Business Plan Template.

Download Your Free Business Plan Template. 

Download your own free business plan template and jump right into planning your next venture. You can download a free business plan template with Adobe.  

What you'll learn:

What is a Business Plan?

Business plans define core business objectives and the strategies to achieve them, in the form of a written document. They’re key for all types of businesses - whether they’re small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), start-ups or individual entrepreneurs.  

Generally, a straightforward and simple business plan template can be divided into the following five sections: 

• Executive summary
• Business description and structure
• Market analysis and strategies
• Organisation and management
• Financial documents.

Why is a Business Plan important? 

A good business plan can be a vital tool, as it can act as a guide through each stage of starting your company. When you’re lost, it can be your compass to get back to the right track and help you and your team realign with the original vision. Think of it as a map pointing you from now to the future.  

It can also be a helpful document for the relevant external parties, such as investors or lenders.  

Here are some key benefits: 

• Outline and Clarify Goals. Using a business plan template can help you to define and set goals, helping you to easily pitch them when required. It can serve as an excellent touchstone, too. 
• Identify Issues. By clearly outlining plans ahead of time, you may be able to identify issues early - whether in the planning stage or based on the reality of deliverables versus the plan. 
• Secure Financing. Being able to confidently lay out your goals, analysis, forecasted spending, personnel requirements and business structure is a great way to build confidence and potentially secure financing. 
• Measure Progress. By comparing progress against your goals, you can get a sense of a project’s timescale and forecast for any potential disruptions or changes. This means you can stay on track and better adapt to any unknowns. It may help you plan for the future, too. 

How to Write a Business Plan.

Building upon a business plan template may seem daunting - but when you break it down, it’s no more intimidating than planning a trip. Just like a holiday, it requires preparation and organisation, but can be exciting. It’s a chance to see all your ideas come together into something coherent and actionable. 

Important Sections to Include in Your Business Plan Template.

• Business, Products and Key Objectives. This lets you set an overall scope for your business plan and serves as a fundamental part of your company. 
• Target Market and Competition. Analysing your target market and competition lets you make informed business decisions and can help to justify your plan. 
• Sales and Marketing Plans. Detailing your sales and marketing plans can help you to arrange KPIs in the future and show how you’re utilising the data from your market research. 
• Operational Plans. This section details the day-to-day running of your business, giving an in-depth outline of strategies for specific teams or supply chains. 
• Personnel Structure. Writing a personnel structure gives you a sense of key responsibilities and requirements within the wider business. This can be an excellent place to take note of the skills that roles might require, what you already have and what you might need. 
• Financials. Breaking down the operational costs and funding required for your business can help you to set future goals and secure backing if required. 

Having a PDF printable business plan template makes things easier when it comes time to format, print and share it with potential stakeholders. If you want to change the file format of your business plan, you can easily convert PDF to Word  and back again. 

Sharing your business plan as a PDF also allows for easy collaboration, with no subscription required and the ability to add comments, highlights and notes with our free online PDF editor tool.  

Top Tips for Your Business Plan.

Writing a business plan template is easier with these top tips, so you can get off to a smooth start - whatever your project. 

• Be Realistic. Being realistic about your business plan means you can make informed decisions and will have minimal friction as the project progresses. 
• Understand Your Market. By demonstrating an understanding of your market, you can better inform decisions and plan. It also makes your vision an easier sell. 
• Keep it Concise. Don’t waffle on or obscure important facts in jargon. If you want to add additional detail, create an appendix to expand on areas. 
• Stay Professional. This is key, as your business plan serves as a reference point both for internal operations and potential business. 
• Review Your Business Plan. During the process of creating a business plan, certain details may change and mistakes can be made. Review your plan to ensure everything is correct and to double-check if anything needs to change with any new information during the process. You can easily edit business plans in PDF with Adobe Acrobat PDF editor online.