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Business Plan
& Guidance
Notes
July 2014

For more information please contact:
Iheanyi Ibe
Enterprise Support Officer
Cardiff University Enterprise
Centre for Skills, Enterprise and Volunteering (CSEV)
Students’ Union
Cardiff

Telephone:
Email:

02920 781442
enterprise@cardiff
...
uk

A Guide to Business Planning
Contents of this Guide

What is the Business Plan?

3

The Objectives of the Business Plan

4

Contents of the Business Plan

5

The Executive Summary

6

Company Information

6

Introduction

7

Products and Services

7

Markets and Marketing

9

Management and Personnel

10

Future Developments

10

Finance

11

Appendices

12

What is the Business Plan?
A Business Plan is a document which encapsulates the long-term objectives, medium term goals and
short term forecasts of the business
...
Although some degree of
standardisation is desirable, in practice business plans will vary in content since each reflects the
philosophy and the special circumstances and requirements of the particular business
...

Some points to bear in mind are:


It should describe the company and project concisely and accurately
...

Supplementary information and other supporting material should be included as
appendices
...
A longer forecast period (generally five years) will usually be
necessary where equity finance is to be raised
...
The complete business plan (excluding appendices) should be readable
in half an hour
...


As stated above, there is no standard form of business plan, however this ensures that all aspects of
the business are addressed, a clear and concise presentation is made
...




To use as a planned course & to alert when estimates do not go according to plan
...




To introduce the main income, expenditure and balance sheet items
...




To monitor performance against targets
...
Information should be presented to reinforce these opinions
...




Where you are going
...




What resources will be required
...
Under each
heading there are a number of questions that should be answered, UNLESS CLEARLY NOT
APPLICABLE TO THE ORGANISATION, BUSINESS OR IDEA
...
0

Executive Summary

The executive summary is normally completed last, as it sums up the range of issues covered in the
plan
...
It is normally not
more than one page long, but two is acceptable
...
g
...
g
...
e
...



Total cost of the project, including working capital



Funding sought



Case for grants (where applicable)

2
...
0

Introduction


Mission statement (one or two short sentences will suffice)




History
An overview of how the business evolved and is there clear evidence of transfer of
knowledge from your educational background



Current stake in the business (full owner or shared amongst a group)



Group structure (if applicable)



Key personnel (names and job titles only at this stage)



Premises (current/proposed)
...
e
...
0

Description of current operations, including current turnover, key customers, locations
and staff numbers at each location
...
If it is a particularly complicated
product or service, please explain as if the reader has no prior knowledge
...
Use diagrams if
appropriate
 Unique features
What makes the product/service special, or better than that offered by competitors?
 Product lifecycle
What is the estimated life span of your product/service?
 Research and development
Will there be future (new) product/service development? Describe the mechanisms for
innovation and continuous improvement of a service as well as technological R&D activity
 Intellectual Property Rights
What IPR (patents, trademarks, registered designs) does the company have rights to, who
owns those rights, and under what terms are the rights exercised (e
...
royalty agreement,
license, etc)

 Production methods
Describe briefly how the product/service is manufactured/delivered
 Health and Safety issues
What are the major risks inherent in the production process? What steps does/will the company
take to ensure the health and safety of its workforce and compliance with legislation?
 Costs of production
Per unit of product (raw materials and conversion costs, including direct labour) or the direct
costs of delivering the service
...

 Suppliers
List the principal suppliers of raw materials, components and/or goods for resale
...
How quickly can they deliver from the time of placing the order?
 Capacity
What is the production capacity within the constraints of physical space, machinery and
personnel? Is it sufficient to meet peak demand?
 Stock holding policy
What is the optimum level of each type of raw material stock in terms of day’s production? What
is the shelf life of the stock? How much finished goods stock will be needed to meet demand?
How much storage will be required at times of peak demand? Is a JIT policy in force?
 Quality
What standards apply? How will quality of raw materials and/or of finished goods/services be
assured? What are historical levels of returns, complaints, etc
...
0

Markets and Marketing

Evidence of understanding the market is essential in any business plan, and a clear, costed strategy
must be established for reaching the intended customers
...
For
existing businesses not expanding into new markets it is probably sufficient to provide evidence of
levels of turnover, customer lists and any other supporting information
...

 Overall market size
Back this information up with evidence of original or third party research
...

 Major/Potential customers
Who are they? How much income will you receive from them per year? (Include any letters of
support as appendices)
 Major competitors
Who are they? What are their relative strengths and weaknesses?
 Competitive advantages
I
...
how do you intend to overcome the competition? What is the Unique Selling Point (USP) of
your product/service?
 Marketing strategy
Describe how the company will reach its target market
...
g
...
g
...
Give details as
appropriate
...
g
...
Tabulate the actual/forecast unit
prices for each main product or service
...

Forecast forward how many you expect to sell of each type each month over the next year
(consider seasonal fluctuations and be prudent)
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Summarise and tabulate this information
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6
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Venture
capitalists and banks will look at the experience, qualifications and personal attributes of the
directors and senior managers and base their investment decision on their judgement of the quality
of the management team above any other single factor
...
0

Future Developments

This section deals with the long range strategic direction of the company, and includes aspects
beyond the horizon of the financial projections
...
g
...
Other growth strategies could include franchising or acquisition
...
For instance if the company is heavily reliant on its IT systems, what would be
done in the event of a total systems failure?

8
...
State
whether figures are from final/audited accounts, or from management accounts
...

 Financial forecasts
Summarise and tabulate forecast profit and loss accounts, cash flow forecasts and projected
balance sheets for each year
...
What is the peak
funding requirement?
 Fixed assets
Tabulate and describe existing and proposed new fixed assets (classes and/or major items only)
...
State if any significant disposals are planned
...

 Proposed funding
Tabulate the components of the new funding proposed
...
State whether any other finance has already been secured
...
0

Appendices

As a rule the appendices should give detail to back up or amplify information presented in the main
body of the plan
...
The list of items that follows is indicative rather than prescriptive, and is
not exhaustive
 Business literature
E
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sales brochures, diagrams or drawings
...
g
...
g
...



Copies of patents (or patent applications), registered designs and other IPR owned by
the company

 Detailed project cost
Itemised list of fixed assets to be acquired and other set-up or one-off costs


Quotations (to back up major items listed above)



Audited (or professionally prepared) accounts for last three years



Management accounts covering period between latest accounts and most recent month
end

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