Consider contractor or vendor rates, extended recruiting spend, training costs for an alternate worker, and a working-capital cushion for a slower opening. Reserve periods are planning examples, not legal requirements. Keep business spending separate from immigration-preparation fees, and confirm current government charges at the time of each step rather than relying on a quoted figure.
Decide which spending is committed and which is contingent
A reviewer looks at capital actually committed and at risk, so distinguish money already spent or irrevocably obligated from amounts held for a hire that may never happen. Contingent payroll sitting in a personal account is not the same as an equipment purchase or a signed lease. Ask counsel how each item should be characterized in the investment schedule, and record the reasoning alongside the receipts.
Substantiality is proportional to the total cost of purchasing or establishing this particular business, so a drainage installation company with trucks, trenchers and a crew is measured against its own acquisition cost rather than against any general figure. Assess the amount against the credible cost of acquiring or launching this particular enterprise, rather than searching for a universal dollar figure.
Ask what the management company charges, whether it takes a percentage of revenue, and how the fee affects the projected margin used to discuss non-marginality.