How to write a business plan: structure and content per chapter

How do you write a business plan that holds up? Start by treating it as your own calculation rather than a form for the bank. Only when customers, price, costs and funding are on paper can you see whether they fit together. Many founders find out while writing that their rate is too low or that the start-up period will take longer than they hoped. That is exactly what the plan is for: better to find out on paper than in your bank account.

There is no single required format, but lenders and agencies ask for the same building blocks. The US Small Business Administration sets out a traditional plan from executive summary to financial projections, and notes that lenders and investors commonly request this format (source: US Small Business Administration, September 2026). The UK Start Up Loans scheme asks for a business plan that covers product or service, target market, competitors, marketing and operations, plus a cash flow forecast typically covering at least 12 months and a personal survival budget (source: British Business Bank, October 2026). Australia's government business portal stresses that lenders and investors look first at whether your finances are in order (source: business.gov.au, November 2024).

Writing the plan also pays off for the founder. In a study that followed more than 1,000 would-be US entrepreneurs, those who wrote a formal plan were 16% more likely to reach viability, meaning a positive cash flow, than otherwise comparable founders who did not (source: University of Edinburgh Business School, July 2017).

Who is your business plan for?

Decide first who you are writing for. The content stays the same; the emphasis shifts.

• For yourself: to test the idea and steer by later. The plan can be compact, as long as the figures add up.
• For a lender: the bank or microlender looks mainly at the financial plan, your own contribution and whether repayments come out of cash flow. Start Up Loans, for example, lends £500 to £25,000, repaid over one to five years (source: British Business Bank, October 2026).
• For a public programme: schemes for unemployed people who start a business, and grant programmes, often ask for a plan before they decide. Check the conditions in your country.
• For a partner or investor: agreements on roles, contributions and profit sharing carry extra weight, and you state whether you seek a loan or equity.

How to structure a business plan, chapter by chapter

Executive summary

One page with the essence: what you will do, for whom, why it will work, what you need and when the business turns a profit. Write it last. A loan officer often reads the summary first, then the financial plan, and only then decides whether to read on.

The founder or founders

Who are you and why will this work? Describe training, work experience and experience in the industry, and your motives. Be honest about weak points and say how you cover them: with a partner, a bookkeeper or a course. A lender lends to people, not to ideas.

The business idea

Which problem do you solve, and for whom? Describe the product or service concretely, with the price you have in mind, and explain why customers will buy from you. "Better service" convinces nobody; "on site within one working day anywhere in the region" does. The results of testing your idea belong here.

Market and competition

How big is your market and who are your competitors? Look at the number of businesses in your industry, usual turnover and margins, and trends that affect demand. The industry figures give that context per sector. Visit competitors, note their prices and talk to potential customers before you budget revenue.

Strategy

Here you make the choices that steer the rest of the plan. State your mission and vision in plain words, list strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (the SWOT analysis) and decide what follows from them. A good strategy also says what you will not do. More background is in strategy.

Marketing and sales

How do you reach customers and turn them into buyers? Work out the marketing mix: product, price, place (your sales channels) and promotion. Then make it measurable: how many quotes, visitors or appointments a month do you need to reach the budgeted revenue? That number is often the best test of a sales forecast, as the worked example below shows.

Organisation and legal matters

Choose a legal structure, describe who does what and which parties you use: accountant, suppliers, staff or freelancers. List the licences you need, your insurance and your terms and conditions. With a partner, the partnership or shareholders' agreement belongs here too.

Financial plan

The chapter lenders spend longest on. It consists of five parts that connect:

Start with the personal budget. It sets the minimum profit the business must make, and with it your revenue and rate. Then put your profit and loss forecast next to the cost structure of your industry: if your expected margin differs a lot, you should be able to explain why. Each part is worked out in business plan and financials.

Worked example: from personal budget to quotes per week

Sam starts a one-person garden design business. Working back from what Sam needs at home shows how many quotes a week the plan depends on. The logic works in any currency; the tax line depends on your country.

Fictitious Firmfocus example. Tax and social contributions are an illustrative amount, not a calculation for any country.

The question for the plan is now concrete: can Sam produce two or three serious quotes every week from the first month? If the marketing chapter cannot show where they come from, the revenue line is a hope, not a forecast.

Five tips for a business plan that holds up

1. 01

   Support every assumption

   Add a short note to every revenue and cost line. "Based on three quotes" or "industry average" is stronger than a round number.

2. 02

   Plan for a setback

   Next to the expected scenario, make a cautious one with less revenue and a slow start. If you survive that one, the plan stands.

3. 03

   Write it yourself

   Get help with figures and layout, but write the content yourself. In the meeting with the bank, the loan officer notices at once whether you know your plan.

4. 04

   Keep it readable

   A compact plan with hard figures beats a thick document full of generalities. Put details in an appendix.

5. 05

   Use it after the start

   Compare actual figures with the forecast every quarter and adjust. That turns the plan into a steering tool instead of a document in a drawer.

Short plan or full plan

Weak spots lenders notice

• Revenue without a source: a forecast that is not tied to customer numbers, quotes or industry figures.
• No personal budget: the plan shows profit, but not whether you can live on it.
• Cash flow on paper only: annual figures without monthly timing, so a gap in month four stays hidden.
• Margins out of line: a margin far above the industry without an explanation.

Build your plan in the Business Planner

The Firmfocus Business Planner follows the structure above, from idea, mission and vision to start-up costs, financing and cash flow forecast. All parts are linked, so a change in your price or revenue flows straight through the rest of the plan. You see a comparison with figures from your sector and decide yourself whether and where to use AI suggestions. When the plan is ready, you export it to Word.

With the plan on paper, the next choice is your legal structure. The full sequence is in start in eight steps, and every other topic for founders in Start a business.