diff --git a/.changeset/itchy-walls-count.md b/.changeset/itchy-walls-count.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..46a8709573
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/itchy-walls-count.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-sonarqube': patch
+---
+
+Enhance token description by highlighting that the trailing colon is required.
diff --git a/plugins/sonarqube/README.md b/plugins/sonarqube/README.md
index 87242f6788..2652e156f8 100644
--- a/plugins/sonarqube/README.md
+++ b/plugins/sonarqube/README.md
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ yarn add @backstage/plugin-sonarqube
 
 3. Add the proxy config:
 
-   Provide a method for your Backstage backend to get to your SonarQube API end point. Add configuration to your `app-config.yaml` file depending on the product you use.
+   Provide a method for your Backstage backend to get to your SonarQube API end point. Add configuration to your `app-config.yaml` file depending on the product you use. Make sure to keep the trailing colon after the `SONARQUBE_TOKEN`, it is required to call
+   the Web API (see [docs](https://docs.sonarqube.org/latest/extend/web-api/)).
 
 **SonarCloud**
 
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ proxy:
   '/sonarqube':
     target: https://sonarcloud.io/api
     allowedMethods: ['GET']
+    # note that the colon after the token is required
     auth: '${SONARQUBE_TOKEN}:'
     # Environmental variable: SONARQUBE_TOKEN
     # Fetch the sonar-auth-token from https://sonarcloud.io/account/security/
@@ -57,6 +59,7 @@ proxy:
   '/sonarqube':
     target: https://your.sonarqube.instance.com/api
     allowedMethods: ['GET']
+    # note that the colon after the token is required
     auth: '${SONARQUBE_TOKEN}:'
     # Environmental variable: SONARQUBE_TOKEN
     # Fetch the sonar-auth-token from https://sonarcloud.io/account/security/
@@ -65,7 +68,7 @@ sonarQube:
   baseUrl: https://your.sonarqube.instance.com
 ```
 
-4. Get and provide `SONARQUBE_TOKEN` as an env variable (https://sonarcloud.io/account/security or https://docs.sonarqube.org/latest/user-guide/user-token/)
+4. Get and provide `SONARQUBE_TOKEN` as an env variable (https://sonarcloud.io/account/security or https://docs.sonarqube.org/latest/user-guide/user-token/).
 
 5. Run the following commands in the root folder of the project to install and compile the changes.