Support: Business Plan Template
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Common questions
Is this business plan template really free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark, no trial and no paid version. The plan is put together by your own browser, so it costs us nothing to let you make as many as you like.
Is my business plan uploaded or stored anywhere?
No. What you write never leaves your device: the preview, the PDF and the Word file are all made in your browser. If you tick the box to keep your draft, it is saved in this browser on this device only, and unticking it deletes it. A draft file you save goes to your own downloads folder, nowhere else.
What sections should a business plan have?
The US Small Business Administration's guide lists these for a traditional plan: executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, service or product line, marketing and sales, a funding request if you are asking for money, and financial projections. This template uses the same sections in the same order, and adds an optional appendix for supporting documents.
Should I write a traditional plan or a lean plan?
The SBA's advice is that a traditional plan suits you if you want a comprehensive document or plan to ask for financing from traditional sources, and it notes that lenders and investors commonly request one. A lean plan suits you if you want to explain or start your business quickly, the business is relatively simple, or you expect to change the plan often. You can write the lean plan first and grow it into a traditional one later; both are in this tool.
How long should a business plan be?
Long enough to answer the reader's questions and no longer. The SBA describes lean plans as typically one page, while traditional plans can run to dozens. A clear plan of ten to twenty pages is easier to get read than a long one. Keep the executive summary to one page.
How does the financial forecast work?
You enter sales for year 1, how fast you expect sales to grow each year, what share of sales goes on the cost of making or buying what you sell, and your running costs for a year with the rate they rise. The tool works out sales, cost of sales, gross profit, running costs and profit before tax for three or five years, and prints the assumptions under the table so a reader can see how the numbers were reached.
How is break-even worked out?
Fixed costs a month, divided by what each sale leaves after the cost of making it. If your fixed costs are 5,700 a month, the average sale is 85 and it costs 30 to make, each sale leaves 55, so you need 104 sales a month to cover your costs. If the price is not above the cost of making the sale, no number of sales breaks even, and the tool says so.
Will a bank accept this plan?
The layout and sections are what lenders expect, but a bank decides on the content: your experience, the market, the figures and how believable they are. The SBA's guide says financial projections should include forecast income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements and capital expenditure budgets. This template makes the income (profit and loss) forecast, startup costs and break-even; it does not make a balance sheet or a cash flow forecast. Ask your lender what they need before you finish.
Can I edit the plan after I download it?
Yes. The Word file is an ordinary .docx with real headings, tables and page numbers, so you can change anything in Word, Google Docs, Pages or LibreOffice. To carry on in this tool instead, keep the draft on your device or use Save draft file and open it again later, on this or any other device.
Can I write the plan in a language other than English?
Yes. Write in any language. In the PDF, Western and Central European languages, Turkish, Greek and Cyrillic are set as ordinary text, and text in scripts such as Arabic, Hindi, Chinese or Thai is placed as a sharp picture of the text. The Word file keeps every language as editable text. The section headings are in English.