How to write a business plan for an industrial cleaning company?

Putting together a business plan for an industrial cleaning company can be daunting - especially if you're creating a business for the first time - but with this comprehensive guide, you'll have the necessary tools to do it confidently.

We will explore why writing one is so important in both starting up and growing an existing industrial cleaning company, as well as what should go into making an effective plan - from its structure to content - and what tools can be used to streamline the process and avoid errors.

Without further ado, let us begin!

Why write a business plan for an industrial cleaning company?

Being clear on the scope and goals of the document will make it easier to understand its structure and content. So before diving into the actual content of the plan, let's have a quick look at the main reasons why you would want to write an industrial cleaning company business plan in the first place.

To have a clear roadmap to grow the business

Running a small business is tough! Economic cycles bring growth and recessions, while the business landscape is ever-changing with new technologies, regulations, competitors, and consumer behaviours emerging constantly.

In such a dynamic context, operating a business without a clear roadmap is akin to driving blindfolded: it's risky, to say the least. That's why crafting a business plan for your industrial cleaning company is vital to establish a successful and sustainable venture.

To create an effective business plan, you'll need to assess your current position (if you're already in business) and define where you want the business to be in the next three to five years.

Once you have a clear destination for your industrial cleaning company, you'll have to:

• Identify the necessary resources (human, equipment, and capital) needed to reach your goals,
• Determine the pace at which the business needs to progress to meet its objectives as scheduled,
• Recognize and address the potential risks you may encounter along the way.

Engaging in this process regularly proves advantageous for both startups and established companies. It empowers you to make informed decisions about resource allocation, ensuring the long-term success of your business.

To anticipate future cash flows

Regularly comparing your actual financial performance to the projections in the financial forecast of your industrial cleaning company's business plan gives you the ability to monitor your business's financial health and make necessary adjustments as needed.

This practice allows you to detect potential financial issues, such as unexpected cash shortfalls before they escalate into major problems. Giving you time to find additional financing or put in place corrective measures.

Additionally, it helps you identify growth opportunities, like excess cash flow that could be allocated to launch new products and services or expand into new markets.

Staying on track with these regular comparisons enables you to make well-informed decisions about the amount of financing your business might require, or the excess cash flow you can expect to generate from your main business activities.

To secure financing

Whether you are a startup or an existing business, writing a detailed industrial cleaning company business plan is essential when seeking financing from banks or investors.

This makes sense given what we've just seen: financiers want to ensure you have a clear roadmap and visibility on your future cash flows.

Banks will use the information included in the plan to assess your borrowing capacity (how much debt your business can support) and your ability to repay the loan before deciding whether they will extend credit to your business and on what terms.

Similarly, investors will review your plan carefully to assess if their investment can generate an attractive return on investment.

To do so, they will be looking for evidence that your industrial cleaning company has the potential for healthy growth, profitability, and cash flow generation over time.

Now that you understand why it is important to create a business plan for an industrial cleaning company, let's take a look at what information is needed to create one.

Information needed to create a business plan for an industrial cleaning company

You need the right data in order to project sales, investments and costs accurately in the financial forecast of your industrial cleaning company business plan.

Below, we'll cover three key pieces of information you should gather before drafting your business plan.

Carrying out market research for an industrial cleaning company

Carrying out market research before writing a business plan for an industrial cleaning company is essential to ensure that the financial projections are accurate and realistic.

Market research helps you gain insight into your target customer base, competitors, pricing strategies and other key factors which can have an impact on the commercial success of your business.

In particular, it is useful in forecasting revenue as it provides valuable data regarding potential customers’ spending habits and preferences.

You may discover that customers increasingly prefer digital payment methods, or that they might be more likely to invest in eco-friendly products. Additionally, research could reveal that customers may be drawn to services that offer a higher level of convenience, such as same-day delivery or on-site cleaning services.

This information can then be used to create more accurate financial projections which will help investors make informed decisions about investing in your industrial cleaning company.

Developing the sales and marketing plan for an industrial cleaning company

As you embark on creating your industrial cleaning company business plan, it is crucial to budget sales and marketing expenses beforehand.

A well-defined sales and marketing plan should include precise projections of the actions required to acquire and retain customers. It will also outline the necessary workforce to execute these initiatives and the budget required for promotions, advertising, and other marketing efforts.

This approach ensures that the appropriate amount of resources is allocated to these activities, aligning with the sales and growth objectives outlined in your business plan.

The staffing and equipment needs of an industrial cleaning company

As you embark on starting or expanding your industrial cleaning company, having a clear plan for recruitment and capital expenditures (investment in equipment and real estate) is essential for ensuring your business's success.

Both the recruitment and investment plans must align with the timing and level of growth projected in your forecast, and they require appropriate funding.

One possible staffing cost that an industrial cleaning company might incur is payroll expenses for their employees, which could include salaries, benefits, and taxes. The company might also have to invest in additional equipment such as industrial vacuums, mops, buckets, and cleaning supplies. Additionally, the company may need to invest in safety gear such as gloves, goggles, and protective clothing for their staff.

To create a realistic financial forecast, you also need to consider other operating expenses associated with the day-to-day running of your business, such as insurance and bookkeeping.

With all the necessary information at hand, you are ready to begin crafting your business plan and developing your financial forecast.

What goes into your industrial cleaning company's financial forecast?

The objective of the financial forecast of your industrial cleaning company's business plan is to show the growth, profitability, funding requirements, and cash generation potential of your business over the next 3 to 5 years.

The four key outputs of a financial forecast for an industrial cleaning company are:

• The profit and loss (P&L) statement,
• The projected balance sheet,
• The cash flow forecast,
• And the sources and uses table.

Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail.

The projected P&L statement

The projected P&L statement for an industrial cleaning company shows how much revenue and profit your business is expected to make in the future.

A healthy industrial cleaning company's P&L statement should show:

• Sales growing at (minimum) or above (better) inflation
• Stable (minimum) or expanding (better) profit margins
• A healthy level of net profitability

This will of course depend on the stage of your business: numbers for a startup will look different than for an established industrial cleaning company.

The projected balance sheet of your industrial cleaning company

Your industrial cleaning company's forecasted balance sheet enables the reader of your plan to assess your financial structure, working capital, and investment policy.

It is composed of three types of elements: assets, liabilities and equity:

• Assets: represent what the business owns and uses to produce cash flows. It includes resources such as cash, equipment, and accounts receivable (money owed by clients).
• Liabilities: represent funds advanced to the business by lenders and other creditors. It includes items such as accounts payable (money owed to suppliers), taxes due and loans.
• Equity: is the combination of what has been invested by the business owners and the cumulative profits and losses generated by the business to date (which are called retained earnings). Equity is a proxy for the value of the owner's stake in the business.

Your industrial cleaning company's balance sheet will usually be analyzed in conjunction with the other financial statements included in your forecast.

Two key points of focus will be:

• Your industrial cleaning company's liquidity: does your business have sufficient cash and short-term assets to pay what it owes over the next 12 months?
• And its solvency: does your business have the capacity to repay its debt over the medium-term?

The cash flow forecast

A projected cash flow statement for an industrial cleaning company is used to show how much cash the business is generating or consuming.

The cash flow forecast is usually organized by nature to show three key metrics:

• The operating cash flow: do the core business activities generate or consume cash?
• The investing cash flow: how much is the business investing in long-term assets (this is usually compared to the level of fixed assets on the balance sheet to assess whether the business is regularly maintaining and renewing its equipment)?
• The financing cash flow: is the business raising new financing or repaying financiers (debt repayment, dividends)?

As we discussed earlier, cash is king and keeping an eye on future cash flows an imperative for running a successful business. Therefore, you can expect the reader of your industrial cleaning company business plan to pay close attention to your cash flow forecast.

Also, note that it is customary to provide both yearly and monthly cash flow forecasts in a business plan - so that the reader can analyze seasonal variation and ensure the industrial cleaning company is appropriately funded.

The initial financing plan

The initial financing plan - also called a sources and uses table - is an important tool when starting an industrial cleaning company.

It shows where the money needed to set up the business will come from (sources) and how it will be allocated (uses).

Having this table helps understand what costs are involved in setting up the industrial cleaning company, how the risks are distributed between the shareholders and the lenders, and what will be the starting cash position (which needs to be sufficient to sustain operations until the business breaks even).

Now that the financial forecast of an industrial cleaning company business plan is understood, let's focus on what goes into the written part of the plan.

The written part of an industrial cleaning company business plan

The written part of the business plan is where you will explain what your business does and how it operates, what your target market is, whom you compete against, and what strategy you will put in place to seize the commercial opportunity you've identified.

Having this context is key for the reader to form a view on whether or not they believe that your plan is achievable and the numbers in your forecast realistic.

The written part of an industrial cleaning company business plan is composed of 7 main sections:

1. The executive summary
2. The presentation of the company
3. The products and services
4. The market analysis
5. The strategy
6. The operations
7. The financial plan

Let's go through the content of each section in more detail!

1. The executive summary

The executive summary, the first section of your industrial cleaning company's business plan, serves as an inviting snapshot of your entire plan, leaving readers eager to know more about your business.

To compose an effective executive summary, start with a concise introduction of your business, covering its name, concept, location, history, and unique aspects. Share insights about the services or products you intend to offer and your target customer base.

Subsequently, provide an overview of your industrial cleaning company's addressable market, highlighting current trends and potential growth opportunities.

Then, present a summary of critical financial figures, such as projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

You should then include a summary of your key financial figures such as projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

Lastly, address any funding needs in the "ask" section of your executive summary.

2. The presentation of the company

The second section in your industrial cleaning company's business plan should focus on the structure and ownership, location, and management team of the company.

The structure and ownership part provides an overview of the legal structure of the business, who the owners are and how much each has invested and owns. If you are seeking financing it is important that the reader gets a clear picture of which legal entity is receiving the funds, and who controls the business.

The location part should give an overview of the premises from which the company is operating, and why that location is of particular interest (catchment area, accessibility, amenities nearby, etc.).

When describing the location of your industrial cleaning company, you could highlight the potential of the area to attract a wide range of customers. You may mention the fact that the area is well connected to major transportation routes, making it easier for customers to access your services. Additionally, you could point out that the local economy is growing and that the area has potential for further growth in the future. You might also mention that the area has a diverse range of businesses, which could make it an ideal location for an industrial cleaning company. Finally, you could emphasize the potential of the local workforce and the benefits of having a reliable and skilled staff to support your company's operations.

Finally, you should introduce the management team. Explain each member's role, background, and experience.

It is also important to emphasize any past successes that the members of the management team have achieved, and how long they've been working together, as this will help potential lenders or investors understand why they should trust in their leadership.

3. The products and services section

The products and services section of your industrial cleaning company business plan should include a detailed description of what your company sells to its customers. 

For example, your industrial cleaning company might offer power washing services to remove dirt, grime, and other contaminants from exterior surfaces, window cleaning to remove dirt and debris from interior and exterior windows, and high-pressure steam cleaning to sanitize and disinfect hard surfaces. These services are designed to help industrial customers maintain clean and safe work environments for their employees.

The reader will want to understand what makes your industrial cleaning company unique from other businesses in this competitive market.

When drafting this section, you should be precise about the categories of products or services you sell, the clients you are targeting and the channels that you are targeting them through. 

4. The market analysis

When you present your market analysis in your industrial cleaning company business plan, it's crucial to include detailed information about customers' demographics and segmentation, target market, competition, barriers to entry, and any relevant regulations.

The main objective of this section is to help the reader understand the size and attractiveness of the market while demonstrating your solid understanding of the industry.

Begin with the demographics and segmentation subsection, providing an overview of the addressable market for your industrial cleaning company, the key trends in the marketplace, and introducing different customer segments along with their preferences in terms of purchasing habits and budgets.

Next, focus on your target market, zooming in on the specific customer segments your industrial cleaning company aims to serve and explaining how your products and services fulfil their distinct needs.

For example, your target market might include industrial businesses that need daily or weekly cleaning services for their premises. These businesses may include factories, warehouses, and other industrial sites. They may also need regular maintenance of their floors, carpets, and other surfaces to meet health and safety regulations.

Then proceed to the competition subsection, where you introduce your main competitors and highlight what sets you apart from them.

Finally, conclude your market analysis with an overview of the key regulations applicable to your industrial cleaning company.

5. The strategy section

When crafting the strategy section of your business plan for your industrial cleaning company, it's important to cover several key aspects, including your competitive edge, pricing strategy, sales & marketing plan, milestones, and risks and mitigants.

In the competitive edge subsection, clearly explain what sets your company apart from competitors. This is particularly critical if you're a startup, as you'll be trying to establish your presence in the marketplace among entrenched players.

The pricing strategy subsection should demonstrate how you aim to maintain profitability while offering competitive prices to your customers.

For the sales & marketing plan, outline how you plan to reach and acquire new customers, as well as retain existing ones through loyalty programs or special offers.

In the milestones subsection, detail what your company has achieved thus far and outline your primary objectives for the coming years by including specific dates for expected progress. This ensures everyone involved has clear expectations.

Lastly, in the risks and mitigants subsection, list the main risks that could potentially impact the execution of your plan. Explain the measures you've taken to minimize these risks. This is vital for investors or lenders to feel confident in supporting your venture - try to proactively address any objection they might have.

Your industrial cleaning company could face the risk of financial loss due to a drop in demand for services. This could be caused by a decrease in the number of businesses operating in the area or a sudden change in the industry. Your industrial cleaning company might also face the risk of unexpected costs due to repairs or replacements of equipment that are needed for the job. This could be caused by an accident on the job or a sudden malfunction of an essential piece of equipment.

6. The operations section

The operations of your industrial cleaning company must be presented in detail in your business plan.

The first thing you should cover in this section is your staffing team, the main roles, and the overall recruitment plan to support the growth expected in your business plan. You should also outline the qualifications and experience necessary to fulfil each role, and how you intend to recruit (using job boards, referrals, or headhunters).

You should then state the operating hours of your industrial cleaning company - so that the reader can check the adequacy of your staffing levels - and any plans for varying opening times during peak season. Additionally, the plan should include details on how you will handle customer queries outside of normal operating hours.

The next part of this section should focus on the key assets and IP required to operate your business. If you depend on any licenses or trademarks, physical structures (equipment or property) or lease agreements, these should all go in there.

You could have key assets such as specialized equipment and cleaning products that may give you an advantage over competitors. Additionally, you might own intellectual property such as unique cleaning methods or proprietary technologies that could help you stand out in the industry.

Finally, you should include a list of suppliers that you plan to work with and a breakdown of their services and main commercial terms (price, payment terms, contract duration, etc.). Investors are always keen to know if there is a particular reason why you have chosen to work with a specific supplier (higher-quality products or past relationships for example).

7. The presentation of the financial plan

The financial plan section is where we will include the financial forecast we discussed earlier in this guide.

Now that you have a clear idea of what goes into an industrial cleaning company business plan, let's look at some of the tools you can use to create yours efficiently.

What tool should I use to write my industrial cleaning company's business plan?

In this section, we will be reviewing the two main options for writing an industrial cleaning company business plan efficiently:

• Using specialized software,
• Outsourcing the drafting to the business plan writer.

Using an online business plan software for your industrial cleaning company's business plan

Using online business planning software is the most efficient and modern way to create an industrial cleaning company business plan.

There are several advantages to using specialized software:

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can access a library of dozens of complete business plan samples and templates for inspiration
• You get a professional business plan, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• You can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast
• You can create scenarios to stress test your forecast's main assumptions
• You can easily update your forecast as time goes by to maintain visibility on future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here.

Hiring a business plan writer to write your industrial cleaning company's business plan

Outsourcing your industrial cleaning company business plan to a business plan writer can also be a viable option.

Business plan writers are experienced in writing business plans and adept at creating financial forecasts without errors. Furthermore, hiring a consultant can save you time and allow you to focus on the day-to-day operations of your business.

However, hiring business plan writers is expensive as you are paying for the software used by the consultant, plus their time, and their profit margin of course.

From experience, you need to budget at least £1.5k ($2.0k) excluding tax for a complete business plan, more if you need to make changes after the initial version (which happens frequently after the initial meetings with lenders or investors).

You also need to be careful when seeking investment. Investors want their money to be used to grow the business, not spent on consulting fees. Therefore, the amount you spend on business plan writing services (and other consulting services such as legal services) needs to be negligible relative to the amount raised.

The other drawback is that you usually don't own the business plan itself: you just get the output, while the actual document is saved in the consultant's business plan software - which makes it difficult to maintain the document up to date without hiring the consultant on a retainer.

For these reasons, outsourcing the industrial cleaning company business plan to a business plan writer should be considered carefully, weighing both the advantages and disadvantages of hiring outside help.

Ultimately, it may be the right decision for some businesses, while others may find it beneficial to write their business plan using online software.

Why not create your industrial cleaning company's business plan using Word or Excel?

Using Microsoft Excel and Word (or their Google, Apple, or open-source equivalents) to write an industrial cleaning company business plan is a terrible idea.

Why?

For starters, creating an accurate and error-free financial forecast on Excel (or any spreadsheet) is very technical and requires both a strong grasp of accounting principles and solid skills in financial modelling.

As a result, it is unlikely anyone will trust your numbers unless - like us at The Business Plan Shop - you hold a degree in finance and accounting and have significant financial modelling experience in your past.

The second reason is that it is inefficient. Building forecasts on spreadsheets was the only option in the 1990s and early 2000s, nowadays technology has advanced and software can do it much faster and much more accurately.

And with the rise of AI, software is also becoming smarter at helping us detect mistakes in our forecasts and helping us analyse the numbers to make better decisions.

Also, using software makes it easy to compare actuals vs. forecasts and maintain our forecasts up to date to maintain visibility on future cash flows - as we discussed earlier in this guide - whereas this is a pain to do with a spreadsheet.

That's for the forecast, but what about the written part of my industrial cleaning company business plan?

This part is less error-prone, but here also software brings tremendous gains in productivity:

• Word processors don't include instructions and examples for each part of your business plan
• Word processors don't update your numbers automatically when they change in your forecast
• Word processors don't handle the formatting for you
• ...

Overall, while Word or Excel may be viable options for creating an industrial cleaning company business plan for some entrepreneurs, it is by far not the best or most efficient solution.

Takeaways

1. Using business plan software is a modern and cost-effective way of writing and maintaining business plans.
2. A business plan is not a one-shot exercise as maintaining it current is the only way to keep visibility on your future cash flows.
3. A business plan has 2 main parts: a financial forecast outlining the funding requirements of your industrial cleaning company and the expected growth, profits and cash flows for the next 3 to 5 years; and a written part which gives the reader the information needed to decide if they believe the forecast is achievable.

We hope that this in-depth guide met your expectations and that you now have a clear understanding of how to write your industrial cleaning company business plan. Do not hesitate to contact our friendly team if you have questions additional questions we haven't addressed here.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• How to write a business plan to secure a bank loan?
• Key steps to write a business plan?
• Top mistakes to avoid in your business plan

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