website. (BEC) for assistance with your business planning process. (BEC) for assistance with your business planning process.| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Insert your business logo | Adding a logo helps give your business a more professional image. If you are just starting out and do not have a logo, you can remove this section. | — |
| Your name | Enter the business owner's name. Enter multiple names if there are multiple owners. | — |
| Your title | The titles of the business owner(s) listed above. E.g. Owner/Manager | — |
| Business name | Enter your business name as registered in your state/territory. If you have not registered your business name, add your proposed business name | Visit our Register your business name page. |
| Main business address | Enter your main business address. This can be your home address if you are a home-based business or your head office if you have more than one location. | — |
| ABN | Enter your Australian Business Number. If you are a business and have registered for an ABN enter it here. | Visit our Register for an Australian Business Number (ABN) page. |
| ACN | Enter your Australian Company Number. Only fill this in if you are a company. | Visit our Register your company page. |
| Prepared | The date you finished preparing your business plan. | — |
| Table of Contents | If you have changed this template in any way, please remember to update the table of contents to reflect the changes. | — |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Enter your business name as registered in your state/territory. If you have not registered your business name, add your proposed business name. | Visit our Register your business name page. |
| Business structure | Is your business a sole trader, partnership, trust or company? | Visit our Business structurestopic. |
| ABN | Enter your Australian Business Number (ABN). If you are a business and have registered for an ABN enter it here. | Visit our Register for an Australian Business Number (ABN) page. |
| ACN | Enter your Australian Company Number (ACN). Only fill this in if you are a company. | Visit our Register your company page. |
| Business location | Enter your main business location. Briefly describe the location and space occupied/required. | — |
| Date established | The date you started trading. Whether it was the date you opened your doors or the date your purchased business opened its doors. | — |
| Business owner(s) | List the names of all business owners. | — |
| Relevant owner experience |
Briefly outline your experience and/or years in the industry and any major achievements/awards. Keep this brief and try to include only your relevant experience and main achievements. You will have an opportunity to go into more detail under the Management & ownership section. |
Visit our What skills do I need to start a business?page. |
| Products/services | What products/services are you selling? What is the anticipated demand for your products/services? These answers should briefly summarise your answers under the main products/services section. | — |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Target market |
Who are you selling to? Why would they buy your products/services over others? This answer should briefly summarise your answers under the main Market section. |
Visit our Researching your market page. |
| Marketing strategy |
How do you plan to enter the market? How do you intend to attract customers? How and why will this work? This answer should briefly summarise your answers under the main Market section. |
Visit our Marketing topic. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Vision statement | The vision statement briefly outlines your future plan for the business. It should state clearly what your overall goals for the business are. | — |
| Goals/objectives | What are your short & long term goals? What activities will you undertake to meet them? | — |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| The finances |
Briefly outline how much profit you intend on making in a particular timeframe. How much money will you need up-front? Where will you obtain these funds? What portion will you be seeking from other sources? How much of your own money are you contributing towards the business? Your answers can be quite brief in the summary. They should give the reader a quick idea of your current financial position. Where you are heading financially and how much you need to get there. You can provide more detail in the main Finances section. |
Visit our Business financestopic. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Business purpose | What is the main business purpose? What does it sell? | — |
| Business size | Number of employees? Estimated/actual annual turnover? | — |
| Operating history | What is the business background? How long has the business been operating? What is your progress to date? | — |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Enter your business name as registered in your state/territory. If you have not registered your business name, add your proposed business name | Visit our Register your business name page. |
| Trading name(s) | Enter your registered trading name or names. Your trading name is the name you will use to trade under. It is the name that appears on your marketing and advertising material. If you have multiple trading names, list them and explain the purpose of each name. | Visit our How do I choose a business name?page. |
| Date registered | The date that appears on your business name registration. | — |
| Location(s) registered | Enter the state(s) you have registered your business name. If your business is located in more than one state, you will need to register your business name in each state. | Visit our Register your business name page. |
| Business structure | Is your business a sole trader, partnership, trust or company? | Visit our Business structurestopic. |
| ABN | If you have registered an Australian Business Number (ABN), then enter it here. | Visit our Register for an Australian Business Number (ABN) page. |
| ACN | Enter your Australian Company Number (ACN). Fill this in if you are a registered company. | Visit our Register your company page. |
| GST | If you are registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST), then enter the date you registered with the Tax office. | Visit our Register for Goods & Services Tax (GST) page. |
| Domain names | If you are planning on setting up a website for your business, you may also like to register a domain name to match your registered business name. List any domain names you have registered and plan to use in the business. | Visit our Register your domain name page. |
| Licences & permits | List all the licences or permits you have registered. These will vary depending on your type of business and location. Some examples include a tradesperson certificate, travel agents licence, or kerbside café permit. | Visit our Registrations and licences page. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Business location | Enter your main business location. Describe the location and space occupied/required. What is the size of the space you occupy/require?Which city or town? Where in relation to landmarks/main areas? If you have a retail business, where are you located in relation to other shops? What is the retail traffic like? | — |
| Buy/lease |
If you have purchased a business premises or are currently leasing, briefly outline the arrangements. These can include purchase price, length of the lease agreement, rental cost or lease terms. If you are still looking for a lease or property, outline your commercial lease or purchase requirements and any utilities/facilities required. |
Visit our Buy or lease a business premises page. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Figure 1: Organisation chart | The organisation chart is a quick way of representing your business structure. If you are still recruiting staff, you may wish to include a proposed structure and label it appropriately. I.e. you could add 'Vacant' to the positions that are currently vacant or you could label the whole chart as a 'Proposed Organisation Chart'. | — |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Names of owners | List the names of all business owners. | — |
| Details of management & ownership | As the owner(s), will you be running the business or will a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) be running the business on your behalf? What will be your involvement? If it is a partnership, briefly outline for each partner their percentage share, role in the business, the strengths of each partner and whether you have a partnership agreement/contract in place? | — |
| Experience | What experience do the business owner(s) have? Why should people invest in you? How many years have you owned or run a business? List any previous businesses owned/managed. List any major achievements/awards. What other relevant experience do you have? Don’t forget to attach your resume(s) to the back of your plan. | — |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Current staff table | List your current staff in the table provided. Outline each job title, name of the employee in the position, the expected staff turnover for the position and each employee's relevant skills or strengths. You may also like to attach a copy of their resume to the back of your plan. | Visit our Employing people topic. |
| Required staff table | List your required staff in the table provided. These are current vacant positions. Outline each job title, quantity of each type of position, the expected staff turnover for the position, the required skills or strengths needed and the date you require this position to be filled. | Visit our Recruitment page. |
| Recruitment options | How do you intend on obtaining your required staff? Advertising in the local paper, online advertising, and/or training current staff members? | Visit our Recruitment page. |
| Training programs | Are there any training programs you will be organising in the event you cannot find the required skills? Are these in-house or external providers? What training will you as the business owner/manager undertake to keep your skills current? | Visit our Skills and trainingtopic. |
| Skill retention strategies | What procedural documentation will you provide to ensure the skills of staff are maintained? Do you have an appropriate allocation of responsibilities? How are responsibilities documented and communicated to staff? What internal processes will you implement to regularly check that the current skills of staff members are still appropriate for the business? | Visit our Skills and trainingtopic. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Product/services table | List each product/service your business currently offers. Provide a description and unit price (including GST) amount for each. | — |
| Market position | Where do your products/services fit in the market? Are they high-end, competitive or a low cost alternative to the products/services offered by your competitors? How does this compare to your competitors? | — |
| Unique selling position | How will your products/services succeed in the market where others may have failed? What gives your products/services the edge? | — |
| Anticipated demand | What is the anticipated quantity of products/services your customers are likely to purchase? For example, how much will an individual customer buy in 6 months or 12 months? | — |
| Pricing strategy |
Do you have a particular pricing strategy? Why have you chosen this strategy? To help you develop your pricing strategy, you could refer to your customer research, market position, anticipated demand and costs/expenses to get an idea. Whatever strategy you use when setting your price, you will also need to adhere to any relevant fair trading legislation or codes of conduct. |
Visit our Fair trading laws page for your state fair trading office contact details. |
| Value to customer | How do your customers value your products/services? Are they a necessity, luxury or something in between? | — |
| Growth potential |
What is the anticipated percentage growth of the product in the future? What will drive this growth? To help you determine this growth potential, you could refer to your region/industry research to get an idea of any industry/regional growth that could affect your business in a positive way. |
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| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Research & development (R&D)/ innovation activities | What R&D activities will you implement to encourage innovation in your business? What financial and/or staff resources will you allocate? | Visit our How do I make my business more innovative?page. |
| Intellectual property strategy |
How do you plan to protect your innovations? List any current trade marks, patents, designs you have registered. Do you have confidentiality agreements in place? Protecting your innovations can include registering for intellectual property protection, ensuring your staff sign a confidentiality agreement, and generally ensuring your competition does not find out what you are developing. |
See the IP Australia website for information on protecting your innovations. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Workers compensation | Provide details if you have workers compensation insurance? This is mandatory if you have employees. | Visit our People insurance page. |
| Public liability insurance | Provide details if you have public liability insurance? This covers any third party death or injury. | Visit our Liability insurance page. |
| Professional indemnity | Provide details if you have professional indemnity insurance? This covers any legal action taken out as a result of your professional advice. | Visit our Liability insurance page. |
| Product liability | Provide details if you have product liability insurance? This covers any legal action taken out as a result of injury, damage or death from your product. | Visit our Liability insurance page. |
| Business assets | Provide details if you have insured your business assets in the event of a fire, burglary, or damage? This insurance covers things like buildings, contents and motor vehicles. | Visit our Assets & revenue insurance page. |
| Business revenue | Provide details if you have insured your business in the event of business interruption where you cannot trade because of a particular event and are unable to make money? | Visit our Assets & revenue insurance page. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Risk management table |
List the potential risks (in order of likelihood) that could impact your business. For each risk, detail the following in the table provided: · A description of the risk and the potential impact to your business. · The likelihood of this risk happening - either highly unlikely, unlikely, likely, or highly likely. · The level of impact it may have on your business – high, medium or low. · Your strategies for minimising/mitigating each potential risk. |
Visit our Risk management page. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Legal considerations |
List the legislation which will have some impact on the running of your business. For example: consumer law, business law, or specific legislation to your industry. List the legislation in order of the most impact on your business. You should also detail what you will do or have already done to ensure you comply. For example if you are in the financial services industry and you provide financial advice to your customers, you should include the Corporations Act 2001 and your AFS licence details (if registered already). You may also like to include details about your disclosure and general obligations. |
Visit our Legal essentials for business Page. Visit the Australian Securities & Investments Commission Financial services page. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Production process | What is the process involved in producing your products/services. This process will vary depending on your product/service. Here are some examples of questions you may consider. Is there a manufacturing process? Who is involved in the process? Are there any third parties involved? What is involved in delivering the service to your customers? | — |
| Suppliers | Who are your main suppliers? What do they supply to your business? How will you maintain a good relationship with them? | — |
| Plant and equipment table |
List your current plant and equipment purchases. These can include vehicles, computer equipment, phones and fax machines. For each item include the equipment name, purchase date, purchase price and running cost. If you have not purchased all of your equipment yet, you can include a separate table and include an expected purchase date. |
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| Inventory table |
List your current inventory items in the table supplied. You can include inventory item name, unit price, quantity in stock and the total cost (i.e. unit price multiplied by quantity in stock). If you have a substantial inventory, you may prefer to attach a full inventory list to the back of your business plan. |
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| Technology (software) |
What technology do you require? For example: website, point of sale software or accounting package? What will be the main purpose for each? Will they be off-the-shelf or purpose built? What is the estimated cost of each technology solution? Even though this section focuses on software (as your hardware will be listed above in your plant and equipment table), for more clarity you may also wish to give a brief description of hardware including servers, specialised technology and computer equipment required. |
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| Trading hours | What are your trading hours?What are your expected peak trading times? Which times do you expect to be more profitable? How will this change over different seasons? How do your trading hours accommodate these changes? | — |
| Communication channels | How can your customers get in contact with you? These channels can include: telephone (landline/mobile), post box, shopfront, email, fax, internet blog or social media channel. If you have chosen only a few channels you may wish to include your strategy behind this. | — |
| Payment types accepted | What payment types will you accept? Cash, credit, cheque, gift cards, Paypaletc | — |
| Credit policy | What is your credit policy for customers/suppliers? How long is the credit period? What are your collection strategies/procedures? What credit does your business receive? What are the terms? | — |
| Warranties & refunds | If you manufacture certain goods, what are the warranty terms? What is your business refund/exchange policy? | Visit our Warranties & refunds page. |
| Quality control | Describe your quality control process. What checks or balances do you have in place to ensure the product or service you offer is produced to the same standard of quality? What steps do you take to meet product safety standards? | Visit our Product safety & standards page. |
| Memberships and affiliations | Is your business a member of any particular industry association or club? Do you have any affiliations with any other organisation? | — |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental/ resource impacts |
Describe the impact your business could potentially have on the environment. E.g. a particular manufacturing process produces carbon emissions. To help you answer this question, you could consider conducting an environmental audit. |
Visit our Environmental planning & auditing page. |
| Community impact and engagement | How does your environmental impact affect the local community? How can you engage the community in minimising your impact? | Visit our Minimising your impact page. |
| Risks/constraints | List any risks/constraints to your business resulting from this environmental impact? | Visit our Risk management page. |
| Strategies | What strategies will you implement to minimise/mitigate your environmental impact and any risks to your business? Will you conduct an environmental audit? Have you introduced an Environmental management system? |
Visit our Environmental planning & auditing page. Visit our Environmental management systems page. |
| Action plan table | List your key sustainability/environmental milestones in the table provided? Detail each sustainability milestone, the target you are trying to achieve and when you expect to reach each target. For example: Reducing water consumption by 60% before 2016. | — |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Market research | What statistical research have you completed to help you analyse your market? Did you use a survey/questionnaire? If so, you may like to attach a copy of your survey/questionnaire to the back of this plan. | Visit our Researching your market page. |
| Market targets | Outline your planned sales targets. What quantity of your products/services do you plan to sell in a planned timeframe? Are they monthly or yearly targets? For example, you may set yourself a goal of selling 1 000 products in 12 months. | — |
| Environmental/industry analysis |
Detail the results of the market research you have performed. Is the area experiencing population growth? Are there long-term employers in the area? Is the region's economy stable? Are there seasonal variations? What is the size of the market? What recent trends have emerged in the market? What growth potential is available and where do you fit in? How will the market/customers change when you enter the market? A good place to start when researching your regional profile is the Australian Bureau of Statistics website. The regional profile information includes economy, population/people, industry and environment/energy statistics. |
Visit our Market research & statistics topic. Visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Regional Profile page. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Customer demographics | Define who your target customers are and how they behave. You can include age, gender, social status, education and attitudes. |
Download the Social Trends series from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website. |
| Key customers | Identify your key customers. (These can be large consumers of your products or individuals whose satisfaction is key to the success of your business.) How will you target your products/service to them? | — |
| Customer management | How will you maintain a good relationship with your customers? What techniques will you use? How will you keep your customers coming back? Have you introduced customer service standards? Do you follow any particular code of practice? | Visit our Customer service page. Visit our Codes of Practice page. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| S.W.O.T. analysis table | List each of your businesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats in the table supplied and then outline what you will do about each of the weaknesses/threats. | — |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Your competitors | How do you rate against your competitors? How can your business improve on what they offer? | — |
| Competitor details table |
List at least 5 competitors in the table. For each competitor enter: · Competitor: Competitor name · Established date: When were they established? · Size: Number of staff and/or turnover · Market share (%): Estimated percentage of market share · Value to customers: Unique value to customers. Why they would do business with your competitor? For example: convenience, quality, price or service? · Strengths: What are your competitor's main strengths? · Weaknesses: What are your competitor's main weaknesses? |
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| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising and promotional strategy table |
What strategies do you have for promoting and advertising your products/services in the next 12 months? For each promotion/advertising: What is the promotion/advertising type (e.g. Print media advertising, online advertising, mail-out, giveaway, media release, social media campaign or event) How do you expect it will improve your business success? What is the cost of each planned activity? When do you expect to complete each activity? |
Visit our Marketingtopic. |
| Sales and marketing objectives | Who makes up your sales team? What sales techniques will they use? What tools/material will they use to help sell your products/services? What sales goals/targets will they meet? | Visit our Marketingtopic. |
| Unique selling position | Why do you have an advantage over your competitors? How will your products/services succeed in the market where others may have failed? | — |
| Sales and distribution channels table |
For each channel enter: · Channel type: e.g. Shopfront, internet, direct mail, export or wholesale · Products/services: List all the products/services sold via this channel · Percentage of sales: What percentage of overall sales do you expect to sell via this channel? · Advantages: What advantages are there of using this channel for these products? · Challenges: What challenges do you expect to face using this channel? How will you overcome them? |
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| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Vision statement | What is your business' vision statement? It should briefly outline your future plan for the business and include your overall goals. | — |
| Mission statement | What is your business' mission statement I.e. how will you achieve your vision? | — |
| Goals/objectives | What are your short & long term goals? What activities will you undertake to meet them? | — |
| Action plan table |
What are the business milestones that you need to complete starting from today? When do you expect to complete them? Who is responsible for delivering this milestone? Please note: This table does not include sustainability milestones as they are listed in the sustainability section above. |
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| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Financial objectives | List your key financial objectives. These can be in the form of sales targets or profit targets. You could also list your main financial management goals such as cost reduction targets. | — |
| Finance required | How much money up-front do you need? Where will you obtain the funds? What portion will you be seeking from loans, investors, business partners, friends or relatives, venture capital or government funding? How much of your own money are you contributing towards the business? | Visit our Business financestopic. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Assumptions | List your financial assumptions. These can include seasonal adjustments, drought, economy or interest rates etc. | — |
| Start-up costs for [YEAR] table |
Preparing your start-up costs table The start-up costs table example contains a list of suggested costs a typical business may incur in its first year of operation. Please take these into consideration when preparing your start-up costing.Please note: The table assumes all figures are GST inclusive. Estimating costs Whether you have already started or intending to start you will need to fill in Actual or Estimated figures against the items in the table. If using estimated costs, please label them clearly. |
See our Prepare financial reports page in our Business finances topic. |
| Balance sheet forecast table |
Preparing your balance sheet forecast The balance sheet forecast example contains a list of suggested assets and liabilities a typical business may have. Please take these into consideration when preparing your balance sheet forecast.Please note: The table assumes all figures are GST inclusive. Calculations · Net assets equals Total assets minus Total liabilities. |
See our Prepare financial reports page in our Business finances topic. |
| Profit & loss forecast table |
Preparing your profit & loss forecast The profit and loss forecast example contains a list of suggested profit items and expenses a typical business may have. Please take these into consideration when preparing your profit & loss forecast. Please note: The table assumes all figures are GST inclusive. Calculations: · Gross profit/net sales equals Sales minus cost of goods sold minus any other expenses related to the production of a good or service. · Net profit equals Gross profit/net sales minus Total expenses. |
See our Prepare financial reports page in our Business finances topic. |
| Expected cash flow table |
Preparing your cash flow statement The Expected cash flow example contains a list of suggested incoming and outgoing cash items a typical business may have. Please take these into consideration when preparing your cash flow statement. Please note: The table assumes all figures are GST inclusive. Calculations: · Opening balance equals Closing balance of previous month. · Monthly cash balance equals Total incoming minus Total outgoing. · Closing balance equals Opening balance plus Total incoming minus Total outgoing. |
See our Prepare financial reports page in our Business finances topic. |
| Break-even analysis table |
Calculations: · Percentage of price that is profit equals (Average price of each product/service sold minus Average cost of each product/service to make/deliver) divided by Average price of each product/service sold. · Total sales needed to break-even equals Number of units sold needed to break-even multiplied by Average price of each product/service sold. · Number of units sold needed to break-even equals Fixed costs for the month/year divided by (Average price of each product/service sold minus Average cost of each product/service to make/deliver). |
See our Analyse your finances page in our Business finances topic. |
| Question | Explanation | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Supporting documentation | List all of your attachments here. These may include resumes, inventory list, survey/questionnaire and/or financial documents. | — |