Business Planning Templates
Department of State Development and Innovation
CONTENTS
SWOT Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Business Planning Templates ....................................................................................................................... 4
Step 1: Complete Environmental Scan/Market Research ............................................................................. 6
Task Environment ............................................................................................................................................................. 7
General Environment ........................................................................................................................................................ 8
Step 2: Develop Competitive Advantage ....................................................................................................... 9
Four Key Questions ........................................................................................................................................................ 10
Our Competitive Advantage Is . . . .................................................................................................................................. 11
Step 3: Identify & Prioritise Critical Success Factors ................................................................................... 12
Outline Critical Success Factors ..................................................................................................................................... 14
Prioritise & Refine Critical Success Factors .................................................................................................................... 15
Step 4: Determine Basis For Growth ........................................................................................................... 16
Determine Basis For Growth . . ...................................................................................................................................... 17
Determine Growth Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 18
Determine Profit Objectives ............................................................................................................................................ 19
Step 5. Identify & Prioritise Key Change Activities ...................................................................................... 20
Step 6: Develop Action Plan ........................................................................................................................ 21
Step 7. Performance Evaluation/Benchmarking .......................................................................................... 22
Step 8: Complete Financial Evaluation ........................................................................................................ 23
SWOT Analysis
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 3.
Business Planning Templates
The following templates are designed as a planning tool for use by business operators in the process of plan
development for small to medium-sized businesses.
The templates are designed for practical use by owners/managers in business development situations. The
templates reflect a simple, logical and pragmatic approach to Strategic & Operational Planning. Planning is
both a creative and analytical process. The templates are not designed to construct business plans for submission
to financial institutions. (‘Plans’ for submission to financial institutions could more appropriately be termed ‘Business
Cases’.) However, the outputs from this process could be translated for this purpose. Nor are the templates
designed as a ‘recipe’ for business planning. Effective business planning requires experience and good judgement
and thus, the templates should be used as a support tool and not as a definitive instruction.
A thorough analysis of the business should always precede a business plan. It is therefore preferable that a full
diagnosis be undertaken first. The design of the Business Planning Templates assumes that a diagnostic has been
undertaken first this usually includes a S.W.O.T. Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).
Upon completion professional advice is recommended for the application of the business planning process
by business owners.
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 4.
Company Details & Business Information
Business Name:
Owner No. 1 Name:
Owner No. 2 Name:
No. of Locations:
Locations:
Main Location Address:
Telephone:
Facsimile:
e-mail/web-site:
Business Established:
Under Current Owner Since:
Industry:
Major Goods/Services:
Brief Business Description:
Approx. Current Turnover:
Approx. Current Profit (Before Tax):
Approx. No. of Employees (Full Time Equivalent):
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 5.
Step 1: Complete Environmental Scan/Market
Research
It is important that the Competitive Advantage and the Critical
The Task Environment comprises:
Success Factors be tested against the present and future
 Target Market (Customers & Potential Customers)
environments of the business.
 Competitors
 Suppliers
An environmental scan can be divided into two parts:
 Strategic Allies
 Task Environment, i.e. specific organisations or groups in
 Regulators & Unions
the immediate business environment that are likely to affect
 Owners
the business, and
 General Environment, i.e. those non-specific forces
surrounding a business that might affect its activities.
The business must deliver greater value to customers than
its competitors or create comparable value at a lower cost,
or do both.
The General Environment comprises such forces as:
 International
 Economic
 Technological
 Socio-cultural
 Political
 Legal.
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Page 6.
Task Environment
List the key demands on the business from these environmental factors (consider present and future):
Target Market (Customers & Potential Customers):
Competitors:
Suppliers:
Strategic Allies:
Regulators:
Owners:
(Government, Unions, Industry Associations, e.g. MTIA
etc. )
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Page 7.
General Environment
List the key demands on the business from these environmental forces (consider present and future):
International:
Economic:
Technological:
Socio-Cultural:
Political:
Legal:
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 8.
Step 2: Develop Competitive Advantage
The Competitive Advantage is the distinctive
The Components of the Competitive Advantage are:
competency of the business that is matched to its future
 the type of Goods and/or Services to address customer needs,
market opportunities.
e.g. number, range
 the Activities to address customer needs, e.g. design and/or build
The Competitive Advantage must:
 be the core statement of what the business is about
 reflect the essence of the competitive strength of the
business
 preferably, but not necessarily, be unique
 be assumed to change over time, i.e. it may be, but will
not necessarily be, sustainable
 be simple and clear
 influence & guide individual behaviour internal &
external to the business now & in the future.
and/or supply
 the Customer Benefits, e.g. low cost, high quality, exclusive etc.
The Competitive Advantage always incorporates a ‘Trade-Off’.
Trade-Offs create the need for choice and purposefully limit what a
company offers.
A simple example of the Competitive Advantage of a sandwich
shop is:
 "to make & serve the highest quality gourmet sandwiches in the
local area to consistently exceed customer expectations".
 (Trade-Off = price)
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 9.
Four Key Questions
Answering the following four questions will help you to formulate the Competitive Advantage for your business:
Why do customers buy from us?
Why do customers buy from our competitors and not from us?
Why do some potential customers not buy at all?
What do we have to do to be successful in the future?
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 10.
Our Competitive Advantage Is . . .
What is the Competitive Advantage of the business? Test it. Does it contain goods/services type, activities, customer benefits?
Our Competitive Advantage is:
The Trade-Off =
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 11.
Step 3: Identify & Prioritise Critical Success Factors
Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are those features of the
business which must be done particularly well to ensure future
success and which are essential to the Competitive
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Examples of Critical Success Factors for the local sandwich
shop could include:
 Establish and maintain an exclusive relationship with a
Page 12.
Advantage.
To determine the Critical Success Factors, consider aspects of:
Inputs, such as:
 resources that the business uses
Conversion, such as:
 people
 company-wide business processes & activities
 decision-making structure
Outputs, such as:
 characteristics of the goods and services, e.g. low cost
baker to supply on a daily basis, 6 days per week, a range of
speciality and exclusive breads baked according to
proprietary recipes
 Purchase an extensive range of high quality meats, cheeses,
fruits & vegetables
 Recruit and train:
 happy, friendly people with the right attitude to the
customer (‘the customer is always right’)
 highly efficient, creative people who enjoy making the
best sandwiches for customers
 Encourage innovative product suggestions from customers
and staff
 Charge a premium price but one which, together with the
product and the service, ensures customer value-for-money
 Promote, make and serve fresh, exclusive, attractive, tasty,
well-presented sandwiches always.
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 13.
Outline Critical Success Factors
Keep it simple, but make sure you identify them all:
1.
5.
2.
6.
3.
7.
4.
8.
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 14.
Template 2B
Prioritise & Refine Critical Success Factors
Use the following grid to help you to prioritise and refine the CSFs for the business. The closer to the upper right-hand corner, the higher the priority.
Prioritise CSF’s
High
Value As Perceived By
Customers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Low
6.
Low
High
Ability To Differentiate
From Competitors
7.
8.
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Page 15.
Step 4: Determine Basis For Growth
The challenge for the business is to identify and develop growth opportunities with an acceptable balance of risk and return, consistent with its resources and capabilities. From the
4 strategic options for growth - market penetration, product expansion, market expansion and diversification - determine how the business will grow.
Examples of Each Growth Strategy:
Selling
Present Products
Into
Present Markets
Selling
New Products
Into
Present Markets
Market
Expansion:
Diversification:
Selling
Present Products
Into
New Markets
Selling
New Products
Into
New Markets
Market
Penetration
Product
Expansion
Examples:
•Expand customer base
•Attract competitors’
customers
•Concentrate resources
on most profitable
customers & market
Examples:
•Develop new product
features
•Develop quality variations
•Expand range
•Develop totally
new products
Market
Expansion
Diversification
Examples:
•Pursue new geographic
markets
•Pusue new
market segments
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Examples:
•Combine
product & market
expansion initiatives
Present Markets
Product
Expansion:
Present Markets
Market
Penetration:
Present Products New Products
Present Products New Products
New Markets
New Markets
Present Markets
Present Products New Products
Risk Level of Growth Strategies:
Lowest
Risk
Medium
Risk
New Markets
Options For Growth Strategy:
Medium
Risk
Highest
Risk
Page 16.
Determine Basis For Growth . . .
Record the basis of future growth for the business and note any relevant points:
New Products
Notes:
New Markets
Present Markets
Present Products
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Page 17.
Determine Growth Objectives
Determine the Growth Objectives for each product and/or product group for the next 3 years (consistent with Basis For Growth - see Template 4):
Product/
Now (
)
Year 1
(
)
Year 2
Growth
Group
Qty
$/unit
$
Qty
$/unit
(
)
Year 3
Growth
$
Qty
$/unit
(
Growth
$
Qty
$/unit
%
%
%
%
%
%
#
$
#
$
#
$
%
%
%
%
%
%
#
$
#
$
#
$
%
%
%
%
%
%
#
$
#
$
#
$
%
%
%
%
%
%
#
$
#
$
#
$
%
%
%
%
%
%
#
$
#
$
#
$
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)
$
Page 18.
Determine Profit Objectives
Determine the Profit Objectives for Gross Profit, for the next 3 years (consistent with Basis For Growth & Growth Objectives
Profit
Measure
Now (
)
Year 1
(
)
Year 2
(
)
Year 3
(
)
Gross Profit %
(GP/Sales)
Gross Profit
Expenses %
Earnings before
interest and tax
Cost of Capital
Economic return
% on capital
employed
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 19.
Step 5. Identify & Prioritise Key Change Activities
Identify the Key Change Activities (those Activities which are crucial to the implementation of the plan and the achievement of the Business
Objectives). Key Change Activities involve change and it is change that is planned for. They may involve the acquisition and/or devolvement of
resources When all Key Change Activities have been identified, prioritise each by number.
Key Change Activities
Priority #









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Page 20.
Step 6: Develop Action Plan
Key Change Activities
Date
Start
Date
Finish
Resources
Required
Budget
KPI
Who's
(see Templ.
9B)
Responsible?
# 1:
# 2:
# 3:
# 4:
# 5:
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Page 21.
(Key Performance Indicators)
Step 7. Performance Evaluation/Benchmarking
for use in Template 9A above. (This list is not designed to be comprehensive, but is to be used as a guide only.)
Accounting & Reporting

length of average reporting cycle

performance time to deadline
Ordering & Purchasing

average order to delivery lead time

% rejections/time period

no. of back orders/time period

no. of cancelled orders/time period

overall business performance to plan

performance to budget

accounts receivable days

% outstanding bad debts/time period
Creditor Payments

accounts payable days
Customer Feedback

no. of guarantee claims/time period

no. customer complaints/time period
Promotions

enquiry contacts per promotional activity

no. of prototype rejections/time period
Quoting/Pricing

% quote acceptance/time period

no. of prototype conversions/ time period

% quote rejects/time period

average prototype development lead time

conformance with formal price schedule

business performance to growth & profit objectives

average order to delivery lead time

management & staff turnover/time period

% rejections/time period

management meetings/time period

appraisals/time period

average job lead time

actioning of appraisal outcomes/time period

% quality failure/time period

staff turnover

no. of guarantee claims/time period

costs/time period

% capacity utilisation

no. of system complaints/exit interview

average delivery lead time

staff turnover

no. of guarantee claims/time period

recruitment costs/time period

average job lead time/time period

training costs/time period

hours overtime/time period

training needs analysis

costs per time period

inventory turnover or days

% downtime/time period

% damaged and/or lost stock/overall stock holding

failures/time period

% sales/time period
Billing & Collecting
Design & Development
General Management
Goods/Services Conversion
Goods/Services Delivery
Job Scheduling
Maintenance
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Order Taking
Planning & Budgeting
Receiving & Warehousing
Staff Appraisal
Staff Exits
Staff Recruit. & Selection
Staff Development
Stock Control
Warranty Claims
Page 22.
Step 8: Complete Financial Evaluation
You would review the Financials of the Business such as yourProfit & Loss Statements
Balance Sheets.
Department of State Development and Innovation Planning for Success
Page 23.