A Strategic Plan should be a living document, not something that sits on a shelf. The Strategic Plan provides a blueprint, describing your company, its products, the competitive environment, management team, financial health, and business risks.
The control cycle is defined as a continuously repeating cycle that includes planning, monitoring, assessing, comparing, correcting, and improving plans, processes, and practices. This process is usually lead by the CFO or Controller (hence the term). We encourage our clients to use the forecasting, budgeting and business plan modules of QuickBooks, so they can easily continue this control cycle in a central location. The business plans will continually evolve as the business progresses, and the plan will provide a basis to contrast budgeted to actual results. We will provide additional feedback to help benchmark, interpret the results, and make suggestions for improving the profitability and value of your business.
The strategic plan allows you to -
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Identify and describe the target customer profile, features, advantages and benefits of your new venture, product or service.
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Justify that your plans are credible by fully researching the need being filled with your new venture.
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Develop marketing plans including full descriptions of targeted promotional campaigns with implementation timelines. You also get to examine market conditions, the nature of your customers, as well as your competitors, sales potential, and projected results of your promotional campaigns.
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Develop staffing plans including identifying the key players, skills, attitudes and expertise needed to build the venture.
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Develop management plans including full descriptions of management systems and timelines for implementation.
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Develop financial plans including projected startup costs, operating costs, revenue, profits, and breakeven analysis for the first 3 to 5 years.
Projected financial plans allow you to effectively predict upcoming problems, or prevent them. In other words, the perspective gained through your Strategic Business Plan can make a significant contribution to your company's success, and help you get the funding you require. Most lending institutions and private investors will not even talk to you without a solid financial plan, and it is specifically required for SBA loans. Not only with the QuickBooks business plan module help you project your information based on your past results, it will also produce forms that are SBA compliant.
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Identify building and equipment needs including vendors and cost estimates.
- Formulate company milestones including timelines for upcoming products and services in development.
Remember: Failing to plan is planning to fail!
