could include a brief mission statement or tagline that summarizes your business’s purpose or competitive advantage. Additionally, incorporating visual elements or a brief narrative about your business's story can help show off its identity and vision.

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Let our How to Start a Business Playbook guide the way.

The information and tips shared on this blog are meant to be used as learning and personal development tools as you launch, run and grow your business. While a good place to start, these articles should not take the place of personalized advice from professionals. As our lawyers would say: “All content on Wave’s blog is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be considered legal or financial advice.” Additionally, Wave is the legal copyright holder of all materials on the blog, and others cannot re-use or publish it without our written consent.

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Before presenting your business plan always have the individual sign a Confidentiality Agreement first. The undersigned reader of [Company's Name] Business Plan hereby acknowledges that the information provided is completely confidential and therefore the reader agrees not to disclose anything found in the business plan without the express written consent of [Business Owner's Name]. It is also acknowledged by the reader that the information to be furnished in this business plan is in all aspects confidential in nature, other than information that is in the public domain through other means and that any disclosure or use of the same by the reader may cause serious harm and or damage to [Company Name]. Upon request this business plan document will be immediately returned to [Business Owner's Name]. This is a business plan. It does not imply an offer of any securities. This contract shall be governed by the laws of the County of ________ in the State of _______ and any applicable Federal law. ________________________________ Signature ________________________________ Printed Name Don't bother with copy and paste. Get this complete sample business plan as a free text document. Pallet Manufacturer Business Plan Start your own pallet manufacturer business plan Advanced Technology Pallets Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">. The scrap tire recycling industry has been around for many years, but uses for recycled scrap tire rubber are in the initial stage, as less than 20% of scrap tires are processed. Approximately 10% are incinerated, generally for power generation, although air quality issues are always a concern as scrap tires, like coal, are dirty fuel. Approximately 4% of our scrap tires are exported to other countries where the casings are used in retread plants or the used tires are sold as is. Currently about 2% are processed into crumb rubber and used in molded products and for modified rubberized asphalt applications, which provides a longer lasting and more durable asphalt surface. Stockpiles of scrap tires create health problems as they become breeding grounds for rodents, snakes, and mosquitoes, and also are serious fire hazards. With approximately 250 million scrap tires being generated annually in the United States and the existing piles estimated at between 2-3 billion, this represents a serious problem. ATP-Advanced Technology Pallets a Nevada Corporation (ATP), is proud to present its unique and patented product the RST-PAL Pallet, a new pallet made from recycled scrap tire rubber. The “RST-PAL Pallet” is strong, durable and reusable, providing an alternative to wooden pallets and the expense associated with replacing, repairing and discarding wooden pallets. RST-PAL Pallets might be serial numbered and bar-coded to insure tracking and retrieval so that they can be used over and over again for many years. The inventor, Dan Radke, has assigned to ATP all patent rights (to the approved and issued patent USPTO # 08/680,476) to manufacture and market the RST-PAL pallets worldwide, in perpetuity. OUR MISSION To provide cost effective and durable pallets to all industries and manufacturing. THE EXISTING PROBLEM Wood and plastic pallet life cycle is short and the cost is very high. Wood pallets break and need repair or replacement every one or two trips. Wood absorbs liquids, gains weight, breaks and splinters, and is difficult to clean. Industries demand more durable and long lasting pallets. Scrap tire stockpiles are an environmental hazard. Current pallets made of wood, are consuming over 3.5 million trees annually. THE SOLUTION RST-PAL pallets are less costly to buy and maintain. RST-PAL pallets are more durable and indestructible. RST-PAL pallets can support 15 times the load of a similar wooden pallet. RST-PAL pallets are rackable, stackable, more durable and longer lasting. RST-PAL pallets are unique, made from recycled scrap tire rubber using a newly patented process that includes rubber, recycled plastics and a binder system. RST-PAL pallets are guaranteed for years. RST-PAL pallets have no competition worldwide. TECHNOLOGY AND PROCESS The materials process and the manufacturing of pallets are based on an approved and issued patent (USPTO # 08/680,476). International (PCT) patent protection filed. Production line machinery is available and has been sourced. Raw materials are readily available and have been sourced. Flexible production line allows for building various pallet sizes, with high yield and quality. Product is production “ready”. All R&D and qualification complete. Process based on modular capacity that allows for quick manufacturing expansion. Factory is environmentally “clean” with no waste stream. Prototypes have been built, tested, and qualified. U.S. consumption of pallets is 800 million a year (National Wooden Pallet and Container Association, NWPCA). RST-PAL pallets have the lowest life cycle cost compared to wood, aluminum, and plastic. Global Pallets-leasing options available. Marketing to focus on both closed and open loop distribution systems. Worldwide markets and licensing opportunities (Internationally protected patents). U.S. Government Agencies and Contractors markets. U.S. government has mandated product replacement with recycled products first. MARKET QUOTATIONS “Quality, reusable multi-trip pallets instead of poorly constructed single user pallets” is needed ASAP. (Reference: NWPCA) Contractors doing business with the government are required to purchase “environmentally friendly” and “recycled products” products first. (Reference: President Clinton Executive order) Prototypes were evaluated by different industries, including military and government agencies with positive feedback. Potential sales pending investment and production ramp up. Environmental incentives to certain markets (Government sub-contractors). All licenses, permits, governmental agencies acquired and in support of project. PALLET COST COMPARISON – OVER FIVE YEARS Use of RST-PAL pallets demonstrates substantial savings, $22 for RST-PAL pallet vs. $133 for total cost for wooden pallet, over 5 years. (See Topic 4.2 and 4.3.1). INVESTMENT REQUIRED AND USE OF FUNDS $6M investment for 35% ownership estimated to reach profitability within 12-18 months. From the second year forward, 50% of the net profit after tax will be distributed as dividends to the shareholders (as long as it will not affect the planned expansion). The other 50% will be dedicated to growth. Funds raised will be used for plant setup, operations, equipment, marketing and sales. First year operation with two production lines is expected to produce 1,137,000 units, with a projected net profit of over $8 million. INVESTOR DISCUSSION Projections reflect the return of the original investment in less than two years. Approximately six times valuation, based on discounting of five years of net earnings to present value. Present Value of five years of projected net earnings at a 25% discount (incl. risk factor) is $98 million. Reaching less than 1% of the market share with five plants within five years. Projected revenue of approximately $402 million. Projected net profit (before taxes) of approximately $178 million. Management Team – Strong and professional with highly specialized consultants. Exit Strategy alternatives:  (a) IPO after two years;  (b) Acquisition;  (c) Private ownership with a long horizon of profits. RST-PAL Pallets  —  MANUFACTURED FROM RECYCLED SCRAP TIRE RUBBER HELPING TO CLEAN UP AMERICA’S SCRAP TIRES 1.1 Mission ATP is a manufacturing and marketing company dedicated to providing to all industries cost effective and durable pallets made from recycled scrap tires. The manufacturing process and the product are patent protected worldwide with no existing competition. Pallet users, both manufacturers of commodities and industries that use pallets for their main distribution, demand a more durable and longer lasting pallet to replace wooden pallets that require constant repairing, replacing and discarding. The National Wooden Pallet and Container Association states that a wooden pallet gives service for only one to two trips before having to be repaired or replaced. Because of the short life cycle of wood (and plastic) pallets, pallet users are forced to purchase pallets more often. Scrap tire stockpiles throughout the United States represent dangerous environmental hazards as they are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, rodents, and snakes, and create potential hazards for fires, which are extremely dangerous and expensive to extinguish. ATP will reduce scrap tire stockpiles hazards and will help to conserve some of the 3.5 million trees harvested each year to manufacture wooden pallets. ATP will locate its manufacturing plants in rural towns, near large metropolitan areas, where employment is needed the most. ATP will earn profits and provide excellent return to its investors while at the same time financing an aggressive growth of the company to increase production each year. ATP will also maintain a friendly, fair, and creative work environment, which respects diversity, product improvement, and hard work. 1.2 Objectives To establish two production lines at the first plant in Stamford, Texas in order to produce 1.2 million pallets annually, with projected net income (before taxes) in excess of $8 million. To expand production annually by opening a plant with two additional lines of production each year for years two through five. Achieve targeted market share of 0.15% in the first production year to 0.75% by the end of year five. (800 million pallets are manufactured and sold annually in the U.S.) First year projected market share of 0.15% is expected to bring net profits of $8 million (before taxes), and 0.75% of the market share in year five is projected to bring net profits of $66 million. Accumulated profits (before taxes) are projected to be $173 million for the first five years of production. ATP will take advantage of the acute need for solutions to America’s scrap tire problems, and establish plants in different locations where scrap tires are abundantly available, while taking advantage of benefits and subsidies offered by different State Government programs for the remediation of scrap tires. Develop foreign markets, through licensing agreements, especially in Europe and the Far East, where similar acute problems of scrap tires exist. 1.3 Keys to Success An existing pallet market in the U.S. of over 800 million pallets sold annually. It is estimated that approximately 60% are hardwood pallets; these users are ATP’s targeted customers. RST-PAL pallets have the lowest life cycle costs compared to wooden or plastic pallets. RST-PAL pallets are patent protected, are durable and virtually indestructible, and can carry in excess of 15 times the load of wooden pallets. Pallets are a well-known, necessary and established product; therefore there is no need to penetrate the market with a totally new product. In fact, RST-PAL pallets are not a new product at all, but are far superior, durable and longer lasting than anything comparable in the market place. The advertising and marketing costs will remain low as the RST-PAL pallets are introduced to pallet users through trade shows and conventions, with ATP’s sales representatives located in targeted marketing regions. The first targeted marketing region is Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, near the first plant in Stamford, Texas. The U.S. government has mandated, through an executive order, a “buy recycled first” for all government agencies and contractors, including the Department of Defense and Department of Transportation. ATP will target federal and state agencies to market RST-PAL pallets. Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure."> A.T.P.-Advanced Technology Pallets (ATP) a Nevada Corporation was formed to create a joint venture with the participation of the new investors and the current owners: RST Manufacturing LLC and Elie Banensohn, ATP’s Vice President. ATP will manufacture and market worldwide the RST-PAL Pallet, made from a patent protected new material that includes the use of recycled scrap tire rubber. The pallet will be an affordable alternative to the high cost of purchasing, repairing, replacing, and discarding wooden pallets. Pallet users purchasing RST-PAL pallets will realize substantial savings in their pallet costs. ATP is a new entity with RST Manufacturing LLC, becoming a shareholder. RST Manufacturing has invested in excess of $1 million to date, to complete research and development, prototypes, and pre-production marketing of the pallets. Plant property in Stamford, Texas, initial machinery, materials and supplies were purchased to bring the project to where it is today so that we can move into production and marketing of the RST-PAL Pallets through ATP. RST will transfer all assets to ATP. These efforts include the issuance of USPTO #08/680,476 in July 2002, a Utility Patent that will protect the unique material, and the product, RST-PAL Pallets. All patent rights to manufacture and market the RST-PAL Pallets worldwide, are assigned in perpetuity to ATP by the inventor and ATP’s president, Dan Radke. The Company’s was formed as a Standard C Corporation under the laws of the State of Nevada. The principal offices are presently located in Las Vegas, NV. 2.1 Company Ownership Upon completion of the offering ATP a Nevada Corporation, will be owned by: The new investors (up to) – 35% ATP is offering 35% of its shares to raise $6 million as additional capital needed for starting the first plant (with two production lines), in Stamford, Texas. ATP National Headquarters is in Las Vegas, Nevada and sales representatives will be positioned in targeted marketing areas. The majority owner of RST Manufacturing LLC, is the inventor of the new material and the RST-PAL pallet, Mr. Dan R. Radke,  the President of ATP. The inventor, Dan Radke, has assigned all patent rights to ATP to manufacture and market the RST-PAL pallets worldwide in perpetuity. 2.2 Start-up Summary The following summary table shows the projected start-up costs during the seven months needed to get into production. It includes the supply of specific machinery and equipment needed for the production lines. The start-up costs are to be financed by the money raised through this Private Placement Memorandum Offer. The funds sought for opening the plant with two production lines is $6 million with projected net profits, in the first year of over $7 million. Alternatively, as a minimum plan, we could open with one line of production with funds of $4 million. In this case, the projected net profit, in the first year is over $3 million. In either case, about $750,000 will be available as working capital for the first six months of operations (after the plant is in production). Management expects to begin production in approximately 180-200 days from funding as detailed in the Start-Up table. Equipment and Machinery $3,827,800 Plant Improvements $200,000 LV Truck $3,000 Plant Vehicle $2,400 Start-up Requirements Start-up Expenses Legal $37,000 Fees & Commissions $720,000 Management (2) $117,300 Employee Salaries (office, plant, sales) $51,500 Consultants (up to 5) $57,000 Accounting $7,500 Travel (airfare/rentals/hotels, etc.) $75,000 Office supply & equipment $15,000 Insurance $7,500 Telephone $4,100 House Rental $3,000 Plant Utilities $4,000 Marketing $45,000 Expensed Office Equipment $15,000 Other (incl. overseas) $54,000 Total Start-up Expenses $1,212,900 Start-up Assets Cash Required $753,900 Start-up Inventory $0 Other Current Assets $0 Long-term Assets $4,033,200 Total Assets $4,787,100 Total Requirements $6,000,000 Start-up Funding Start-up Expenses to Fund $1,212,900 Start-up Assets to Fund $4,787,100 Total Funding Required $6,000,000 Assets Non-cash Assets from Start-up $4,033,200 Cash Requirements from Start-up $753,900 Additional Cash Raised $0 Cash Balance on Starting Date $753,900 Total Assets $4,787,100 Liabilities and Capital Liabilities Current Borrowing $0 Long-term Liabilities $0 Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills) $0 Other Current Liabilities (interest-free) $0 Total Liabilities $0 Capital Planned Investment P.P.M. Offering $6,000,000 Investor 2 $0 Other $0 Additional Investment Requirement $0 Total Planned Investment $6,000,000 Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses) ($1,212,900) Total Capital $4,787,100 Total Capital and Liabilities $4,787,100 Total Funding $6,000,000 ATP’s product – the RST-PAL pallet is a unique and revolutionary pallet made from a new, patent protected, material of recycled scrap tires, a small amount of recycled plastic and a bonding process. The function specifications of our pallets are identical to the existing wooden pallets (e.g. sizes, four ways entry, upper deck coverage etc.) except that RST-PAL pallets are much more durable and longer lasting which makes penetration into the existing markets less difficult. The patented process and product gives our RST-PAL pallets the following advantages over the existing pallets: RST-PAL pallets carry 15 times the load of a similar wood pallet. RST-PAL pallets are rackable, stackable, and longer lasting than wooden pallets. RST-PAL pallets do not absorb liquids and are easy to clean. RST-PAL pallets have NO competition. RST-PAL pallets are environmentally friendly and are, themselves, a recyclable product. RST-PAL pallets are made of recycled scrap tire rubber material using a newly patented process which includes rubber, recycled plastics, and a binder system. It is a rare occasion when a company can make a significant contribution to our environment as well as create an important long awaited product that will provide substantial cost savings for its users and allow them the opportunity to use and promote environmentally friendly, recycled products. According to the National Wooden Pallet Container Association (NWPCA), its Strategic Planning Committee suggests that its members educate pallet users toward using higher quality, reusable multi-trip pallets instead of cheaper single use pallets. From a list of 62 potential threats to the wooden pallet industry, the committee chose lumber supply/raw material availability as the top threat. Other top threats identified by the committee include frozen thinking on the part of the industry, demonstrated by an unwillingness to recognize or adapt to the new realities of the marketplace, and environmentalists, a threat recently demonstrated by the draft Executive Order which would have banned wood pallets from use by the Federal Government. A Clinton Administration Executive Order entitled “Federal Recycling, Acquisition and Use of Environmentally Preferable Products and Services” requires government agencies and those doing business under government contract to begin using “environmentally preferable” products made from recycled materials. Paul Evanko, principal and vice president, St. Orge Company, York, PA, stated, “Pallets must adhere to a high quality standard”. “Poor quality pallets carry a hidden cost beyond the price paid and customers should be encouraged to purchase the best quality they can”. “Alternative materials including plastic, recycled and composite materials will emerge and pallet users will seek these pallets because of limited storage space, efficient handling weight and full four-way entry,” Evanko contends. “Wood will still be predominant,” Evanko said, “but there is a niche for alternative materials in the distribution flows”. The Earth Works Group, Berkeley, CA states; “U.S. companies could be spending up to $1.75 billion dollars a year just to throw wooden pallets into landfills”. The Pallet Container Research Laboratory at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA states “calculations show the annual wooden pallet production in the U.S. is using in excess of 3.5 million trees”. 3.1 Innovative Technology Background  (*) A major technological obstacle, which the recycled rubber market must overcome, is the nature of the rubber itself. Rubber used in the manufacturing of tires is vulcanized (rubber + sulfur) combined in the presence of heat and thermo set (formed into shape by steam and pressure – also referred to as a “cured” product). To date, no technology has been able to devulcanize rubber (break the carbon-sulfur bonds). As such, thermo set rubber cannot chemically bond with any other polymer (rubber or plastic) to a degree anywhere approaching the uncured rubber. If, however current research is able to remove this obstacle, a very significant market will be opened.  (*) Scrap Tire Management Council, 1400 K Street, Washington, D.C. Current usage Today’s usage of scrap tire rubber reaches about 7% of the annually accumulated scrap tires. Each year, about 250 million scrap tires accumulate throughout the U.S. This quantity of tires represents 3.75 billion pounds of crumb rubber from which only 262 million pounds (7%) are recycled and another 187 million pounds (5%) are used as tire derived fuel (TDF), which is a dirty fuel like coal, and requires strict EPA controls, is only being burned in a few states. According to the Scrap Tire Management Council there were seven markets listed for recycled scrap tire rubber. These markets without exception utilize crumb rubber with all of the steel, wire, and textile removed, as an additive to rubber-modified asphalt (25%); pneumatic tires (25%); athletic fields (20%); bound rubber products (15%); friction material (5%); molded rubber products (5%); and molded rubber/plastic products (5%). The new technology and the patent Mr. Dan Radke has overcome the obstacle mentioned in the article, (para.1) above. Mr. Radke’s invention of this “unique new material” through formulation and different particle sized recycled scrap tire rubber has created a tough, durable, hard and rigid material from which RST-PAL pallets are manufactured. The process is absolutely unique as proven by the issue of the utility patent protecting the pallet and process of making thereof. This unique and strong material and the usage of it for making pallets will save pallet users throughout the world millions of dollars annually in costs associated with purchasing, repairing, replacing and discarding broken wooden pallets. Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan."> U.S. yearly consumption of pallets is 800 million a year, costing over $10 billion (according to National Wooden Pallet and Container Association). Our first market will be a 200 miles radius area around Dallas/Fort Worth in which the yearly consumption is 60 million pallets. Our markets for the RST-PAL pallets are all industries and users of pallets. About 300 interested users for our RST-PAL pallets (each of them buying over 100,000 pallets/yr) were contacted. RST-PAL pallets have the lowest life cycle cost compared to hard wood and plastic. Global Pallets leasing. Closed and open loop systems. Worldwide markets and licensing opportunities (Internationally patent protection filed). U.S. Defense and Transportation Departments market. U.S. government has mandated product replacement with recycled products. ATP’s target in the first year is to produce 1.14 million pallets with two lines of production (constitutes 0.15% of the market), reach sales of $22 million, and ATP projects to earn profits of over $8 million (before tax). The growth projection for the next five years is to add a new plant with two lines each year, reaching production in excess of six million pallets by the fifth year, (0.75% of the market), with sales projected at $143 million and profits before taxes of over $66 million. 4.1 Market Segmentation Due to the fact that ATP’s projected plan is to open a new plant each year over the next five years, and to capture 0.15% to 0.75% of the U.S. pallet market, our main growth problem will be the limited abilities to supply the potential demand. Although we segmented the market into six groups we cannot indicate the percentage of growth for each segment, as the growth is not linear. The percentage represents our relative emphasis of this segment. Yearly Pallet Users – Potential Customers Total Yearly Production 1,137,024 2,467,584 3,701,376 4,935,168 6,168960 % of the Pallet Market 0.143 0.308 0.463 0.617 0.771 Total: Five year production =18,410,112. % of the pallet market =0.46 Market Analysis Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Potential Customers Growth CAGR Up to 10,000 pallets yearly 5% 50,000 150,000 250,000 400,000 500,000 77.83% 10,000 – 50,000 pallets yearly 5% 100,000 200,000 450,000 450,000 500,000 49.53% 50,000 – 100,000 pallets yearly 10% 200,000 220,000 700,000 800,000 900,000 45.65% 100,000 – 250,000 pallets yearly 20% 250,000 500,000 700,000 1,000,000 1,250,000 49.53% 250,000 – 500,000 pallets yearly 25% 250,000 650,000 750,000 1,100,000 1,250,000 49.53% Over 500,000 pallets yearly 35% 287,024 747,584 851,376 1,185,168 1,768,960 57.56% Total 52.62% 1,137,024 2,467,584 3,701,376 4,935,168 6,168,960 52.62% 4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy The following table demonstrates the cost savings that will be realized when a company converts its wooden pallet inventory to RST-PAL pallets. Currently new hardwood pallets, (example: 40″x48″, four-way entry, 80% top deck coverage) are sold from $12 to $24 per pallet depending on the geographical area where you are purchasing your pallets, and the always fluctuating cost of hardwood. For the purpose of this chart we show the lowest price for large quantities of hardwood pallets at $10. CHEP Pallet, Inc., the largest pallet leasing company in the world currently pays $23.50 to construct its pallets.  A pallet user of 100,000 new pallets per year will be saving over $3 million within 5 years using our RST-PAL pallets. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total 5 year Company A buys 100,000 pallets/year @$10.00 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $5,000,000 Company B buys 100,000 RST-PAL pallets @$18.50 (One time purchase) $1,850,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 $1,850,000 The table demonstrates that big users will realize huge savings. For example, one poultry processing plant that purchases one million pallets per year (about the production of one ATP plant) will realize savings of over $31 million within five years which will encourage them to convert their wooden pallet inventory to RST-PAL pallets. 4.2.1 Sample of Advertisment Content RST-PAL PALLETS COMING SOON THE NEW SOLUTION TO COSTLY REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENT OF WOODEN PALLETS RST-PAL pallets are not affected by heat or cold. Won’t rot, split or mildew STRONG & IMPACT RESISTANT, No more rusty nails, splinters, broken boards and runners RST-PAL PALLETS are 100% Recyclable, made from post consumer waste. No disposal costs RST-PAL pallets, offering a new solution to an old problem RST-PAL pallets made from new tough materials = virtually indestructible. RST-PAL pallets are tougher, longer lasting pallets. Many years of repeated usage make RST-PAL pallets the best buy. Close your pallet repair facilities, our pallets don’t break. Stronger and more durable than wood or plastic. Easily trackable with bar coding or electronic chip. RECYCLE / RE-USE of RST-PAL pallets represents a great innovation to the pallet industry with a major cost savings. RST-PAL pallets address important environmental issues; help clean up America’s growing scrap tire problem and conserve valuable timber resources by using old tires to transport America’s commodities to consumers. 4.3 Industry Analysis The pallet industry’s computation of the cost of a pallet includes the costs of production, maintenance and repairs, and discarding of the broken pallet. In the last decade, materials other than wood were introduced to the pallet industry like plastic, metal and corrugated cardboard, but still over 90% remain wood. More than eight hundred million wooden pallets are constructed each year in the U.S., according to the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA). Most wooden pallets must be replaced or repaired after only one to two trips. It is estimated that over 3.5 million trees are used each year for pallet production, and most of these pallets end up in landfills, burned, or composted. For years pallet users have been asking NWPCA members to build stronger and more durable pallets that would last longer, but nothing has changed. Pallet manufacturers favor the ongoing replacement prevalent in the industry.   The Recycled Scrap Tire industry generates more than two hundred fifty million scrap tires annually in the United States, one scrap tire for every American. These scrap tires are piling up, adding to the existing stockpile of an estimated two to three billion scrap tires located across the nation causing dangerous environmental hazards. Most states have adopted emergency scrap tire programs to help solve the growing problem of accumulations of scrap tires. The state of Texas has a scrap tire program; collecting and processing more than two hundred thousand tons of scrap tire rubber annually. Currently Texas has more than three million tons of shredded scrap tire rubber on the ground, available to end-users. ATP with its RST-PAL pallet product will utilize Texas’ scrap tires to manufacture pallets at its first plant in Stamford, TX. The RST-PAL pallets will provide tough and durable pallets to pallet users while helping clean up the scrap tire problem. ATP’s patented material and the manufacturing process to make pallets from scrap tires is the ultimate solution to the problems presented above:  a) stronger and more durable pallets;  b) reducing scrap tire stockpiles;  c) saving trees. The use of  RST-PAL pallets provides an excellent cost effective price, competitive to hardwood pallet prices. The table in Topic 4.2 demonstrates the savings for a pallet user that purchases 100,000 pallets annually, when converting from wood to RST-PAL pallets. It shows savings over a five year period of more than $3 million. This saving comes on top of other benefits of using the RST-PAL pallets including: more durable and indestructible, carries 15 times the load of wooden pallets, rackable and stackable, will not absorb liquids (can be stored outside), and guaranteed for years. ATP’s first plant is located in Stamford, Texas, a rural community that is badly in need of economic development and new jobs. Stamford is approximately 150 miles from our first targeted marketing area the Dallas/Ft.Worth Metroplex. 4.3.1 Competition and Buying Patterns There is NO direct competition to RST-PAL pallets and no similar pallets exist today. The inventor, Dan Radke, has granted, in perpetuity, to ATP Corp the sole rights of utilizing the patent worldwide. This patent (USPTO # 08/680,476) gives very wide protection to the revolutionary invention of special material and to the process of making pallets. The “competition” comes from pallets made of other materials like wood and plastic. Pallet users that use hardwood pallets do not use pallets made of corrugated cardboard. The table below demonstrates the cost comparison among the different pallets: PALLET COST COMPARISONS – OVER 5 YEARS (in USD) Hardwood 12 – 24 120* 48 – 96 5 185 – 245 215 Plastic 39 – 89 0 156 – 356 5 200 – 450 325 RST-PAL 19 – 25 0 0 0 19 – 25 22 (*) Six repairs per year costing $4 each x 5 years. The table clearly shows that costs over five years of the hardwood pallet is almost ten times that of RST-PAL pallets. In addition to the savings, there are other advantages such as the guarantee, no need to repair, can be stored outside (no liquids are absorbed), washable (important in the food industry), rackable and stackable, strong and indestructible. Bar-coding and electronic chips can be molded into the pallet to allow for specific inventory information regarding what is loaded on the pallet and for tracking. There is no competition to RST-PAL pallets. There is no competitor making pallets from recycled rubber. ATP anticipates that our limited production will cause our five years expansion plan to be revised in order to meet the demand. Our first plant is expected to produce approximately 1.14 million pallets in the first year and 1.23 million from the second year forward. While the market for pallets is in excess of 800 million annually, ATP expects to capture about 0.15% of the market in the first year, and 0.75% after five years to meet our projections. This takes a great part of the risk out of the project. ATP has already explored opening a subsidiary company that will lease or lease to own pallets to companies. This will enable ATP to compete with CHEP Pallet Corporation, which leases wooden pallets. CHEP has about 300 branches in the U.S. and also operates in foreign countries. Leasing RST-PAL pallets would be very profitable, as our pallets do not require repairs. Strategy and Implementation Summary Due to the increased lifecycle and interchangeability of the RST-PAL pallets with existing wooden pallets, ATP’s customers derive value from utilizing these innovative products in a number of ways. First and foremost, using and replacing the user’s wooden pallet inventory with RST-PAL pallets eliminates ongoing maintenance and replacement costs. Another value is the longevity RST-PAL pallets offer. RST-PAL pallets have the longest life-cycle regardless of hot, cold, or wet climates or in environments where maintenance is difficult. RST-PAL Pallets will not rot, which is a common problem for wooden pallets. RST-PAL pallets are manufactured from recycled materials mainly scrap automotive tires. Each 1,000 pallets use 25 tons of scrap tires from landfills, (31,000 tons or 62,000 pounds per plant per year). RST-PAL pallets will help save hardwood forests currently used to manufacture wooden pallets, reduce greenhouse gases, use significant amounts of waste plastics and scrap tires from landfills and storage facilities, and reduce pallet users costs while increasing profits. 5.1 Competitive Edge ATP’s most important competitive edge is based on the unique and patented material used to manufacture the RST-PAL pallets. The process, the unique material, and the use of the material to manufacture pallets are protected by the issued utility patent that will prevent duplication or “copycat” competition. RST-PAL pallets are manufactured from recycled scrap tires. Federal law and most State Governments require agencies and contractors to purchase recycled products first, as mandated by “buy recycled products first”. ATP has already presented RST-PAL pallets to the Army, Air Force Exchange System, (AAFES) located in Texas and throughout the Pacific Rim, and AAFES is interested in purchasing pallets, which will increase their pallet lifecycle, which in the long run is less costly than wooden pallets. We will focus on different government agencies including the Department of Defense and Department of Transportation to introduce and market RST-PAL pallets. RST-PAL pallets can be power washed or steam cleaned which is a critical factor in the food industry, such as in poultry and meat processing plants, which must maintain sanitized production areas. RST-PAL pallets do not absorb liquids as wooden pallets and they can be stored outside without occupying expensive indoor space. The RST-PAL pallets are a “triple green” product. They are manufactured from recycled materials, and can be recycled in the event they ever wear out, and they will help conserve our nation’s forests while helping clean up America’s scrap tire problems. The RST-PAL pallets will be the best cost/performance pallets in the market. The summary of advantages that our pallets have in comparison to existing material pallets such as hardwood, plastic, corrugated cardboard, and aluminum, are: An electronic chip for pallet identification and load identification will be available with RST-PAL pallets, and this can be done because of the strength and rigidity of the pallet, which is practically indestructible. 5.2 Marketing Strategy The RST-PAL pallet is positioned uniquely as all industries and manufacturers use pallets to transport everything from commodities to equipment and parts. The main segmentation among the users is found in how they use pallets. The Power industry uses in excess of twenty million pallets annually, government owned poultry processing plants use more than ten million pallets annually, 3M Corporation purchased seven million pallets in one year alone, and the beverage industry uses in excess of fifty million pallets annually. There are also thousands of companies using anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of pallets annually including, chemical companies, bag cement, building materials, grocery, paint companies, and many others. Our first targeted customers are those that use a “closed loop” distribution system, where they manufacture and/or distribute products using their own fleet, where loaded pallets can be dropped and returned when unloaded, to be utilized over and over again. We also will target government entities, agencies, and contractors both Federal and State. Our marketing strategy is based on informing and introducing the RST-PAL pallet to pallet buyers across the country and in different industries. We can accomplish this at a rapid pace by showcasing the pallets at selected trade shows and conventions. Samples will be available as well as brochures and videotapes explaining the benefits of the RST-PAL pallet. Our first targeted marketing territory will be the Dallas/Ft.Worth Metroplex, concentrating on those companies using a “closed loop” system for distribution. The marketing will convey the advantages, benefits and the quality of our product in every picture, every promotion, and every publication. Pallet users have been screaming for years for the wooden pallet industry to make a longer lasting more durable pallet, but their request has fallen on deaf ears, as the pallet builders would rather build a less sturdy pallet so that it will fail after only a few trips, requiring the customer to purchase more pallets. The RST-PAL pallet is a solution to the high cost of purchasing, maintaining and discarding wooden pallets. Our marketing efforts will not only focus on educating purchasing agents of companies, but also in making presentations to company board of directors, demonstrating the cost savings and benefits of using RST-PAL pallets. As was shown in a previous example, a company purchasing 100,000 pallets per year when converting to RST-PAL pallets will save in excess of $3 million over five years. With such convincing statistics, we anticipate universal acceptance of RST-PAL pallets. 5.3 Sales Strategy As stated, ATP will sell pallets as they are manufactured. Pre-production marketing efforts have been on going for the last year. We have established a sales plan, however our production will dictate how quickly our sales team will expand. One company we have contacted expects to purchase 22 million pallets during the next two years. If we were to capture a large contract, our production schedule would be sold out for a number of years. Another sales company that markets products exclusively to the power industry, would like to have an exclusive to sell our pallets to power companies, and they estimate they can sell a minimum of 1.2 million pallets annually. We have approached many companies on the benefits of using RST-PAL pallets, including; 3-M Corporation, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Snapple, Anhauser Busch, Hunts Wesson, Kraft Foods, S.E. Rycoff, Albertsons, Kroger Foods, Associated Foods, H.E.B. Foods, Purina Pet Foods, manufacturers of charcoal briquettes, flour and cereal mills, salt processors, building materials, including bagged sand and cement, plaster and even chemical companies. Our concept is to introduce the RST-PAL pallets to many industries, and ATP will do that from our National Marketing Headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority will provide a great arena in which to showcase and demonstrate the RST-PAL pallets, as virtually every important convention and trade show now meets in Las Vegas. This business plan calls for the company to grow itself. The Texas plant will be the first, and we expect new plants to be opened in years two, three, four and five. Some future plant site work has been completed, however we will locate the plants in States with positive scrap tire programs, some of which may provide subsidies for using scrap tire rubber to manufacture new products. In addition, our company policy will be to establish plants near massive scrap tire piles, and in rural communities where a good labor force exists but jobs are not plentiful and economic development will benefit the community. ATP Corp. is the worldwide licensee to manufacture and market pallets. We have already had several foreign entities show interest in either becoming distributors or manufacturers through a foreign license arrangement. We have held discussions with a group from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Africa and are in contact with a group in Spain that is interested in our technology. It is our intent to move our Stamford, TX plant into full production, and utilize the same team of key employees and consultants to open new plants over the next five years. Whereas our Business Plan provides for future plants being financed internally from company profits, additional capital can be raised through the licensing of foreign companies wishing to manufacture and market pallets in those countries. 5.3.1 Sales Forecast Our sales forecast is based on the following assumptions. We expect our production will be sold as soon as it is ready, as the forecasted production is much less than the anticipated demand. Our product is not seasonal and will be continually manufactured throughout the year. We will operate in three shifts (except during training in first two months). Our sales force will start taking orders sixty days prior to production. The initial selling price is low in order to introduce the pallets to many different manufacturers and industries. However we expect to raise prices at the rate of 5% per year (which is less than the rate of increase of the wooden pallets). Regarding the “direct cost of sales” (COG), we assume the costs of materials will remain the same for us, due to discounts we will receive for the quantities of materials that we consume which should offset rising costs. We can also reduce our costs by doing some manufacturing processes ourselves, such as mixing and batching the binders at our plant, and by cutting the scrap tire rubber from chips to our required specifications. We’ve calculated production labor costs, including salaries, taxes, and benefits to be $1.31 per pallet. The break down of production personnel is presented in the Personnel table, Production Personnel category, and the resultant figures appear in the Profit and Loss table under Sales, Production Payroll. The Sales Forecast table for the first 12 months appears in the appendix. Sales Forecast Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Sales RST-PAL pallets $21,034,944 $47,932,819 $75,494,190 $105,691,866 $138,720,574 Subsidies $852,768 $1,850,688 $2,776,032 $3,701,376 $4,626,720 Total Sales $21,887,712 $49,783,507 $78,270,222 $109,393,242 $143,347,294 Direct Cost of Sales Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Recycled Rubber $1,421,305 $3,084,480 $4,626,720 $6,168,960 $7,711,200 Recycled Plastic $1,023,341 $2,220,826 $3,331,238 $4,441,651 $5,552,064 Binders System $7,390,786 $16,039,296 $24,058,944 $32,078,592 $40,098,240 Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales $9,835,432 $21,344,602 $32,016,902 $42,689,203 $53,361,504 5.3.2 Pallet Users PALLET USERS, Dallas / FT. Worth Area ANNUAL PALLET USAGE.   The following list of pallet users was contacted and the new  RST-PAL Pallet was introduced to each user, receiving excellent interest. Another 22 users were also visited. The Total yearly estimated usage of pallets in the DFW area is 60 million. American Home Food 185,000 Paris Business Forms 25,000 Purina Mills Inc. 180,000 Texas Ready Mix 55,000 S.E. Raycoff & Co. 130,000 Dr. Pepper 300,000 Pepsico 75,000 Coca-Cola bottling 130,000 Winn-Dixie 130,000 Miller Brewing Co. 95,000 Dannon Yogurt 45,000 Ardmore Food 20,000 Mrs. Crocketts 15,000 Champion Dairy Pack 25,000 Bunge Foods 60,000 DAP Inc. 9,000 K-Klean Chemicals Co. 22,000 HPC Lab. 40,000 First Food Inc. 11,000 Featherlite Build Prod. 55,000 DSC Inc 10,000 Dal-Tile Corp 20,000 Dallas City Packing 8,000 Borden Inc. 30,000 Athena Products 16,000 Ashland Chemical 39,000 Americana Inc. 45,000 Texas Instruments 130,000 Speaco Foods 17,000 State Fair Foods 78,000 Quaker Oats 345,000 Bartush-Shnltfu 7,000 AutoWax 10,000 Frito Lay 55,000 Pilgrims Pride 35,000 Oakfarm Dairies 30,000 Builders Concrete 15,000 Hardros Chemicals 50,000 GAF Corp. 60,000 Alpine Frozen 50,000 PALLET USERS, HOUSTON Area General Foods Mfg 91,000 Gardner Asphalt Corp. 60,000 Fastner Mfg. Co. 30,000 Erie Mfg.Corp. 70,000 Ella Crew Production 40,000 Distribution Int’l 100,000 Diamond-Kuhn Paint    40,000 L&H Packing 60,000 Lone Star Brewing 435,000 CSA Ltd. Inc 90,000 Uncle Ben’s 325,000 Vaneco Products 20,000 Cal-Tex Citrus 20,000 Corev America 10,000 Cordell Brick 50,000 Champion Coating 40,000 Colorex Co. 130,000 Celotex Corp. 260,000 Cellcote Co. 10,000 BTL Speciality Resins 40,000 BJ Industrial 20,000 Baby’s Natural 20,000 Amy’s Foods 30,000 American Rice 110,000 Advetech Int. 20,000 Adams Valves 30,000 Anheuser Busch 100,000 5.4 Milestones The following table lists important project milestones during the pre-production start-up period, with dates and managers in charge, and budgets for each milestone. The milestone schedule indicates our emphasis on planning for implementation. The production schedule is based on three shifts. During the first month only one shift will be in operation, in the second month, two shifts, and from the third month, a full three shifts of production. During the start-up period, the employees will be located and trained. The municipality of Stamford, Texas will assist us in recruiting about seventy employees. There is an adequate work force within the surrounding communities, which will enable us to choose quality people. Milestones Milestone Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department Updating the Business Plan 5/1/2003 5/31/2003 $1,000 Radke-Banensohn Management Secure the funds – PPM 6/1/2003 7/31/2003 $70,000 Radke-Banensohn Management Site selection 1/2/2003 4/15/2003 $0 Radke-Banensohn Management Plant improvement 8/1/2003 11/30/2003 $200,000 TBA Operations Legal Agreements 5/1/2003 12/31/2003 $37,000 Lyne Rushforth Legal Accounting system 5/1/2003 12/31/2003 $7,500 Richard Dickinson Accounting Ordering equipment 7/15/2003 8/15/2003 $3,827,800 Radke-Banensohn Management Testing the production line 12/15/2003 12/31/2003 $7,000 Richard Turner Consultant Consult. – Government affairs 8/1/2003 12/31/2003 $10,000 Shayne Del Cohen Consultant Consult. – Advert. & Marketing 8/1/2003 12/31/2003 $10,000 William Welter Consultant Consult. – Machinery acquisition 7/15/2003 8/15/2003 $10,000 Gene Pitzer Consultant Consult. – Machinery line stand-up 12/1/2003 12/31/2003 $10,000 Richard Turner Consultant Consult. – Binder system 8/1/2003 11/30/2003 $10,000 Steven Garbukas Consultant Totals $4,200,300 Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans."> THE MANAGEMENT TEAM ATP’s management team and its consultants are qualified professionals with vast experience with plant installation and operations, purchasing and marketing. ATP’s consultants will be employed during the start-up period (see Start-up table). ATP welcomes any additional person from our investor’s group that can contribute to the success of the company. Dan R. Radke, President:    SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS Dan Radke, the inventor of the unique material for making the RST-PAL Pallets, has been involved in scrap tire recycling issues for ten years by offering his expertise to government agencies, municipalities, individuals and companies wishing to enter the emerging scrap tire recycling industry, Radke has earned a reputation for his knowledge of the scrap tire industry. Assisted States, Counties and Municipalities to remediate scrap tire problems. Contributed to California Integrated Waste Management Board to develop rules, regulations and guidelines for the States scrap tire program. Process, technology inventor, business owner and manager, sales, marketing, production line machinery and equipment, business operations, training and management More than 30 years owning and operating start-up companies. Three years, international business transactions, as a consultant bringing American Companies to Eastern Europe, primarily Hungary to form U.S./Hungarian Joint Ventures. Authored the Hungarian Small Business Foundation to establish loan guarantees for privatization and start up Hungarian Small Businesses, working directly with the Hungarian Banks and Government. Eliezer Banensohn, Vice President:     SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS Aeronautical Engineer – B.Sc. degree. Experience in R & D for new products. 12 years extensive experience as an expert in marketing of new and revolutionary products in new markets. Eight years experience as a specialist in putting up new franchise organizations and licensing operations. Won prizes for best business in South-Africa and Argentina (as VP Marketing & Engineering). Participated, in engineering capacity, in the development and marketing of revolutionary advanced building system – “Domecrete” in many countries worldwide. Participated, in engineering capacity, in the development of Hi-Tech product (Baby-Sense S.I.D.S. detector, medical industry). Plant design and Manufacturing experience in plastic, rubber, and metal products, injection molds and machinery. Inventor and patent owner for the product “non-electrical hand operated washing machine”. 25 years experience as computer software and hardware analyst. 15 years experience in marketing software and hardware computer systems. Owned several computer service bureaus using IBM mainframe Shayne Del Cohen, (Consultant) Public Relations, Government Affairs Business and economic development, government relations, grant writing, bid preparation, business trade representations, lobbying, employee relations, training and staff planning. Gene Pitzer, (Consultant) Machinery & Equipment Acquisitions Contract acquisition for machinery and equipment for Stamford, Texas plant, 25 years experience, retired No.1 tool and die manager for General Motors, Owner; Tool Consulting Corporation, developed tire recycling machinery. Steven Garbukas, (Consultant) Chemical, Epoxy Binder Systems Acquisitions Contract acquisition for all special binder systems developed by Dan Radke and Steven Garbukas, source and supply plants with materials at best possible price, provide all injection and delivery systems to material during batching. Richard Turner, (Consultant) Machinery and Equipment Line Standup, Plant Engineer Supervise and install all production line machinery and equipment at the first plant, in Stamford, Texas and all subsequent plants. Initial plant manager, over production and safety, will train employees, including plant manager. Layne T. Rushforth, (Attorney) Richard Dickinson, (CPA) * (Resumes of any of the above people are available on request.) 6.1 Personnel Plan Our first plant will be located in Stamford, Texas, a rural area close to a large metropolitan city, where large scrap tire stockpiles are located within less than one mile of our plant. The area has a large workforce in desperate need of jobs, which will help ATP recruit qualified and devoted workers, that will be paid more than the average wages for this area, which are less than in more populated areas. The direct labor cost shows that each plant will require approximately 70 workers in three shifts. The team for the first manufacturing plant is currently being interviewed with the help of Stamford’s Mayor and City Manager. The Personnel table shows the position and salary of the 68 employees that will work in three shifts of eight hours each. Production is based on seven working hours with one hour budgeted for maintenance and crew change. To facilitate training, during the first month one shift will be in operation, in the second month, two shifts and from the third month forward the plant will operate at full production capacity with three shifts. The Profit & Loss table shows the payroll burden as 23% of the salary, which covers the taxes and benefits for the employees. No increase in wages and salaries have been forecasted, however, it is assumed that as the company grows, employees will receive increases in their wages, salaries and benefits. The Personnel table shows the direct and active involvement of the company President (the inventor) and the V.P. in all stages of the start up, purchasing of the machinery and running the business. The team includes highly qualified professionals as consultants in different areas that will enable a smooth and efficient entry to production. As the projected expansion takes place, ATP will begin a search for highly qualified management candidates that will manage the company in the future. ATP will also investigate foreign licensing that will bring additional revenue streams to the company. ATP’s V.P. has already made contacts with foreign entities and has found great interest from foreign companies. Elie (VP) spearheads negotiations for foreign licensing and manufacturing. The Personnel table for the first 12 months appears in the appendix. Personnel Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Production Personnel Texas plant manager $48,000 $96,000 $144,000 $192,000 $240,000 Texas office worker $14,400 $28,800 $43,200 $57,600 $72,000 Receptionist (x2) $23,920 $49,920 $74,880 $99,840 $124,800 Data entry (x1) $12,480 $24,960 $37,440 $49,920 $62,400 Foreman (x3) $75,600 $172,800 $259,200 $345,600 $432,000 Line operator (x6) $113,256 $247,104 $370,656 $494,208 $617,760 Loader (x6) $99,528 $217,152 $325,728 $434,304 $542,880 Batcher (x6) $102,960 $224,640 $336,960 $449,280 $561,600 Conveyer worker (x12) $178,464 $389,376 $584,064 $778,752 $973,440 Assembly lead (x4) $66,352 $144,768 $217,152 $289,536 $361,920 Assembly helper (x4) $59,488 $129,792 $194,688 $259,584 $324,480 Cutter (x12) $211,120 $434,304 $651,456 $868,608 $1,085,760 Forklift operator (x6) $105,560 $217,152 $325,728 $434,304 $542,880 Maint. Supervisor $18,720 $37,440 $56,160 $74,880 $93,600 Maint. helper (x3) $44,616 $97,344 $146,016 $194,688 $243,360 Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $1,174,464 $2,511,552 $3,767,328 $5,023,104 $6,278,880 Sales and Marketing Personnel Marketing Director $51,000 $60,000 $72,000 $84,000 $84,000 Marketing Secretary $25,200 $30,000 $36,000 $36,000 $36,000 Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $76,200 $90,000 $108,000 $120,000 $120,000 General and Administrative Personnel President – Dan Radke $90,000 $120,000 $144,000 $180,000 $180,000 Vice Pres. – Elie Banenson $85,000 $114,000 $138,000 $174,000 $174,000 Office Manager $37,800 $42,000 $48,000 $48,000 $48,000 Receptionist (x2) $27,000 $40,800 $40,800 $48,000 $48,000 Office workers (x2) $0 $36,000 $48,000 $48,000 $48,000 Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $239,800 $352,800 $418,800 $498,000 $498,000 Other Personnel Name or Title $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Name or Title $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total People 75 145 213 281 349 Total Payroll $1,490,464 $2,954,352 $4,294,128 $5,641,104 $6,896,880 Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan ."> The projected financial plan is very sound. The one-time investment gives ATP the ability to take 50% of the profits (after tax) as dividends at the end of year two and to self fund expansion by one additional plant per year. The projected cash flow is outstanding and will enable ATP to be even more aggressive in our expansion plans. As mentioned throughout this Business Plan, each plant will produce a maximum of 100,000 pallets per month, which is very low in comparison to the demand for pallets. (800 million pallets divide by 12 gives approximately an average of 67 million pallets per month sold in the U.S.) In addition to the expansion within the U.S., overseas licensing projects will be developed, from which we will create additional revenue streams through licensing fees, royalties, and other contractual payments. ATP may also enter into other joint ventures or partnerships to license other entities to manufacture and market RST-PAL pallets not only in the U.S. but also worldwide. The last two sources of income are not included in the financial forecast and do not appear in the tables. 7.1 Important Assumptions The financial plan based on important assumptions, detailed in the following statements: Due to the initial limited production in comparison to the market size, ATP assumes that even a slow-growth economy, will not affect our plan for the next five years. ATP forecasts that there would be no unforeseen changes in technology to make our products obsolete. Pallet buyers are looking for cost effective solutions for replacing the high cost of purchasing, repairing, and discarding wooden pallets and RST-PAL pallets offer the solution by providing a longer lasting more durable pallet. Cash flow is not expected to be a problem, with most pallets being paid for on delivery. There will be exceptions for specific customers, as an example, the U.S. Government, based on the quantity of pallets that are ordered, but generally, payments for pallets will be paid in full upon delivery. ATP’s growth is based on internal financial resources. ATP will budget 50% for growth and 50% from the profits as dividends after taxes (from year two forward and as long as it does not affect the planned growth of the company). The source of raw material (scrap tires) is virtually endless as long as cars continue to roll on tires. Presently, 250 million tires are added each year to  scrap tire stockpiles all over the country. ATP assumes a short holding of inventory beyond the curing time of the pallets and transportation arrangements. ATP assumes a 5% annual raise in our selling price, which is comparable to the wooden pallet industry and fluctuating lumber costs.  ATP assumes no raise in our material costs, because the quantities we purchase will increase, and ATP anticipates discounts to offset any increased costs. ATP assumes an average sales price per pallet in the first year of production to be $18.50, which is significantly less costly than hardwood pallets whose entire cost includes purchase, repair, maintenance, and discard/disposal. General Assumptions Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Plan Month 1 2 3 4 5 Current Interest Rate 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Long-term Interest Rate 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Tax Rate 33.67% 34.00% 33.67% 34.00% 33.67% Other 0 0 0 0 0 7.2 Break-even Analysis This break-even analysis shows that ATP has budgeted fixed costs and projects sufficient sales to maintain good cash flow balances. This projection is based on two production lines. The essential insight here is that ATP’s projected sales levels will be running comfortably above the break-even point. Break-even Analysis Monthly Revenue Break-even $357,289 Assumptions: Average Percent Variable Cost 45% Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost $196,738 7.3 Projected Profit and Loss NOTES TO PROJECTED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTE 1 – MATERIALS COST The raw materials, recycled scrap tire rubber, will be provided on an as needed basis. No large stockpiles of material or inventories of recycled rubber shall be stored at the manufacturing site. The main ingredient of an RST-PAL pallet is recycled scrap tire rubber that has been processed to specific dimensions. There is three million tons of scrap tire shredded rubber on the ground in Texas with ten permitted processors or tire shredders, which want to provide material to ATP. ATP will purchase scrap tire rubber from a Stamford, Texas processor, and has estimated the cost of material at $1.25/pallet ($50 per ton). It should be noted that ATP is working closely with the Texas Natural Resource and Conservation Commission and ATP may even have an opportunity to acquire surplus scrap tire rubber for less costs. Texas now produces approximately 200,000 tons of scrap tire rubber annually. In addition, the current Texas Legislature is considering paying manufacturers of products using recycled scrap tire rubber, $0.75 per pallet ($30 per ton) as an incentive to increase production of products using scrap tire rubber. A small amount of recycled plastic is utilized in the formula and its cost is estimated at $0.90 per pallet. In addition a secret formulated binder, developed by the inventor Dan Radke, is used in the manufacture of the pallets, estimated to cost $6.50 per pallet. NOTE 2 – DIRECT LABOR (Production Payroll) and PAYROLL BURDEN Projected Direct Labor includes the salary and wages for those employees directly involved in the pallet production process in the plant and is reflected in Topic 6.1. Payroll burden is estimated at 23% (FICA 6.20%; Medicare 1.45%; FUTA .80%; State Unemployment 3.00%; Workers Compensation and Employee Health Benefits 11.55%). The total Direct Labor cost includes payroll burden and other direct costs such as utilities, building repairs and maintenance, plus plant supplies estimated at 5%. The total for direct labor cost and payroll burden per pallet is estimated at $1.31. NOTE 3 – ROYALTIES The Licensing Agreement requires payment of 5% of gross sales to Mr. Radke, the inventor, as royalties. This may be paid quarterly or monthly (5% has been used throughout these projections). There will be no royalties for the first six months of production to help the cash flow of the company. NOTE 4 -GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE WAGES AND PAYROLL BURDEN The company will employ Management and clerical staff as appears in the Personnel table, Topic 6.1. Additional management members and marketing representatives will be added as needed throughout the growth of the company. Payroll burden estimated at 23% including taxes, W/C, health and employee benefits. During the six-month start-up phase and thereafter, the company will employ experts in the industry as consultants. NOTE 5 – DEPRECIATION Machinery and equipment is being depreciated over 10 years, property over 30 years. NOTE 6 – OFFICE EXPENSES Provision has been made for estimated general office expenses. Computers and office equipment costing $15,000 is included in the initial start-up budget and Expensed Equipment. The amount budgeted for Year One is $12,000, which will increase at the rate of $12,000 per year with each additional plant. NOTE 7 – MARKETING and SALES Management anticipates strong demand for the RST-PAL pallets creating a real challenge for production to keep up with the demand. Back orders are expected and sales on advanced production should drive expansion. With many potential pallet users identified, who currently use from 100,000 to 7 million pallets annually, we will approach the expansion of our national sales force, carefully. ATP does not want a large sales force with production sold out for months in advance. A budget in this category will be used for sales representatives or commissions on sales and is budgeted at $73,000 during year one. Based on attendance at conventions and trade shows it is anticipated that our targeted Dallas – Fort Worth Metropolis, Houston, San Antonio and the rest of Texas will absorb all our production for many years. A Marketing Director shall develop goals and strategies with the board of directors. ATP plans to hire a qualified director in year one. Sales representatives will be hired and it is anticipated they will receive a base salary with commissions of ten cents per pallet sold. The budget takes these assumptions into consideration. NOTE 8 – MACHINERY MAINTENANCE The initial production line machinery will be in good working order, nevertheless, ATP will plan for parts maintenance and replacement. This budget grows as more machinery and plants are established. NOTE 9 – TAXES The “taxes incurred” appearing in the P&L represents State of Texas Franchise taxes and Federal Income Taxes for a total of 34%. The Profit and Loss table for the first 12 months appears in the appendix. Pro Forma Profit and Loss Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Sales $21,887,712 $49,783,507 $78,270,222 $109,393,242 $143,347,294 Direct Cost of Sales $9,835,432 $21,344,602 $32,016,902 $42,689,203 $53,361,504 Production Payroll $1,174,464 $2,511,552 $3,767,328 $5,023,104 $6,278,880 Other Costs of Goods $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Cost of Sales $11,009,896 $23,856,154 $35,784,230 $47,712,307 $59,640,384 Gross Margin $10,877,816 $25,927,353 $42,485,992 $61,680,935 $83,706,910 Gross Margin % 49.70% 52.08% 54.28% 56.38% 58.39% Operating Expenses Sales and Marketing Expenses Sales and Marketing Payroll $76,200 $90,000 $108,000 $120,000 $120,000 Advertising/Promotion $73,000 $120,000 $120,000 $180,000 $180,000 Royalties $578,090 $2,489,175 $3,913,511 $5,469,662 $7,167,365 Other Sales and Marketing Expenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Sales and Marketing Expenses $727,290 $2,699,175 $4,141,511 $5,769,662 $7,467,365 Sales and Marketing % 3.32% 5.42% 5.29% 5.27% 5.21% General and Administrative Expenses General and Administrative Payroll $239,800 $352,800 $418,800 $498,000 $498,000 Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses $681,090 $2,669,175 $4,123,511 $5,769,662 $7,497,365 Depreciation $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Rent $60,000 $120,000 $240,000 $360,000 $480,000 Office Expenses $12,000 $24,000 $36,000 $48,000 $60,000 Accounting $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000 Legal $12,000 $24,000 $36,000 $48,000 $60,000 Travel $48,000 $72,000 $96,000 $120,000 $144,000 Insurance (property & casualty) $12,000 $24,000 $36,000 $48,000 $60,000 Payroll Taxes & Benefits Payroll Burden $388,680 $544,644 $647,964 $760,140 $760,140 Other General and Administrative Expenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total General and Administrative Expenses $1,483,570 $3,870,619 $5,684,275 $7,711,802 $9,629,505 General and Administrative % 6.78% 7.77% 7.26% 7.05% 6.72% Other Expenses: Other Payroll $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Consultants $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Machine Maintenance $30,000 $60,000 $90,000 $120,000 $150,000 Miscellaneous Expenses $120,000 $250,000 $350,000 $500,000 $500,000 Total Other Expenses $150,000 $310,000 $440,000 $620,000 $650,000 Other % 0.69% 0.62% 0.56% 0.57% 0.45% Total Operating Expenses $2,360,860 $6,879,794 $10,265,786 $14,101,464 $17,746,870 Profit Before Interest and Taxes $8,516,956 $19,047,559 $32,220,206 $47,579,471 $65,960,040 EBITDA $8,516,956 $19,047,559 $32,220,206 $47,579,471 $65,960,040 Interest Expense $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Taxes Incurred $2,886,463 $6,476,170 $10,847,469 $16,177,020 $22,206,547 Net Profit $5,630,493 $12,571,389 $21,372,737 $31,402,451 $43,753,493 Net Profit/Sales 25.72% 25.25% 27.31% 28.71% 30.52% 7.4 Projected Cash Flow The table presents our projected cash flow balances. The critical first year reflects positive cash flow. Monthly cash flow is positive and more important the balances are positive, which indicates adequate financial reserves and correct planning of the required working capital. The estimated results permit a margin of error and still appear strong, even though the numbers remain conservative. ATP intends to distribute dividends to its shareholders in a way that will enable the continuation of the expansion of the company according to this Business Plan. ATP estimates that from year two forward 50% of the profit (after tax) will be distributed to the shareholders. The Board of Directors will determine any other distributions to be made on an annual basis. The following chart shows the cash availability for the next 12 months. The bar labeled “Cash Balance” shows our projected cash balance for the first 12 months of the project and it is adequate (above zero). The second set of bars, labeled “Net Cash Flow”, indicates the change in the Cash Balance for each month. Pro Forma Cash Flow Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Cash Received Cash from Operations Cash Sales $21,887,712 $49,783,507 $78,270,222 Cash from Receivables $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Cash from Operations $21,887,712 $49,783,507 $78,270,222 Additional Cash Received Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received $0 $0 $0 New Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0 New Other Liabilities (interest-free) $0 $0 $0 New Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0 Sales of Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0 Sales of Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0 New Investment Received $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Cash Received $21,887,712 $49,783,507 $78,270,222 Expenditures Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Expenditures from Operations Cash Spending $1,490,464 $2,954,352 $4,294,128 Bill Payments $14,351,974 $33,925,603 $52,184,825 Subtotal Spent on Operations $15,842,438 $36,879,955 $56,478,953 Additional Cash Spent Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out $0 $0 $0 Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0 Other Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0 Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0 Purchase Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0 Purchase Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0 Dividends $0 $6,514,868 $10,916,680 Subtotal Cash Spent $15,842,438 $43,394,823 $67,395,633 Net Cash Flow $6,045,274 $6,388,684 $10,874,589 Cash Balance $6,799,174 $13,187,858 $24,062,447 7.5 Projected Balance Sheet The Projected annual financial balances are shown in the following table. The balances for the first 12 months are presented in the appendix. Pro Forma Balance Sheet Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Assets Current Assets Cash $6,799,174 $13,187,858 $24,062,447 $39,743,579 $61,596,477 Accounts Receivable $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Inventory $997,477 $2,164,698 $3,247,047 $4,538,189 $5,946,776 Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Current Assets $7,796,650 $15,352,557 $27,309,494 $44,281,768 $67,543,253 Long-term Assets Long-term Assets $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 Accumulated Depreciation $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Long-term Assets $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 Total Assets $11,829,850 $19,385,757 $31,342,694 $48,314,968 $71,576,453 Liabilities and Capital Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Current Liabilities Accounts Payable $1,412,258 $2,911,643 $4,412,524 $6,052,671 $7,734,699 Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Other Current Liabilities $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Current Liabilities $1,412,258 $2,911,643 $4,412,524 $6,052,671 $7,734,699 Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Liabilities $1,412,258 $2,911,643 $4,412,524 $6,052,671 $7,734,699 Paid-in Capital $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 Retained Earnings ($1,212,900) ($2,097,275) ($442,566) $4,859,846 $14,088,260 Earnings $5,630,493 $12,571,389 $21,372,737 $31,402,451 $43,753,493 Total Capital $10,417,593 $16,474,114 $26,930,170 $42,262,297 $63,841,753 Total Liabilities and Capital $11,829,850 $19,385,757 $31,342,694 $48,314,968 $71,576,453 Net Worth $10,417,593 $16,474,114 $26,930,170 $42,262,297 $63,841,753 7.6 Business Ratios Business ratios for the years of this plan are shown below. Industry profile ratios based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 2448, Wood Pallets and Skids, are the closest available and are shown for comparison. ATP’s patented technologies are so new, that there is no SIC code that directly applies. Ratio Analysis Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Industry Profile Sales Growth 0.00% 127.45% 57.22% 39.76% 31.04% -5.69% Percent of Total Assets Accounts Receivable 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 25.59% Inventory 8.43% 11.17% 10.36% 9.39% 8.31% 22.80% Other Current Assets 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 20.32% Total Current Assets 65.91% 79.20% 87.13% 91.65% 94.37% 68.71% Long-term Assets 34.09% 20.80% 12.87% 8.35% 5.63% 31.29% Total Assets 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% Current Liabilities 11.94% 15.02% 14.08% 12.53% 10.81% 29.14% Long-term Liabilities 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 18.37% Total Liabilities 11.94% 15.02% 14.08% 12.53% 10.81% 47.51% Net Worth 88.06% 84.98% 85.92% 87.47% 89.19% 52.49% Percent of Sales Sales 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% Gross Margin 49.70% 52.08% 54.28% 56.38% 58.39% 24.90% Selling, General & Administrative Expenses 24.02% 26.83% 27.11% 27.68% 28.03% 13.13% Advertising Expenses 0.33% 0.24% 0.15% 0.16% 0.13% 0.37% Profit Before Interest and Taxes 38.91% 38.26% 41.17% 43.49% 46.01% 3.19% Main Ratios Current 5.52 5.27 6.19 7.32 8.73 2.13 Quick 4.81 4.53 5.45 6.57 7.96 1.23 Total Debt to Total Assets 11.94% 15.02% 14.08% 12.53% 10.81% 7.55% Pre-tax Return on Net Worth 81.76% 115.62% 119.64% 112.58% 103.32% 51.16% Pre-tax Return on Assets 72.00% 98.26% 102.80% 98.48% 92.15% 15.47% Additional Ratios Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Net Profit Margin 25.72% 25.25% 27.31% 28.71% 30.52% n.a Return on Equity 54.05% 76.31% 79.36% 74.30% 68.53% n.a Activity Ratios Accounts Receivable Turnover 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 n.a Collection Days 0 0 0 0 0 n.a Inventory Turnover 10.91 13.50 11.83 10.97 10.18 n.a Accounts Payable Turnover 11.16 12.17 12.17 12.17 12.17 n.a Payment Days 27 22 25 26 27 n.a Total Asset Turnover 1.85 2.57 2.50 2.26 2.00 n.a Debt Ratios Debt to Net Worth 0.14 0.18 0.16 0.14 0.12 n.a Current Liab. to Liab. 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 n.a Liquidity Ratios Net Working Capital $6,384,393 $12,440,914 $22,896,970 $38,229,097 $59,808,553 n.a Interest Coverage 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 n.a Additional Ratios Assets to Sales 0.54 0.39 0.40 0.44 0.50 n.a Current Debt/Total Assets 12% 15% 14% 13% 11% n.a Acid Test 4.81 4.53 5.45 6.57 7.96 n.a Sales/Net Worth 2.10 3.02 2.91 2.59 2.25 n.a Dividend Payout 0.00 0.52 0.51 0.51 0.51 n.a 7.7 Long-term Plan In addition to the enclosed financial information contained in this Business Plan, ATP would like to make the following observations that were not emphasized in this Business Plan: The Business Plan covers five years of activities. We consider the financial projections in the Business Plan as conservative. As an example; since July 2002, (the date the patent was issued), ATP’s Vice President, Elie Banensohn has traveled to several European countries and has met with representatives of companies from the Far East. These companies recognize the value of RST-PAL pallets and have shown an interest in licensing the technology in order to manufacture and market the pallets in their countries (in some cases with our participation). The Business Plan does not include any income from licensing fees or royalties from foreign entities. Scrap tire problems exists everywhere and is even more acute in Europe and the Far East as they have less space for storage and less scrap tire processing technology than the U.S. Revenues include some benefits from State or Federal level subsidies or grants for helping to clean up scrap tire problems, which are available. There are States that are offering participation in funding new companies using scrap tire rubber. ATP and its Board of Directors believe that demand for RST-PAL pallets may cause expansion plans to be reviewed and changed, assuming demand will be high. After initial exposure of RST-PAL pallets to the market, additional plants may need to be installed sooner than the company growth plan calls for. As previously mentioned, a division or subsidiary of ATP will be proposed to manage the pallet leasing aspect of sales, which will afford pallet users the option to change over their entire inventories of wooden pallets to RST pallets on a “lease to purchase” plan. ATP anticipates substantial revenues and success in the pallet leasing market. 1. Why did you choose Stamford, Texas as your first location? One of the largest piles of shredded scrap tires in Texas is located in Stamford. The quantities of raw material in this pile are enough for ten years of full production. The state of Texas pays for making final products from the scrapped tires about $30 per ton (approximately $0.75 per pallet). In the area of DFW (about a radius of 150 miles around) the yearly consumption of new pallets is about sixty million. The local municipality is very helpful. Rural America has unemployment problems. Therefore the local authorities have offered to subsidize the plant for our production lines, by enabling us to use a new existing building of 60,000 sq.ft. with all the facilities including: offices, rest rooms, electricity, air conditioning, boiler system etc. and the property is located on seven acres with the building which can be used for storing and loading pallets and employee parking, all offered with great terms and conditions. The location of this plant is less than one mile from the scrap tire pile. 2. If your plant is in Texas why is your headquarters is in Las Vegas? As can be seen from our Business Plan, ATP expects to open four plants in the next five years. These plants will be in different states. Las Vegas was chosen as our corporate headquarters because of the following reasons: Las Vegas is also a popular tourist destination for business people throughout the world. Vegas has excellent airline connections, which offers a real opportunity to bring executives to visit and learn more about RST-PAL pallets and how it will positively affect their company profits. 3. Is there any financial help from the State administration in putting up the plant in their State? There are several States, among them Louisiana and New Jersey that are giving up to 80% of the capital cost of putting up a plant that will utilize scrap tires. The problem of scrap tires is enormous and exists in most states. Most states have scrap tire programs to deal with the remediation of scrap tires. 4. Are there any federal laws regarding the use of recycled products? Yes, all Federal Agencies, including the Department of Defense and Department of Transportation are mandated to use “recycled products first”. Our product is made from recycled materials and is very strong and durable and is acceptable for Government use due to its life cycle being much longer than a traditional wooden pallet, and the price of a RST-PAL pallets is very competitive. 5. How does the production of pallets made from scrap tires helps the ecology? The RST-PAL pallet is an environmentally correct product made from recycled materials that can be recycled itself, making it a “triple green product”. First, according to statistics published by NWPCA (National Wooden Pallet and Container Association) the U.S. consumption of pallets is 800 million per year. To make this huge quantity of pallets, 3.5 million trees are cut every year. Every RST-PAL pallet sold will help to save our forests, allowing hardwoods to be used for more important and valuable uses other than pallets. Second, getting rid of the scrap tire piles is a worldwide problem. This problem is even more acute in Europe and the Far East. Each year in the U.S. 250-280 million tires are added to the existing stockpiles of scrap tires. These piles are environmental hazards as they can become disastrous tire fires and are breeding grounds for mosquitoes (which bring diseases such as the West Nile Virus), rodents, snakes, and other vermin. 6. Are the projections in ATP’s Business Plan “Too good to be true”? ATP believes that the projections, although they are very positive, are conservative. We also believe our biggest challenge will be keeping up with the production needed to meet the demand for our pallets. When a company evaluates the annual cost of their wooden pallets, including; purchase, repair, replacement, and discarding costs versus the one time purchase price of RST-PAL pallets, they will see tremendous savings in buying and using RST-PAL pallets. Regarding the financial forecasts, ATP has purposely left out several positive issues. For example, the cost of recycled rubber (cut and prepared for our use) is $1.25/pallet. This cost can be reduced drastically by purchasing a special machine (Grizli) and cutting the tire shreds to our specific dimensions. The price of the machine can be recovered within one year of production. Additionally, the most expensive cost in making our pallets is the binder system, $6.50/pallet. Our projections do not take into consideration the savings of using even less binder per pallet which will be achieved by utilizing the new production line machinery, with a different delivery system. We estimate a minimum saving of 25% on our projected costs when we will buy the raw material and batch it ourselves. Additional savings will be achieved by getting larger discounts as the volume of materials purchased increases. Other potential revenue streams that are not projected include licensing ATP technology to foreign countries to manufacture and market RST-PAL pallets. In addition ATP anticipates opening a subsidiary company to provide pallet leasing or a lease to purchase program for our customers to enable them the opportunity to convert their wooden pallet inventory to RST-PAL pallets at an accelerated pace. 7. How are the scrap tires used today? Only a small portion of scrap tires are recycled or used today. The main use (about 30%) is adding crumb rubber to asphalt for making roads. Other products that are made of scrap tires are: car floor mats, playground filler, floor tiles and some other soft products which do not need strength or rigidity of the final material. Scrap tire piles continue to accumulate all over the country and constitute dangerous environmental hazards. 8.What is the real market potential and what is the risk if the users do not accept the pallets? As previously stated, of the 800 million pallets manufactured each year, about 60% are made from hardwood. Our product replaces the hardwood pallets, and if you look at our 5-year projection, we will produce approximately 19 million pallets while in the same 5 years the pallets industry will produce 2.4 billion hardwood pallets, which means we will capture, within 5 years, about 0.8% (less than 1%) of the total pallet market. ATP surveyed the acceptance of RST-PAL pallets through pre-production marketing efforts and it was excellent. We visited 62 pallet users in the DFW area. All of the companies were impressed with the RST-PAL pallets made from this unique and patented “new material” from recycled scrap tires. Many stated that they would use the pallets once we had a production facility. They were especially impressed that our pallets were stronger and more durable than wooden pallets and would perform much longer than wooden pallets. NWPCA states, “wooden pallets last from 1.5 to 2 trips before having to be repaired or replaced.” We also visited with the buyer of pallets for 3M company in Minneapolis, and the buyer was very eager to use RST-PAL pallets. 3M purchases more than 7 million pallets in just one year. ATP also contacted, through the Department of Defense, the Army, Air Force PX and Exchange, AAFAS. They actually wanted us to deliver 50,000 pallets as an initial order but unfortunately we were not in production. 9.Can you show us orders from companies that were interested in using your pallet? No. As we have not begun production, we cannot guarantee that ATP will be able to deliver pallets on a specific date, and so we have not accepted any orders. As the projected calculation shows tremendous savings to the user, and as RST-PAL pallets have so many advantages in comparison to wooden pallets and at a competitive price, ATP believes that when production commences, pallets will be immediately accepted. Some of the users we visited were surprised that the price was so low in relation to the performances of RST-PAL pallets. 10. What are the technical properties of the pallets and which tests have already done? The technical data and the tests results are as follows: RST-PAL pallets are both rackable and stackable, and pass ISO standards.     The RST-PAL pallets have the same parameters as hardwood pallets, including two or four way entry, and meet GMA pallet standards. Weight: 40″x48″, four way GMA pallet, hardwood=65 lbs; RST-PAL=71 lbs. The difference in weight disappears after the wood starts absorbing water/liquids. The deflection of a pallet with our material, according to ISO when R=1500KG, is about zero (actually equal to the deflection of metal under the same load).  A test was conducted with 3 concrete beams weighing 25 tons (51,000 lbs), which were loaded and lifted onto an RST-PAL pallet. In comparison, wooden pallets have a static weight load of 2,500 pounds. In conclusion, this is not a high precision, high tech product — it is a strong and durable pallet with excellent material qualities and is offered to pallet users at a very competitive price, which will save pallet buyers bottom line profits. 11. Usually, as production increases, the price normally decreases (mainly because of competition). In your B.P. the price is increased. Please explain? Actually, part of the answer is in the question. There is no competition. Hardwood is a commodity and its price changes constantly with lumber prices (which continue to increase annually). Our increase in price takes this fact into account. The raise in prices, as appears in our projections, of 25% during the next five years is probably less than the increase in the cost of hardwood. Another reason is that our initial price is very low, designed so that ATP can penetrate different markets rapidly. Most key pallet purchasers that we talk with, think we are vastly under priced for a pallet that is so durable and lasts so long. Some believe RST-PAL pallets should be in the $39.00-$59.00 price range (similar to plastic pallets), and not just a few dollars more than hardwood pallets. ATP assumes that for many years (due to patent protection) RST-PAL pallets will not have competitors, which can often drive the price down. The assumption is that the advantages of RST-PAL pallets over hardwood pallets will cause pallet users to purchase RST-PAL pallets to lower their pallet costs. Following RST-PAL pallets becoming established in the market place, the advantages and the savings will be widely recognized and there will be justification for further price increases. The opening price of $18.50 is an average price and not applicable to all sizes nor to all customers. Certainly, a customer purchasing 500,000 pallets per year will be given a discount different from a customer purchasing 1,000 pallets. The Board of Directors will re-visit the $18.50 price as sales develop. Our projected low price is intended to introduce the pallet to many different manufacturers and industries that use pallets, targeting those companies with a closed loop system that can use, retrieve and use over and over again the same durable pallets. 12. Everything seems so good, what is the down side to this project? ATP believes that according to the projections, the only downside is our start-up production capacity. ATP knows that it will capture the small percentage of less than 1% of the total market demand. The projection shows that this 1% of the market will enable both growth from profits to fund expansion and a good return in the form of dividends for its investors. RST-PAL pallets are heavier, by about 8 lbs, than the equivalent size pallet made of hardwood. This is true only at the beginning of the lifecycle of a wooden pallet as wood absorbs water and other liquids and can become even heavier than RST-PAL pallets. An average 40′ truck trailer carries about 22 loaded pallets, and by using RST-PAL pallets the total added weight is less than 200 lbs, which is not significant. 13. Is your patent defendable and what does it actually protect? The patent was approved and issued in July 2002. It took about five years to perfect and to reach the utmost protection possible. It protects any product made from recycled scrap tire rubber using a plurality of sizes with or without other materials like plastic, adhesives etc. 14. Who has the exclusivity to utilize this patent? The total and irrevocable exclusivity was granted to ATP Corporation, which consists of the new investors and the existing partners. This exclusivity includes licensing to other parties worldwide for the manufacturing and marketing of RST-PAL pallets. 15. It appears that you are looking for investment of $4M to $6M. Elaborate. These two numbers express the difference between starting with one line of production vs. two lines. The basic set of machines needed for production can be extended to two lines with addition of some machines. By starting with two lines, the production capacity is doubled to 1.2M pallets per year with net profit projected of over $8M versus $3.2M if ATP opens with a single line. 16. How will the investor’s capital be used? A detailed start-up expenses and funding table can be found in Topic 2.2. The main expense item is for machinery and in both cases about $750,000 remains as working capital. 17. What equity percentage are you offering for the investment? The calculation of the present value of the company based on the projections appears in the business plan. The present value of five years of net earnings at 25% discount is over $100 million. We deliberately took an unreasonably high discount rate to avoid any disputes. We value our company at “present value” of just over $17M. Hence, for the $6 million investment; we offer 35% of the company with all its rights. 18. Is there any other way of financing the project? Yes. We would accept a loan, secured by the assets and rights of ATP, which will carry interest of 5% for a period of ten years starting (the repayment) at the beginning of the second year. The return can be accelerated. In addition to the secured note, the lender will be offered 17.5% equity interest for a loan of $6 million. 19. Who is ATP’s management team? See Chapter 6.0 of the Business Plan. Each member of the team along with our consultants, are highly qualified professionals with vast and proven experience in their fields (e.g. plant installation and operations, purchasing and marketing). ATP is also open to investor participation both in the company and on the Board of Directors. The financial projections that appear in this Business Plan are estimated revenues, expenses, and cash flow, which are based on research and the assumptions discussed throughout this Business Plan. They represent the best of management’s knowledge and belief and also are based on actual operations in the pilot plant in Stamford, Texas. The Company’s expected revenues, expenses, and cash flow for the projected periods are subject to the Company’s ability to develop sales and production levels at the price and costs estimated by management. Accordingly, these projections reflect management’s estimates as of January-June  2003, and its expected course of action if such sales and production levels are attained at the price and costs anticipated. These projected financial statements are for the purpose of providing updated information to existing and new investors. These projected financial statements should not be considered to be a presentation to forecast future results. Accordingly, these projections may not be useful for other purposes. The assumptions disclosed herein are those that management believes are significant to the projections. Furthermore, even if the sales and production levels as well as the projected price and costs are attained, there will usually be differences between projected and actual results because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, and those differences may be material. Sales Forecast Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Sales RST-PAL pallets $18.50/$22.50 (5th yr) $646,464 $1,292,928 $1,864,800 $1,939,392 $1,864,800 $1,864,800 $1,939,392 $1,939,392 $1,939,392 $1,939,392 $1,864,800 $1,939,392 Subsidies $30/ton $26,208 $52,416 $75,600 $78,624 $75,600 $75,600 $78,624 $78,624 $78,624 $78,624 $78,624 $75,600 Total Sales $672,672 $1,345,344 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $1,940,400 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $1,943,424 $2,014,992 Direct Cost of Sales Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Recycled Rubber 125% $43,680 $87,360 $126,025 $131,040 $126,000 $126,000 $131,040 $131,040 $131,040 $131,040 $126,000 $131,040 Recycled Plastic 90% $31,450 $62,899 $90,738 $94,349 $90,720 $90,720 $94,349 $94,349 $94,349 $94,349 $90,720 $94,349 Binders System 650% $227,136 $454,272 $655,330 $681,408 $655,200 $655,200 $681,408 $681,408 $681,408 $681,408 $655,200 $681,408 Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales $302,266 $604,531 $872,093 $906,797 $871,920 $871,920 $906,797 $906,797 $906,797 $906,797 $871,920 $906,797 Personnel Plan Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Production Personnel Texas plant manager $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 Texas office worker $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 Receptionist (x2) $6.50/hr $1,040 $2,080 $2,080 $2,080 $2,080 $2,080 $2,080 $2,080 $2,080 $2,080 $2,080 $2,080 Data entry (x1) $6.50/hr $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 $1,040 Foreman (x3) $2,200/mo $2,200 $4,400 $6,600 $6,600 $6,600 $6,600 $6,800 $7,000 $7,200 $7,200 $7,200 $7,200 Line operator (x6) $8.25/hr $3,432 $6,864 $10,296 $10,296 $10,296 $10,296 $10,296 $10,296 $10,296 $10,296 $10,296 $10,296 Loader (x6) $7.25/hr $3,016 $6,032 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 Batcher (x6) $7.50/hr $3,120 $6,240 $9,360 $9,360 $9,360 $9,360 $9,360 $9,360 $9,360 $9,360 $9,360 $9,360 Conveyer worker (x12) $6.50/hr $5,408 $10,816 $16,224 $16,224 $16,224 $16,224 $16,224 $16,224 $16,224 $16,224 $16,224 $16,224 Assembly lead (x4) $7.25/hr $3,016 $3,016 $6,032 $6,032 $6,032 $6,032 $6,032 $6,032 $6,032 $6,032 $6,032 $6,032 Assembly helper (x4) $6.50/hr $2,704 $2,704 $5,408 $5,408 $5,408 $5,408 $5,408 $5,408 $5,408 $5,408 $5,408 $5,408 Cutter (x12) $7.25/hr $12,064 $18,096 $18,096 $18,096 $18,096 $18,096 $18,096 $18,096 $18,096 $18,096 $18,096 $18,096 Forklift operator (x6) $7.25/hr $6,032 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 $9,048 Maint. Supervisor $7.50/hr $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 $1,560 Maint. helper (x3) $6.50/hr $1,352 $2,704 $4,056 $4,056 $4,056 $4,056 $4,056 $4,056 $4,056 $4,056 $4,056 $4,056 Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $51,184 $79,800 $104,048 $104,048 $104,048 $104,048 $104,248 $104,448 $104,648 $104,648 $104,648 $104,648 Sales and Marketing Personnel Marketing Director $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 Marketing Secretary $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,200 $2,200 $2,200 $2,200 $2,200 $2,200 Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,700 $6,700 $6,700 $6,700 $6,700 $6,700 General and Administrative Personnel President – Dan Radke $6,000 $6,000 $6,500 $6,500 $7,500 $7,500 $8,000 $8,000 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 Vice Pres. – Elie Banenson $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $7,000 $7,000 $7,500 $7,500 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 Office Manager $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,300 $3,300 $3,300 $3,300 $3,300 $3,300 Receptionist (x2) $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 Office workers (x2) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $16,500 $16,500 $17,000 $17,000 $19,000 $19,000 $21,800 $21,800 $22,800 $22,800 $22,800 $22,800 Other Personnel Name or Title $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Name or Title $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total People 33 56 74 74 74 74 75 75 75 75 75 75 Total Payroll $73,684 $102,300 $127,048 $127,048 $129,048 $129,048 $132,748 $132,948 $134,148 $134,148 $134,148 $134,148 General Assumptions Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Plan Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Current Interest Rate 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Long-term Interest Rate 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Tax Rate 30.00% 34.00% 34.00% 34.00% 34.00% 34.00% 34.00% 34.00% 34.00% 34.00% 34.00% 34.00% Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pro Forma Profit and Loss Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Sales $672,672 $1,345,344 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $1,940,400 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $1,943,424 $2,014,992 Direct Cost of Sales $302,266 $604,531 $872,093 $906,797 $871,920 $871,920 $906,797 $906,797 $906,797 $906,797 $871,920 $906,797 Production Payroll $51,184 $79,800 $104,048 $104,048 $104,048 $104,048 $104,248 $104,448 $104,648 $104,648 $104,648 $104,648 Other Costs of Goods $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Cost of Sales $353,450 $684,331 $976,141 $1,010,845 $975,968 $975,968 $1,011,045 $1,011,245 $1,011,445 $1,011,445 $976,568 $1,011,445 Gross Margin $319,222 $661,013 $964,259 $1,007,171 $964,432 $964,432 $1,006,971 $1,006,771 $1,006,571 $1,006,571 $966,856 $1,003,547 Gross Margin % 47.46% 49.13% 49.69% 49.91% 49.70% 49.70% 49.90% 49.89% 49.88% 49.88% 49.75% 49.80% Operating Expenses Sales and Marketing Expenses Sales and Marketing Payroll $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,700 $6,700 $6,700 $6,700 $6,700 $6,700 Advertising/Promotion $3,500 $3,500 $4,500 $4,500 $5,000 $5,000 $6,000 $6,000 $7,500 $7,500 $10,000 $10,000 Royalties $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $96,970 $96,970 $96,970 $96,970 $93,240 $96,970 Other Sales and Marketing Expenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Sales and Marketing Expenses $9,500 $9,500 $10,500 $10,500 $11,000 $11,000 $109,670 $109,670 $111,170 $111,170 $109,940 $113,670 Sales and Marketing % 1.41% 0.71% 0.54% 0.52% 0.57% 0.57% 5.43% 5.43% 5.51% 5.51% 5.66% 5.64% General and Administrative Expenses General and Administrative Payroll $16,500 $16,500 $17,000 $17,000 $19,000 $19,000 $21,800 $21,800 $22,800 $22,800 $22,800 $22,800 Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses $6,000 $6,000 $7,000 $7,000 $7,500 $7,500 $105,470 $105,470 $106,970 $106,970 $105,740 $109,470 Depreciation $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Rent $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 Office Expenses $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 Accounting $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 Legal $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 Travel $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 Insurance (property & casualty) $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 Payroll Taxes & Benefits Payroll Burden 23% $27,675 $27,675 $28,290 $28,290 $30,750 $30,750 $35,055 $35,055 $36,285 $36,285 $36,285 $36,285 Other General and Administrative Expenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total General and Administrative Expenses $64,675 $64,675 $66,790 $66,790 $71,750 $71,750 $176,825 $176,825 $180,555 $180,555 $179,325 $183,055 General and Administrative % 9.61% 4.81% 3.44% 3.31% 3.70% 3.70% 8.76% 8.76% 8.95% 8.95% 9.23% 9.08% Other Expenses: Other Payroll $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Consultants $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Machine Maintenance $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 Miscellaneous Expenses $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 Total Other Expenses $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 $12,500 Other % 1.86% 0.93% 0.64% 0.62% 0.64% 0.64% 0.62% 0.62% 0.62% 0.62% 0.64% 0.62% Total Operating Expenses $86,675 $86,675 $89,790 $89,790 $95,250 $95,250 $298,995 $298,995 $304,225 $304,225 $301,765 $309,225 Profit Before Interest and Taxes $232,547 $574,338 $874,469 $917,381 $869,182 $869,182 $707,976 $707,776 $702,346 $702,346 $665,091 $694,322 EBITDA $232,547 $574,338 $874,469 $917,381 $869,182 $869,182 $707,976 $707,776 $702,346 $702,346 $665,091 $694,322 Interest Expense $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Taxes Incurred $69,764 $195,275 $297,319 $311,910 $295,522 $295,522 $240,712 $240,644 $238,798 $238,798 $226,131 $236,069 Net Profit $162,783 $379,063 $577,150 $605,471 $573,660 $573,660 $467,264 $467,132 $463,548 $463,548 $438,960 $458,253 Net Profit/Sales 24.20% 28.18% 29.74% 30.00% 29.56% 29.56% 23.15% 23.15% 22.97% 22.97% 22.59% 22.74% Pro Forma Cash Flow Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Cash Received Cash from Operations Cash Sales $672,672 $1,345,344 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $1,940,400 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $1,943,424 $2,014,992 Cash from Receivables $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Cash from Operations $672,672 $1,345,344 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $1,940,400 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $1,943,424 $2,014,992 Additional Cash Received Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received 0.00% $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 New Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 New Other Liabilities (interest-free) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 New Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Sales of Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Sales of Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 New Investment Received $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Cash Received $672,672 $1,345,344 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $1,940,400 $1,940,400 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $2,018,016 $1,943,424 $2,014,992 Expenditures Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Expenditures from Operations Cash Spending $73,684 $102,300 $127,048 $127,048 $129,048 $129,048 $132,748 $132,948 $134,148 $134,148 $134,148 $134,148 Bill Payments $25,623 $782,957 $1,207,607 $1,523,626 $1,319,526 $1,200,606 $1,244,981 $1,455,087 $1,418,015 $1,420,320 $1,417,374 $1,336,251 Subtotal Spent on Operations $99,307 $885,257 $1,334,655 $1,650,674 $1,448,574 $1,329,654 $1,377,729 $1,588,035 $1,552,163 $1,554,468 $1,551,522 $1,470,399 Additional Cash Spent Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Other Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Purchase Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Purchase Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Dividends $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Cash Spent $99,307 $885,257 $1,334,655 $1,650,674 $1,448,574 $1,329,654 $1,377,729 $1,588,035 $1,552,163 $1,554,468 $1,551,522 $1,470,399 Net Cash Flow $573,365 $460,087 $605,745 $367,342 $491,826 $610,746 $640,287 $429,981 $465,853 $463,548 $391,902 $544,593 Cash Balance $1,327,265 $1,787,352 $2,393,097 $2,760,439 $3,252,265 $3,863,011 $4,503,298 $4,933,278 $5,399,131 $5,862,679 $6,254,581 $6,799,174 Pro Forma Balance Sheet Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Assets Starting Balances Current Assets Cash $753,900 $1,327,265 $1,787,352 $2,393,097 $2,760,439 $3,252,265 $3,863,011 $4,503,298 $4,933,278 $5,399,131 $5,862,679 $6,254,581 $6,799,174 Accounts Receivable $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Inventory $0 $332,493 $664,984 $959,302 $997,477 $959,112 $959,112 $997,477 $997,477 $997,477 $997,477 $959,112 $997,477 Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Current Assets $753,900 $1,659,757 $2,452,336 $3,352,399 $3,757,916 $4,211,377 $4,822,123 $5,500,774 $5,930,755 $6,396,608 $6,860,156 $7,213,693 $7,796,650 Long-term Assets Long-term Assets $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 Accumulated Depreciation $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Long-term Assets $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 $4,033,200 Total Assets $4,787,100 $5,692,957 $6,485,536 $7,385,599 $7,791,116 $8,244,577 $8,855,323 $9,533,974 $9,963,955 $10,429,808 $10,893,356 $11,246,893 $11,829,850 Liabilities and Capital Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Current Liabilities Accounts Payable $0 $743,074 $1,156,590 $1,479,503 $1,279,549 $1,159,350 $1,196,435 $1,407,823 $1,370,671 $1,372,976 $1,372,976 $1,287,553 $1,412,258 Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Other Current Liabilities $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Current Liabilities $0 $743,074 $1,156,590 $1,479,503 $1,279,549 $1,159,350 $1,196,435 $1,407,823 $1,370,671 $1,372,976 $1,372,976 $1,287,553 $1,412,258 Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Liabilities $0 $743,074 $1,156,590 $1,479,503 $1,279,549 $1,159,350 $1,196,435 $1,407,823 $1,370,671 $1,372,976 $1,372,976 $1,287,553 $1,412,258 Paid-in Capital $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 $6,000,000 Retained Earnings ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) ($1,212,900) Earnings $0 $162,783 $541,846 $1,118,996 $1,724,467 $2,298,127 $2,871,787 $3,339,051 $3,806,184 $4,269,732 $4,733,280 $5,172,240 $5,630,493 Total Capital $4,787,100 $4,949,883 $5,328,946 $5,906,096 $6,511,567 $7,085,227 $7,658,887 $8,126,151 $8,593,284 $9,056,832 $9,520,380 $9,959,340 $10,417,593 Total Liabilities and Capital $4,787,100 $5,692,957 $6,485,536 $7,385,599 $7,791,116 $8,244,577 $8,855,323 $9,533,974 $9,963,955 $10,429,808 $10,893,356 $11,246,893 $11,829,850 Net Worth $4,787,100 $4,949,883 $5,328,946 $5,906,096 $6,511,567 $7,085,227 $7,658,887 $8,126,151 $8,593,284 $9,056,832 $9,520,380 $9,959,340 $10,417,593 The quickest way to turn a business idea into a business plan Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy. No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents. Discover the world’s #1 plan building software Are Disclaimers Legally Binding? Yes But With Exceptions When you run an online business, learning how to deal with potential legal issues is part of the job. One element that helps protect your business is a disclaimer. While not every website is legally obligated to have disclaimers, skipping them could land you in hot water if something goes wrong. Whether you’re running a personal blog or an e-commerce site, knowing when and why you need a disclaimer can save you from potential legal headaches. Below, I’ll talk about what makes a disclaimer enforceable and offer steps to ensure yours is legally sound. Your disclaimer should clearly outline liabilities and associated risks that need to be enforceable. Ensure you regularly consult legal experts to keep your disclaimer compliant with current laws. Remember, a disclaimer can limit but not eliminate all legal liabilities you might face. Table of Contents PRO TIP: Take the hassle of writing your own disclaimer away with our disclaimer generator trusted by over 200,000 businesses. It’ll save you hours of work and possible costly legal mistakes. Is a Disclaimer Legally Binding? Yes, disclaimers are generally legally binding, but there are specific conditions they must meet to be considered legally valid. Essentially, a disclaimer serves as a waiver, which users implicitly agree to by using your site—even if you don’t require them to click an acceptance button. For a disclaimer to function as a binding agreement, it must be clearly communicated and reasonable. Additionally, it also should not violate any existing laws. Ensuring these elements can help establish your disclaimer as a strong legal shield. Disclaimers are generally enforceable if they are clear, unambiguous, and not unduly harsh or unfair. It depends on specific wording, how it’s presented, and the applicable laws. Are Online Disclaimers as Binding as Printed Ones? The short answer is mostly yes. While the type of disclaimer (online or printed) can affect its enforceability to some extent, the primary factors remain the same: clarity, conspicuousness, and consideration. For example, if you received an email and any attachments from a law firm, you might have noticed a separate disclaimer stating that the content does not create an attorney-client relationship. Similarly, when you purchase a product online, the terms of service often include a disclaimer designed to limit liability and bind the recipient to certain conditions. In both cases, the effectiveness of online and printed disclaimers in legally binding someone depends on how clearly and prominently these disclaimers are communicated. PRO TIP: Use disclaimers in a way that makes them easily noticeable and understandable. This way, all parties are aware of the terms to which they are agreeing. What Makes Disclaimers Enforceable? A disclaimer is enforceable when it meets certain legal criteria. Note that disclaimers can vary, but key elements determine their validity. The language used must be clear, straightforward, and easily understandable. For instance, a standard disclaimer stating that a website’s content is for informational purposes should not use technical jargon that could confuse the reader. Users must have a chance to review and agree to its terms either by continued use or explicit acceptance, like checking a box when signing up for a service. A specific disclaimer must not infringe upon the users’ inherent legal rights. For example, a disclaimer attempting to waive all liability for negligence might not hold up in court if it strips the user of essential protections. There should be an agreement between the sender and receiver acknowledging the disclaimer. This can be formal as a signed contract or as simple as a statement attached to the bottom of a newsletter. How To Improve Your Disclaimer’s Enforceability Ensuring your disclaimer is enforceable requires careful attention to detail and a clear understanding of legal principles. Here are some practical tips that can help strengthen its effectiveness: Terms of the Disclaimer The terms of the disclaimer should be explicit and specific. This involves clearly defining what liabilities are being limited and what potential risks are associated. For example, a product’s disclaimer should outline specific safety precautions and highlight any product liability issues. To give you an idea of how that can be worded, here’s a snippet of  The Foot Collective ’s product disclaimer: This disclaimer clearly articulates the specific safety precautions and risks associated with their products. In doing so, it helps set clear expectations and informs consumers effectively. This level of detail and clarity not only enhances understanding but also strengthens the disclaimer’s legal enforceability. Clarity and Visibility A disclaimer must be easily noticeable and understandable to all parties involved. For instance, placing it in an email footer ensures visibility each time communication is sent, making it more likely that the recipients agree to the terms. Consent of the Parties It is essential that all parties involved explicitly agree to the terms presented. In running my business, I do this by requiring users to click an “I agree” checkbox before making a purchase or signing up for a service, effectively making each user a party to a contract. Legal and Professional Advice Regularly consult with law firms or seek professional advice to ensure your disclaimer complies with current laws and covers all necessary aspects of liability arising from unintended use or misunderstanding. This is important, particularly in fields requiring high legal diligence like legal services, healthcare, or finance. Take a look at this legal disclaimer from Robinson Bradshaw , for example: This disclaimer addresses the specific legal intricacies associated with the provision of professional services. It clearly delineates the boundaries of the legal advice offered. In turn, users understand that an attorney-client relationship is not created without formal engagement.  Specificity to the Sender’s Operations Tailor the disclaimer to reflect the specific operations and contexts of the sender’s business. This includes detailed policies for non-disclosure , data usage, or any other specific conditions related to the business’s operations. In my practice, I’ve found that incorporating industry-specific language into disclaimers can preempt potential misunderstandings and reduce legal ambiguity. I also make it a point to regularly revisit and update these disclaimers as my business evolves, ensuring they stay relevant to new products or services. Do Disclaimers Hold Up in Court? The courts may not uphold disclaimers in situations that involve unfair or deceptive practices. While disclaimers provide a degree of protection, their enforceability can vary depending on specific circumstances. For example, under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 in the UK, disclaimers that attempt to exclude or restrict liability for any damage or loss may be deemed unfair and unenforceable if they are not reasonable in all circumstances. PRO TIP: If possible, seek legal advice when drafting a disclaimer. Doing so guarantees that it is not only legally sound but also effective in the contexts it is meant to address. Global Perspectives and Regulations If you intend to operate your business on a global scale, you need to understand how disclaimers are viewed under different legal systems. Here are laws in various countries that answer whether or not disclaimers are legally binding: United States In the U.S., disclaimers are often employed to limit liability and inform users of potential risks—serving as constructive notice. They must be clearly presented and reasonable to be enforceable. Disclaimers that attempt to absolve a party of all duty of care or those related to death or personal injury often face legal scrutiny and might not be upheld in court. Canadian law also recognizes disclaimers as a way to mitigate legal action. However, like in the U.S., there are strict regulations when it comes to disclaimers that involve negligence or personal injury. For a disclaimer to be enforceable in Canada, it must be reasonable and should not contravene public policy. United Kingdom UK law demands that disclaimers be fair and explicitly clear to all parties involved. As I mentioned earlier, disclaimers are required to meet stringent standards under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, particularly when excluding or restricting liability for death or personal injury. Australian law places a strong emphasis on consumer protection, strictly regulating how disclaimers are required and enforced. Disclaimers must not contravene the Australian Consumer Law , especially provisions that relate to misleading or deceptive conduct. The enforceability of a disclaimer will largely depend on whether it is considered fair and reasonable, particularly in cases involving duty of care or consumer rights. Each country’s approach to disclaimers highlights the balance between protecting business interests and upholding consumer rights. Clear, fair, and reasonable terms ensure enforceability. Frequently Asked Questions Do disclaimers need to be signed to be legally binding. No, disclaimers do not always need to be signed to form a legally binding contract. Acceptance can also be indicated through continued use or explicit agreement online. Are email disclaimers legally binding? Email disclaimers can be legally binding, but enforceability varies. An email disclaimer cannot override mandatory legal obligations. Does a disclaimer need to be notarized? No, a disclaimer does not need to be notarized to be valid. It can be legally binding even if you don’t have it notarized. Can I use a disclaimer to avoid responsibility for errors on my website? Yes, a disclaimer is a legal statement that can limit liability for errors on your website. However, it must be clear and reasonable. Can a disclaimer fully protect me from legal liability? No, a disclaimer cannot fully protect you from all legal liability. It can limit certain liabilities but not all. Acceptable use policy generator Cookie policy generator Cookie consent banner plugin DMCA policy generator Disclaimer generator DSAR form generator Guest post agreement generator Privacy policy generator Refund policy generator Terms and conditions generator Perks and benefits Legal glossary Terms and privacy Partnerships eSignatures Product updates Document templates Perfecting your crisis communication plan Jenny Pak Director of Program Management at PandaDoc Copy Link Link copied In business, everything that could go wrong would most likely go wrong. And when this happens, you need a crisis communication plan to let stakeholders and customers know what’s going on. Crisis communication eliminates the corporate confusion and helter-skelter that could ensue when disaster strikes. If handled poorly, it could ruin your organization’s reputation. Or even worse, lead to public safety tragedies. This article will show you how a crisis communication plan can help your business navigate rough waters. Key takeaways Crisis communication involves notifying clients, stakeholders, and members of the general public about events, accidents, and public safety incidents. A crisis communication plan outlines how an organization should go about informing internal teams and the public across multiple communication channels. Organizations can use crisis communication plans to minimize losses, prevent legal blowback, and save lives. The plan works best if a crisis team can analyze the situation carefully before appointing the appropriate spokesperson to speak to the public. What is a crisis communication plan? A crisis communication plan is a document containing guidelines and procedures for communicating with clients and stakeholders when an unprecedented event occurs. The person or team running point during the crisis should spell out the roles, responsibilities, and messaging promptly in order to reduce panic and speculation. Applications of a crisis communication plan From businesses to academic institutions, communication is part of the crisis management playbook. Here are some types of crisis communication plans. Financial emergency : Following the Capital One hack, the bank chairman released a detailed public statement on its website. Public health and safety : During peak COVID , governments and corporations used a detailed crisis communication plan to prevent cities from spiraling into dystopian wastelands. Natural disasters : Emergency response services use multiple communication channels to notify people during earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and other natural disasters. Personnel changes : When staff members (especially C-level and customer-facing employees) leave the company, you need to inform your clients and investors. Personal safety : If a criminal hacks into your Instagram or TikTok account, you need to find a way to notify your followers before they start sending Bitcoin to the hacker. Malpractice or criminal activity : When a member of an institution is found guilty of a crime, the crisis response team will put out a statement to dissociate the individual from the group. Transportation : Airlines and logistics companies use crisis response plans to notify passengers and customers about delays, accidents, and cancellations. (Failure to do so has repercussions — after United Airlines fumbled their response to the Dr. Dao incident, the company’s image has yet to recover from #boycottUnited .) Academic institutions : Schools and colleges can send out memos to students and staff during crisis scenarios such as a death on campus, active shooter events, or disruption of services. How a crisis communication plan can save your organization A crisis communication plan keeps you and your organization ready for unprecedented events. Let’s check out how a coherent response plan can save your organization. It helps organizations handle the fallout of scandals, natural disasters, and controversies. Despite massive data and privacy violations , Mark Zuckerberg has maintained a less problematic reputation than no-filter Elon Musk. Prompt and effective crisis communication prevents further losses in customers and revenue. Banks and product companies communicate about bankruptcy or hacks early to avoid panic withdrawals. It protects the reputation of companies by presenting the leadership as competent and personable. Crisis communication plans can reduce the casualties of natural and human-made disasters. After the train derailment in Ohio , the government sent out an evacuation memo to residents. It dissociates the organization from the actions of unsavory characters. The British Crown has a standby controversy response team that disavows members of the family who step out of line. A well-articulated crisis response can cover your company’s behind from any legal implications. In 2019, Burger King used this strategy to get a frivolous lawsuit dismissed. It highlights the preparedness and competence of the management structure within an organization through decisive, from-the-front leadership. Common strategies for crisis communication Let’s explore the communications strategy your team could use in times of crisis: The company PR team or spokesperson will release a statement or go for a sit-down interview. Companies with a massive social media presence can coordinate crisis responses across all social media channels. Organizations can conduct in-person outreach through emails and phone calls. Establish a comprehensive crisis communication plan Here are the steps to follow when creating a crisis communication plan for your organization. Analyze the situation Resist the knee-jerk urge to tweet your response as soon as something happens. Instead, take some time to analyze the crisis situation and understand the whole picture before putting out a statement. Your management team needs to analyze the event to figure out the best course of action and the tone to take in the event of a crisis. Nominate a spokesperson The spokesperson should be the face of the organization, representing its values and sentiments. Some innate qualities that every spokesperson should have include the following: Excellent communication skills Media training Resourcefulness and recognizability. You also need to put forward someone with authority and clout to make decisions. Picture Siobhan Roy during the cruise scandals in Succession . You don’t want Logan Roy responding to sexual assault allegations. Develop and approve response systems and communication methods The response plan should cover the three main stages of crisis response: Pre-crisis stage: This provides the fundamental procedures and escalation hierarchy for a potential crisis. Some organizations appoint spokespersons for different cases, so every team member knows their role once it’s “go time.” Crisis stage: The response systems during this phase should focus on informing the public and internal teams . This is where you plan the social media posts, personal outreach calls, or PR statements. Post-crisis stage: This involves addressing feedback mechanisms and suggested changes. In most cases, the fallout from the crisis itself dictates the post-crisis response. Create a response script Your public relations responders need to craft a consistent messaging across all platforms. This assures the customer that the information is legit and that the entire organization is in lockstep. Consider using a crisis communication template to draft written and verbal responses faster. Your legal team should also review the final text to make sure you don’t implicate yourself. Crisis Management Plan Template Used 4890 times With this template, you can quickly and easily put together a comprehensive Crisis Management Plan. Release the update through the designated channels When the image of the Pope in the puffer jacket broke the internet, the Vatican didn’t panic. They released a statement across multiple channels — including regular media outlets and socials — to quell fears and rumors. The usual channels for communication crisis updates include the following: Social media channels — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok Verified personal profiles — Elon Musk providing updates about X. News media channels — CNN, etc. Emails and app notifications. Press releases and PR statements on the company website. Airports and transportation hubs can use digital displays to notify the public about delays as well as scheduled and unprecedented service disruptions. Answer questions After putting out a statement, members of the public and media will reach out to your organization for clarification or confirmation. This is where the crisis response and customer service teams earn their keep. You need to provide them with a script to address frequently asked questions as well as an escalation hierarchy for complex queries. In criminal cases with massive legal implications, you could give them the canned law enforcement “cannot comment on an ongoing investigation” response. Provide regular sitreps During prolonged events, you need to keep external stakeholders updated about recent developments in real time. This will calm down fears and fend off misinformation while showing the progress your team members are making in handling the situation. For website or application outages, you can use status page updates, website banners, or in-app notifications. Deliver a detailed recap afterward Once the dust settles, the CEO has to release a statement containing a sober analysis of what happened and the immediate to long-term impact. This public recap is your way of showing accountability to key stakeholders. You can also use a fact sheet to provide further details about the causes and consequences of the mishap. For companies with high-value clients, you can schedule calls to follow up on them. This is important for reputable institutions as well as companies with world-renowned investors. Share lessons learned internally Regardless of how successful or disastrous the crisis communication was, your crisis communication team needs to share lessons learned. These will help set up the playbook for future scenarios. How PandaDoc can help with crisis communication As a document management solution , PandaDoc helps organizations draft, edit, and share crisis communication outlines in record time. You can get a crisis response template for every phase of the response. Besides, PandaDoc uses document tracking features to keep an eye on who works on, approves, or edits the document. This ensures transparency and accountability. If you want to create external communications for multiple scenarios, you can store them in the PandaDoc online repository . Want to consider using PandaDoc to draft and share your organization’s crisis communication plan? Book a free demo with us. PandaDoc is not a law firm, or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. This page is not intended to and does not provide legal advice. Should you have legal questions on the validity of e-signatures or digital signatures and the enforceability thereof, please consult with an attorney or law firm. Use of PandaDoc services are governed by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Related articles Document templates 17 min Contracts 11 min Document templates 5 min N.J. business owners need a succession plan, and workers need savings. We can solve both problems | Opinion Updated: Sep. 02, 2024, 8:13 a.m. | Published: Sep. 02, 2024, 8:00 a.m. Star-Ledger Guest Columnist By Bill Castellano and Adria Scharf New Jersey’s business landscape is aging. A majority of business owners are over 55 and many lack succession plans . While some may find outside buyers, others might simply close their doors in the coming years, putting thousands of jobs at risk. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Housing plan for homeless veterans could affect Greenbelt in Harrisburg Updated: Sep. 05, 2024, 5:44 p.m. | Published: Sep. 05, 2024, 6:00 a.m. The Capital Area Greenbelt at South Front Street in Harrisburg. April 6, 2023. Dan Gleiter | [email protected] Daniel Urie | [email protected] The members of the Harrisburg Planning Commission, the city’s planning department and the Capital Area Greenbelt Association seem to be in favor of a proposed project on South Front Street that would provide both transitional and permanent housing for veterans. But, they are all concerned about the future of the Capitol Area Greenbelt in the area of the proposed project in Harrisburg. The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation plans to build the Tunnel to Towers Veterans Village for homeless veterans at 1103 S. Front St., which would include a 64-unit mixed-use building and 20 “comfort homes” for residents. The proposed project sits on a 15-acre property. The nonprofit plans to purchase 8.5 acres of the property. The project was back in front of the planning commission on Wednesday night as The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation submitted subdivision and preliminary land development plans for the project. In the end, the planning commission recommended the subdivision plan for the project by a 4-2 vote. The other part of the 15-acre property will be used by Eden Village, a separate project that will provide housing for the homeless. The planning commission voted 6-0 to table the preliminary land development plan. Well over two hours of the three-hour meeting were dedicated to the Tunnel to Towers Veterans Village project. And emotions ran high as much of the discussion was related to one thing — the Capital Area Greenbelt, a 20-mile walking and biking trail that loops through and around Harrisburg. The property has accommodated a connection of the Capital Area Greenbelt for decades with permission from the the owner. However, due to the construction of the nearby Veterans Grove, there has been a detour in place for some time. In June, members of the planning commission urged the nonprofit to maintain that connection of the Capital Area Greenbelt. Officials from the Tunnel to Towers say they’re open to allowing the trail to traverse the eastern border of the property, which is parallel to the current access road. They say that given the high volume of foot and bike traffic, the eastern boundary route is the only route that would be acceptable for them. Other routes along the Veterans Village property would have a negative impact on the project’s site plan and its residents, officials said. The members of the Harrisburg Planning Commission, the director of the city’s planning department and the president of the Capital Area Greenbelt Association all expressed concerns regarding the developer’s suggested proposed trail. “I’m distressed that our input at the prior meetings was completely ignored,” said Commissioner Vern McKissick. Geoffrey Knight, director of planning for the city, said that the developer’s plan to allow the trail on the eastern side of the property will dump bikers using the Greenbelt into a street where they will have to ride through the parking lot of the PennDOT facility mixing with drivers. Knight said that plan would be dangerous. “Having the Greenbelt go across the southern portion of the property and along the access route would have no engagement with the residents, would not require the facility to open up to the general public and can easily be accommodated on which is an existing access road for emergency vehicles,” Knight said. “And frankly, I continue to be kind of baffled by the complete refusal of an adoptive commonsense proposal.” Knight also said that the Dauphin County General Authority, which owns the Riverfront Office Center that is home to PennDOT, has said they will not reserve any additional space for the Greenbelt. Lynda Cox, associate vice president for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, said that her organization is trying to treat veterans in a dignified way without having hundreds of people walking through their community. “Our only intent is to take care of the veterans,” she said. “There’s no intention to be nefarious. There’s no intention to prevent people from having fun. There’s no intention to do anything nefarious to this trail. Our only intent is to take care of the veterans. This project brings supportive services and permanent affordable housing to our veteran community.” Knight responded by saying the trail can be fenced off and cut off visibly with landscaping. “I don’t understand this insistence that somehow saying ‘well you can walk out on the sidewalk and get dumped into a road here and fight through this parking lot is somehow affecting the dignity of the residents of this facility’. We are not against the use. We are not against the number of units. We are not against [the] services provided here. We’re basically not against any of the design of this project except for the continual refusal to retain the Greenbelt on [the] site.” Luis Menendez, director of construction for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation said that security is a top priority for the community’s residents. He said that having a secure space and a safe environment without outside influence is important. “We can’t vet the general public, we don’t know who walks through there,” he said. “It’s a wooded environment. Anything can go. And that is something that we’re not in [a] position to compromise.” Commissioner Anne Marek applauded the foundation’s thought and design into the project but was also disappointed with the developer’s plan for the Greenbelt. “Cleary this is very well thought out, very detailed. I don’t take issue with that,” she said. “I fully support veterans. What disappoints me is that you’re able to take that level of detail when it comes to laying out of your building, structure and services but yet have not gone beyond that to look at a level of any detail and how you integrate into the community and into the cityscape around it and various infrastructure that exists within this property.” Doug Hill, president of the Capital Area Greenbelt Association, said that talking to the developer about a plan has been mostly through an intermediary. As part of its motion to table the plan, the planning commission requested that the parties meet to discuss the Greenbelt. The project previously received zoning hearing board approval of a special exception for a “use not specifically prohibited in the zoning code,” and of a variance application for buildings shorter than the 36-foot minimum. The plan could come back to the planning commission as early as next month. Harrisburg City Council has until Dec. 30 to make a decision on the project. And because this is only the preliminary land development plan, the developer will still have to submit a final land development plan, and they will have a full year to do so. The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation plans to build a housing development for homeless veterans at 1103 S. Front St. in Harrisburg. It would include both transitional and permanent housing. Tunnel to Towers Veterans Village would include a 64-unit mixed-use building and 20 “comfort homes” for residents. Rendering provided The three-story mixed-use building would include 60 studio apartments on the second and third floors. The apartments will have about 390 square feet. Each apartment will include a sleeping area, kitchenette and bathroom with a toilet and shower. There will be laundry facilities on each floor as well as a lounge and meeting rooms for tenant services and social gatherings on the first floor. The 20 “comfort homes” will be one-story structures. All the units will be capable of being ADA compliant. The “comfort homes” will have about 500 square feet of space. Each home has a separate living room, a central kitchen area with a bathroom and a separate private bedroom. The “comfort homes” will be offered to veterans who are 55 and over. Each comfort home will have a ramp. Both the homes and the apartments can be for permanent living. However, the nonprofit hopes that veterans who use the apartments will transition into permanent housing. The community will have fencing with a controlled entrance and exit, and 24-hour surveillance. Veterans Village will offer support services for veterans including job training, legal services, benefits assistance, education assistance, and mental health support and counseling. The community will assist in providing transportation for its residents, allowing them to find employment or visit nearby VA offices. Each floor will have a case manager. From approximately 1890 until 1970, the entire property was used as a steel mill. The property is mostly vacant but still retains some of the building foundations and site infrastructure from when the property accommodated a steel mill. The property is near the PennDOT building, the Veterans Grove tiny-homes village for homeless veterans, railroad tracks and the Susquehanna River. The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is a New York nonprofit, which promotes housing for disabled first responders and families of their survivors and housing for homeless veterans. It was founded in memory of Stephen Siller, a New York City firefighter who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. This will be the first Tunnel to Towers Veterans Village in Pennsylvania. The nonprofit is currently developing or looking to develop veteran villages in several states. Several veterans who spoke at the meeting including Calobe Jackson, said in the end they just want to see this project approved. “I urge you to compromise on this. Somebody loses a little bit, somebody will gain. But I think you should pass this and do this for the veterans,” Jackson said. Three projects that will provide housing for the homeless are in various phases of development at 1101 and 1103 S. Front Street. In addition to Tunnel to Towers Veterans Village, Veterans Grove, a 15-unit tiny-home community will serve homeless veterans. Veterans Grove welcomed its first residents in June. Eden Village, a 31-unit tiny-home community will provide transitional housing for the homeless. Officials for Eden Village provided a sketch plan to the planning commission in July. Stories by Daniel Urie Property that might have been part of Underground Railroad to be converted into housing Pa. plant to close; more than 100 people to be laid off Rite Aid exits bankruptcy as a private company owned by creditors Conductor for central Pa. orchestra to step back temporarily due to health diagnosis Large warehouse in Dauphin County sold for $45.4M If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy. 227 IMAGES Sample Disclaimer Template 10 Disclaimer Examples Confidentiality Disclaimers FREE 9+ Product Liability Disclaimer Samples and Templates in PDF Disclaimer Examples Disclaimer Template VIDEO Strega modular Furniture|| Cheapest Furniture||Latest Trendy Furniture #furniture #furnituredesign What does disclaimer mean? BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: HOW BE BACK! //NDOLA ZAMBIA// How to Add a Disclaimer in Exchange 2010 Market Analysis for Monday What Is a Business Plan? COMMENTS 10 Disclaimer Examples The type of disclaimer you include on your website or other materials depends on your business and the type of liability you want to avoid. Here are some types of common disclaimers. 1. Testimonial Disclaimer. A testimonial disclaimer specifies that the experiences or results shared in a testimonial are not guaranteed. Disclaimer Examples Investment disclaimers are just one industry example of how you can protect your specific business interests. No Guarantee Disclaimer. No guarantee disclaimers state that a business makes no promises regarding the outcome of using its product or service. One of the best examples of this online comes from Wikipedia's disclaimer: Sample Disclaimer Template & Examples [Download for FREE] Sample Disclaimer Template. A disclaimer is a notice that appears on a blog, website, document, or product to provide a warning to your users and to limit your liability when it comes to specific aspects of your business. This generic disclaimer template will help you understand how to form a legal agreement. 10 Disclaimer Examples You Can Use on Your Website in 2023 10 Disclaimer Examples to Help You Stay on the Right Side of the Law (Updated 2023) By Jimmy Marshall. Last updated on February 24, 2023. One of the best ways of getting to grips with the functions and applications of disclaimers is to consult a variety of disclaimer examples. Particularly if you plan on publishing any disclaimers personally ... How to Write a Business Plan Confidentiality Statement? After you write your business plan, create a stringent confidentiality statement and ensure that it includes the following key elements.. 1. Date of Effect. The date of effect is the date from which the confidentiality statement becomes active. An agreement isn't valid until all the parties sign it; the date of effect follows this.. 2. Parties Involved in the Agreement Forward-Looking Statements The forward-looking statements disclaimer should be used whenever a company makes written or oral statements about any of the following types of information: Projected financial performance. Expected development of the business. Execution of the vision and growth plans. Future M&A activity and global growth. Financing for the company's ... Sample Disclaimer Template & Guide [Free Download] Disclaimer Template. Having a website disclaimer is vital to protect your business from liability if you conduct business online. A disclaimer can be your defense against legal claims from your content or product users. We've put together this guide to help you create a comprehensive disclaimer on your own, using our free disclaimer generator ... No-Responsibility Disclaimer with Templates & Examples Disclaimer of Liability and No-liability disclaimer. The no-responsibility disclaimer is also known as a "disclaimer of liability" — or "no-liability disclaimer" — because it refers to a lack of legal obligation on the part of you or your business. These terms are used interchangeably, and posted disclaimers are sometimes labeled ... Disclaimer Template What is a Disclaimer. A Disclaimer is a statement aimed to address specific points regarding liability.. Disclaimers have a long legal history. They generally have two main purposes: To warn; To limit liability; A warning sign is an example of a disclaimer that everyone would be familiar with. "No trespassing" signs alert passing individuals that they are near a private land boundary and also ... Disclaimer Disclaimer Examples. 1. General Website Disclaimer. "The information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only. All information on the site is provided in good faith; however, we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability ... How to Write a Legal Disclaimer for Your Business: 12 Steps 1. Identify the goods or services you provide. You will need a disclaimer if you provide goods or services, but the requirements of the disclaimer will depend on what you provide. Goods may be tangible (like a hammer) or intangible (like information). Disclaimer Examples Disclaimer Examples. Generate a Disclaimer in just a few minutes "Views Expressed" Disclaimer. A "views expressed" disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.. Another common use of a "views expressed" disclaimer is by ... Disclaimer: What Is It? Examples of Disclaimers Disclaimers are legal texts that offer businesses protection from legal liability. They shield a company from legal claims associated with user and third-party risk. In general, customers must agree to all terms and conditions before using a product or service. Here is an article which also defines disclaimers. Confidentiality Disclaimers Because your business is only a plan right now, it's vital that anyone who sees any of your ideas be warned with a confidentiality disclaimer. That includes the loan officer at your bank, potential business investors, professional colleagues that you approach for advice, along with potential manufacturers, vendors, wholesalers, and product ... Business Plan Confidentiality Statement Purpose and Scope of the Confidentiality Statement. The primary purpose of a business plan confidentiality statement is to establish a legally binding agreement between the business and the intended readers or recipients of the business plan. This agreement emphasizes the confidential nature of the information contained within the business plan ... Business Plan Cover Page: Complete Guide 1.1. Business name: The name of the company that is the subject of the plan. 1.2. Document title: The words "Business Plan" in a prominent spot so that it is clear what kind of document this is. 1.3. Contact information: Name, title and contact details (e.g., phone, email, social media, website, address) of the primary contact persons presenting the plan (e.g., CEO, Founder, Owner ... Disclaimer Examples with Samples ⚠️(Samples included) Our disclaimer generator offers all of the above mentioned disclaimer statements. Some of the more generic ones are free, while there is a small charge for the more specialized ones. Our disclaimers were drafted by a lawyer, so you can feel secure knowing that your business has a solid disclaimer. Generate Disclaimer. How to write your business plan cover page Give the logo some space and then include the words "Business Plan" in a large, bold font. You can also frame the title as "Three-" or "Five-Year Business Plan," if you intend to make those kinds of financial projections in the document. 3. Business name. Beneath the title, write your company name in a bold font. Sample Business Plan Confidentiality Agreement Business Plan Confidentiality Agreement: The undersigned reader of [Company's Name] Business Plan hereby acknowledges that the information provided is completely confidential and therefore the reader agrees not to disclose anything found in the business plan without the express written consent of [Business Owner's Name]. Pallet Manufacturer Business Plan Example There is three million tons of scrap tire shredded rubber on the ground in Texas with ten permitted processors or tire shredders, which want to provide material to ATP. ATP will purchase scrap tire rubber from a Stamford, Texas processor, and has estimated the cost of material at $1.25/pallet ($50 per ton). Are Disclaimers Legally Binding? Yes But With Exceptions For a disclaimer to function as a binding agreement, it must be clearly communicated and reasonable. Additionally, it also should not violate any existing laws. Ensuring these elements can help establish your disclaimer as a strong legal shield. Disclaimers are generally enforceable if they are clear, unambiguous, and not unduly harsh or unfair. 2024-2025 HHS Business Plan: Transforming the Customer Experience The 2024-2025 HHS Business Plan is the first-ever produced since the Department of Health and Department of Human Services unified on Sept. 1, 2022. The comprehensive plan highlights 74 supporting goals and projects that intricately align with the agency's strategic priorities, forging a path toward our mission of fostering positive, holistic ... Perfecting your crisis communication plan In business, everything that could go wrong would most likely go wrong. ... Want to consider using PandaDoc to draft and share your organization's crisis communication plan? Book a free demo with us. Disclaimer. PandaDoc is not a law firm, or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. This page is not intended to and does not provide legal advice. Advertisers plan to withdraw from X in record numbers A global survey by market research firm Kantar found that a net 26% of marketers plan to decrease their spending on X in 2025, the biggest recorded pullback from any major global ad platform. Pennsylvania Link to Aging and Disability Resources (PA LINK) Connect You to Local Help: Quickly link you to local services and support through any PA Link partner agency.; Find Secure Independence: Look at available options to make sure you have a good plan for staying independent.; Help with Applications: Assist you with filling out forms to see if you qualify for funding.; Support Community Living: Help you stay in or move back to your community if ... N.J. business owners need a succession plan, and workers need savings A majority of business owners are over 55 and many lack succession plans. While some may find outside buyers, others might simply close their doors in the coming years, putting thousands of jobs ... Housing plan for homeless veterans could affect Greenbelt in ... In the end, the planning commission recommended the subdivision plan for the project by a 4-2 vote. The other part of the 15-acre property will be used by Eden Village, a separate project that ... The Trump policy that freaks out economists the most Former President Donald Trump wants to spend trillions of dollars on tax cuts. His plan to pay for that is alarming some mainstream economists. Trump proposed sweeping tariffs on all $3 trillion ... Would Kamala Harris' small business plan work? NH economists like it Under her small business plan, Harris is proposing raising the tax deduction for small business's startup expenses to $50,000, up from the current $5,000 deduction for startups. Harris explains plan to lower the cost of starting new businesses In a speech in North Hampton, New Hampshire, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris breaks down how she plans to combat barriers to starting a business and details how her economic plan ... essay homework paper phd project resume review speech study thesis