management team for business plan

How to Write the Management Team Section of a Business Plan + Examples

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Over the last 20+ years, we’ve written business plans for over 4,000 companies and hundreds of thousands of others have used the best business plan template and our other business planning materials.

From this vast experience, we’ve gained valuable insights on how to write a business plan effectively , specifically in the management section.

What is a Management Team Business Plan?

A management team business plan is a section in a comprehensive business plan that introduces and highlights the key members of the company’s management team. This part provides essential details about the individuals responsible for leading and running the business, including their backgrounds, skills, and experience.

It’s crucial for potential investors and stakeholders to evaluate the management team’s competence and qualifications, as a strong team can instill confidence in the company’s ability to succeed.

Why is the Management Team Section of a Business Plan Important?

Your management team plan has 3 goals:

• To prove to you that you have the right team to execute on the opportunity you have defined, and if not, to identify who you must hire to round out your current team
• To convince lenders and investors (e.g., angel investors, venture capitalists) to fund your company (if needed)
• To document how your Board (if applicable) can best help your team succeed

What to Include in Your Management Team Section

There are two key elements to include in your management team business plan as follows:

Management Team Members

For each key member of your team, document their name, title, and background.

Their backgrounds are most important in telling you and investors they are qualified to execute. Describe what positions each member has held in the past and what they accomplished in those positions. For example, if your VP of Sales was formerly the VP of Sales for another company in which they grew sales from zero to $10 million, that would be an important and compelling accomplishment to document.

Importantly, try to relate your team members’ past job experience with what you need them to accomplish at your company. For example, if a former high school principal was on your team, you could state that their vast experience working with both teenagers and their parents will help them succeed in their current position (particularly if the current position required them to work with both customer segments).

This is true for a management team for a small business, a medium-sized or large business.

Management Team Gaps

In this section, detail if your management team currently has any gaps or missing individuals. Not having a complete team at the time you develop your business plan. But, you must show your plan to complete your team.

As such, describe what positions are missing and who will fill the positions. For example, if you know you need to hire a VP of Marketing, state this. Further, state the job description of this person. For example, you might say that this hire will have 10 years of experience managing a marketing team, establishing new accounts, working with social media marketing, have startup experience, etc.

To give you a “checklist” of the employees you might want to include in your Management Team Members and/or Gaps sections, below are the most common management titles at a growing startup (note that many are specific to tech startups):

• Founder, CEO, and/or President
• Chief Operating Officer
• Chief Financial Officer
• VP of Sales
• VP of Marketing
• VP of Web Development and/or Engineering
• UX Designer/Manager
• Product Manager
• Digital Marketing Manager
• Business Development Manager
• Account Management/Customer Service Manager
• Sales Managers/Sales Staff
• Board Members

If you have a Board of Directors or Board of Advisors, you would include the bios of the members of your board in this section.

A Board of Directors is a paid group of individuals who help guide your company. Typically startups do not have such a board until they raise VC funding.

If your company is not at this stage, consider forming a Board of Advisors. Such a board is ideal particularly if your team is missing expertise and/or experience in certain areas. An advisory board includes 2 to 8 individuals who act as mentors to your business. Usually, you meet with them monthly or quarterly and they help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. You typically do not pay advisory board members with cash, but offering them options in your company is a best practice as it allows you to attract better board members and better motivate them.

Management Team Business Plan Example

Below are examples of how to include your management section in your business plan.

Key Team Members

Jim Smith, Founder & CEO

Jim has 15 years of experience in online software development, having co-founded two previous successful online businesses. His first company specialized in developing workflow automation software for government agencies and was sold to a public company in 2003. Jim’s second company developed a mobile app for parents to manage their children’s activities, which was sold to a large public company in 2014. Jim has a B.S. in computer science from MIT and an M.B.A from the University of Chicago

Bill Jones, COO

Bill has 20 years of sales and business development experience from working with several startups that he helped grow into large businesses. He has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from M.I.T., where he also played Division I lacrosse for four years.

We currently have no gaps in our management team, but we plan to expand our team by hiring a Vice President of Marketing to be responsible for all digital marketing efforts.

Vance Williamson, Founder & CEO

Prior to founding GoDoIt, Vance was the CIO of a major corporation with more than 100 retail locations. He oversaw all IT initiatives including software development, sales technology, mobile apps for customers and employees, security systems, customer databases/CRM platforms, etc. He has a  B.S in computer science and an MBA in operations management from UCLA.

We currently have two gaps in our Management Team: 

A VP of Sales with 10 years of experience managing sales teams, overseeing sales processes, working with manufacturers, establishing new accounts, working with digital marketing/advertising agencies to build brand awareness, etc. 

In addition, we need to hire a VP of Marketing with experience creating online marketing campaigns that attract new customers to our site.

How to Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Click here to finish your business plan today.

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.

Click here to see how Growthink’s professional business plan consulting services can create your business plan for you.  

Other Resources for Writing Your Business Plan

• How to Write an Executive Summary
• How to Expertly Write the Company Description in Your Business Plan
• How to Write the Market Analysis Section of a Business Plan
• The Customer Analysis Section of Your Business Plan
• Completing the Competitive Analysis Section of Your Business Plan
• Financial Assumptions and Your Business Plan
• How to Create Financial Projections for Your Business Plan
• Everything You Need to Know about the Business Plan Appendix
• Business Plan Conclusion: Summary & Recap

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

• 400+ Sample Business Plans
• WHY UPMETRICS?

Customer Success Stories

Business Plan Course

Strategic Planning Templates

E-books, Guides & More

Entrepreneurs & Small Business

Accelerators & Incubators

Business Consultants & Advisors

Educators & Business Schools

Students & Scholars

AI Business Plan Generator

Financial Forecasting

AI Assistance

Ai Pitch Deck Generator

Strategic Planning

See How Upmetrics Works  →

• Sample Plans

Small Business Tools

How to Write Management Team Section in a Business Plan

Free Ultimate Guide On Writing A Business Plan

• May 1, 2024

A business is as efficient as its team and its management. Therefore, it becomes important for business owners to build a structured management team that achieves the objectives and goals set by the organization.

Andrew Carnegie, an American steel magnate, beautifully summarized it –

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives.”

A business management plan helps build an efficient team and formalizes business operations. This helps businesses streamline strategies to achieve their goals.

So, if you are a business owner who is looking to formalize their business structure and write the management team section in their business plans, this guide is for you.

Here’s a sneak peek into what you’ll learn:

Sounds good? Let’s dive in.

What is the Management Section of a Business Plan?

The management section of a business plan is an in-depth description of a business’s team, its structure, and the owners of a business.

The section discusses ‌who is on the management team—internal and external, their skill sets, experiences, and how meaningfully they would contribute to an organization’s mission statement and goals.

Now that we have defined what the management section of a business plan is, let’s understand why it is so important.

Importance of a Business Plan Management Section

The management section helps you to

• Showcase leadership: The management team section helps you showcase how qualified and experienced team you have.
• Clarify team roles: It outlines who does what in your team, ensuring everyone knows their key performance areas and works together towards the same goals.
• Attract investors: Present your team in the best possible way, as it is one of the key factors in making the final investment decision.

What to include in the Management Section of a Business Plan?

Now that you know why exactly a management section in the business plan is necessary, let’s move ahead with what to include in it:

1. The Management Team

An organization’s entire management team can be divided into parts — the internal team and the external team. Let us see those in detail:

The Internal Management Team

A business team consists of several departments. The most common departments are—marketing, sales, IT, customer service, operations, finance, and HR.

These departments depend on the nature and functioning of your business. For example, a dental clinic may not require a sales department per se.

The entire management team is distinguished according to their responsibility. This helps the business owners and investors be aware of the roles, benefits, ESOPs (if applicable), profit sharing (for sales), work contracts, NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements), and Non-Competition Agreements of the entire team.

It is recommended that business owners collect and document the following information about their team:

• Educational Background
• Work Experience
• Accomplishments

The External Management Team

The external management team is usually composed of—advisory board members and professional services.

Advisory board members help by:

• Bringing their industry expertise, experience, and knowledge to the table.
• Offering strategic advice and helping the business develop long-term goals with future considerations in mind.
• Having a lot more contacts than any other individual can help businesses grow.

Credible advisory board members show great commitment to a company’s growth. Therefore, it becomes important to mention their experience and specialization in the business management plan.

The advisory board members can help give valuable advice that internal team members need or lack.

Usually, board members meet quarterly or monthly to provide strategic guidance in place of stock options in your company. This helps attract the best advisors and motivates them to invest in your business.

On the other hand, professional service helps by

• Offering highly specialized advice and sharing knowledge.
• Helping through the implementation process of strategies.

Such services help businesses leverage skills that would be difficult to build and acquire over a short period.

Examples of such professional services are:

• IT Consultants
• Business coaches and consultants

After a brief overview of the management team, let’s move forward.

Need help in writing a management team section?

Start planning smartly today with us!

Plans starting from $7/month

2. The Management Team Gaps

The management team gap is an important part of the management section. Primarily because it helps document if your management team currently has gaps or missing skills.

Your team may lack a few required skills while starting. The management team gaps help you to be aware and make efforts to close this gap.

As a business owner, you must document what positions are missing and who ought to fill those positions or take responsibility.

For example, if you need a VP of Sales, clearly document this in the section.

Also, write down the job description and key responsibilities to be undertaken. For example—you might mention that the role requires 10 years of experience in the sales domain. The applicant must have experience handling a sales team, closing new accounts, and working in tandem with the marketing team.

Be as detailed as possible. This will help you build a checklist while interviewing the right candidate and also win investor confidence in your managerial skills.

Here are a few key positions you would want to include in your management team business plan:

• Founder and/or CEO
• Chief Technical Officer (CTO)
• Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
• Head of Product Management (PM)
• VP of Sales
• VP of Marketing
• Business Development Manager
• Customer Service Manager
• Sales Managers/Sales Staff
• Human Resources Manager
• Advisory Board Members

3. The Management Structure

The management structure defines how a business organizes its management hierarchy. A hierarchy helps determine all team members’ roles, positions, power, and responsibilities.

The management structure also depends upon the type of business ownership. Business ownership can be—a sole proprietorship, partnership, or LLC.

Following is a sample management structure of an organization.

Now that we understand what details we need to document in business management plans, let’s have a look at the example.

Example of a Management Section Plan

[management section of a hotel], [management team], internal team members.

Name: Charles Fargo Role: Owner Responsibility: Formulating key strategies, defining budgets, and building a business plan Experience: 35 years of owning multiple hotels in Las Vegas Educational Background: B.Sc in Hospitality Management from South Dakota State University.

Name: Michael Clark Role: General Manager Responsibility: Overall hotel operations – guest interactions, revenue management, brand ambassador of the hotel, customer satisfaction, and experience, leadership to all departments Experience: 25 years working with several technology hotels as the general manager. Educational Background: MBA from Wharton School

Name: George Trump Role: Department Manager Responsibility: Manage employees, smooth coordination amongst employees, plan daily affairs of the department, strategize, prepare reports, and deal with complaints and suggestions. Lead team members to function as a team Experience: 15 years working as a department manager Educational Background: BSc in Hotel Management from Texas University

Note: There can be multiple Department Managers depending on the nature of your business. In the case of hotels, departments can include – housekeeping, logistics, security, food, and banquets.

Name: Donald Clooney Role: Marketing and Sales Manager Responsibility: Increase occupancy and generate revenue. Position the hotel as an option for leisure activities, relaxation, and holidays. Experience: 11 years working as the marketing and sales manager for hotels Educational Background: MBA in Tourism and Hospitality from Midway University

Name: Oprah Williams Role: Human Resources Manager Responsibility: Recruit and train hotel staff, maintain smooth onboarding process for new recruits, train, counsel, and coach staff, resolve conflicts, and conduct performance reviews Experience: 9 years working as human resources manager for hotels Educational Background: MBA in Human Resources Management from California University

External Team Members

Advisory Board Member

#1 Richard Branson Responsibility: Strategic advisory for sustainable growth and expansion Experience: Founder of Virgin Group

Professional Services

#1 Digital Marketing Agency – Neil Patel – Help market and sell our product using digital mediums – blog, website, YouTube, and social media.

[Management Structure]

There is a gap in one key position in our startup.

#1 Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Responsibilities: Finance, Accounting, Tracking Profit and Loss, and overseeing FP&A (Financial Planning and Analysis)

So, that’s it for today! Now that you know how to write a management team section, make sure you write the best one by mentioning all the necessary details.

If you are still confused about writing the management team sections, then you can visit various sample business plans to know more. You can even use smart business planning software to smooth your business planning process.

Build your Business Plan Faster

with step-by-step Guidance & AI Assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tone should i use when writing the management team section.

When writing about your management team in your business plan, use a tone that’s confident, professional, and positive. This shows investors that your team is experienced, qualified, and able to lead your company to success.

Who should be included in the management team's business plan?

In the management team of a business plan, you should include all the key members of the company:

• Top management
• Founder/CEO
• VP of sales

Do I need to include personal information about team members?

In a business plan, it’s not necessary to include personal information about team members unless it directly relates to their role in the business. The focus should be on professional qualifications, experience, and skills that are relevant to their position.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

Related Articles

How to Write an Operations Plan Section of your Business Plan

What to include in a Business Plan Appendix?

How to Prepare a Financial Plan for Startup Business (w/ example)

Reach your goals with accurate planning.

No Risk – Cancel at Any Time – 15 Day Money Back Guarantee

Popular Templates

• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Building Your Business
• Becoming an Owner
• Business Plans

Writing the Organization and Management Section of Your Business Plan

What is the organization and management section in a business plan.

• What to Put in the Organization and Management Section

Organization

The management team, helpful tips to write this section, frequently asked questions (faqs).

vm / E+ / Getty Images

Every business plan needs an organization and management section. This document will help you convey your vision for how your business will be structured. Here's how to write a good one.

Key Takeaways

• This section of your business plan details your corporate structure.
• It should explain the hierarchy of management, including details about the owners, the board of directors, and any professional partners.
• The point of this section is to clarify who will be in charge of each aspect of your business, as well as how those individuals will help the business succeed.

The organization and management section of your business plan should summarize information about your business structure and team. It usually comes after the market analysis section in a business plan . It's especially important to include this section if you have a partnership or a multi-member limited liability company (LLC). However, if you're starting a home business or are  writing  a business plan for one that's already operating, and you're the only person involved, then you don't need to include this section.

What To Put in the Organization and Management Section

You can separate the two terms to better understand how to write this section of the business plan.

The "organization" in this section refers to how your business is structured and the people involved. "Management" refers to the responsibilities different managers have and what those individuals bring to the company.

In the opening of the section, you want to give a summary of your management team, including size, composition, and a bit about each member's experience.

For example, you might write something like "Our management team of five has more than 20 years of experience in the industry."

The organization section sets up the hierarchy of the people involved in your business. It's often set up in a chart form. If you have a partnership or multi-member LLC, this is where you indicate who is president or CEO, the CFO, director of marketing, and any other roles you have in your business. If you're a single-person home business, this becomes easy as you're the only one on the chart.

Technically, this part of the plan is about owner members, but if you plan to outsource work or hire a virtual assistant, you can include them here, as well. For example, you might have a freelance webmaster, marketing assistant, and copywriter. You might even have a virtual assistant whose job it is to work with your other freelancers. These people aren't owners but have significant duties in your business.

Some common types of business structures include sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations.

Sole Proprietorship

This type of business isn't a separate entity. Instead, business assets and liabilities are entwined with your personal finances. You're the sole person in charge, and you won't be allowed to sell stock or bring in new owners. If you don't register as any other kind of business, you'll automatically be considered a sole proprietorship.

Partnership

Partnerships can be either limited (LP) or limited liability (LLP). LPs have one general partner who takes on the bulk of the liability for the company, while all other partner owners have limited liability (and limited control over the business). LLPs are like an LP without a general partner; all partners have limited liability from debts as well as the actions of other partners.

Limited Liability Company

A limited liability company (LLC) combines elements of partnership and corporate structures. Your personal liability is limited, and profits are passed through to your personal returns.

Corporation

There are many variations of corporate structure that an organization might choose. These include C corps, which allow companies to issue stock shares, pay corporate taxes (rather than passing profits through to personal returns), and offer the highest level of personal protection from business activities. There are also nonprofit corporations, which are similar to C corps, but they don't seek profits and don't pay state or federal income taxes.

This section highlights what you and the others involved in the running of your business bring to the table. This not only includes owners and managers but also your board of directors (if you have one) and support professionals. Start by indicating your business structure, and then list the team members.

Owner/Manager/Members

Provide the following information on each owner/manager/member:

• Percentage of ownership (LLC, corporation, etc.)
• Extent of involvement (active or silent partner)
• Type of ownership (stock options, general partner, etc.)
• Position in the business (CEO, CFO, etc.)
• Duties and responsibilities
• Educational background
• Experience or skills that are relevant to the business and the duties
• Past employment
• Skills will benefit the business
• Awards and recognition
• Compensation (how paid)
• How each person's skills and experience will complement you and each other

Board of Directors

A board of directors is another part of your management team. If you don't have a board of directors, you don't need this information. This section provides much of the same information as in the ownership and management team sub-section. 

• Position (if there are positions)
• Involvement with the company

Even a one-person business could benefit from a small group of other business owners providing feedback, support, and accountability as an advisory board. 

Support Professionals

Especially if you're seeking funding, let potential investors know you're on the ball with a lawyer, accountant, and other professionals that are involved in your business. This is the place to list any freelancers or contractors you're using. Like the other sections, you'll want to include:

• Background information such as education or certificates
• Services provided to your business
• Relationship information (retainer, as-needed, regular, etc.)
• Skills and experience making them ideal for the work you need
• Anything else that makes them stand out as quality professionals (awards, etc.)

Writing a business plan seems like an overwhelming activity, especially if you're starting a small, one-person business. But writing a business plan can be fairly simple.

Like other parts of the business plan, this is a section you'll want to update if you have team member changes, or if you and your team members receive any additional training, awards, or other resume changes that benefit the business.

Because it highlights the skills and experience you and your team offer, it can be a great resource to refer to when seeking publicity and marketing opportunities. You can refer to it when creating your media kit or pitching for publicity.

Why are organization and management important to a business plan?

The point of this section is to clarify who's in charge of what. This document can clarify these roles for yourself, as well as investors and employees.

What should you cover in the organization and management section of a business plan?

The organization and management section should explain the chain of command , roles, and responsibilities. It should also explain a bit about what makes each person particularly well-suited to take charge of their area of the business.

Want to read more content like this? Sign up for The Balance’s newsletter for daily insights, analysis, and financial tips, all delivered straight to your inbox every morning!

Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

City of Eagle, Idaho. " Step 2—Write Your Business Plan ."

Small Business Administration. " Choose a Business Structure ."

How to make a business plan

Table of Contents

How to make a good business plan: step-by-step guide.

A business plan is a strategic roadmap used to navigate the challenging journey of entrepreneurship. It's the foundation upon which you build a successful business.

A well-crafted business plan can help you define your vision, clarify your goals, and identify potential problems before they arise.

But where do you start? How do you create a business plan that sets you up for success?

This article will explore the step-by-step process of creating a comprehensive business plan.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a formal document that outlines a business's objectives, strategies, and operational procedures. It typically includes the following information about a company:

Products or services

Target market

Competitors

Marketing and sales strategies

Financial plan

Management team

A business plan serves as a roadmap for a company's success and provides a blueprint for its growth and development. It helps entrepreneurs and business owners organize their ideas, evaluate the feasibility, and identify potential challenges and opportunities.

As well as serving as a guide for business owners, a business plan can attract investors and secure funding. It demonstrates the company's understanding of the market, its ability to generate revenue and profits, and its strategy for managing risks and achieving success.

Business plan vs. business model canvas

A business plan may seem similar to a business model canvas, but each document serves a different purpose.

A business model canvas is a high-level overview that helps entrepreneurs and business owners quickly test and iterate their ideas. It is often a one-page document that briefly outlines the following:

Key partnerships

Key activities

Key propositions

Customer relationships

Customer segments

Key resources

Cost structure

Revenue streams

On the other hand, a Business Plan Template provides a more in-depth analysis of a company's strategy and operations. It is typically a lengthy document and requires significant time and effort to develop.

A business model shouldn’t replace a business plan, and vice versa. Business owners should lay the foundations and visually capture the most important information with a Business Model Canvas Template . Because this is a fast and efficient way to communicate a business idea, a business model canvas is a good starting point before developing a more comprehensive business plan.

A business plan can aim to secure funding from investors or lenders, while a business model canvas communicates a business idea to potential customers or partners.

Why is a business plan important?

A business plan is crucial for any entrepreneur or business owner wanting to increase their chances of success.

Here are some of the many benefits of having a thorough business plan.

Helps to define the business goals and objectives

A business plan encourages you to think critically about your goals and objectives. Doing so lets you clearly understand what you want to achieve and how you plan to get there.

A well-defined set of goals, objectives, and key results also provides a sense of direction and purpose, which helps keep business owners focused and motivated.

Guides decision-making

A business plan requires you to consider different scenarios and potential problems that may arise in your business. This awareness allows you to devise strategies to deal with these issues and avoid pitfalls.

With a clear plan, entrepreneurs can make informed decisions aligning with their overall business goals and objectives. This helps reduce the risk of making costly mistakes and ensures they make decisions with long-term success in mind.

Attracts investors and secures funding

Investors and lenders often require a business plan before considering investing in your business. A document that outlines the company's goals, objectives, and financial forecasts can help instill confidence in potential investors and lenders.

A well-written business plan demonstrates that you have thoroughly thought through your business idea and have a solid plan for success.

Identifies potential challenges and risks

A business plan requires entrepreneurs to consider potential challenges and risks that could impact their business. For example:

Is there enough demand for my product or service?

Will I have enough capital to start my business?

Is the market oversaturated with too many competitors?

What will happen if my marketing strategy is ineffective?

By identifying these potential challenges, entrepreneurs can develop strategies to mitigate risks and overcome challenges. This can reduce the likelihood of costly mistakes and ensure the business is well-positioned to take on any challenges.

Provides a basis for measuring success

A business plan serves as a framework for measuring success by providing clear goals and financial projections . Entrepreneurs can regularly refer to the original business plan as a benchmark to measure progress. By comparing the current business position to initial forecasts, business owners can answer questions such as:

Are we where we want to be at this point?

Did we achieve our goals?

If not, why not, and what do we need to do?

After assessing whether the business is meeting its objectives or falling short, business owners can adjust their strategies as needed.

How to make a business plan step by step

The steps below will guide you through the process of creating a business plan and what key components you need to include.

1. Create an executive summary

Start with a brief overview of your entire plan. The executive summary should cover your business plan's main points and key takeaways.

Keep your executive summary concise and clear with the Executive Summary Template . The simple design helps readers understand the crux of your business plan without reading the entire document.

2. Write your company description

Provide a detailed explanation of your company. Include information on what your company does, the mission statement, and your vision for the future.

Provide additional background information on the history of your company, the founders, and any notable achievements or milestones.

3. Conduct a market analysis

Conduct an in-depth analysis of your industry, competitors, and target market. This is best done with a SWOT analysis to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Next, identify your target market's needs, demographics, and behaviors.

Use the Competitive Analysis Template to brainstorm answers to simple questions like:

What does the current market look like?

Who are your competitors?

What are they offering?

What will give you a competitive advantage?

Who is your target market?

What are they looking for and why?

How will your product or service satisfy a need?

These questions should give you valuable insights into the current market and where your business stands.

4. Describe your products and services

Provide detailed information about your products and services. This includes pricing information, product features, and any unique selling points.

Use the Product/Market Fit Template to explain how your products meet the needs of your target market. Describe what sets them apart from the competition.

5. Design a marketing and sales strategy

Outline how you plan to promote and sell your products. Your marketing strategy and sales strategy should include information about your:

Pricing strategy

Advertising and promotional tactics

Sales channels

The Go to Market Strategy Template is a great way to visually map how you plan to launch your product or service in a new or existing market.

6. Determine budget and financial projections

Document detailed information on your business’ finances. Describe the current financial position of the company and how you expect the finances to play out.

Some details to include in this section are:

Startup costs

Revenue projections

Profit and loss statement

Funding you have received or plan to receive

Strategy for raising funds

7. Set the organization and management structure

Define how your company is structured and who will be responsible for each aspect of the business. Use the Business Organizational Chart Template to visually map the company’s teams, roles, and hierarchy.

As well as the organization and management structure, discuss the legal structure of your business. Clarify whether your business is a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or LLC.

8. Make an action plan

At this point in your business plan, you’ve described what you’re aiming for. But how are you going to get there? The Action Plan Template describes the following steps to move your business plan forward. Outline the next steps you plan to take to bring your business plan to fruition.

Types of business plans

Several types of business plans cater to different purposes and stages of a company's lifecycle. Here are some of the most common types of business plans.

Startup business plan

A startup business plan is typically an entrepreneur's first business plan. This document helps entrepreneurs articulate their business idea when starting a new business.

Not sure how to make a business plan for a startup? It’s pretty similar to a regular business plan, except the primary purpose of a startup business plan is to convince investors to provide funding for the business. A startup business plan also outlines the potential target market, product/service offering, marketing plan, and financial projections.

Strategic business plan

A strategic business plan is a long-term plan that outlines a company's overall strategy, objectives, and tactics. This type of strategic plan focuses on the big picture and helps business owners set goals and priorities and measure progress.

The primary purpose of a strategic business plan is to provide direction and guidance to the company's management team and stakeholders. The plan typically covers a period of three to five years.

Operational business plan

An operational business plan is a detailed document that outlines the day-to-day operations of a business. It focuses on the specific activities and processes required to run the business, such as:

Organizational structure

Staffing plan

Production plan

Quality control

Inventory management

Supply chain

The primary purpose of an operational business plan is to ensure that the business runs efficiently and effectively. It helps business owners manage their resources, track their performance, and identify areas for improvement.

Growth-business plan

A growth-business plan is a strategic plan that outlines how a company plans to expand its business. It helps business owners identify new market opportunities and increase revenue and profitability. The primary purpose of a growth-business plan is to provide a roadmap for the company's expansion and growth.

The 3 Horizons of Growth Template is a great tool to identify new areas of growth. This framework categorizes growth opportunities into three categories: Horizon 1 (core business), Horizon 2 (emerging business), and Horizon 3 (potential business).

One-page business plan

A one-page business plan is a condensed version of a full business plan that focuses on the most critical aspects of a business. It’s a great tool for entrepreneurs who want to quickly communicate their business idea to potential investors, partners, or employees.

A one-page business plan typically includes sections such as business concept, value proposition, revenue streams, and cost structure.

Best practices for how to make a good business plan

Here are some additional tips for creating a business plan:

Use a template

A template can help you organize your thoughts and effectively communicate your business ideas and strategies. Starting with a template can also save you time and effort when formatting your plan.

Miro’s extensive library of customizable templates includes all the necessary sections for a comprehensive business plan. With our templates, you can confidently present your business plans to stakeholders and investors.

Be practical

Avoid overestimating revenue projections or underestimating expenses. Your business plan should be grounded in practical realities like your budget, resources, and capabilities.

Be specific

Provide as much detail as possible in your business plan. A specific plan is easier to execute because it provides clear guidance on what needs to be done and how. Without specific details, your plan may be too broad or vague, making it difficult to know where to start or how to measure success.

Be thorough with your research

Conduct thorough research to fully understand the market, your competitors, and your target audience . By conducting thorough research, you can identify potential risks and challenges your business may face and develop strategies to mitigate them.

Get input from others

It can be easy to become overly focused on your vision and ideas, leading to tunnel vision and a lack of objectivity. By seeking input from others, you can identify potential opportunities you may have overlooked.

Review and revise regularly

A business plan is a living document. You should update it regularly to reflect market, industry, and business changes. Set aside time for regular reviews and revisions to ensure your plan remains relevant and effective.

Create a winning business plan to chart your path to success

Starting or growing a business can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting, a well-written business plan can make or break your business’ success.

The purpose of a business plan is more than just to secure funding and attract investors. It also serves as a roadmap for achieving your business goals and realizing your vision. With the right mindset, tools, and strategies, you can develop a visually appealing, persuasive business plan.

Ready to make an effective business plan that works for you? Check out our library of ready-made strategy and planning templates and chart your path to success.

Get on board in seconds

Join thousands of teams using Miro to do their best work yet.

How to Write the Management Team Section of a Business Plan

• Small Business
• Business Planning & Strategy
• Write a Business Plan
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Pinterest" aria-label="Share on Pinterest">
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Reddit" aria-label="Share on Reddit">
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Flipboard" aria-label="Share on Flipboard">

How to Write a List of Key Company Principals

How to write a bio that sells you and your company, what are the functions of a business plan.

• How to Make a Creative "About Me" on Facebook
• How to Write Your Business Proposal

Of course, they'll read the market analysis section – and you can expect them to linger over the financial projections section. But if there's one section of a business plan that may carry the greatest weight with lenders, investors and potential strategic partners, it's the management team section. This is where you provide details about the education, qualifications and experience that you and your management team bring to your small business. Written in a crisp and focused manner, the management team section should help those third parties recognize what sets your business apart from others. And it should give meaning to that oft-repeated business maxim: “I don't invest in ideas; I invest in people.”

Gather Key Information

Before you put pen to paper – or your fingers to the keyboard – gather the information you need on your management team. At the least, you should have their resumes handy – and include them in the appendix of your business plan.

Also, be prepared to speak with members of your management team to fill in any blanks. Structure the management team section to include:

• An organizational chart of your small business, including departments, department managers and employees. Biographical information about you, the owner, and any other owners. Specify your ownership percentage and exactly what your day-to-day responsibilities will be. Biographical information on your management team.* The credentials of any advisers who will be at your side providing expert advice, such as an accountant and a lawyer.

One Paragraph Poses One Big Challenge

Like many small-business owners, you may not think of yourself as a writer. So you may be relieved to know that you should devote only about one paragraph to each person you profile in the management section. But in the end, that should be one substantive paragraph, and it will require some finesse to pull it off.

As many writers will attest, being verbose isn't difficult; being concise yet enlightening can be a challenge. Put another way, you want to include only the most relevant and insightful information about your management team – and you want to be quick about it. So be prepared to edit your words ruthlessly as you structure the paragraph to include the team members' info:

• Name and title. Education and professional credentials and some personal information. Primary responsibilities at your small business.

Expand the Second Component

Providing names and titles should be the easy part. The most robust part of your paragraph should proceed with ease if you include:

• Education credentials, including college and major, and any relevant certifications. Employment highlights. Pick the last or last two titles and company affiliations unless there is something truly stellar in someone's past worth mentioning. Skills or specialties, meaning those things that someone truly excels at or is known for.* Notable accomplishments, which can serve as a subliminal message that they can be repeated at your small business.
• Personal insights, which may include anything from community involvement to someone's rationale for joining your company. You have a lot of latitude here, so try to think in terms of what conveys the mark of a can-do, energetic person. If you're impressed by it, chances are someone reading your business plan will be too.

Spell Out the Third Component

Because you opened the paragraph with the person's name and title, you want to close it with a summation of the contributions you expect the person to make. Discretion here is important; you want to demonstrate to people reading your business plan that you've hired accomplished people, but you don't want to stray into the realm of hyperbole, either.

This said, after spelling out so many numbers and analytics in your business plan, the management section is your chance to expose the human side of your business. A good balance can be found in this paragraph:

Thomas Cole, Director of Marketing A mass communication graduate of Illinois State University, Tom brings to us nearly 20 years of marketing experience and a proven ability to integrate best practices into emerging businesses. Websites, smartphones and digital marketing all came of age as the proud redbird worked as a district marketing manager for ABC Media and then marketing manager for XYZ Newspaper Group, both in Chicago. Tom helped these companies navigate sea changes in the newspaper industry and return to profitability by developing imaginative and synergistic marketing campaigns. We expect him to replicate these efforts at Write-On Marketing, at least when he's not busy critiquing the latest creations at his family's award-winning Illinois winery.

Assuming that you believe people are your greatest asset, write your management section like the proud small-business owner you are – your instincts should serve you well.

• NFIB: Parts of a Business Plan: 7 Essential Sections
• Inc.: How to Write a Great Business Plan: Management Team
• Entrepreneur: First Steps: Writing the Management Section of Your Business Plan
• BP Plans: Coffee Export Business Plan

Mary Wroblewski earned a master's degree with high honors in communications and has worked as a reporter and editor in two Chicago newsrooms. Then she launched her own small business, which specialized in assisting small business owners with “all things marketing” – from drafting a marketing plan and writing website copy to crafting media plans and developing email campaigns. Mary writes extensively about small business issues and especially “all things marketing.”

Related Articles

What is an appendix in a business plan, how to write an executive summary on a marketing plan, what are the components of a good business plan, what are the 4 important parts of a business plan, why is an effective business plan introduction important, how to display your bio on wordpress, definition of a swot analysis, final summary for a marketing plan, opening statements for a sales letter, most popular.

• 1 What Is an Appendix in a Business Plan?
• 2 How to Write an Executive Summary on a Marketing Plan
• 3 What Are the Components of a Good Business Plan?
• 4 What Are the 4 Important Parts of a Business Plan?

How to Write a Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated May 7, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

• The basics of business planning

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that planning helps you: 

• Raise money
• Grow strategically
• Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After completing your plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

Brought to you by

Create a professional business plan

Using ai and step-by-step instructions.

Secure funding

Validate ideas

Build a strategy

• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

• A summary of the problem you are solving
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your financials
• Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

This is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

The operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

• Supply chain management
• Manufacturing processes
• Equipment and technology
• Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

• A description of each task
• The proposed due date
• Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

• Website launch date
• Store or office opening date
• First significant sales
• Break even date
• Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Profit per customer
• Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

• Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
• Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
• Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
• Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
• Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

• Company logo
• Business name
• Value proposition (optional)
• Business plan title
• Completion and/or update date
• Address and contact information
• Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI for your business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information to include in a business plan is sometimes not quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

There are plenty of great options available (we’ve rounded up our 8 favorites to streamline your search).

But, if you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template , you can get one right now; download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

• Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
• Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
• Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
• Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
• Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

• Did you meet your sales goals?
• Is spending following your budget?
• Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

Free business plan templates and examples

Kickstart your business plan writing with one of our free business plan templates or recommended tools.

Free business plan template

Download a free SBA-approved business plan template built for small businesses and startups.

Download Template

One-page plan template

Download a free one-page plan template to write a useful business plan in as little as 30-minutes.

Sample business plan library

Explore over 500 real-world business plan examples from a wide variety of industries.

View Sample Plans

How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

• Write a brief executive summary
• Describe your products and services.
• Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
• Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
• Outline your organizational structure and management team.
• Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
• Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

• 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
• Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
• Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
• Failing to establish a sound business model.
• Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

• How will your business make money?
• Is there a need for your product or service?
• Who are your customers?
• How are you different from the competition?
• How will you reach your customers?
• How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Table of Contents

• Use AI to help write your plan
• Common planning mistakes
• Manage with your business plan
• Templates and examples

Related Articles

3 Min. Read

What to Include in Your Business Plan Appendix

1 Min. Read

How to Calculate Return on Investment (ROI)

7 Min. Read

How to Write a Bakery Business Plan + Sample

5 Min. Read

How To Write a Business Plan for a Life Coaching Business + Free Example

The Bplans Newsletter

The Bplans Weekly

Subscribe now for weekly advice and free downloadable resources to help start and grow your business.

We care about your privacy. See our privacy policy .

The quickest way to turn a business idea into a business plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents.

Discover the world’s #1 plan building software

support your career

get the interview & get the job

• Career Development

How To Write a Management Team Business Plan (With an Example)

When creating a business plan, the management section outlines your management team, personnel, resources, and the ownership structure of your company. This section should not only list the members of your management team but also how their individual skill sets will affect your financial results. We’ll go into detail about how to put together and highlight your management team in this article. This section can be conveniently organized by dividing it into the following sections:

How to write a management team business plan

Consider using these guidelines to produce a powerful team business plan:

1. Collect resumes from each manager

Typically, resumes outline a professional’s qualifications, including their training, prior employment, and technical and soft skills. You can use the resumes of your management team as a resource when writing content for your business plan. Ask each manager to send a fresh copy of their resume Asking them to modify their resume to reflect their specific position within your company could be useful and make it simpler for you to create their profiles. Include copies of their resumes as annexes to your proposal.

2. Organize your management team into categories

The next step is to depict the chain of command within your company. List the profiles, going from the company’s owners to the departmental supervisors in descending order. Your management team business plan can appear more organized by using categories, and your audience will understand how the teams’ qualifications correspond to their positions. If your company has multiple divisions, categories may also be useful.

3. Write the managers name and job title

Finding the manager on their individual profile is the third step. Include their role title and first and last names in your writing. Consider adding their department to distinguish between them if there are multiple managers with the same title. To be more specific, you could write “Assistant Manager, Marketing Department” for various employees with the title “assistant manager.”

4. Describe their employment history

The employment history details prior positions your managers held in the sector. Listing the candidates’ prior positions can support your decision to appoint them as managers if they have experience as organizational leaders. Summarize their responsibilities and projects theyve coordinated in the past. You can also highlight your managers’ achievements in this section, such as awards they have won or helpful things they have done for previous employers.

5. Explain their educational background

The manager profile’s education section covers the institutions your team attended and the degrees they obtained. It can further highlight the manager’s credentials by demonstrating that they have received the necessary training to oversee other team members in your organization. You can also write professional certifications your managers have. For instance, listing a certification in spreadsheet software may impress potential business partners if you run a technology company.

What is a management team business plan?

A management team business plan describes the qualifications and experience of a group of managers in a company. Its goal is to demonstrate to potential investors that the professionals your business has hired are qualified for leadership roles because they have training and experience. It includes details that distinguish your organization from competitors. A potential investor or business partner may be persuaded to provide funding or work with your company if your management team’s business plan impresses them.

Tips for writing a management team business plan

The following three rules will help you gather data and organize your management team business plan:

Incorporate relevant information

Include information that is relevant to their interests in your management profile as a way to attract potential investors. List the qualifications of your leaders in relation to your company and your sector. By including pertinent information, you can demonstrate to potential customers that your team has the managerial skills they need. Be selective when gathering information about your managers to avoid detracting the audience from your goal.

For instance, if you work for a ride-sharing company, you might be looking for partnerships to expand into major cities. You could note in your management team business plan that your executives have experience in customer service, technology, and transportation, three crucial areas that can help the ride-sharing business succeed. The strategy shows potential partners that your team has the expertise to work in the field, encouraging them to collaborate with your company.

Use straightforward wording

Simple language can keep your management team business plan clear and understandable. It’s crucial that customers can understand your company’s organizational structure and which employees are responsible for what tasks. The size of the business and the number of supervisors there are may have an impact on the length of the proposal. But even if your plan is more detailed, keeping your writing simple can help you keep the interest of potential stakeholders. It might be beneficial to reread your sentences and omit any pointless details so that you can convey the key ideas of your message in fewer words.

Clarify information with your team

It may be difficult to include every qualification of an employee on a resume because they are typically one page long. To learn more about your team members’ professional backgrounds, think about speaking with them directly. Find out if they have any additional pertinent information to include in their profile that will appeal to potential customers. Maybe you should mention a gap in their resume or point out that they have more work achievements you can list in their profile. Clarifying details with managers can help you plan the content more effectively and prevent repeating too many details from their resumes.

Example of a management team business plan

You can write a management team business plan that is successful by using the following example of a team member’s profile as a model:

Management Team Member Profile

Jane Stewart, Director of Marketing

The marketing division is headed by Jane Stewart, who is also the coordinator of marketing, social media manager, and graphic designer. Her duties include keeping an eye on social media engagement analytics and creating creative consumer engagement strategies. Stewart graduated from Pine Ridge University with a bachelor’s in marketing and a master’s in business administration. She is professionally certified in social media management and content marketing. Stewart’s previous position was assistant marketing director at full-service advertising agency Oak Wood, where she saw a 25% increase in email and video subscriber numbers.

Writing the Management Team Section of Your Business Plan

How do you present a management team in a business plan?

An organizational chart of your small business, including departments, department managers, and employees, should be included in the management team section. Biographical information about you, the owner, and any other owners. Clearly state your ownership stake in the company and your day-to-day responsibilities.

How do you write a management plan for a business plan?

• Indicate the number of employees your business will require at each stage and their associated costs.
• Describe the specifics of how your company’s human resource needs can be satisfied.
• Describe your hiring needs, including a list of the particular skills that any employees you hire must possess.

How important is management team in a business plan?

A strong management team is especially important if you want the company to expand and grow as a whole. A management team is crucial for distributing leadership responsibilities as a business expands. If your business operates in multiple locations, it is essential.

Related posts:

• 15 BPI Certifications (With Tips for Choosing One)
• Report Writing Skills: Definition and Examples
• How To Measure Training Effectiveness in 5 Steps
• What Is ABC Inventory? (With Benefits, Steps and an Example)
• FAQ: What Is an Oil and Gas Management Degree?
• 30 Inspirational Career Change Quotes (And How They Help)
• 10 of the Best Master’s Degrees for the Future (And Jobs To Consider)
• 9 Paraprofessional Skills (Plus 3 Tips for Improving Them)

Related Posts

How to write a letter to the editor in 8 steps, how to learn embedded systems programming in 6 steps, leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Customer Reviews
• Net 30 Account
• Wise Services
• Steps & Timeline
• Work at a Glance
• Market Research at a Glance
• Business Plan Writing Services
• Bank Business Plan
• Investor Business Plan
• Franchise Business Plan
• Cannabis Business Plan
• Strategic Business Plan
• Corporate Business Plan
• Merge and Acquisition Business Plan (M&A)
• Private Placement Memorandums (PPM)
• Sample Business Plans
• Professional Feasibility Study
• PowerPoint Presentations
• Pitch Deck Presentation Services
• Business Plan Printing
• Market Research
• L-1 Business Plan
• E-2 Business Plan
• EB-5 Business Plan
• EB-5 Regional Centers
• Immigration Attorneys
• Nonprofit Business Plan
• Exit Business Planning
• Business Planning
• Business Formation
• Business License
• Business Website
• Business Branding
• Business Bank Account
• Digital Marketing
• Business Funding Resources
• Small Business Loans
• Venture Capital
• Net 30 Apply

How to Write Management Team Section in Business Plan

A business plan must include details about your key people and managers. 

The management team section in business plan includes a detailed introduction to the owners, managers, and key people.

How do you write the management team section in business plan?

5 points to include in management team business plan.

The management team section explains the educational and professional backgrounds of your key people. You can convince potential lenders or investors of the professional capabilities of your organization. A competent team is a strong argument in your favor. 

The management team section in business plan also includes the vacant positions, the people you are looking for those positions, and how and when you plan to hire them. 

Want to write a business plan?

Hire our professional business plan writers to prepare your business plan!

Writing a management team section in a business plan is very easy; all you will need to do is to introduce your team to the world. 

If you have not hired yet, explain who you want to hire, describe their educational and professional background, and also mention their job description.

Collect Manager Resumes 

When writing the m anagement team section in business plan, c ollect the resumes of managers and key people. A resume typically packs every important professional detail about a person. You will need to use this information in the management team business plan section. 

Describe an ideal resume for a post if you are yet to hire a manager.

Group Employees in Categories 

Insert your organizational chart here. Show your chain of commands and describe who is who and what is what. 

Every organization is divided into different departments like management, HR, advertising/marketing, procurement, etc. You will need people with different skills in every position. 

Your organization chart will not only help introduce your team and chain of commands, but it will also help you prepare for hiring the right people for the job.

Introduce Key people 

Key people include owners, top management, key managers, etc. These are the primary decision-makers in an organization. Potential lenders or investors would like to know the people in your business, their profile, and their business philosophy. 

Include the resumes of your key people, their education or professional background, and their uniqueness for the business. 

Managers Employment History 

As the name suggests, you will tell the employment and professional history of managers. Though this is similar to the key people section, this part will include managers only. 

A relevant employment history speaks in favor of your sound choice.

Explain Team Gaps 

Team gaps are the positions yet to be filled. 

If you are starting a new business, you may only have key people. Your organization chart is helpful here too. 

Spot and name the vacant positions. Explain what the resume of the best candidates will look like and when you plan to hire. 

Want to see a sample of the management team section in a business plan? Check our professional business plan samples and see how it is done.

Access our free business plan examples now!

• Who are key managers? If you have appointed them already, mention them; if not, explain who you want to hire.
• Discuss the educational backgrounds, professional experiences, and skills of managers. 
• Explain the relevant industry experience of your managers. If you have not hired yet, describe who you will hire and give your desired profile. 
• Explain who will be responsible for what. Including an organizational chart would be a good idea. 
• What is the salary you will offer to attract the right people for the jobs?

WiseBusinessPlans is the company that writes business plans

The management team section should include details about the key members of your team, their roles and responsibilities, their qualifications and experience, and their contributions to the success of the business. It provides an overview of the skills and expertise within your team.

Showcase the qualifications of your management team by highlighting their relevant education, professional certifications, industry experience, and track record of success. Include specific achievements or notable projects they have been involved in.

If your management team is not fully formed, include the key positions you plan to fill and describe the ideal qualifications and experience for those roles. Highlight any progress made in identifying or recruiting potential team members.

Yes, you can include advisors or consultants who play a significant role in guiding your business. Briefly mention their expertise and how they contribute to the management and strategic decision-making process.

The management team section demonstrates the strength of your business by showcasing the collective expertise, experience, and skills of your team. It instills confidence in potential investors or lenders that your business is led by capable individuals who can effectively execute the business plan.

Quick Links

• Investor Business Plans
• M&A Business Plan
• Private Placement
• Feasibility Study
• Hire a Business Plan Writer
• Business Valuation Calculator
• Business Plan Examples
• Real Estate Business Plan
• Business Plan Template
• Business Plan Pricing Guide
• Business Plan Makeover
• SBA Loans, Bank Funding & Business Credit
• Finding & Qualifying for Business Grants
• Leadership for the New Manager
• Content Marketing for Beginners
• All About Crowdfunding
• EB-5 Regional Centers, A Step-By-Step Guide
• Logo Designer
• Landing Page
• PPC Advertising

• Business Entity
• Business Licensing
• Virtual Assistant
• Business Phone
• Business Address
• E-1 Visa Business Plan
• EB1-A Visa Business Plan
• EB1-C Visa Business Plan
• EB2-NIW Business Plan
• H1B Visa Business Plan
• O1 Visa Business Plan
• Business Brokers
• Merger & Acquisition Advisors
• Franchisors

Proud Sponsor of

• 1-800-496-1056

• (613) 800-0227

• +44 (1549) 409190

• +61 (2) 72510077

Plan Projections

ideas to numbers .. simple financial projections

Home > Business Plan > Management Team in a Business Plan

Management Team in a Business Plan

…we have put a team together…

What do the Investors look for in the Management Team?

Investors will be particularly interested to obtain answers to the following questions about the management team:

• Does the team know its weaknesses?
• Does each team member have a defined role to play?
• Are there any previous working relationships within the team?
• Is there a common objective for all team members?
• Is there relevant experience relating to the business idea in the team?
• What are the business ownership arrangements?
• Is the team fully committed?

Business Plan Management Team Presentation

There is no set style for the presentation of the management team information in a business plan, but we suggest a simple format similar to that shown below. Full details and complete CV’s can be included in an appendix or submitted later if requested.

For each individual, the format shows details of their name, title and role in the business, and a brief biography of the person. The biography should have particular emphasis on the following characteristics and skills and show how they link back to the business idea discussed in elevator pitch section of the business plan contents article.

• Past successes and failures.
• Education and professional training.
• Management and work experience.
• Special skills related to the business idea.
• Business reputation.

This is part of the financial projections and Contents of a Business Plan Guide a series of posts on what each section of a simple business plan should include. The next post in this series is defining the customer problem .

About the Author

Chartered accountant Michael Brown is the founder and CEO of Plan Projections. He has worked as an accountant and consultant for more than 25 years and has built financial models for all types of industries. He has been the CFO or controller of both small and medium sized companies and has run small businesses of his own. He has been a manager and an auditor with Deloitte, a big 4 accountancy firm, and holds a degree from Loughborough University.

You May Also Like

• Starting a Business
• Growing a Business
• Small Business Guide
• Business News
• Science & Technology
• Money & Finance
• For Subscribers
• Write for Entrepreneur
• Entrepreneur Store
• United States
• Asia Pacific
• Middle East
• South Africa

Copyright © 2024 Entrepreneur Media, LLC All rights reserved. Entrepreneur® and its related marks are registered trademarks of Entrepreneur Media LLC

First Steps: Writing the Management Section of Your Business Plan This quick guide offers tips that will help you create the management section for your business plan.

By The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc. • Jan 4, 2015

In their book Write Your Business Plan , the staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc. offer an in-depth understanding of what's essential to any business plan, what's appropriate for your venture, and what it takes to ensure success. In this edited excerpt, the authors discuss what type of information you should include in the management section of your business plan.

In the management section of your business plan, you describe who'll run the company. This may be no more than a simple paragraph noting that you'll be the only executive and describing your background. Or it may be a major section in the plan, consisting of an organizational chart outlining interrelationships among every department and manager in the company, plus bios of all key executives.

Time and again, financiers utter some variation of the following statement: "I don't invest in ideas; I invest in people." Whether this is the whole story—investors certainly prefer capable people with good ideas to inept people with good ideas—there's no doubt that you, and the people who run your company, will receive considerable scrutiny from financiers as well as from customers, suppliers and anyone else with an interest in your plan. People are, after all, a company's most important asset. Not adequately addressing this issue in a business plan is a serious failing. Luckily, it's one of the easiest parts.

Be sure to include all of the following parts, where applicable:

You. Before you can impress people with your management team, it's important to let your readers know who's at the helm and who's selecting the management team. You, therefore, have to let them know your background, including your vision, your credentials, and why you chose the management team you did. You need to briefly explain what's expected of this management team and the role you see them playing in the future of this business.

Your managers. Identifying your managers is about presenting what they bring to the table. You can provide this by describing them in terms of the following characteristics:

Education . Impressive educational credentials among company managers provide strong reasons for an investor or other plan reader to feel good about your company. Use your judgment in deciding what educational background to include and how to emphasize it.

Employment . Prior work experience in a related field is something many investors look for. If you've spent ten years in management in the retail men's apparel business before opening a tuxedo outlet, an investor can feel confident that you know what you're doing. Likewise, you'll want to explain the key, appropriate positions of your team members. Describe any relevant jobs in terms of job title, years of experience, names of employers, etc. Feel free to omit any irrelevant experience.

Skills . In addition to pointing out that you were a district sales manager for a stereo-equipment wholesaler, you should describe your responsibilities and the skills you honed while fulfilling them. Again, list the skills that your management team has that pertain to this business. Each time you mention skills that you or a member of your management team has spent years acquiring at another company, it will be another reason for an investor to believe you can do it at your own company.

Accomplishments. If you or one of your team members has been awarded patents, achieved record sales gains or once opened an unbelievable number of new stores in the space of a year, now's the time to tell about it. And don't brag: Just be factual and remember to quantify. If, for example, you have 12 patents or your sales manager had five years of 30 percent annual sales gains, this is the stuff investors and others reading your business plan will want to see.

Personal . Investors want to know with whom they're dealing in terms of the personal side, too. Personal information on each member of your management team may include age, city of residence, notable charitable or community activities and, last but far from least, personal motivation for joining the company. Investors like to see vigorous, committed, involved people in the companies they back. Mentioning one or two relevant personal details of your key managers may help investors feel they know what they're getting into, especially in today's increasingly transparent business climate.

In a longer plan, when you give your management team's background and describe their titles, go on and tell readers exactly what each member of the management team will be expected to do in the company. This may be especially important in a startup, in which not every position is filled from the start. If your marketing work is going to be handled by the CFO until you get a little further down the road, let readers know this up front. You certainly can't expect them to figure that out on their own.

Board members. Your board members, and their reasons for being included, should be a brief part of your business plan. A board of directors gives you access to expertise, provided you choose them wisely, but at the cost of giving up control of the business to them. Technically, the officers of a corporation report to the board of directors, who bear the ultimate responsibility for the proper management of the company.

A board of advisors is a less-formal entity. You can have the same kind of people on an advisory board but you don't report to them nor do they have the same power as a board of directors. Your board should be able to challenge your thinking, help you solve knotty problems, and even change management if necessary.

Outside professionals. Some of the most important people who'll do work for you won't work for you. Your attorney, your accountant and your insurance broker are all crucial members of your team. Your business plan should reassure readers that you have your bases covered in these important professional positions.

Investors want profit. They don't just give money to people they like or admire. But it's also true that if they don't like, admire or at least respect the people running your company, they're likely to look elsewhere. The management section of your plan is where you tell them about the human side of the equation. You can't control your readers' responses to that, but you owe it to them to provide the information.

Entrepreneur Staff

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick Red Arrow

• This Mother and Daughter Were 'Kind of Fringe Weirdos' When They Started an Uncommon Business in Their Garage. Now They're in Major Retailers — and Victoria Beckham Is a Fan.
• Lock A Leadership Shortage Is Coming. Here's What Needs to Happen to Prevent It.
• Lock The Author of 'Million Dollar Weekend' Says This Is the Only Difference Between You and the Many 'Very, Very Dumb People' Making a Lot of Money
• What the NLRB Appeal of the Expanded Joint Employer Rule Judgment Means for Your Business
• Lock 12 Books That Self-Made Millionaires Swear By
• The Sweet Side Hustle She Started in an Old CVS Made $800,000 in One Year. Now She's Repeating the Success With Her Daughter — and They've Already Exceeded 8 Figures.

Most Popular Red Arrow

My startup couldn't raise vc funding, so we became profitable. here's how we did it — and how you can too..

Four months ago, my startup reached profitability for the first time. It came after more than a year of active work and planning, and here's what it took.

Warren Buffett Had to Work From His iPhone After Telephone Lines Went Down at Berkshire Hathaway: 'I'm Glad We Didn't Sell All of Our Apple'

Berkshire sold around $20 billion worth of Apple recently.

Clinton Sparks Podcast: From Hit Records to Humanitarian Powerhouse, Akon Shares His Entrepreneurial Journey

This podcast is a fun, entertaining and informative show that will teach you how to succeed and achieve your goals with practical advice and actionable steps given through compelling stories and conversations with Clinton and his guests.

McDonald's Is Responding to Sky-High Fast Food Prices By Rolling Out a Much Cheaper Value Meal: Report

The news comes as the chain looks to redirect back to customer "affordability."

Clinton Sparks Podcast: CEO of Complex Shares How Media, Culture Have Shifted in Recent Years

Jack dorsey explains bluesky exit: 'literally repeating all the mistakes we made' at twitter.

Dorsey left the Bluesky board and deleted his account earlier this week.

Successfully copied link

Business Plan Section 3: Organization and Management

This section explains how your business runs and who’s on your team. Learn how to present the information in this section of your business plan.

This section of your business plan, Organization and Management, is where you’ll explain exactly how you’re set up to make your ideas happen, plus you’ll introduce the players on your team.

As always, remember your audience. If this is a plan for your internal use, you can be a little more general than if you’ll be presenting it to a potential lender or investor. No matter what its purpose, you’ll want to break the organization and management section into two segments: one describing the way you’ve set up the company to run (its organizational structure), and the other introducing the people involved (its management).

Business Organization

Having a solid plan for how your business will run is a key component of its smooth and successful operation. Of course, you need to surround yourself with good people, but you have to set things up to enable them to work well with each other and on their own.

It’s important to define the positions in the company, which job is responsible for what, and to whom everyone will report. Over time, the structure may grow and change and you can certainly keep tweaking it as you go along, but you need to have an initial plan.

If you’re applying for funding to start a business or expand one, you may not even have employees to fit all the roles in the organization. However, you can still list them in your plan for how the company will ideally operate once you have the ability to do so.

Obviously, for small businesses, the organization will be far more streamlined and less complicated than it is for larger ones, but your business plan still needs to demonstrate an understanding of how you’ll handle the workflow. At the very least, you’ll need to touch on sales and marketing, administration, and the production and distribution of your product or the execution of your service.

For larger companies, an organizational plan with well-thought-out procedures is even more important. This is the best way to make sure you’re not wasting time duplicating efforts or dealing with internal confusion about responsibilities. A smooth-running operation runs far more efficiently and cost-effectively than one flying by the seat of its pants, and this section of your business plan will be another indication that you know what you’re doing. A large company is also likely to need additional operational categories such as human resources and possibly research and development.

One way to explain your organizational structure in the business plan is graphically. A simple diagram or flowchart can easily demonstrate levels of management and the positions within them, clearly illustrating who reports to whom, and how different divisions of the company (such as sales and marketing) relate to each other.

Here is where you can also talk about the other levels of employees in your company. Your lower-level staff will carry out the day-to-day work, so it’s important to recognize the types of people you’ll need, how many, what their qualifications should be, where you’ll find them, and what they’ll cost.

If the business will use outside consultants, freelancers, or independent contractors, mention it here as well. And talk about positions you’d want to add in the future if you’re successful enough to expand.

Business Management

Now that we understand the structure of your business, we need to meet the people who’ll be running it. Who does what, and why are they onboard? This section is important even for a single practitioner or sole proprietorship, as it will introduce you and your qualifications to the readers of your plan.

Start at the top with the legal structure and ownership of the business. If you are incorporated, say so, and detail whether you are a C or S corporation. If you haven’t yet incorporated, make sure to discuss this with your attorney and tax advisor to figure out which way to go. Whether you’re in a partnership or are a sole owner, this is where to mention it.

List the names of the owners of the business, what percent of the company each of them owns, the form of ownership (common or preferred stock, general or limited partner), and what kind of involvement they’ll have with day-to-day operations; for example, if they’re an active or silent partner.

Here’s where you’ll list the names and profiles of your management team, along with what their responsibilities are. Especially if you’re looking for funding, make sure to highlight the proven track record of these key employees. Lenders and investors will be keenly interested in their previous successes, particularly in how they relate to this current venture.

Include each person’s name and position, along with a short description of what the individual’s main duties will be. Detail his or her education, and any unique skills or experience, especially if they’re relevant to the job at hand. Mention previous employment and any industry awards or recognition related to it, along with involvement with charities or other non-profit organizations.

Think of this section as a resume-in-a-nutshell, recapping the highlights and achievements of the people you’ve chosen to surround yourself with. Actual detailed resumes for you and your management team should go in the plan’s appendix, and you can cross-reference them here. You want your readers to feel like your top staff complements you and supplements your own particular skill set. You also want readers to understand why these people are so qualified to help make your business a success.

This section will spell out the compensation for management team members, such as salary, benefits, and any profit-sharing you might be offering. If any of the team will be under contract or bound by non-compete agreements, you would mention that here, as well.

If your company will have a Board of Directors, its members also need to be listed in the business plan. Introduce each person by name and the position they’ll hold on the board. Talk about how each might be involved with the business (in addition to board meetings.

Similar to what you did for your management team, give each member’s background information, including education, experience, special skills, etc., along with any contributions they may already have had to the success of the business. Include the full resumes for your board members in the appendix.

Alternately, if you don’t have a Board of Directors, include information about an Advisory Board you’ve put together, or a panel of experts you’ve convened to help you along the way. Having either of these, by the way, is something your company might want to consider whether or not you’re putting together the organization and management section or your business plan.

NEXT ARTICLE > Business Plan Section 4: Products and Services

Apply for a loan, get started.

Loans from $5,000 - $100,000 with transparent terms and no prepayment penalty. Tell us a little about yourself, your business and receive your quote in minutes without impacting your credit score.

Thanks for applying!

Loans are originated and funded through our lending arm, Accion Opportunity Fund Community Development. By clicking “Continue to Application,” you consent to, Accion Opportunity Fund Community Development’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy ; and to receive emails, calls and texts , potentially for marketing purposes, including autodialed or pre-recorded calls. You may opt out of receiving certain communications as provided in our Privacy Policy .

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Finance and Business
• Business Skills
• Business Writing

How to Write a Management Plan

Last Updated: September 18, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Madison Boehm . Madison Boehm is a Business Advisor and the Co-Founder of Jaxson Maximus, a men’s salon and custom clothiers based in southern Florida. She specializes in business development, operations, and finance. Additionally, she has experience in the salon, clothing, and retail sectors. Madison holds a BBA in Entrepreneurship and Marketing from The University of Houston. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 238,511 times.

A management plan describes how an organization or business is run. Writing a management plan allows you to formalize your management structure and operations. It also ensures that everyone is on the same page and that your goals will be accomplished. You can easily write your own management plan with a few simple steps.

Management Plan Outline and Example

Starting Your Management Plan

• Defining roles also creates accountability by making it clear who's fault it was that something did or did not happen. [3] X Trustworthy Source Kansas University Center for Community Health and Development Community-based research center focused on supporting public health development and education Go to source

• A section detailing management members and their responsibilities and authorities.
• A chart of section detailing interactions between and responsibilities of each level of the organization.
• A section explaining different aspects of your organization being managed and the policies and procedures of that management.
• A schedule for updating, enhancing, and growing management and the management plan. [6] X Research source

Describing Ownership and Management

• Include a copy of board policies, including election policies, term length, responsibility, authority, and conflict resolution. This information should already be stated in your operating agreement or other founding documents.

• List past positions and duties of each member that apply to their current management obligations. Explain how these obligations highlight applicable skills and strengthen the management positions.
• Highlight all relevant educational backgrounds for each of the managers. Explain how their training will benefit the company. Only include the education that is relevant to the positions that they currently hold.
• If you are the only employee in your business, be sure to include your own experience and strengths.

• Accountants.
• Insurance brokers.
• Consultants.

• For example, “Our team, with its diverse array of skills, have a combined forty years of experience in this field. With our coordinated democratic structure, they can work together effectively to produce results. With this team, we are confident that our business will become profitable in two years.”

Writing Out Policies and Procedures

• For example, a policy might be using and selling only green materials and products. The procedures to support that policy might be shopping from approved green vendors or checking the environmental impact of each material or product used.

Revising Your Plan

• When they approve, have all owners sign the plan before you submit it to your investors, bank, or fundraising bodies.

• Make sure there is a way for all management and employees to submit their feedback regarding the plan.
• Then, create a method by which changes to the plan can be approved and instituted. [20] X Trustworthy Source Kansas University Center for Community Health and Development Community-based research center focused on supporting public health development and education Go to source

Expert Q&A

• Many investors will read the management section of your business plan before any other section, including marketing and finances, so you want to make sure that you have the best proposal possible. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Do not neglect your management plan in favor of your financial plans. Both are equally important to a business plan. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Madison Boehm. Business Advisor, Jaxson Maximus. Expert Interview. 24 August 2021.
• ↑ http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/leadership/effective-manager/management-plan/main
• ↑ https://www.brown.edu/research/conducting-research-brown/preparing-proposal/proposal-development-services/writing-management-plan
• ↑ https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-write-the-management-summary-2951561
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/humanresourcemanagement/chapter/4-1-the-recruitment-process/
• ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241072
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
• ↑ http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4533-business-plan-outline.html

About This Article

The best way to write a management report is to describe the company’s management structure in 10 to 20 pages. Name the board members and explain the company’s ownership policies. Introduce all management members and present the strengths of each team member. Then, write out workplace policies and procedures. Send the management report to the company’s bank, investors, or fundraising bodies. For more tips from our Financial Reviewer, like how to outline, format, and revise your plan, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Moshakge Molokwane

Apr 12, 2017

Did this article help you?

Mar 14, 2019

Jamie Willacy

Feb 1, 2023

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Get all the best how-tos!

Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter

8 tips from Jeff Bezos on how to run a company and manage your team

• Jeff Bezos spent nearly three decades at the helm of Amazon.
• His successor, Andy Jassy, has called him the "most unusual business leader of our era."
• Here's some of Bezos' most famous principles for running a team and business.

Andy Jassy has called him "arguably the most unusual business leader of our era."

In his 27 years at the helm of Amazon , Jeff Bezos taught his successor, Jassy, and others a lot about how to run one of the world's biggest businesses.

Here's some of the advice he's shared over the years about managing a team and company:

Think big picture

Bezos "always had a way of getting teams to think bigger," Jassy said at a 2017 talk.

"It was amazing to watch how many ideas came to him from teams — that I thought were really good ideas, and they were really good ideas — where Jeff kind of listened to them, thought about them and then really looked around corners and helped figure it out and said: 'Well, shouldn't we extend this idea? Shouldn't we look around this corner naturally to advance the idea beyond what we are thinking just now to really change the shape of what we've built?'" Jassy said .

"Big things start small. The biggest oak starts from an acorn," Bezos said in 2017.

Have high standards

Bezos' had high expectations that extended throughout the organization.

""When you run a big organization and you can't attend all of the meetings, you can set reasonably high standards — I'll say maybe even unreasonably high standards, reasonably high standards that people stretch to — it gives you a lot of leverage across the organization where you are not in all of those meetings," Jassy said .

Be "strategically patient and tactically impatient"

Bezos put an emphasis on speed while sticking to his long-term vision for the company.

"His conviction about long-term vision and where he wants to take something — and even when people tell him it is not possible, which by the way, all of the time people tell him it is not possible — he has a conviction about it and believes it is possible and is stubborn about that vision," Jassy said . "But, in the interim, even though it may take us a long time to get to where we want to go, he understands that speed disproportionately matters."

Determine meeting head count by 2 pizzas

Bezos famously employs a "two-pizza rule" for meetings: He limits them to only the number of people that could be fed with two pizzas.

He credits this with helping with productivity, speed, and collaboration.

Create narratives, not PowerPoints

Bezos has said Amazon has "the weirdest meeting culture you ever encounter." One of Bezos' meeting no-nos is PowerPoints , which he has banned in company meetings.

"For every meeting, someone from the meeting has prepared a six-page, narratively structured memo that has real sentences and topic sentences and verbs," he's said. "It's not just bullet points. It's supposed to create the context for the discussion we're about to have."

He's said his perfect meeting has days of prep and involves "a crisp document and a messy meeting."

Related stories

In a 2004 email to his senior team, Bezos explained why he doesn't like PowerPoints .

"Powerpoint-style presentations somehow give permission to gloss over ideas, flatten out any sense of relative importance, and ignore the innerconnectedness of ideas," he wrote.

Bezos makes sure meeting attendees read through the memos.

"We read in the room. Just like high-school kids, executives will bluff their way through the meeting as if they've read the memo. So you have to carve out time so everyone has actually read the memo — they are not just pretending," he said.

Bezos has also assigned summer reading to top executives before.

Get customer input

Bezos' email is public, and while it's hard to imagine the jet-setting centibillionaire responded to any customers, he says he sometimes forwarded their concerns or feedback to the relevant departments .

"I see most of those emails. I see them and I forward them to the executives in charge of the area with a question mark. It's shorthand [for], 'Can you look into this?' 'Why is this happening?'" he said in 2018.

Bezos made a big point at Amazon of being focused on "customer obsession, as opposed to competitor obsession."

"Often companies say they are focused on customers, but they really spend most of their energy reacting to and talking about competitors," he said.

In fact, much of Amazon's success can be traced back to Bezos soliciting customer input in the company's early days.

In 1997, Bezos emailed 1,000 customers asking what they'd like to see the company sell. One customer said they wished Bezos sold windshield wiper blades because they needed new ones.

"I thought to myself, 'We can sell anything this way,'" Bezos said.

"Disagree and commit"

In his 2016 letter to shareholders , Bezos talked about the importance of the "disagree and commit" strategy in decision-making.

"If you have conviction on a particular direction even though there's no consensus, it's helpful to say, 'Look, I know we disagree on this but will you gamble with me on it? Disagree and commit?' By the time you're at this point, no one can know the answer for sure, and you'll probably get a quick yes," he wrote.

Categorize decisions, and make them sooner than you think

Bezos wrote in his 2015 shareholder letter that he distinguishes Type 1 and Type 2 decisions . Type 1 decisions are high-impact and have a big influence on the company's strategy, while Type 2 decisions have lower stakes and can be more easily reversed if necessary.

Bezos says Type 1 decisions take up most of your time, while Type 2 decisions should be delegated or grouped with other smaller decisions for later.

Bezos believes you should make decisions with 70% of the information you wish you had, and iterate from there. He says he does this because if you waited for all of the data you wanted, you'd be acting too slowly.

In addition, Bezos likes to make decisions in the mornings .

"He said, 'Normally, I make important decisions around 10:30 a.m. I'll discuss it the day before, I'll sleep on it, and in the morning I'll actually make the decision,'" Italian fashion designer Brunello Cucinelli told The Wall Street Journal's Lane Florsheim in 2020.

Watch: Microsoft CEO unravels ChatGPT, ethical AI, and going bust

• Main content

Transform teamwork with Confluence. See why Confluence is the content collaboration hub for all teams.  Get it free

• The Workstream
• Project management
• Process Flow Chart

Process flow chart: what it is & how to create one

Browse topics.

Keeping your business organized can be a tall order — especially as it grows. Process flow charts are one way to organize business processes by visualizing the steps of a process or workflow . As you dive deeper into the individual steps of a process, you can discover opportunities to improve teamwork and productivity.

Visualizing processes with a flowchart can help you organize important details and improve your operations. As you develop your process flow chart, you can discover non-value-added processes and optimize your workflow.

In this guide, we’ll discuss what a process flow chart is and how you can create one for your business. Keep reading to learn more.

What is a process flow chart?

Process flow charts are a way of visually organizing your workflow. They use different shapes connected by lines, each representing an individual step.

A process flow chart aids in project management by helping you outline and visualize your workflows. An example could be a chart showing how you process and fulfill customer orders from the moment an order is placed to delivery.

Importance of process flow charts

Visualizing your workflow allows you to understand your project scope better so you can plan your project based on your goals and deadlines.

Having a clear visual representation of your processes helps improve teamwork and keep everyone on the same page. This way, everyone can understand your business processes from start to finish and the role they play in those processes.

Creating a flow process chart can improve productivity by weeding out non-value-added activities. You have ample room to grow and improve if you’re not wasting precious time on unnecessary steps.

Types of flow charts

There are several types of flow charts, each serving a different purpose. You can learn more about some of the different flow charts below:

• Basic flow chart: Simple flow charts are ideal for visualizing basic steps without many complexities or details.
• System flow chart: System flow charts show how every part of a system interacts with the other parts.
• Workflow diagram: Workflow diagrams visualize steps or processes required to complete a project, which can help you minimize waste.
• Data flow chart: Data flow charts show how data moves throughout your system and other connected systems.
• Decision flow chart: These flow charts play a vital role in the decision-making process , answering simple questions to arrive at a final decision.
• Swimlane flow chart: Swimlane flow charts allow you to visualize who’s responsible for each part of a process or project, whether that’s an individual or a group.

Components of a process flow chart

Process flow charts have a few key symbols used to contextualize the information in the chart. Different symbols are used for different steps within a process flow chart with connecting lines in between.

Different shapes and symbols—including diamonds and rectangles—are used for each process or step, with lines connecting the symbols. Different types of lines denote the beginning and end of the flow chart, and directional arrows indicate the flow direction of the chart.

Visualizing information with flow charts can play a crucial role in project planning , and it’s easy once you understand what the symbols represent.

Steps to create a process flow chart

Creating a process flow chart isn’t rocket science, but there are some basic guidelines you need to follow. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you create your next process flow chart.

Identify the process

Start by clearly defining the process or workflow you’re going to outline. Choosing which projects to visualize and optimize is critical to strategic planning . Once you have a good idea of what you want your flow chart to represent, you can start building it out.

Define boundaries

When it comes to process flow charts for businesses, you can always add more details or break a process down further by adding more steps. However, when creating a flow chart, you only want to include the necessary details.

Figure out the scope and boundaries of your flow chart before you start fleshing it out. That way, you’ll avoid wasting time adding information that complicates the main objective. Details are good, but you don’t want to go overboard.

Gather information

This is where knowledge sharing comes into play. Now, it’s time to collect detailed information about the steps, inputs, and outputs contributing to the process. Ensure you track the process from start to finish to avoid missing crucial steps.

Identify the sequence of steps

Now that you know the steps involved in the process you’re outlining, you can put them in the correct sequence to start organizing your flow chart. Your flow chart should move in one consistent direction from beginning to end, with each step bringing you closer to completing the process.

Draw the flow chart

With process flow charts, the individual steps only tell part of the story—you need to connect them to tell the whole story. Complete your flow chart by using symbols and connectors to connect individual steps and create an accurate visual representation of the process from start to finish.

Review and revise

Once you’ve organized and drawn everything out, review your flow chart to ensure it’s accurate, complete, and clear. If there are any issues, you can revise your flow chart.

Reviewing and revising is a never-ending battle. Even after completing a flow chart, you must review and update it regularly to ensure accuracy. Make sure to reflect any changes in your flow charts as they occur.

Uses of process flow charts

A good process flow chart can provide several benefits for businesses. Here are some of the common uses of process flow charts:

• Process improvement: Visualizing processes helps you understand how to optimize them, saving you time and money.
• Training and onboarding: When you clearly understand your training and onboarding process, you can streamline it and ensure everyone receives the same training.
• Communication: Flow charts can help you identify communication gaps in different project stages to keep everyone on the same page.
• Documentation: Using visuals helps everyone follow documentation best practices — from project documentation to team documentation.
• Compliance and quality assurance: Creating a step-by-step visual representation of a process helps you identify potential compliance or quality assurance issues before it’s too late.

Best practices for creating effective process flow charts

An effective flow chart can help you optimize business processes and improve productivity and project collaboration . Here are some guidelines to follow to ensure you’re doing it right.

Keep your process flow chart simple. Focus on adding key steps and information only.

Using consistent symbols and connecting lines adds clarity to your process flow charts, making it easier to collaborate with your team and boost productivity. You can even involve stakeholders in the process.

Once your flow chart is complete, there’s still work to do. Updating and maintaining flow charts helps you keep a constant visualization of the processes that your business relies on.

Create process flow charts with Confluence Whiteboards

Process flow charts can offer several benefits for businesses, improving productivity and teamwork while eliminating unnecessary steps. With Confluence Whiteboards, you can visualize and turn ideas into tasks.

Confluence brings everyone together in a connected workspace to move projects forward. Teams can create, edit, and share project plans in a connected workspace so everyone is on the same page.

Confluence flow chart templates make it easy to create effective flow charts quickly, plus you can convert stickies into Jira issues with a few clicks.

Use Confluence Whiteboards to visualize your workflow and optimize your business with process flow charts.

Process flow chart: Frequently Asked Questions

What is an example of a process flow chart.

A great process flow chart example is product delivery. You can use a process flow chart to visualize the delivery of a product from the moment the customer contacts you to the moment you finish the job. The first step may be the customer contacting you (or vice versa), eventually leading to the point where you fulfill the order, and the customer receives an email letting them know their order arrived.

You can use process flow charts for almost anything, including manufacturing, service delivery, product delivery, and project management processes.

What tools can you use to create process flow charts?

Confluence allows you to create process flow charts that visualize your business processes accurately. Confluence is easy to use, and you can start with a flow chart template so you don’t have to do all the work. Once you’ve chosen a template, you can add individual steps and symbols to clarify the chart. Confluence also integrates seamlessly with Jira and various third-party tools.

How often should process flow charts be updated?

If you modify a workflow or process outlined in a flow chart, update the chart accordingly. Flow charts don’t provide much value if they’re inaccurate, and you probably add or remove steps from various processes and workflows more than you think. You should regularly review and update your process flow charts to ensure they continuously add value to your business.

You may also like

Project poster template.

A collaborative one-pager that keeps your project team and stakeholders aligned.

Project Plan Template

Define, scope, and plan milestones for your next project.

Enable faster content collaboration for every team with Confluence

Copyright © 2024 Atlassian

Project Plan 3

Plan and execute projects with Copilot in Planner (preview) 1 and advanced project management capabilities. Includes the Project Online desktop client and Project Online.

• Leverage Copilot in Planner (preview) 1 to generate new plans, set goals, track status, and react to changes as projects evolve.
• Use rich planning and status tracking capabilities, with features such as advanced dependencies with lead-lag, critical path, and task history.
• Manage scheduling and costing and allocate resources with resource management capabilities.
• Each subscription license allows for up to five concurrent installations of the Project Online desktop client.

Talk to an expert

To speak to a sales expert, call 1-855-270-0615 , Monday–Friday 6:00 AM–6:00 PM Pacific Time.

Originally starting from $30.00 now starting from $30.00

$30.00 $30.00

Try free for one month

See trial terms 2

Collaborative, powerful project management enabled by Copilot in Planner (preview)

Get started quickly with Project Plan 3 and have powerful project management capabilities, assisted by Copilot in Planner (preview), to plan and manage your organization’s projects from anywhere.

Copilot in Planner (preview)

With simple, natural language prompts, you can generate and add tasks, goals, and buckets or create a complete plan. Then, use Copilot to break down the work into actionable steps and analyze progress, risks, assignments, and more.

Rich task management capabilities

Create advanced task dependencies with lead-lag, identify progress and changes with task history, and leverage critical path to prioritize resources and assignments.

Ready-made project templates

Use prebuilt templates available in Planner and Project for the web or go to Microsoft365.com for access to ready-made project plans.

Collaborate in a simple, unified experience

Manage all your tasks, to-do lists, plans, and projects across Microsoft 365 apps in a single, familiar experience. Use Planner, Project, and Microsoft Teams 3  to collaborate on projects with file sharing, chat, meetings, and more. *

Visual, interactive roadmaps

Visualize progress across projects, programs, and portfolios by connecting different projects within a single view. Choose the initiatives you want to see and add phases, milestones, and key dates.

Make informed decisions

Use baselines to help you track and compare actual progress to the original project plan.

Create reports

Get insights, communicate information to stakeholders, and achieve results with help from powerful built-in reports.

Tailor your project management

Leverage the Microsoft Power Platform to customize your project management needs to best suit your organization.

More about Project Plan 3

Manage all your tasks, to-do lists, plans and projects across Microsoft 365 apps in a single, familiar experience. Seamlessly share project plans, manage tasks, chat, and meet without switching between apps.

Flexible and scalable

Use your preferred view and create plans with powerful scheduling and resourcing tools. Improve resource assignment based on dependencies. Get big picture views and leverage Power Apps to automate and extend.

Intelligent

With Copilot in Planner (preview), use next-generation AI and natural language prompts to generate new plans, set goals, track status, and react to changes as projects evolve.

• [1] While final pricing for Copilot in Planner has not been announced, users with a Project Plan 3 or Project Plan 5 license will be able to preview Copilot in Planner capabilities once it is rolled out to their organization.
• [2] A credit card is required to begin a one-month trial. The duration of the trial varies by the month you sign up. The expiration date will appear on the trial subscription details page within the Microsoft 365 admin center. Upon the expiration of your one-month trial, you will be charged the applicable subscription fee. Cancellation can be done at any time to stop future charges.
• [3] Microsoft 365 apps, such as Microsoft Teams, are sold separately. Prices shown are per month. If you are a global or billing administrator, an annual commitment is required to purchase online. You can choose to pay monthly or annually. Within the Microsoft 365 admin center, global and billing administrators can choose either annual or monthly commitment plans.
• [*] License sold separately.    

Requirements

Follow microsoft 365.

• Chat with sales
• Contact sales

Available M-F 6 AM to 6 PM PT.

Project Manager (Infrastructure Agricole)

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organisations.  With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, where they need it.  By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

Project Manager  has the authority to assign, as per the Project Plan, work packages to Team Managers and approve deliverables produced by them.

Project Manager is responsible for creating the Implementation Plan, using the Project Initiation Document (PID), Legal Agreement and having a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners/stakeholders, to ensure the project(s) outputs are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the partner(s). Success of the project(s) and hence of the Project Manager  will be based on the defined Success Criteria.

In the agricultural sector, UNOPS will support several programmes such as the ones described below:

DEFIS (Programme de Développement des Filières agricoles Inclusives): funded by IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) aims to improve the sustainability and resilience against climate change of hydro-agricultural infrastructure as well as feeder roads. UNOPS will support mainly 3 activities in order to help increase smallholder farmers production in a sustainable manner and provide a better access to local markets and export possibilities:

Construction of large solar pumping stations

Rehabilitation of feeder roads with innovative specifications

Procurement services

AD2M (Projet d’Appui au Développement du Menabe et du Melaky): funded by IFAD, aims to improve food security in the targeted regions and to increase overtime the livelihood of farmers in the corresponding irrigation schemes. UNOPS is to support the promotion of productions systems that are more sustainable and resilient to climate change through several activities: 

Construction of emergency boreholes 

Technical studies for hydro-agricultural infrastructure

Technical assistance and capacity building for the planning and implementation of hydro-agricultural infrastructure

• An advanced university degree (e.g. Master’s Degree) in Civil Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Agronomy or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above mentioned fields in combination with an additional 2 years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

A minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in project management, with focus on the field of Agricultural projects / Rural development or other related projects, and in the implementation and/or monitoring of programs/projects is required.

A minimum of 3 years experience in the implementation of agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation canals, pumping stations and/or rural roads is required.

Experience in a UN Agency is an asset

• Fluency in French is required.
• Working knowledge of English is required.

Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here .

All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provides services from its main office in Kinshasa and its office in the provinces of the DRC. CDMCO's office covers 15 French-speaking countries in Central and Southern Africa such as DRC, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Burundi, Rwanda, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Angola and Comoros Islands.

UNOPS helps partners achieve their project objectives, including physical and social infrastructure, elections and environmental protection. UNOPS CDMCO recently established an office in Madagascar to support several partners in different sectors with advisory, procurement, infrastructure and project management services

APPLICATION TIPS

Together, we build the future.