About the business plan template
What is a business plan template?
A business plan is a short document that explains what your business does, who it is for, how it will reach them and how the money works. Writing one forces you to answer questions you would otherwise postpone: who exactly will buy this, what will it cost to run and what happens if the first plan does not work. A template gives you the structure so that you spend your effort on the answers.
This free business plan template guides you through ten sections: summary, the problem, your product or service, customers and market, competition and alternatives, marketing and sales, operations, people, money, and risks and next steps. Each section has a short prompt telling you what to cover. When you finish, you can copy the whole plan, print it or save it as a PDF, or download the sections as CSV. It runs in your browser with no sign-up.
Who needs a business plan?
- First-time founders testing whether an idea holds together before spending money.
- Small business owners applying for a loan, grant or partnership who need a clear document.
- Freelancers and consultants formalising what they offer and what they charge.
- Teams launching a new product or service inside an existing company.
- Anyone who wants to think clearly before starting.
The ten sections and what to write in each
- Summary: a few sentences on what the business does, who it serves and why it will work. Write this last.
- The problem: the need or frustration your customers have today and how they cope without you.
- Your product or service: what exactly you will sell and what makes it better or different in plain terms.
- Customers and market: who your first 100 customers are and how many similar people you can reach.
- Competition and alternatives: who else solves this, including customers doing nothing, and where each is strong or weak.
- Marketing and sales: how customers find you and buy, with two or three channels to try first.
- Operations: how the product is made or delivered, key suppliers, tools, premises and licences.
- People: who is involved, what they have done before and which roles are missing.
- Money: start-up costs, running costs, prices and the sales needed to break even, with assumptions stated.
- Risks and next steps: the three most likely problems, your response to each, and the next five actions with dates.
Writing tips that make a plan stronger
Be specific. Numbers, names and dates beat general statements. “Local cafés with more than twenty seats within five miles” is a market; “everyone who likes coffee” is not. Where you do not know something, write your assumption and mark it as an assumption, then plan how you will test it. A plan that admits what it does not know is more credible than one that pretends to know everything.
Write for a reader who is intelligent but does not know your industry. Avoid jargon and keep each section short. A clear plan of five or six pages is more useful than a thick document nobody reads. Write the summary last, because only then do you know what the plan really says.
Getting the numbers right
The money section is where many plans become vague. Include start-up costs, itemised, so you can check them against quotes. List monthly running costs such as rent, insurance, software and your own pay. State your prices and the average sale. Then work out break-even: monthly costs divided by the profit on each sale gives the number of sales you need. This template is a writing tool rather than a financial model, so use the budget calculator and savings goal calculator for the numbers, then paste the results in.
From plan to action
The final section asks for five next actions with dates. Turn these into a project: the project plan template lists tasks, owners and dates, and the project timeline maker draws them on a chart. The marketing plan template expands the marketing section into goals, channels and a timeline, and the 90-day planner keeps you on track for the first quarter. Review the plan every few months and update it; it is a living document, not a one-time exercise.
Will a bank or investor accept it?
Many lenders and investors have their own formats and ask for detailed financial forecasts. This template covers the usual ground, so you can adapt it to their requirements. Treat it as the thinking behind the document: once you have answered the prompts, adding a forecast or reformatting for a specific application is much easier. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and you should consult professionals for those.
Copy, print and privacy
Copy the plan as text to paste into a word processor, print it or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print dialog, or download the sections as CSV. Your writing stays in your browser. Nothing is sent to Just Plann. Tick “Remember on this device” to keep a draft between sessions; a plan usually takes several sittings, so this is useful.
Business plan template FAQ
Does it write the plan for me? No. It gives you structure and prompts; the content is yours.
How long should a business plan be? As long as it needs to be to answer the ten sections clearly, and no longer. Many good small business plans are only a few pages.
Can I change the sections? The structure is fixed, but you can leave any section empty or include extra detail in the notes of another.
Start with the problem
Name your business, then describe the problem you solve. Everything else in the plan follows from that answer.