No matter what stage your business is, you can download our most popular proven tools online for free. All business plan templates are Microsoft Word or Excel compatible. They include additional guidance notes to aid completion to a professional standard.
These documents are already in use by over 120,000 entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom and worldwide.
They’re primarily structured to secure bank loans, although other investments are also satisfied. Browse additional tools, training courses, and downloads developed from our experience assisting corporations at an enterprise level.
Use the free templates below to use in our online business planning course. Get your copy by using the links below. There is no registration required.
Your completed plan defines your success criteria from starting up to making a profit. Be specific and concise with the details of your document. Any potential investors may scan your summary rather than read every page. Your financial forecasts are important as these show how you’ll make money from your products.
Think about your target audience, including investors, customers, staff, employees, and a personal checklist for yourself. You may need to adapt pricing, or financial action plans to account for confidential information.
The business planning process in itself assists companies in producing numerous ideas. The final document contains some of the following benefits:
Methodically completing each section that a business plan encompasses ensures you’ll formulate a strategy for everything required to develop a successful business.
Once you’re ready to start, using the tips below should improve your chances of producing a credible document that you can use to drive your ideas forward.
People do not want to wade through pages of words that add little to the core purpose of your strategy. You should be concise but ensure all critical sections receive a comprehensive analysis. Add material that provides additional detail to some sections as an appendix.
There’s nothing worse than over-optimistic revenue and profit projections that are unlikely to be achieved. If you’re seeking a loan, show how the money is being used to accomplish your objectives.
Banks and investors review hundreds of plans each year. They expect a professional document that follows a prescribed format. Therefore, you should produce what they’re expecting. For example:
You should demonstrate a clear understanding of your customer demographics and market potential. In addition, any new business entering a market for the first time has to display clear benefits of how they satisfy their customer needs.
Once you’re close to completion, ask friends or colleagues to read your document and financial projections. This final check helps:
Many profitable businesses fail because they run out of Working Capital or cash. Your plan should illustrate the timings for when profits become viable, and cash is positive. Your projections may change your strategy if success comes later than you first anticipated.
Below you’ll find detailed guides on the information required before, during, and after you’ve started your business. These helpful articles help chart your progress through to successful completion.
Before you put pen to paper, you should research your proposed marketplace thoroughly to analyse pricing strategies, customer demographics, and promotional activities.
Investing time in preparing the required information ensures that finalising your plan is faster and more accurate.
Once your background research is complete, you’re ready to develop the most critical sections of your plan. Remember to adjust any assumptions made over time as business plans are dynamic by nature.
A fundamental part of creating objectives evolves from creating a detailed SWOT analysis that highlights market opportunity gaps while allowing you to build on your strengths and mitigate weaknesses.
Once the detail is complete, you can create the executive summary to introduce and sell your ideas. The summary represents your first opportunity to pitch your ideas to investors, so it should actively communicate how and why you’re going to succeed.
Marketing should be at the heart of any successful long-term strategy. These guides help incorporate promotional activities into your DNA and hone your communication skills with your customers.
You’re free to publish or circulate these documents to your friends or business colleagues under the standard Creative Commons licence terms. Please credit Teneric as the original author.
