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E-Myth – “Why most small businesses don’t work & what to do about it”

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Virtual accountant | business plan template


Businesses who complete business plans are 50% more likely to grow their revenue than business owners who do not says virtual account. Just like Benjamin Franklin said if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Business owners can easily increase the chances of success in their business just by creating a business plan. This article will outline how any business owner can create an effective business plan in order to increase their revenue.

The business owner is needs to know what component parts are going to be included in the business plan. These component parts are: executive summary, I company overview section, the product section, the market risk and analysis, the sales and marketing plan, operations strategy, staff and key supplier section, and projections. By including all of these parts business plan, business owners can create an extremely detailed plan exactly how they are going to grow their business and achieve their goals. This process should take a business owner about four hours and then they should be reviewing and updating the plan throughout the year.

The executive summary is extremely important to include in the business plan early on says virtual accountants because this will summarize the most important parts of the business plan people will not read beyond this, is being a summary be early on in the business plan and be the primary focus is very important. The company overview section will be just as important, should be included just after the executive summary. This is often only used in order to secure financing, so itís very important that as early on in the business plan. Some of the more unknown component parts that need to be included are the operations strategy says virtual accountants. Not only is it extremely important to include the operations strategy, but milestones also need to be included in this. The reason is because milestones will drive the projections. Without assigning dates to the milestones, a business owner will not be able to give accurate projections. For example if a business owners goal is to create a storefront, knowing when they plan to have completed is vital to the business plan. If they plan on hiring new staff, the business plan needs to know when the business owner plans on having not done by and how they plan to accomplish it.

One of the more unique ways in order to create a business plan says virtual accountant is including a time block calendar in the business plan. The reason for this is how the business owner plans on blocking their time will directly factor into the business plan in order to get accurate projections, as well as when they plan on working on the desks that will generate results for their business. For example when they plan on working on additional when are they going to be working on the marketing initiatives, when will be big at networking events. Itís extremely important that a business plan includes not just the what but also the when.

Business owners who create a business plan for their business are 50% more likely to grow their revenue says virtual accountant. Many business owners go to their accountant with the problem that their business is not growing. A huge part of the reason can be that they have failed to plan. Just like the Benjamin Franklin quote says if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Creating a business plan does not need to take hundreds of hours, does not need to be complicated. By including some very simple components with about four hours of careful thought, a business owner can come away with a comprehensive business plan that can lead them to business success.

Knowing what they component parts are to a business plan is the most important place to start says virtual accountant. The business owner needs to include the executive summary, which includes the following component parts of mission statement for the business, what the product or service being sold is, but the revenue is that product or service, but the cost of producing the product or services as well as the profit margin. Underneath the executive summary will include the company overview section that will include who owns the company, along the company has been in business, when the company incorporated, with the banker is, provides the insurance, and when is the year-end. Often these two sections are the only sections that a banker will read in order to approve financing, so they are very important.

After that, itís important that not only will the business owner include projections but they will also include the following sections, product, market and risk analysis, sales and marketing, operations strategy, and finally staff and key supplier says virtual accountant. These are the important whatís of the business plan, but itís also important to know the howís.

Virtual accountant recommends that business owners use the online software platform liveplan in order to create their business plan. The reason for this is because since it is based online, a business owner can work on it anywhere if they have been to be home and get an idea, it will be able to open it and updated instantly. Previously business owners used Microsoft word and Microsoft Excel, but features of life plan are much nicer and more interactive. Another feature of life plan is the calendar section. This allows a business owner to actually create time blocks within the business plan. The reason this is so important says virtual accountant is because not only is it important to know what the business owner is going to be doing to achieve their goals, but when theyíre going to work on those tasks. By creating the time blocks directly in the business plan, a business owner is set up directly for success.

Itís also important to note that a business plan does not need to be longer than 2 to 3 years, your one being the current year. Trying to forecast farther ahead than that is too difficult and there are too many variables especially for small businesses.