How long it takes to write a business plan depends on the business’s size and complexity and on how much of the information you already have. A short internal plan for a simple business can be drafted in a day or two. A plan for a bank loan, investor or visa application, with researched market figures and a monthly financial forecast, usually takes one to four weeks.
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.
Why Do I Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is a road map for your business that outlines your goals and how you plan to achieve them. It can also help you secure financing from investors or lenders.
Creating a business plan will not only help you get the business off the ground, but it will also help you understand what is required to keep it running smoothly and what risks may arise.
What Goes into a Business Plan?
A good business plan will cover 8 key areas, which are:
- Executive summary
An overview of your business including the mission statement. See how to write an executive summary.
- Description of your product or service
A detailed description of what you intend to sell and why
The research you have undertaken to prove that this business idea will work
- Sales & Marketing Strategy
Your strategy for selling your product or service and what platforms you will use
- Operational Planning
How your business will run and the people you will need to make it work
The potential risks to your business and where there may be failures, how can these be overcome?
The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your business
- Finances
The most important part, how much money is needed? Detailed, well-researched numbers will help you here.
For more detailed information on what is required for a successful business plan, why not read our 8 Key Elements of a Successful Business Plan.
Where the Time Actually Goes
The writing is rarely the slow part. The time goes into three things:
| Stage | Typical time | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Research | A few days to two weeks | Whether you already know your market, competitors, prices and costs |
| Financial forecast | A day to a week | Whether your sales and cost assumptions are settled, and how complex the business is |
| Writing and revising | Two days to a week | The reader: a visa or investor plan needs more work than an internal one |
If your figures are ready, a professionally written plan can be turned around in as little as 48 hours. If the business is still taking shape, the plan takes as long as the thinking does, and that is time well spent. There is more on what drives the cost of having one written in how much does a business plan cost.
How Long Should Your Business Plan Be?
There is no set length for business plans, but 15-25 pages is a good range to aim for. The key is to include all of the important information without making the plan too long or cumbersome.
A good tip here is to make sure you write your business plan for the intended audience. For example, is your business plan aimed at attracting investors? You should make sure that the finances are front and centre. An investor needs to see how they will make a substantial return; a lender needs to see how the loan will be repaid. There is more on tailoring the plan in who reads a business plan.
If your business plan is going to be read by potential customers or partners, then focus on what value your business can bring them. For example, how will working with you solve their existing problems? And how does that fit in with your overall mission and goals?
Who Should Write My Business Plan?
Ideally, it is best if you write your own business plan. When you are the one in charge of your business, no one knows more about what you do and how to run things than you do. However, this doesn’t mean that putting together a professional document is easy – especially if you don’t know where to start.
If that sounds like you, there are two routes. SquarePlan’s software takes you through each section with questions and builds the financial forecasts as you go, which cuts the time considerably. Or our business plan writing service will write it for you: we gather the facts of your business and turn them into a plan and the financial forecasts that lenders and investors look for, turned around in anything from 48 hours to four weeks.