12 month business plan template

Free Financial Templates for a Business Plan

By Andy Marker | July 29, 2020

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In this article, we’ve rounded up expert-tested financial templates for your business plan, all of which are free to download in Excel, Google Sheets, and PDF formats.

Included on this page, you’ll find the essential financial statement templates, including income statement templates , cash flow statement templates , and balance sheet templates . Plus, we cover the key elements of the financial section of a business plan .

Financial Plan Templates

Download and prepare these financial plan templates to include in your business plan. Use historical data and future projections to produce an overview of the financial health of your organization to support your business plan and gain buy-in from stakeholders

Business Financial Plan Template

Use this financial plan template to organize and prepare the financial section of your business plan. This customizable template has room to provide a financial overview, any important assumptions, key financial indicators and ratios, a break-even analysis, and pro forma financial statements to share key financial data with potential investors.

Download Financial Plan Template

Word | PDF | Smartsheet

Financial Plan Projections Template for Startups

This financial plan projections template comes as a set of pro forma templates designed to help startups. The template set includes a 12-month profit and loss statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement for you to detail the current and projected financial position of a business.

‌ Download Startup Financial Projections Template

Excel | Smartsheet

Income Statement Templates for Business Plan

Also called profit and loss statements , these income statement templates will empower you to make critical business decisions by providing insight into your company, as well as illustrating the projected profitability associated with business activities. The numbers prepared in your income statement directly influence the cash flow and balance sheet forecasts.

Pro Forma Income Statement/Profit and Loss Sample

Use this pro forma income statement template to project income and expenses over a three-year time period. Pro forma income statements consider historical or market analysis data to calculate the estimated sales, cost of sales, profits, and more.

‌ Download Pro Forma Income Statement Sample - Excel

Small Business Profit and Loss Statement

Small businesses can use this simple profit and loss statement template to project income and expenses for a specific time period. Enter expected income, cost of goods sold, and business expenses, and the built-in formulas will automatically calculate the net income.

‌ Download Small Business Profit and Loss Template - Excel

3-Year Income Statement Template

Use this income statement template to calculate and assess the profit and loss generated by your business over three years. This template provides room to enter revenue and expenses associated with operating your business and allows you to track performance over time.

Download 3-Year Income Statement Template

For additional resources, including how to use profit and loss statements, visit “ Download Free Profit and Loss Templates .”

Cash Flow Statement Templates for Business Plan

Use these free cash flow statement templates to convey how efficiently your company manages the inflow and outflow of money. Use a cash flow statement to analyze the availability of liquid assets and your company’s ability to grow and sustain itself long term.

Simple Cash Flow Template

Use this basic cash flow template to compare your business cash flows against different time periods. Enter the beginning balance of cash on hand, and then detail itemized cash receipts, payments, costs of goods sold, and expenses. Once you enter those values, the built-in formulas will calculate total cash payments, net cash change, and the month ending cash position.

Download Simple Cash Flow Template

12-Month Cash Flow Forecast Template

Use this cash flow forecast template, also called a pro forma cash flow template, to track and compare expected and actual cash flow outcomes on a monthly and yearly basis. Enter the cash on hand at the beginning of each month, and then add the cash receipts (from customers, issuance of stock, and other operations). Finally, add the cash paid out (purchases made, wage expenses, and other cash outflow). Once you enter those values, the built-in formulas will calculate your cash position for each month with.

‌ Download 12-Month Cash Flow Forecast

3-Year Cash Flow Statement Template Set

Use this cash flow statement template set to analyze the amount of cash your company has compared to its expenses and liabilities. This template set contains a tab to create a monthly cash flow statement, a yearly cash flow statement, and a three-year cash flow statement to track cash flow for the operating, investing, and financing activities of your business.

Download 3-Year Cash Flow Statement Template

For additional information on managing your cash flow, including how to create a cash flow forecast, visit “ Free Cash Flow Statement Templates .”

Balance Sheet Templates for a Business Plan

Use these free balance sheet templates to convey the financial position of your business during a specific time period to potential investors and stakeholders.

Small Business Pro Forma Balance Sheet

Small businesses can use this pro forma balance sheet template to project account balances for assets, liabilities, and equity for a designated period. Established businesses can use this template (and its built-in formulas) to calculate key financial ratios, including working capital.

Download Pro Forma Balance Sheet Template

Monthly and Quarterly Balance Sheet Template

Use this balance sheet template to evaluate your company’s financial health on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. You can also use this template to project your financial position for a specified time in the future. Once you complete the balance sheet, you can compare and analyze your assets, liabilities, and equity on a quarter-over-quarter or year-over-year basis.

Download Monthly/Quarterly Balance Sheet Template - Excel

Yearly Balance Sheet Template

Use this balance sheet template to compare your company’s short and long-term assets, liabilities, and equity year-over-year. This template also provides calculations for common financial ratios with built-in formulas, so you can use it to evaluate account balances annually.

Download Yearly Balance Sheet Template - Excel

For more downloadable resources for a wide range of organizations, visit “ Free Balance Sheet Templates .”

Sales Forecast Templates for Business Plan

Sales projections are a fundamental part of a business plan, and should support all other components of your plan, including your market analysis, product offerings, and marketing plan . Use these sales forecast templates to estimate future sales, and ensure the numbers align with the sales numbers provided in your income statement.

Basic Sales Forecast Sample Template

Use this basic forecast template to project the sales of a specific product. Gather historical and industry sales data to generate monthly and yearly estimates of the number of units sold and the price per unit. Then, the pre-built formulas will calculate percentages automatically. You’ll also find details about which months provide the highest sales percentage, and the percentage change in sales month-over-month. 

Download Basic Sales Forecast Sample Template

12-Month Sales Forecast Template for Multiple Products

Use this sales forecast template to project the future sales of a business across multiple products or services over the course of a year. Enter your estimated monthly sales, and the built-in formulas will calculate annual totals. There is also space to record and track year-over-year sales, so you can pinpoint sales trends.

Download 12-Month Sales Forecasting Template for Multiple Products

3-Year Sales Forecast Template for Multiple Products

Use this sales forecast template to estimate the monthly and yearly sales for multiple products over a three-year period. Enter the monthly units sold, unit costs, and unit price. Once you enter those values, built-in formulas will automatically calculate revenue, margin per unit, and gross profit. This template also provides bar charts and line graphs to visually display sales and gross profit year over year.

Download 3-Year Sales Forecast Template - Excel

For a wider selection of resources to project your sales, visit “ Free Sales Forecasting Templates .”

Break-Even Analysis Template for Business Plan

A break-even analysis will help you ascertain the point at which a business, product, or service will become profitable. This analysis uses a calculation to pinpoint the number of service or unit sales you need to make to cover costs and make a profit.

Break-Even Analysis Template

Use this break-even analysis template to calculate the number of sales needed to become profitable. Enter the product's selling price at the top of the template, and then add the fixed and variable costs. Once you enter those values, the built-in formulas will calculate the total variable cost, the contribution margin, and break-even units and sales values.

Download Break-Even Analysis Template

For additional resources, visit, “ Free Financial Planning Templates .”

Business Budget Templates for Business Plan

These business budget templates will help you track costs (e.g., fixed and variable) and expenses (e.g., one-time and recurring) associated with starting and running a business. Having a detailed budget enables you to make sound strategic decisions, and should align with the expense values listed on your income statement.

Startup Budget Template

Use this startup budget template to track estimated and actual costs and expenses for various business categories, including administrative, marketing, labor, and other office costs. There is also room to provide funding estimates from investors, banks, and other sources to get a detailed view of the resources you need to start and operate your business.

Download Startup Budget Template

Small Business Budget Template

This business budget template is ideal for small businesses that want to record estimated revenue and expenditures on a monthly and yearly basis. This customizable template comes with a tab to list income, expenses, and a cash flow recording to track cash transactions and balances.

Download Small Business Budget Template

Professional Business Budget Template

Established organizations will appreciate this customizable business budget template, which  contains a separate tab to track projected business expenses, actual business expenses, variances, and an expense analysis. Once you enter projected and actual expenses, the built-in formulas will automatically calculate expense variances and populate the included visual charts. 

‌ Download Professional Business Budget Template

For additional resources to plan and track your business costs and expenses, visit “ Free Business Budget Templates for Any Company .”

Other Financial Templates for Business Plan

In this section, you’ll find additional financial templates that you may want to include as part of your larger business plan.

Startup Funding Requirements Template

This simple startup funding requirements template is useful for startups and small businesses that require funding to get business off the ground. The numbers generated in this template should align with those in your financial projections, and should detail the allocation of acquired capital to various startup expenses.

Download Startup Funding Requirements Template - Excel

Personnel Plan Template

Use this customizable personnel plan template to map out the current and future staff needed to get — and keep — the business running. This information belongs in the personnel section of a business plan, and details the job title, amount of pay, and hiring timeline for each position. This template calculates the monthly and yearly expenses associated with each role using built-in formulas. Additionally, you can add an organizational chart to provide a visual overview of the company’s structure. 

Download Personnel Plan Template - Excel

Elements of the Financial Section of a Business Plan

Whether your organization is a startup, a small business, or an enterprise, the financial plan is the cornerstone of any business plan. The financial section should demonstrate the feasibility and profitability of your idea and should support all other aspects of the business plan. 

Below, you’ll find a quick overview of the components of a solid financial plan.

• Financial Overview: This section provides a brief summary of the financial section, and includes key takeaways of the financial statements. If you prefer, you can also add a brief description of each statement in the respective statement’s section.
• Key Assumptions: This component details the basis for your financial projections, including tax and interest rates, economic climate, and other critical, underlying factors.
• Break-Even Analysis: This calculation helps establish the selling price of a product or service, and determines when a product or service should become profitable.
• Pro Forma Income Statement: Also known as a profit and loss statement, this section details the sales, cost of sales, profitability, and other vital financial information to stakeholders.
• Pro Forma Cash Flow Statement: This area outlines the projected cash inflows and outflows the business expects to generate from operating, financing, and investing activities during a specific timeframe.
• Pro Forma Balance Sheet: This document conveys how your business plans to manage assets, including receivables and inventory.
• Key Financial Indicators and Ratios: In this section, highlight key financial indicators and ratios extracted from financial statements that bankers, analysts, and investors can use to evaluate the financial health and position of your business.

Need help putting together the rest of your business plan? Check out our free simple business plan templates to get started. You can learn how to write a successful simple business plan  here . 

Visit this  free non-profit business plan template roundup  or download a  fill-in-the-blank business plan template  to make things easy. If you are looking for a business plan template by file type, visit our pages dedicated specifically to  Microsoft Excel ,  Microsoft Word , and  Adobe PDF  business plan templates. Read our articles offering  startup business plan templates  or  free 30-60-90-day business plan templates  to find more tailored options.

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10 Free Business Plan Templates in Word, Excel, & ClickUp

Praburam Srinivasan

Growth Marketing Manager

February 13, 2024

Turning your vision into a clear and coherent business plan can be confusing and tough. 

Hours of brainstorming and facing an intimidating blank page can raise more questions than answers. Are you covering everything? What should go where? How do you keep each section thorough but brief?

If these questions have kept you up at night and slowed your progress, know you’re not alone. That’s why we’ve put together the top 10 business plan templates in Word, Excel, and ClickUp—to provide answers, clarity, and a structured framework to work with. This way, you’re sure to capture all the relevant information without wasting time. 

And the best part? Business planning becomes a little less “ugh!” and a lot more “aha!” 🤩

What is a Business Plan Template?

What makes a good business plan template, 1. clickup business plan template, 2. clickup sales plan template, 3. clickup business development action plan template, 4. clickup business roadmap template, 5. clickup business continuity plan template, 6. clickup lean business plan template, 7. clickup small business action plan template, 8. clickup strategic business roadmap template , 9. microsoft word business plan template by microsoft, 10. excel business plan template by vertex42.

A business plan template is a structured framework for entrepreneurs and business executives who want to create business plans. It comes with pre-arranged sections and headings that cover key elements like the executive summary , business overview, target customers, unique value proposition, marketing plans, and financial statements.  

A good business plan template helps with thorough planning, clear documentation, and practical implementation. Here’s what to look for:

• Comprehensive structure: A good template comes with all the relevant sections to outline a business strategy, such as executive summary, market research and analysis, and financial projections 
• Clarity and guidance: A good template is easy to follow. It has brief instructions or prompts for each section, guiding you to think deeply about your business and ensuring you don’t skip important details
• Clean design: Aesthetics matter. Choose a template that’s not just functional but also professionally designed. This ensures your plan is presentable to stakeholders, partners, and potential investors
• Flexibility : Your template should easily accommodate changes without hassle, like adding or removing sections, changing content and style, and rearranging parts 🛠️ 

While a template provides the structure, it’s the information you feed it that brings it to life. These pointers will help you pick a template that aligns with your business needs and clearly showcases your vision.

10 Business Plan Templates to Use in 2024

Preparing for business success in 2024 (and beyond) requires a comprehensive and organized business plan. We’ve handpicked the best templates to help you guide your team, attract investors, and secure funding. Let’s check them out.

If you’re looking to replace a traditional business plan document, then ClickUp’s Business Plan Template is for you!

This one-page business plan template, designed in ClickUp Docs , is neatly broken down into the following sections:

• Company description : Overview, mission, vision, and team
• Market analysis : Problem, solution, target market, competition, and competitive advantage
• Sales and marketing strategy : Products/services and marketing channels
• Operational plan : Location and facilities, equipment and tools, manpower, and financial forecasts
• Milestones and metrics: Targets and KPIs

Customize the template with your company logo and contact details, and easily navigate to different sections using the collapsible table of contents. The mini prompts under each section guide you on what to include—with suggestions on how to present the data (e.g., bullet lists, pictures, charts, and tables). 

You can share the document with anyone via URL and collaborate in real time. And when the business plan is ready, you have the option to print it or export it to PDF, HTML, or Markdown.

But that’s not all. This template is equipped with basic and enterprise project management features to streamline the business plan creation process . The Topics List view has a list of all the different sections and subsections of the template and allows you to assign it to a team member, set a due date, and attach relevant documents and references.

Switch from List to Board view to track and update task statuses according to the following: To Do, In Progress, Needs Revision, and Complete. 

This template is a comprehensive toolkit for documenting the different sections of your business plan and streamlining the creation process to ensure it’s completed on time. 🗓️

If you’re looking for a tool to kickstart or update your sales plan, ClickUp’s Sales Plan Template has got you covered. This sales plan template features a project summary list with tasks to help you craft a comprehensive and effective sales strategy. Some of these tasks include:

• Determine sales objectives and goals
• Draft positioning statement
• Perform competitive analysis
• Draft ideal customer persona
• Create a lead generation strategy

Assign each task to a specific individual or team, set priority levels , and add due dates. Specify what section of the sales plan each task belongs to (e.g., executive summary, revenue goals, team structure, etc.), deliverable type (such as document, task, or meeting), and approval state (like pending, needs revisions, and approved).

And in ClickUp style, you can switch to multiple views: List for a list of all tasks, Board for visual task management, Timeline for an overview of task durations, and Gantt to get a view of task dependencies. 

This simple business plan template is perfect for any type of business looking to create a winning sales strategy while clarifying team roles and keeping tasks organized. ✨

Thinking about scaling your business’s reach and operations but unsure where or how to start? It can be overwhelming, no doubt—you need a clear vision, measurable goals, and an actionable plan that every member of your team can rally behind. 

Thankfully, ClickUp’s Business Development Action Plan Template is designed to use automations to simplify this process so every step toward your business growth is clear, trackable, and actionable.

Start by assessing your current situation and deciding on your main growth goal. Are you aiming to increase revenue, tap into new markets, or introduce new products or services? With ClickUp Whiteboards or Docs, brainstorm and collaborate with your team on this decision.

Set and track your short- and long-term growth goals with ClickUp’s Goals , break them down into smaller targets, and assign these targets to team members, complete with due dates. Add these targets to a new ClickUp Dashboard to track real-time progress and celebrate small wins. 🎉

Whether you’re a startup or small business owner looking to hit your next major milestone or an established business exploring new avenues, this template keeps your team aligned, engaged, and informed every step of the way.

ClickUp’s Business Roadmap Template is your go-to for mapping out major strategies and initiatives in areas like revenue growth, brand awareness, community engagement, and customer satisfaction. 

Use the List view to populate tasks under each initiative. With Custom Fields, you can capture which business category (e.g., Product, Operations, Sales & Marketing, etc.) tasks fall under and which quarter they’re slated for. You can also link to relevant documents and resources and evaluate tasks by effort and impact to ensure the most critical tasks get the attention they deserve. 👀

Depending on your focus, this template provides different views to show just what you need. For example, the All Initiatives per Quarter view lets you focus on what’s ahead by seeing tasks that need completion within a specific quarter. This ensures timely execution and helps in aligning resources effectively for the short term.

This template is ideal for business executives and management teams who need to coordinate multiple short- and long-term initiatives and business strategies.

In business, unexpected threats to operations can arise at any moment. Whether it’s economic turbulence, a global health crisis, or supply chain interruptions, every company needs to be ready. ClickUp’s Business Continuity Plan Template lets you prepare proactively for these unforeseen challenges.

The template organizes tasks into three main categories:

• Priorities: Tasks that need immediate attention
• Continuity coverage: Tasks that must continue despite challenges
• Guiding principles: Resources and protocols to ensure smooth operations

The Board view makes it easy to visualize all the tasks under each of these categories. And the Priorities List sorts tasks by those that are overdue, the upcoming ones, and then the ones due later.

In times of uncertainty, being prepared is your best strategy. This template helps your business not just survive but thrive in challenging situations, keeping your customers, employees, and investors satisfied. 🤝

Looking to execute your business plan the “lean” way? Use ClickUp’s Lean Business Plan Template . It’s designed to help you optimize resource usage and cut unnecessary steps—giving you better results with less effort.

In the Plan Summary List view, list all the tasks that need to get done. Add specific details like who’s doing each task, when it’s due, and which part of the Business Model Canvas (BMC) it falls under. The By Priority view sorts this list based on priorities like Urgent, High, Normal, and Low. This makes it easy to spot the most important tasks and tackle them first.

Additionally, the Board view gives you an overview of task progression from start to finish. And the BMC view rearranges these tasks based on the various BMC components. 

Each task can further be broken down into subtasks and multiple checklists to ensure all related action items are executed. ✔️

This template is an invaluable resource for startups and large enterprises looking to maximize process efficiencies and results in a streamlined and cost-effective way.

The Small Business Action Plan Template by ClickUp is tailor-made for small businesses looking to transform their business ideas and goals into actionable steps and, eventually, into reality. 

It provides a simple and organized framework for creating, assigning, prioritizing, and tracking tasks. And in effect, it ensures that goals are not just set but achieved. Through the native dashboard and goal-setting features, you can monitor task progress and how they move you closer to achieving your goals.

Thanks to ClickUp’s robust communication features like chat, comments, and @mentions, it’s easy to get every team member on the same page and quickly address questions or concerns.

Use this action plan template to hit your business goals by streamlining your internal processes and aligning team efforts.

For larger businesses and scaling enterprises, getting different departments to work together toward a big goal can be challenging. The ClickUp Strategic Business Roadmap Template makes it easier by giving you a clear plan to follow.

This template is packaged in a folder and split into different lists for each department in your business, like Sales, Product, Marketing, and Enablement. This way, every team can focus on their tasks while collectively contributing to the bigger goal.

There are multiple viewing options available for team members. These include:

• Progress Board: Visualize tasks that are on track, those at risk, and those behind
• Gantt view: Get an overview of project timelines and dependencies
• Team view: See what each team member is working on so you can balance workloads for maximum productivity

While this template may feel overwhelming at first, the getting started guide offers a step-by-step breakdown to help you navigate it with ease. And like all ClickUp templates, you can easily customize it to suit your business needs and preferences.

Microsoft’s 20-page traditional business plan template simplifies the process of drafting comprehensive business plans. It’s made up of different sections, including:

• Executive summary : Highlights, objectives, mission statement, and keys to success
• Description of business: Company ownership and legal structure, hours of operation, products and services, suppliers, financial plans, etc.
• Marketing: Market analysis, market segmentation, competition, and pricing
• Appendix: Start-up expenses, cash flow statements, income statements, sales forecast, milestones, break-even analysis, etc.

The table of contents makes it easy to move to different sections of the document. And the text placeholders under each section provide clarity on the specific details required—making the process easier for users who may not be familiar with certain business terminology.

No business template roundup is complete without an Excel template. This business plan template lets you work on your business financials in Excel. It comes with customizable tables, formulas, and charts to help you look at the following areas:

• Highlight charts
• Market analysis
• Start-up assets and expenses
• Sales forecasts
• Profit and loss
• Balance sheet
• Cash flow projections
• Break-even analysis

This Excel template is especially useful when you want to create a clear and visual financial section for your business plan document—an essential element for attracting investors and lenders. However, there might be a steep learning curve to using this template if you’re not familiar with business financial planning and using Excel.

Try a Free Business Plan Template in ClickUp

Launching and running a successful business requires a well-thought-out and carefully crafted business plan. However, the business planning process doesn’t have to be complicated, boring, or take up too much time. Use any of the above 10 free business plan formats to simplify and speed up the process.

ClickUp templates go beyond offering a solid foundation to build your business plans. They come with extensive project management features to turn your vision into reality. And that’s not all— ClickUp’s template library offers over 1,000 additional templates to help manage various aspects of your business, from decision-making to product development to resource management .

Sign up for ClickUp’s Free Forever Plan today to fast-track your business’s growth! 🏆

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Your business plan is the document that adds structure to your proposal and helps you focus your objectives on an achievable and realistic target. It should cover every aspect of what your business journey will look like, from licensing and revenue, to competitor and sector analysis.

Writing a business plan doesn’t need to be a difficult process, but it should take at least a month to be done properly.

In today’s capricious business climate there’s a lot to consider, such as the impact of political challenges like Brexit. These details are especially important in today’s bad economy. Investors are looking for entrepreneurs who are aware of the challenges ahead and how to properly plan for them.

Below, you’ll find everything you need to create a concise, specific and authoritative business plan. So let’s get started turning your idea into a reality!

Click here to download your free Business Plan template PDF – you can fill in your own details and those of your business, its target market, your customers, competitors and your vision for growth.

Our below guide will give you detailed advice on how to write a quality business plan, and our PDF download above can give you a clear template to work through.

But, creating an effective business plan needs….planning! That’s where a high quality planning tool can help.

We recommend creating an account with monday to use this tool – there’s even a free trial . Doing so means you can start your entrepreneurial journey on the right foot.

Get the latest startup news, straight to your inbox

Stay informed on the top business stories with Startups.co.uk’s weekly newsletter

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What to include in your business plan template

There’s a lot of information online about how to write a business plan – making it a confusing task to work out what is and isn’t good advice.

We’re here to cut through the noise by telling you exactly what you need to include for a business plan that will satisfy stakeholders and help develop a key identity for your brand. By the end, you’ll have a plan to make even Alan Sugar proud and can get started with the most exciting part – running your business.

Throughout this guide, we’ve featured an example business plan template for a new restaurant opening in Birmingham called ‘The Plew’. In each section, you’ll be able to see what the contents we’re describing would look like in a ‘real-life’ document.

What to include in your business plan:

• Executive Summary
• Personal summary
• Business idea
• Your product or service
• Market analysis
• Competitor analysis
• Cash forecast
• Operations and logistics
• Backup plan
• Top tips for writing a business plan
• Business plan template UK FAQs

1. Executive summary

This section is a summary of your entire business plan. Because of this, it is a good idea to write it at the end of your plan, not the beginning.

Just as with the overall business plan, the executive summary should be clearly written and powerfully persuasive, yet it should balance sales talk with realism in order to be convincing. It should be no more than 1,000 words.

It should cover:

• Mission statement  – what is your company’s purpose?
• Business idea and opportunity – what unique selling point (USP) will you provide?
• Business model – how will your business operate?
• Business objectives – what are you aiming to achieve?
• Target market – who is your customer base?
• Management team – who are the owners/senior staff?
• Competition – who are you competing against?
• Financial summary – can you prove the business will be profitable?
• Marketing strategy – what is your marketing plan and associated costs?
• Timeline – how long will it take to launch/grow your new business?

It sounds like a lot – but don’t feel you have to spend hours putting this together. Here’s what the above information for an executive summary might look like when put into our example business plan template for ‘The Plew’:

Startups’ business plan template example: executive summary

2. Personal summary

Investors want to know who they’re investing in, as much as what. This is where you tell people who you are, and why you’re starting your business.

Outline your general contact details first, giving your telephone number, email address, website or portfolio, and any professional social media profiles you might have.

Run through this checklist to tell the reader more about yourself, and put your business ambitions into context.

• What skills/qualifications do you have?
• What are you passionate about?
• What is/are your area(s) of industry expertise?
• Why do you want to run your own business?

Here’s what our two fictional co-founders of ‘The Plew’ might write in their personal summaries for our example business plan. CEO Gabrielle Shelby, has highlighted her expertise in the restaurant industry, while CFO Freya Moore outlines her accounting and finance knowledge.

Startups’ business plan template example: personal summary

Richard Osborne, founder and CEO of UK Business Forums, says personality is important in a business plan.

“Having a strong, personal reason at the heart of your business model will help keep you going and give you the motivation to carry on,” he affirms.

3. Business idea

This section is essentially to offer a general outline of what your business idea is, and why it brings something new to the market.

Here, you should include your general company details, such as your business name and a  one-line summary of your business idea known as an  elevator pitch. This section should also list a few key business objectives to show how you plan to scale over the next 1-3 years.

We also recommend carrying out a SWOT analysis to tell investors what the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are for your business idea. Think about:

• Strengths: ie. why is this a good time to enter the sector?
• Weaknesses: ie. what market challenges might you encounter?
• Opportunities: ie. what demand is your product/service meeting in today’s market?
• Threats: ie. how will the business be financed to maintain liquidity?

In the template below, you can see a breakdown of the above information for ‘The Plew’. At the top is its mission statement: “to craft an unforgettable dining experience in a chic atmosphere.”

Startups’ business plan template example: business idea

Need a business idea? We’ve crunched the numbers and come up with a list of the best business ideas for startup success in 2023 based on today’s most popular and growing industries.

4. Your products or services

Now it’s time to explain what you are selling to customers and how will you produce your sales offering.

Use this section to answer all of the below questions and explain what you plan to sell and how. Just like your business idea outline, your answers should be concise and declarative.

• What product(s) or service(s) will you sell?
• Do you plan to offer new products or services in the future?
• How much does the product or service cost to produce/deliver?
• What is your pricing strategy ?
• What sales channels will you use?
• Are there legal requirements to start this business?
• What about insurance requirements?
• What is the growth potential for the product or service?
• What are the challenges? eg. if you’re looking to sell abroad, acknowledge the potential delays caused by post-Brexit regulations.

What insurance and licensing requirements do you need to consider?

Depending on what your business offers, you might need to invest in insurance or licensing. Our How To Start guides have more details about sector-specific insurance or licensing.

Public Liability, Professional Indemnity, and Employers’ Liability are the most well-known types of business insurance. We’ve listed some other common other licensing and insurance requirements below:

In our example product/service page for ‘The Plew”s business plan, the founders choose to separate this information into multiple pages. Below, they outline their cost and pricing, as well as sales strategy. But they also include an example menu, to offer something a bit more unique and tantalising to the reader:

Startups’ business plan template example: product list and pricing strategy

5. Market analysis

This section demonstrates your understanding of the market you are entering, and any challenges you will likely face when trying to establish your company.

This section pulls all of your target market and customer research together to indicate to stakeholders that you are knowledgable about the sector and how to succeed in it.

• Who is your typical customer and where are they are based? Describe the profile of your expected customers eg. average age, location, budget, interests, etc.
• How many customers will your business reach? Outline the size of your market, and the share of the market that your business can reach.
• Have you sold any products/services to customers already? If yes, describe these sales. If no, have people expressed interest in buying your products or services?
• What have you learned about the market from desk-based research? What are the industry’s current challenges, and how has it been affected by the economic downturn?
• What have you learned about the market from field research? (eg. feedback from market testing like customer questionnaires or focus group feedback).

What is your marketing strategy?

Once you’ve highlighted who your rivals are in the market, you can provide details on how you plan to stand out from them through your marketing strategy. Outline your  business’ USP, your current marketing strategy, and any associated advertising costs.

‘The Plew’ identifies its target audience as young, adventurous people in their mid-30s. Because of the restaurant’s premium service offering, its audience works in a well-paid sector like tech:

Startups’ business plan template example: customer analysis

6. Competitor analysis

This section demonstrates how well you know the key players and rivals in the industry. It should show the research you have carried out in a table format.

Begin by listing the key information about your competitors. Don’t worry about sounding too critical, or too positive. Try to prioritise accuracy above all else.

• Business size
• Product/service offering
• Sales channels
• Strengths/weaknesses

Competitors will take two forms, either direct  or  indirect. Direct competitors sell the same or similar products or services. Indirect competitors sell substitute or alternative products or services.

Here’s a breakdown of the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, and threats presented by a competitor restaurant for ‘The Plew’ called Eateria 24. At the bottom, the founders have written what learnings they can take from the chart.

Startups’ business plan template example: competitor analysis

Check out our list of the top competitor analysis templates to download free resources for your business, plus advice on what to include and how to get started.

7. Cash forecast

Outline your financial outlook including how much you expect to spend, and make, in your first year

All of your considered costs can be put into one easy-to-read document called a monthly cash forecast. Cash forecasts contain:

1. Incoming costs such as sales revenue, customer account fees, or funding.

2. Outgoing costs such as staff wages or operating expenses. The latter can cover everything from advertising costs to office supplies.

For those firms which have already started trading, include any previous year’s accounts (up to three years) as well as details of any outstanding loans or assets.

Annual cash forecast: what is it?

By conducting 12 monthly cash forecasts, you can create an annual cash forecast to work out when your company will become profitable (also known as breakeven analysis) . You will break even when total incoming costs = total outgoing costs.

In your annual cost budget, make sure to also include month opening/closing balance.  This is important to monitor for accounting, particularly for year-end.

• Opening balance = the amount of cash at the beginning of the month
• Closing balance = the amount of cash at the end of the month

The opening balance of any month will always be the same as the closing balance of the previous month. If you are repeatedly opening months with a negative closing balance, you need to adjust your spending. Here’s an example of what ‘The Plew’s financials might look like in its first year of operation:

Startups’ business plan template example: cash forecast

8. Operations and logistics

Explain how your day-to-day business activities will be run, including key business partnerships around production and delivery.

A.) Production

List all of the behind the scenes information about how your business will operate. Include:

• Management team – who do you plan to hire as senior staff and why?
• Premises –  where will you be based? What will be the cost?
• Materials –  what materials/equipment will you need to make your product/service?
• Staffing –  how many employees will you hire? How much will they cost?
• Insurance – what insurance do you need for production?

B.) Delivery

Detail how your customers will receive your product or service. Include:

• Distribution –  how will you sell your product to customers?
• Transport –  how will you transport the product/service to customers or partners?
• Insurance –  what insurance do you need for delivery?

C.) Supplier analysis

Lastly, you should carry out a supplier analysis.  Write down 2-3 suppliers you plan to use as part of your business operations and evaluate them on factors like location and pricing.

In our example business plan for ‘The Plew’, the founders have chosen to present this information in an easily-digestible chart, breaking down the leadership and employees into two different areas: product development and operations.

Startups’ business plan template example: staffing section

9. Backup plan

Explain how you will manage any surprise losses if your cash forecast does not go to plan.

In the event that your business does not go to plan, there will be costs to incur. A backup plan outlines to potential investors how you will pay back any outstanding loans or debt.

In the short-term: 

If your cash-flow temporarily stalls, what steps could you take to quickly raise money or make savings? For example, by negotiating shorter payment terms with your customers.

In the long-term:

If you’ve noticed a drop in sales that seems to be persisting, what changes can you make that would improve cash flow longer term? For example, can you do more of your business online to reduce rent fees?

To placate investors even further, it’s a good idea to include details about potential support channels you can utilise (eg. a business network or contact) who might be able to help if you get caught in a sticky cash-flow situation.

Startups’ 5 top tips for writing a business plan

• Keep your predictions realistic. Your business plan should showcase your knowledge of the sector and what’s achievable. It’s not about impressing investors with big numbers or meaningless buzzwords.
• Don’t go over 15 pages. Business plans should be engaging, which means sticking to the point and avoiding a lot of long-winded sentences. Keep your executive summary to less than 1,000 words, for example.
• End with supporting documents. Use your appendix to include product diagrams or detailed research findings if these are helpful to your business case.
• Get a second pair of eyes. Everyone misses a spelling error or two – invite a trusted business contact or associate to look over your business plan before you send it anywhere.
• Leave enough time to write! It’s exciting to think about getting your business up and running – but planning is an important step that can’t be rushed over. Spend at least a month on writing to get all the details correct and laid-out.

At Startups.co.uk, we’re here to help small UK businesses to get started, grow and succeed. We have practical resources for helping new businesses get off the ground – use the tool below to get started today.

What Does Your Business Need Help With?

Designing a business plan is very important for laying the foundation of your business. Ensure you spend an appropriate amount of time filling it out, as it could save you many headaches further down the line.

Once your plan is complete, you’ll then be ready to look at other aspects of business set-up, such as registering your company. Sound daunting? Don’t worry!

Our experts have pulled together a simple, comprehensive guide on How to Start a Business in 2024, which will tell you everything you need to know to put your new plan into action.

• Can I write a business plan myself? Absolutely! There are plenty of resources available to help, but the truth is a business plan needs to reflect the owner's personal ambitions and passion - which is why entrepreneurs are best-placed to write their own.
• How long should a business plan be? We recommend your business plan is kept to a maximum of 15 pages. Keep it short and concise - your executive summary, for example, should be no more than 1,000 words.
• Is it OK to copy a business plan? While not technically illegal, copying a business plan will leave you in a poor position to attract investment. Customising your plan to your unique business idea and industry specialism is the best way to persuade stakeholders that you have a winning startup formula.

Startups.co.uk is reader-supported. If you make a purchase through the links on our site, we may earn a commission from the retailers of the products we have reviewed. This helps Startups.co.uk to provide free reviews for our readers. It has no additional cost to you, and never affects the editorial independence of our reviews.

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Business Plan Templates (40-Page MS Word + 10 Free Excel Spreadsheets)

Download this 40-page MS Word Business Plan template and 10 free Excel spreadsheets  to write your next business plan. Includes sample guidelines and interactive spreadsheets.

Sections include Marketing Plan, Market Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Sales Forecast, Development Plan, Operational Plan, Financial Plan, 12-Month Profit & Loss, Projected Cash Flow, Balance Sheet, Break-Even Analysis, Personal Financial Statement, and Exit Strategy.

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Business Plan Template: Blue Theme

Business plan template: red theme.

You get two templates in the zip file. One blue theme, the other red. The red theme of the MS Word template has the exact same content as the blue theme. You can change the color scheme by updating the styles.

NB: Let me know if you need any help with this.

Executive Summary

Products and Services

Customer Demographics

Competitive Analysis

SWOT Analysis

Sales Forecast

Operational Plan

12 Month Profit & Loss Projection

Projected Cash Flow

Balance Sheet

Break-even Analysis

Business Plan: Free Excel Templates

Some of the Excel spreadsheets include a Balance Sheet, Break-even Analysis, Cash Flow, Competitive Analysis, General Demographic Profile, Personal Financial Statement, Profit and Loss Projections, and Sales Forecast.

Table of Contents

1 Executive Summary 2 Company Description 2.1 Mission Statement 2.2 History 2.3 Markets and Products 2.4 Objectives 2.5 Current Situation

3 Products and Services 3.1 Description of Products/Services 3.2 Production Process 3.3 Distribution/Service Delivery 3.4 New Products

4 Marketing Plan 4.1 Market Analysis 4.1.1 Research Findings 4.1.2 Growth Projections 4.2 Market Trends 4.3 Product 4.4 Customer Demographics 4.5 Competition 4.6 SWOT Analysis 4.7 Marketing Strategy 4.7.1 Positioning 4.7.2 Promotion 4.8 Price Comparison 4.9 Customer Service Plans 4.9.1 Retaining Customers 4.9.2 Customer Complaint Handling 4.10 Sales Forecast

5 Development Plan 5.1 Current Status 5.2 Development Plans 5.3 Development Timetable 5.4 Development Risks

6 Operational Plan 6.1 Current Premises 6.2 Current Premises Financial Details 6.3 Equipment, Vehicles & Fittings 6.4 Insurance Details 6.5 Production 6.6 Future Location 6.7 Legal Environment 6.8 Personnel 6.9 Inventory 6.10 Suppliers

7 Management and Organization 7.1 Professional and Advisory Support 7.2 Key People Details 7.2.1 Key Person 7.2.2 Key Person 7.2.3 Total Salary Costs 7.2.4 Number of Employees

8 Personal Financial Statement 8.1 Methods of Bank Finance 8.2 Assets as Security 8.3 Repayment for Borrowings

9 Financial Plan 9.1 12-Month Profit and Loss Projection 9.2 Projected Cash Flow 9.3 Opening Day Balance Sheet 9.4 Break-Even Analysis 9.5 Exit Strategy

10 Appendices 10.1 Glossary of Terms

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How to make a 12 month plan — Goals, Vision, and Content

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the disclaimer

Ready to kiss this year goodbye and look ahead to the new year!? The #1 enemy of not accomplishing goals is a broken focus, so to get back on track for your new year, we need to reclaim our focus and make a plan!

> Download my free Annual Planner and Yearly Journal (50 page pdf)

Why create a plan?

• Knowing you have a pathway to follow feels good
• Planning inspires action
• Setting goals makes you feel accomplished

In this post, we’re going to talk about setting goals with ease and taking inspired action for the year ahead. To do this, I recommend retreating to a quiet place and giving yourself time to really ask the big questions and ponder your big goals. 

Set aside an afternoon, a day, or even a couple of days if you can!

This is your business, and it deserves attentive and focused planning to grow and evolve. 

I’m going to let you in on a little biz secret — the most effective way to plan is to focus on ONE thing at a time. 

Don’t dive in and scatter lists all over the table or open up a million google docs at once. When you have too many things on your plate, your focus becomes blurred. Instead, take your time and work through this process slowly. 

I love this acronym…

FOCUS: Following One Course Until Success.

This acronym demonstrates how important it is to take action and follow through on each part of your business plan. The more action you take, the more progress you’ll make, and the more satisfaction you’ll feel!

The exercises I’m leading you through in this post are NOT about doing everything perfectly! We cannot let perfect action become the enemy of good action. 

If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that perfect plans aren’t always the best. 

Step One – Pick Your Theme for the Year (Word/Idea for the year)

Choose a theme that will help inspire action all year long. To narrow one down, think about how you want to feel throughout the year. For example, this year my theme will be “inspired action.”

Step Two – Brainstorm How to Get There

Begin a list of ways that you can embody your chosen theme in the new year. How can you bring that theme into your life? 

Use this list to invigorate yourself when you get off track. 

Step Three – Set 2 to 3 BIG Goals

Now it’s time to get more specific. 

If you were to accomplish something distinct in the coming year, what would make you the most excited? The proudest? What 2-3 big things will make this upcoming year feel like a success if you get close or achieve them? 

Maybe it’s scaling your revenue with existing products, or creating clear boundaries in your business? Whatever the case, set goals that are a little uncomfortable but not TOO uncomfortable. The best goals are hard to reach, but not impossible. 

What 2-3 goals come to mind?

Step Four – Create a “Would Be Nice” List

Brainstorm outcomes that could be easily achieved by working on them for a few days or by occasionally working them into your schedule. These would-be-nice outcomes don’t need to be major goals , but they do need to help support how you want to feel throughout the year. 

An example? Maybe you want to feel more refreshed and at peace in the new year, so you choose to spend more time in nature and hike at least once a month.

Brain dump a list of “would-be-nices” like this example that will help you feel better. Go for it and list as many things as you can!

Step Five – Gather Data from the previous year

Now that you’ve set your theme, big goals, and would-be-nice ideas, it’s time to dig into the numbers to see where you have room for improvement. Open up those past year metrics and take a look! They are the key to making a plan and achieving your goals.

A quick note: Some people tend to start with the numbers and work backward. My advice is to not do that. Instead, begin with how you want to feel in the next year, like we have in the steps above, and set those intentions before you ever look at the data. 

As business owners, we can easily get wrapped up in the numbers. But to be fulfilled in our lives, we need to start making decisions based on our desires. 

So what do you really want from the new year?

Once you’ve decided what you want, the data will show you how to make informed decisions to get there.

Data to gather may include:

• Website analytics
• Subscriber info
• Profit and Loss sheets
• Notes and Journals

Think about how much you made in the past year, how many email subscribers you added to your list, how many visits there were to your sales pages, etc.  Look at where your website traffic comes from and what blog posts performed the best. Really dig in and study the metrics. 

In addition, look at what you’re spending on your team, your projects, and the tools you’re paying for to see if they are accomplishing what you intended them to.

What has created success? Let this data inform your next steps.

Step Six – Ask deeper questions about your Top 4 Priorities as a Business Owner

When you peel away the outer layers, most business owners really have the same set of priorities no matter their niche. These 4 priorities need to be considered when you’re setting your goals for the coming year:

• What will increase sales?
• What will increase my social proof?
• What will improve my profitability/operations?
• What do you need to do to master your craft?

Make sure you’re revisiting these questions often to determine if your plans will help you achieve one of these four goals. 

Step 7 – Set Your Specific Quarterly Goals  

To help you achieve your 2-3 BIG goals, it’s time to dive into the nitty-gritty. 

I like to place one “ROCK” goal on my planner per quarter. This goal is “set like a rock” and requires long-term planning, focus, and strategy. Sure, some ROCK goals may take longer than a quarter, and that’s okay, but break them down as much as you can to fit them into a smaller, more defined time frame. 

If you find you have too many goals on the calendar, be willing to cut the fat and move them to the “would be nice” list.

Then ask yourself: What should I DO, what should I DELEGATE, and what can I DELETE?

Use this method to pair down your plans into steps that you and/or your team can accomplish day in and day out. 

Step 8 – Specify the details

Once you have your ROCK goals set, you need to spend time outlining the specifics and how you make these goals happen. Using Trello, Asana, or Click Up, create and schedule tasks that can be checked off when complete. 

You can organize your goals and plans on a Trello board like this example here:

Step 9 – Gather Content Ideas

Creating supporting content is a step we can’t leave out of your new year planning! After all, your content is the key to supporting your goals. Start by brainstorming content ideas that will help you move toward success. 

To get started, ask yourself :

• What does my audience struggle with? 
• What do they always ask about? 
• Why do they always ask about it?
• What’s missing for my audience?

You can organize your content ideas on a Trello board like this one.

Come up with themes for your audience to meet these needs and address these specific pain points. If possible, try creating quarterly content themes, then break those up into monthly themes.

Your content themes should easily relate back to your offerings, so the sales conversations can continue, and you can easily turn your audience into paying customers. If they don’t, ask why, and revisit your goals to fix that.

Step 10- Create Batch Days on Your Calendar

Batch days are ways of organizing your time by doing similar tasks on similar days. For instance, when it comes to content creation, batching may look like this:

• Monday — Draft Day. Create your outline and bullet points for blog posts, lead magnets, webinars, and Facebook Lives.
• Tuesday — Writing Day. Fill in your outlines and do the bulk of the writing for your blog, emails, webinar content, etc.
• Wednesday — Repurpose Day. Pull points from blog posts and create social content.
• Thursday — Graphics Day. Create graphics to pair with your content.
• Friday — Admin Day. Finalize, proofread, and schedule.

Step 11 – Reward Yourself! 

Last but not least, be sure to set up rewards along the way to boost your mood and celebrate your wins all year long — after all, you’ve planned like a boss and deserve it!

Ready to get started on your planning session

I’ve created a Trello Board that summarizes all the steps we’ve walked through in this post. This board will help you align your goals with your actions. 

Let’s do the work and implement these action steps to achieve your BIG dreams.

FREE PLANNER DOWNLOAD

Want a full training and trello board too.

> Check out my full 90 minute workshop training complete with trello board access

What Next? Learn More from these other articles: 

• How to turn a blog into a business with digital products and online courses
• 6 Profitable online income streams that make me $30k/month
• 6 steps to more clients
• 16 questions to help you find more clarity

Thank you, Kayla. As usual you bring such obvious clarity to things I always struggle with. I’m still blogging after a few years where I’ve gained little traction and this year I really hope to FOCUS and be consistent. Your tools always help me get organized, it’s just me that falls off the schedule. Jessica, http://www.digitalplanningmom.com

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Original text

Not every small business owner comes to the role armed with financial expertise. If spreadsheets are not your strong suit, you may use a tool like QuickBooks to help, or delegate balancing the books to an accountant or bookkeeper.  But whether you take the DIY approach or hand off accounting duties, a firm grasp on the fundamentals of financial statements is essential to success. Here is a closer look at what financial statements are, why they matter, and what they can help you do.   

What Is a Financial Statement?  

Financial statements are financial reports you can use to monitor your business’s finances and assess its financial health. Lenders and investors will want to see your business’s financial statements before making a decision about giving you a loan or investing in your company. But even if you aren’t seeking outside financing, financial statements are essential tools to help you stay on top of your business’s finances, plan for the future, and spot potential problems .  

There are three financial statements that work together to create a complete picture of your business’s finances: the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. Here is a closer look at each.  

1.) Balance Sheet 

Your balance sheet is a snapshot of your business’s assets and liabilities at a specific point in time, such as the end of the month, quarter, or year. A balance sheet lists the following: 

Current assets (such as cash, accounts receivable, and inventory) 

Long-term assets (such as savings or investments you don’t plan to use or convert to cash for at least one year) 

Fixed assets (such as equipment, buildings, or vehicles you don’t plan to sell) 

The balance sheet also lists: 

Current liabilities (debts due within 12 months, such as accounts payable, loan payments, and taxes)  

Long-term liabilities (debts due more than 12 months from now) 

Subtracting your assets from your liabilities will show your owner’s equity or net worth. This reflects the percentage of ownership you have in the company or the profit you’d earn if you sold the business’s assets and paid off its liabilities.  

A balance sheet provides a snapshot of your business’s overall financial health. Investors and lenders typically require a balance sheet to help them assess your business’s net worth.  

See a balance sheet example .  

2.) Income Statement 

Also known as a profit and loss statement (P&L), the income statement records a business’s income and expenses over a specific reporting period, typically a month, quarter, or year.  

There are two main parts to an income statement: Revenues and Expenses.  

• Revenues indicate how much your business earned over the period shown.  
• Expenses indicate how much you spent to run your business over the period shown.  
• Subtract your expenses from your revenues to get your net operating income.  

For a simple, one-person business, this could be all you need to include. However, you can also get a more detailed picture of how your business is doing by incorporating more information into your income statement. For example, you can: 

Divide revenues into two parts: operating income (earned from sales of your product or service) and other income (earned from other activities, such as selling a piece of equipment) 

Include your cost of goods sold (COGS), or the costs associated with producing and selling your product or services. Subtracting COGS from your revenues shows your gross margin (or gross profit)  

Include depreciation of fixed assets. Subtracting depreciation from your net operating income will show your taxable income.  

Your income statement can help you spot changes in costs, revenues, and profitability so you can make informed business decisions. For instance, you may think your business is doing well because your revenues are rising. However, if your income statement reveals that expenses are growing faster than revenues, you can steer your business back to its previous profit margins by reducing expenses, raising prices, or both.  

See an income statement example .  

3.) Cash Flow Statement 

A cash flow statement shows how much cash goes into and comes out of your business over a specific period. Most small business accounting software can automatically generate a cash flow statement at the end of each month using the data you’ve input. The cash flow statement lists: 

• Cash received (often categorized into cash from operations, investments, and financing) 
• Cash paid out (for expenses such as payroll, loan payments, rent, inventory, and taxes) 

Subtracting your cash paid out from your cash received will show you the amount of cash you have at the end of the statement period.  

Running out of cash is the biggest reason small businesses fail. Consistently monitoring your cash flow can help ensure you always have enough cash on hand to pay your rent, employees, taxes, and other financial obligations.  

In addition to a cash flow statement, you should also create a 12- month cash flow projection, which forecasts your cash income and outgo and helps you plan for the future. Comparing your cash flow projections to your actual statement of cash flows at the end of each month will help you spot trends so you can better manage your cash flow. For instance, you can accelerate cash inflows by invoicing promptly, and delay cash outflows by asking your suppliers for 60- or 90-day payment terms.  

See a cash flow statement example . 

3 Financial Statements, One Goal 

Your business’s balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement work together to provide a 360-degree view of your business’s financial position. From the nitty-gritty of your monthly cash flows to the big picture of your net worth, financial statements can reveal all you need to know to manage your business’s finances wisely and steer your company toward success.  

SCORE has balance sheet , income statement , and cash flow statement templates you can use to track your business’s financials. Contact a SCORE business mentor  for guidance by phone, email or in person.

National Bankers Association Foundation

The  National Bankers Association Foundation’s  mission is to eliminate the racial wealth gap by ensuring underserved communities have fair access to transformative financial education, services, and resources. To accomplish this, we support the work of Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) through our four strategic pillars, which include: Financial Education, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Research and Impact, and Collaboration and Capacity Building.

3-Year Profit and Loss Projection This template can be used to calculate the projected profit of 3 years. 

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How to Create a Business Plan Timeline

Below you will learn what a business plan timeline is and where it belongs in your business plan.  

What is a Business Plan Timeline?

A business plan timeline lays out the key milestones you hope to achieve in your business and when you plan to accomplish them.   

The Importance of a Timeline

In running a business, it is very easy to get caught up in day-to-day activities and putting out fires. When you do this, unfortunately, it’s hard to grow your business. Having a timeline that lists your key goals forces you to spend time each day, week, and month to work on key growth initiatives.

Also, if you are seeking funding, investors and lenders need to understand these milestones and your projected dates for accomplishing them. This helps give them confidence that you will successfully execute your plan. 

Also, having a timeline helps you better prioritize your time and hire the right people at the right time.

    Finish Your Business Plan Today!

Where does the timeline go in the business plan.

The timeline belongs primarily in the Operations Plan of your business plan, however, you may include some highlights within the Executive Summary as well. 

Using the established key milestones you have created, you will now assign a timeframe to those milestones to show when you expect to reach each milestone. Remember, use historical data and be realistic in your timeline so that you can meet these goals.  

What Should Be Included in the Timeline?

Your business is currently at point A. Where you want to go is to point B. Now getting from point A to point B requires you to complete milestones.

And the most important ones are what I call “risk-mitigating milestones.” These are the milestones that help eliminate the risk of your company failing.

Some examples of “risk mitigating milestones” may include:

• Finding a location for your business, store, warehouse, etc.
• Getting the permits and licenses
• Building the facility/store
• Hiring and training staff
• New products and services introductions
• Store opening date
• Key employee hires
• Revenue milestones (date when sales exceed $X, when sales exceed $Y, etc.)
• Key partnerships executed
• Key customer contracts secured
• Key financial events (future funding rounds, IPO, etc.)

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, it is your job to identify your risk-mitigating milestones and prioritize them so that you can take steps each day toward the larger business goals.  

How to Create & Prioritize Your Milestone List

Create your detailed risk-mitigating milestone list first. The goal should be to list approximately six major milestones in the next year, five milestones in the following year, and so on for up to five years (so include two in year 5). 

You can use this as a “To Do” list and ensure you achieve your goals each day, week, and month, further developing your business strategy.

Next to each milestone, include the expected timeframe, due date, and the budget you will need to attain them. For example, you may want to launch a billboard marketing campaign over a 6-month period (Expected Due Date: 6/30/2022), and the expected cost is $18,000.

After you create your milestone list, you need to prioritize them. Decide on which milestones you should achieve with the initial funding if needed. Ideally, these will get you to the point where you are generating revenues or profits. This is because the ability to generate revenues significantly reduces the risk of your venture; as it proves to lenders and investors that customers want the products and/or services you are offering.

By setting up your milestones, you will figure out what you can accomplish for less money. And the fact is, the less money you need to raise, the easier it generally is to raise it (mainly because the easiest to raise money sources offer lower dollar amounts).  

How to Develop a Timeline For Your Business Plan

You’ve already completed the hard part. 

Now, it’s time to schedule your milestone list and convert it into a timeline format to give you a quick visual reference. Be sure that your timeline includes all the milestones that you’ve deemed a priority.

There are many businesses that prefer to develop Gantt charts, while others may prefer a calendar, Excel sheet, or another preferred format. Choose the format that works best for you.

There are several format options and platforms to choose from if you do a quick search for “ create a timeline online .” However, keep in mind that it’s not how pretty the timeline is, it’s about functionality and the ease of use to track the progress of all the tasks completed. 

Here are a couple of options:

Source: SlideTeam

This one-page timeline is a downloadable template that is clean and easy to read and follow. While it doesn’t have all the details on this one page, it has enough information to help business leaders understand if the team is on track.

Source: Office Timeline

This is a PowerPoint Presentation add-in that allows you to create a custom Gantt chart with your Microsoft Office account. While the chart above says a 5-year plan, note that they did not include the parts of the milestones beyond Year 1. This may be to reduce clutter and keep focused on the near-future goals. 

Source: GanttPro

This Gantt chart online platform offers another alternative allowing you to assign tasks to others on your team and monitor their progress all in one place. It also tracks the time to complete each task so that you can better schedule in the future for similar projects.

These are only a few of the platforms available online to create an amazing timeline for your business plan. In the beginning, it may be a lot of work to set up, but once you obtain the funding you are seeking, it’ll be well worth the time and effort.

By creating a timeline as early as possible in the business planning process, you can begin to establish realistic goals that can help improve day-to-day decision-making and boost confidence among current and potential stakeholders.

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Must-Have 12-Month Marketing Plan Samples with Examples and Templates

Renowned marketer Philip Kotler once said, “Marketing takes a day to learn. Unfortunately, it takes a lifetime to master.” Indeed, becoming proficient in marketing demands unwavering commitment, foresight, and far-reaching vision. In the modern business landscape, a comprehensive 12-month marketing plan emerges as the guiding light, leading every enterprise toward success.This 12-month plan charts a course through obstacles and capitalizes on opportunities.

A crafted 12-month marketing plan forms the bedrock for expansion that endures, and secures a competitive advantage. 

The first benefit is clear direction and focus. Businesses can avoid aimless efforts and channel their resources by outlining goals, target audiences, and marketing strategies each month. This strategic approach fosters better decision-making, allowing businesses to respond swiftly to market trends and changes in consumer behavior.

To help businesses seize these advantages and ensure their marketing success, SlideTeam presents its 12-month marketing plan templates.

If you are looking for marketing budgets. Check out these Marketing Budget PPT Templates for crafting a versatile marketing budget for your organization.

Our templates encompass countless hours of expertise and research designed to empower businesses of all sizes and industries. These offer a comprehensive and customizable framework, accommodating every business's unique needs and goals.

Each template has detailed monthly breakdowns outlining key marketing activities, budgets, and performance metrics. We recognize the importance of catering to diverse marketing needs, as one size does not fit all in this dynamic industry. 

Therefore, our 100% customizable and editable templates offer the flexibility to address each business's distinct challenges and opportunities. We also offer the much-coveted structure and a starting point to your presentation.

Whether you are a seasoned marketer looking to streamline your efforts or a budding entrepreneur seeking to kickstart your marketing journey, our templates provide the foundation for success.

Let’s explore. 

Template 1: 12-Month Marketing Plan PowerPoint Template Bundles

With our 12-Month Marketing Plan PowerPoint PPT Template Bundles, you can streamline your marketing efforts for the year. Use this presentation template to  streamline your marketing plan's main objectives, strategies, and key performance indicators. This template empowers you to analyze your company's current market position, competitors, target audience, and internal strengths and weaknesses, identifying opportunities and challenges. Designed to be a powerful and professional toolset, our template bundles facilitate the development of a robust marketing strategy. It serves as a guiding framework for your team, also ensuring your marketing plan stands out and helps your business thrive in the competitive landscape.

Download Now

Template 2: 12-month Marketing Planning Single Pager Presentation Report Infographic PPT PDF Doc

To meet deadlines, a well-coordinated schedule that prioritizes tasks is crucial. That's why our experts at SlideTeam have created a user-friendly one-pager to represent a 12-month marketing plan template. It allows you to present your monthly plan to your team. Keep your staff informed about upcoming marketing campaigns, enabling them to plan better. The template also lists holiday events and activities for corporate settings. This one-pager allows you to manage time efficiently, track important dates, and schedule appointments. The best part? You have the freedom to customize all elements with just a few clicks! Get it now. 

Template 3: 12-Month Integrated Marketing Communication Planning Schedule One-page Report PPT PDF Document

This one-page PPT slide provides a clear and structured roadmap for your marketing activities over the entire year, streamlining your communication efforts and fostering better coordination among team members. With a well-organized plan, you can avoid last-minute scrambles, ensuring no vital marketing opportunity is missed. You can also use this template to bring about strategic alignment across your marketing channels. From social media to email marketing, from print to digital advertising – our integrated approach guarantees consistent messaging and branding, reinforcing your brand identity and recall among your target audience. The presentation template also empowers you to track the success of each marketing campaign and make data-driven decisions.

Template 4: 12-month event digital marketing planning single pager presentation report ppt pdf document

This PPT Template enlists a year's marketing strategies, offering an easy-to-understand overview of milestones, promotions, and outreach tactics. Acting as a strategic roadmap , it guides event planners. The key benefits of using this template are enhanced visibility with a single-page format, saving time, and fostering team collaboration. The report covers marketing channels, empowering organizers to reach a broad audience and increase attendee engagement. Download it now to simplify planning, optimize strategies, and ensure a successful event.

Chart Your Course to Marketing Mastery with Our 12-Month Compass

Don't settle for aimless marketing efforts; let our 12-month marketing plan templates be the compass that guides you toward sustained growth, heightened brand visibility, and unrivaled success. As you embark on this transformative journey, remember that mastering marketing is a continuous process, and our templates will be your lifelong ally in this pursuit.

Good communication is key for successful campaigns and ambitious projects. Use these Marketing Communication PowerPoint Templates to tackle common marketing communication challenges.

PS:  Remember the 'Wolf of Wall Street' money scene? Don't do that with your digital marketing budget. Learn to make the most of your budget using SlideTeam's Digital Marketing Budget Templates.

FAQs on 12-Month Marketing Plan

What should a 12-month marketing plan include.

• Quick Overview: Summarize the marketing plan, highlighting the main goals, strategies, and indicators.
• Know Your Market: Understand your company's position in the market, know your competitors, target audience, and strengths and weaknesses. 
• Set Clear Goals: Establish specific and measurable marketing goals aligning with your business objectives. 
• Understand Your Audience: Create a detailed description of your target audience, including who they are, what they like, and how they buy. This helps you tailor your marketing to reach them.
• Plan Your Strategies: Develop innovative strategies to connect with your target audience and achieve your goals. These include digital marketing, content creation, social media, emails, events, and partnerships.
• Budget Wisely: Break down your marketing budget and allocate it wisely across channels and activities.
• Schedule Your Marketing: Create a month-by-month plan for your marketing activities, campaigns, and promotions.
• Create Compelling Content: Develop a plan for your content, deciding what to create, where to share, and when to publish. Engaging content helps build your brand's authority.
• Measure Success: Monitor metrics like website traffic, conversions, leads, and customer acquisition costs.
• Be Ready for Challenges: Have backup plans to handle unexpected situations that could impact your marketing plans, like market changes or competition.
• Teamwork and Communication: Clearly define each team member's role and ensure effective communication and coordination.

How do I write a one-year marketing plan?

• Establish Clear Objectives: Start by defining specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) marketing goals that align with your overall business objectives. 
• Insights on Target Audience: Conduct a thorough investigation into your target audience's demographics, preferences, and behaviors. 
• Perform a SWOT Analysis: Assess your company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to obtain valuable perspectives on your competitive advantages and areas that warrant enhancement.
• Opt for Impactful Strategies: Select marketing approaches that align with your objectives and captivate your target audience. Explore a blend of digital marketing, content creation, social media engagement, email campaigns, traditional advertising, events, and partnerships.
• Allocate Resources Strategically: Wisely allocate your marketing budget across channels and initiatives based on potential ROI and their impact on achieving your objectives.
• Comprehensive Marketing Calendar: Develop a month-by-month plan outlining marketing activities, campaigns, and promotions to maintain organization and focus throughout the year.
• Content Plan: Plan and create content that addresses your audience's interests and pain points, building trust and authority for your brand.
• Stay Agile and Adapt to Changes: Be prepared to adjust your plan as market conditions evolve or new opportunities arise. Flexibility is crucial in a dynamic business environment.

What are the Seven Steps of a Marketing Plan?

• Market Research: Conduct thorough research to understand the market, competitors, and target audience.
• Define Target Audience: Identify and define the ideal customers you want to reach with your marketing efforts.
• Set Marketing Goals: Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.
• Develop Marketing Strategies: Create effective strategies to reach your target audience and achieve your goals.
• Allocate Resources: Determine and allocate the budget and resources needed to implement your marketing strategies.
• Implement and Execute: Put your marketing plan into action and execute strategies.
•   Monitor and Evaluate: Continuously track the performance of your marketing initiatives and adjust in real-time.

Related posts:

• Our Top 20 One-Page Sales and Marketing Plan, Proposals, Executive Summaries and Pitches
• [Updated 2023] Top 20 Marketing Communication Plan Templates
• Top 10 Tactical Marketing Plan Templates with Samples and Examples
• Top 10 90-Day Marketing Plan Templates with Samples and Examples

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MARKETING PLAN GENERATOR

This high-level template will help you outline your annual marketing strategy, identify your most important initiatives, and track the right metrics all year long. Tell us a little about your marketing goals and you’ll receive a 12-month plan in less than 10 minutes.

Press enter/arrow keys (or swipe on mobile) to continue

You smart planner, you. We're so excited to help you create a marketing plan that will drive big results!

Let's start by getting acquainted. What's your name?

Awesome. it's great to meet you .

We'll be diving into some questions about your company, what you do there, and what your team's goals are for this year. These questions will help us customize your plan to fit your company's exact needs. If you're not 100% sure how to answer a question, that's okay. Just put in a quick answer for now — you can always go back in and edit your answers later.

Where do you work?

Very cool how many employees work at your company .

A written mission helps align your team around common goals. Patagonia's mission is to "build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." Want another example? Click here.

What's your company 's mission?

Just add a few words outlining your direction. You can always change this answer later.

Sounds like a great place to be . What exactly do you do at your company ?

74% of marketers say that converting leads into customers is their company's top priority over the next 12 months.

State of Inbound 2016

What's your team's main focus this year?

What key objectives do you want to achieve? Remember: You can always come back and change this answer later.

Select up to 3 initiatives your team should prioritize this year to help carry out that focus:

(Scroll for more options)

• Build Brand Awareness
• Close Deals
• Create a High-Quality Pipeline
• Create Content
• Create Paid Advertisement Program
• Decrease Churn
• Decrease Customer Acquisition Cost
• Define or Update Personas
• Differentiate Brand From Competitors
• Diversify Promotion Efforts
• Grow Event Attendance
• Grow International Brand
• Grow Paid Users
• Grow Revenue
• Grow Social Media Reach
• Improve Customer NPS
• Improve Lead Quality
• Improve Sales Rep Productivity
• Increase Clickthrough Rate
• Increase Conversion Rate
• Increase Leads
• Increase Product Adoption
• Increase Traffic
• Introduce New Product/Service
• Optimize Sales Cycle
• Recruit Top Talent
• Scale Company Culture
• Shorten Sales Cycle
• Unify Products/Services

What are your goals for these initiatives?

Example: Grow lead generation by 1,000 leads per month

( Enter options on previous slide to view content )

Which initiatives would you consider for a future year?

Now that you have your top priorities in place, it’s time to select 1-3 initiatives that, while valuable, will only distract you from achieving this year’s goals. These could be considered later on, but for now, you don’t have the resources in place to focus on them.

Well, would you look at that! You're almost finished. That wasn't so hard, was it?

One final thing: How do we get in touch to discuss your goals for next year?

We're committed to your privacy. HubSpot uses the information you provide to us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, check out our Privacy Policy .

What is in the Marketing Plan Template?

HubSpot's marketing plan generator offers a template displaying your company's mission, strategy, and initiatives following the information entered in the tool while also identifying future opportunities. The project planner tool delivers a 12-month marketing plan template dividing actions for your team into initiatives, measurement metrics, and goals. This free resource for your business can be downloaded as a CSV file and shared with your team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the marketing plan template generator do.

The Marketing Plan Generator uses the information you provide about your marketing goals to create a personalized 12-month plan that will help your business reach new heights of success.

How Does the Marketing Plan Template Generator Work?

As a marketing plan software, it uses the answers you provide in the assessment to generate your company marketing priorities for the year to come. It identifies relevant initiatives to prioritize following the goals entered and delivers a practical template.

Why is a Marketing Plan Important?

Developing a marketing plan is crucial as it allows you to determine what to focus on by setting clear objectives. It also helps in managing resources better and maximize the impact of every marketing action. This is in a nutshell why you need a marketing plan.

When Do You Need to Use a Marketing Plan?

When your product is ready to be marketed, which is most likely right now as you are reading these lines! Instead of an example, why not spend some time taking our MPTG assessment and discover what you can do today to improve your marketing?

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12-Month Operating Budget

Blue cells need to be filled in while white calculate automatically in this operating budget for one year.

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Copyright © 2011-2024 by Savetz Publishing , Inc. Contact us . Privacy Policy .

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12-Month Cash Flow Forecast Template 

Chart your business's financial future with our 12-Month Cash Flow Forecast Template.

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Effective financial planning is key to business success. 

Coefficient’s 12-Month Cash Flow Forecast Template for Google Sheets and Excel simplifies forecasting, ensures liquidity, and helps seize opportunities, setting a clear path to financial stability.

Benefits of the 12-Month Cash Flow Forecast

• Informed Financial Decisions: Make decisions with a clear understanding of your projected cash positions and potential financial constraints.
• Proactive Cash Management: Identify potential cash shortfalls and surpluses in advance, allowing for timely responses to financial challenges and opportunities.
• Build Stakeholder Confidence: Present a well-defined financial forecast to investors, lenders, and partners, demonstrating prudent financial planning and reliability.
• Streamlined Financial Planning: Simplify the complex process of cash flow forecasting with an intuitive template, saving you time and effort.

Key Features: 12-Month Cash Flow Forecast

• Monthly Breakdown: Detailed monthly forecasting to provide clear visibility into your cash flow trends and tendencies.
• Automatic Calculations: Input your estimates for income and expenses, and let the template do the rest, generating accurate future cash flow forecasts.
• Customizable Categories: Modify the template to fit your specific business needs, including various income streams and cost structures.
• Visual Insights: Integrated graphs and charts offer at-a-glance understanding of your financial projections, enhancing readability and analysis.

Getting Started with Your 12-Month Cash Flow Forecast Template

• Secure your copy of the template by downloading it for your spreadsheet of choice: Excel or Google Sheets
• Populate the template with your financial data, including expected receivables, payables, and operational costs.
• Review the forecast generated by the template to identify any potential financial challenges or opportunities in the coming year.
• Use these insights to adjust your business strategy, improve financial health, and steer your company towards growth.

Download today!

12-Month Cash Flow Projection Template

Identify monthly fixed costs, estimate variable costs, calculate total monthly costs, project monthly sales revenue, subtract total costs from sales revenue to get net income, estimate any cash inflows other than sales revenue, estimate any cash outflows other than expenses, sum projected cash at beginning with net income and other cash flows, document assumptions used in the forecast, review initial 12-month cash flow projection.

• 1 Income projections
• 2 Expense projections
• 3 Cash flow calculations
• 4 Financial performance analysis
• 1 Inaccurate revenue projections
• 2 High expense estimates
• 3 Cash flow deficit
• 4 Improper financial performance

Approval: Financial Analyst

• Review initial 12-month cash flow projection Will be submitted

Adjust projections based on feedback

Final review of the adjusted projection.

• 1 Adjusted income projections
• 2 Adjusted expense projections
• 3 Updated cash flow calculations
• 4 Revised financial performance analysis
• 1 Inaccurate adjusted revenue projections
• 2 Unaccounted expenses
• 3 Cash flow imbalance
• 4 Unsatisfactory financial performance

Approval: Finance Manager

• Final review of the adjusted projection Will be submitted

Prepare a summary of the projection

Present the 12-month cash flow projection to the executive team, approval: executive team.

• Present the 12-month cash flow projection to the executive team Will be submitted

Implement the 12-month cash flow projection into monthly reporting

Take control of your workflows today., more templates like this.