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− How will our business structure look like?

Some of the key components that must be included in the content of a business plan are a resume,
business description, market strategies, competitive analysis, design and development plan,
operations and management plan, financial factor. Depending on the purposes for which the plan
is being developed as well as the type of the company, more components can be included.

Finance management and accounting

Building solid financial skills is very important for starting up a business. In order to keep our
business profitable, we need to keep an eye on how much money flows in and flows out of our
company, as well as to keep a balance between expenses and income. That is why we need to
develop a budgeting plan.

After outlining the different expense areas associated with running our company in the business
plan, we need to set budget for each of them. It is very important to prioritize them in order to
ensure that key areas receive the most attention, as well as to avoid spending money for something
that can be avoided or postponed in time. Establishing a good financial management system will
allow us to make the right decisions and improve the operation of our business, as well as to
monitor whether our business is progressing and is doing financially good.
When developing a budgeting plan, we need to take into account that there are short-term and
long-term budget plans. They are both important and allow us to control our cash flow. Here are
the basic steps we need to undertake and the financial information we need, in order to create a
budget:

− We need to estimate our future income and identify the sources of income we have;

− Determination of fixed costs – we need to forecast our expenditures for renting an office,
bank fees, equipment, accounting, licenses, etc.
− Identification of non-recurring costs – these costs can vary throughout the year. Examples
of non-recurring cost are the utilities costs, salaries, raw material costs, legal costs,
marketing and advertising cost, etc.
− One-time cost accounting – these are costs for equipment, software, computers, etc.

− Gathering all of the steps above – by subtracting our estimated expenses from our total
income, we’ll see what profits we can expect to receive each month and at the end of the
first year. By monitoring these numbers throughout the year, we can track whether there is
a deficit in our budget or on the contrary, we have a surplus that can be redirected.

Nowadays you can find different software and apps for budgeting, we can create a budget table
ourselves. Of course, building an accounting department is also an option. This way issues like
unregulated invoices and late payments from clients can be prevented.
Marketing and branding skills

Project 2019-1-BG01-KA204_062299
The content of this material does not necessary reflect the official position of the European Union.