Business Planning
Pragmatic business plans with grounded numbers, realistic timelines and the narrative needed to win funder and stakeholder confidence.
A business plan is not a document; it is a decision-making instrument. Used well, it gives leaders and boards a shared view of where the organisation is going, what it will cost, what could go wrong and how progress will be measured. Used badly, it sits in a drawer.
KA Consultancy produces business plans that are short, honest, financially robust and built to be used — by your team, your board, your funders and your investors.
Who this is for
- Charities, CICs and social enterprises at growth or transition points.
- Start-ups and SMEs preparing for grant, loan or equity finance.
- Organisations responding to mergers, asset transfers or capital projects.
- Boards wanting a credible plan to govern against.
Common challenges we see
- —Plans that are long on aspiration and short on numbers.
- —Financial models that don't reflect operational reality.
- —No clear theory of change or measurable outcomes.
- —Risk sections that read as PR rather than serious analysis.
How KA Consultancy helps
We work alongside your leadership to surface the real strategy, then translate it into a structured plan: market and need analysis, delivery model, governance, three-year financial forecast, risks and mitigations.
Our financial modelling is grounded in evidence — real cost data, defensible assumptions and scenario analysis. The result is a plan you can defend in a boardroom and use to make day-to-day decisions.
Our process
- 01
Discovery workshops
Structured sessions with leadership and trustees to surface strategy, assumptions and constraints.
- 02
Market, need & evidence
External research and internal data to validate the opportunity and the model.
- 03
Financial modelling
Three-year P&L, cashflow and balance sheet with scenarios and sensitivity analysis.
- 04
Plan drafting & sign-off
Iterative drafting with leadership input, finalised for board and funder use.
Benefits
- A plan your team and board actually use
- Credibility with funders, lenders and investors
- Financial clarity and earlier warning of risk
- A framework for measuring progress quarter by quarter
What you can expect from us
- A working document, not a brochure — typically 25–40 pages plus financial model.
- Active involvement from your leadership team across 6–10 weeks.
- Honest scenario analysis, including downside cases.
- A plan you can update yourselves as conditions change.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does a business plan take?
- Typically 6–10 weeks from kick-off to final, depending on the complexity of the operating model and the availability of internal data.
- Do you build the financial model too?
- Yes. The plan and the model are developed together — the narrative and the numbers have to tell the same story.
- Will you present to our board?
- Where useful, yes — we can attend the meeting to walk through the plan and answer trustee questions.
Sub-services within Business Planning
Charity Business Plans
Board-ready business plans that funders, trustees and partners take seriously.
Social Enterprise Business Plans
Plans that take trading income, social impact and investor confidence equally seriously.
Strategic Reviews
Independent strategic review when something has shifted — leadership, funding, scale, environment.