Martin Racher is the area director for Bristol and Somerset at Lloyds TSB Commercial

It’s important for the business plan to make sense to you: All businesses should have a robust business plan that works for them and which can be interpreted by investors or finance providers as well. That said, if you have a very dynamic business such as an innovative high-tech company then the financial forecasts can be tricky to formulate. Take advice from other similar businesses as well as getting input from an industry experienced accountant. As long as you fully understand the plan then you should be able to put this across to a potential investor or bank.

It’s not all about the money: From a banker’s point of view, it is not so much the accuracy of the numbers which is pretty unreliable beyond a few months, but the level of understanding by the business owner into what they include. I have seen so many forecasts from startup businesses which have missed fundamental costs that when incurred, really throw the viability of the business into question. Bankers accept that forecasts are just that but we do look for obvious holes. Do remember that we lend to people and not to numbers so the story behind the numbers is also vital.

Explain your forecasts: In the body of the business plan you will detail what market research you have undertaken and summarise the findings. These findings will have helped you create sales forecasts which will then translate into turnover in the financial plan. It sounds obvious but I have seen many plans that don’t provide the correlation between the two and where it is obvious that the financial plan has been written ‘bottom up’ so the sales figure becomes the balancing entry.

Emma Jones is the founder of Enterprise Nation, a company which aims to provide support to startups and small businesses

It’s easy to remember what to include in your plan: It spells ‘I’m off’ – Idea, Market, Operations, Finance, and finally, who will be your Friends in the form of support networks and mentors? Writing this down is very good for any startup or small business owner as it clarifies in your own mind where you want the business to go.

Simon Duffy is the co-founder of Bulldog

A business plan is a good starting point: For us, the business plan was important because it allowed us to consider all the various parts of our business and where we wanted to focus. It also meant potential investors had a clear view of what we were trying to achieve. In all honesty, we haven’t stuck rigidly to it over the past five years as circumstances and our knowledge have changed. It was, however, a really useful process.

Don’t be scared of the business planning: I think that a lot of people are intimidated by the business planning process and that’s understandable because the language can often be opaque and confusing. For most small businesses, the planning does not need to be very complicated. There are some brilliant resources online.

Derek Fisher is a business mentor for The Prince’s Trust Enterprise Programme

Market research is crucial: You need to establish that there is a market for your product and work out how you’re going to access it. Identify who your typical customer is and how you’re going to connect with them. A good start to a plan is to include a personal statement to establish your motives, objectives and vision.

Geraldine Abrahams is the director of TWM Productions

You needn’t stick to your initial business plan: If it really is a working document then it should be changed and altered as often as the business and routes to market dictate. I think it is quite a cathartic exercise in that updating the plan helps reinforce the commitment to the next part of the journey.

Rosie Wolfenden is the managing director and co-founder of Tatty Devine

Think of a business plan as a positive step forward: The biggest problem is getting it done while you’re busy running a business. Try not to look at it as ‘homework’ but as a constructive way of working out what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it.

Paul Lancaster is the SEO and inbound marketing specialist at Sage One

A business plan isn’t a requirement for every business: Lots of people will say ‘you must write a business plan’ but it’s not essential for starting a business – HMRC doesn’t ask you for a business plan when you register as self-employed and customers certainly don’t before they decide to buy your products and services. However, if you’re looking for funding from a bank then you most certainly will be asked for a business plan. It’s horses for courses.

Stuart Morris is a lecturer in entrepreneurship at Henley Business School, Reading University

The traditional business plan is dead: To the business it is a lot of time spent preparing something that then doesn’t help them move forward and it is a work of fiction the moment it is written. To a potential investor it is a statement of intent and full of massaged numbers and forecasts.

A plan is a vital tool to help any venture get off the ground and navigate its way, but it should be a living dynamic thing that guides your decisions on a day to day basis and is also moulded to reflect the current reality not the dream you had a year ago.

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