Company and proposition

Your registered legal form, e.g. sole trader, limited company. Choose "Not yet decided" if you haven't registered anything yet.

If your business spans more than one industry, tick as many as genuinely apply. Most businesses only need one or two.

Where the business is right now: an idea not yet launched, newly trading, or established.

Objectives

How far you plan to reach: just your local area, the whole country, or abroad.

What matters most overall: steady profit, fast growth, social impact, or a lasting family business.

How soon you expect to reach the primary objective above.

How fast you want to grow, not what you sell. A steady lifestyle business is a valid choice, not a lesser one.

The next concrete thing you're working towards, e.g. "opening the first shop" or "signing the first 10 customers".

Market and customer

Who actually buys from you: the general public, other businesses, or government/public sector bodies.

Where you sit relative to competitors already in your market.

The main reason customers choose you over the alternatives.

Naming real competitors makes a plan far more credible than describing the market in the abstract.

Your actual marketing and sales approach, not just where you deliver the product.

Operating model and team

How customers actually receive what you sell.

Whether you do the work yourself in-house, outsource it, or a mix of both.

How many people work in the business today, or will at launch. Include yourself.

Whether you expect to take on more people over the next 12 months.

Names/roles and relevant experience of anyone central to running the business. Adds real credibility to the plan.

Funding overview

The total amount needed to get the business up and running before it can support itself.

Where that starting capital comes from, or is expected to come from.

Exit and founder intentions

Whether you currently intend to sell, hand over, or close the business at some point in future. "Undecided" is a fine answer.

What you personally want long-term, separate from any formal exit plan above.

Legal and regulatory

Some activities (e.g. food, finance, childcare, alcohol, healthcare) legally require this before you can trade. If unsure, choose "Not yet checked" rather than guessing.

Risk register

At least 1 risk required, 3 or more recommended for a complete Detailed Plan.

Financial plan

A 12-month forecast is generated from these assumptions, real formulas, not placeholders.

Your expected sales income in month 1, before any costs are taken out.

How much you expect revenue to grow each month after month 1. Use 0 for flat, or a negative number if you expect a decline.

Costs that rise and fall directly with sales, e.g. stock, materials, production, as a percentage of revenue.

Fixed monthly running costs that don't change with sales volume. Leave any that don't apply at 0.

How much cash the business has in the bank on day one of this forecast.

Any one-off equipment, fit-out or setup spend at the start, separate from ongoing monthly costs.

An extra buffer added on top of the calculated funding gap, in case costs run higher than planned.

Funding you already have secured and confirmed, not funding you're hoping for or applying for.