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This Business Plan Guide describes the possible structure and contents of a business plan. It is divided into three main parts - Front of Plan, Body of Plan and Appendices - with the details spread over about twenty pages that correspond to the main sections of a business plan.

The Guide aims to cover a very wide range of planning matters which will not be relevant to every business. Consequently, it may appear intimidating due to its length and detail. If it is any consolation, be mindful that:

• The process of planning (thinking, exploring, researching, consulting and discussing) should be just as beneficial as the resultant plan.
• It is far easier to correct errors of judgement or explore new options when writing a plan than when actually operating the resultant business.
• A sound business plan may not be a sure-fire route to success but it should help anticipate and resolve problems, and point the best way forward.

This Guide is aimed at new/established businesses seeking to expand, raise finance etc. and needing to produce a comprehensive* business plan for internal or external use. While not specifically intended for very small businesses, it contain many ideas and issues which could be used to produce a more basic* plan.

* See white paper on Insights into Business Planning for more information about the differences between comprehensive and basic plans.

Freeware Business Planner

	Free-Plan - 150-page Business Plan Guide & Template
	Requires: Word + Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP Price: Free
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The overall length of a (very) comprehensive plan could be anything between 20 and 50 pages excluding appendices. A more basic plan might run from 5 pages up to 15 or even 20 pages. When budgeting your plan's length, go for the shortest possible plan consistent with your business's scale, objective of the plan etc. - aim for quality rather than quantity! Bear in mind that the overall length of the plan is likely to increase as writing progresses. If your plan gets too long, do some ruthless editing and redrafting. If it is any consolation, it should be much easier to shorten a long plan than to lengthen a short one! Based on the suggested section lengths within this guide, the length of a plan could range between 27 to 47 pages (excluding cover, contents list and appendices). Obviously, this length should be scaled back for a small business preparing a more basic plan.

To get started:

1. Review the entire Guide and think through the most appropriate structure and flow for your own plan.
2. Continue this process by printing out the relevant pages from the Guide.
3. Construct a detailed Contents page incorporating your revised section headings to get the right overall framework for your plan.
4. Review your content's list and the Guide's detailed notes to identify key gaps in your preparatory research and analysis.
5. Sort out these gaps before starting to write your plan. In other words, do your main planning before drafting a detailed plan - resist the temptation to start writing before you have done all the preliminary work, or have really decided what you want to say.
6. To help plan your plan, review the Checklist for Preparing a Business Plan.

Note: Free-Plan, a 150-page Word-based template based on this business plan guide, can be downloaded for free here.

Additional Help
(If visiting the links below, use the back button on your browser to return to this page)

The following white papers and tools at our PlanWare site may be helpful during your preliminary planning and thinking:

• Getting Business Ideas
• Devising Venture Strategies
• Developing a Business Strategy
• On-line Strategic Planner
• On-line Financial Planner

Once you are ready to start drafting, have a look at the white paper Writing a Business Plan for further suggestions. Also review the paper on Insights into Business Planning to get some very practical guidance on many key issues connected with the preparation of a plan - different types of plans, length of plans, elapsed time, importance, difficulties and so on. This is well worth checking out as it reflects the views of a substantial number of people who have written their own plans.

Another item that will assist you in getting your thoughts together and outlining the structure and contents of your plan is Free-Plan. This Word-based guide and template is available as freeware. It runs to over forty printed pages and complements this on-line Business Plan Guide.

If you only need help with your financial projections, evaluate Exl-Plan, a comprehensive Excel-based financial planner. This is available in eight versions to suit different business sizes - from smallest to largest. You can download trial and free versions of Exl-Plan here.

If you would like to consider using business planning software to help speed up the writing and to gain access to additional help, have a look at Plan Write Business Planner. This package integrates word processing, text outliner, financial planner and charting with extensive on-line help about business planning. It is especially suitable for first-time business planners, smaller businesses and many professional advisers. Also, check out the Plan Write Expert Planner which combines an "expert" system with a business planner.

Business Planning Tools

Plan Write Business Planner - Complete Business Planner	From US$119	Details	Demo
Plan Write Expert Planner - Expert Business Planner	From US$ 219	Details	Demo
Exl-Plan Free - Comprehensive 2 Year Financial Projections (Excel-based)	Free	Details	Download
Exl-Plan - Comprehensive 3-5-7 Year Financial Projections (Excel-based)	From US$ 29	Details	Download
Cashflow Plan Free - 6 Month Cash Flow Forecaster (Excel-based)	Free	Details	Download
Cashflow Plan - 12 Month Cash Flow Forecaster (Excel-based)	From US$ 39	Details	Download
Free-Plan - 150 Page Business Plan Guide & Template (Word-based)	Free	Details	Download
Plan Write Market Planner - Marketing Plan Writer	From US$ 119	Details	Demo
Quick Insight - Business Idea Assessor	From US$ 219	Details	Demo
Business Insight - Marketing Strategy Evaluator	From US$ 785	Details	Demo

Note: All packages need Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP

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