business plan.docx

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Write your business plan

Business plans help you run your business.

A good business plan guides you through each stage of starting and managing your business. You’ll use your business plan as a roadmap for how to structure, run, and grow your new business. It’s a way to think through the key elements of your business.

Business plans can help you get funding or bring on new business partners. Investors want to feel confident they’ll see a return on their investment. Your business plan is the tool you’ll use to convince people that working with you — or investing in your company — is a smart choice.

Pick a business plan format that works for you

There’s no right or wrong way to write a business plan. What’s important is that your plan meets your needs.

Most business plans fall into one of two common categories: traditional or lean startup.

Traditional business plans are more common, use a standard structure, and encourage you to go into detail in each section. They tend to require more work upfront and can be dozens of pages long.

Lean startup business plans are less common but still use a standard structure. They focus on summarizing only the most important points of the key elements of your plan. They can take as little as one hour to make and are typically only one page.

Traditional business plan

Lean startup plan

Traditional business plan format

You might prefer a traditional business plan format if you’re very detail-oriented, want a comprehensive plan, or plan to request financing from traditional sources.

When you write your business plan, you don’t have to stick to the exact business plan outline. Instead, use the sections that make the most sense for your business and your needs. Traditional business plans use some combination of these nine sections.

Executive summary

Briefly tell your reader what your company is and why it will be successful. Include your mission statement, your product or service, and basic information about your company’s leadership team, employees, and location. You should also include financial information and high-level growth plans if you plan to ask for financing.

Company description

Use your company description to provide detailed information about your company. Go into detail about the problems your business solves. Be specific, and list out the consumers, organization, or businesses your company plans to serve.

Explain the competitive advantages that will make your business a success. Are there experts on your team? Have you found the perfect location for your store? Your company description is the place to boast about your strengths.

Market analysis

You'll need a good understanding of your industry outlook and target market. Competitive research will show you what other businesses are doing and what their strengths are. In your market research, look for trends and themes. What do successful competitors do? Why does it work? Can you do it better? Now's the time to answer these questions.

Organization and management

Tell your reader how your company will be structured and who will run it.

Describe the  legal structure  of your business. State whether you have or intend to incorporate your business as a C or an S corporation, form a general or limited partnership, or if you're a sole proprietor or limited liability company (LLC).

Use an organizational chart to lay out who's in charge of what in your company. Show how each person's unique experience will contribute to the success of your venture. Consider including resumes and CVs of key members of your team.

Service or product line

Describe what you sell or what service you offer. Explain how it benefits your customers and what the product lifecycle looks like. Share your plans for intellectual property, like copyright or patent filings. If you're doing  research and development  for your service or product, explain it in detail.

Marketing and sales

There's no single way to approach a marketing strategy. Your strategy should evolve and change to fit your unique needs.

Your goal in this section is to describe how you'll attract and retain customers. You'll also describe how a sale will actually happen. You'll refer to this section later when you make financial projections, so make sure to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales strategies.

Funding request

If you're asking for funding, this is where you'll outline your funding requirements. Your goal is to clearly explain how much funding you’ll need over the next five years and what you'll use it for.

Specify whether you want debt or equity, the terms you'd like applied, and the length of time your request will cover. Give a detailed description of how you'll use your funds. Specify if you need funds to buy equipment or materials, pay salaries, or cover specific bills until revenue increases. Always include a description of your future strategic financial plans, like paying off debt or selling your business.

Financial projections

Supplement your funding request with financial projections. Your goal is to convince the reader that your business is stable and will be a financial success.

If your business is already established, include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for the last three to five years. If you have other collateral you could put against a loan, make sure to list it now.

Provide a prospective financial outlook for the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and capital expenditure budgets. For the first year, be even more specific and use quarterly — or even monthly — projections. Make sure to clearly explain your projections, and match them to your funding requests.

This is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business.  

Use your appendix to provide supporting documents or other materials were specially requested. Common items to include are credit histories, resumes, product pictures, letters of reference, licenses, permits, patents, legal documents, and other contracts.

Example traditional business plans

Before you write your business plan, read the following example business plans written by fictional business owners. Rebecca owns a consulting firm, and Andrew owns a toy company.

Lean startup format

You might prefer a lean startup format if you want to explain or start your business quickly, your business is relatively simple, or you plan to regularly change and refine your business plan.

Lean startup formats are charts that use only a handful of elements to describe your company’s value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances. They’re useful for visualizing tradeoffs and fundamental facts about your company.

There are different ways to develop a lean startup template. You can search the web to find free templates to build your business plan. We discuss nine components of a model business plan here:

Key partnerships

Note the other businesses or services you’ll work with to run your business. Think about suppliers, manufacturers, subcontractors, and similar strategic partners.

Key activities

List the ways your business will gain a competitive advantage. Highlight things like selling direct to consumers, or using technology to tap into the sharing economy.

Key resources

List any resource you’ll leverage to create value for your customer. Your most important assets could include staff, capital, or intellectual property. Don’t forget to leverage business resources that might be available to  women ,  veterans ,  Native Americans , and  HUBZone businesses .

Value proposition

Make a clear and compelling statement about the unique value your company brings to the market.

Customer relationships

Describe how customers will interact with your business. Is it automated or personal? In person or online? Think through the customer experience from start to finish.

Customer segments

Be specific when you name your target market. Your business won’t be for everybody, so it’s important to have a clear sense of whom your business will serve.

List the most important ways you’ll talk to your customers. Most businesses use a mix of channels and optimize them over time.

Cost structure

Will your company focus on reducing cost or maximizing value? Define your strategy, then list the most significant costs you’ll face pursuing it.

Revenue streams

Explain how your company will actually make money. Some examples are direct sales, memberships fees, and selling advertising space. If your company has multiple revenue streams, list them all.

Example lean business plan

Before you write your business plan, read this example business plan written by a fictional business owner, Andrew, who owns a toy company.

Need help? Get free business counseling

Business Plan Templates

Free Download

2 Essential Templates For Starting Your Business. Available as an interactive PDF or a Google Docs template.

With this business plan template, you'll be able to:

• Write a company description that sells your story
• Plan for the future: lay out goals and metrics for success
• Describe your product line in detail and plan for how to stand out from competitors
• Consider any legal formalities that require attention when starting your business
• Put together necessary financial projections to make a strong start
• Create your buyer persona and determine your product/marketing fit

Build A Business Plan That Works

Available as a one-page interactive PDF and a full template on both Google Docs and Microsoft Word!

Whether you’re starting a business or drafting a formalized document with  your current business goals, it’s important to clearly defi ne the scope of all aspects of the venture — from mission, to target customers, to fi nances, and beyond.

When just starting out, it can be tempting to think of a business plan as simply your company’s name and a description of your product or service. But in reality, planning a business involves thinking through a lot more details.

In this business plan template we’ll guide you through the steps of writing company and product descriptions, setting sales and marketing goals and plans, and thinking through legal and fi nancial logistics. We've included a  plain text, designed , and  completed example version of this template. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do you write a business plan.

A business plan is a formal written document that you can use to identify the purpose of your company, make important decisions about your future and help grow your company. HubSpot's free business plan templates provides guidance to establishing your company mission, customer research, competition, and a business strategy to profitability.

Why do I need to fill out the information requested?

We will always keep your personal information safe..

We ask for your information in exchange for a valuable resource in order to (a) improve your browsing experience by personalizing the HubSpot site to your needs; (b) send information to you that we think may be of interest to you by email or other means; (c) send you marketing communications that we think may be of value to you. You can read more about our privacy policy here .

Where can I get a free business plan template?

HubSpot's Free Business Plan Templates are the best way to create a professional, thorough business plan. The templates include instructions and everything you need to know about starting your company.

Is this really free?

Absolutely.

Just sharing some free knowledge that we hope you’ll find useful. Keep us in mind next time you have marketing questions!

What are the basic format of a business plan?

A business plan is a written document that outlines the company's goals, strategy and implementation. The format of the plan varies depending on the type of organization (e.g., for-profit or nonprofit) and size, but most plans share some common features such as an overview, executive summary, and financial information.

What is the best business plan template?

A great business plan template clearly defines the scope of the venture -- from mission, to target customers, to finances, and beyond. HubSpot's business plan template will guide you through the steps of writing company and product descriptions, setting sales and marketing goals and plans, and thinking through legal and financial logistics.

What is needed to start a business?

If you're thinking about starting a business, you'll need to do some research first. You can't just start a business without doing any market research. Market research will tell you if there's an opportunity to turn your idea into a successful business. After that, write your business plan so that you know how much money and time it will take for the project to succeed. Use HubSpot's free business plan template today!

Set yourself up for success with this business plan template

Download the free business plan template.

All fields are required.

Easily create great, effective landing pages for free

• Business plans

Business Plan Template

Used 10,558 times

Reviewed by Yauhen Zaremba

This business plan template is a great tool for your startup to customize to reflect your strong qualifications, experienced team, and marketable business idea.

e-Sign with PandaDoc

Business Plan

1. executive summary.

The Executive Summary is where you explain the general idea behind your company; it’s where you give the reader (most likely an investor, or someone else you need on board) a clear indication of why you’ve sent this Business Plan to them. This is a souped-up “elevator pitch,” a couple of pages that summarizes what your business is all about.

Note that, while the entire Business Plan should be well-written, this section must really demonstrate excellent composition and grammar. This is the first part of your Business Plan that anyone will read, so it’s important that it really “sing.”

The header section of the Executive Summary can benefit from flexible treatment, as well. You can use a company logo, or any other design you’d like, but you want to be sure you include the name of your business, right at the start of the Business Plan.

In the Business Plan section, you will want to get the reader’s attention by letting them know what you do. Try to answer some (or all) of the following questions:

• What products or services do you offer?
• What sector do you operate within?
• Who is your target audience?
• What is the future outlook of the marketplace?
• What makes your offer unique?
• Who’s the boss?
• Why did your company start?

The Executive Summary is the place to succinctly describe your business. It’s also appropriate to address why you’ve created your proposal, answering questions like these, briefly, in addition to those above:

• Do you need investment?
• How much money do you need?
• What is the money to be used for?
• How will your business become profitable?
• What’s in it for the recipient?

The last question is perhaps the most important. Already, only having read as far into your business plan as the Executive Summary, your reader is wondering “what’s in it for me?” And your challenge is to offer them a preview (remember this is a “summary”) of the benefits of accepting your business plan, while not giving away the whole story.

2. Business Description

This next section gives all the must-have details about your business. Here you are looking to answer questions like “when did you start?”; “Why?”; “By whom?”

This is the place for your “origin story.” This section should be just as well-written as the Executive Summary, of course. What is your interest in the market? How’d you get to this point?

As you can tell, the Business Description section amounts to backstory – and that’s essential to any Business Plan.

This is where you tell them where you’re coming from, before you get to “why” you’re in need of an investment, in a nutshell.

3. Mission Statement

The Mission Statement section of your Business Plan expands on some of what you talked about in the Executive Summary.

Here are the major points you will want to make in the Mission Statement.

Explain the end-result you seek from the business venture. Connect it to your customers and readers, in turn.

B) Objectives

Explain the steps you will take to reach your goal. Be specific; demonstrate that you have a good idea of what it will realistically take to achieve your goals.

C) Customers

Your target audience has to be well-defined. Here you need to explain exactly who your customer is. You should define your customer as specifically as possible. Is your customer the 18-24 year old customer base? How about the 18 -24 year old music consumers, as an example? Describe them to the finest level of detail possible.

D) Industry

Why is your niche attractive? Is your industry growing? Will you shake it up with your offer? Are you a disruptor? Explain thoroughly in this section.

E) Strengths

Here you want to outline what makes your company special. Answer why your business is different from the rest of the competition. Who’s on your team? The best tip we’ve got is: investors love a top-notch team.

F) Status of Ownership

Here you want to tell your prospective investors the legal status of your company. Is it a limited liability company (LLC)? Is it a sole proprietorship, or partnership? Whatever the case may be, you’ll want to explain it to your prospect.

4. Products and Services

This section is extremely important to a successful Business Plan. This is where you describe what it is that you have to offer the world.

Be sure to include:

• Detailed descriptions of your Products and/or Services. Feel free to include pictures, as you deem appropriate. Don’t forget to add the pricing and/or fees.
• Next, you’ll want to spend some time extolling the features and benefits of your products and/or services. Break it down. Remember that customers love benefits, and prospective investors want to know that you understand those benefits.

The Products/Services you offer are the core of your business. You really can’t afford to omit anything relevant here. Your prospective investor will surely want to know what you have to offer, and they’ll want to know enough about those things to be able to believe in them.

5. Marketing Plan

The Marketing Plan is one of the most essential parts of your Business Plan; marketing is the thing that brings your business to its audience.

The first thing to do in the Marketing Plan section is to prove that you know your target audience. Put the research, market analyses, and industry knowledge that you possess to work in this section. You are illustrating to your recipient that you know your audience better than anyone, and that makes yours the ideal business to serve the audience.

This section can be broken into six distinct parts, as follows:

• Clearly define and explain your target audience
• Briefly describe your competition – particularly what makes you better at what you do than them
• Detail your niche. What particular area of your industry to you fit? Where do you squeeze in, in light of the innovation?
• List your distribution channels.
• Describe how you will promote the business. What media outlets will you use for advertisement? How much is your marketing budget? Your prospective investor will surely want to know.
• State your image or message. How will you present your business to the public? Tell your reader how your customers will see your business.

The Marketing Plan is essential. Make sure you give it plenty of attention, in your Business Plan.

6. Operations Plan

This section of your Business Plan should detail your day-to-day operation. This is important; your prospective investors want to know that you’ve given some thought to the daily operation of your business.

Here, you’ll want to describe the various resources, personnel, and real estate involved in the execution of your business activities.

Here are some of the things you will want to include in the Operations Plan section:

Location-- for either service or product, where do you work out of? (Be specific, with dimensions, cost of utilities etc.)

Transportation-- how do you get your product to your clients? third-party store? Legal requirements -- Do you need permits? licenses? etc. What are the regulations you follow? Work with unions? etc.

Personnel-- Describe the type of positions you already have, plus what you may need to expand on.

Inventory-- Do you keep things in stock? Where? How much does that cost? What is the value of it? Providers/Suppliers -- Who do you lease work out to? List names, addresses, websites.

Timing for Accounts Receivable/Accounts Payable-- Investors want to know about anything that could keep them from making a quick profit.

7. Management Organization

In this section, detail the management structure inside your organization. Your prospective investors will be keen to know who’s calling the shots and to whom at your business.

Here are the things you will want to make sure you list here:

• Board of Directors
• Accountants
• Consultants

Remember, you don’t have to list everyone, down to the janitors, but you do want to be thorough in this section. Let your prospect know that you’re not just winging it, and that you have a team in place.

8. Financial Plan

The Financial Plan is one of the most important, if not the absolute most important, parts of your Business Plan. This is a section that your reader will be eyeing closely, and they will expect you to have put a lot of love into this one, too.

Begin this section by telling the prospective investor about the funding you’ve received so far. Where has it come from? How much does it total? Be forthcoming about your capital and its sources, first and foremost.

This section is also the place where you plan your Profit and Loss (P&L) for at least the next 12 months. This spreadsheet can be used in connection to the cash flow spreadsheet. If your business plans to run a loss for the first year (or two, or three), you should clarify this point in this section, and add a model profitable year for good measure. Just be sure to explain that your Business Plan doesn’t always project a loss.

Cash Flow Spreadsheet Example

Cell and section names:.

CashReceivedB, Expenditures, etc are the names of the sections. To name the cell of section of cells - highlight it and then rename in the upper left corner. Changing the name afterwards, if misspelled or deleting it completely, if reverting back to original cell name is done through “Insert -> Name -> Define”.

Fiscal Year and PV of Cash Flows

Dates will be change automatically if the date in the “Fiscal Year Begins” is changed. Another section where investors would look is the present value of cash flows. It’s the sum of all cash flows discounted back 1 period using company’s annual rate of return, which is set by the company. A number was made up.

Cash Received, Expenditures, Net Cash Flow

Cash Received is a section where someone would record all the cash inflow from different activities like operating or financial. Cash outflows are recorded in Expenditures. Both of these sections are summed in the subtotals: (=SUBTOTAL(109,CashReceivedB)). 109 – specifies the function that should be done by the subtotal, other could be used too, such as averaging; there are numbers from 1 to 11.

With these two sections it is easy to find: Net Cash Flow = Cash inflow – Cash outflow. I also added two sections, which show how much money was in the beginning of the month, and how much is available at the end. That cash balance from previous month is transferred to the next month Cash Available section.

Profit/Loss Analysis Spreadsheet Example

Formulas for this spreadsheet:.

• Gross Profit = Revenue – Cost of production
• GP Margin = Gross Profit / Revenue
• Profit before taxes = Gross Profit + Other Income – Other Expenses
• Profit loss after tax = Profit before tax * (1 – Tax Rate) *However if loss was incurred, tax won’t be applied. To accommodate for that write the IF statement: if Profit Before Taxes > 0, then apply the formula above to that number, otherwise the negative number will be transferred to this cell.
• Net profit margin = Profit after tax / Revenue

Sparklines:

Overview is done with Sparklines. Select the cell where you would want to see the graph then Insert -> Sparklines. The window will pop up where you can choose the data to be shown.

To customize the graph, click on one of them and the ribbon will show up, where you can choose different styles of presentation.

Graphs for Profit/Loss Analysis Example

Creating a chart:.

Go to Insert -> Charts, highlight the data you are trying to present. Charts ribbon has variety of options that will help you improve the look and style of graphs.

Transferring chart to another spreadsheet

In order to move the chart to a new or existing sheet, press control or right click on it and choose “Move”:

Since the charts reference the same cells in the profit/loss analysis spreadsheet, updates in that table will automatically be reflected on the graph.

Break-Even Analysis Spreadsheet

Finding sales mix %:.

In this part, the goal is to find current products sales mix, which will be used in the analysis. You need to input the price and number of units sold/services provided. Sales mix % is then found for each product. These numbers should be transferred by hand to the second table.

Break-Even Analysis:

• Contribution Margin Per Unit = Price per Unit – Variable Cost Per Unit
• Average CM per Unit = CM per Product 1 * Sales Mix % Product 1 + CM per Product 2 * Sales Mix % Product 2+ ...
• Break-Even number of Units to Sell = Fixed Costs / Average CM per Unit. *This is the total number of all products, to find how many units of each product you need to sell:
• B-E units of Product 1 = (Fixed Cost / Average CM per Unit) * Sales Mix of Product 1
• Product Sales in $ = B-E units of Product 1 * Price

This table is useful to quickly assess how different scenarios would affect the break-even points. You can copy the analysis table and paste it right next to each other for easier comparison.

9. Conclusion/Call to Action

The last part of your Business Plan is a conclusion, which ideally should contain a call to action (CTA). Your CTA here is a bit different from a CTA on something like a Web-based landing page. A Business Plan CTA simply clarifies the next step. Is it a phone call or a meeting? Perhaps it’s a phone call to schedule a meeting. Whatever your CTA may be, you’ll want to make it clear, in this section.

10. Confidentiality Statement

Your Business Plan is top secret, right? If that’s the case, it’s up to you to make sure that’s clearly stated to those who receive the Business Plan. One way to protect your business and its intellectual property (IP), is to include a confidentiality, or nondisclosure (NDA) statement in your Business Plan.

11. Addendums

Here is where you add extra information, including but not limited to:

• -- less interesting information, that someone might like to know (positive, of course)
• -- graphs, technical drawings, etc
• -- citations: sometimes you may include a statistic in your proposal, about your industry, your competitive market, etc., but you must cite it.
• -- business studies
• -- city plans, office plans
• -- list of assets for collateral; financial backgrounds of key investors
• -- CVs/resumes, credentials of key players
• -- key collaborators, etc

[Sender.Company]

MM / DD / YYYY

[Client.Company]

Care to rate this template?

Your rating will help others.

Thanks for your rate!

Useful resources

• Featured templates
• Sales proposals
• NDA agreements
• Operating agreements
• Service agreements
• Sales documents
• Marketing proposals
• Rental and lease agreement
• Quote templates

Free Business Plan Template

Running your own business might be a real challenge. And even if you know exactly every single step of your company, you need a proper business plan to attract investors, employees, and potential partners. Creating one is easy with PandaDoc free business plan templates.

What Is a Business Plan Template?

A business plan template is an opportunity to find a simple and convenient tool that will grant you a proper start for your business. Using even a simple business plan will be a universal solution for all types of companies, especially startups or small ventures.

By providing all the essential facts in your business plan, you will be able to show its most beneficial parts. And with a proper sample of a business plan template, you will avoid all the possible mistakes.

What Is Included In a Free Business Plan Template?

Working with a template for a business plan, you will be able to include all the essential things about development and running your business.

The following chapters are the most important ones:

• The idea of your company. This is the very first thing that shows the purpose and the benefits of your venture. Here, you need to concisely explain your aims, ideally in one-two sentences. 
• The description of your business. Here you can show the basic data about your company and the expanded version of your global aims. 
• Your business mission. When you want to express the local goals of your company and show all your working aims, you have to use the page with the mission. Include the most important aspects. Goals, objectives, the targeted audience of your projects, the place you are going to take on a market, advantages of your company, and information for investors, who will be able to attend your business. 
• Your products and services. Show the beneficial services that you are going to use as your main tool to attract customers and succeed. 
• A detailed marketing plan. Here you can show the proper chain of business solutions with an expanded explanation of each and every step of your business. A marketing strategy might include both your potential income and costs. 
• Operations plan. Here you can state all the essential tasks you have to do in order to run your project or manage it. 
• Management. Show the hierarchy of your employees. It will give the clearest image of how many people your company will accept. 
• Financial plan. Giving the clearest and the most expanded vision of all of your costs will be the most important part for your potential investors. Completing this chapter properly might be extremely challenging, but with a proper free business plan template, you will face no trouble with it.

As you can see, there will be more than enough solutions for your business plan. And with a proper conclusion, you will find it simple to show even more beneficial parts of your company to all your investors.

How To Write a Business Plan Template?

To write a proper business plan you can use a sample of a business plan template provided by PandaDoc. When filling it out, you need to include the following information:

• Facts about your company. You can expand it with numbers or achievements like the state of your client base, years of expertise in the market, or anything that attracts the attention of potential investors.
• State the costs and income of your company. It will be essential to calculate everything for investors to have a clear picture of the current state.
• Use the employee tab. With a proper business plan template sample, you will see that you can add employees to the chosen chapter in order to show the levels of responsibility in your company.

And also, you should keep in mind that all the information about your goals, aims, and tools to work on your project has to be clear for any single person that is going to read your business plan. But with PandaDoc tips PandaDoc, you will be able to see all the nuances and fill in your sample.

When To Use a Simple Business Plan Template?

A simple business plan template is ideal for startups or small business owners who just consider starting their path. Individual entrepreneurs can benefit from it too, as it’s a great way to put all the aspects of the job together and spot a range of opportunities to improve.

Having a template for a business plan lets you focus on the main aspects of your business operation, making it full and detailed for your investors. And PandaDoc will help a lot with this task, while such features as eSignature will help with making this small business plan template a real and verified source of the information.

One Page Business Plan for Word, PDF

Download Free Template

Available for Word & PDF

Your download is available!

Click to download your document template in the format you need.

Your download is ready!

Download One Page Business Plan for Word & PDF or email it to yourself later.

Download One Page Business Plan for Word & PDF.

• Send to email

Plus, you've unlocked access to our full collection of 130 hand-built business templates!

Template Highlights

• Eight (short) sections: Business Opportunity, Industry Analysis, Target Market, Company Description, Timeline, Marketing Plan, Financial Plan, and Funding Requirements.
• Easy instructions for each part.
• Zhuzh it up a bit with your company logo and branding.
• Download it as a PDF or Word file.
• Print it, email it, send it via Morse code.

Why all businesses should create a business plan

For startups and enterprises alike, there are many reasons to create a one-page business plan. For example, it can help you:

• Show your progress and how you intend to grow : Your business plan lists vital information on your company, such as your goals, market research results, and success milestones.
• Determine a realistic budget to ensure success : If you don’t create a proper plan, you might underestimate fixed and variable costs and, therefore, lack the financial capacity to succeed.
• Provide concrete information to potential investors : By having a detailed business plan in place, you’ll be able to effectively convey your business goals to internal stakeholders, and you’ll stand a better chance of winning over investors.
• Fulfill the requirements for securing a business loan : Many financial institutions won’t even consider giving you a loan without seeing your plan.

Should you create a business plan from scratch?

You can do this, but it’s often more hassle than it’s worth. If you’ve never made a business plan before, you’ll need to do a lot of research on what to include and ensure you create a professional and eye-catching document.  If you download our free one-page business plan template, you’ll save time and ensure you cover every relevant detail.

How to use the one-page business plan template

Here are the steps for filling out our template:

• Enter your contact details to download the template in Microsoft Word or as a PDF.
• Gather your relevant business documents, such as market research results and financial statements, in case you need to include details from them.  
• Add information to all the fields, including Company Description, Target Market, Industry Analysis, Implementation Timeline, Funding Required, and Financial Summary.
• Get feedback from business partners, employees, or other parties to ensure that all information is correct and up to date.
• Proofread to ensure there are no errors. These look unprofessional, leaving a bad impression of your business.  
• Save your business plan in various locations and formats. This helps you share your plan with stakeholders via email or present it at company meetings.

Template Preview

One page business plan.

One-Page Business Plan Template

This brief business plan template encourages you to stick to your core message and provide investors with just the information they need to know about your new venture.

The Business Opportunity

What is the problem your business will solve? Focus on the customer’s needs.

Give your elevator pitch. Be succinct, clear, and persuasive.

Be sure to include your value proposition -- What do you offer that no one else does?

Industry Analysis

List key factors for success in your industry.

Who is your main competition?

Company Description

Identify important facts about your business:

• Founding date

• Mission statement

• Type of organization

• Core strengths

• Main leadership

Target Market

Describe your customer segments.

Will you serve a particular geographical area?

Implementation Timeline

Provide a brief summary of how you will roll out the business. Consider depicting the different phases in a diagram. You can use the timeline below as a template.

Marketing Plan

Describe what methods you will use to acquire new customers.

Why would your target market prefer your product or service to another option?

Financial Summary

Cost Structure: What are your fixed and variable costs?

Revenue Streams: How will your business make money?

Funding Required

Present the amount of funding that you are seeking from investors and how it will be used.

HubSpot Tip: Be sure to edit and review your plan for typos before distributing it. Errors in a short document can be distracting to the reader and make you look unprofessional.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should i create a business plan, what types of companies need a business plan, how do i write a one page business plan, what should my business plan focus on, is this template free, can i edit this template, related tags:.

• Business Plans

Related Business Templates

Root cause analysis.

Use this free root cause analysis template to identify the source of business issues and create a pl...

Business Case

Make a case for an upcoming project or investment with the help of this free business case template.

Action Plan

Use our free action plan template to help get your business or project goals off the ground.

Fishbone Diagram

Identify a problem's root causes efficiently with a fishbone diagram. This visualization template ca...

Process Map

Streamline your workflow, enhance efficiency, and foster continuous improvement in your organization...

Download the free 5 whys template to identify the root cause of business challenges and develop prac...

Succession Plan

Enhance your organization’s leadership continuity, improve workforce readiness, and ensure smooth tr...

Business One-Pager Template

Use this professional one-pager template to help capture the attention of stakeholders and potential...

Decision Tree

Use this free decision tree template to understand the potential outcomes of your business decisions...

Profit and Loss Statement

Use this free profit and loss statement template to analyze performance over time and improve your c...

Get this template for free!

Free Business Plan Template

One of the reasons that so many small businesses fail is that they don't do the necessary up front work to create an accurate and realistic business plan. Creating a business plan doesn't guarantee success, but the process of writing a plan is critical for any successful new business. It isn't our goal to try to tell you everything you need to know about creating a business plan. Instead, our goal is to make the process easier by providing a professionally designed business plan template that you can edit easily using Word and Excel .

Business Plan Template

License : Private Use (not for distribution or resale)

Authors : Jon Wittwer and Jim Wittwer

Update (7/22/2016) : We've added a basic break-even analysis worksheet to the companion Excel workbook.

Description

This template provides a business plan outline with sample questions, tables, and a working table of contents. It was created for newer versions of Word and Excel (Office 2007 or later) so that you can easily change the fonts and color scheme and the file will be compatible with the mobile and web-based Word & Excel apps.

It is best to use Excel for financial statements, data tables and charts. So, we have provided a companion Excel workbook with these sample financial statements and other tables and graphs that you can copy and paste into your Word document.

The companion workbook combines many of the different spreadsheets you can find on Vertex42.com, but customized specifically for inclusion in a business plan.

Using the Business Plan Template

Editing headings and table of contents.

Word allows you to assign format Styles to text and paragraphs, and we've designed the template to use these Styles for defining headings, sub-headings, and figure captions.

If you want to add a new section so that the Table of Contents updates correctly, just add a new heading in the body of the document and assign it the Heading 1 or Heading 2 style.

To update the Table of Contents, go to the References tab and within the Table of Contents group of buttons, click on Update Table and then "Update entire table."

Copy/Paste From Excel to Word

For simple tables, you can use Copy/Paste (Ctrl+c / Ctrl+v) to copy a table from Excel to Word. This will typically paste the data as a formatted and editable table in Word, though none of the formulas will be functional within Word (and the table will not be linked to Excel). If you don't want the table to be editable in Word, you can "Paste as a Picture" using Paste Special or by choosing the "Picture" option when you right-click in Word to paste the table.

Important : When you paste a chart object into your business plan, make sure to "Paste as a Picture" because pasting the chart as an embedded object means that the entire spreadsheet becomes embedded in your Word document (even though what you see is only the chart).

If you want to insert a table into Word as a "Linked Object" so that when you edit Excel, the table in Word will update automatically, you may have a more difficult time preserving the formatting of the original. However, at the least the entire spreadsheet won't be embedded within your business plan Word document.

More Related Templates

Resources for Writing a Business Plan

• Write Your Business Plan at SBA.gov - Anybody starting a business should become familiar with the SBA (small business association). SBA.gov also has an online tool for creating a business plan .
• YouTube: How to Write a Business Plan - Business Wales (3 minutes) - This video offers a quick overview and tips for the essential parts of a business plan.
• YouTube: How to Write a Business Plan - Berkeley-Haas (71 minutes) - This presentation offers both the venture capitalist and entrepreneur perspective on how to write a business plan that can successfully attract funding.
• Write Your Business Plan at Entrepreneur.com - A book written by the staff of a company that should know what they are talking about.
• Sample Business Plans at bplans.com - Finding a business plan for similar businesses in your industry is a great way to get ideas for what to include in your plan. This site is a great resource for not only finding sample plans, but also for creating a business plan online using their step-by-step approach.

Other Free Business Plan Templates

• Business Planning Template Gallery at SCORE.org - This nonprofit organization (supported by the SBA) has provided expertise and free mentorship for millions of small business owners. They also have a useful collection of templates.
• Develop Your Business Plan at business.gov.au - This Australian Government site provides a really good business plan template for Word, including a detailed guide, questions to answer, and sample financial statements.

Follow Us On ...

Related Templates

Financial Statements

Create a business plan

You've been dreaming of starting your own business. You've started with some concrete steps, and you're ready to put your proposal together. But how do you start, and how do you know when you have the right information?

How to get it done

Create a business plan with templates in Word:

Start with a template

Download these templates from the Office Templates site to create your plan:

Fill in your Business plan .

Analyze your market with the Business market analysis template .

Detail your financials in a Financial plan .

Divide up the work and track deliverables with this Business plan checklist .

Wrap up with this Business startup checklist .

Need a little help?

Learn how to:

Start a document from a template .

Apply themes to change your plan's look.

Related resources

Related article

Must follow steps for starting a successful business

Buy Microsoft 365

Get Microsoft 365

Get help setting up

Training and in-person help

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Simple Business Plan Templates

By Joe Weller | April 2, 2020

• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn

Link copied

In this article, we’ve compiled a variety of simple business plan templates, all of which are free to download in PDF, Word, and Excel formats.

On this page, you’ll find a one-page business plan template , a simple business plan for startups , a small-business plan template , a business plan outline , and more. We also include a business plan sample and the main components of a business plan to help get you started.

Simple Business Plan Template

Download Simple Business Plan Template

This simple business plan template lays out each element of a traditional business plan to assist you as you build your own, and it provides space to add financing information for startups seeking funding. You can use and customize this simple business plan template to fit the needs for organizations of any size.

One-Page Business Plan Template

Download One-Page Business Plan Template

Excel | Word | PDF  | Smartsheet

Use this one-page business plan to document your key ideas in an organized manner. The template can help you create a high-level view of your business plan, and it provides easy scannability for stakeholders. You can use this one-page plan as a reference to build a more detailed blueprint for your business. 

For additional single page plans, take a look at " One-Page Business Plan Templates with a Quick How-To Guide ."

Simple Fill-in-the-Blank Business Plan Template

Download Simple Fill-in-the-Blank Business Plan Template

Use this fill-in-the-blank business plan template to guide you as you build your business plan. Each section comes pre-filled with sample content, with space to add customized verbiage relevant to your product or service.

For additional free, downloadable resources, visit " Free Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Templates ."

Simple Business Plan for Startup

‌ Download Startup Business Plan Template — Word

This business plan template is designed with a startup business in mind and contains the essential elements needed to convey key product or service details to investors and stakeholders. Keep all your information organized with this template, which provides space to include an executive summary, a company overview, competitive analysis, a marketing strategy, financial data, and more. For additional resources, visit " Free Startup Business Plan Templates and Examples ."

Simple Small-Business Plan Template

Download Simple Small-Business Plan Template

This template walks you through each component of a small-business plan, including the company background, the introduction of the management team, market analysis, product or service offerings, a financial plan, and more. This template also comes with a built-in table of contents to keep your plan in order, and it can be customized to fit your requirements.

Lean Business Plan Template

Download Lean Business Plan Template

This lean business plan template is a stripped-down version of a traditional business plan that provides only the most essential aspects. Briefly outline your company and industry overview, along with the problem you are solving, as well as your unique value proposition, target market, and key performance metrics. There is also room to list out a timeline of key activities.

Simple Business Plan Outline Template

Download Simple Business Plan Outline Template

Word  | PDF

Use this simple business plan outline as a basis to create your own business plan. This template contains 11 sections, including a title page and a table of contents, which details what each section should cover in a traditional business plan. Simplify or expand this outline to create the foundation for a business plan that fits your business needs.

Simple Business Planning Template with Timeline

Download Simple Business Planning Template with Timeline

Excel | Smartsheet

This template doubles as a project plan and timeline to track progress as you develop your business plan. This business planning template enables you to break down your work into phases and provides room to add key tasks and dates for each activity. Easily fill in the cells according to the start and end dates to create a visual timeline, as well as to ensure your plan stays on track.

Simple Business Plan Rubric Template

Download Simple Business Plan Rubric

Excel | Word | PDF | Smartsheet

Once you complete your business plan, use this business plan rubric template to assess and score each component of your plan. This rubric helps you identify elements of your plan that meet or exceed requirements and pinpoint areas where you need to improve or further elaborate. This template is an invaluable tool to ensure your business plan clearly defines your goals, objectives, and plan of action in order to gain buy-in from potential investors, stakeholders, and partners.

Basic Business Plan Sample

Download Basic Business Plan Sample

This business plan sample serves as an example of a basic business plan that contains all the traditional components. The sample provides a model of what a business plan might look like for a fictional food truck business. Reference this sample as you develop your own business plan.

For additional resources to help support your business planning efforts, check out “ Free Strategic Planning Templates .”

Main Components of a Business Plan

The elements you include in your business plan will depend on your product or service offerings, as well as the size and needs of your business. 

Below are the components of a standard business plan and details you should include in each section:

• Company name and contact information
• Website address
• The name of the company or individual viewing the presentation
• Table of Contents
• Company background and purpose
• Mission and vision statement
• Management team introduction
• Core product and service offerings
• Target customers and segments
• Marketing plan
• Competitive analysis
• Unique value proposition
• Financial plan (and requirements, if applicable)
• Business and industry overview
• Historical timeline of your business
• Offerings and the problem they solve
• Current alternatives
• Competitive advantage
• Market size
• Target market segment(s)
• Projected volume and value of sales compared to competitors
• Differentiation from competitors
• Pricing strategy
• Marketing channels
• Promotional plan
• Distribution methods
• Legal structure of your business
• Names of founders, owners, advisors, etc.
• Management team’s roles, relevant experience, and compensation plan
• Staffing requirements and training plans
• Physical location(s) of your business
• Additional physical requirements (e.g., warehouse, specialized equipment, facilities, etc.)
• Production workflow
• Raw materials and sourcing methods
• Projected income statement
• Projected cash flow statement
• Projected balance sheet
• Break-even analysis
• Charts and graphs
• Market research and competitive analysis
• Information about your industry
• Information about your offerings
• Samples of marketing materials
• Other supporting materials

Tips for Creating a Business Plan

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed at the thought of putting together a business plan. Below, you’ll find top tips to help simplify the process as you develop your own plan. 

• Use a business plan template (you can choose from the variety above), or refer to the previous section to create a standard outline for your plan.
• Modify your outline to reflect the requirements of your specific business. If you use a standard business plan outline, remove sections that aren’t relevant to you or aren’t necessary to run your business.
• Gather all the information you currently have about your business first, and then use that information to fill out each section in your plan outline.
• Use your resources and conduct additional research to fill in the remaining gaps. (Note: It isn’t necessary to fill out your plan in order, but the executive summary needs to be completed last, as it summarizes the key points in your plan.)
• Ensure your plan clearly communicates the relationship between your marketing, sales, and financial objectives.
• Provide details in your plan that illustrate your strategic plan of action, looking forward three to five years.
• Revisit your plan regularly as strategies and objectives evolve.
• What product or service are we offering?
• Who is the product or service for?
• What problem does our product or service offering solve?
• How will we get the product or service to our target customers?
• Why is our product or service better than the alternatives?
• How can we outperform our competitors?
• What is our unique value proposition?
• When will things get done, and who is responsible for doing them?
• If you need to obtain funding, how will you use the funding?
• When are payments due, and when do payments come in?
• What is the ultimate purpose of your business?
• When do you expect to be profitable?

To identify which type of business plan you should write, and for more helpful tips, take a look at our guide to writing a simple business plan .

Benefits of Using a Business Plan Template

Creating a business plan can be very time-consuming, especially if you aren’t sure where to begin. Finding the right template for your business needs can be beneficial for a variety of reasons. 

Using a business plan template — instead of creating your plan from scratch — can benefit you in the following ways:

• Enables you to immediately write down your thoughts and ideas in an organized manner
• Provides structure to help outline your plan
• Saves time and valuable resources
• Helps ensure you don’t miss essential details

Limitations of a Business Plan Template

A business plan template can be convenient, but it has its drawbacks — especially if you use a template that doesn’t fit the specific needs of your business.

Below are some limitations of using a business plan template:

• Each business is unique and needs a business plan that reflects that. A template may not fit your needs.
• A template may restrict collaboration with other team members on different aspects of the plan’s development (sales, marketing, and accounting teams).
• Multiple files containing different versions of the plan may be stored in more than one place.
• You still have to manually create charts and graphs to add to the plan to support your strategy.
• Updates to the plan, spreadsheets, and supporting documents have to be made in multiple places (all documents may not update in real time as changes are made).

Improve Your Business Plan with Real-Time Work Management in Smartsheet

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

• Starting a Business The tools and resources you need to get your new business idea off the ground.
• Payments Everything you need to start accepting payments for your business.
• Funding & Capital Resources to help you fund your small business.
• Small Business Stories Celebrating the stories and successes of real small business owners.

How to start a business from scratch: 19 steps to help you succeed

The 10-part business plan & downloadable template

• Running a Business The tools and resources you need to run your business successfully.
• Accounting Accounting and bookkeeping basics you need to run and grow your business.
• Cash Flow Tax and bookkeeping basics you need to run and grow your business.
• Payroll Payroll essentials you need to run your business.
• Taxes Tax basics you need to stay compliant and run your business.
• Employees Everything you need to know about managing and retaining employees.

Cash flow guide: Definition, types, how to analyze

Financial statements: What business owners should know

• Growing a Business The tools and resources you need to take your business to the next level.
• Sales & Marketing Spread the word: What you need to know about marketing your small business.
• Funding How to find funding and capital for your new or growing business.
• Midsize Businesses The tools and resources you need to manage your mid-sized business.
• Self-Employed The tools and resources you need to run your own business with confidence.
• E-Commerce How to start and run a successful e-commerce business.

Small business grants: 40+ grants and resources to fund your future without debt

How to choose the best payment method for small businesses

• News Browse the latest news, press releases, and reports from QuickBooks.
• Small Business Data The latest research and insights for Small Businesses from QuickBooks.
• Success in Every Season Everything you need to thrive during your business's busiest seasons.
• Multimedia Hub Listen to the Mind the Business podcast by QuickBooks and iHeart. Browse videos, data, interactive resources, and free tools.
• Guide to Pride Browse the Pride toolkit for everything you need to celebrate and make an impact.

Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index

Small Business Success Month 2024: New data reveals what success looks like for small businesses this year

• All Tools Free accounting tools and templates to speed up and simplify your workflow.
• Payment Cost Calculator Find out how much you could save by switching to QuickBooks Payments.
• Employee Cost Calculator Calculate the actual cost of a new hire or existing employee.
• Paycheck Calculator Accurately estimate pay for all your employees.

Leer en español

Whether you’re a long-time business owner or starting to think about  launching a business , to-do lists pile up fast, and determining how to write a business plan—much less following a business plan template—often feels overwhelming.

But nearly 70% of business owners who have been there and done that  recommend writing a business plan  before starting a business. When done right, business plans have enormous payoffs. In fact, a  wealth of data  now exists on the difference a written business plan makes, especially for small or growing companies.

First, know your audience

Start with a clear picture of the audience your plan will address. Is it a room full of angel investors? Your local bank’s venture funding department? Or is it you, your leaders, and your employees?

Defining your audience helps you determine the language you’ll need to propose your ideas as well as the depth to which you need to go to help readers conduct due diligence.

Once you’ve got your audience in mind, you can start your business plan, which should include:

• Executive summary
• Company description
• Market research and growth potential
• Competitive analysis
• Product or service description
• Marketing/sales strategy
• Business financials
• Organization and management
• Funding request

1. Executive summary

Even though it appears first in the official plan, write this section last so you can condense essential ideas from the other nine sections. For now, leave it as a placeholder. 

What is an executive summary?

The executive summary lays out all the vital information about your business within a relatively short space. An executive summary is typically one page or less. It’s a high-level overview which summarizes the other sections of your plan.

How do I write an executive summary?

This executive summary focuses on what’s often called the value proposition or unique selling point: an extended motto aimed at stakeholders.

You can follow a straightforward problem/solution format or this fill-in-the-blanks framework:

• For [ target customers ]
• Who are dissatisfied with [ current solutions ]
• Our [ offering ] solves [ key customer problems ]
• Unlike [ competing product ], we have [ differentiating key features ]

This framework isn’t meant to be rigid, but serves as a jumping-off point.

2. Company description

Your company description should contain three elements:

• Mission statement

These elements give context to the bigger picture, letting investors know the company’s purpose so your goals make sense as well.

What is a mission statement?

A mission statement is your company’s reason for existing. It’s more than what you do or what you sell, it’s about why exactly you do what you do. Effective mission statements should be:

• Inspirational to make others believe in your vision
• Emotional to captivate readers and grab their interest

Throughout each part of your plan, less is more. Nowhere is that truer than your mission statement. Think about what motivates you, what experiences led you to start the business, the problems you solve, the wider social issues you care about, etc.

How do you describe a company’s history?

Don’t worry about making your company history a dense narrative. Instead, write it like you would a profile:

• Founding date
• Major milestones
• Location(s)
• Number of employees
• Executive leadership roles
• Flagship products or services

Then, translate that list into a few short paragraphs.

Why do business objectives matter?

Business objectives give you clear goals to focus on. These goals must be SMART:

They must also be tied to key results. When your objectives aren’t clearly defined, it’s hard for your team to work toward a common purpose. What’s worse, fuzzy goals don’t inspire confidence from investors and other stakeholders.

3. Market research & potential

Outline your ideal potential customer as well as the actual and potential size of your market. Target markets identify demographic information like:

By getting specific, you’ll illustrate expertise and generate confidence. If your target market is too broad, it can be a red flag for investors.

The same is true with your market analysis when you estimate its size and monetary value. In addition to big numbers that encompass the total market, drill down into your business’s addressable market—meaning, local numbers or numbers that apply the grand total to your specific segments. You may even map your customer’s journey to get a better understanding of their needs and preferences.

4. Competitive analysis

Competitive research begins with identifying companies that currently occupy the market you’re looking to enter. The idea of carving out time to learn about each potential competitor you have may sound overwhelming, but it will be an extremely useful exercise.

Answer these questions about your most significant competitors:

• Where do they advertise?
• What kind of press coverage do they get?
• How good is their customer service?
• What are their sales and pricing strategies?
• How do they rank on third-party rating/review platforms?

Spend some time thinking about what sets you apart. If your idea is truly original, be prepared to explain the customer pain points you see your business solving. If your business doesn’t have any direct competition, research other companies that provide a similar type of product or service.

Next, create a table or spreadsheet listing your competitors (competitor analysis table) to include in your plan.

You're never too small to feel more stable

With market-leading APY, no monthly fees, and seamless payments—QuickBooks Money works harder for those who work for themselves.**

5. Product or service description

Describe the benefits, production process, and life-cycle of your offering, and how it’s better than your competitors.

When describing benefits, focus on:

• Unique features
• Translating features into benefits
• Emotional and practical payoffs to your customers
• Intellectual property rights or any patents that protect differentiation

For the production process, answer how you:

• Create existing and new products or services
• Source raw materials or components
• Assemble them through manufacturing
• Maintain quality control and quality assurance
• Receive and deliver them (supply chain logistics)
• Manage your daily operations, like bookkeeping and inventory

Within the product life cycle portion, map elements like:

• Time between purchases
• Up-sells, cross-sells, and down-sells
• Future plans for research and development

6. Marketing and sales strategy

Your marketing plan can be the difference between selling so much that growth explodes or getting no business at all. Growth strategies are a critical part of your business plan.

You should briefly reiterate topics such as your:

• Value proposition
• Ideal target markets
• Existing customer segments

Then, add your:

• Launch plan to attract new business
• Growth tactics for established businesses to expand
• Retention strategies like customer loyalty or referral programs
• Advertising and promotion channels such as search engines, social media, print, television, YouTube, and word of mouth

You can also use this section of your business plan to reinforce your strengths and what differentiates you from the competition. Be sure to show what you’ve already done, what you plan to do given your existing resources, and what results you expect from your efforts.

7. Business financials

If you’re just starting, your business may not yet have financial data , financial statements, or comprehensive reporting. However, you’ll still need to prepare a budget and a financial plan.

If your company has been around for a while and you’re seeking investors, be sure to include:

• Income statements
• Profit and loss statements
• Cash flow statements
• Balance sheets

Other figures that can be included are:

• How much of your revenue you retain as your net income
• Your ratio of liquidity to debt repayment ability
• How often you collect on your invoices

Ideally, you should provide at least three years’ worth of reporting. Make sure your figures are accurate and don’t provide any profit or loss projections before carefully going over your past statements for justification.

Avoid underestimating costs

Costs, profit margins, and sale prices are closely linked, and many business owners set sale prices without accounting for all costs. New business owners are particularly at risk for this mistake. The cost of your product or service must include all of your costs, including overhead. If it doesn’t, you can’t determine a sale price to generate the profit level you desire.

Underestimating costs can catch you off guard and eat away at your business over time.

Example of financials

Given the high degree of specificity required to accurately represent your business’s financials, we suggest using one of our free Excel templates and entering your own data:

• For new businesses: Start up budget template
• For existing businesses: Income statement template

Once complete, create a big picture representation to include here as well as in your objectives in step two.

8. Your organization & management

Your business is only as good as the team that runs it. Identify your team members and explain why they can either turn your business idea into a reality or continue to grow it. Highlight expertise and qualifications throughout —this section of your business plan should show off your management team superstars.

You should also note:

• Roles you still need to hire to grow your company
• The cost of hiring experts to assist operations

To make informed business decisions, you may need to budget for a bookkeeper , a CPA, and an attorney. CPAs can help you review your monthly accounting transactions and prepare your annual tax return. An attorney can help with client agreements, investor contracts (like shareholder agreements), and with any legal disputes that may arise.

Ask your business contacts for referrals (and their fees), and be sure to include those costs in your business plan.

9. Funding request

When outlining how much money your small business needs, try to be as realistic as possible. You can provide a range of numbers if you don’t want to pinpoint an exact number. However, be sure to include a best-case scenario and a worst-case scenario.

Since a new business doesn’t have a track record of generating profits, it’s likely that you’ll sell equity to raise capital in the early years of operation. Equity means ownership—when you sell equity to raise capital, you are selling a portion of your company.

Most small business equity sales are private transactions. The investor may also expect to be paid a dividend, which is a share of company profits, and they’ll want to know how they can sell their ownership interest. Additionally, you can raise capital by borrowing money, but you’ll have to repay creditors both the principal amount borrowed and the interest on the debt.

If you look at the capital structure of any large company, you’ll see that most firms issue both equity and debt. When drafting your business plan, decide if you’re willing to accept the trade-off of giving up total control and profits before you sell equity in your business.

The founder can access cash by contributing their own money into the business by securing a line of credit (LOC) at a bank or applying for QuickBooks Capital . If you raise cash through a LOC or some other type of loan, it needs to be paid off ASAP to reduce the interest cost on debt.

10. Appendix

Finally, assemble a well-organized appendix for anything and everything readers will need to supplement the information in your plan. Consider any info that:

• Helps investors conduct due diligence
• Gives context and easy access to you or your employees

Useful details to cover in an appendix include:

• Deeds, local permits, and legal documents
• Certifications that bolster your credibility
• Business registries and professional licenses pertaining to your legal structure or type of business
• Patents and intellectual properties
• Industry associations and memberships
• State and federal identification numbers or codes
• Key customer contracts and purchase orders

Your appendix should be a living section of the business plan, whether the plan is a document for internal reference only or an external call for investors.

Make your business plan stand out

Investors have little patience for poorly written documents. You want your business plan to be as attractive and readable as possible.

• Keep it brief.  A typical business plan can range from 10 to 20 pages. As long as you adequately cover the essentials, less is more.
• Make it easy to read.  Divide your document into distinct sections, so that investors can quickly flip between key pieces of information.
• Know your margins.  List every cost your business incurs, and make sure that you’re assigning those costs to each product or service that you sell.
• Proofread.  Double-check for typos and grammatical errors. Then, triple-check. Otherwise, you might risk your credibility.
• Invest in quality design and printing.  Proper layout, branding, and decent printing or bookbinding give your business plan a professional feel.
• Be prepared in advance.  Have everything ready to go at least two weeks ahead so you have time to make revisions in case of a last-minute change.

Updating your business plan

It’s a good idea to periodically revisit your business plan, especially if you are looking to expand. Conducting new research and updating your plan could also provide answers when you hit difficult questions.

Mid-year is a good time to refocus and revise your original plans because it gives you the opportunity to refocus any goals for the second half of the year. Below are three ways to update your plan.

1. Refocus your productivity

When you wrote your original business plan, you likely identified your specific business and personal goals. Take some time now to assess if you’ve hit your targets.

If you only want to work a set number of hours per week, you must identify the products and services that deliver the returns you need to make that a reality. Doing so helps you refocus your productivity on the most lucrative profit streams.

Also, use what you’ve achieved and the hard lessons you’ve learned to help you re-evaluate what is and isn’t working.

2. Realign with your goals

Do a gut check to determine whether all of your hard work is still aligned with your original goals and your mission statement. Ask yourself these questions:

• Are my goals still relevant?
• Am I still focused on the big picture?
• Where do I want to be a year from now?
• Will my existing plan still take me where I want to go?

These questions may be tough to answer at first glance, but they reveal your ties to your goals and what most likely needs to change to achieve new wins.

3. Repurpose your offerings

If your time has become more focused on small projects rather than tangible growth and building a valuable client list, consider packaging your existing products or services differently. Can you bundle a few things together?

You must deliberately manage your revenue streams, and that might require shuffling things around a little to focus on what is working for you.

Business plan template download

Download our free template to build your business from the ground up, considering all the important questions that will help your investors and employees. Fill it in or use it as one of your business plan examples. Happy pitching!

Business plan FAQ

A business plan is a comprehensive road map for your small business’s growth and development. It communicates who you are, what you plan to do, and how you plan to do it. It also helps you attract talent and investors.

Investors want to know you have:

• Product-market fit:  Have you done the research to determine the demand for your product or service?
• A solid team in place:  Do you have the people you need to support your goals and objectives?
• Scalability:  Can you grow sales volume without proportional growth in headcount and fixed costs?

A  templated business plan  gives investors a blueprint of what to expect from your company and tells them about you as an entrepreneur.

You need a business plan because the majority of venture capitalists (VCs) and all banking institutions will not invest in a startup or small business without a solid, written plan. Not only does a business plan help you focus on concrete objectives, but it gives outside parties reassurance that you’ve planned ahead.

According to  research :

• Businesses with a business plan  grow 30% faster  than those without
• Owners with business plans are  2x as likely  to grow, get investments, or secure loans than those without
• Entrepreneurs with a business plan have a  129% increased likelihood  of growing beyond the startup phase and a  260% increased likelihood  of growing from “idea” to “new business”

QuickBooks Money: QuickBooks Money is a standalone Intuit offering that includes QuickBooks Payments and QuickBooks Checking. Intuit accounts are subject to eligibility criteria, credit, and application approval. Banking services provided by and the QuickBooks Visa® Debit Card is issued by Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A., Inc. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association. QuickBooks Checking Deposit Account Agreement applies. Banking services and debit card opening are subject to identity verification and approval by Green Dot Bank. Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments Inc., licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services. For more information about Intuit Payments' money transmission licenses, please visit

https://www.intuit.com/legal/licenses/payment-licenses/. No subscription cost or monthly fees. Other fees and limits, including transaction-based fees, apply.

Industry-leading Annual Percentage Yield (APY): Competitive rate information based on publicly available data for small business checking accounts provided by the largest national and online banks as of September 18, 2023. APYs are subject to change at any time.

Recommended for you

Starting a business

January 9, 2024

pricing strategy

14 pricing strategies and examples to try

August 24, 2023

Running a business

Financial forecasting: Definition, 7 methods + how to do it

February 20, 2024

Get the latest to your inbox

Relevant resources to help start, run, and grow your business.

By clicking “Submit,” you agree to permit Intuit to contact you regarding QuickBooks and have read and acknowledge our Privacy Statement .

Thanks for subscribing.

Fresh business resources are headed your way!

This content is for information purposes only and should not be considered legal, accounting, or tax advice, or a substitute for obtaining such advice specific to your business. Additional information and exceptions may apply. Applicable laws may vary by state or locality. No assurance is given that the information is comprehensive in its coverage or that it is suitable in dealing with a customer’s particular situation. Intuit Inc. does not have any responsibility for updating or revising any information presented herein. Accordingly, the information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for independent research. Intuit Inc. does not warrant that the material contained herein will continue to be accurate nor that it is completely free of errors when published. Readers should verify statements before relying on them.

We provide third-party links as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Intuit does not endorse or approve these products and services, or the opinions of these corporations or organizations or individuals. Intuit accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content on these sites.

Looking for something else?

From big jobs to small tasks, we've got your business covered.

Firm of the Future

Topical articles and news from top pros and Intuit product experts.

QuickBooks Support

Get help with QuickBooks. Find articles, video tutorials, and more.

• Canada (English)
• Canada (French)
• United Kingdom
• Other Countries

Call Sales: 1-877-683-3280

© 2024 Intuit Inc. All rights reserved.

Intuit, QuickBooks, QB, TurboTax, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc.

By accessing and using this page you agree to the Website Terms of Service .

🎉 Celebrate Small Business Month:

25% Off Annual Plans! SAVE NOW

What stage is your business at?

Tell us and we’ll match you with a special LivePlan discount:

New Business Idea

Startup Phase

Established Business

Enter your email address to unlock it.

Please enter a valid email address

We care about your privacy. See our Privacy Policy .

Easy Business Planning Method + Free Business Plan Template Word Doc

A better business plan template to get finished faster

Go beyond a basic business plan template

If you're looking for a business plan template to jumpstart your plan, you're in the right place.

LivePlan is an online, easy–to–use business plan template that walks you step–by–step through the planning process.

With fill-in-the-blank inputs , simple but powerful financial forecasting, and beautiful business plans , you'll go from template to complete business plan in half the time.

Don't forget about the financial forecasts

Creating the right financial forecasts for your business is often the hardest part of writing a business plan.

Crunching the numbers by hand is tough – so much so that most free online templates skip over it completely. LivePlan gives you automated financial forecasting and makes it easy.

So, even if you've never started a business before, you can build all of the financial reports investors expect to see.

You'll get a complete profit & loss statement, cash flow forecasts, balance sheets, and more – all without ever having to look at a spreadsheet or worry about breaking a formula.

How LivePlan compares to free business plan templates:

LivePlan is way more than your basic business plan template. It's a planning tool that takes the pain out of the entire business planning process. You'll track your performance as you grow, define the tasks you need to get your business to the next level, and compare your plan against the competition. No other template comes even close.

LivePlan Makes It Easy

“I was going nuts trying to create charts and properly format them. Then a friend recommended LivePlan! The financials were so easy to use.”

“It's an awesome product. Really walks you through each phase of the business plan process with examples and benchmarks.”

Skip the hassle of Word and Excel Business Plan Templates

You could write your business plan with Word and Excel, but you'll probably end up spending countless extra hours figuring out how to get an impressive–looking document.

You'll see that Word and Excel templates also lack instructions, examples from successful business plans, and they often require in–depth financial knowledge.

Instead, choose an interactive template like LivePlan.

LivePlan's step–by–step business plan template guides you every step of the way, so you don't have to worry about formatting, getting the formulas right in some downloaded spreadsheet, or making sure your plan is in an approved format that banks and lenders expect. If you have questions while writing your plan, our expert team will help you out.

Download a free business plan template

Still want to download a business plan template? Download your free template to start – then try LivePlan risk free . You'll feel the difference right away.

Try LivePlan today

Totally risk free. 35-day money-back guarantee..

Powerful business plan templates

Plan for the future, no matter what your business plans are or the size of your business with these designs and templates. whether it's just one big project or an entire organization's worth of dreams, these templates will keep you and your company on track from ideation to completion..

Put your ideas to work with simple templates for every business plan

Every successful business took a lot of planning to get there, and these templates will be cornerstones of your future success. Whether you're looking to attract new business, pitch your services or reimagine your company, with these simple, customizable templates at your fingertips you can turn complexity into something tangible. These templates can become marketing assets or simply remain internal touchpoints for your team. And as your dreams change, you'll always have this template to refer to – it's easy to change what exists on paper. If you're a small business, focusing on your niche can help you dominate in your field, and you can forge a plan to figure out exactly what that niche might be and how to target your ideal customer . When it's time to share your vision with stakeholders, craft a presentation that outlines your plan succinctly and with style. Let these templates from Microsoft Designer be your partner in business strategy for years to come.

Download Free Business Plan Examples

Download a free business plan in pdf or word doc format to make writing a plan fast and easy, find your sample plan.

Discover the sample plan that best fits your business. Search our gallery of over 550 sample business plans and find the one that's right for you.

View the Gallery

What You'll Get:

A complete business plan Unlike other blank templates, our business plan examples are complete business plans with all of the text and financial forecasts already filled out. Edit the text to make the plan your own and save hundreds of hours.

A professional business plan template All 550 of our business plans are in the SBA-approved format that’s proven to raise money from lenders and investors.

Instructions and help at every step Get help with clear, simple instructions for each section of the business plan. No business experience necessary.

A Word doc you can edit We don’t just have PDF documents that make editing a challenge. Each plan is available in Word format so you can start editing your business plan example right away.

Key Sections Included in our Example Business Plans:

Executive Summary : A quick overview of your plan and entices investors to read more of your plan.

Company : Describes the ownership and history of your business.

Products and Services : Reviews what you sell and what you’re offering your customers.

Market Analysis : Describes your customers and the size of your target market.

Strategy and Implementation : Provides the details of how you plan on building the business.

Management Team : An overview of the people behind the business and why they’re the right team to make the business a success.

Financial Plan : A complete set of forecasts including a Profit and Loss Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and Balance Sheet.

Looking for a sample business plan PDF? You can download a few PDF examples below:

• Accounting and Bookkeeping Sample Business Plan PDF
• Agriculture Farm Sample Business Plan PDF
• Cleaning Service Sample Business Plan PDF

Brought to you by

Create a professional business plan

Using ai and step-by-step instructions.

Secure funding

Validate ideas

Build a strategy

Your download should begin immediately

If your download doesn't begin after 5 seconds, please click here .

View our entire gallery of free downloads

You might also enjoy:

The Small Business Toolkit

Access a free list of must–have resources for new and growing businesses in any industry.

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

Original text

 Writing a business plan is one of the most important steps in starting a new business.  But what should be in that plan, and how do you get started? 

Download the Microsoft Word template above to help guide you through the process of creating a business plan. It is free to download and does not require any commitments from you. This template can be beneficial to people seeking to start a business, or operate an existing one without having first written a plan. The document will guide you through everything from analyzing the market opportunity to financing and much more.

And don’t forget, SCORE counselors stand ready to help you with writing this plan or any other facet of starting, growing, or running a business.

Copyright © 2024 SCORE Association, SCORE.org

Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

Cookies on GOV.UK

We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

• Business and self-employed
• Business finance and support

Write a business plan

Download free business plan templates and find help and advice on how to write your business plan.

Business plan templates

Download a free business plan template on The Prince’s Trust website.

You can also download a free cash flow forecast template or a business plan template on the Start Up Loans website to help you manage your finances.

Business plan examples

Read example business plans on the Bplans website.

How to write a business plan

Get detailed information about how to write a business plan on the Start Up Donut website.

Why you need a business plan

A business plan is a written document that describes your business. It covers objectives, strategies, sales, marketing and financial forecasts.

A business plan helps you to:

• clarify your business idea
• spot potential problems
• set out your goals
• measure your progress

You’ll need a business plan if you want to secure investment or a loan from a bank. Read about the finance options available for businesses on the Business Finance Guide website.

It can also help to convince customers, suppliers and potential employees to support you.

Related content

Is this page useful.

• Yes this page is useful
• No this page is not useful

Help us improve GOV.UK

Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.

To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. Please fill in this survey (opens in a new tab) .

mock comm plan- digtal comm

Concordia University Saint Paul *

May 17, 2024

Uploaded by paigebracht on coursehero.com

• Access to all documents
• Unlimited textbook solutions
• 24/7 expert homework help
• Textbook: Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes By: Katherine Miller             Chapter 13 1. What are the pros and cons working from home? arrow_forward After being promoted to store manager for a new branch of a large department storechain, Kathryn was concerned about communication in the store. Six department headsreported directly to her, and 50 full-time and part-time sales associates reported to them.Given this structure, Kathryn worried about staying informed about all store operations,not just those coming to her attention as senior manager. What steps might Kathryn taketo establish and maintain an effective system of upward communication in this store? arrow_forward Textbook: Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes By: Katherine Miller             Chapter 13 Use the constitutive approaches, and technological processes, in the textbook to compare them to Medtronic’s technological and constitutive processes/approaches. Make recommendations for Resolving Conflict (Chapter 13 - Miller, 2015) arrow_forward
• what conflicts may arise between line and staff personnel and how does effective communication ease the conflict ? arrow_forward what solutions can help with communication problems in an office? arrow_forward ARTICLE TWO The True Value of Internal Communication by Brad Chuck   “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” Those with a perchance for classic Paul Newman films will know this is a famous line from the movie ‘Cool Hand Luke’, in which our antihero is faced with seeing his spirit being questioned while isolating in prison. Such is the feeling of many during troubling and disconcerting times; the concept of communication becomes more apparent when our means to talk have been disrupted. But the real concern is the fact that businesses for years, no, decades, have failed to understand the actual value of internal communication that leads to business success. Indeed, failure to communicate, especially during lockdown and isolation, will have a long-lasting negative effect that can never be recovered from.   Communication in the workplace is the process of exchanging information and ideas, both verbal and non-verbal between one person/group and another person/group within that… arrow_forward
• Design a workplace communication protocol for a Financial Company ensuring that three (3) methods of communication  and three (3) barriers to communication are considered. arrow_forward Write an investigative paper that applies group-related communication theories to a selected group. There are many ways to improve interpersonal effectiveness, and the benefits of doing so are profound. Many studies point to interpersonal effectiveness as the leading predictor of future success. Derailment studies (Lombardo & McCauley, 1988) found lack of interpersonal communication skills to be a key factor in the likelihood of a manager to derail, or be removed from his or her job. By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria: Competency 2: Analyze the interrelationships of communication within organizational systems. Describe the characteristics of a group. Analyze the roles of group members. Describe the group stages experienced. Analyze group norms. Describe positive and negative participation behaviors. Describe group’s use of technology for communication.… arrow_forward Joseph and Krystal are part of your social group. They joined Missile's Financial Services together as middle managers. Each one, reports to a different senior manager. These senior managers report to the Managing Director. Once a month after payday, Joseph, Krystal and other members of the social group all try to have lunch together. Joseph is very distressed. 'I've had an awful week and this morning was the worst!' He recounts what happen between himself and Nicholas, his manager. 'Nicholas and I were to meet with a new supplier to finalize a contract. I have been dealing with the supplier all this time, over two and a half months and we just needed to finalize the costing. We had reached an agreement about the cost that both of us were comfortable with. For the past two weeks, I have been trying to get Nicholas to look at the contract and agree the figures etc. We really need this guy's company. They are fast and have a great reputation for products and services. The price is good… arrow_forward
• Textbook: Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes 7th Edition By: Katherine Miller  1. Discuss emotion rules for emtional display in the workplace.  2. Discuss burnout and the factors that contribute to burnout. How can communication cause burnout?  3. Discuss several obstacles to career advancement for women and minorities. arrow_forward Communication at Fresh Munchables has traditionally been all over the place. Both misinformation and a lack of information among all levels of employees have created many avoidable problems over the years. While developing the new compensation system for Fresh Munchables, what kind of communication strategy should the compensation team incorporate, and why? arrow_forward What are some common communication challenges with virtual teams?  How would you overcome these challenges? arrow_forward