A business plan sets out what the project sells, to whom, how it reaches its customers, how much money it needs and what profit it expects. This business plan template is written from short questions and comes with a three-year financial plan with Excel formulas and an operational plan with tasks, owners and dates. It opens on a café in Riyadh, and there is also an online store example.
Write the idea, customers, what sets you apart, marketing channels and capital, then three years of revenue and costs. In the example the café needs SAR 380,000 and expects net profit of SAR 500,000 over three years, an average margin of 13.4%.
How to write a business plan with this template
- Choose the café or online store example, or start blank, then press Edit answers to go through the three questions.
- Open the Financial plan (Excel) tab and enter each year's revenue and costs; net profit and margin are calculated and appear in the plan.
- Switch to advanced mode to add competitors, the operations plan, the team and first-year goals.
- Complete the Operational plan tab with tasks, owners and dates.
What a business plan is and why you need one
A business plan assumes you have decided to start, and explains how you will sell, operate and fund the project over its first years. A feasibility study asks before that decision whether the project is profitable at all, and a business model canvas is a one-page summary of the idea before either. A bank, lender or investor asks for the plan when you seek a loan or a partner in Saudi Arabia, and you need it to measure progress after opening. The business model canvas and the marketing plan each have their own page among these templates.
Sections of an executive business plan
An executive business plan opens with the summary on page one, because it is the first thing a funder reads and may be the only thing.
| Section | What you write |
|---|---|
| Summary and project idea | What you sell, where and to whom, in two or three lines. |
| Market and customers | Who buys, when, and who sells to them today. |
| Value proposition | The reason a customer chooses you over a competitor. |
| Marketing plan | The channels that bring customers to you. |
| Operations and team | Hours, supply and roles. |
| Financial plan | Capital, and revenue and costs for three years. |
Operational and administrative plan
A strategic plan sets where the business is heading over several years; an operational plan turns the near-term goal into tasks, each with an owner, start and end dates and a completion measure, and the length of each task is counted in days. The Operational plan tab works for opening a new business, or as a half-year plan for an existing department. Write tasks as actions ("Sign the site lease"), and put a person's name, not a department, in the owner column.
Business plan template in Word, Excel and PDF
Save the plan in Word from the Download Word button when you want to edit the wording or add pages, and as a PDF when you send it to a funder as it is. The financial tables download in Excel from their tab, with net profit and margin as formulas rather than typed numbers, so changing a year's revenue updates its profit, margin and total. Copy the figures into Word after your last change in Excel, not before.
Common business plan mistakes
- Describing the market in general terms such as "demand is high" with no number or source.
- Revenue that grows every year while costs stay flat.
- An executive summary at the end of the plan instead of on page one.
- An operational plan with tasks that have no end date and no named owner.
When the plan becomes a running business
At Microtec we build ERP and point-of-sale systems for businesses in Saudi Arabia. If your financial plan needs firmer numbers, the feasibility study with break-even and payback is a separate page among the same tools.
Business plan FAQ
How many pages should a business plan be?
For internal use a few pages are enough. A plan submitted to a lender or investor runs to roughly 10 to 25 pages, depending on how much market detail and financial statements they ask for.
Are the example figures in the business plan template real?
No, the café and store figures are made up to show the calculation. Enter your own figures on the financial plan tab and review them every three months once you are trading.
Does the template work for a restaurant business plan?
Yes. The café example is the closest starting point: edit the idea, customers and opening hours, enter kitchen and salary costs in the financial plan, then download the plan as a PDF.
Is the business plan template free?
Yes. Filling it in and downloading are free with no account; your name and email are asked once before the first download.
Should I start with a business model canvas or a business plan?
Start with the canvas if the idea is new; it is one page that tests the logic. Then move its blocks into the business plan sections and add the figures.