Business planning

Write a business plan: step-by-step

The essential role that creating and using a business plan plays in starting a new business
Tailor your business plan to secure funding

How to adapt your business plan and present it to the right people in order to secure funding
Prepare a business plan for growth

Find out how to plan for business growth, what to include in your growth plan and why you should regularly review your business plan document

Guides
- Find guides by sector
- Find guides by theme
  - Starting a business
    - Before you start your business
      - Considering starting a business
      - Start-up business ideas
    - Start your business
    - Running your start-up business
    - Grow your start-up business
      - Trade with other countries
      - Take steps to grow your business
  - Finance
    - Find local finance
      - Northern Ireland business support finder
    - Raising finance
    - Managing finance
    - Financial difficulty
      - Managing financial difficulty
  - Taxes
    - Business tax
    - Self-employed and tax
      - Setting up as self-employed and tax
      - Help and support for the self-employed
    - PAYE and payroll
      - PAYE and payroll for employers
    - Keeping records for business
      - Record-keeping
    - Excise duties
    - Industry-specific taxes
    - Complying with European law
    - Contact or deal with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
    - Companies House returns, accounts and other responsibilities
    - Business changes
      - Making changes to your business
    - Selling, closing or restarting your business
    - Accountants and tax advisers
  - Employment and skills
    - HR documents and templates
    - Recruitment
    - Employment documents and policies
      - Staff documents and employment policies
    - Pay, pensions and minimum wage
    - Manage people
    - Holidays, statutory leave and time off
      - Holiday, other leave and sickness
      - Maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave
    - Performance, training and development
    - Resolve conflict and staff leaving
      - Problems at work
      - Dismissals and staff leaving
  - Health and safety
    - Coronavirus (COVID-19): Staying safe at work
    - Health and safety basics
      - Protecting your business
    - Health and safety made simple
    - Make your business safer
      - Managing the welfare of people
      - Safer ways of working
  - Efficiency and environment
    - Environmental action to improve your business
    - Reduce, reuse, recycle your business waste
    - Resource efficiency
    - Reducing your environmental impact
    - Environmental guidance by business sector
  - Business premises and rates
    - Choosing the right business property
    - Rates for non-domestic properties
      - Business rates
    - Property management and costs
    - Adapting and improving your property
      - Make your property more efficient
      - Disabled access and facilities in business premises
  - Innovation and R&D
    - Product and service development
      - Developing products and services
      - Research and development
    - Design and business innovation
      - Use innovation in your business
      - Design for business success
    - Intellectual property
      - Intellectual property for business
      - Patents, trade marks, copyright and design
  - Sales and marketing
    - Business contracts and fair competition
    - Consumer rights and protection
    - Marketing your business
    - Product safety
    - Sales laws
    - Know your customers
    - Maximise your sales
  - IT
    - IT basics
      - Introduction to IT
      - Choosing suppliers
    - Software and technology solutions
      - Software and business applications
      - Communications
    - Getting online
      - Create and manage a website
      - E-commerce
    - Security and data protection
      - Data protection and legal issues
      - IT security and risks
  - Exporting and importing
    - Basics of importing and exporting
    - Choosing a market
      - Doing business in the EU
      - Trading with countries outside the EU
    - Procedures and licences
    - Sector overviews and regulations
    - Moving your goods
    - Customs declarations
      - National Clearance Hub
  - Grow your business
    - Prepare for growth
      - Assessing current performance
      - Planning business growth
    - Strategies for growth
    - Finance and logistics
      - How to grow your business
      - Financing growth
    - Managing growth
      - Leading staff through growth
      - Manage business risks
  - Buy or sell a business
    - Acquiring a business
    - Selling your business
    - Exiting and transferring your business
      - Businesses in difficulty
      - Transferring your business
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