Expert advice, industry insights, and practical tips to help you create successful business plans and grow your venture.
A business plan written once and filed stops being useful within months. How often to review it, which parts to update monthly, quarterly and yearly, and the events that mean it needs rewriting now.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
A bank manager, an investor, a visa assessor, a landlord and a grant funder all read business plans, and they read them for different things. Who your readers are, what each one checks first, and how to write for them.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Cash, not profit, is what keeps a new business open. Practical ways to manage cash flow in the first year: forecasting it, getting paid faster, timing what you spend, setting tax aside and knowing your lowest point before you reach it.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Most new businesses that close do so for a handful of predictable reasons, and nearly all of them show up in the numbers long before the doors shut. The common causes, and how a business plan catches them early.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Endorsement is where most Innovator Founder applications succeed or fail. How the endorsing body assesses your business, the questions to expect at interview, and the weaknesses that lead to a refusal.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
The Innovator Founder visa is the UK route for people setting up an innovative business. Who is eligible in 2026, what it costs, the endorsing bodies that assess you, and what your business plan has to prove.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Saying you have no competitors is the fastest way to lose a lender's confidence. How to find the businesses you are really competing with, what to compare, and how to turn it into numbers your forecast can use.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
The executive summary is the only page some readers finish. What it has to contain, the order that works, the mistakes that make a lender stop reading, and a structure you can follow for your own plan.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Every free template shows you how to build a cash flow forecast. None of them tell you what happens when an assessor reads it. The four things they look at, in the order they look at them, and what to do when the forecast says no.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Business plan writers, consultants and advisors do different jobs at very different prices. A guide to which one your situation calls for — and how to avoid paying for the wrong one.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
What UK business plan writers, consultants and software actually charge in 2026 — the price ranges, what drives them up, and how to work out which option is worth it for your situation.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
AI tools can be incredibly useful for certain aspects of business planning, from market research to content generation. But when it comes to the financial backbone of your plan, AI has significant limitations. Here's how to use AI effectively and where specialist software like SquarePlan makes all the difference.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
We're excited to announce the launch of SquarePlan Business Plan Software - an affordable, UK-focused tool designed to help startups create professional business plans without the complexity of traditional options.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Making Tax Digital (MTD) is changing how self-employed individuals manage their taxes. Learn what these changes mean for you, key deadlines, and how to prepare for digital tax compliance.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Sole trader or limited company? A plain-English comparison for UK businesses, with 2026/27 tax figures — and why the old advice about incorporating above £40,000 no longer holds.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Discover when to use DIY business planning software versus hiring a professional consultant. Learn which approach works best for your UK startup based on your funding needs, complexity, and business goals.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Every start-up faces uncertainty. How to identify, assess and manage the risks in your business plan, with examples of strategic, operational, financial, compliance and reputational risks.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
What a well-written business plan does for a UK start-up: what it should contain, what the research says about planning and growth, and how to choose a business plan writer if you want help.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
As a small business owner in the UK, one of the bigger decisions you will face is whether to employ a finance director. What an FD does, when you need one, and the cheaper alternatives for a smaller business.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Market research is a vital component of a successful business plan, providing essential insights into your target audience, industry trends, and competition. In this article, we explore the importance of market research and share cost-effective methods to conduct it yourself, empowering you to create a well-informed business plan that lays the foundation for success.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
What a professional business plan writer actually does for a start-up: turning your knowledge into a plan a lender or investor can assess, building projections that hold up, and testing the idea before you commit.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
If you're wondering whether you can invoice without a company, the answer is yes! Whether you're an independent contractor or just starting out, invoicing without a company is possible - and it isn’t complicated.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Having a business plan will equip you with a clearer understanding of your business strategy and the current market. Whilst it doesn’t guarantee success on its own, it gives you a much better chance and prepares you for the risks.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Yes — and this guide covers who writes business plans in the UK, what it costs, when hiring is worth it, and when writing it yourself will get you a better result.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
A business plan is a formal document that outlines the goals and objectives of a business. It also provides a roadmap for how the company will achieve those goals. While a SWOT analysis is not required in a business plan, it can help identify potential opportunities and threats that may impact the business's success and therefore define your business's financial viability.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
You may be wondering if you can protect your business idea via your business plan. The truth is it's a little more complicated than that. Read this article to find out what you can do.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Despite the selling fees, an eBay business can be a lucrative income stream. With well over a hundred million active buyers worldwide, eBay is a huge marketplace with real opportunity for sellers. A complete guide to starting one in the UK.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
A business plan is an essential document for your business and will define your business's overall strategy and finances. It is also a tool to attract investors to your business, so it is vital to make sure that it is thoroughly researched. How long does it take to get that done?
By Clive Unitt FCA 
Is it possible to run two businesses under one company? We look at how trading names work, the VAT consequences, and the pros and cons of doing it.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
If you are thinking about starting a website, one of the first things you may be wondering is if you need to register your site as a business. The answer to this question depends on a few factors, including what type of website you plan on running and what kinds of activities you'll be doing through your site. We outline what you need to think about in this post.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
If you've just come into some money and are wanting to escape the 9-5, you may be wondering what sort of business can you start with £50,000. There are many viable opportunities out there for all kinds of people and more often than not it comes down to your passion and skills.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
If you want to start a business, it's important to have a solid business plan in place. This document will outline your goals, strategies, and how you plan on achieving them.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
A business plan describes a whole business and whether it will work. A business case argues for one decision inside a business that already exists. When you need which, and what goes into each.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
A business is financially viable when it can cover its costs, make a profit and pay its bills as they fall due, now and for the foreseeable future. What that means in practice, how it differs from solvency, and how a business plan tests it.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
An effective mission statement works as a fundamental tool for your business. It will outline what your business does, the audience your business serves and how it can benefit them. A mission statement provides clarity on why your business exists.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
What to say about technology in a business plan: the systems you will run on, what they cost each month, how you will protect customer data, and when technology is the business rather than a support to it.
By Clive Unitt FCA 
If you’ve always wanted to pursue your dream of opening your own bar, success is not totally out of reach. With the right skills and know-how, you’ll have everything you need to get your bar off the ground and keep the customers rolling in. We’ve created this step-by-step guide to starting a bar business, so you can reap the rewards of being a successful business owner.
By Clive Unitt FCA Whether you need professional assistance or prefer to do it yourself with our software, we're here to help you succeed.