This Business Plan Template from is one of many  free downloads available at Bplans.com 
This template is a simplified business plan outline. It’s a good way to get started, but as you know, you can’t just  type in your details, print it, and turn it in to the bank. Every business is unique, and your business plan should  reflect that. 
LivePlan can help. With LivePlan, you can easily create a unique business plan, with all the financial tables  and graphs to go with it. You’ll also be able to:
CONFIDENTIAL 
[Your company name here] 
Your tagline 
Business Plan 
Prepared [date] 
Contact Information 
Jane Smith  
jane@yourcompany.com 
111-222-3333 
www.yourcompany.com 
1234 Main St. 
Anywhere, OR 12345, USA
Your Business Name Here 
Table of Contents 
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 1  Opportunity ...................................................................................................................................... 1  Expectations ..................................................................................................................................... 1  
Opportunity ............................................................................................................................................... 3  Problem & Solution ....................................................................................................................... 3  Target Market .................................................................................................................................. 3  Competition ..................................................................................................................................... 3  
Execution .................................................................................................................................................... 4  Marketing & Sales .......................................................................................................................... 4  Operations ........................................................................................................................................ 4  Milestones & Metrics .................................................................................................................... 5  
Company .................................................................................................................................................... 6  Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 6  Team ................................................................................................................................................... 6  
Financial Plan ............................................................................................................................................ 7  Forecast ............................................................................................................................................. 7  Financing ........................................................................................................................................... 9  
Statements ...................................................................................................................................... 10 
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Appendix .................................................................................................................................................. 13  Profit and Loss Statement .......................................................................................................... 13  Balance Sheet ................................................................................................................................ 15  Cash Flow Statement ................................................................................................................... 17 
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Executive Summary 
Opportunity 
Problem Summary 
INSTRUCTIONS: Describe very briefly why your business needs to exist. What problem do you  solve for your customers? 
Solution Summary 
INSTRUCTIONS: Briefly summarize what your company does. The executive summary should  be very short and you can go into more detail later in the plan. 
Market 
INSTRUCTIONS: Describe your target customer or market segments. Again, keep things very  brief in the executive summary and add more detail later in the plan. 
Competition 
INSTRUCTIONS: Summarize your key competition. Who will your customers also consider? Why Us? 
INSTRUCTIONS: Write a brief overview of you and your team. Why are you the right people to  build this business? 
Expectations 
Forecast 
INSTRUCTIONS: Write a brief overview of your financial targets. How much do you plan to  sell in the next year? What are your long-term sales goals?
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Financial Highlights by Year 

INSTRUCTIONS: Insert a chart of your key financial metrics here. Tools like LivePlan will do  this for you automatically. 
Financing Needed 
INSTRUCTIONS: If you are writing a business plan to raise money for your business, include a  brief summary of what you are looking for. If you aren’t raising money or getting a loan, you can  delete this section.
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Opportunity 
Problem & Solution 
Problem Worth Solving 
INSTRUCTIONS: Write a little more detail than you provided in the Executive Summary about  the problem you are solving. What do your customers need? Do they need a better product, a  cheaper product, or just a store in a better location? Describe why customers will want to buy  from you. 
Our Solution 
INSTRUCTIONS: Provide additional detail, beyond what you wrote in the Executive Summary,  about your product or service. What is unique and special about your company that’s going to set  it apart from the competition? 
Target Market 
Market Size & Segments 
INSTRUCTIONS: Describe your key customers – who they are and what their key attributes are.  If your company is targeting multiple customer groups (also called ‘segments’), describe each  group here. If you can, include details about how many people are in each segment and how  large the total market is. 
Competition 
Current Alternatives 
INSTRUCTIONS: Describe your current competition. What products and services are people  using instead of yours? 
Our Advantages 
INSTRUCTIONS: Explain why your product or service is better than the others. Also, be sure to  describe any competitive advantages you may have, such as a patent or other unique component  to your business.
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Execution 
Marketing & Sales 
Marketing Plan 
INSTRUCTIONS: Explain how you plan on getting the word out about your product to your  target market(s). Will you use advertising? Perhaps you are developing a content marketing  strategy. Whatever your marketing plans may be, describe them here. 
Sales Plan 
INSTRUCTIONS: If your company relies on sales people to close sales deals, you need a sales  plan. Your sales plan should explain how you convert people who express interest in your  product or service into paying customers. If you are opening a food truck, this section is less  important and you can consider removing it. However, if you are starting a sales-heavy business  like enterprise software or a car dealership, then you need to document how you will nurture  leads and close deals. 
Operations 
Locations & Facilities 
INSTRUCTIONS: Describe your company’s physical locations. This might be your office, store  locations, manufacturing plants, storage facilities — whatever is relevant to your business. How  much space do you have available, and how well will it meet your current and future needs? 
Technology 
INSTRUCTIONS: Describe any important software, hardware, or other information technology  that you use now or plan to use later to operate your business. That might include a point-of-sale  system to take payments, an e-commerce engine for your website, a CRM solution for managing  your pipeline, marketing tools for generating leads, and so on. 
Equipment & Tools 
INSTRUCTIONS: List any specialty equipment that you have or plan to acquire to do your  work. This is an important component of the business plan for many industrial companies.
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Milestones & Metrics 
Milestones 
INSTRUCTIONS: List your key milestones and the dates that you hope to accomplish  them by. If you’ve already accomplished key goals for your business, list them here as  evidence that your business is getting traction – in other words, it’s getting positive  attention from potential customers. 
Key Metrics 
INSTRUCTIONS: Explain which performance metrics are most important for understanding  how your business is doing. What does success mean for you, and how will you know it when  you see it?
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Company 
Overview 
INSTRUCTIONS: Use this area to specify who owns your company. If there are multiple  owners, describe each of them and how much of an ownership stake they have. Also, identify  your company’s legal structure. Is it a sole proprietorship — that is, just you working for  yourself? Or a partnership, such as a limited-liability corporation (LLC) or partnership (LLP), where the profits pass through to the partners involved? Or a nonprofit organization? Or a proper  S- or C-type corporation with its own tax obligations and the rest? 
Team 
Management Team 
INSTRUCTIONS: List the members of the management team, including yourself. Describe each  person’s skills and experience and what they will be doing for the company. It’s OK if you don’t  have everyone for a complete management team yet. In that case, make sure to identify gaps in  your team that you intend to fill over time. 
Advisors 
INSTRUCTIONS: Describe any mentors, investors, former professors, industry orsubject-matter  experts, knowledgeable friends or family members, small-business counselors, or others who can  help you as a business owner.
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Financial Plan 
Forecast 
Key Assumptions 
INSTRUCTIONS: Describe how you came up with the values in your financial forecast. Did you  project your revenue based on past results, market research, your best guess at how many people  who visit your store and what percentage of them might buy, or some other method? What kind  of growth are you assuming? What are your key hires and notable expenses? What level of profit  do you expect to generate? 
Revenue by Month 
INSTRUCTIONS: Include a chart that shows your projected revenue. A tool like LivePlan can  help you create a chart like this and automatically include it in your business plan.

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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Expenses by Month 
INSTRUCTIONS: Include a chart that shows your projected expenses. A tool like LivePlan can  help you create a chart like this and automatically include it in your business plan.

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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Net Profit (or Loss) by Year 
INSTRUCTIONS: Include a chart that shows your projected expenses. A tool like LivePlan can  help you create a chart like this and automatically include it in your business plan. 
Financing 
Use of Funds 
INSTRUCTIONS: If your forecast includes loans, investments, or other financing, use this space  to explain what you plan do with that money. 
Sources of Funds 
INSTRUCTIONS: Describe your financing plans. Are you investing your own money in the  business? Do you have a credit card or line of credit? What other types of funds — personal or  business loans, equity investments from others, etc. — do you expect to receive and when? If  you do not have the full detail of future financing worked out yet, that is understandable. Just  explain what you do know and when you expect to sort out the details.
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Statements 
Projected Profit & Loss 
INSTRUCTIONS: Provide a summary of your financial forecast here. You can certainly do this  by yourself, but tools like LivePlan make it much easier. 
FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 
Revenue 
Direct Costs 
Gross Margin 
Gross Margin % 
Operating Expenses 
Salary 
Employee Related Expenses 
Total Operating Expenses 
Operating Income 
Interest Incurred 
Depreciation and Amortization 
Income Taxes 
Total Expenses 
Net Profit 
Net Profit / Sales
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Projected Balance Sheet 
INSTRUCTIONS: Include your balance sheet here. 
FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 
Cash 
Accounts Receivable 
Inventory 
Other Current Assets 
Total Current Assets 
Long-Term Assets 
Accumulated Depreciation 
Total Long-Term Assets 
Total Assets 
Accounts Payable 
Income Taxes Payable 
Sales Taxes Payable 
Short-Term Debt 
Prepaid Revenue 
Total Current Liabilities 
Long-Term Debt 
Total Liabilities 
Paid-in Capital 
Retained Earnings 
Earnings 
Total Owner's Equity 
Total Liabilities & Equity
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Projected Cash Flow Statement 
INSTRUCTIONS: Include your cash flow statement here. 
FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 
Net Cash Flow from Operations 
Net Profit 
Depreciation and Amortization 
Change in Accounts Receivable 
Change in Inventory 
Change in Accounts Payable 
Change in Income Tax Payable 
Change in Sales Tax Payable 
Change in Prepaid Revenue 
Net Cash Flow from Operations 
Investing & Financing 
Assets Purchased or Sold 
Investments Received 
Change in Long-Term Debt 
Change in Short-Term Debt 
Dividends & Distributions 
Net Cash Flow from Investing &  
Financing 
Cash at Beginning of Period 
Net Change in Cash 
Cash at End of Period
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret  information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with  third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Appendix 
Profit and Loss Statement (With Monthly Detail) 
FY2018 Mar '17 Apr '17 May '17 Jun '17 Jul '17 Aug '17 Sep '17 Oct '17 Nov '17 Dec '17 Jan '18 Feb '18 Revenue 
Direct Costs 
Gross Margin 
Gross Margin % 
Operating  
Expenses 
Salary 
Employee  
Related  
Expenses 
Total  
Operating  
Expenses 
Operating  
Income 
Interest Incurred 
Depreciation and  
Amortization 
Income Taxes 
Total Expenses 
Net Profit 
Net Profit /  
Sales
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret information and is shared only with the  understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Profit and Loss Statement (Annual Detail) 
FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 
Revenue 
Direct Costs 
Gross Margin 
Gross Margin % 
Operating Expenses 
Salary 
Employee Related Expenses 
Total Operating Expenses 
Operating Income 
Interest Incurred 
Depreciation and Amortization 
Income Taxes 
Total Expenses 
Net Profit 
Net Profit / Sales
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret information and is shared only with the  understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Balance Sheet (With Monthly Detail) 
FY2018 Mar Apr '17 May '17 Jun '17 Jul '17 Aug '17 Sep '17 Oct '17 Nov '17 Dec '17 Jan '18 Feb '18 '17 
Cash 
Accounts Receivable  
Inventory 
Other Current Assets 
Total Current Assets 
Long-Term Assets  
Accumulated Depreciation  
Total Long-Term Assets 
Total Assets 
Accounts Payable  
Income Taxes Payable  
Sales Taxes Payable  
Short-Term Debt  
Prepaid Revenue 
Total Current Liabilities 
Long-Term Debt 
Total Liabilities 
Paid-in Capital  
Retained Earnings  
Earnings 
Total Owner's Equity 
Total Liabilities & Equity
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret information and is shared only with the  understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Balance Sheet (Annual Detail) 
FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 
Cash 
Accounts Receivable 
Inventory 
Other Current Assets 
Total Current Assets 
Long-Term Assets 
Accumulated Depreciation 
Total Long-Term Assets 
Total Assets 
Accounts Payable 
Income Taxes Payable 
Sales Taxes Payable 
Short-Term Debt 
Prepaid Revenue 
Total Current Liabilities 
Long-Term Debt 
Total Liabilities 
Paid-in Capital 
Retained Earnings 
Earnings 
Total Owner's Equity 
Total Liabilities & Equity
16 
CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret information and is shared only with the  understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Cash Flow Statement (With Monthly Detail) 
FY2018 Mar Apr '17 May '17 Jun '17 Jul '17 Aug '17 Sep '17 Oct '17 Nov '17 Dec '17 Jan '18 Feb '18 '17 
Net Cash Flow from  
Operations 
Net Profit 
Depreciation and  
Amortization 
Change in Accounts  
Receivable 
Change in Inventory 
Change in Accounts Payable 
Change in Income Tax  
Payable 
Change in Sales Tax Payable  
Change in Prepaid Revenue 
Net Cash Flow from  
Operations 
Investing & Financing 
Assets Purchased or Sold  
Investments Received  
Change in Long-Term Debt  
Change in Short-Term Debt  
Dividends & Distributions 
Net Cash Flow from  
Investing & Financing 
Cash at Beginning of Period 
Net Change in Cash 
Cash at End of Period
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret information and is shared only with the  understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 
Your Business Name Here 
Cash Flow Statement (Annual Detail) 
FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 
Net Cash Flow from Operations 
Net Profit 
Depreciation and Amortization 
Change in Accounts Receivable 
Change in Inventory 
Change in Accounts Payable 
Change in Income Tax Payable 
Change in Sales Tax Payable 
Change in Prepaid Revenue 
Net Cash Flow from Operations 
Investing & Financing 
Assets Purchased or Sold 
Investments Received 
Change in Long-Term Debt 
Change in Short-Term Debt 
Dividends & Distributions 
Net Cash Flow from Investing & Financing 
Cash at Beginning of Period 
Net Change in Cash 
Cash at End of Period
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CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret information and is shared only with the  understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with third parties without the express written consent of the plan author.