How To Make a Comprehensive Business Plan + Editable Template

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a written document that outlines the goals, strategies, and expected outcomes of a proposed business venture.

Usually, a copy of this written document will be provided to the employees of this company, so that every individual associated with the business can be aware of his or her part in the larger scheme of things. 

The main target is to find out the best ways a company can generate increased revenue while maintaining a healthy working environment. With changing demands of time – like new client onboarding or business expansion – minute details of this plan remain subject to change. 

Why Do Startups Need a Proper Business Plan?

The start-up sector in India faces a larger challenge due to its lack of collateral and assets. Small businesses do not get easy access to formal credit when compared to their blue-chip counterparts. 

As they are often considered high-risk borrowers by traditional financial institutions, these companies often look at financing sources like invoice discounting for fundraising.

Speaking of leveraging accounts receivables, some of the leading fintech platforms in India can help small businesses. For instance, RazorpayX invoices help your start-up create adequate invoices and allow you to keep a track of unpaid bills.  

Business Plan Format & Template

The format may vary depending on the specific needs and requirements of the intended audience, but typically includes the following sections:

Executive Summary

This section includes a high-level description of the company and what it does. It is of three to four paragraphs and includes details of the product or services offered, leadership and location.

Company Description

This section goes into deeper detail about the company. It includes the mission statement, legal and regulatory details, details of core management and more.

Market Research

In this section, you discuss all the research you did into the industry your business operates in. This may include a SWOT analysis, demand and supply research, customer demographic and competition analysis.

Products or Services

Here you may go into detail about the products and services your business offers – including pricing details, manufacturing, intellectual property and more.

Marketing and Sales Strategy

A detailed explanation of the different channels you plan on using to market your product or service, as well as future plans for sales and marketing.

Operations and Management

Here are the details of the top-level management and operational structure of your company. 

Financial Plan

This section is a breakdown of the revenues, expenses, profits and losses of your business. It may also include details of funding and other financial metrics pertaining to your business. 

Appendix or Supporting Documents

Any extra statistics, graphs, tables or information that will support your business plan can be attached here.

Here is a downloadable template for a business plan that you can edit and customize for your business. Remember: this template is only a guide! Feel free to add or remove any sections you deem fit.

How To Write a Good Business Plan?

• Simple language: Make sure that your business plan is accessible to all stakeholders. If you do use technical jargon, make sure to include a glossary explaining all keywords.
• Short paragraphs: Each heading should typically contain at least three paragraphs, but it is important to make sure that each paragraph is not more than two sentences long.
• Statistics and numbers: Whenever possible, try and include visual elements – financial projections on a graph, or actual pictures of your product or service.
• Extensive research: Writing the actual business plan is only 10% of your work – the larger 90% is research and planning!
• Customize your plan: The need of every single business is different. Make sure your business plan is best-suited to your business – these tips and the template included in this blog are only guidelines!

Sample Business Plan

Here is an example of a Business Plan made for MobileWash, a car washing service that offers convenient, on-demand car washing and detailing services.

How Can RazorpayX Help Indian Enterprises in Their Business Plan Management?

Making and maintaining a business plan is no easy task – it requires months of planning and research, and constant monitoring your business’s performance over years.

Unfortunately, business founders who are just getting started are drowning in mundane, repetitive tasks that take away a lot of their time.

Repetitive tasks like payroll management, vendor management, coordinating with your CA and finance teams, OTP sharing, and more.

With RazorpayX, you can now automate all those repetitive tasks and save yourself a ton of time that you can use to come up with a solid, unshakeable business plan!

FAQs