Your business plan should include a summary of what your business does, how it has developed and where you want it to go. In particular, it should cover your strategy for improving your existing sales and processes to achieve the growth you want.
You also need to make it clear what period the business plan covers - generally the next 12 months to two years.
The plan should include:
- Your marketing aims and objectives, for example how many new customers you want to gain and the anticipated size of your customer base at the end of the period. To find out about marketing strategy, see our guide on how to create your marketing strategy.
- Operational information such as where your business is based, who your suppliers are, and the premises and equipment needed.
- Financial information, including profit and loss forecasts, cashflow forecasts, sales forecasts and audited accounts. See our guide on cashflow management: the basics.
- A summary of the business objectives, including targets and dates.
- If yours is an owner-managed business, you may wish to include an exit plan. This includes planning the timing of your departure and the circumstances, eg family succession, sale of the business, floating your business or closing it down. See our guide: consider your exit strategy when starting up.
If you intend to present your business plan to an external audience such as investors or banks, you will also need to include:
- your aims and objectives for each area of the business
- details of the history of the business, including financial records from the last three years - if this isn't possible, provide details about trading to date
- management's skills and qualifications
- information about the product or service, its distinctiveness and where it fits into the marketplace
If you haven't already written one, you can use our interactive tool to create a business plan.
