The Business Plan Handbook
Finance · Nº 83
The Business Plan Handbook
From Idea to Company, with Numbers a Bank or Investor Can Check, and No Spreadsheets for Show
You've got the idea and part of the money. Do the numbers actually work?
24 tools, an 8-tab spreadsheet, and one new business planned from a one-hour feasibility check to opening day, so you know how much you need and when it pays for itself.
You get 24 tools to test the idea, size your market customer by customer, work out investment, cash, and return, present the plan to a bank and an investor, and schedule your opening. Plus an 8-tab spreadsheet, filled in with the example.
A book explains the method. This handbook puts it to work: the tool, a worked example, and a spreadsheet with your numbers.
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
You downloaded a business plan template. You filled in pages of text and a spreadsheet even you don't fully understand. Then your banker asked for a loan proposal, and a possible partner asked when the money comes back. And you realized you still can't say how much you really need, or in which month the business starts paying for itself.
THE SPREADSHEET
Business plan spreadsheet
Use the completed example as a reference and enter your business data in the marked fields. Check the instructions and the calculations before you make a decision.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Three situations this handbook solves
Before you write a single page
You run the one-hour feasibility check on a notepad. If it says go, you set up the outline and the assumptions sheet. If it says stop, you just saved yourself weeks of writing a plan for a business that doesn't add up.
The banker asks for a loan proposal
You open the Cash tab, find the month with your lowest balance, and match the loan's grace period to your sales ramp. Then you write the request with the template, using numbers you can explain line by line.
An investor asks what happens if sales come in low
You don't improvise. You show the sensitivity table: what happens to cash if volume drops, which assumption matters most, and the plan B you already wrote for it.
INSIDE
What you'll find in each tool
Five parts, in the order you'll build the plan. Before you write: who reads it, the outline, the assumptions sheet, and a one-hour feasibility check. Market and sales, counted customer by customer. Operations and the opening team. The numbers: investment, three-year income statement, break-even, cash, and return. Then from paper to opening day.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything included in your purchase
- The Business Plan Handbook in PDF: 24 tools, each with a step by step, a worked example, and an exercise
- The business plan spreadsheet in Excel and Google Sheets, with 8 working tabs, filled in with the example company
- The Template kit: 12 ready-made texts, including the assumptions sheet, the loan request to the bank, the ten-slide investor pitch, and the opening schedule
- 2 worksheets to fill in (assumption and executive summary) and a 30-day plan, one week per stage
- Access to your handbook on the Consylion platform
Full table of contents
The 24 tools, in the order you'll use them
Part 1 · Part 1 · Before you write
- 01What the plan is forWho will read your plan and what each reader is looking for in it
- 02The plan outlineSeven sections, in the order banks and investors read them
- 03Assumptions sheetEvery number in the plan with a source, a confidence level, and a test
- 04The one-hour feasibility checkThe quick test that tells you whether the plan is worth weeks of your time
Part 2 · Part 2 · Market and sales
- 05Bottom-up market sizingHow many customers are really within your reach, counted one by one
- 06Proof of demandFrom opinions to signed letters and contracts: what convinces banks and investors
- 07Competitors and the reason to switchWho serves your customer today and why they would switch to you
- 08First-year marketing and sales planChannels, a target per channel, and a budget, with the cost of each new customer
- 09Sales forecast with ramp-upVolume month by month, with a startup ramp and seasonality
Part 3 · Part 3 · Operations and company setup
- 10Site selectionWhere to set up, with criteria, weights, and a score for each option
- 11Capacity planning for the peak monthEquipment and staff sized for your busiest month, not your average one
- 12Opening teamWho to hire, in which month, and what each hire really costs
- 13From zero to open for businessLegal structure, registrations, and licenses in the right order, with your accountant
Part 4 · Part 4 · The numbers
- 14Initial investmentEverything the business needs before the doors open, in three groups
- 15Three-year projected income statementRevenue, costs, and profit for the first three years, line by line
- 16Break-even point for a new businessThe volume that pays the bills, and the months when the ramp stays below it
- 17First-year cash flowMonth by month, to find your lowest balance and the working capital you need
- 18Return on investmentPayback, net present value, and internal rate of return, without the mystery
Part 5 · Part 5 · From paper to opening day
- 19Risks and sensitivityThe assumptions that would sink the plan, and a plan B for each one
- 20Sources and usesHow much comes from you, the investor, and the bank, and why
- 21The plan for the bankThe loan request for a business with no track record yet
- 22The plan for the investorThe ten-slide pitch deck and the conversation that follows
- 23Executive summaryThe two pages you write last and every reader reads first
- 24Opening scheduleFrom approved plan to open door, along the critical path
Who it's for
It's for you if
- You're opening a business, or a new location, and want to know whether the numbers work before you sign the lease
- Your bank asked for a loan proposal, a business plan, or a feasibility study
- You're about to pitch the idea to an investor or to a partner who's putting in money
- You already have a written plan and don't trust your own numbers
- You're opening with your own savings and want the math done before you spend them
It's not for you if
- You're still choosing the idea and want to test the model with customers first. Start with The Business Model Handbook
- Your business is already open and you need this year's budget. That's The Business Budget Handbook
- You want to know what an existing business is worth. See The Business Valuation and Sale Handbook
- You want someone to promise you'll get the loan or the investment. The plan shows the math works; the decision is theirs
Frequently asked questions
I'm opening with my own money. Do I still need a plan?
You need a shorter plan with the full numbers. With no banker asking questions, the feasibility check, the month-by-month cash flow, and the plan B are the only things standing between you and an expensive surprise.
How many pages should my plan be?
As many as it takes to answer your readers' questions. For a small business, 20 to 40 pages plus the spreadsheet is usually enough. Tool 02 gives you the outline.
Can't I just use a ready-made template?
Use the outline, not the numbers. Every number in a template has to go through your own assumptions sheet, with your own source. That's what makes a plan a bank or an investor can actually check.
Do I need to know finance?
No. The handbook is beginner to intermediate. Terms like break-even, net present value, and internal rate of return are explained in plain English, and the spreadsheet does the math as you fill in your assumptions.
What do I do with the plan after I open?
In the first year, compare actual results with your assumptions sheet every month. Budgeting for the years after that is covered in The Business Budget Handbook.
Will a good plan get me the loan or the investment?
Not by itself. A good plan shows the math works and that you know your risks. The decision belongs to the bank and the investor, under their own rules and criteria.
What do I get, and in what formats?
Each handbook is a PDF of about 100 pages with 24 to 27 tools. Every tool has step-by-step instructions and a worked example. You also get the handbook's spreadsheet in Excel (.xlsx), which opens in Google Sheets too, with the example already filled in. The message, policy, and clause templates are in the Template Kit inside the PDF, ready to copy and adapt. Read it in the member area or download the files.
How do I know if it fits my business?
Each handbook's page shows the problem it solves, who it is for and who it is not for, the full table of contents, sample pages, and the company used in the examples. The examples come from small businesses in several industries, with illustrative numbers. If it is not a fit, you can ask for a full refund within 14 days of your purchase, as described in the Refund Policy.
What is the difference between a handbook, an area set, and the Series?
A handbook solves one problem. An area set brings together every handbook and spreadsheet in one of the 6 areas, for less than the price of 5 single handbooks. The Consylion Handbook Series brings together all 100 handbooks and 100 spreadsheets, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks, and includes the next handbooks in the Series. Products outside the Series, from Consylion Life or Consylion Business, have their own price. They are sold separately and are not part of an area set or the Series.
Do I need to read everything before I start?
No. Each tool works on its own. Open the table of contents, pick the tool for today's problem, and start there. You can also read it cover to cover.
Do I need to know Excel?
The basics are enough: open the file and fill in the marked fields. The formulas are already built, and the handbook's example is filled in for reference.
How do I pay, and when do I get access?
By card or bank transfer, as a one-time payment with no subscription. Once your payment is confirmed, you get access to the member area by email. Approved card payments are confirmed right away. Bank transfers are confirmed when the funds clear. If access does not arrive within 24 hours of confirmation, check your spam folder and write to team@consylion.org.
How long do I have access, and how can I use the files?
Access does not expire, and you can download the files for offline use. The license is individual. You may read the handbooks, print them for your own use, and fill in and adapt the spreadsheet and templates with your company's data. If you are a consultant, accountant, or manager, you may apply the tools with your clients and deliver the result of your work, not the files. You may not share, resell, or distribute the files or the access.
How do support and refunds work?
Support is by email at team@consylion.org, on business days, with a reply within 5 business days. It covers questions about access, files, and payment. It does not include consulting or advice on applying the material to your case. You can cancel within 14 days of your purchase, without giving a reason, and get the full amount back through the payment method you used. Send the request to the same email. The details are in the Refund Policy.
CONSYLION HANDBOOK SERIES
The 6 departments of your business, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks.
This handbook solves today's problem. The Series solves the next one, and the one after that, with nothing more to pay.
- 100 handbooks with 2,403 ready-made tools, to read on screen and download as PDFs
- 100 spreadsheets for Excel and Google Sheets
- 6 business areas
- Lifetime access, unlocked once payment is confirmed
One-time payment of $197.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Finance · Nº 83
Do the math before you sign the lease
A business plan isn't paperwork for a drawer. Done right, it's how you decide. This handbook gives you the tools, the spreadsheet, and a new business worked through from idea to opening day, so you walk into the bank and the investor meeting with numbers you understand and can defend.
See all 100 handbooks · $197.00
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.