Do I Need a Business Plan — and What Should Actually Be in It?

A business plan is a structured, honest look at what your business does, who it's for, how it will make money, and what it will take to get there. It doesn't need to be long or elaborate for a small business — but it should be specific enough that a stranger reading it would understand exactly what you're planning to do and why it should work.

• Business summary. What the business does, who it serves, and what makes it different — written last, once everything else is clear, even though it usually appears first.

• The market and the customer. Who you're actually selling to, and evidence — not assumption — that they exist and will pay.

• Products or services. What you're offering, and specifically what problem it solves.

• Competition and positioning. Who else serves this customer, and why someone would choose you instead.

• Operations. How the business will actually run day to day — premises, suppliers, equipment, staff.

• Marketing and sales approach. How customers will actually find out you exist and decide to buy.

• Financial projections. Realistic start-up costs, ongoing costs, and expected revenue — the numbers that turn the plan from a story into something testable.

• Goals and milestones. Specific, measurable markers for how you'll know if the business is on track.

A business plan without genuine numbers is really just a description of an idea. The financial projections — start-up costs, ongoing costs, and a realistic revenue estimate — are what let you, or anyone else, actually test whether the idea holds together financially before real money is committed. This is closely related to testing viability specifically, covered in its own guide.

No — particularly for a small, straightforward business. A plan doesn't earn credibility through length; it earns credibility through specificity. A tightly written few pages that clearly answers each of the sections above is more useful, and more likely to actually get used, than a lengthy document assembled to look thorough.

• A plan for yourself. Focused on clarity and honesty — its job is to surface weak assumptions before you've spent money on them.

• A plan for a lender or investor. Needs the same honesty, but presented with more formality and detail around the numbers specifically, since that's what a lender is actually assessing.

• Could someone who's never heard of my business idea understand exactly what it is from my plan?

• Have I included real evidence that customers want this, not just my own belief that they will?

• Do my financial projections include both start-up and ongoing costs, not just the exciting revenue numbers?

• Would I actually use this plan to make decisions, or is it something I wrote once and filed away?

• you're preparing a business plan specifically to support a loan or investment application;

• you want your financial projections stress-tested by someone independent of the excitement of the idea;

• you're not sure your numbers actually add up and want a second opinion before committing; or

• you want help translating a business idea into a plan that's genuinely useful, not just a document.

→ How Do I Know Whether My Business Idea Is Financially Viable Before I Commit?

→ How Much Money Do I Actually Need to Start My Business?

→ How Do I Build a Realistic Business Budget?

SKC Accounting | Knowledge Centre | Knowledge Guide 048

Last reviewed: August 2026

General information only. This guide does not take into account your individual circumstances and is not a substitute for professional accounting, taxation, legal or financial advice.