[your business logo]
[business address]
[telephone number]
[website]
[email address]
[Business Name]
Business Plan
Prepared by [author name]
[date]
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
Business Overview ....................................................................................................... 2
1.1
Vision statement ...................................................................................................... 2
1.2
Mission statement .................................................................................................... 2
1.3
Business objectives ................................................................................................. 2
1.4
Products/Services .................................................................................................... 2
1.5
Business structure ................................................................................................... 2
1.6
Business commencement date ................................................................................. 2
1.7
Owner profile ........................................................................................................... 2
1.8
Licences, registrations and permits .......................................................................... 2
1.9
Insurance ................................................................................................................ 3
1.10
Business advisors .................................................................................................... 3
1.11
Risk management .................................................................................................... 3
Market Analysis ............................................................................................................. 4
2.1
Market research ....................................................................................................... 4
2.2
Environmental analysis ............................................................................................ 4
2.3
Industry description .................................................................................................. 4
2.4
Competitor analysis ................................................................................................. 4
2.5
SWOT analysis ........................................................................................................ 4
Marketing Plan .............................................................................................................. 6
3.1
Customer profile ...................................................................................................... 6
3.2
Pricing strategy ........................................................................................................ 6
3.3
Advertising and promotion strategy........................................................................... 6
3.4
Sales and distribution strategy ................................................................................. 6
Operational Plan ........................................................................................................... 7
4.1
Business premises ................................................................................................... 7
4.2
Production process .................................................................................................. 7
4.3
Plant and equipment ................................................................................................ 7
4.4
Major suppliers ........................................................................................................ 7
4.5
Stock control ............................................................................................................ 7
Financial Plan................................................................................................................ 8
5.1
Financial objectives ................................................................................................. 8
5.2
Start-up costs .......................................................................................................... 8
5.3
Balance sheet forecast ............................................................................................. 9
5.4
Profit and loss forecast .......................................................................................... 10
5.5
Cash flow forecast ................................................................................................. 11
5.6
Break-even analysis ............................................................................................... 12
6
Action Plan .................................................................................................................. 13
7
Supporting Documentation ......................................................................................... 14
Page 1 of 15
1 Business Overview
1.1 Vision statement
[The vision statement is a broad statement outlining the future of your business, it is
the dream for your business.]
1.2 Mission statement
[The mission statement describes the business purpose and business activities. It is
the how you will achieve your vision.]
1.3 Business objectives
[The business objectives are the specific and measurable steps to reach your goal
within a certain time frame. Include a mix of long-term, medium-term and short-term
objectives.]
1.4 Products/Services
[List all your existing products and/or services in the table below.]
Product/Service
Description
Price
[Product/service 1]
[Brief description of product/service]
[$]
[Product/service 2]
[Brief description of product/service]
[$]
1.5 Business structure
[What is your business structure e.g. sole trader, company?]
1.6 Business commencement date
[The date you plan to start your business or the date you started your business.]
1.7 Owner profile
[Outline your business and industry experience, qualifications/certifications,
business/industry achievements, awards and any other relevant information. Also
include any areas of weakness and what you will do to compensate shortcomings.]
1.8 Licences, registrations and permits
[List all your business licences, registrations and permits in the table below.]
Licence/registration/permit
Date obtained
Expiry date
[Licence/registration/permit type]
[XX/XX/20XX]
[XX/XX/20XX]
Page 2 of 15
1.9 Insurance
[List all your business insurances in the table below.]
Type of
insurance
Insurer/policy Items/sum
number
insured
Annual
premium
Start date
[e.g.
indemnity
insurance,
business
assets]
[Insurance
company and
policy number]
[$]
[XX/XX/20XX] [XX/XX/20XX]
[List the items
in the policy
and the sum
insured]
Expiry date
1.10 Business advisors
[List all your business advisors in the table below.]
Professional
Name
Address
advisor
[e.g. accountant, [Name]
lawyer, mentor]
[Address]
Phone
Email
[Phone]
[Email]
1.11 Risk management
[List all the potential risks in order of severity (risk rating) that could affect your
business in the table below.]
Risk description
Likelihood
Impact
Risk rating
Strategy to manage
[Description of the
risk]
[Very likely,
likely,
unlikely]
[Major,
moderate,
minor]
[Extreme,
high,
medium, low]
[What will you do to
minimise/manage the
risk?]
Page 3 of 15
2 Market Analysis
2.1 Market research
[Detail the results and findings of your market research such as the size of your
market, growth potential, customer demographics/psychographics, number of potential
customers in your geographic area, any unmet needs of your customers.]
2.2 Environmental analysis
[Describe any political, economic, social and technological opportunities or threats in
the external environment that may positively or negatively impact your business and
what you will do to take advantage of an opportunity or reduce the impact of a threat .]
2.3 Industry description
[Provide an overview of the industry in which your business will operate in such as
industry history, industry size, any trends affecting the industry, industry leaders .]
2.4 Competitor analysis
[List each of your major competitors in the table below.]
Competitor
[Competitor
name]
Date
Established
[When they
were
established?]
Size
[Number of
staff and/or
turnover]
Value to
customers
[Their unique
value to
customers.
e.g.
convenience,
quality, price
or service]
Strengths
[Their main
strengths]
Weaknesses
[Their main
weaknesses]
[Explain the competition, how your business is different from your competitors, any
competitive advantages your business has over competitors and any possible barriers
to entering the market and how you plan to address them.]
2.5 SWOT analysis
[List your businesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the table
below.]
Strengths
Weaknesses
[Positive business attributes and
advantages over competitors e.g.
 Excellent customer service]
[Areas for improvements and business
disadvantages e.g.
 Unfamiliar business to locals]
Page 4 of 15
Opportunities
Threats
[Favourable and positive external
marketplace factors e.g.
 Unfulfilled customer need]
[External negative factors and
unfavourable situations e.g.
 Nearest competitor is only 1km
away]
[Address how you plan to take advantage of your strengths and opportunities and reduce or
eliminate your weaknesses and threats.]
Page 5 of 15
3 Marketing Plan
3.1 Customer profile
[Your customer profile provides in-depth information on the demographics,
characteristics and behaviours of your customer such as age, gender, location, income,
education, buying patterns, motivation.]
3.2 Pricing strategy
[What is your pricing strategy (e.g. cost-plus pricing, premium pricing, penetration
pricing) and why have you chosen this strategy?]
3.3 Advertising and promotion strategy
[List your advertising and promotion activities for the next 12 months in the table
below.]
Advertising / promotion activity
[e.g. print media advertising, online
advertising, trade show, giveaway,
press release, social media
campaign, event.]
Target
date
[Month /
year]
Estimated
Cost
[$]
Expected result
[What is the outcome you
hope to achieve?]
3.4 Sales and distribution strategy
[List the sales and distribution channels for your products/services in the table below.]
Channel type
Product/service
% of total sales
[e.g. retail outlet, online
store, tradeshow, market
stall, wholesale]
[What product/service will be sold
via this channel?]
[What percentage of
total sales is expected
from this channel?]
Page 6 of 15
4 Operational Plan
4.1 Business premises
[Describe the location, type of premise, size, facilities, fit-out, equipment, building
condition and layout, passing vehicle and pedestrian traffic, accessibility and visibility
etc. Provide ownership details or lease agreements and cost involved including fit out
expenses and ongoing running and maintenance costs. For a home-based business,
describe the area of the home being used.]
4.2 Production process
[Describe the processes to make your products or deliver your services. If applicable,
include which aspects of production are outsourced or completed by contractors. You
might like to also include a flowchart to explain the production process.]
4.3 Plant and equipment
[List your plant and equipment purchases in the table below.]
Equipment item
Purchase date
Purchase price
Buy/Lease
Ongoing costs
[e.g. computer,
phone]
[XX/XX/20XX]
[$]
[Buy or lease]
[$]
4.4 Major suppliers
[List your major suppliers in the table below.]
Supplier
Product
Contact details
Terms of trade
[Supplier name]
[Product 1]
[Address, Phone, [e.g. price,
Email]
payment period,
warranties,
return of goods]
Alternative
supplier
[Backup
supplier name
and contact
details]
4.5 Stock control
[Describe how you will keep track of your stock, which stock control methods and
systems will be used. Include other relevant information such as the type of stock held,
storage size, any special storage requirements, reorder frequency, minimum stock
levels, first in first out method.]
Page 7 of 15
5 Financial Plan
5.1 Financial objectives
[Your financial objectives can include your targets in reference to sales, profit, debt
reduction, cost reduction, investment and growth and the timeframe to achieve each
objective. Include a mix of long-term, medium-term and short-term objectives.]
5.2 Start-up costs
[List all your projected monthly and one-off start-up costs in the table below or insert
your own.]
Monthly expenses
Projected monthly expenses ($)
[rent]
[phone]
[insurance]
Total monthly expenses
$
One-off expenses
Projected one-off expenses ($)
[registrations, licences and permits ]
[starting inventory]
[tools and equipment]
Total one-off expenses
$
Total estimated start-up costs
$
Page 8 of 15
5.3 Balance sheet forecast
[Complete a 3 year forecast of your business financial position in the table below or
insert your own.]
Balance Sheet Forecast
[Year 1]
[Year 2]
[Year 3]
Current assets
[cash]
[inventory]
Total current assets
$
$
$
Total non-current assets
$
$
$
TOTAL ASSETS
$
$
$
$
$
$
Total non-current liabilities
$
$
$
TOTAL LIABILITIES
$
$
$
NET WORTH
$
$
$
Non-current assets
[equipment]
[vehicles]
Current liabilities
[accounts payable]
[credit cards payable]
Total current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
[loans]
Page 9 of 15
5.4 Profit and loss forecast
[Complete a 3 year profit and loss forecast in the table below or insert your own.]
Profit and Loss Forecast
[Year 1]
[Year 2]
[Year 3]
Revenue
[sales]
[interest]
Total revenue (sales)
$
$
$
Cost of goods sold (COGS)
$
$
$
GROSS PROFIT
$
$
$
Total expenses
$
$
$
NET PROFIT
$
$
$
Expenses
[rent]
[advertising]
[telephone]
Page 10 of 15
5.5 Cash flow forecast
[Complete a 12 month cash flow forecast in the table below or insert your own.]
Balance
Sheet
Forecast
[M1]
[M2]
[M3]
[M4]
[M5]
[M6]
[M7]
[M8]
[M9]
[M10]
[M11]
[M12]
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
[Year]
OPENING
BALANCE
Cash
incoming
[sales]
[asset
sales]
Total
incoming
Cash
outgoing
[expenses]
[stock
purchases]
[loan
repayment]
Total
outgoing
Net cash
flow
CLOSING
BALANCE
Page 11 of 15
5.6 Break-even analysis
[Complete a break-even analysis in the table below or insert your own.
To calculate the number of units to break-even use the formula: fixed costs ÷ (average
price of products/services – average variable costs of products/services).
To calculate the total dollar sales to break-even use the formula: number of units sold
to break-even x average price of products/services.]
Break-even analysis
Timeframe
(monthly/yearly)
Average price of products/services
Average variable costs of products/services
Fixed costs for month/year
Number of unit sales to break-even
Total dollar sales to break-even
Page 12 of 15
6 Action Plan
[List the key tasks that need to be completed over the next 12 months in the table
below.]
Task
Expected completion date
Person responsible
[What task needs to be
completed?]
[When do you expect to
complete the task?]
[Who is responsible for
completing the task?]
Page 13 of 15
7 Supporting Documentation
[List all the attached documents that support the statements and decisions in your
business plan in the table below e.g. detailed financial documents, resumes, market
research information, legal documents.]
Attachment number
Document name
[Attachment 1]
[Name of document]
Page 14 of 15