Free business plan template

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Fill in the form to get a free business plan template as an editable PDF. We’ll send a one-pager and a multi-pager to choose from.

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Why business templates are vital

A business plan is essential for the success of your small business or startup. It helps guide the direction of your business and explains your vision to others. A reusable single- and multi-page template lets you tailor your pitch for investors, staff, and prospects. Plans help:

  • Included Startups decide if the idea is viable.
  • Included Small businesses gauge the competition, determine their competitive advantages, set goals, and plan marketing strategies.

Download our guide on how to write a business plan

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Why you’ll want to plan your business with our template

Our business plan template:

Helps you budget accurately

Our business plan’s customisable structure lets you accurately present your financial data.

Find out more about Xero analytics

Explains business plan components

Each business plan component comes with an annotated explanation to help you write your plan.

Read our guide on creating a business plan

Has multi-page and single-page versions

Simplify your mission, then focus it for investors with two different templates.

Download the single and multi-page templates

Getting started with the business plan template

Develop a concise mission statement about why your company exists and how it differs from similar companies. For example, Google’s statement is ‘To organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful’. LinkedIn’s statement is 'Connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful'. Then, develop business goals and objectives that fit with your statement. For example, LinkedIn’s objectives would specify metrics around the number of professionals and connections.

A value proposition presents the specific benefits your product or service brings to your customer, reinforces your brand identity, and give your team a focus. Business plan examples of value propositions might be: 'We help our customers feel good by fueling up with exceptional coffee in a community environment’, or ‘We help our customers choose the right gift in less than 10 minutes’.

A business plan for startups defines its target customers. All businesses should include market analysis in their business plans and update their analysis regularly. Start with your customers’ demographics. Then use the internet and primary sources like surveys and interviews) to learn more. Next, identify competitors and determine their strengths and weaknesses. Compare them with each other and decide where you fit within the competitive environment.

Successful small businesses promote their brands through websites, social media, broadcast ads, or sponsorships. They also use various sales channels, including online, brick-and-mortar stores, affiliates and distributors. Your business plan market analysis helps you decide the marketing strategies for your industry, product, and target audience. It also will help you predict annual sales – a key part of your financial planning.

Your business plan outline will also include your business structure, such as whether you are a limited corporation or partnership. It will list any operating agreements and information on supplier logistics. For example, how you will receive your raw materials and how you’ll deliver the product to customers. It will describe your daily operations and number of employees. Once you’ve completed your business plan, you’ll develop job descriptions for each role and begin hiring your team.

Financial forecasting is an important part of financial planning for businesses. Investors and lenders want to see your forecasts to determine whether to provide financing. The forecast also helps you budget to weather seasonal revenue dips and decide how many staff you can afford. It’s also a benchmark for gauging your performance, so you can take corrective action if necessary. Hiring a bookkeeper or accountant will help you make more accurate forecasts.

One-page business plan template

Writing about customers, competitors, income, and expenses will build your ideas in a short time. A single-page business plan template is:

  • Included Easy for you and investors to read and understand
  • Included Great for making a start
  • Included Helps pin down the main idea
  • Included Easy to update

Example of a business plan

Need an example of a simple business plan to get started.

Check out our filled-in, one-page business plan and be inspired to write your own.

When you’ll need a multi-page template

A multi-page business plan template has detailed forecasts and budgets, with evidence behind statements of costs, market size & competition

Pitching to investors

A multi-page business plan provides a comprehensive overview and is essential when you’re seeking funding.

Download multi-page business plan template.

Financing your business

Detailed financial planning for business demonstrates to lenders you manage funds responsibly.

Download our finance guide.

Forecasting and budgeting

A multi-page plan sets out expectations behind your business goals and objectives with detailed forecasting.

Learn about budgeting and forecasting.

FAQs about business plan templates

You want your team and investors to grasp your vision at a glance. A simple, concise plan is easier to understand, implement, and track. A complex plan can be overwhelming, leading to procrastination or inaction, and harder for your team to grasp. A simple plan is less daunting and more easily achievable, so you and your team are more likely to follow through with it.

Absolutely. The template is fully editable and customisable. You can change the content to create a plan that is unique, engaging, and personal, and update the plan easily as conditions change. The template guides you through the process, but doesn’t require you to do your plan a certain way.

Xero does not provide accounting, tax, business or legal advice. This template has been provided for information purposes only. You should consult your own professional advisors for advice directly relating to your business.

Start using Xero for free

Access Xero features for 30 days, then decide which plan best suits your business.

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SmallBusinessPro

Business Planning Templates

The first step in planning your business venture, clarifying your ideas, aims and objectives, is to write a business plan.

Your plan is an essential document to ensure your ideas are feasible and is critical for banks. In addition, new suppliers and larger customers may require this document for credit checks. It's also helpful to track progress against your original targets.

Writing Your Business Plan - Downloads

We have three templates you can use to do your business plan kindly offered by SCORE and Bank of Scotland. There are two for preparing the narrative of your plan (One for a startup business and the other for an existing business) and a cash flow template.

  • Template for startup businesses: pdf startup template .
  • Template for existing businesses: pdf existing business template .
  • Financial planning spreadsheet for startup businesses: Excel financial plan template .

These free business plan templates can help you quickly write a business plan. First, you can download the templates as Adobe PDF files to your computer. Then, you can click each of the template links below to open now or right click your mouse to save for later use.

Basic Outline

A basic business plan outlines the answers to questions about your intentions, such as:

  • Is there a demand for your products?
  • How are you defining your customer demographics?
  • What are your explicit strengths and weaknesses?
  • Can you mitigate threats and exploit new market opportunities?
  • Are your competitors aggressive or passive?
  • Have you assigned key employees to your tactical plans?
  • How robust are your financial plans?

Structure of Business Plans

Here's the basic structure in summary from the downloads above:

Executive Summary

It's best to write this section last after you've prepared the rest of your plan because this is simply a summary of the whole plan. It should ideally be one page, but two pages are equally acceptable.

Business Purpose

This area covers the fundamentals of your business, including:

  • Mission statement
  • Company goals and objectives
  • Business philosophy
  • The industry you're in
  • Legal ownership and key employees

Products and Services

Describe your key products, services, pricing strategy and margins.

Marketing Plan

Detail your marketing activities, including market research, market trends, market size, external market economics, and barriers to entry. As your market is made up of customers, describe their characteristics.

You also need detailed information about your competitors and why you'll be able to take market share from them. And finally, you'll need information about your promotional activities to reach out and entice your potential customers to purchase your products.

Operations Plans

This part describes how you're going to produce your products together with distribution methods to get products to your customers and your wholesale suppliers.

Management and Staff

People are behind all successful businesses, so including the key people and advisors is essential.

Startup Costs Budget

If you're starting a new business, you should detail the costs you'll incur while starting up before the day to day operations commence. For most companies, this is the amount they'll need initial funding for to begin trading.

Financial Plans

Your financial plans should contain enough detail (i.e., monthly) for the first year, then quarterly or yearly for the following two years. You should include a profit and loss account, a cash flow forecast and a Balance Sheet together with a break-even analysis.

Additional Business Planning Help

Use the following sites to get additional business planning templates to assist starting your business.

  • Teneric planning templates
  • Check your startup costs

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HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES SUCCEED

MORE DONUTS:

What do you need to know about starting a business?

  • Start up business ideas
  • Set up a business
  • Skills and wellbeing
  • Business planning
  • Financing a business
  • Tax and National Insurance
  • Business law
  • Sales and marketing
  • Business premises
  • Business IT
  • Grow your business
  • Types of business
  • Testing business ideas
  • Product development
  • Is running a business really for you?
  • Start up stories
  • Registering as a sole trader
  • Setting up a limited company
  • Business names
  • Buy a franchise
  • Buying a business
  • Starting an online business
  • Setting up a social enterprise
  • Small business support

Protect your wellbeing from the pressures of starting and running a business and develop key business skills.

  • Dealing with stress
  • Manage your time
  • Self-confidence
  • Write a business plan
  • Business strategy
  • Start up costs
  • Start up funding
  • Setting prices
  • How to work out tax and NI
  • Accounting and bookkeeping
  • Licences and registration
  • Protecting intellectual property
  • Insurance for business
  • Workplace health, safety and environmental rules
  • Looking after your customers
  • Promote your business
  • Your marketing strategy
  • Sales techniques
  • Research your market
  • Creating and optimising a website
  • Commercial premises
  • Premises security
  • People management
  • Recruitment, contracts, discipline and grievance
  • Employment rights
  • Hiring employees
  • Buying IT for your new business
  • Basic IT security
  • Preparing for business growth
  • How to scale up your business
  • Funding business growth
  • Start exporting
  • Personal development

Business plan template

Group of people in blue shirts discussing a business plan

A well-written business plan is an essential tool for any business. Not only can it help you attract funding, it can also help you test your business idea.

What should I include in a business plan?

Most business plans cover the next 12-36 months and include the following:

  • Outline the aims and goals for the business and how the business owner plans to achieve those goals.
  • The background of the business
  • Introduce the business' management team.
  • profit and loss forecasts,
  • a breakdown of how much money will be required to set up and run the business,
  • sales forecasts,
  • pricing strategy.
  • Overview of the market the business operates within, the customers the business plans to target and what marketing methods will be used.
  • Assessment of comparative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats posed by rivals within that market.
  • The last thing to be written is usually the executive summary - which should appear at the front of the business plan. It rounds up all the detailed information contained in the main body of the business plan.

A business plan does not need to be a lengthy document but should provide these key elements.

Business plan templates

These simple and professional business plan templates from Templates.net can help you set out your business idea, plan the road map for your business formation and help you attract funding.

Available in several file formats and easily customizable, these files are a great addition to your template library.

Download the business plan templates (charge applicable).

  • Start up business plan
  • Simple business plan
  • One-page business plan
  • Sample business plan
  • Business plan outline

Entrepreneur writting a business plan

Browse topics: Business planning

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