Business plan template: the nine sections and what goes in each one
A blank template is a list of headings. This one tells you what a Canadian lender, a grant panel or a competition judge is checking under each heading, how long it should be, a fill-in prompt to draft it, and the mistake that gets plans rejected. Copy the outline and start writing.
Nine sections plus an appendix, eight to fifteen pages in total. Each section below explains what goes under the heading.
The outline as plain text. Paste it into any document.
Need the short version for a pitch or a grant panel? Our free one-page plan builder asks the executive-summary questions and produces a page you can print.
Who will read it, and what they weigh
Write the plan for the reader you actually have. The sections are the same; the emphasis is not.
Business plan readers in Canada and what they look for
Reader
What they look for
Length
Bank or credit union (including CSBFP-backed loans)
Monthly cash flow that covers repayment with room to spare, your own contribution, credit history, and quotes for anything the loan buys.
Full plan, 10–15 pages, spreadsheets attached
Futurpreneur Canada (ages 18–39)
Their own plan template and cash-flow workbook completed, evidence you have talked to customers, and a founder story that supports two years of mentorship.
Their template, roughly 10 pages
Starter Company Plus panel (via Small Business Enterprise Centres)
A plan produced during the program's training, a short pitch, and proof of your 25% contribution to the grant amount.
Short plan, 6–10 pages, plus pitch
Launch League judges
Problem and opportunity (20 pts), solution (20), customer and market understanding (15), feasibility (15), business or sustainability model (15), impact (10), communication (5).
Written pitch plus three short videos; a one-page plan is enough
A landlord, supplier or partner
That you exist, are registered and insured, and can pay. The company description, operations and cash flow sections do the work.
Executive summary plus the relevant sections
Section 1 · 1 page
Executive summary
The whole plan in one page: what you sell, to whom, why now, what you are asking for, and why you are the person to do it. Written last, read first, and for many lenders the only page read closely before deciding whether to continue.
The reader is asking: Do I understand this business in sixty seconds, and is there a clear ask?
What it contains
One sentence on what the business does and for whom
The problem or gap, in the customer's terms
Your solution and what makes it different
Where you are today: idea, registered, first customers, revenue
The ask: how much, for what, and what the reader gets back
Fill this in
[Business name] is a [structure] in [municipality], Ontario that [what you do] for [specific customer]. Customers currently [what they do instead] and it costs them [time or money]. We [solution] at [price], which [key difference]. We have [proof so far]. We need [$ amount] to [use], and expect to break even in month [n].
The usual mistake: Writing it first and never revising it, so it describes a plan the rest of the document no longer matches.
Section 2 · ½ to 1 page
Company description
The facts a reader needs to place you: legal structure, registration status, location, ownership, stage, and the mission in one plain sentence. In Ontario this is where you state whether you are a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation, and whether the registration is done or planned.
The reader is asking: Is this a real, properly set-up business, and who owns it?
What it contains
Legal name, business name, and structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation)
Registration status: Ontario Business Registry, CRA Business Number, HST if registered
Location and whether you operate from home, a leased space, online or on-site
Owners and ownership percentages
Stage: pre-launch, launched, trading for n months
Mission in one sentence, without adjectives
Fill this in
[Legal name], operating as [business name], is a [structure] registered [date or planned date] in [municipality]. It is owned [percentages] by [owners]. The business [is pre-launch / has traded since]. Its purpose is to [mission].
The usual mistake: A page of vision statements and no mention of structure, registration or who owns what.
Section 3 · 1 to 2 pages
Market analysis
Proof that specific people want this and that you know who they are. It covers the target customer, how many of them are within reach, what they spend now, who else serves them, and why some of them will switch to you.
The reader is asking: Who exactly is the customer, how many are there, and why would they choose this?
What it contains
Target customer described specifically: who, where, situation, budget
Evidence of demand: interviews, pre-orders, a waitlist, current sales, comparable businesses
Market size within reach, with the source named (Statistics Canada, municipal economic development data, industry associations)
Competitors by name, including the option of doing nothing
Your position: the one difference a customer would repeat to a friend
Trends or changes that make now the right time
Fill this in
Our customer is [who], in [where], who [situation]. There are roughly [n] of them within [radius or channel] (source: [name]). Today they [current option] at [cost]. The main alternatives are [competitors]. They will choose us because [difference], which we know because [evidence: n interviews, n pre-orders, n current customers].
The usual mistake: "Our market is everyone in Ontario" and a national industry revenue figure copied from a report.
Section 4 · 1 page
Products and services
What you sell, how it is priced, what it costs you to deliver, and what the margin is. This is the section where a reader checks whether the business can make money on each sale before they look at the projections.
The reader is asking: What does one unit sell for, what does it cost to deliver, and is the gap big enough?
What it contains
Each product or service in a line, with price
Cost to deliver one unit or one hour, including your own time
Gross margin per unit and how it compares to the industry norm
How you set the price: cost-plus, competitor-based, value-based
Suppliers or inputs and any dependency on a single one
What is next: the one or two offers you will add once the first is working
Fill this in
We sell [offer] at [$ price]. It costs [$ cost] to deliver, leaving [$ margin, %]. Comparable businesses charge [range]. We priced it [method] because [reason]. Our key inputs come from [suppliers]. Once [milestone], we will add [next offer].
The usual mistake: A menu of everything you might ever sell, with no unit cost anywhere.
Section 5 · 1 to 2 pages
Marketing and sales strategy
How customers find out you exist and what happens between hearing about you and paying you. Lenders and judges read this to see whether the revenue in the projections has a believable source.
The reader is asking: Where does the first customer come from, and the hundredth?
What it contains
The two or three channels you will actually use, and why those
What each channel costs and roughly what one new customer costs to acquire
The sales process step by step, from first contact to payment
Your plan for the first ten customers, by name or category
How you keep customers: repeat purchase, referrals, contracts
Monthly marketing budget, matching the line in the cash flow
Fill this in
Customers will find us through [channels]. [Channel 1] costs [$/month] and we expect [n] enquiries a month from it. The sales process is [steps]. Our first ten customers will be [who]. Customers come back because [reason]. We will spend [$] a month on marketing.
The usual mistake: "Social media and word of mouth" with no cost, no volume and no sales process.
Section 6 · 1 page
Operations plan
What running the business looks like on a Tuesday. Location, hours, equipment, suppliers, staff, the licences and insurance the business needs in Ontario, and the two or three things most likely to go wrong operationally.
The reader is asking: Can this person actually deliver what they are selling, week after week?
What it contains
Where and when you operate
Equipment and space needed, owned or to be bought (matching the startup cost table)
Suppliers and lead times
Staff or contractors, and when you will hire
Licences, permits, insurance and WSIB status
Key operational risks and what you will do about each
Fill this in
We operate from [location] [hours]. We need [equipment], of which we own [list] and will buy [list] for [$]. Supplies come from [suppliers] with [lead time]. In year one [owner] does [roles]; we hire [role] when [trigger]. We hold [licences, insurance]. The main risks are [risks] and we will [mitigations].
The usual mistake: Skipping licences, insurance and WSIB entirely, which tells an Ontario reader you have not checked.
Section 7 · ½ to 1 page
Management and team
Why you can do this. Relevant experience, not a résumé; the gaps you know you have; and who fills them, whether an advisor, an accountant, a mentor or a first hire.
The reader is asking: Has this person done anything like this before, and do they know what they do not know?
What it contains
Each owner: relevant experience in two or three lines
The skills the business needs that nobody on the team has yet
Who fills each gap: advisor, mentor, bookkeeper, contractor, hire
Advisors or mentors by name, with permission
Time commitment: full-time, evenings, from a date
Fill this in
[Owner] has [experience relevant to the business]. The business also needs [skills], which will be covered by [advisor / hire / service]. [Name], [role], has agreed to advise on [topic]. [Owner] will work on the business [commitment] from [date].
The usual mistake: Listing every job you have had and pretending there are no gaps.
Section 8 · 2 to 3 pages plus a spreadsheet
Financial projections
The numbers that make the rest of the plan checkable: what it costs to open, what comes in and goes out each month for the first year, three years of profit and loss, when you break even, and the assumptions behind every figure. Reviewers read this section first and judge the whole plan by it.
The reader is asking: Does the cash run out before the business works, and are these numbers honest?
What it contains
Startup cost table, item by item, with quotes attached for anything over a few hundred dollars
12-month cash-flow forecast, month by month, showing the lowest cash point
Three-year profit and loss summary
Break-even: how many sales a month, and which month you get there
Assumptions page: every rate, price and volume used, with its source
Your own contribution in cash or equipment
Fill this in
Opening the business costs [$ total] (table attached). Month-one revenue is [$], growing to [$] by month twelve because [driver]. Fixed costs are [$]/month. The lowest cash point is [$] in month [n], which is why we are asking for [$]. Break-even is [n] sales a month, reached in month [n]. All assumptions are listed on page [n].
The usual mistake: Revenue that grows in a straight line, no monthly cash flow, and no page explaining where any number came from.
Section 9 · ½ to 1 page
Funding request
Exactly how much you need, what each dollar buys, what you are contributing yourself, and how the money comes back. Written for the specific reader: a bank wants repayment from cash flow; a grant panel wants the use of funds to match program rules; a judge wants to see the plan is fundable at all.
The reader is asking: Is the amount right, is it going to the right things, and how do I get it back?
What it contains
The amount, to the dollar
Use of funds table, matching the startup cost table and the cash flow
Your contribution (many Ontario programs and most lenders require one)
Repayment schedule from projected cash flow, or the return an investor would see
What happens with less money, and what you would do with more
Fill this in
We are requesting [$ amount] as [loan / grant / investment]. It will fund [items and amounts]. We are contributing [$ or equipment] ourselves. Repayment of [$]/month begins in month [n], covered by projected cash flow of [$]/month at that point. If we receive less, we will [adjustment].
The usual mistake: A round number that appears nowhere else in the plan.
After section 9
Appendix
Everything a reader might want to verify, kept out of the way of the argument. If the plan says a quote exists, the quote is here.
Owner résumés, one page each
Business name registration or articles of incorporation
Supplier and equipment quotes
Lease or letter of intent for premises
Licences, permits, insurance certificates
Letters of intent or emails from prospective customers
A template gets you started. Feedback gets you finished.
Fill in the template, then put it in front of people who read business plans for a living. Launch League's competition is free to enter, scored on a published rubric, and every entrant receives their judges' written notes.