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Writing an Effective Business Plan – What to Do and What Not to Do

Business plans are vitally important documents, both for raising investment and for generating common understanding about proposals for the future. Most of these plans take weeks to produce, and many are written with the help of corporate finance advisors and other professionals. We have the pain and privilege of being a paid reviewer of plans, and the frightening reality of our experience is that most of them sit somewhere in the range of poor to terrible. However, most of the problems can be fixed with some simple disciplines.

In this article, we list the most common errors we see, and some recommendations for writing a more effective plan.

Common errors

The plan is too long

No one will invest straight off the back of a plan. If they are intrigued by it, they will want to meet you and find out more. The plan needs to be sensible, but if they invest, they are investing in you. They will be backing your ability to achieve the plan or, more likely, something just as good when life inevitably turns out differently. So your objective is simply to say enough that the reader can decide that they either want to meet you or that they are not interested, and no one’s time is wasted as a result.

Whoever your target reader may be, they need to read the plan in one sitting and retain what they read. This means you have 10-20 pages to get your plan across. You cannot possibly detail every idea, initiative and piece of evidence in a ten-page document. So your challenge for the plan is to summarise the important points, just enough to whet a reader’s appetite and either entice them to want to meet you or decide quickly that it’s not for them.

The plan is overtly optimistic, ignoring the risks and negatives

Plan writers naturally try to put their idea across as positively and attractively as possible. This is natural, and it is important to be positive and put across your passion; but most plans end up as blatantly optimistic sales documents, with little thought to risks and downsides. Unfortunately, this propensity increases with the use of poorly qualified advisers.

Readers want to see their concerns being pre-empted and addressed rigorously in the plan, not dismissed or ignored. Your plan is an opportunity for you to put yourself across as a passionate but practical business person, and build your credibility before meeting potential investors. If the plan dwells only on the upside, you come across as unrealistic.

It looks like a filled-in template

Some sections of plans really are necessary most of the time. It’s rare that you don’t need a section discussing the relevant market trends, the distinctive differences of your service or the projected financials. However, crow-barring in a SWOT analysis or a Porter’s Five Forces puts you in serious danger of looking like an amateur business plan writer, rather than a smart professional with a convincing investment proposal. If a section adds to the reader’s understanding in a neat, focused manner, then go ahead with it, but blind application of template business tools will make your plan much worse.

It contains too many broad generalisations

Most plans focus on a specific opportunity in a specific market, but descriptions of the market and the opportunity are often so generalised as to be meaningless. If your plan is for home pet-sitting in London, showing how many millions of cats are bought every year in the UK is almost irrelevant.

Describe your service, your market and the reasons people will buy as precisely as possible. You will need to make assumptions, but as long as you state what they are and why they are credible or conservative, then you have a context that is meaningful to all involved.

It is written in language that impairs the readers’ judgment of the business

It is amazing how many people have a writing style that detracts from the quality of their thinking and business ideas. A business plan is a serious document that needs snappy, simple writing to get the point across: one idea per paragraph, one point per sentence. No sales-speak, no rhetorical questions, no use of complex technical language. Furthermore, too much business-speak is common in many plans but gives an impression of vague thinking and lack of real world practicality, it can be annoying and a turn-off for the reader. Language may not improve the appeal of your business but it allows the reader to clearly understand your thinking without distractions.

OK, that’s what not to do. Now we cover the key aspects of an effective plan.

Writing an effective plan

Be clear about who and what the plan is for

You need to think about this to determine what is in the plan and how much you need to explain. The plan is confined to information and context relevant to the target audience to achieve this end. For example, a plan used to attract an external investor will need a market section explaining the fundamentals; one used to generate Board agreement about a new course of action may only need a commentary on recent changes or trends.

Convince yourself first

A good plan needs to convey both passion and credibility. Credibility is the factor that is almost always lacking. The harder the plan writer challenges his own thinking and his own assumptions, the more credible and higher quality the plan. Your own concerns and lack of clarity will come out at some stage during the process, so you need to be the one that takes control – test and pre-empt them before someone else does.

Realise that the plan is step one of many

The most successful, well-written plan will not be the single killer step that by itself secures investment, agreement to proceed, or whatever the ultimate objective may be. It is only step one, to be followed by meetings, questions and challenges.

The role of the plan is to help clarify the opportunity for all involved and build your credibility, so that subsequent discussions are productive and focused on how things are going to get done.

Be brief and clear

The plan needs to contain enough to describe the opportunity, why it is attractive, how you are going to exploit it, and no more. If you are enthusiastic about the opportunity, you will be able to write at-length, most likely well beyond the tolerance level of most readers. You will need to be deliberate in your efforts to bring out the most important points, reduce redundancy, and be clear and specific about anything that is open to interpretation. Use the document to intrigue the reader, not cover every angle.

That covers the key characteristics of the most effective plans we review. Now we outline typical sections that we expect to see in some form in the plans we review:

Plan contents

The bullets below show a typical framework for a plan. This framework is a start point and no more than that. It needs to be cut and changed to tell the story you want to tell in the clearest, most relevant way. With the right mindset and style for the plan, you can adapt the sections below to get your idea across, and generate credibility and interest from your target audience.

Business Plan Template

Executive summary (1 page)

Summary description of the business containing enough for a person to understand it in 5 minutes. One paragraph each on:

– Business background (description of the business)

– Vision and strategy

– Relevant market background and trends

– Revenue and cost expectations (short summary table)

– Key next steps in implementation plan

Business description (1-2 pages)

Background

– Description of the products or services the business will provide, and why they are better or different than what already exists

– Description of the customer groups

– Any other relevant background needed to understand the business

– Any relevant history

Vision

– Description of your vision for the business that will get people excited. Include any tangible targets in terms of sales, customers, product performance, market share, etc.

Strategy

– Summary description of how the business will achieve the vision described above. Include relevant descriptions of how your product or service will developed and marketed, and any other important issues to get right, e.g. technology, sourcing products, etc

Market (1-2 pages)

– Description of the market including estimates of overall size and the opportunity for your product/service

– Description of any market trends that are relevant to demand for your product/service

Competition (1 page)

– Description of direct competitors and alternative products or services customers have to buying your products/services

– Explanation of why your product/service is better or different than the competition

Revenue streams (1 page)

– Description and quantification of all major revenue streams for a three year period, being clear about all assumptions

Costs (1 page)

– Description and quantification of all major costs for a three year period

Implementation plan (1-2 pages)

– Explanation of all major steps required to get business up and running, and performing in the first year. This is best done as a table describing with all major actions with deadlines and responsibilities

Financial projections (1 page)

– 3 year summary profit and loss account

– Description of all major investments

Team background and credentials (1 page)

– One paragraph on each of the team members

So there you have it. At its heart, a great plan will describe a great idea, supported by a great team, but will do so in a brief, clear way, that gets to the point and intrigues the potential backer.

The last plan we wrote was for a start-up sports team and it raised a £40m investment, from the first backer the team approached, within two months. The plan was short and simple with not a SWOT analysis in sight, but it was a great idea and had a great team. The plan was just step one.

Do Solopreneurs Even Need a Business Plan?

Here’s a little insider secret about solo professionals – less than 1 in 5 have a written business plan. Are you shocked? I’ve worked with smart self-employed solopreneurs for nearly six years now, and in that time I’ve come to understand why you don’t. Here are three of the top reasons:

1. Business plan templates often ask for information not relevant to your business, such as detailed plans for capitalization through old-business mechanisms such as bank loans and venture capital.

2. Commonly used biz plan templates often do not support newer business models such as Internet-only businesses, those with little or no physical inventory, or direct marketed businesses.

3. The templates also often short-change the marketing and customer service aspects of the business, arguably the most vital parts of business activity for micro-businesses.

Even though commonly used business plan templates or outlines don’t serve solo professionals particularly well, you still will do better in your business if you have a written business plan. So if the dirty little secret of your business is that you’ve done no formal planning, listen up! You need a plan! Here are just a few reasons why.

* Completing a solopreneur biz plan forces you to become clearer and more succinct about what you offer, and that enables you to talk to prospects (potential customers) in a way that attracts them to your services.

* A completed plan gives you specific goals to hit at specific times, which allows you to review and reflect how you are doing up against what you said you could do 3 months, 6 months, or a year ago.

* Often even more valuable than both of the above, having a plan helps you avoid the “bright, shiny object syndrome” that so many of us have. It gives you a quick way to judge whether the opportunity is a distraction or something that will actually help you hit your goals.

There’s much more that proper business planning can do for solo professionals. And by proper, I mean planning that is crafted specifically for a small, solo business that operates out of the home (or a small solo office). While you don’t need a huge plan that talks about venture capital and bricks and mortar buildings, you still will benefit from thinking about your structure, your goals, and your timelines.

I suggest that you block out just 30 minutes twice a week, and begin to build a simple business plan that helps you guide and build your business. Give it six months, and you’ll find your business has grown in ways you didn’t expect!

How A Good Business Plan Sample Can Help You Prepare Your Plan

When it comes to writing a new business plan, there is nothing quite as valuable as having a guide to go by, and having a quality business plan sample at hand will make the task of writing a new business plan a lot easier.

While the exact needs of every business will differ, there are a number of elements that must be part of any type of business plan, and having a business plan sample at hand can help any business owner include these essential elements.

Elements You Will Need To Include In Your Business Plan

Some of the most important elements of any business plan sample will be such things as a current a pro forma balance sheet, a current income statement and an up to date analysis of cash flow.

It is important to look for a business plan sample that includes all of these required elements, and just as important to tailor those elements to the needs of your own business.

Seeking Out A Business Plan That Is Similar To The Type Of Business You Plan To Start

When seeking out a business plan sample it is important to plan carefully and to look at several different business plan samples before deciding on a single one to use.

There are many different kinds of business plan examples available, both in books and magazines tailored to the business world and of course on the internet. It is a good idea to look around carefully until you find the business plan sample that best meets your needs.

Using a business plan sample from the same or a similar industry is a good idea, as is seeking out a business plan sample that matches your own style and needs.

Using The Business Plan Sample As A Guide Line

After you have your business plan sample in hand, it is important to use that business plan sample as a guideline and a starting point.

While having a business plan sample available will make the job of writing a quality business plan a lot easier, it will not replace the hard work necessary in the formation of a business plan.

It is best to think of the business plan sample as a template and a guideline, and to use it to create a business plan that is uniquely suited to your own special area of expertise.

Why Financial Planning Is Important for Your Business?

Importance of Financial Planning for Businesses

To manage cash flow

The cash flow of a business may vary from time to time. There may be times that there’s a high cash flow, but there are seasons that it can be low. Through these data, you can anticipate the possible risks like cash shortage. Having a financial plan can help you avoid the negative consequences, and you can ensure that the stability of the cash flow is maintained.

It helps in creating marketing strategies

Before jumping into a marketing strategy or campaign, it is important to consider the financial planning. Such plan will determine if the marketing campaign is worth it, and if it can be helpful in the long-run. The financial plan can weigh if the expense for a marketing strategy can really generate a good profit.

To control business risks

You don’t have to worry about uncertain circumstances if you have a plan. Including business insurance expenses, losses, and other unexpected expense in your financial plan can help you to continue your business. Just like when the pandemic happened – no one knows that it will happen, and we’ll never know when this will end. All you can do as a business owner is to continue to create new financial plans on a monthly basis to gain a better insight of your business.

To have a long-term view of the business

The future condition of the business is also as important as the present. Financial planing can help you to have a clear view of your business in the long-run. The financial reports will help the business owners to gain insights about their business functions. They can even come up with expansion and sales programs which can also help in the sustainability of the business in the future.

It is never a waste of time. Without it, you can have a hard time to assess the performance of your business, and your business can possibly turn into a disaster. It can reduce the uncertainties which can help in the sustainability and profitability of the business in the long-run. You can possibly meet your short-term and long-term goals by having a solid financial plan. It doesn’t matter how big or small your business is, it can still collapse if you don’t have a proper planning. It might take some of your time to plan, but it’s better than nothing at all.

Your Business Plan – Keeping Your Executive Summary Clear and to the Point

An executive summary is a short, sharp snapshot of the key points contained in a document. It reflects the content of your detailed business plan and makes it easier for the reader to gain a good understanding of what the rest of the document will cover.

In order to prepare an effective executive summary, you will first need to write your business plan. And whilst there are many ways you can go about doing that, such as using software, writing it from scratch or using a business planning template, you will need to keep one key point at the top of your mind during the process – who the reader is. Without readily knowing who will be reading your plan, and basing decisions on what you include, then your document and executive summary may be quite confusing.

To help get this clarity up front, think about the purpose for writing your business plan. Is it for a banker or investor to review and consider loaning you money for your business? Is it for your staff so that they have a clear understanding of what the business will do in the next 1-3 years? Or is it for you, helping to shape your ideas and strategies for business establishment and growth?

Even though your plan should be applicable for all three types of readers, once you have determined who the audience is then you can shape your executive summary to highlight those areas of the plan that matter most to the reader.

For example, if your reader is a banker who you are asking for a loan, then they will want to know that the plan outlines the ways in which the business will make a profit and how you have come to your conclusions (such as market research and testing). They will also want to know how well you have captured the current and planned expenses of the business, and the projected income from the products/services you intend to sell. Including a budget in your plan will also help show the details of your financial projections which you can then refer to in your summary.

The bottom line is that an executive summary is a top-level outline of what the rest of the document is about. A good summary will mean that someone can read it and get a reasonable understanding of what you want to communicate, and then choose to dig into the plan for the areas that most interest them.

It needs to be engaging, succinct and to the point. No rambling sentences and repetition. Keep it short and sharp. As long as it communicates the essence of the plan, then it will be fine. It may help to structure your executive summary before you write it. Think about the major aspects of your plan and structure the summary in a way that each points leads to the next and builds a good understanding in the mind of the reader. You may also want to try explaining to someone what the plan is about and ask that person to write notes as you talk. Then, you can use these notes as the basis of your summary.

Your executive summary in the business plan will not be as long as the rest of the document, but it is probably the most important aspect of the entire plan. Without a good, clear and direct summary, your reader won’t get past the second page.

Why Hire Business Plan Writing and Editing Services?

There can be many ways to approach the writing and editing of a business plan. We will discuss some of the basics about the structure and content of a good plan. One of the keys to creating a great plan that meets the needs of investors, banks, and even grant providers, is to make sure that you understand your business well, whether it’s a start-up company or one that has been in operation for many years. Professional business plan consultants help owners, directors and founders to develop a better understanding of their business in order to assist in providing answers to questions that will create a solid business and financial plan for any purpose.

Business Plan Templates and Outlines

Most experienced business owners strongly recommend hiring a professional plan writing company to create a business plan. They have learned a lot in all their years in business and know that it is important to hire experts in their fields. Companies that are reputable and have been creating plans for many years are the best options. Often, when someone attempts to create their own plan, it can take months to complete if it even gets completed at all! Professionals know how to move through a plan template or outline and fill it in with pertinent and well-written information.

So, what are the key sections of a great plan document? Well, there are many opinions to this as well as ways to approach it, but there are definitely some key ‘ingredients’ to a solid plan. A great plan features all the typical main sections, but also has many refinements not found in the average plan. The main sections recommended include a clean, well-designed cover page, table of contents, cover letter, executive summary, business overview, sales and marketing section, operations section, HR section, action plan and financial section with tables for – at the very minimum – expenses, revenue, and cash flow projections. Within these sections, a professional writer creates many headings and lots of writing that describes every aspect of the business in very good detail. On average, most business plans end up being about 25 to 35 pages in length.

Plan Creation Process

Typically, the process for creating a business plan goes like this: The client discusses their business with the writer and pays a deposit. The writer starts immediately on the business plan by creating an initial layout and inputting all the known information. This is followed by compiling a list of basic questions for the client to answer in point-form related to the details of the business. These questions are usually easy to answer within a day or two because clients already know the basics about their business. The writer then receives the answers and uses the information to create sentences and paragraphs and fill in the plan’s content. Once the written parts are done, the writer will work with the business owner and a financial expert on the financial tables that will go at the end of the plan.

Timelines

Timelines vary greatly for creating a plan depending on the writer’s experience, the business type, the detail required, and how much industry and market research is necessary. There may also be other factors. In most cases, however, a detailed plan can be created within 2-3 weeks.

Plan Costs

Business plan writers and companies charge very different amounts for their services, ranging from as little as $500 to as much as $5000 or more. A good pricing model is based on the factors mentioned earlier, such as length, complexity, research required, etc. Generally, $500 is not enough for a plan because of the many hours that go into creating one, and $5000 is way too much for clients to pay. That being said, a good, well-written and professional document of about 30 pages in length should be more in the range of $900 to $1500. This pricing structure is very reasonable considering that most of the work can take more than 50 hours to complete. In terms of an hourly rate, most professionals charge between $25 to $35 per hour.

Guide on How to Write a Business Plan

From the start, a new business owner gets to know that having a business plan is important when dealing with banking personnel or potential investors. A business plan is also used by business owners and employees to make business decisions and to measure your company’s success. This document, at the least, should outline your company’s goals, and projected expenses, as well as marketing plans and exit strategy. Perhaps with these objectives in mind, many business owners want to know the easier way how to write business plan.

Here are some techniques.

a. Use a business plan template which has blank areas in which you can fill in the relevant information regarding your own business. Although a “fill in the blanks” approach is not a really a serious way to write a plan and will not help in securing financing or ensure the business’ success, think of templates as a good point to start writing your plan for business.

b. Business plan outlines are also a good place to start. Generic business outlines can be found in books or on the Internet, but the outline or the business plan’s basic structure should be changed to suit the type of your business.

c. Some beginning business owners use software like Business Plan Pro. It has sample of templates which can be used to help in writing your own business plan.

Here are some guidelines on how to write business plan. It should have:

1. An executive summary that outlines the company’s goals and objectives – Lending institutions always look for a business plan’s executive summary, which should always come at the beginning. It is important to emphasize the viability of your proposed business to persuade institutions to give you a loan. The executive summary can also be used as a way to communicate your ideas to employees and potential customers to get their support.

2. A short account of the company’s beginnings – Give a clear explanation on how the company was created and how the idea to start the business came about.

3. The proposed product or service you will offer – It is important that you discuss how the service or product is different from those already available in the market. Emphasize the market potential of your offering to convince employees and potential investors. Knowing the market potential usually requires research to know market demand but you can usually get basic information on this in the Internet.

4. A clear marketing strategy – If the business owner already has a good reputation, he or she could rely on word-of-mouth but most beginners should think of a plan to market or advertise on television, in print, or on the Internet. You need to include in this section your projected marketing expenses.

5. An exit strategy – List the benchmarks that will make you decide when to stop the company’s operations. These benchmarks could be based on revenue growth or the consensus among top management officers.

Knowing how to write business plan should not add to the pressures of starting a business. Good thing there are many resources beginning business owners can use for this.

How To Put Together a Strategic Business Plan

What is a Business Plan?

Most people assume you only have to write a business plan if you are going to seek capital from a bank or other lending institution. This is not always the case.

Most plans are driven by market needs and aims. The importance of having a business plan is to ensure your business remains on target for goals and objectives set for that financial year and for the future. There is no real difference between a business plan and a ‘strategic business plan’. You could say that every plan is a strategic one.

Most plans are driven by marketing, since you have to look outwards at the market, the market place, products and services before being able to look inwards at the company and finances.

Part of the business plan will include a marketing strategy, looking at how you will achieve growth, where to market and who to market to. Many people look at marketing as ‘selling’ but it is more than that. It’s about ‘branding’, image and building trust within the marketplace, about identifying the people who you need to market to. It’s about customer engagement and identifying your niche market and where they hang out. The Marketing strategy also looks at product development, customer service, ongoing training, the marketing system used to capture lead generation and how to retail to your customer on an ongoing basis, getting repeat customers, not just once off.

Why is it needed?

Having a plan helps you to define growth for your company, and expansion. It helps to keep you focused and on track.

Writing a business plan is not as complex as most people think, there are lots of templates out there on the market place that can help with the format.

Here are some quick tips for researching and putting together your marketing strategy:

· Determine your company values or ‘mission statement’, this will help to keep you on track as it is easy to get distracted without a mission statement.

· Do your market research, who are your audience? Your competitors? Who are your products aimed at? Where do they hang out?

· What is your unique selling point? What makes you stand out from your competitors

· What are your competitors activity? How do they compare to yours?

· What is it you are trying to achieve in your company / business? What are your aims?

· Are your products or services competitive? Do they stand out?

· What’s your customer service level like? Compared to your competitors?

· Have you got your marketing strategy right?

· Have you determined your advertising budget, your company brand etc?

· Market expansion – any plans for this?

· What will your business be like in 3 to 5 years time? Plan for growth financially and products, service wide.

Here are some great sites that offer more information on business planning and templates that you can use when producing a business plan.

U Style It

Business Balls

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Sample Roofing Contractor Business Plan Outline

Is it worth writing a lengthy business plan for your roofing startup? Business plan preparation can be time consuming and many entrepreneurs are tempted to go ahead without one unless they really need it to prove the viability of ideas to partners or investors.

Your roofing business won’t be a huge, complicated business for a few years anyway so why bother? Well, while I would not suggest that you spend months writing a 100 page report, it could be useful for you to have a 10 to 20 page document on your PC that can be your company blueprint for success. You can make changes to it as you slowly learn more about the business.

It will be the key document that sets out exactly how your business is run. If done properly you should basically be able to hand this document over to somebody when they buy your business and they can take over with very little of your time needed to explain things to them.

Here is a brief business roofing business plan template to give you some ideas on how to put your own together.

Contents Page and Executive Summary

This should be a summary of your entire roofing business plan. If you will be presenting the plan to interested parties then let them know the contents. Include a basic summary of your plans to start a roofing business. Outline the opportunities that you see in the market and what you plan to do in order to capture a piece of the pie for yourself.

Background in the Roofing Business

Prove to yourself or others why you are cut out to go into this business. List details on your education and any relevant experience that you have had in the roofing industry or in business in general. Outline your reasons for wanting to start a roofing business.

Mission Statement

Set out your company mission or philosophy in a few words or a short phrase. Try to think about what you want to achieve with your business apart from profits. You should be driven by a desire to deliver a quality service to people in way that satisfies them and provides great value for them while still allowing you to meet your goals. What kind of products and services do you want to deliver? How will you be different from all the other roofing companies?

Business Goals

Set out the goals that you have for your business in its first few years. Set realistic targets that you know are attainable so that you won’t be discouraged if you don’t meet them. Success can be measured by a number of metrics such as the total number of roofing jobs completed per month, the percentage of leads that become new customers or the productivity of your employees for example.

Startup Requirements

List down all of the products and services that your company will offer and then set out a list of equipment and inventory that you will need to get started. If you need to buy a truck then you will be looking at minimum startup costs of around $20,000.

Startup requirements will also include compliance costs. Depending on what state you are operating out of you may need a contractors license, insurance, bonding or to comply with a number of other relevant regulations.

Don’t forget that as well as purchasing all of the necessary roofing equipment you will also have to purchase materials for your first job. Clients will typically pay a large chunk of your total invoice upon completion of the job so you will have to foot the bill until you get reimbursed when they pay their invoice in full.

Structure, Ownership and Management

There are four basic options to consider for your business structure and they include sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or limited liability corporation (LLC).

Outline how your business will be owned and make a note of the various parties that may have an ownership stake.

Set out a management structure so that there is no confusion among those involved with the business as to who is responsible for managing each part of the business.

Marketing Plan

Identify your target market both by location as well as other demographic factors and describe the kind of people or properties that make up your target market. Include the results of any market research that you do or local industry statistics that you are able to gather.

Set out a detailed plan for your roofing business marketing. This should include how you plan on getting enquiries, converting them into new accounts and maintaining them over the long term. It should also include brand development, pricing, advertising, a sales approach and other marketing methods.

Competitive Analysis

Write up profiles of your main local competitors and try to understand how they run their businesses. Borrow and adapt characteristics of their business that work and look for weaknesses in their business models that you may be able to capitalize on. Figure out how you will differentiate your brand from theirs in a way that allows you to stand out in the market.

Operations

Include details of the day to day operations of the proposed roofing business. Make a note of your office location, business administration and record keeping systems, plans to hire employees and procedures regarding roofing installations or repairs.

Financial Analysis

Outline some of the methods that you could use to obtain financing for your new venture.

Create a spreadsheet that shows anticipated cash flow forecasts over the first few years of business for a variety of scenarios. You can then determine how profitable you think the business will be in a number of different economic climates.

You will be able to find many free business plan examples online but it can be harder to find a specific sample of a roofing business plan. There are some business planning software programs that you can buy but they are usually just generic business plans that have been adapted anyway.

Unless you can persuade other roofing business owners to share their plan with you then you really have to look at templates from other industries and model your roofing business plan on them.

Buy a Business Plan Template to Jump Start Your Writing

A business plan template is a product which can give your writing a significant jump start, shaving hours and maybe days off of your business plan development time. Rather than working on a plan from scratch, pulling together directions and guidance from multiple websites or sources, using a business plan template offers you direct and practical guidance on how to create a full business plan all in one package.

Guidance

The template should include directions to show how to customize it to reflect your specific business. This may come within the template itself or in a separate set of instructions. Regardless, the effect is like having a business plan consultant with you, nudging you in the right direction throughout your writing process.

Format

A business plan template comes pre-formatted, with appropriate fonts, colors, and sections. The cover sheet, table of contents, headings, and page layouts will be preset. All of this work allows you to sidestep concerns about your format and presentation style, and move on to focus on the ideas behind the plan’s major sections.

Graphics and Charts

A template may present many potential spots for graphics and charts to replace text. This will make your plan much more attractive and save you the time of developing these graphics yourself.

Financials

A financial model in Excel or a similar program will give you a significant short cut when it comes to the financial section. After entering your financial assumptions (such as average price, units you expect to sell, revenue growth rates, startup costs, and operating costs), the model should automatically generate valid pro forma financial statements in the format required by funders (generally, greater detail for the first one to three years, with annual numbers for the first five years of operation. Not only do you not need to be an accounting whiz to use such a template, but you can quickly and easily try out different financial assumptions and see how they change your statements and return over the years.