A business plan is a plan for the economy, for the running of a business, or a specific enterprise. It is used when opening a new company or when expanding a business.

It is also a set of documents in which, based on an assessment of the company’s strategic situation and historical data, a projection is made of the company’s objectives and how they can be achieved, taking into account all the following conditions: finances, market, marketing, the organization itself, human resources and technological background. It covers current activities and the next three to five years.

Application:

● in attracting partners for cooperation and participation in the financing of a planned project,

● in the comprehensive presentation of the creditworthiness of our company,

● when applying for a bank loan (usually the presence of a business plan is a condition for granting a loan). In the case of mortgages, this is a prerequisite,

● in the presentation of an idea to a wide range of decision-makers or external investors,

● to check the investment capabilities of a business partner,

● to establish credibility before an existing or potential business partner,

● in investment control units,

● when applying for ISO certification. The business plan usually constitutes one of the basic ISO procedures in investment and controlling units.

Business plans for companies can be structured differently in terms of content depending on which phase of the life cycle and which market and financial situation the company is in. Furthermore, differences depend on the type of industry, the planned enterprise, the purpose, the size of the company, and the addressees. The structure of the business plan in general comprises certain modules, the content of which can be more or less elaborate.

A typical business plan should contain the following modules:

• a brief introduction with particular emphasis on the main objectives of the business plan
• description of the products or services
• characteristics of the company’s internal situation and external image
• results of marketing analyses (market research, marketing strategy of the company)
• plan for production/service and marketing activities
• forecast of financial effects
• information on management, employees, organizational structure
• ways of controlling the implementation of the planned objectives
• appendices (documents based on which we have created the business plan)