There are a number of ways of going about the process of writing a good business plan. One of the most tried and time tested ways that works well is using a business plan template. While these are easily available online, some of them are way better than the others. A lot depends on the approach that goes into writing the business plan. However, the best business plan template is that which meets all your business needs and requirements by offering you a high level of customization and a professional layout of all the content that you would like to include. So, rather than looking around for an existing plan and then designing your own plan along the same lines, it would be a better idea to use software that allows you to create your own template.

Some of the benefits of software like Business Plan Pro include, but are not limited to, getting instant access to over five hundred sample templates that can be edited directly, allowing you to create the best business plan template for your particular business. It is a software program that provides step-by-step guidance throughout the process of planning and provides clear instructions and sound advice, along with resources for any additional help that may be required. It provides easily generated financials that are based on an underlying built-in financial model that is integrated with visual forecasting, and financial wizards to fill in the numbers in the pre-designed format of the business template. It includes the best and the latest technologies to stay current with new trends in business innovation and planning. It provides expert help from professionals who have valuable years of experience. It also contains real market research data, along with industry profiles on a number of industry verticals, that allow matching the numbers of your business or company with these pre fed and automatically integrated industry ratios that enhance the accuracy of the business plan.

Millions of entrepreneurs, be it first-time owners of small and medium startups or Fortune 500 business conglomerates, use this program and consider it to the best business plan template generator on the open market. The additional options like the Plan Review feature checks the financial section of the plan to ensure that you have entered growth rates that are realistic. It also displays a sound break-even analysis as well as other important financial pointers and indicators like manageable cash flow projections. In this way, the template helps you organize your thoughts, and it acts as a guideline to kick start the process of planning.

Often business owners create a business plan because someone (perhaps a lender or an investor) ask for one. The better reason to create a business plan is to chart a course for your business and to be able to ask a very important question. There will be more about the question later in this article.

The term “business plan” in my experience often refers to an operational plan – how the business intends to meet the goals set forth in a strategic (long-term) plan. On the other hand, “business plan” could clearly include both kinds of planning (strategic and operational). It is important to think about both. It will enrich you to create a business plan, but how do you create a business plan?

The owners of a business, reflecting upon their own values and goals, should communicate and plan, setting forth a written strategic plan to be followed by the business. This plan should include issues relating to ownership transition and leadership or executive succession. The executives or managers of the business (who may also be all or in part owners) should create an operating plan to accomplish the goals of the strategic plan. Generally, the strategic plan is reviewed and revised annually, but I have seen it done successfully on a quarterly basis. The operating plan will be impacted by any change in the strategic plan and should be immediately revised accordingly. Aside from that, other dynamic factors concerning effective operation of the business may force changes in the operating plan on a more frequent basis.

The best place to start is at the end – the end of the planning cycle. I recommend something five years or less. Envision the business you could sell to a third party (non-owner) for the highest reasonable amount. (Understand that at this point of sale a selling owner cannot be an integral part of the business to obtain the highest possible value for the business.) Then work backwards. What would the business be doing the fourth year to get to the apex in the fifth year, the third year to the fourth, and so forth? If the market will not support the five year plan, something needs to be changed. Therefore, the market analysis becomes the reality check for the projected business status at the end of the planning cycle. The beginning question should be: “How can I develop a business I can sell for top dollar in five years?” In five years you do not have to sell, but you will develop a better business if you have that goal.

There are a number of ways to construct plans from questionnaires and software; there is nothing wrong with adding structure and detail in that way. Do the marketing and conceptual work first to know if you can go where you want. After you have established this perspective, the details can fall into place. This is not to say that the details are unimportant – they can make you or break you – but they must be within a frame that is realistic and defined.

The purpose of doing a business plan is that it gives you the ability to ask a very important question: “Why didn’t things go as in the business plan?” Answering that question is a valuable business analysis tool. Of course, the plan is the prerequisite to having the analysis tool.

Once you present a business plan to an investor or lender, questions may begin to fly at you. If this happens, do not be alarmed! It is evidence that they are truly interested in your business. You can prepare for these questions by running through potential questions, like these seven, ahead of time.

“Why did you choose to begin with this target market?”

“We have to start somewhere” is not a great answer. Consider why the costs are lower or returns greater with your chosen first target market, or, better yet, how tackling that market first will make entry into additional markets easier later on.

“Why can’t competitors imitate your competitive advantage?”

Know the strengths, weaknesses, and branding of your competitors to understand what will stand in their way from doing what you are doing. It could be that your competitive advantage is contradictory to what they are trying to do or that you have protected intellectual property in your business, for example.

“Why is your team best qualified to launch this company?”

Funders know that there are potential managers in the job market who could be hired to run a startup like yours. Know how your chosen team combines industry, functional, and leadership experience with an understanding of startups.

“What best practices of the industry will your business use?”

Study best practices companies in the industry use to become more efficient and know which will translate into your startup, which can be implemented only as you grow, and which will not be possible because of their conflict with your underlying strategy.

“What is your unique selling proposition (USP)?”

If someone asks what makes your new business unique, you had better have an answer. This should be stated explicitly in the business plan.

“What would it take to reach break even sooner?”

Be prepared to defend the time you estimate it will take for the company to break even and to start making a profit. If funders want to see you break even sooner, know what it would take in terms of different staff, additional resources, or increased investment, but do not be too quick to push your schedule up. This only shows funders that your estimates were based on flimsy assumptions to begin with.

“What are your projections of growth based on?”

Be able to explain the assumptions about the market and your company’s conversion rates (of potential customers to actual customers, for example) which led to your projections of growth. You should know how your projections compare to other success stories in your industry and in other industries so you can be sure there is precedent for the growth you anticipate.