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Written Business Plan
A Checklist for Your Business Plan
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Strategic Planning
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A Checklist for Your Business Plan
When it comes to strategic planning, your
business plan is crucial to show employees
and investors where you’ve come from,
where you are, where you’re going and
how you’ll get there. This checklist will
help you to cover all the key points.
Executive Summary
4Objectives
The Executive Summary contains the salient points
from each section of the plan.
A statement of the agreed objectives for the year.
1Business Background
List and describe your products and/or services.
For example:
This section contains all the relevant information on
where your business has come from and how it’s set
up. It should include the following:
• History and development of the organisation, e.g.
product development, location, staff
• Date the organisation was formed
• History of management/owner
• Structure of shareholders
• Details of premises (e.g. more than one site)
• Details of partners (e.g. bank, accountant, solicitor, etc)
2Vision
• Long term aim (Q1)
• Purpose (Q2)
• Values (Q3)
• Our Vision
3SWOT Analysis
• What are you good at? (Strengths)
• What lets you down? (Weaknesses)
• What opportunities are there to grow/ develop
your business and/or its market? (Opportunities)
5Products/Services
We have two key product areas:
1IQ computers
We supply the full range of IQ Computers
and are a recognised IQ dealer
2Printers
We supply a full range of print facilities from
the basic home desktop to a full colour copier.
We supply Hewlett Packard, IBM and Canon.
Some organisations may list products/services
rather than product areas. Include any plans for
product/service development.
6Customers
This section should address:
• Who your current customers are
• Who you see as being your customers in the future
• Your customer care programme, if you have one
• Changes you may wish to achieve
• What are the threats and risks
to your organisation? (Threats)
For more advice on Strategic Planning visit
www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/interactive
©Investors in People 2013
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A Checklist for Your Business Plan
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7Market and Competition
9Our People
This section should include:
This section should address the following:
• Identified markets
• Identified competition
• Relevant facts
• Results of any market research
• Any plans you have (e.g. vision or objectives)
• Organisation chart
• Summary of personnel
• Proposed personnel for future
• Strengths of current skill base
• Weaknesses of current skill base
• Labour turnover
• Senior management/manager – responsibility
• CV details (if appropriate)
• Recruitment processes
• Policies & Procedures
• Contracts
8Marketing
This section makes use of the information given
in the previous three sections: Market and
Competition, Customers and Products/Services.
Your marketing plan is a plan within a plan and
should explain how you’ll meet the identified needs
of your customers in the context of the market,
competition and the vision or objectives of the
organisation. The stages involved may include
some or all of the following:
• Identification and analysis of existing
customer needs
• Assessment of existing products/services and their
ability to meet present and future customer needs
in lights of competition
• Analysis of existing position in the market place,
which is best achieved by conducting a SWOT
analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Threats
Strengths and weaknesses are issues internal to
the business, whilst opportunities and threats will
be external issues.
Your marketing plan will arise from aiming
to maximise strengths, minimise weaknesses,
exploit opportunities and eliminate threats.
10 Operations
This section is a description of how products
/services are delivered to customers and how
they are evaluated. It should include:
• Equipment,
• IT systems
• Telephones
• Premises
• Health and Safety
• Health and Hygiene
• Proposed areas for improvement
• Key objectives
11Welcome
This section should state the induction
policy for your organisation. For example:
• All new people will receive a full induction
programme which will introduce them
individually to the organisation
• All people changing roles/receiving promotion
will also receive an introduction to their new
position, tailored to meet their needs
For more advice on Strategic Planning visit
www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/interactive
©Investors in People 2013
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Counsel an Employee
12People Development
14Quality
This section should address:
This section should address the organisations’:
• Your Development Policy
• Quality policy
• How needs are identified and filled
• Quality objectives
• How resources are identified
• Quality initiatives
• Setting of objectives for all development
• Quality plans
• Evaluation of all development
• Links and impact on Business Objectives
15Sales
• Individual Development Plans
Your summary sales plan should be included here.
Include:
• Organisational Development Plans
• Sales objectives
• Cost Benefit Analysis
• Key responsibilities
13Reviews
• Customer segmentation
This section should contain the policy statement
regarding the motivation of your people. It should
address:
16Finance
• The individual, team & organisation
• Who reviews? Who is reviewed?
• When do the reviews take place?
• How are the reviews organised and run?
The content of this section will depend on what
you are using your plan for. It you are using it for
negotiations with the bank, you will want to include
full information. If you are not, you will only want
summary graphs and charts. Typical contents
might include:
• Financial objectives
• Assumptions underlying financial projections
• Sales/Income/Expenditure/Cashflow
• Profit and loss
• Balance sheet
• Cash flow projections
For more advice on Strategic Planning visit
www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/interactive
©Investors in People 2013
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