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Structure of a business plan

The purpose of this article is to help in the business plan elaboration. We present a typical structure to develop your business plan.

Structure of a business plan



For the business plan preparation, there is no standard structure or format used for all plans equally, but one must adopt the structure that best creates according to its type of business and the needs or goals of its Plan, either to serve as an implementation guide, to know business viability to get financing, etc.

For example, if the main goal of a business plan is to get a loan, the plan should have well-founded arguments and enough information to convince the project viability and that one will be able to repay the debt in a timely manner, Although it may overlook some parts of the market study or technical study to give more emphasis to financial study.

A structure commonly used in the business plan development is composed of the following parts:

1. Executive Summary


The executive summary is a summary of the other parts that make up the business plan, so despite going to the beginning of the plan, we must develop it after the other parties have completed.

An executive summary usually includes the following elements:


  • The basic data of the business: carry out the name of the business, its place, its type of company (E.I.R.L., S.C., S.A., etc.), etc.
  • The description of the business: a brief description of the business to be performed and/or the product or service to be offered.
  • The differentiating characteristics: the creative characteristics that will count the business, product or service, and that will allow one to differentiate itself from the competition.
  • Competitive advantages: the aspects in which it is going to have a sustainable advantage before the other competitors.
  • Vision and mission: vision statements and business mission.
  • The idea of the need or opportunity of the business: the reasons that prove the proposal or choice of business.
  • Business goals: the goals that we will pursue once the business is launched.
  • Business strategies: the strategies that we will use to meet the goals.
  • The executive team: the people who will be in charge of starting and then managing the business.
  • The investment required: the investment that will be necessary to start-up the business and make it work during the first productive cycle.
  • The expected profitability: the results of the profitability indicators used.
  • Environmental impact: a summary of the environmental impact of the business.
  • The conclusions of the project: the conclusions reached after completing the business plan development.



An executive summary should effectively be a summary capable of showing in a single reading what the business plan consists of, which is why its development should not cover more than three pages.

2. Definition of business


The business definition describes the business to carry out, as well as other aspects related to it, such as the reasons that prove its proposal, its goals, and its strategies.

The business definition usually includes the following elements:


  • The basic data of the business: the name of the business to carry out, its place, its type of company (E.I.R.L., S.C., S.A., etc.), etc.
  • The description of the business: the description of the business to be carried out and/or the product or service to be offered.
  • The differentiating characteristics: the creative characteristics that will count the business, product or service, and that will allow one to differentiate itself from the competition.
  • Competitive advantages: the aspects in which it is going to have a sustainable advantage before the other competitors.
  • The target market: the market or target audience to which the business is to run.
  • Vision and mission: vision statements and business mission.
  • The idea of the need or opportunity of the business: the reasons that prove the proposal or choice of business.
  • Business goals: the goals that we will pursue once the business is launched.
  • Business strategies: the strategies that we will use to meet the goals.

The definition of the business must be able to clearly explain what the business is to be done and/or the product or service to be offered, but at the same time be able to generate interest in them.

3. Market research


In the market study, the analysis of the industry, the analysis of the target market, the forecast of demand and other elements related to the market where the business is going to run developed.

The market study usually comprises the following elements:


  • Analysis of the industry: the analysis and description of the industry or sector in which the business will use (background, evolution, size, growth prospects, main players, etc.).
  • Definition and analysis of the target market: the market definition to be run the business, and the analysis and description of the consumer that conforms (place, age range, tastes, preferences, desires, buying behaviors, consumption habits, Customs, attitudes, etc.).
  • Analysis of the competition: the analysis and description of the future competitors of the business (measure, leaders or principal, place, experience, productive capacity, strategies, prices, points of sale, advertising, strengths, weaknesses, etc.).
  • Analysis and forecast of demand: the analysis and forecast of the demand that will have the business for the time in which the business plan projected.
  • Marketing analysis: the analysis and development of the commercial strategies or marketing strategies that we will use to serve the target market.
  • Supplier market analysis: the analysis and description of the suppliers that the business will have or could have (place, supply or production levels, lines of credit, prices, guarantees, payment facilities, etc.).


For the market study development, it is necessary to carry out a market research in advance using information collection techniques such as the survey and the focus group.

4. Technical study


The technical study describes the physical requirements necessary for the business operation, its production process and the infrastructure, size and other characteristics of the place where it will work.

The technical study usually includes the following elements:


  • Physical requirements: physical elements that will be necessary for the business operation (land, buildings, machinery, equipment, tools, vehicles, furniture, supplies, etc.).
  • The business process: the phases or stages that will shape the business processes (processes of purchasing, storage, production, distribution, sales, etc.).
  • The place of business: the description of the place where the business will work (infrastructure, size, place, productive capacity, plant layout, etc.).


For a better description of the elements that make up the technical study, it is advisable to make use of tools such as charts, graphs, flowcharts or flowcharts, drawings, etc.

5. Business organization


The business organization describes the legal and organizational structure of the business, the areas or departments that will make it, and other elements related to them.

The business organization usually includes the following elements:


  • The legal structure: the legal form under which the business will be legally constituted (natural person or legal entity), its type of company (E.I.R.L., S.C., S.A., etc.), etc.
  • The organizational structure: the type of organization that will have the business (functional, by-product, matrix, etc.), the areas or departments that will shape it, and the hierarchical relationships that will be between them.
  • Charges and functions: the positions or positions that will have each area or department of the business, and the functions, tasks, obligations, responsibilities, bosses and subordinates that each will have.
  • The requirement of people: the people we will need for each place or place of the business, and the profile that a person must have to be able to apply to each one of them (experience, knowledge, skills, etc.).
  • Personnel expenses: salaries, wages, and benefits assign to each place.
  • Information systems: how the information we will record, processed and distributed in the business.
  • The profile of the executive team: the profile of the people are already counted to set up and then manage the business (experience, achievements, knowledge, skills, etc.).


For a better description of the elements that make up the business organization also advisable to make use of tools such as tables, flowcharts, flowcharts, etc.

6. Investment study


The investment study indicates the investment that we will need to start-up the business and make it work during the first productive cycle and the needed financing.

The study of investment usually includes the following elements:


  • Fixed assets: the fixed or tangible assets that we will need before starting operations (land, buildings, buildings, infrastructure, machinery, equipment, tools, vehicles, furniture, etc.), and the investment we will make in them.
  • Intangible assets: the intangible assets that we will need before starting operations (market research, product design, legal business constitution, licensing and permits, staff choice and training, opening marketing, etc.), and The investment that we will make in these.
  • Working Capital: the elements that will include working capital (inputs, products in process, finished products, packaging, stationery, basic services, administrative and sales forms, maintenance, municipal taxes, advertising, insurance, etc.) And the investment that will be made in these.
  • Total investment: the total investment of the project (the sum of the investment in fixed assets, intangible assets and working capital).
  • The structure of the financing: the amount or percentage of the investment that will be financed with own capital and the amount or percentage that will be financed with external capital.
  • Sources of financing: a description of the external financing sources to be used and the credits they will grant (amount, term, cost, etc.).


In general, the investment study shows what is the needed capital to run the business, what the capital will be used for, and how it will be obtained or will be sought.

7. Study of income and expenses


In the study of income and expenses, the projections of income and expenses of the developed business for the time in which the business plan is projected.

The study of income and expenditure usually includes the following elements:


  • Income budgets (sales budget, collection budget, etc.).
  • Expenditure budgets (budget of purchases, payments budget, budget, of administrative expenses, budget, of expenses of sales, the payment budget of the debt, etc.).
  • The break calculation -even point.
  • The budget of cash or projected cash flow.
  • Operating budget or projected profit and loss statement.
  • The projected balance sheet.


The time in which a business plan is projected usually depends on the goals of the plan and the type of business to carry out, being the usual business plans with projections to 1, 3 or 5 years.

8. Financial study


In the financial study is developed the period calculation of the investment recovery and the business profitability.

The financial study usually includes the following elements:


  • The period of recovery of the investment: the calculation of the time that will take to recover the invested capital.
  • The return on investment: the business profitability according to the financial index of return on investment (ROI).
  • The NPV and the IRR: the business profitability according to the financial indexes of the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR).


The idea of the financial study is to show that the project is profitable, how long will the investment be recovered, and how much we expect to be obtained by this.