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Software Company Business Plan

High margins, low startup costs, global reach, and a recurring revenue model make starting a software company a lucrative and rewarding profession.

Need help writing a business plan for your software company? You’re at the right place. Our software company business plan template will help you get started.

Free Business Plan Template

Download our free business plan template now and pave the way to success. Let’s turn your vision into an actionable strategy!

• Fill in the blanks – Outline
• Financial Tables

How to Write A Software Company Business Plan?

Writing a software company business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is the first section planned to offer an overview of the entire business plan. However, it is written after the entire business plan is ready and summarizes each section of your plan.

Here are a few key components to include in your executive summary:

Introduce your Business:

Start your executive summary by briefly introducing your business to your readers.

Market Opportunity:

Products and services:.

Highlight the software company services you offer your clients. The USPs and differentiators you offer are always a plus.

Marketing & Sales Strategies:

Financial highlights:, call to action:.

Ensure your executive summary is clear, concise, easy to understand, and jargon-free.

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2. Business Overview

The business overview section of your business plan offers detailed information about your company. The details you add will depend on how important they are to your business. Yet, business name, location, business history, and future goals are some of the foundational elements you must consider adding to this section:

Business Description:

Describe your business in this section by providing all the basic information:

Describe what kind of software company you run and the name of it. You may specialize in one of the following software company businesses:

• Enterprise software companies
• SaaS companies
• Mobile app development companies
• Web development companies
• Cybersecurity companies
• HealthTech companies
• Describe the legal structure of your software company, whether it is a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, or others.
• Explain where your business is located and why you selected the place.

Mission Statement:

Business history:.

If you’re an established software company, briefly describe your business history, like—when it was founded, how it evolved over time, etc.

Future Goals

This section should provide a thorough understanding of your business, its history, and its future plans. Keep this section engaging, precise, and to the point.

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your business plan should offer a thorough understanding of the industry with the target market, competitors, and growth opportunities. You should include the following components in this section.

Target market:

Start this section by describing your target market. Define your ideal customer and explain what types of services they prefer. Creating a buyer persona will help you easily define your target market to your readers.

Market size and growth potential:

Describe your market size and growth potential and whether you will target a niche or a much broader market.

Competitive Analysis:

Market trends:.

Analyze emerging trends in the industry, such as technology disruptions, changes in customer behavior or preferences, etc. Explain how your business will cope with all the trends.

Regulatory Environment:

Here are a few tips for writing the market analysis section of your internet software company business plan:

• Conduct market research, industry reports, and surveys to gather data.
• Provide specific and detailed information whenever possible.
• Illustrate your points with charts and graphs.
• Write your business plan keeping your target audience in mind.

4. Products And Services

The product and services section should describe the specific services and products that will be offered to customers. To write this section should include the following:

Describe your products & services:

Mention the software company products or services your business will offer. This list may include:

• Custom Software Development
• Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Software
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Software Development Tools
• Software Consulting
• Software Maintenance and Support
• Software Testing and Quality Assurance
• Training and Documentation

Industry focus:

Quality measures, additional services.

In short, this section of your software company plan must be informative, precise, and client-focused. By providing a clear and compelling description of your offerings, you can help potential investors and readers understand the value of your business.

5. Sales And Marketing Strategies

Writing the sales and marketing strategies section means a list of strategies you will use to attract and retain your clients. Here are some key elements to include in your sales & marketing plan:

Unique Selling Proposition (USP):

Define your business’s USPs depending on the market you serve, the equipment you use, and the unique services you provide. Identifying USPs will help you plan your marketing strategies.

Pricing Strategy:

Marketing strategies:, sales strategies:, customer retention:.

Overall, this section of your software company business plan should focus on customer acquisition and retention.

Have a specific, realistic, and data-driven approach while planning sales and marketing strategies for your software company, and be prepared to adapt or make strategic changes in your strategies based on feedback and results.

6. Operations Plan

The operations plan section of your business plan should outline the processes and procedures involved in your business operations, such as staffing requirements and operational processes. Here are a few components to add to your operations plan:

Staffing & Training:

Operational process:, software & tools:.

Include the list of software & tools required for a software company, such as cloud services & infrastructure, project management tools, Version Control Systems, collaboration & communication tools, etc.

Adding these components to your operations plan will help you lay out your business operations, which will eventually help you manage your business effectively.

7. Management Team

The management team section provides an overview of your software company’s management team. This section should provide a detailed description of each manager’s experience and qualifications, as well as their responsibilities and roles.

Founders/CEO:

Key managers:.

Introduce your management and key members of your team, and explain their roles and responsibilities.

Organizational structure:

Compensation plan:, advisors/consultants:.

Mentioning advisors or consultants in your business plans adds credibility to your business idea.

This section should describe the key personnel for your software company services, highlighting how you have the perfect team to succeed.

8. Financial Plan

Your financial plan section should provide a summary of your business’s financial projections for the first few years. Here are some key elements to include in your financial plan:

Profit & loss statement:

Cash flow statement:, balance sheet:, break-even point:.

Determine and mention your business’s break-even point—the point at which your business costs and revenue will be equal.

Financing Needs:

Be realistic with your financial projections, and make sure you offer relevant information and evidence to support your estimates.

9. Appendix

The appendix section of your plan should include any additional information supporting your business plan’s main content, such as market research, legal documentation, financial statements, and other relevant information.

• Add a table of contents for the appendix section to help readers easily find specific information or sections.
• In addition to your financial statements, provide additional financial documents like tax returns, a list of assets within the business, credit history, and more. These statements must be the latest and offer financial projections for at least the first three or five years of business operations.
• Provide data derived from market research, including stats about the industry, user demographics, and industry trends.
• Include any legal documents such as permits, licenses, and contracts.
• Include any additional documentation related to your business plan, such as product brochures, marketing materials, operational procedures, etc.

Use clear headings and labels for each section of the appendix so that readers can easily find the necessary information.

Remember, the appendix section of your software company business plan should only include relevant and important information supporting your plan’s main content.

This sample software company business plan will provide an idea for writing a successful software company plan, including all the essential components of your business.

After this, if you still need clarification about writing an investment-ready business plan to impress your audience, download our software company business plan pdf .

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Frequently asked questions, why do you need a software company business plan.

A business plan is an essential tool for anyone looking to start or run a successful software company business. It helps to get clarity in your business, secures funding, and identifies potential challenges while starting and growing your business.

Overall, a well-written plan can help you make informed decisions, which can contribute to the long-term success of your software company.

How to get funding for your software company?

There are several ways to get funding for your software company, but self-funding is one of the most efficient and speedy funding options. Other options for funding are

• Bank loan – You may apply for a loan in government or private banks.
• Small Business Administration (SBA) loan – SBA loans and schemes are available at affordable interest rates, so check the eligibility criteria before applying for it.
• Crowdfunding – The process of supporting a project or business by getting a lot of people to invest in your business, usually online.
• Angel investors – Getting funds from angel investors is one of the most sought startup options.

Apart from all these options, there are small business grants available, check for the same in your location and you can apply for it.

Where to find business plan writers for your software company?

There are many business plan writers available, but no one knows your business and ideas better than you, so we recommend you write your software company business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind.

What is the easiest way to write your software company business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any software company business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software .

How do I write a good market analysis in a software company business plan?

Market analysis is one of the key components of your business plan that requires deep research and a thorough understanding of your industry. We can categorize the process of writing a good market analysis section into the following steps:

• Stating the objective of your market analysis—e.g., investor funding.
• Industry study—market size, growth potential, market trends, etc.
• Identifying target market—based on user behavior and demographics.
• Analyzing direct and indirect competitors.
• Calculating market share—understanding TAM, SAM, and SOM.
• Knowing regulations and restrictions
• Organizing data and writing the first draft.

Writing a marketing analysis section can be overwhelming, but using ChatGPT for market research can make things easier.

How detailed should the financial projections be in my software company business plan?

The level of detail of the financial projections of your software company may vary considering various business aspects like direct and indirect competition, pricing, and operational efficiency. However, your financial projections must be comprehensive enough to demonstrate a complete view of your financial performance.

Generally, the statements included in a business plan offer financial projections for at least the first three or five years of business operations.

What key components should a software company business plan include?

The following are the key components your software company business plan must include:

• Executive summary
• Business Overview
• Market Analysis
• Products and services
• Sales and marketing strategies
• Operations plan
• Management team
• Financial plan

Can a good software company business plan help me secure funding?

Indeed. A well-crafted software company will help your investors better understand your business domain, market trends, strategies, business financials, and growth potential—helping them make better financial decisions.

So, if you have a profitable and investable business, a comprehensive business plan can certainly help you secure your business funding.

What's the importance of a marketing strategy in a software company business plan?

Marketing strategy is a key component of your software company business plan. Whether it is about achieving certain business goals or helping your investors understand your plan to maximize their return on investment—an impactful marketing strategy is the way to do it!

Here are a few pointers to help you understand the importance of having an impactful marketing strategy:

• It provides your business an edge over your competitors.
• It helps investors better understand your business and growth potential.
• It helps you develop products with the best profit potential.
• It helps you set accurate pricing for your products or services.

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

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Software Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Software Company Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Software Company business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create software business plans and many have used them to start or grow their software companies.

Below is a software business plan template to help you create each section of your own Software Company business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

SimpleBooks Inc. is a new accounting software company located in Seattle, Washington. We produce an accounting product that helps small and medium-sized businesses with all of their accounting tasks. Some of these features we provide in our software include bookkeeping, tracking cash flow, reconciling bank accounts, and creating/managing financial reports.

SimpleBooks Inc. is founded by Edward Jameson, who has been a developer for 20 years. He created this software based on the complaints that his wife had of the accounting software she was using. He initially created the software to help his wife’s business but decided to expand the product and sell it to other local small and medium-sized businesses with similar accounting needs.

Product Offering

SimpleBooks Inc. produces accounting software that helps small and medium-sized businesses with all their accounting needs. We offer an extensive list of features, including the following:

• Bookkeeping
• Reconciling bank accounts
• Cash flow tracking and management
• Accounts receivable
• Income and expenses tracking
• Invoice and payment processing
• Mileage tracking
• Receipt capture
• Bill management
• Tax deductions
• Inventory management
• Employee expenses tracking
• Business analytics
• Project profitability
• Time tracking
• Financial report generation

Customer Focus

SimpleBooks Inc. will primarily target businesses in the Seattle, Washington area. The software is designed for smaller businesses, so most of our clientele will include businesses with less than 500 employees.

Management Team

SimpleBooks Inc. is founded by Edward Jameson, who has been a developer for 20 years. He has substantial experience creating software for large companies and has been very successful in his career. He initially built the company’s accounting software to help his wife’s business, but decided to expand the product and sell it to other small businesses in the area.

Success Factors

SimpleBooks Inc. will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Edward Jameson has been extremely successful working in the software industry and will be able to use experience to create the best products for our target market.
• Edward knows many of the local leaders, business managers, and other influencers within Seattle, Washington and will use those connections to establish an initial clientbase.
• SimpleBooks Inc.’s products are designed with small businesses in mind and will be curated to help the particular accounting needs of this target demographic.

Financial Highlights

SimpleBooks Inc. is seeking a total funding of $500,000 of debt capital to launch. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office design/build: $100,000
• Software development: $150,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $50,000
• Working capital: $50,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for SimpleBooks Inc.:

Company Overview

Who is simplebooks inc..

SimpleBooks Inc. is a new accounting software company located in Seattle, Washington. We produce an accounting software product that helps small and medium-sized businesses with all of their accounting tasks. We offer three tiers of features. Our basic tier only offers basic accounting functions while our advanced tier offers an extensive list of features for larger and more complex businesses. Some of these features include bookkeeping, tracking cash flow, reconciling bank accounts, and creating/managing financial reports.

  SimpleBooks Inc. is founded by Edward Jameson, who has been a developer for 20 years. His wife is an accountant who was very unhappy with other accounting software products. Other accounting software can be overwhelming to use, unintuitive, and are geared toward large organizations and enterprises. Edward knew of her complaints and developed an accounting software geared towards her small business. Edward’s wife has been successfully using the software for nearly a year, so Edward is confident that this product can help other small and medium-sized businesses with similar accounting needs.

SimpleBooks Inc.’s History

After developing the software for his wife’s company, Edward Jameson did a thorough market analysis to see how well his software would do if he sold it to other local small businesses. Once his market analysis was complete, Edward incorporated SimpleBooks Inc. as an S corporation.

Since incorporation, the company has achieved the following milestones:

• Located a potential office space and signed a Letter of Intent to lease it
• Developed the company’s name, logo, and website
• Determined equipment and necessary supplies
• Began recruiting key employees

SimpleBooks Inc.’s Services

SimpleBooks Inc. produces accounting software that helps small and medium-sized businesses with all their accounting needs. Clients interested in our software can purchase one of three plans: basic, intermediate, or advanced. Our most basic plan will offer just the essential bookkeeping and accounting functions that most businesses need and only allow up to three users per account. Our intermediate plan will offer more features and allow up to seven users per account. Our most advanced plan will offer an extensive suite of accounting features and allow up to twenty users per account. All plans are charged on a monthly basis, with our basic plan being the cheapest option and advanced option being the most expensive.

Some of the functions and features included in our software products include:

Industry Analysis

According to market research, the global software industry is expected to grow substantially over the next five years. Nearly every business uses some form of software to automate its processes and increase efficiency and accuracy. Therefore, demand remains high and the industry continues to grow and expand.

Business software includes project management software, communication software, customer relationship management software, and accounting software. Accounting software is particularly popular as it significantly improves accuracy and efficiency when handling all things related to accounting. Good accounting software can help a business keep detailed tracking of all its finances, and prevent a business from bleeding money or losing track of funds.

Business software companies can succeed by providing competitive features, multiple plans and products, and keeping their products affordable. They will also succeed if they can make products that work for both small businesses and large enterprises. A company that can provide this type of software will remain competitive in the global market and see rising demand from its clientele.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

SimpleBooks Inc. will primarily target businesses in the Seattle, Washington area. The software is designed for smaller businesses, so most of our clientele will include solopreneurs, small businesses, and medium businesses with less than 500 employees. We hope to eventually branch out and serve clients located beyond the Seattle area.

Customer Segmentation

SimpleBooks Inc. will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Solopreneurs
• Small businesses
• Medium-sized businesses

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

SimpleBooks Inc. will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting programs out there. It provides businesses with everything a business needs for its accounting department, including tracking income and expenses, managing cash flow, and helping with taxes. Clients can choose one of four monthly plans depending on the features they need and how large their accounting department is. Plans are charged on a monthly basis and include quick and helpful support and app integration.

Xero is a powerful accounting software for companies of all sizes. Clients who have Xero can pay bills, manage payroll, claim expenses, send invoices, and track inventory. They offer three tiers to choose from, including a very affordable basic plan and other plans that offer extensive features. They also provide specialized features for small businesses and for businesses in particular industries.

Freshbooks is a popular accounting software with businesses of all sizes in mind. They offer numerous features that vary depending on if you are a freelancer, a business with contractors, or a business with employees. Some of these features include managing expenses and receipts, tracking mileage and time, invoicing, and generating financial reports. They offer three tiers of plans but also create custom plans for businesses with complex and unique accounting needs.

Competitive Advantage

SimpleBooks Inc. will be able to offer the following advantages over the competition:

• Management: Edward Jameson has been extremely successful working in the software industry and will be able to use his previous experience to create the best products and experience for his clients. His unique qualifications will serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than SimpleBooks Inc.’s competitors.
• Relationships: Edward knows many of the local leaders, business managers, and other influencers within Seattle, Washington. With his 10 years of experience and good relationships with business leaders in the area, he will be able to develop an initial client base.
• Small business focus: While our competitors do offer features for small and medium sized businesses, their products are designed with large enterprises in mind. This can make their products feel overwhelming and unintuitive. SimpleBooks Inc.’s products are designed specifically for small and medium businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

SimpleBooks Inc. will offer a unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Service built on long-term relationships
• A focus on helping small businesses succeed
• Affordable pricing
• Excellent customer service

Promotions Strategy

The marketing strategy for SimpleBooks Inc. is as follows:

Referral Marketing

SimpleBooks Inc. will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. Edward will create the company’s social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. He will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Social Media SimpleBooks Inc. will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. Edward will create the company’s social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. He will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Website/SEO

SimpleBooks Inc. will invest in developing a professional website that displays all of the features of our accounting software. It will also invest heavily in SEO so that the brand’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.

Direct Mail

SimpleBooks Inc. will blanket businesses with direct mail pieces. These pieces will provide general information on SimpleBooks Inc., offer discounts, and/or provide other incentives for companies to try out our accounting software.

SimpleBooks Inc.’s pricing will be on par with competitors so clients feel they receive great value when purchasing our software.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for SimpleBooks Inc.: Operation Functions:

• Edward Jameson will be the Owner and CEO of the company. He will oversee all the operations and executive functions of the company. In the beginning, he will also provide customer support and development support until he hires several other developers and customer support professionals.
• Edward will employ an experienced assistant to help with various administrative duties around the office.
• Edward will also hire several developers to develop, improve, and maintain the company’s software products.
• Edward will also hire a solid sales team to sell our products to potential clients. As the company grows, he will also hire a team that is solely dedicated to customer service.

Milestones:

SimpleBooks Inc. will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.

• 5/2023 – Finalize lease agreement
• 6/2023 – Design and build out SimpleBooks Inc.
• 7/2023 – Hire and train initial staff
• 8/2023 – Kickoff of promotional campaign
• 9/2023 – Launch SimpleBooks Inc.
• 10/2023 – Reach break-even

SimpleBooks Inc. is founded by Edward Jameson, who has been a developer for 20 years. His wife is an accountant who was very unhappy with other accounting software products. Other accounting software can be overwhelming to use, unintuitive, and are geared toward large organizations and enterprises. Edward knew of her complaints and developed an accounting software geared towards her small business. Edward’s wife has been successfully using the software for nearly a year, so Edward is confident that this product can help other small and medium-sized businesses with similar accounting needs.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The key revenues for SimpleBooks Inc. will come from the monthly fees that are charged to clients for using the software. There are three tiers that clients can choose from. The option that each client chooses will determine how much revenue the company makes.

The major cost drivers for the company include the lease, salaries, overhead, development costs, and marketing expenses.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

SimpleBooks Inc. is seeking a total funding of $500,000 of debt capital to launch. The funding will be dedicated to office design, software development, marketing, and working capital. Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of clients:
• Annual rent: $30,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, software company business plan faqs, what is a software company business plan.

A software company business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your software company business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Software Company business plan using our Software Company Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Software Company Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of software company businesses , some examples include: Open source, Client-specific, Programming services, and System services.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Software Company Business Plan?

Software Company businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Software Company Business?

Starting a software company business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Software Company Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed software company business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your software company business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your software company business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Software Company Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your software company business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your software company business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.

7. Acquire Necessary Software Company Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your software company business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your software company business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful software company business:

• How to Start a Software Company Business

Business Plan for Software Company

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Software Company Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their software companies.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating a software company business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a software company business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Software Company Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your software company as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Software Company

If you’re looking to start a software company or grow your existing software company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your software company to improve your chances of success. Your software company business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Software Companies

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a software company are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for software companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a software company.

If you want to start a software company or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your software company business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of software company you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a software company that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of software companies?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the software company industry.
• Discuss the type of software company you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of software company you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of software companies:

• Open source: An open source software company is one that produces a code base that is free for any entity that desires to use it. The value of this structure is found in the auxiliary services and customizations that are provided to clients. Examples of highly-profitable open source software companies include Linux and Red Hat.
• Client-specific: As cloud computing continues to grow in popularity, more companies look to specific software programs to drive their businesses further into high-growth positions. Examples of client-specific software companies include Oracle and SAP.
• Programming services: Software companies that provide programming are essential to the tech industry. Examples include Microsoft and ADP, well-known giant software companies.
• System services: Software companies have become highly successful, as they’ve perfected the art of creating systems for personal computers and the growing field of tablets and other personal devices. Examples of software companies that focus on systems include Intuit and Adobe.

In addition to explaining the type of software company business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of software programs created, the number of specialized SaaS services created, or reaching X number of clients served, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the software company industry. While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the software company industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your software company business plan:

• How big is the software company industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your software company business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your software company business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: start-up tech companies, companies in need of CRM software, research and development companies, and cloud-computing corporations.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of software company business you operate. Clearly, start-up tech companies would respond to different marketing promotions than major cloud-computing corporations, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and industry profiles. With regard to demographics, include a discussion of the locations, type of services or programming needed and revenue potential of the client companies you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target clients within the companies you will target. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other software company businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes generic software outlets, private individual providers, and computer servicing companies.You need to mention direct competition, as well.

For each direct competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What type of software company are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regard to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide options for the customized software?
• Will you offer products or services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer bundled pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a software company business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of software company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide open source programming, SaaS products, or software to support Microsoft systems?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your software company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your software company located in a professional technology park, a standalone building or is it purely online? , Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your software company marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Quarterly press releases to industry-wide interest groups
• Engage in social media mining and marketing
• Offer informative blogs; become a speaker in seminars
• Create a strong presence at tech trade shows and conferences
• Give expert opinions on tech social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your software company, including meeting with clients, planning new software development, training personnel, and running administrative services.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to sign your Xth contract, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your software company business to a new city.

Management Team

To demonstrate your software company’s potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing a software company. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a software company or successfully running a small technology development firm.

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Financial plan.

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you introduce a new software program on a yearly basis, or will you customize software for return clients? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your software company, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit, but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a software company:

• Cost of computer and software equipment
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, furnishings and office supplies

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include the patents you own on software programs or a list of clients on monthly retainers.

Writing a business plan for your software company is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the software company industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful software company.

Software Company Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my software company business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your software company business plan.

How Do You Start a Software Company Business?

Starting a Software Company business is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your Software Company Business
• Create Your Software Company Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Software Company Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Software Company Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Software Company Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Software Company Business
• Buy or Lease the Right Software Company Business Equipment
• Develop Your Software Company Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Software Company Business
• Open for Business

Where Can I Download a Free Business Plan Template PDF?

Click here to download the pdf version of our basic business plan template.

Our free business plan template pdf allows you to see the key sections to complete in your plan and the key questions that each must answer. The business plan pdf will definitely get you started in the right direction.

We do offer a premium version of our business plan template. Click here to learn more about it. The premium version includes numerous features allowing you to quickly and easily create a professional business plan. Its most touted feature is its financial projections template which allows you to simply enter your estimated sales and growth rates, and it automatically calculates your complete five-year financial projections including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Here’s the link to our Ultimate Business Plan Template.

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Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Software Development Business Plan Template & Guidebook

A software developer wanting to launch their own company? Our sample and instruction manual for writing a software development business plan is the ideal response. With the help of our in-depth manual, you'll learn all you need to know about starting and operating a profitable software development company, from market research and financial planning to hiring and supervising your staff. And you can quickly and simply build a professional business plan that will amaze investors and put you on the road to success with our simple-to-use template. Why then wait? Launch your software development company right away to convert your love of coding into a successful business!

Get worry-free services and support to launch your business starting at $0 plus state fees.

• How to Start a Profitable Software Development Business [11 Steps]
• 10+ Best & Profitable Software Development Business Ideas [2023]
• 25 Catchy Software Development Business Names:
• List of the Best Marketing Ideas For Your Software Development Business:

How to Write a Software Development Business Plan in 7 Steps:

1. describe the purpose of your software development business..

The first step to writing your business plan is to describe the purpose of your software development business. This includes describing why you are starting this type of business, and what problems it will solve for customers. This is a quick way to get your mind thinking about the customers’ problems. It also helps you identify what makes your business different from others in its industry.

It also helps to include a vision statement so that readers can understand what type of company you want to build.

Here is an example of a purpose mission statement for a software development business:

At our software development company, our mission is to provide innovative and effective software solutions to our clients in a wide range of industries. We are committed to using the latest technology and techniques to develop custom software applications that meet our clients' unique business needs and goals. We strive to be a trusted partner for our clients, offering them reliable and cost-effective solutions that help them improve their productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness. We are dedicated to delivering exceptional customer service and support, and to providing our clients with the tools they need to succeed in today's dynamic and fast-paced business environment.

2. Products & Services Offered by Your Software Development Business.

The next step is to outline your products and services for your software development business. 

When you think about the products and services that you offer, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my business?
• What are the products and/or services that I offer?
• Why am I offering these particular products and/or services?
• How do I differentiate myself from competitors with similar offerings?
• How will I market my products and services?

You may want to do a comparison of your business plan against those of other competitors in the area, or even with online reviews. This way, you can find out what people like about them and what they don’t like, so that you can either improve upon their offerings or avoid doing so altogether.

3. Build a Creative Marketing Stratgey.

If you don't have a marketing plan for your software development business, it's time to write one. Your marketing plan should be part of your business plan and be a roadmap to your goals. 

A good marketing plan for your software development business includes the following elements:

Target market

• Who is your target market?
• What do these customers have in common?
• How many of them are there?
• How can you best reach them with your message or product?

Customer base 

• Who are your current customers? 
• Where did they come from (i.e., referrals)?
• How can their experience with your software development business help make them repeat customers, consumers, visitors, subscribers, or advocates for other people in their network or industry who might also benefit from using this service, product, or brand?

Product or service description

• How does it work, what features does it have, and what are its benefits?
• Can anyone use this product or service regardless of age or gender?
• Can anyone visually see themselves using this product or service?
• How will they feel when they do so? If so, how long will the feeling last after purchasing (or trying) the product/service for the first time?

Competitive analysis

• Which companies are competing with yours today (and why)? 
• Which ones may enter into competition with yours tomorrow if they find out about it now through word-of-mouth advertising; social media networks; friends' recommendations; etc.)
• What specific advantages does each competitor offer over yours currently?

Marketing channels

• Which marketing channel do you intend to leverage to attract new customers?
• What is your estimated marketing budget needed?
• What is the projected cost to acquire a new customer?
• How many of your customers do you instead will return?

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4. Write Your Operational Plan.

Next, you'll need to build your operational plan. This section describes the type of business you'll be running, and includes the steps involved in your operations. 

In it, you should list:

• The equipment and facilities needed
• Who will be involved in the business (employees, contractors)
• Financial requirements for each step
• Milestones & KPIs
• Location of your business
• Zoning & permits required for the business

What equipment, supplies, or permits are needed to run a software development business?

To run a software development business, you'll need a range of equipment and supplies, as well as a few permits. Here's a quick rundown of what you'll need:

• A physical location for your business, such as a standalone office or a space within an existing building
• Computers and other equipment for developing and testing software
• Software development tools and frameworks, such as programming languages and integrated development environments (IDEs)
• A supply of office supplies and other equipment, such as printers and scanners
• Depending on your location and the services you offer, you may need to obtain a business license and other permits, such as a permit to operate a software development business.

Overall, running a software development business requires a mix of equipment, supplies, and permits to ensure that you can provide high-quality software solutions to your clients.

5. Management & Organization of Your Software Development Business.

The second part of your software development business plan is to develop a management and organization section.

This section will cover all of the following:

• How many employees you need in order to run your software development business. This should include the roles they will play (for example, one person may be responsible for managing administrative duties while another might be in charge of customer service).
• The structure of your management team. The higher-ups like yourself should be able to delegate tasks through lower-level managers who are directly responsible for their given department (inventory and sales, etc.).
• How you’re going to make sure that everyone on board is doing their job well. You’ll want check-ins with employees regularly so they have time to ask questions or voice concerns if needed; this also gives you time to offer support where necessary while staying informed on how things are going within individual departments too!

6. Software Development Business Startup Expenses & Captial Needed.

This section should be broken down by month and year. If you are still in the planning stage of your business, it may be helpful to estimate how much money will be needed each month until you reach profitability.

Typically, expenses for your business can be broken into a few basic categories:

Startup Costs

Startup costs are typically the first expenses you will incur when beginning an enterprise. These include legal fees, accounting expenses, and other costs associated with getting your business off the ground. The amount of money needed to start a software development business varies based on many different variables, but below are a few different types of startup costs for a software development business.

Running & Operating Costs

Running costs refer to ongoing expenses related directly with operating your business over time like electricity bills or salaries paid out each month. These types of expenses will vary greatly depending on multiple variables such as location, team size, utility costs, etc.

Marketing & Sales Expenses

You should include any costs associated with marketing and sales, such as advertising and promotions, website design or maintenance. Also, consider any additional expenses that may be incurred if you decide to launch a new product or service line. For example, if your software development business has an existing website that needs an upgrade in order to sell more products or services, then this should be listed here.

7. Financial Plan & Projections

A financial plan is an important part of any business plan, as it outlines how the business will generate revenue and profit, and how it will use that profit to grow and sustain itself. To devise a financial plan for your software development business, you will need to consider a number of factors, including your start-up costs, operating costs, projected revenue, and expenses. 

Here are some steps you can follow to devise a financial plan for your software development business plan:

• Determine your start-up costs: This will include the cost of purchasing or leasing the space where you will operate your business, as well as the cost of buying or leasing any equipment or supplies that you need to start the business.
• Estimate your operating costs: Operating costs will include utilities, such as electricity, gas, and water, as well as labor costs for employees, if any, and the cost of purchasing any materials or supplies that you will need to run your business.
• Project your revenue: To project your revenue, you will need to consider the number of customers you expect to have and the average amount they will spend on each visit. You can use this information to estimate how much money you will make from selling your products or services.
• Estimate your expenses: In addition to your operating costs, you will need to consider other expenses, such as insurance, marketing, and maintenance. You will also need to set aside money for taxes and other fees.
• Create a budget: Once you have estimated your start-up costs, operating costs, revenue, and expenses, you can use this information to create a budget for your business. This will help you to see how much money you will need to start the business, and how much profit you can expect to make.
• Develop a plan for using your profit: Finally, you will need to decide how you will use your profit to grow and sustain your business. This might include investing in new equipment, expanding the business, or saving for a rainy day.

Frequently Asked Questions About Software Development Business Plans:

Why do you need a business plan for a software development business.

A business plan is a document that outlines the goals and objectives of a business, as well as the strategies and tactics that will be used to achieve those goals. It is important to have a business plan for your software development business because it helps to focus the efforts of the company, communicate the business's goals and objectives to potential investors, and provide a roadmap for the business to follow. Additionally, a business plan can be used to help secure funding from investors or lenders, who will want to see that the business has a solid plan in place before they provide funding.

How to write a business plan for your software development business?)

To build a business plan for your software development business, start by researching your industry, competitors, and target market. Use this information to define your business's goals and objectives, as well as the strategies and tactics that you will use to achieve those goals. Next, create a financial plan that outlines your projected income, expenses, and profit. This should include a projected income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet. Once you have all of this information, you can use it to create a comprehensive business plan that outlines the goals and objectives of your business, as well as the strategies and tactics that you will use to achieve those goals. A well-written software development business plan contains the following sections: Purpose, Products & Services, Marketing Plan (including Marketing Strategy), Operations/Management Plan (including Operations/Management Strategy), Financial Plan (including Financial Forecasts), and Appendixes.

Can you write a software development business plan yourself?

Yes, you can write a software development business plan yourself. Writing a business plan is a valuable exercise that can help you clarify your business idea, identify potential challenges and opportunities, and develop a roadmap for success. While there are many resources and templates available to help you write a business plan, the process of creating one is ultimately up to you.

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Through meticulous research and firsthand experience, I uncover the essential steps, software, tools, and costs associated with launching and maintaining a successful business. By demystifying the complexities of entrepreneurship, I provide the guidance and support needed for others to embark on their journey with confidence.

From assessing market viability and formulating business plans to selecting the right technology and navigating the financial landscape, I am dedicated to helping fellow entrepreneurs overcome challenges and unlock their full potential. As a steadfast advocate for small business success, my mission is to pave the way for a new generation of innovative and driven entrepreneurs who are ready to make their mark on the world.

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A Sample Software Development Business Plan Template

Are you about starting a software development company? If YES, here is a complete sample software development business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE . A software development company is where software is not only developed but distributed for different purposes such as instructional, learning, calculation, entertainment, and assessment purposes.

Before one can start a software company, there are basic things that one needs such as a knowledge of programming, technical support skills, the necessary experience at managing a company and funds. However, before starting a software development business, it would be best to conduct a thorough market research of the industry

1. Industry Overview

The software development industry has grown in the space of a century from an almost on-existent industry to one that is not only a billion dollar industry but an indispensible one, especially as software form the basis of modern gadgets and devices.

Between 2011 and 2016, this industry has been dynamic in growth, especially as there has been increasing demand from businesses and consumers, with more people spending their discretionary income on products such as video games.

The industry is being said to generate $205 billion and has a projected annual income of 3% from 2011 to 2016. There are more than 8,500 software development businesses in the united states of America that employs more than 455,000 people.

Globally as at 2013, according to Gartner, the software revenue was $407.3 billion which was a 4.8% increase from the #388.5 billion registered in 2012. The industry according to Forrester was projected to be the fastest growing in 2014 with a growth pegged at 7.1%.

The software development industry has room for growth as there is considerable demand in this industry with more businesses adopting software programs that will allow for improved efficiency and lower operating costs; this was so as to look for ways to not be affected by the economic downturn.

Cloud computing capabilities have created several advances for companies who have realized the positive effect of virtual offices and the savings implications for the company. This technology has helped companies to not only reduce overhead but increase productivity as well.

Another plus for companies are virtualizations which not only allow them to eliminate several server farms but has made IT infrastructure more economical and flexible while slashing operating costs.

There are moderate barriers for new businesses that wish to enter this industry; however, certain product segments have a higher barrier than others. One common thing in this industry is patents which serve as a means of limiting competition, even though some companies willingly license their patented technology.

2. Executive Summary

Doodle Tech Inc. is a leading software development business that is based in Market Street, Suite 800, San Francisco – California, USA. We are in business to develop software for general purposes and for specific purposes to our various clients. We have in place training services and we also offer technical support in line with our business.

Our location is very strategic in the sense that we are close to manufacturing firms as well as technology giants and other big businesses here in California that will ensure that we have an edge over other software companies in other parts of California.

We are in business to not only make profit but to also compete favorably against other software development companies in the industry and attain our vision of being the preferred software development company for clients all over the United States of America.

We intend to ensure that we demonstrate fair business ethics in every point of our business. We hold ourselves accountable for our high standards and ensure that all our employees are not only attuned to but display this standards at all times in order to positively promote the company.

As a result of this, we are willing to go the extra mile by putting in structures, processes and planes in place to ensure that we get the best professionals who not only have the expertise but are also competent and know how to take our company from where we are to where we intend to be.

Our employees have welfare packages that are currently amongst the best in the whole industry amongst similar start-ups such as ours. We have also provided a conducive environment for all our employees in order to ensure that they remain productive at all times in order to improve the bottom line of the company.

We offer excellent customer services that have been known to retain a high number of our clients. All our customer service executives have been trained to know how to respond to customers and are also updated as regards the industry trends in order to ensure that reliable information is passed to our clients.

Finally, the expertise of both our owners, Jack Taylor and Christopher Warden in software development and business management is a great plus as both are not only Harvard graduates but also have more than 30 years of combined experience that will ensure that Doodle Tech Inc. attains its goals and objectives in time.

3. Our Products and Services

Doodle Tech Inc. intends to deal in several services whilst also generating revenue that would boost our bottom line tremendously. These several services will be added to our core service and should keep us favorably disposed to compete against our competitors.

We however intend to ensure that all our multiple sources of income which include training and technical support are in line with what is obtainable in the industry and accordingly to the laws of the United States of America. Therefore some of the services and products we will engage in are;

• Developing of software according to clients’ specifications
• Sale of software
• Offering of subscriptions for our software
• Charging of license fees for our software
• Charging by transaction
• Advertisements on our software
• Training services
• Technical support

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision at Doodle Tech Inc. is to be distinct from other software development companies by creating software that suits the diverse needs of our end users, and to be the preferred software firm for users in the United States of America.
• In order to achieve our vision, we have on hand the best software developers that will ensure that we attain our goal of being the preferred software company and in meeting all the diverse software needs of our customers here in the United States of America.

Our Business Structure

We know how important it is to have the right business structure for our software development company as getting it right from the start will eliminate most hitches that will crop up relating to our structure during the course of running the business. For this purpose, we intend to hire only competent and professionals in the available positions in our company.

Due also to the fact that we intend to run a wide range of services, we intend to ensure that we employ those that are capable of filling in these different positions. All our employees are those who understand the industry well and who are attuned with our vision and are committed to ensuring that we attain these goals and objectives.

We are also prepared to ensure that our workers are well paid and have welfare packages that are the best in similar categories across start-ups such as ours in the industry. We will also ensure that the working environment is not only conducive but is one that will enhance their skills and make them more productive.

Below is the intended business structure for Doodle Tech Inc.;

Chief Executive Officer

Software Development Manager

Business Development Manager

Human Resources and Admin Manager

Customer Service Executives

Marketing Executives

Security Guard

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

• Develop overall policies that would provide the right direction for the company
• Ensures that strategies are implemented and weak strategies are removed
• Meets and negotiate with high powered clients on behalf of the company
• Ensures that new software is developed and tested for bugs before being released to the public
• Develops new software for existing software so that clients can upgrade without running into hitches
• Carries out constant tests on software released to find out weak points and work on it.
• Researches on new businesses that will generate more revenue for the company
• Reviews company’s current products and services and decides how to make them better
• Works with the software development manager to give feedback on what the market trends are
• Prepares the budget on behalf of the firm and liaises with the owners to ensure that budget is reviewed and correctly implemented
• Prepares all the financial information and statement on behalf of the firm
• Ensures that tax is prepared and filed correctly to the correct authorities
• Ensures that the company’s books balances with that of the bank at the end of every month and accounting period
• Ensures that the right employees are recruited on behalf of the company
• Carries out orientation and ensures that employees are assigned the right tasks for their responsibilities
• Ensures that all the administrative functions of the company are performed smoothly without any hitches
• Ensures that all customers enquiries as well as complaints are well attended to and promptly resolved
• Keeps an accurate customer database on behalf of the company and ensures that it is regularly updated
• Carries out other duties as determined by the human resources and admin manager
• Conducts a marketing research on the software development industry to identify new markets for Doodle Tech Inc.
• Drafts strategies and reviews weak strategies to ensure that ineffective ones are removed
• Conducts direct marketing on behalf of the firm
• Meets and negotiates with high level clients on behalf of the firm
• Ensures that the premises and all the properties are secured after work hours by conducting patrols
• Monitors the surveillance cameras in line with securing people and property of Doodle Tech Inc.
• Keeps updated about the security information in the locality and pass along important security tips to staff
• Ensures that the premises is kept clean before work resumes
• Keeps the staff and guest conveniences clean at all times
• Ensures that cleaning supplies are always in stock
• Carries out any other duties as directed by the admin manager

6. SWOT Analysis

In order to determine if we were engaging in the right concept for our business, we hired the services of brand consultants who were not only reputable but the best here in San Francisco – California to let us know if it was worthwhile going into the business now.

The business consultants took a deep look at our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to allow the know what we were likely to face starting and running our business here in San Francisco – California, and in the United States of America as a whole. The results of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on our behalf are as follows;

Our strengths are numerous and lie in the fact that we have the right business structure that will ensure that we conquer this industry. Our software developers are the best there is and have the expertise and experience to enable us attain our goals and objectives.

We are also involved in ensuring that our software pass through quality process, reason we have external testers who run several tests on any of our software before it is released. Finally, our owners have the necessary experience that would make our being at the top a piece of cake, as both have more than 30 years experience in the software industry both as developers and in managerial positions.

There are few weaknesses that we identified for Doodle Tech Inc. and they include the fact that we were going to develop software that were not really different from what our competitors were offering. Also, there is the other fact that we are located in an area where there are other software companies, making our location a bit saturated.

We are however confident that we would be able to battle whatever weaknesses might crop up during the course of running or starting the business.

• Opportunities

There are so many opportunities available to us as there are new market segments that we have identified which would likely generate money for us. There are so many strategic alliances which we would engage in so as to have a foot into other target markets and generate more revenue for our bottom line.

We also have the opportunity of moving into the international market as our software is such that has no boundary limits. Finally, we would fully tap into the internet in order to promote and increase awareness for our brand.

Threats are external factors that cannot be controlled by a business; however any serious business should not only be prepared for threats but also have ways by which these threats will not be allowed to totally affect the business.

Some of the threats we would likely face at Doodle Tech Inc. are; the arrival of a new competitor into our location, engaging in price wars with competitors, dealing with government policies that might have an effect on our industry. We are fully prepared for any threats we are likely to face, as we have strategies on ground to battle such threats.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The trend in the software industry is that most software firms or companies are located in clusters in identifiable locations. This is due to certain facts such as these companies wanting to be close for competitive and industry purposes and also most software companies depend on one another to be able to carry out certain functions or complete certain specific tasks for clients.

This does not however mean that there aren’t software companies in other locations or that software companies in these other locations cant still get jobs done. To however remain relevant, software companies must always remain innovative and unique in their offerings and services. Another trend with software companies is in its publicity and promotion activities.

To be able to attract the much needed awareness and also attract clients that would pay money for the firms’ products, software companies have engaged in strong promotional activities either by hiring brand consultants or getting an in-house team or deploying both methods to draft the strategies that would enable it be recognized in the industry. Intense promotional activities will also help in getting a huge share of the market.

Lastly, software cannot work without any device and so goes hand in hand with new or existing technology; which is why most software companies try to partner with technology firms so as to create new software or upgrade existing software for these firms. This goes to show that software industry is dependent on the technology and manufacturing industry in order to survive or thrive.

8. Our Target Market

Almost everyone makes use of software and have either bought directly from the developers or indirectly via owning a device. This means that the target market for any software development company is wide. We however have mapped out a strategy that would allow us gain a vital share of the target market.

One of our first strategies is in conducting a thorough market research that would enable us understand the market we are to go into and know what they expect from us and what our obligations are towards them. The result of the market research of the market research showed that we were in business to develop software or offer other kinds of related services to the following people;

• Corporate organizations
• entertainment industry
• Educational institutions
• Accounting firms
• Financial institutions
• Small businesses
• Agricultural sector
• Military and defense sector
• Other software companies

Our competitive advantage

Just like any other business that is established to make profit, we hope to be able to compete favorably against our competitors in the same industry. Our vision is to be the preferred software development company for our clients all over the United States of America and to achieve this, we intend to come up with competitive strategies that would enable us attain our goals and objectives.

We intend to ensure that the software developed for general purposes will come in different categories that will be convenient for all our users.

We have assembled a high team of software developers as well as management team who are not only highly experienced and who understand how to handle a start-up and make it become a force to be reckoned with nationally. Our staffs are also attuned to our core values and principles and understand the importance of projecting the image of the company positively to our customers – potential and existing.

Another competitive advantage that we have to our favor is our excellent customer service culture which is already resounding across the industry as one of the best of start-ups of our size. Our customer executives are highly trained and are always updated on industry trends so as to be able to give our customers the correct information at all times.

Finally, because we know how important it is for our employees to be happy always, we are committed to treating them right. Our management team has a stake in the company’s profits and our lower cadre employees have incentives built into their welfare packages. All this is to enable our employees remain happy and productive.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Doodle Tech Inc. just like any other business has been established with the aim of generating revenue and making profit in the technology and software industry, and we are going to ensure that we make software that will help us accomplish this purpose, as well as engage in other services as well.

Doodle Tech Inc. therefore intends to generate income by engaging in the following services;

10. Sales Forecast

The software industry has come to stay and can only keep evolving into something bigger and stronger, as there will always be gadgets, devices and templates that would require the use of a new software or an upgrade.

Our strategic location in San Francisco – California has afforded us the opportunity to be close to many technological giants and businesses and this will see us generating and meeting our set revenue in no time, thereby growing our business tremendously.

After conducting a thorough analysis on the software industry and analyzing our chances in the industry, we were able to come up with a sales forecast that has shown strong positives in how we are likely to far in the market.

The sales projections were based on several assumptions and facts garnered across similar start-ups in the industry and across the United States of America as a whole. Therefore, the sales projection that Doodle Tech Inc. conducted to analyze its chances are as follows;

• First Fiscal Year-: $400,000
• Second Fiscal Year-: $800,000
• Third Fiscal Year-: $1,600,000

N.B : The above sales projections were done based on major assumptions that some factors that were used in making these assumptions would remain the same. However, should there be any change either positively or negatively, it would likely increase or decrease the above figures.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Marketing is a very important aspect of any business because it is not only a way to generate revenue for a business; it is also a way of garnering publicity to attract new customers whilst retaining the old ones. Every business no matter its level or life cycle of needs marketing in order to thrive, which is why any entrepreneur or business person starting or running a business usually sets money aside for marketing.

Asides creating funds for marketing, it is also important to ensure that effective strategies are created. Creating effective marketing strategies are essential as they would ensure that the funds are channeled the right way. In marketing Doodle Tech Inc., we would ensure that we leverage on all conventional and unconventional means of making sure that our brand and products are marketed to all our existing and potential customers.

We would conduct a market survey that would allow us understand the right strategies to draft and how effective they would be depending on the target market. To conduct a thorough market survey, we would make use of accurate available data so that we would be effectively able to compete with all our competitors all over the United States of America.

We also intend to hire a reputable marketing consultant who should be able to draft the right marketing strategies that would allow Doodle Tech Inc. penetrate the market. Also, our marketing team would be empowered in ensuring that the marketing strategies created are in tune with our corporate goals and objectives as a business.

Therefore, the following are the marketing strategies we hope to adopt at Doodle Tech Inc. in order to sell our products and services;

• Ensure that we introduce our software development business by sending out introductory letters to technology and manufacturing companies as well as other big software companies and other stakeholders in the industry.
• Network with other software companies by attending software developer conferences
• Advertise our software development business in local newspapers, technology related magazines, and in local radio and television stations
• Ensure that Doodle Tech Inc. is listed in online and offline directories
• Engage in direct marketing and sales
• Ensure that we are actively involved in forums and blogs in marketing our company

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Carrying out the right publicity and advertisement for our software development business is very essential as it is not enough to just penetrate the market and also create awareness, but to ensure that the strategy will result in Doodle Tech Inc.’s products becoming generic terms for similar products in the same category.

Due to this vision, we have hired a reputable publicity consultant who has the industry knowledge and expertise and who will help in ensuring that our company gets to the top by drafting out strategies that are in line with the core policies of the company and will boost our brand and allow us compete favorably against our competitors.

Below are some of the platforms we intend to leverage on in order to promote Doodle Tech Inc.;

• Develop a free version of our software and give users an opportunity to upgrade at a cost
• Leverage on relevant social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Google Hangout and other developers’ forum in order to create awareness about Doodle Tech Inc.
• Engage in pay per click advertisement on popular software development forums
• Create contests on social media and via our website to generate more publicity
• Distribute our handbills and fliers in strategic locations
• Install our flexi banners in conspicuous and strategic locations all over San Francisco

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Determining the right price for our various software’s will depend on a number of factors, such as how much the market will willingly pay for such software, how much that category of software is being charged for by competitors, and how unique the software is. Other factors that will determine the prices are if we intend to charge a licensing fee for our software, or enable a pay per transaction or a subscription that is time-limited for the end user.

In view of all the above based factors, we will offer our software at prices that are at the prevailing market conditions. However, because this is a competitive market, we will however lower our prices in the first two months of business so as to attract more customers to our business, and also increase the awareness for our products.

• Payment Options

Doodle Tech Inc. realizes that due to improving technology, customers now have different payment options that they can use in paying for services; and so we have different payment policy that is intended to suit all our different customers and their diverse needs.

The payment options we have for our clients are;

• Cash payment
• Payment via check
• Payment via online payment portal
• Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
• Payment via credit card

The above payment platforms were carefully chosen for us by our bank and we have been told that our customers will not experience any hitches or inconvenience whilst using the above platforms.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

Even though some of the equipment that can be used to start and run a software development company can be gotten for fairly used, thereby lowering the costs of start-up, it will however be vital to stress that setting up a standard software development company would require the equipment used to be standard so as to be able to withstand the heavy workload that it might have to carry out.

Also, the bulk of capital in these circumstances usually goes to paying workers and utility bills that the business will incur during the course of its operation. Therefore, the key areas where we intend to spend our start-up capital on are;

• Total fee for registering Doodle Tech Inc. in the United States of America – $750
• Licenses, permits as well as accounting software – $1250
• Insurance policy (general liability, workers’ compensation) – $2,000
• Leasing and renovating of a facility for use for at least a year – $20,000
• Cost of hiring a business consultant – $2,000
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees and payment of bills) – $200,000
• Other start-up expenses which includes (windows hosting, Linux hosting, bug tracking, graphics design, software subscription and cable broadband) – $15,000
• Marketing promotion expenses (general marketing expenses and promotion activities for grand opening ceremony) – $5,000
• Administrative expenses (stationeries, phone, computers, printers, furniture business cards, office supplies, and stamps)  – $10,000
• Cost of purchasing an official vehicle – $30,000
• Cost of launching a website – $1,000
• Cost of throwing a grand opening party – $5,000
• Miscellaneous – $8,000

From the following report, we would need an estimate of $300,000 to be able to start and successfully set up a software development company in San Francisco – California. IT should be noted the bulk of the capital (90%) went towards payment of salaries for employees for a period of three months.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Doodle Tech Inc. Business

Doodle Tech Inc. is a business owned by two geeks and businessmen, Jack Taylor and Christopher Warden. We realize our financing is important for our company if we intend to successfully start, run and become a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

We are however going to be careful in where we source for money so as not to lose a part of our company or get locked in repaying a loan that might hinder the progress of our company. This is why we have decided to limit our sources for income to just 5 sources; The following are sources where we intend to get our start-up capital from;

• Generate part capital from our personal savings and sale of stocks
• Get soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for research grants at the state and federal level
• Source for part capital from online crowdfunding sites like kick starter
• Apply for loan from commercial bank

N.B: from our personal savings and the sale of some of our stocks, we were able to generate the sum of $30,000. The soft loans from our family members and friends amounted to $20,000. We applied for a grant of $50,000 at the state level and have been considered.

We were able to generate the sum of $70,000 from sourcing for funds from kick starter, and we are at the final stages of getting our loan of $130,000 approved for us by the bank. All the necessary documents have been signed and we have been assured by our banker that the amount will soon be credited to our account within two weeks.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

Doodle Tech Inc. is established with the aim of making profit and competing amongst others here in the software industry. We are however concerned about the future of our company and so we intend to ensure that we deploy sustainability and expansion strategies so as to keep our business running for a long time.

One of the sustainability strategies which we intend to deploy is in having the right business structure on ground. This we intend to do by hiring competent and professional employees to handle the various tasks that we will assign to them.

We will employ those who understand what businesses such as ours will need to thrive in the industry and the know-how to ensure that we attain our desired goals and objectives. Our employees will not only be well paid and have attractive incentives, they will also continually be trained so that their skills would be enhanced thereby increasing productivity for the company.

We would draft effective publicity and promotional strategies that would ensure that the awareness for our brand and its products are increased to potential and even existing customers. Our promotional efforts will be geared into ensuring that our brand is positively communicated to even our rivals in the industry.

Most of our publicity strategies would be geared towards the millenials by throwing up contests especially on social media as these have the potential to ensure that awareness about our brand is effectively spread even to the baby boomers.

Finally, we take our customers very seriously and to this effect we intend to ensure that we have effective customer service programs which will see our loyal customers getting incentives.

We also would ensure that we attend to all customer enquiries whilst also making sure that all their complaints are resolved speedily depending on the problem. We know that if we carry out these strategies effectively, we would not only push forth our brand but also sustain our business whilst also expanding it at our own pace.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Conducting feasibility studies: Completed
• Generating capital from family members: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers / merchants: In Progress
• Purchase of trucks: Completed

More on Technology

How to Write a Winning Software Company Business Plan + Template

Creating a business plan is essential for any business, but it can be especially helpful for software businesses who want to improve their strategy and raise funding.

A well-crafted business plan not only outlines the vision for your company but also documents a step-by-step roadmap of how you will accomplish it. To create an effective business plan, you must first understand the components that are essential to its success.

This article provides an overview of the key elements that every software business owner should include in their business plan.

Download the Ultimate Business Plan Template

What is a Software Business Plan?

A software business plan is a formal written document that describes your company’s business strategy and its feasibility. It documents the reasons you will be successful, your areas of competitive advantage, and it includes information about your team members. Your business plan is a key document that will convince investors and lenders (if needed) that you are positioned to become a successful venture.

Why Write a Software Business Plan?

A software business plan is required for banks and investors. The document is a clear and concise guide of your business idea and the steps you will take to make it profitable.

Entrepreneurs can also use this as a roadmap when starting their new company or venture, especially if they are inexperienced in starting a business.

Writing an Effective Software Business Plan

The following are the key components of a successful software business plan:

Executive Summary

The executive summary of a software business plan is a one- to two-page overview of your entire business plan. It should summarize the main points, which will be presented in full in the rest of your business plan.

• Start with a one-line description of your software company
• Provide a short summary of the key points in each section of your business plan, which includes information about your company’s management team, industry analysis, competitive analysis, and financial forecast among others.

Company Description

This section should include a brief history of your company. Include a short description of how your company started, and provide a timeline of milestones your company has achieved.

If you are just starting your software business, you may not have a long company history. Instead, you can include information about your professional experience in this industry and how and why you conceived your new venture. If you have worked for a similar company before or have been involved in an entrepreneurial venture before starting your software firm, mention this.

You will also include information about your chosen software business model and how, if applicable, it is different from other companies in your industry.

Industry Analysis

The industry or market analysis is an important component of a software business plan. Conduct thorough market research to determine industry trends and document the size of your market. 

Questions to answer include:

• What part of the software industry are you targeting?
• How big is the market?
• What trends are happening in the industry right now (and if applicable, how do these trends support the success of your company)?

You should also include sources for the information you provide, such as published research reports and expert opinions.

Customer Analysis

This section should include a list of your target audience(s) with demographic and psychographic profiles (e.g., age, gender, income level, profession, job titles, interests). You will need to provide a profile of each customer segment separately, including their needs and wants.

For example, a software business’s customers may include small, medium, and enterprise businesses. Each of these customer segments will have different needs and wants.

You can include information about how your customers make the decision to buy from you as well as what keeps them buying from you.

Develop a strategy for targeting those customers who are most likely to buy from you, as well as those that might be influenced to buy your products or software services with the right marketing.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis helps you determine how your product or service will be different from competitors, and what your unique selling proposition (USP) might be that will set you apart in this industry.

For each competitor, list their strengths and weaknesses. Next, determine your areas of competitive differentiation and/or advantage; that is, in what ways are you different from and ideally better than your competitors.

Below are sample competitive advantages your software business may have:

• Superior customer service
• Strong brand recognition
• Proven track record of success
• Robust product feature set
• Well-funded and experienced management team
• Innovative technology
• Scalable business model
• Strategic partnerships or alliances
• Favorable locations
• Access to important resources, like talent or capital

Keep in mind that your competitive advantages will change over time as your business grows and as new competitors enter the market. It is important to regularly review and update.

Marketing Plan

This part of the business plan is where you determine and document your marketing plan. . Your plan should be clearly laid out, including the following 4 Ps.

• Product/Service : Detail your product/service offerings here. Document their features and benefits.
• Price : Document your pricing strategy here. In addition to stating the prices for your products/services, mention how your pricing compares to your competition.
• Place : Where will your customers find you? What channels of distribution (e.g., partnerships) will you use to reach them if applicable?
• Promotion : How will you reach your target customers? For example, you may use social media, write blog posts, create an email marketing campaign, use pay-per-click advertising, or launch a direct mail campaign. Or you may promote your software business via a mix of these channels.

Operations Plan

This part of your software business plan should include the following information:

• How will you deliver your product/service to customers? For example, will you do it in person or over the phone only?
• What infrastructure, equipment, and resources are needed to operate successfully? How can you meet those requirements within budget constraints?

The operations plan is where you also need to include your company’s business policies. You will want to establish policies related to everything from customer service to pricing, to the overall brand image you are trying to present.

Finally, and most importantly, your Operations Plan will outline the milestones your company hopes to achieve within the next five years. Create a chart that shows the key milestone(s) you hope to achieve each quarter for the next four quarters, and then each year for the following four years. Examples of milestones for a software business include reaching $X in sales. Other examples include acquiring X number of customers or launching a new product line.

Management Team

List your team members here including their names and titles, as well as their expertise and experience relevant to your specific software industry. Include brief biography sketches for each team member.

Particularly if you are seeking funding, the goal of this section is to convince investors and lenders that your team has the expertise and experience to execute on your plan. If you are missing key team members, document the roles and responsibilities you plan to hire for in the future.

Financial Plan

Here you will include a summary of your complete and detailed financial plan (your full financial projections go in the Appendix). 

This includes the following three financial statements:

Income Statement

Your income statement should include:

• Revenue : how much revenue you generate.
• Cost of Goods Sold : These are your direct costs associated with generating revenue. This includes labor costs, as well as the cost of any equipment and supplies used to deliver the product/service offering.
• Net Income (or loss) : Once expenses and revenue are totaled and deducted from each other, this is the net income or loss.

Sample Income Statement for a Startup Software Business

Balance sheet.

Include a balance sheet that shows your assets, liabilities, and equity. Your balance sheet should include:

• Assets : All of the things you own (including cash).
• Liabilities : This is what you owe against your company’s assets, such as accounts payable or loans.
• Equity : The worth of your business after all liabilities and assets are totaled and deducted from each other.

Sample Balance Sheet for a Startup Software Business

Cash flow statement.

Include a cash flow statement showing how much cash comes in, how much cash goes out and a net cash flow for each year. The cash flow statement should include cash flow from:

• Investments

Below is a sample of a projected cash flow statement for a startup software company.

Sample Cash Flow Statement for a Startup Software Business

You will also want to include an appendix section which will include:

• Your complete financial projections
• A complete list of your company’s business policies and procedures related to the rest of the business plan (marketing, operations, etc.)
• Any other documentation which supports what you included in the body of your business plan.

Write a Winning Business Plan for Your Software Company

Writing a good business plan gives you the advantage of being fully prepared to launch and/or grow your software company. It not only outlines your business vision but also provides a step-by-step process of how you are going to accomplish it.

A business plan is a critical document for any new software company. If you are seeking funding, your business plan will be a key component of your pitch to investors .   

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Wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

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

Other Helpful Articles

How to Write a Winning Tech Company Business Plan (+ Template)

Software Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

Software Business Plan Template

If you want to start a software company or expand your current software business, you need a business plan.

The following business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning business plan for a software company. In addition to this template, a well-crafted plan will include market research to help you better understand the software industry, market trends, your competitive advantage and your target market. It will also help you craft a smart marketing strategy and a strong financial plan.

You can download our Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.  

Example Business Plan For Software Companies

I. executive summary, business overview.

[Company Name] is a new software company located in [Location]. The company develops a cloud based software package that combines an efficient communication platform with project management software. Customers who buy our product will be able to communicate with their teammates via messaging or video chat while also organizing their project with the software’s project management tools. Whereas our competitors need to create two separate products to offer these benefits to their customers, we have been able to integrate both these features into one incredible product.

[Company Name] is founded and led by [Founder’s Name], who has been a programmer for 20 years. One thing that frustrated him throughout his career is the need for multiple programs to do his work. Many companies need project management software and communication software, but rarely are there products that offer all the benefits and features of both products. During COVID, he began designing and developing a program that included all the communication and project management features that most businesses need. He recently finished developing the software and is now ready to launch his business.

Products Served

[Company Name] develops and sells a software product that incorporates all the best features of communications software and project management software. Clients who purchase our software can track all their goals and projects and easily communicate with their teammates and employees.

Customer Focus

[Company Name] will primarily serve small and large organizations in need of easy communication and project management tools. These organizations will have dozens to thousands of employees that all have major projects they need to keep track of and communicate with each other about. We expect many of these businesses to make $5 million or more in revenue annually depending on the size of the organization and the industry they are in.

Management Team

[Company Name] is founded and led by [Founder’s Name], who has been a programmer for 20 years. He was inspired by personal experience to create a program that integrates communications software and project management software seamlessly. He has been working on this idea for several years and is now ready to sell his product to other companies.

In addition to his programming experience, [Founder’s Name] has worked several years as a manager at a major software firm. So not only does have the technical expertise to create and manage our product but he also has the management and leadership experience needed to run the company.

Success Factors

[Company Name] is uniquely qualified to succeed due to the following reasons:

• [Company Name] is creating a software product that is hard to find but in great demand.
• [Company Name] will fill a specific market niche in the software industry. In addition, [Founder’s Name] has surveyed businesses in the target market and received extremely positive feedback saying that they explicitly want to make use of [Company Name]’s products.
• The location is in an economically vibrant area where new businesses are starting at a fast rate.

Financial Highlights

[Company Name] is currently seeking $800,000 to launch. Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

• Office design/build: $250,000
• Software development and management: $200,000
• Equipment and supplies: $200,000
• Working capital: $150,000 to pay for marketing, salaries, and lease costs until [Company Name] reaches break-even

II. Company Overview

You can download our Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Who is [Company Name]?

[Company Name] produces software that integrates the features of the best communications software and the most popular project management software. Customers who buy our product will be able to communicate with their teammates via messaging or video chat while also organizing their project with the software’s project management tools. Whereas our competitors need to create two separate products to offer these benefits to their customers, we have been able to integrate both these features into one incredible product.

[Company Name] is founded and led by [Founder’s Name], who has been a programmer for 20 years. He was frustrated with juggling various platforms just to do his job so he developed software that is two products in one. He has been working on this software since the early days of COVID and is now ready to sell his product to other companies.

Soon after finishing the product, [Founder’s Name] began researching what it would take to create his own software company and did a thorough analysis on the costs, market, demographics, and competition. [Founder’s Name] has compiled enough information to develop his business plan in order to approach investors.

[Company Name]’s History

Once his market analysis was complete, [Founder’s Name] began surveying the local vacant office space and located an ideal location for his new company. [Founder’s Name] incorporated [Company Name] as a Limited Liability Corporation on [Date of Incorporation].

Since incorporation, the company has achieved the following milestones:

• Located available office space for rent that is in a busy commercial district
• Developed the company’s name, logo, and website located at [website]
• Determined equipment and necessary supplies
• Began recruiting key employees

[Company Name]’s Products/Services

[Company Name] develops and sells a communications and project management program. On one end, the product operates much like Slack or Teams, allowing colleagues throughout the organization to communicate easily with one another via messaging or video chat. On the other end, the product operates like Asana or ClickUp, allowing customers to create projects, set goals, and track their progress. While many software products only offer one feature or the other, our product will integrate both seamlessly.

III. Industry Analysis

You can download our Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here. The variety of business software and services available has completely revolutionized the workplace. Software has replaced in-person meetings with virtual ones, physical whiteboards with virtual project management tools, and memos with email and messaging. Now, it’s hard to imagine any business operating without the help of software.

Business software includes a variety of tools that keep businesses running efficiently. These include communications platforms (like Slack or Teams), project management tools (like Asana or Monday), and accounting software (like Quickbooks or Xero). Every aspect of business requires some software to remain efficient. Companies cannot hope to compete in the global market without incorporating technology into their processes. Software helps automate these processes, increase efficiency, and improve accuracy. Because of this, businesses that don’t utilize technology or software are outcompeted very quickly.

According to Grand View Research, the business software and services market was valued at $474.61 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% over the next 10 years. This projected growth is due to the increased automation of business processes across multiple industries, including retail, healthcare, and transportation. These industries are dependent on software for rapid communication, payment processing, and many other essential functions in their business. Therefore, business software is not just in demand; it’s required for businesses to stay relevant in the global market.

IV. Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

[Company Name] will serve businesses in need of communication and project management software. We expect that these businesses will have at least a few dozen employees and earn at least $5 million or more in annual revenue.

Customer Segmentation

[Company Name] will primarily target the following three customer segments:

V. Competitive Analysis

Direct & indirect competitors.

The following businesses are located within a 20-mile radius of [Company Name], thus providing either direct or indirect competition for customers:

Slack Slack is a popular communications platform that is faster, more efficient, and more secure than email. Teams can interact with each other quickly and easily in their own channel, and members can message each other directly through direct messaging.

Though Slack will remain a powerful platform for many companies, it currently does not have a project management tool and only has limited video chat options. Companies that need these features have to rely on other products. Our product will offer all the benefits of Slack but also incorporate seamless video chat options as well as project management tools.

Asana Asana is a powerful project management tool that allows organizations to create, track, and manage all their tasks. This software offers numerous tools for organizations to utilize, including a calendar, timelines, kanban boards, and automation options. No matter what a team needs to get their projects finished, Asana has the tools to help them manage their processes and workflow.

Though Asana is a powerful application, it has limited communication options. Many companies that use Asana seek the help of Slack, Zoom, Teams or other programs to manage more efficient communication across the organization. We will have an impressive communications feature built into our project management software.

ClickUp ClickUp is a cloud-based project management that is utilized by businesses of all sizes and industries. It has numerous features, including communication and collaboration tools, task assignments and statuses, alerts, and a task toolbar. To communicate, users can add comments and assign them to teammates working on the project. Comments can be marked as resolved, in progress, or in a unique custom status that users can create.

Though ClickUp is a great tool, its limited communication features mean that businesses have to utilize other programs to discuss their projects more thoroughly with their team. Customers who buy our product will not have this issue.

Competitive Advantage

[Company Name] enjoys several advantages over its competitors. Those advantages include:

• Management : [Founder’s Name] has been extremely successful working in the software industry and will be able to use his previous experience to provide the best service experience. His unique qualifications will serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than [Company Name]’s competitors.
• Relationships : [Founder’s Name] knows many of the local leaders, business managers, and other influencers within [Location]. With his [X] years of experience and good relationships with business leaders in the area, he will be able to develop an initial client base.
• Multiple tools in one : Our product integrates a messaging system, video chat, and project management tools all in one product. Other competitors only offer one or two of these features.
• Client-oriented service : [Company Name] will have full-time customer service and sales managers to keep in contact with clients and answer their everyday questions.

VI. Marketing Plan

The [company name] brand.

The [Company Name] brand will focus on the company’s unique value proposition:

• Products that incorporate all the benefits of both communications software and project management tools
• Service built on long-term relationships
• Big-firm expertise in a small-firm environment
• Thorough knowledge of the clients and their varying needs
• Providing a unique software product that is in high demand

Promotions Strategy

[Company Name] expects its initial target market to be businesses within a 20-mile radius of its location. [Company Name]’s promotion strategy to reach these individuals includes:

Targeted Cold Calls [Company Name] will initially invest significant time and energy into contacting potential clients via telephone. In order to improve the effectiveness of this phase of the marketing strategy, a highly-focused call list will be used, targeting startups and small businesses. As this is a very time-consuming process, it will primarily be used during the startup phase to build an initial client base.

Referrals [Company Name] understands that the best promotion comes from satisfied customers. The company will encourage its clients to refer other businesses by providing economic or financial incentives for every new client produced. This strategy will increase in effectiveness after the business has already been established.

Additionally, [Company Name] will aggressively network with business incubators, small business development centers, small business accountants, and others in a position to work with small businesses and startups. This network will generate referral leads.

Social Media [Company Name] will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. The brand manager will create the company’s social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. It will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Publications The company will place print advertisements in key local publications, including newspapers, area magazines, and business newsletters. Additionally, [Company Name] will print brochures and place them in specific locations frequented by target individuals, such as small business development centers.

Website/SEO [Company Name] will invest heavily in developing a professional website that displays all of the features and benefits of our software. It will also invest heavily in SEO so that the brand’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.

Direct Mail [Company Name] will blanket businesses with direct mail pieces. These pieces will provide general information on [Company Name], offer discounts, and/or provide other incentives for companies to try out our software.

Pricing Strategy

[Company Name]’s pricing will be on par with competitors so clients feel they receive great value when purchasing our software. We will price our products on a membership basis, where organizations can opt for monthly or annual billing.

VII. Operations Plan

Functional roles.

In order to execute [Company Name]’s business model, the company needs to perform several functions:

Developer Functions

• Develop and maintain products
• Create new features, additions, and updates

Administrative Functions

• Marketing functions
• Bookkeeping functions
• Hiring and training staff

Other Functions

• Sell products to potential clients and customers
• Provide excellent customer service and support

VIII. Management Team

Management team members.

[Company Name] is founded and led by [Founder’s Name]. [Founder’s Name] has been a programmer for 20 years. One thing that has frustrated him throughout his career is that he had to use multiple programs to do his work and many of those products did not work well with each other. Many companies need project management software and communication software, but rarely are there products that offer both features. Once he realized this, he began working on his new idea.

Hiring Plan

[Founder’s Name] will serve as the President of [Company Name]. In order to launch, he needs to hire the following personnel:

• Developers (3 to start)
• Administrative Staff (2 to start)
• Marketing Staff (2 to start)

IX. Financial Plan

Revenue and cost drivers.

The key revenues for [Company Name] will come from the sale of our software products.

The major cost drivers for the company include marketing expenses, labor, equipment purchasing and maintenance, and overhead costs.

Capital Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

  5 Year Annual Income Statement

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ASP Software Developer Business Plan

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KnaelHaed ASPware, Inc.

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

Despite the prolonged slide in the industry, the housing segment in the US construction market gained a record of $550.14 billion last year. This sector is also showing a steady growth for the next two years. Among the top revenue generating sectors in the segment is new single family housing construction, which comprised 67% of total residential construction in the US.

Over the years, the business model in the industry had shifted toward greater more cost efficiency. Low entry barriers (other than the need to obtain state-based licenses and registration) in the industry had spawned more service providers in the industry. However, competition is largely based on reputation and proven performance as many new competitors find it difficult to quickly establish a foothold in the market.

The existing firms have several advantages relative to new entrants. They:

• Have access to a pool of skilled subcontractors.
• Have ongoing arrangements with materials suppliers.
• Have ongoing arrangements with financial institutions and property developers.
• Can display completed examples of their work in a local market and leverage off “word-of-mouth” referrals.

KnaelHaed ASPware (KnaelHaed) is a provider of Web-based vertical market software applications. The DigitalSuspenders is an online software solution to be offered by KnaelHaed ASPware in support of the building construction process.

The Problem

The construction industry lags behind other industries in research and development (R&D) investment. R&D investments for mature US companies are typically around 3.5% of sales. For some industries such as aerospace that number can be 7% to 14%. However, the construction industry only reinvests 0.5% of sales. The reasons for the low reinvestment vary, but are generally due to costs and complexity. Most construction firms are small (less than 10 employees) and operate on thin profit margins. So, technology spending is often seen as an unaffordable luxury.

The Solution

The DigitalSuspenders will be an integrated family of Web-based software applications that support the entire building lifecycle from conception, to construction, to facility management. The suite will support the needs of small contractors by offering: online collaboration, digital takeoff, estimating, and project and property management capabilities, all presented in a format that’s easy to understand and use.

The Market Size

The home construction industry is comprised of 163,703 establishments and employed 796,880 persons according to the most recent Economic Census. The industry had grown in the last couple of years to a record 175,000 establishments, while the commercial and institutional building industry is comprised of 34,588 establishments in the US according to the most recent Economic Census. The construction industry accounts for approximately 8% of US GDP.

Start-up Costs

KnaelHaed ASPware anticipates initially requiring $120,000 to complete the beta prototype of the DigitalSuspenders, provide for legal and infrastructure expenses related to start up and to cultivate potential customers. To finance the start up we intend to seek initial capital from angel investors and corporate partners.

Potential Payoff

KnaelHaed ASPware anticipates break-even within two years. In addition to our product sales, we expect royalty revenue from licensing our position sensing and software technology. Within three to five years, KnaelHaed ASPware anticipates an IPO or sale of the company to fuel further growth and to offer liquidity to investors.

Management Team

Paul Peen, the current President & Chief Executive Officer, has over 20 years of experience in commercial software development, including stints at Microsoft and Expedia.com.

Leveraging connectivity, interactivity and speed, KnaelHaed ASPware is the first of its kind offering both efficiency and cost saving strategy to builders and subcontractors. KnaelHaed offers competitive pricing on solutions by outsourcing. KnaelHaed ASPware is committed to the creation of new ideas in the development of its model that is useful in accomplishing clients’ objectives. Together, the owners’ passion and accumulated field work has made KnaelHaed ASPware more than “just-another-outsourcing-hub”, but a catalyst for the next e-commerce re-invention.

1.1 Objectives

The mission of KnaelHaed ASPware is to provide a medium for custom builders, general contractors, design builders, engineer-contractors, joint-venture contractors, and turnkey contractors to outsource their works with greater cost saving efficiency.

This model is positioned to be a “disruptive force” against most of the construction software companies that charge several thousand dollars for each copy of their software. KnaelHaed ASPware’s model is to offer a subset of these capabilities for free. Utilizing the open-source business model, KnaelHaed ASPware’s ideal mission is to provide better solutions for all stakeholders.

1.2 Mission

Our target markets are those builders and subcontractors seeking to benefit from outsourcing. The industry today is supplied independently by software companies whose products are quite costly for small and medium sized users. Considering that the typical home builders construct only about a dozen homes per year, there are only a few companies that may then be considered large enough, with sufficient financial resources to pay for premium licensing of a software package.

We estimate that approximately 60% of the total US market would fall within the criteria of small and medium builders, equating to 118,980 establishments. Our focus will be directed to these establishments that are prioritizing on cost efficiency and precise results.

1.3 Keys to Success

We have targeted the construction market for several reasons. As a $787 billion industry (both residential and commercial), it offers significant growth potential. The annual unit growth of the number of establishments in the housing sector averaged 6.45% and commercial/institutional sector 0.46% last year.

Despite the low growth in the construction industry, it still remains a very fragmented market. Within the US alone there are over 200,000 establishments (both housing and commercial/institutional) on record.

The keys to our success are:

• Building and maintaining strategic alliances with our software vendors and other industry related business partners
• Adopting a customer- and market-focused sales and marketing paradigm
• Managing the business by implementing, and consistently measuring and adjusting the fundamentals of a Balanced Scorecard:
• Employee Learning and Growth Goals Vs. Results
• Financial Goals Vs. Results
• Internal Business Process Goals Vs. Results
• Customer Satisfaction Goals Vs. Results

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

KnaelHaed ASPware is a serviced website that supports the creation and dissemination of electronic construction documents, such as plans, estimates, schedules, budgets and proposals. It is a medium for connecting builders, subcontractors, and building owners to manage and collaborate on their projects. The production of these documents will be done using off-the-shelf industry leading software applications, utilized by outsourced workers overseas, with the finished products posted to a secure website. The overall idea is to help builders reduce labor costs and streamline operations.

KnaelHaed ASPware will give away free 3D building models in an effort to increase advantages in attracting builders to the site and encouraging the use of 3D building designs. The building information will allow us to offer other related knowledge services such as estimating, proposals, budgets, and facilities maintenance. The facilities maintenance functionality will be like other CAFM (Computer Aided Facilities Maintenance) software packages, except that it will be online and integrated with KnaelHaed ASPware’s 3D building models. KnaelHaed ASPware’s service will not be restricted to the home builder market but marketed to commercial builders as well.

2.1 Company Ownership

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2.2 Start-up Summary

Total start-up requirements (including legal costs, logo design, stationery and related expenses) comes to $120,710. The start-up costs are to be financed partially by the direct owner investment of $10,000 and financing in the amount of $110,710. The details are included in the following table and chart.

2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

KnaelHaed ASPware will be based in Bigburg-by-Bay. The office lease average is $6 per square foot in our area, and the Company will occupy approximately 800 sq. feet of space for day-to-day operations. There will be four management employees covering Web Maintenance and General Administration.

Products and Services

KnaelHaed ASPware’s DigitalSuspenders package will offer services to produce construction documents at low cost as well as a medium for its business actors to collaborate on both housing and commercial type of projects. The business will combine aspects of the open source software with a two-tiered site membership. The entry level is free, subsidized by targeted advertisement utilizing Ad Sense by Google and paid members. However, each visitors are required to fill out registration to acquire their user names and passwords to access the site. The purpose of a free access is to “tease” and encourage visitors to eventually pay for the membership.

Paying members will enjoy more benefits in using the services. The concept is lately dubbed as software-on-demands, a chopped version of an open source application for various type of members, thus members do not have to pay for the applications they do not need for their projects. The software will be cheaper and simpler in the deployment, as well as easy support.

The products that KnaelHaed ASPware’s DigitalSuspenders package will deliver include:

• Rough 3D building model.
• Conceptual estimate (builder).
• Actual estimate (subcontractor, builder).
• Schedule (subcontractor, builder).
• Budget (subcontractor, builder).
• Proposal (subcontractor).
• Tablet PC software for accessing building information (subcontractor, builder).
• Detailed 3D building model (builder, owner).
• Facilities maintenance functionality (owner).

3.1 Competitive Comparison

KnaelHaed ASPware will be facing few direct competitors in the industry and since it will be the first to offer the combination of functionality and connectivity, KnaelHaed ASPware’s success will surely be quickly copied by it competitors.

• DreamHouse.com (www.dreamhouse.com)

Their site allows non-registered users to freely browse the portfolios of architects and builders who offer their building plans for sale. It is a more of a classified ad site, where the revenue generated through listings of vendors and commission on plan purchases by home owners. The site is interactive, where future home owners could browse plans made by vendors. In addition to the core referral service, DreamHouse.com provides answers to future home owners such as where to obtain the financing, and so on. The Company also offers 24/7 customer service available through toll-free phone numbers.

• Builder Management Technology (www.buildermt.com/vdsee.html)

Builder Management Technology (BuilderMT) only offers 3D models and walkthroughs to large builders who can afford a $5,000 price tag. There is one feature, called ProDatabase, designed to get builders up and running quickly. The database includes General Ledger, Job Cost Accounting, Purchasing, and Scheduling data that can be easily implemented. BuilderMT also operates a Web-based “Virtual Design Center” (VDSee), so that builders can offer anyone access to the site. VDSee offers fully scaled 3D images of whole-houses, house exteriors, or specific rooms that users can “walk through” and fill with selected appliances from catalogs provided by partner vendors. Similar to DreamHouse.com, BuilderMT is geared strictly to the home builder market. No bid capability, the site acts only as a referral to business partners in the area.

• The BlueBook (www.thebluebook.com)

The site provides easy access to continually updated information for each of The Blue Book’s regional editions (printed). Not yet online, but soon the services will be made available to Internet users, where construction buyers and sellers will also have free access to online bidding and procurement system. Revenue is generated from listings.

3.2 Sales Literature

This business will begin with a general corporate brochure establishing offered services. This brochure will be developed as part of the start-up expenses or sales campaign and distributed to a list of local builders and subcontractors as a direct mailing strategy to “pull” users into the site.

Literature and mailing for the initial market forums will be very important, with the need to establish a high-quality look and feel in order to create a trustworthy sense of professionalism.

3.3 Business Process

The big idea of KnaelHaed ASPware is the next generation construction blueprint that will be implemented in a phased manner:

• 3D models for builders (residential initially) at lower price point than competitors’ software (average at $5,000 per model). KnaelHaed ASPware offers at $1,000 per model. This will be used mainly as a PR and marketing tool to attract consumers and a service differentiator for the builders.
• Get builders to realize that the 3D building model alleviates the need to distribute 2D plans to subcontractors from which takeoffs will be done to get dimensions and quantities. The 3D building model already has quantities and dimensions. So, what’s needed is a way for the builder to share building model information. To support this collaboration between builders and their subcontractors, KnaelHaed ASPware will create an online plan room with software tools that allow viewing of the 3D model and extraction of quantities and dimensions so that a sub can then estimate and bid on the job. Access to the plan room will be free, but to use it builders and subs will need to be members, and have 3D models rendered and on-file with KnaelHaed’s database.
• Get builders and subcontractors to use KnaelHaed ASPware’s estimating services which will offer faster turnaround and cheaper prices. This will be a paid service and offered at a substantial discount to the market rate due to the use of offshore estimators.
• Offer additional related knowledge services. For example, once KnaelHaed ASPware has an estimate, then the system can create: budgets, schedules and proposals. This will also be a paid service with the work done by offshore knowledge workers.
• Offer a site management solution to builders that supports building project information in the field. This would entail the use of ruggedized tablet PCs loaded with software that KnaelHaed ASPware will develop to: download building project information from the website to the tablet PC and allow on-site access to 3D models, schedules, and vendor data. Differentiating features:
• 3D views of the building linked to vendor, subcontract and schedule data;
• GPS-enabled so that the building viewers are standing in front of is the building viewers see on your screen. This will be a paid product/service that will be first offered to large builders. KnaelHaed ASPware will also use their input to help improve the product.
• Offer facilities management software capabilities online. When a builder hands over a commercial building to the owner he also gives him a copy of the 3D building model. We will offer to the property manager the service to update the building model to “as built” so that the version of the model they have exactly matches the actual building. We will then offer, on our website, facilities management functionality tied to the 3D model. We will charge to update 3D models. Use of the site will be restricted to property managers who are site members (we need to know exactly who they are). We will offer our services to property managers who only have an existing building but only have 2D plans. We will create a 3D model and put it up on our site and give them access to the model and to the facilities management application.
• Offer 3D models of building plans for sale. So, an architect who has plans for sale would post his 2D plan to the site and we would render it in 3D and make it available for consumers/builders to purchase. We would want to have some kind of incentive to:
• have has many plans available as possible;
• encourage architects to submit their plans in 3D;
• encourage builders working from these plans to use our site.
• Automate back office manual work (e.g. estimating, scheduling, etc.) to the greatest degree possible to reduce costs further, improve turnaround times and allow the business to scale.

KnaelHaed ASPware offers a tiered pricing structure for the website starting at free. Then it will charge for customization and make those customized features only available to those that have paid for them. There will be different memberships and pricing structures for our various users: builders, subcontractors, property managers and consumers.

3.4 Technology

New technology has changed almost everything about the distribution of software today. The ASP (Application Service Provider) model makes it easier for construction software vendors to sell and get customers up and running, lending itself to a more scalable and profitable business model. KnaelHaed ASPware intends to become the leader and the most creative provider of Web-based software applications in the construction market. The Company will do this by developing an innovative and progressive development and management team. KnaelHaed ASPware will also accomplish the goal by using clients’ input to further develop the products and services.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

Demand for family housing construction is subject to both short-term and long-term influences. Short-term influences include factors such as movements in interest rates, housing affordability and stimulatory government policy. The long-term influences include trends in population growth and settlement, the aging of existing stock and buyer preferences between single-family and multi-family style housing.

In the commercial sectors, the demand factors are vary according to the type of buildings, for instance schools, hospitals, museums, etc. Current economic conditions and the level of investor confidence play an important role in determining the overall level of activity in this industry.

4.1 Market Segmentation

Housing Construction

Short-term Determinants

The impact of current economic conditions on consumer confidence. Consumers must be confident of job security and future household income to commit to buying a home. Housing affordability is the cost of purchasing a house relative to current household income and is a key factor driving the housing investment cycle. The affordability ratio (as a measure of the average size of the loan over the current level of pre-tax household income) is directly influenced by the level of mortgage interest rates (availability and price of finance), and the price of land, labor and materials.

The prevailing cost of renting residential accommodation relative to the cost of purchasing (i.e., mortgage repayments) impacts on the short-term demand for housing. The impact of medium-term government policy on housing investment include: local government zoning and conveyancing regulations and costs; government grants and subsidies to home buyers, tax relief or mortgage insurance subsidization; and changes in the tax treatment of tax effective investments.

Approximately 6% of the total value of residential building construction in the US is funded by the public sector, and this principally involves the construction of multi-family and single-family housing for defense personnel, public servants and special welfare recipients (e.g., disability accommodation and veterans housing). Fluctuations in public budget allocations towards housing construction mainly result from variations in the fiscal stance (deficit/surplus) and the stage of the economic cycle.

Natural disasters, such as the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in the gulf states in August 2005, and damage to property from brush fires and earthquakes, can stimulate short-term demand for new housing construction irrespective of the underlying trends in housing demand.

Long-term Underlying Demand

Long-term demographic trends indicate the required minimum stock of housing, but not necessarily the value. Demographic factors influencing single-family housing demand include: population growth rates, trends in net migration, population dispersion, the age composition of the population and the rate of household formation have a profound influence on the long-term demand for housing stock. Trends in household size and long-term preferences in the size of homes influences the demand for single-family housing construction relative to smaller multi-family housing units.

Long-term trends in income growth and distribution and general economic development. The aging and demolition of existing housing stock underpins the long-term demand for replacement stock.

Commercial and Institutional Construction

In the commercial sectors, the demand factors vary according to the type of buildings, for instance schools, hospitals, museums, etc. However, current economic conditions and the level of investor confidence play an important role in determining the overall level of activity in this industry.

Key economic factors influencing investment decisions include:

• The prevailing level of interest rates and availability of finance.
• Current and expected rates of general economic growth.
• Expected yield on investment (both long-term rental yield and speculative capital gains).
• Taxation treatment of building investment compared with other types of assets.
• Vacancy rates of existing building stock.
• The rate of replacement of aging building stock.
• Federal and State government fiscal positions and capacity to raise debt.
• Trends in the public/private sector mix in the provision of health and educational services.
• Changes in the structure, distribution and size of the population.

Demand Determinants in Commercial Building Segment

Office construction is principally determined by: growth in the service sector workforce; growth in foreign investment inflow; and developer speculative activity. The average age of commercial office stock is an important determinant of demand for the addition of new stock or the upgrade of existing stock. The impact of new technologies in the areas of IT and communications has the impact of more rapidly aging building stock and thereby increasing demand for premium stock.

Retail building construction (e.g., retail stores, shopping malls, gas stations, etc.) is principally determined by: shopping preferences/patterns (i.e., choice between boutiques and complexes); population growth rates and catchment areas; and patterns in consumption expenditure.

Hotel construction is determined by: growth in international and domestic tourism; major cultural, sporting entertainment, business events; growth in casino licenses; and existing supply of accommodation.

Other commercial building construction is determined by: population growth and urban spread; tourism growth and growth in leisure time; and major cultural and sporting events (e.g., Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics); popularity of new sports and recreations (e.g., soccer, beach volleyball).

Demand Determinants in the Institutional Building Segment

Governments occasionally adopt anti-cyclical spending measures (e.g., expansionary fiscal policy) in order to stimulate stronger economic growth, however the growing pressure on governments to maintain a balanced budget position limits their capacity to use anti-cyclical spending.

Demand for health facilities construction (e.g., hospitals, community health centers, day clinics, and nursing homes, etc.) is determined by: public fixed capital expenditure growth; health insurance arrangements; population growth, dispersion and age distribution; existing supply of hospital beds per capita; and the situation with hospital waiting lists.

Demand for religious building construction is determined by: population growth and dispersion; social and cultural trends; and trends in the inflow of migrants from less represented religious backgrounds (e.g., Muslim, Hindu, etc.).

Demand for barracks, aircraft hangars and other military buildings is determined by: defense budgets; armed service intake trends; and defense planning.

Demand for specialist public services buildings such as postal distribution centers, currency mints and utility distribution installations is determined by: government budget policies and planning issues; and the growth and distribution of population.

Demand for construction of public access buildings such as law courts, libraries, museums and art galleries is determined by: the aging and capacities of existing stock; budgetary position; private philanthropy such as endowments/bequests to the arts; and the timing of special events (e.g., Salt Lake Winter Olympics).

Demand for correctional buildings and detention centers is determined by: budget policies and planning issues; growth in the privatization of the delivery of services; and growth in the prison population.

4.2 Industry Analysis

The value of construction in place in the total US residential market climbed to a record $550.14 billion in 2004; comprised of new single-family house construction ($370.23 billion), new multi-family house construction ($45.80 billion), plus the value of improvements to existing houses ($134.11 billion). Meanwhile the commercial and institutional construction market reached the value of $237 billion in 2004.

The home construction industry was comprised of 163,703 establishments and employed 796,880 persons according to the 2002 Economic Census. The industry has grown in last couple of years to a record 175,000 establishments, employing approximately 920,000 people in 2004.

The commercial and institutional building industry was comprised of 34,588 establishments in the US according to the 2002 Economic Census, and employed a total of 673,318 people. However, in contrast to its housing counterpart, in a recent estimate conducted by IBISWorld and Euromonitor, the employment for commercial and institutional building industry had decreased marginally over the past years due to weak demand in downstream building markets to 655,000 people in 34,750 establishments in 2004. The major categories for commercial and institutional building industry are divided as follow:

• Educational facilities (28.6%)
• Retail stores and commercial warehouses (24.6%)
• Offices (16.5%)
• Healthcare facilities (12.3%)
• Amusement and recreation facilities (7.4%)
• Hotels (4.4%)
• Public safety facilities (3.2%)
• Religious buildings (3%)

4.2.1 Business Participants

The market has expressed the need to have more access to suppliers and buyers in completing each of their projects. To gain this, the industry needs a more interactive and real-time medium serving as a hub connecting both subcontractors and builders.

This has manifested itself in the form of greater visibility and timely event notice so the appropriate corrective or scheduled actions can be implemented, to ensure an efficient project management and supply chain.

4.2.2 Distributing a Service

Small to medium builders are accustomed to cooperating with subcontractors who they have already employed in past projects. The each expect fair price in their project, as it is mainly a trust-based business relationship.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

KnaelHaed ASPware has clearly defined the target market and differentiated itself by offering a unique solution to the industry today. KnaelHaed ASPware’s sales and marketing strategy will be a combination of targeted mass marketing techniques as well as a focused direct sales team approach. Reasonable sales targets have been established with an implementation plan designed to ensure the goals set forth below are achieved.

5.1 Strategy Pyramid

For placing emphasis on service and support, KnaelHaed ASPware’s main tactics are networking expertise, excellent training, and developing own network administrative system. 

Our second strategy is emphasizing relationships. The tactics are marketing the company (instead of the products and services) — the vision of the company — to subcontractors and builders to use the service.

5.2 Value Proposition

Software delivered as a service improves the customer experience by making a product easier to use for a customer and evolving it as quickly as possible to meet the customer’s needs. Software delivered as a service enables that and packaged software does not.

Customers are tired of buying expensive software products with large up-front licenses; expensive hardware to purchase, manage, and maintain; followed by expensive professional services to get the product up and running. From this backdrop, it is easy to see why reducing complexity and simplifying technology for customers is a big driver to more rapid adoption of products. It is also easy to see why reducing complexity for the customer also helps reduce complexity for the vendor, lowering the friction to sell and deliver its product. This means a more capital efficient business model, one which would hopefully scale much quicker and cost less to build product, sell, and support customers.

For the software vendor, it makes it:

• Easier to sell
• Shorter sales cycle-do not have to test extensively in a customer’s environment.
• Lends itself to telesales, can demo over phone and Web, do not need a huge sales infrastructure to close deals (just need quote bearing reps without a huge staff of sales engineers and professional services guys to get the job done).
• Not a capital expense, usually sold as monthly or annual subscription which can many times be taken out of business budget as opposed to IT budget.
• Easier to install
• No messy installation process, long testing process, or even waiting for hardware to be delivered to customer.
• Can leave a customer and simply point them to a URL, train them over the phone, and get them up and running.
• All of this means that the business can scale rapidly.
• Cheaper to support
• Browser-based delivery and richer client interfaces like DHTML make it easy to use for the customer=less training=less customer support costs.
• Easier to integrate
• Standard APIs make it easier for software delivered as a service to integrate disparate systems.
• Once again, reduces costs to deliver product to customers and also removes obstacles to getting customers.
• Cheaper to build
• Versus a few years ago, bandwidth, storage, servers, and software are much cheaper.
• Think Linux, Intel boxes, cheap bandwidth, commodity software stacks, and smarter entrepreneurs changing the economics of building and delivering software as a service.
• The economics speak for themselves.

5.3 Marketing Strategy

The first strategic move for KnaelHaed ASPware must be to create its website and identity. An amount of $5,000 has been set aside for this image boosting purpose. The site must have all the features running as planned to maintain the credibility of the business.

It is essential that care be taken to cause the most important search engines to find KnaelHaed ASPware’s website using a variety of keywords. While the above work is being done, KnaelHaed ASPware must immediately take steps to enter the home construction industry. With the largest growth in the segment, home construction market is surely ready to take advantage of the system and services provided by KnaelHaed ASPware. From there, the commercial and institutional segment will follow.

5.3.1 Pricing Strategy

KnaelHaed ASPware’s pricing strategy will be to enter the market with our products and services set much lower than the competitors’ current offerings. Membership fees for subcontractors and builders are $50 per month, and instead of charging $5,000 per 3D model, KnaelHaed ASPware offer $1,000 for a customized 3D model job.

5.3.2 Marketing Programs

KnaelHaed ASPware’s marketing program will position the company as both an ASP and a service hub to the construction industry in general. The service will be marketed to builders and subcontractors that wish to outsource some of their work to be more cost efficient. Visitors to KnaelHaed ASPware’s website will first be “lured” to try the service for free by filling in the main info of who they are, what company they are with, how to get in touch with them, and so on. There will be limitations on KnaelHaed’s free service, and these visitors will, at some point, desire to become members in order to enjoy the benefits of the full service.

5.3.3 Positioning Statement

KnaelHaed ASPware is a “referral plus” service, meaning that the company acts as a hub for builders and subcontractors to interact and collaborate. In the meantime, KnaelHaed ASPware itself is a producing entity, where it offers various products to complement the relationships of the clients.

5.4 Sales Strategy

KnaelHaed ASPware is targeting both home and commercial segments of the construction industry that currently do not have enough resources and networking capabilities to better implement their projects. Sales to these market segments will be conducted through strategic partnership with local subcontractors in all counties of the US.

KnaelHaed will develop a secondary market segment comprised of large corporate users for more premium services following the success of the initial launch.

5.4.1 Sales Forecast

The table below outlines the sales forecast and cost of goods sold. The forecast is based on reasonable sales projections within this very large market.

5.5 Strategic Alliances

KnaelHaed ASPware will establish strategic partnerships with network service and infrastructure providers that can provide high performance access to network facilities. The focus of KnaelHaed ASPware’s strategic alliances is on start-up software houses that are currently targeting the industry, as well as offshore companies specializing in outsourcing call centers and knowledge workers. These offshore companies to be named later.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

KnaelHaed ASPware will have a limited management structure and using the power and flexibility of the World Wide Web, outsource and automate a great deal of the day-to-day work.

7.1 Management Team

Paul Peen – Founder and President

Mr. Peen has an extensive background in software development with more than 25 years of experience in the software industry.

Raef Terre – Vice-president

Mr. Terre has spent many years in the construction industry beginning as a framing carpenter, and working his way up to site foreman and job manager for a major general contractor.

7.2 Management Team Gaps

We believe we have a good team for covering the main points of the business plan. Key members have the experience and knowledge to manage and grow the business, and are highly motivated.

The obvious management gap is a plan to fill the general manager’s position at some point in the future. As the company grows, KnaelHaed ASPware will seek out additional talent in all operational areas.

7.3 Personnel Plan

There will be less than ten employees of KnaelHaed ASPware. The growth of the company will be determined by how accurately and efficiently the company is able to implement the facets of this business plan.

Each member of the KnaelHaed ASPware team is highly valued; everyone is expected to have opinions, as it is a team that will make this company excel. It is the mission of the company to employ people who are committed to a high standard of excellence, who thrive on a team atmosphere, and who have outstanding customer service skills. This idealism is represented by the current staff, and will continue to be the guideline by which new team members are hired.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

The following subtopics help present the financial plan for KnaelHaed ASPware.

8.1 Start-up Funding

Our start-up costs of $120,710 are to be financed by direct owner investment and investors’. The details are shown in the Start-up Funding Table below.

8.2 The Investment Offering

We plan to raise $120,710 in initial investment (our Seed round) by offering investors 60% of KnaelHaed ASPware. The founder will retain control of the remaining 40% through the first two years of operations. Additional investment may be required to fund expansion plans in the 3rd year of operations. Please review the Start-up Funding section of the Financial Plan for a complete breakdown of KnaelHaed ASPware’s start-up requirements and the start-up funding plan.

8.3 Key Financial Indicators

As shown in the Benchmarks chart below, our key financial indicators are:

• Projected Sales: Projections are based on actual past performance, and are conservative. We will increase sales at an average rate of 8% per year.
• Gross Margins: Average gross margins are based on 20% COGS of all FOSS services.
• Operating Expenses: Operating expenses are based on providing our small team with above average wages and benefits, and providing superior performance.

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

The following chart and table show the project cash flow for KnaelHaed ASPware.

8.5 Break-even Analysis

For our break-even analysis, we assume running costs which include our full payroll, rent, and utilities, and an estimation of other running costs. Payroll alone, at our present run rate, is only about $16,767 per month.

The chart shows the average revenue we need each month to break even, according to these assumptions.

8.6 Projected Profit and Loss

Month-by-month assumptions for profit and loss are included in the appendix.

8.7 Projected Balance Sheet

The table below presents the balance sheet for KnaelHaed ASPware. This table reflects a positive cash position through out the period of this financial plan and growth in net worth.

8.8 Business Ratios

The following table outlines some of the more important ratios from the Computer software development and applications industry, SIC 7371.0300. The final column, Industry Profile, details specific ratios based on the Custom computer programming services industry as it is classified by the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) code, 7371.

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10 Free Software Development Plan Templates to Use in 2024

Praburam Srinivasan

Growth Marketing Manager

February 14, 2024

All software developers and software project managers know that without effective project management, even the best software idea won’t fulfill its promise.

Project management and software development , of course, can be complex. Any chance you take to make it a little more efficient is welcome.

Enter software development templates.

They won’t replace the actual development and coding work your software development teams do. But with the right templates, those essential functions can take center stage and ease the burden on project managers.

The result is better software and a higher chance of completing software projects on time and on budget.

What is a Software Development Template?

What makes a good software development template, 1. clickup software development plan template, 2. clickup impact effort matrix template, 3. clickup product roadmap template, 4. clickup software change log template, 5. clickup software comparison template, 6. clickup app development plan template, 7. clickup development schedule template, 8. clickup app scope outline template, 9. clickup product requirements template, 10. clickup agile project management template.

A software development template is one of the best solutions to efficiently streamline all the tasks and organizational pieces of the software development process, using a standard outline to organize key details, systems, software features, and other project requirements .

This allows your engineering and software teams to focus on the in-depth work and decision-making that ultimately makes or breaks the end product. It’s also key for project managers and product managers to stay on top of their project management.

Software development templates focus on the larger development plan. They might include collaborative documentation and instructions covering:

• Building and updating your project schedule
• Tracking project management key performance indicators
• Prioritizing certain solutions and to-dos over others
• Measuring the overall roadmap, including product scope and requirements
• Efficiently covering the process, documentation, and technology requirements across many teams

Beyond their individual function, software development templates also keep your team and external stakeholders in the loop on the project’s bigger picture.

Even though their specific function may differ, all great software development templates share a few commonalities for project managers to better manage projects:

• They’re easy to implement : Whether they integrate with your project management software or productivity tool, they should be easy to set up and use right away
• They’re easy to update and customize : Especially since agile development is fluid, you require dynamic templates that can evolve and change as projects move forward
• They focus on visuals : A visual focus makes the template more skimmable for viewers, providing a quick and easy collaborative overview of important touchpoints
• They’re easy to share with company stakeholders : Your systems should be easy to access to everyone, including those not part of the core team, to help all stakeholders better manage and communicate about all elements of your project
• They focus on accomplishing a clear goal : Whether it’s project prioritization or technology scope planning, the template should master its core purpose

Finally, the right templates simplify the software project development process, which is possibly the most important feature. Using these solutions should not complicate things but allow a greater focus on the software phases.

10 Software Development Templates for Project Managers

Flexibility is the calling card of all modern software development. So it shouldn’t be surprising that no two software development plan templates are exactly the same. The best solutions to manage projects are those that are tailored to your specific needs and goals, helping with the finer details of your next software sprint.

Look no further if you’re searching for a single template to solve many needs. The ClickUp Software Development Template breaks down the core components from strategy, planning, and roadmapping, to user research, sprint management, and release tracking.

Here are the features and prebuilt processes the template includes:

• A product roadmap
• A weekly task execution list to generate code with AI , fix errors, or evaluate team bandwidth
• A master backlog of tasks still waiting for completion
• A master defects list to gather and manage bugs, security incidents, and issues to solve
• Template tasks for user research
• Prebuilt task lists for sprints and Kanban development processes
• Test scenarios and cases your developers can execute for quality assurance
• Tech support tasks for reporting bugs, reviewing known bug incidents, and listing current workarounds

Software development is a constant give and take of figuring out where to focus your efforts and resources. The ClickUp Impact Effort Matrix Template can help you simplify that process.

It’s a simple structure that rates all to-dos on a two-dimensional scale of effort and impact. Low-effort and high-impact tasks are low-hanging fruit, whereas you probably don’t have to worry about high-effort and low-impact tasks. Regardless, it’s all available in a single view, helping you and your team to focus and prioritize the necessary steps and when to achieve them.

Using the actual template is simple. Add tasks to the Whiteboard, and rate them according to both impact and effort. Place them in the appropriate quadrant, and the overview is complete. 

From there, it’s just a matter of keeping your impact effort matrix up to date as the development project progresses. At regular checkpoints with your team, you can quickly remove complete tasks and add new ones coming up.

The software you build needs a roadmap showing how you go from ideation to the final product. And when you’re looking to build that map, a few templates are better than the  Product Roadmap Template by ClickUp .

The core of this template is the map itself. It’s where you outline exactly how you get from points A, B, and C.

Narrow down your overall project into weekly execution charts showing the immediate tasks needed to keep the project on track, and capture any release notes you want to communicate with internal and external stakeholders. You can even build and share product workflows to make sure everyone knows how their tasks align with others.

Add this product roadmap template to your process mapping tool , and it will surprise you how straightforward your development project management becomes. 

Iteration is the name of the game, especially once you get past your minimum viable product. That means part of your project documentation has to include keeping track of the changes you’re making to the next iteration.

Enter the Software Change Log Template by ClickUp .

This simple Doc will become your go-to resource for any project. Describe the change that needs to happen, the date of discovery, add a priority level, and assign a task owner. Not only can you keep track of the process to solve it, but you’ll also keep a constant overview of everything in chronological order that needs fixing before the software moves to the next stage.

This  Software Comparison Template by ClickUp is built for more general decision-making than just software development. But applied correctly, it can still be valuable to numerous use cases.

The core of the template helps outline comparisons between different software tools. Fields like customer rating, price, design software, and features give an easy overview of the options that might make sense for engineering teams at a given time. 

One way you can use it is for competitive analysis. This involves assessing various alternatives that cater to similar audience needs in order to identify a gap that your new solution could fill.

Discovering your product’s niche can guide your software development team in creating features that meet the expectations of your target audience and help your software stand out among competitors.

Mobile app development is a special type of software development with plenty of unique nuances and considerations. The  App Development Plan Template by ClickUp is built to plan and track your mobile app development.

The App Development Plan view allows you to build core tasks for every stage, from research to market launch. Milestones allow you to break up those processes into key accomplishments. The project’s Timeline and List views provide a more visual look at where things stand at any given time.

With much of the structure prebuilt, you can focus on the tasks your team needs to accomplish to achieve a great output. 

Building a new software product that matches audience needs while filling a market gap is challenging, particularly when you work on a tight deadline and with limited resources. The ClickUp’s Development Schedule Template helps you stay on track, no matter how complex things get.

Define the core tasks in each product stage, assign a task owner, and update the task status in real time. Outline exactly when those tasks must begin and end for the software development project to stay on schedule. Track your estimated completion time for tasks and stages against your actual time to see where you won or lost within your timeline.

From there, you can expand beyond the List view. The Product Development Gantt Chart shows a quick overview, while the Product Development Stage and Activities views go deeper into the sectors required to get things done.

These views directly interact with each other, turning your development schedule into a single source of truth that every software development team member can refer to.

Developing your software or app solution depends in part on the project management structure you choose. One thing is clear regardless of your approach: the development process has to stay within scope; otherwise you’ll risk blowing the budget, timeline, or business goals you’ve established at the beginning of the software development.

The App Scope Outline Template by ClickUp looks to make that process simple. The one-page overview outlines the problem, the desired app experience, key objectives, business requirements, and more.

The best part about this template is that you can easily share it internally and externally. That means you can establish a common idea of scope with your client while also communicating that scope with your software development team, keeping everyone on track and moving in the right direction.

In theory, even the best software product matters little when it can’t fulfill the core requirements that were the reason for its build in practice. The  Product Requirements Template by ClickUp allows all stakeholders involved in the development process to come together to define these core needs so everyone stays on the same page throughout the build.

It starts with a simple name, description, and purpose of each feature included in the end product. You can track the defined release month and its progress status throughout the building stage. And you can identify the time frame for developing the feature and decide who will take core responsibility for it. 

Looking for more advanced features? You can set priorities and add custom tags, fields, and even dependencies within the distinct features. That way, by the time the product is released, you can be sure that it meets all core requirements.

We finish this guide with a general template for agile tools that can naturally guide your software development process. The Agile Product Management Template by ClickUp prebuilds an iterative software development and project approach that allows you to quickly build, provide feedback, and pivot as needed throughout the process.

To start, you get multiple views. Reserve your List view for the epics, initiatives, and agile user stories. Move to the board for a Kanban organization of to-dos and the workload to identify potential bottlenecks or productivity opportunities. Finally, the mind map can turn a complex roadmap into simpler, actionable pieces.

And advanced users can benefit even further. ClickApps allow you to build sprints, milestones, and dependencies more quickly. Add custom progress status reports for in-progress tasks, and you have the perfect agile tool to create your development workflow.

Focus on What Matters Most With a Software Development Template

Beyond the coding, what’s the most significant variable contributing to successful software development?

Every developer probably answers this question in a slightly different way. But most of them will have themes around goal setting, prioritization, scoping, and resources. 

Those are the most significant factors around the edges. And those are the exact factors the right software development plan template can solve for you.

That’s especially beneficial if the templates you use can integrate directly into your productivity tool . Now you don’t just have an overview; that overview directly connects with existing tasks, timelines, and reports.

And that’s where ClickUp comes in. We built our platform for developers, whether you need the features or the templates. Start a Workspace for free today !

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Software Development Plan Template

In the real world, projects have deadlines to hit, budgets to stick to, and requirements to meet. No matter what process you use to get work done, you’ve got to have a plan to ensure your software project stays on schedule for a successful delivery. 

Our software development plan template can help you put a clear plan into motion quickly and easily. Use this basic foundation to build out your process and track important tasks and milestones from research to deployment.

What is a software development plan?

A software development plan is simply a timeline of your project. It shows when each phase of your software project is scheduled to begin and end, as well as the steps required to complete each phase of work. 

A software project plan gives your development team a big-picture understanding of what it will take to get the job done on time and budget, including:

• Estimated time to complete work/sprints
• Important milestones, dependencies, deadlines, and deliverables
• Resources needed to accomplish each phase

Why is a software development plan important?

Most software developers use an Agile framework to get work done. And we get it: Agile makes it easy to ship a product and keep iterating on it. 

But it’s still important to have a plan. There are time frames around your work—even when you’re iterating—and that means your project needs a clearly defined start and end date. And someone on your team should always have an eye on the bigger picture to make sure you’re making progress on your goals. 

Using a gantt chart to outline your plan ensures important milestones, like approval or launch dates, don’t get lost in the rush and enables you to account for dependencies between tasks or work phases. It also gives you clear visibility into how work stacks up across all your projects so you can take active steps to keep your team from being overloaded.

Don’t worry: Formalizing your plan doesn’t mean everything’s set in stone. Plans are meant to be flexible, so feel free to adapt your plan to fit your team’s process, whatever that may be. For example, why not build Agile sprints into your gantt chart ? This hybrid approach allows you to:

• Foster collaboration and transparency
• Account for stakeholders in the process and create a more formalized feedback loop 
• Build approval and iteration cycles into your project plan

How to create a software development project plan

Now that you know why a software development plan’s important, let’s talk about how to build one. Here are some common phases most software projects include. Consider these key steps when developing your own project plan. 

Research and discovery

Before diving right into a complex software project, take time to understand the full scope of work and detailed requirements that will lead to a solid finished product. Talk to stakeholders, team members, and even potential users to get their take on how the finished product should function to meet everyone’s needs. 

Once you have a clear grasp on the scope and requirements, use a gantt chart to map out your project timeline and resource assignments. Regardless of your team’s workflow, you’ll need to account for people’s time and include important checkpoints for approvals in the project schedule. 

While some teams can jump into simultaneous design and development sprints, the design team typically needs to visually bring the idea to life before any coding can begin. Don’t forget to build time into your plan for collecting feedback and getting final approval on the design work from stakeholders to ensure a smooth and timely hand-off to developers. 

Environment setup

Does any groundwork need to be laid before development begins? Be sure it’s included in your plan. For example, you may need to schedule in time to set up staging, production, and/or QA environments—depending on what’s important to your team’s testing process. 

A good software development plan encompasses every step of a sprint, including:

• Planning the sprint work
• Running the sprint period 
• QA and testing
• Fixing bugs
• Stakeholder review

There’s no limit to the number of sprint cycles your plan can include, so rinse and repeat the process for as many iterations as you need. Just be sure you’re also planning time for retrospectives and backlog grooming between sprint cycles. 

Don’t forget to keep track of your backlog too! Add a backlog section to your plan so you can add tasks for functionality changes or new user stories as the project progresses.

Every software project is different, and the tasks you include in each phase of your plan will vary based on the work you’re doing. A template provides a great starting point and can be easily customized to fit your process and project needs. 

Free software development plan template

Ready to map out a timeline for your next software project? Give our software development plan template a try! This free gantt chart template gives you access to the following features to enhance your software project planning:

• Task scheduling
• Workload planning
• File sharing
• Team collaboration

Examples of software development plans

Flexibility is everything when it comes to software projects. With TeamGantt, you can view your plan in a variety of formats so it’s easy for anyone on your team to visualize tasks. 

Let’s look at some examples of how you can use TeamGantt’s different views to manage your software development plan. 

Visualize work phases—sprints included!—in a simple timeline format. Here’s a quick glance at a few helpful features you’ll find in the gantt chart view.

Drag and drop

The flexible drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to move things around on the schedule as needed if (and when) things change. Drag entire groups of tasks to quickly reschedule a sprint cycle. Easy as that!

Dependencies

Tasks may need to be completed in a particular order in your project plan. For example, you most likely won’t deploy anything before ensuring that you’ve done at least one round of testing.  Ensure work gets done in the right order with dependencies .

Call out key dates, deadlines, approvals, or deliverables in a project by using milestones , and hit your launch date right on schedule!

Duplicating groups

Need to add more sprint cycles to your plan? Simply duplicate task groups to save time on task setup. Then, drag and drop to reschedule it in your timeline.

Assign resources to tasks

Make sure everyone’s aware of how their work fits into the bigger plan by assigning teams and resources to tasks . 

Looking for a quick rundown of the project work? This view is easy to digest and shows you what each phase of the plan includes with expected delivery days. Use List view to check in at your next standup meeting. 

Use Calendar view to get an intuitive look at when work will fall on the monthly calendar. It’s a great tool for touching base with stakeholders so you can plan reviews around dates that work for them. 

Create a plan for your software development project with TeamGantt

Ready to get started on your next software project? We’ve created a free software development plan template for you in TeamGantt so you can jump right in!

Customizing the template is quick and easy, thanks to TeamGantt’s drag and drop simplicity. And since everything’s online, your whole team can collaborate on activities in real time.

Sign up for a free TeamGantt account today , and save time on project setup with this free software development plan template!

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Software Development Business Plan

Software development business plan presentation, free google slides theme, powerpoint template, and canva presentation template.

People in the IT sector will be glad to know that Slidesgo has created a new template especially for them! Describe in these slides your software development business plan and try to convince possible partners of the viability of your idea. The palette is composed of cool colors, which are usually a hit in the tech sector. The best thing is that the layouts are very simple, all of them! You'll be customizing this presentation in no time!

Features of this template

• 100% editable and easy to modify
• 37 different slides to impress your audience
• Contains easy-to-edit graphics such as graphs, maps, tables, timelines and mockups
• Includes 500+ icons and Flaticon’s extension for customizing your slides
• Designed to be used in Google Slides, Canva, and Microsoft PowerPoint
• 16:9 widescreen format suitable for all types of screens
• Includes information about fonts, colors, and credits of the free resources used

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Lighting Companies & Designers in Elektrostal'

Location (1).

• Use My Current Location

Popular Locations

• Albuquerque
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• Elektrostal', Moscow Oblast, Russia

Professional Category (1)

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU)

Featured Reviews for Lighting Companies & Designers in Elektrostal'

• Reach out to the pro(s) you want, then share your vision to get the ball rolling.
• Request and compare quotes, then hire the Lighting professional that perfectly fits your project and budget limits.

Here are the best times for buying lighting fixtures in Elektrostal' if you want to find a good deal:

• January: Post-holiday sales offer discounts on lighting fixtures, furniture, and storage essentials.
• February: Continue furniture sales and deals on electronics, including smart lighting.
• July: Summer furniture sales, plus end-of-summer clearance for outdoor lighting fixtures.
• August: Another peak for furniture sales, with potential discounts on lighting fixtures.
• Holiday Weekends: Presidents Day and Labor Day often have special sales events.
• End-of-Year Clearance: Look for lighting fixture deals as retailers clear out inventory.

By checking local lighting stores in Elektrostal', you can find great deals on lighting fixtures and save money.

What is a lighting plan designer?

Questions to ask a prospective lighting designer:, business services, connect with us.