Many companies spend weeks preparing a sales presentation to a customer, but overlook the necessity of taking the same care when dealing with their bank manager or a potential investor.

Banks and investors look for detailed information to accompany an application for funds. Therefore management need to be able to write an effective business plan in order to raise money.

In this booklet we show you how to go about writing a successful business plan not only for these external purposes but also as an important management tool for internal purposes.

Most of the comments in this booklet apply equally to manufacturing and service companies. For convenience, however, we have tended to refer only to manufacturing and products rather than to service and services. It will be readily apparent which comments apply to both types of industry and which refer to manufacturing alone.

If you require any further information regarding the matters dealt with in this guide, please contact your local Deloitte office. A list is given at the back of this booklet.

Download The business plan: Writing a successful business plan

PDF format, 151KB, 34Pages. Published by Deloitte & Touche LLP.

What is a business plan?

In simple terms a business plan is a document which:

• sets out your company’s plans;
• shows how those plans can be achieved; and
• demonstrates that the planned outcome meets the requirements of the reader.

The business plan should describe your company and project concisely and accurately. However, a business plan is also a selling document and the description should therefore also be attractive.

Whilst the business plan should recognise that your project will not be a stationary target, it should show the current status, current needs and future prospects of the project. The plan should also emphasise the strengths of your company but at the same time be realistic about its problems – and how you propose to overcome or minimise them.

What purpose does a business plan serve?

Any fund raising application will almost certainly require the submission of a business plan. This applies equally to banks for overdrafts and loans, government departments for grants, and venture capital investors for loans or equity.

Many parent companies also require subsidiaries to submit a business plan every year.

However, business plans are not just for external purposes. They are also an important planning document for a company’s own management.

In this chapter we briefly discuss what each of these potential readers of a business plan will want to see covered in order to assess whether their own particular requirements have been satisfied.

What do readers want to see?

Every reader will want to be attracted by the potential of your company or project but at the same time satisfied with the risks involved. But what are their own particular criteria? ...

Hoover's Profile: Deloitte & Touche LLP

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Deloitte & Touche LLP touches on all aspects of accounting in the US. The firm is the US accounting arm of Big Four accountancy Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. In the US, Deloitte & Touche offers auditing and management consulting services (which together generate about three-quarters of its revenues), as well as other related services. Specialization areas include services for Asian businesses and mergers and acquisitions advisory services. Deloitte & Touche has operations in 90 US cities. Deloitte & Touche USA LLP is intermediate parent to Deloitte & Touche LLP as well as to other US subsidiaries that offer tax, consulting, and financial advisory services.

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