How Many Pages Should a Business Plan Be?

The norm for start-up business plans is 20 to 40 pages.

Twenty to 40 Pages For a Start-up

The norm for a business start-up or expansion is 20 to 40 pages, depending on amount of content made up of text, images, illustrations, charts and financial statements. This is a common range used by organizations that operate business plan competitions.

Length Can Vary at Times

Some experts believe there should be less focus on length and more on content. How the business plan will be used helps determine its content and therefore length. Internal-use plans may be just five to 10 pages. Corporate plans can be up to hundreds of pages.

Bottom Line

Thorough coverage of plan details with text and bullet points, appropriate illustrations, charts and tables, and necessary financial statements should be your focus with a business plan. Writing a plan to a specific length may lead to redundancy and non-essentials. A good business plan is just long enough to provide information useful to the reader for business or financial decision-making.

References

• Bplans: How Long Should a Business Plan Be?
• Harvard Business School: 2010 HBS Business Plan Contest