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Business plan checklist
It is essential to write a good business plan. It will help you in a variety of ways. If you are trying to raise finance it will will be vital to show potential backers that you know what you are doing and have a long-term strategic plan. It will also be useful to you to help keep your business on track and to alert you to potential problems.
You will need to show potential investors
- that they will get a return on their investment and/or they will be paid back
- that you are a capable manager
- that there is a market for your product or service.
There are dozens of business plan formats. This is one of the longer and more comprehensive (from Rupert Merson at BDO Stoy Hayward) which might offer some help as a template. We doubt whether you will need all of the stuff in here but it can be used as a handy checklist. Only use the items that apply to your business. Try it.
1 Executive summary
- The business and its management
- History and position to date
- Current mission
- Objectives near-term
- Objective long-term
- The current key management team
- Legal and existing capital structure
- Professional advisers
2 Products or services
- Descriptions & applications
- Readiness for market of new products
- Development cost estimates
- Proprietary position/barriers to entry
- Comparison with competition performance and economics
- Guarantees and warranties
- Future potential/product development
- Sources of supply (if not a manufacturing/assembling business)
3 Market & competitors
- Description of customer needs and benefits
- Market and segment size and growth
- Customer decision criteria
- Target market segments (showing differentiation from competition)
- Marketing objectives
- Competitive SWOT (an analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
- Marketing strategy
- Pricing policy
- Promotional plans
- Choice of location and premises
- Distribution channels
- Anticipated mark-up
- Competitor response
- Market share projection,
- Economic political social and legal
- Factors that affect strategy
- Sales forecast
4 Selling
- Current selling method
- Proposed selling methods
- Sales team
- In-house support
5 Management and staffing
- Specific management roles for existing and planned staff and general organisation of the business under each
- Strategies for retraining and motivating key staff
- Planned recruitment and selection
- Reward and recognition packages and their relationship to the required business performance
- Appraisal system
- The training and development plan
- A summary of your plan for change
6 Manufacturing
- Make or buy considerations
- The manufacturing process
- Facilities needed
- Equipment and machinery needed
- Output limitation and scale-up possibilities
- Engineering and design support
- Quality control plans
- Staffing requirements
- Sources of key materials
7 Acquisition, merger, joint ventures & divestments
- Logic for acquisition
- Target profile
- Plans for search
8 Forecasts and financial data
- Summary of financial performance ratios, return on investment (ROI) etc
- Summary sales forecasts
- Assumptions underpinning financial forecasts
- Profit and Loss (P&L) accounts
- Cash flow forecasts
- Balance Sheets
- DCF etc for major investments
- Sensitivity analysis
9 Financing requirements
- Current shareholders, loans outstanding
- Funds required and timing, including leasing
- Use of proceeds
- The deal on offer
- Anticipated gearing and interest cover
- Exit routes for the investor
- Business controls
- Financial
- Sales and marketing
- Manufacturing
- Other controls
10 Appendices:
- Biographies
- Names and details of advisers
- Technical data and drawings
- Patents, copyrights etc
- Audited accounts
- Consultants’ reports
- Published data on product, market etc
- Orders on hand and enquiry status
- Detailed market research methods and findings
- Organisation charts
More advice on:
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