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Use This Business Plan Format to Expertly Write Your Plan

In this guide, you’ll learn how to format your business plan

professionally. Business plan structure and format helps readers
look beyond distracting style to the real meat of your idea.

How to Format Your Business Plan: The Cover Sheet

Every business plan should begin with a simple business plan

cover page including the business name, your name and contact
information. An easy-to-read table of contents should follow.
Example Business Plan Table of Contents

I: Executive Summary
a. Business Overview
b. Success Factors
c. Financial Highlights

II: Company Overview

a. Who is [Company Name]?
b. [Company Name]’s History
c. [Company Name]’s Products & Services

III: Industry Analysis

a. Industry Trends

IV: Customer Analysis

a. Customer Segmentation

V: Competitive Analysis
a. Direct & Indirect Competitors
b. Competitive Advantage

VI: Marketing Plan

a. The [Company Name] Brand
b. Promotions Strategy
c. Pricing Strategy
VII: Operations Plan
a. Functional Roles
b. Goals and Milestones

VIII: Management Team

a. Management Team Members
b. Hiring Plan

IX: Financial Plan

a. Revenue and Cost Drivers
b. Revenue and Cost Drivers
c. Key Assumptions & Forecasts

X: Appendix

The cover sheet should leave no question for readers to be able

to identify the business plan when it is in a stack with dozens of
others on their desk. The table of contents allows them to easily
refer to sections within the plan. For example, after reading the
executive summary, some investors with an eye for numbers
may turn directly to the financial plan and statements. Proper
business plan format allows readers to quickly get the
information they want.
Example Business Plan Format

There are 10 business plan components or sections that every

entrepreneur and business owner must include in their plan.
These include:

1. Executive summary
2. Company overview
3. Industry analysis
4. Customer analysis
5. Competitive analysis
6. Marketing plan
7. Operations plan
8. Management team
9. Financial plan
10. Appendix
You should recognize these if you’ve ever worked with
a business plan template.

Formatting your business plan with charts and graphs is

welcomed to break up long blocks of text. However, charts and
graphs shouldn’t be used for their own sake. They must make
the information easier to pass on than text would.

The business plan format that investors and lenders expect

includes the following 10 sections. We’ve included important
notes in each section specific to business plan formatting to help
you as you write your plan.

1. Start with Your Executive Summary

An executive summary gives readers a crisp overview of your

business at the start of your plan. This section should not be
more than two pages long and should include the following:

• What is the business about?

• Where and why did the idea of the business originate?

• Who are the owners?

• Which industry is it operating in?

• What is its core function?

• Where is it located?

• How is it going to make money?

• How much money (if any) is it already making?

• What are its financial projections?

The best format for your executive summary is paragraphs.

Utilizing bullets and headings is also useful formatting within an
executive summary, as it aids the reader in scanning the content
on the page.
2. Company Overview Section

The company overview is the perfect place to highlight the

strengths of your business. This section gives the reader
additional information about your products and/or services and
describes your company’s past accomplishments.

Including the below in this section will provide further clarity

about your business:

1. What type of business you are (e.g., C-Corporation, sole

proprietor)
2. When your business started
3. Business’ accomplishments to date
The best formatting to use in this section is paragraphs to
describe your company’s strengths and products/services. You
should also include a chart that outlines your company’s
achievements to date.

3. Industry or Market Analysis

The industry or market analysis gives the reader a clear

understanding of your industry and the audience it serves. It
includes a detailed explanation of your market size and trends.
Typically, the format of this section should be paragraphs. Feel
free to include charts and graphs to best convey the information
to the reader.

4. The Customer Analysis States Who Your Customers Are

and What They Need

In this section of your plan, explain who your target customers

are and identify their specific needs. Doing this will help you
better target and attract customers.

5. Competitive Analysis

The Competitive Analysis section identifies your direct and

indirect competitors. It discusses who they are and their
strengths and weaknesses. It then details your areas of
competitive advantages.

Whether your competitors are small or large businesses,

describe them. Telling investors there are no competitors (big or
small) often gives the impression that a market does not exist for
your company.

With regards to formatting, use paragraphs to describe each

competitor. As appropriate, adding a competitor matrix to show
similarities and differences between your company and the
competition can be very powerful.
6. Your Marketing Plan is a Key Section

The marketing & sales section of your business plan should

outline how you plan to attract new customers and retain old
ones. This section should outline the ways customers can be
introduced to and engage with your offerings and describe how
you will convert these prospects into paying customers.

Set marketing objectives that include the following (if

applicable):

• Introducing new products

• Extending the market reach

• Exploring new markets

• Boosting sales

• Cross-selling

• Creating a long-term partnership with clients

• Increasing prices without affecting sales

• Creating a content marketing strategy

Organize your Marketing Plan into the 4 P’s – Price, Product,

Promotions and Place. If you have multiple products or services,
include a menu with each key item and its price.

7. The Operations Plan Format

Your Operations Plan identifies your key operational processes

and milestones you expect to accomplish. Using a Gantt chart is
a great way to show your expected future milestones. You can
also format this section with tables that document the dates of
future milestones.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

8. You Need to Prove Your Management Team Can Execute

“A company is only as good as the people it keeps.” – Mary Kay

Ash, American Entrepreneur and Businesswoman

The Management Team section of your business plan focuses on

the people who run the business.

Who are the decision-makers, who is the product expert, who is

the operations head, and who is running the entire show? A
glimpse into the expertise and capabilities of your team
members and how their experiences will help grow your
business will boost stakeholder confidence.

To improve the formatting and best convey your management

team to readers, consider adding an organizational chart that
shows your team members and reporting structure.
9. Format Your Financial Plan

The goal of this section is to convince the reader that your

business is stable and will be financially successful. Arm this
section with past and/or forecasted cash flow statements,
balance sheets, profit & loss statements, expense budgeting and
sales forecasts.

If you run an operational business, include 3 years of historical

data to help investors gain an understanding of how feasible
your funding request is and if your business is capable of
generating good returns.

Also include your funding request, if applicable, in this section.

You should mention how much investment is required to take
your business to the next significant milestone and how the
money will be spent. You should also define if you are seeking
debt or equity funding. If you are seeking debt financing like an
SBA loan, ensure your financial projections include the debt and
show steady repayments of both the principal and return under
reasonable loan terms.

If you are seeking equity financing, you don’t need to include

your valuation expectations in the business plan, but you should
be aligned within your ownership team on the amount of equity
you are willing to exchange before you pitch investors.
10. Appendix

This section includes supporting documentation of your business

case. This could include renderings of a planned store location,
market research reports referenced in the plan, key supplier or
buyer contracts that substantiate your financial projections or
historical marketing and sales data.

Formatting Your Business Plan

Overall, business plans should use simple and standard
formatting. Twelve-point font size in a standard font like Arial
or Times New Roman is best, as well as the standard margin
size of one inch on each side. Pages should be numbered, and
the name of the company should appear on each page in the
header or footer.

Use charts whenever possible as it makes it much easier for

readers to consume the information in your plan.