how to make a business plan for an app

Mobile App Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Business Plan Outline

• Mobile App Business Plan Home
• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Company Overview
• 3. Industry Analysis
• 4. Customer Analysis
• 5. Competitive Analysis
• 6. Marketing Plan
• 7. Operations Plan
• 8. Management Team
• 9. Financial Plan

Start Your Mobile App Plan Here

Mobile App Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your mobile app business plan.

We have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their mobile app businesses.

Sample Business Plan for a Mobile App Development Company

Below are links to an example of each of the key elements of a mobile app business plan template:

• Executive Summary – In the Executive Summary, you will provide a general overview of your comprehensive business plan including your target market, business model, and how you plan to make your business successful.
• Company Overview – The Company Overview section will provide an overview of your app idea, business description, company history, mission statement, monetization strategy and milestones achieved.
• Industry Analysis – In the Industry Analysis section, you will use information from your market research to discuss the market demand for your mobile application or business idea, trends, and issues facing your industry.
• Customer Analysis – The Customer Analysis section will describe your target market. This includes information on demographics, psychographics, and behaviors.
• Competitive Analysis – The Competitive Analysis includes an overview of your direct and indirect competitors, their market share, your competitive advantage, and how you plan to compete against them.
• Marketing Plan – The Marketing Plan section will describe your marketing strategy. This includes information on your platform placements (Apple App Store, Google Play, etc.), pricing strategy, and marketing strategies for engaging your target audience.
• Operations Plan – The Operations Plan section of your mobile app business plan will describe your business operations including app development, customer acquisition strategy, and other key aspects of your app company.
• Management Team – The Management Team section will provide information on the management members of your advisory team. This includes their experience, education, and skills.
• Financial Plan – In the Financial Plan section, you will provide the financial model and financial statements for your business. This includes your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Mobile App Business Plan FAQs

What is a mobile app business plan.

A mobile app business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your mobile app 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 mobile app business plan using our Mobile App Business Plan Template here .

What Are the Main Types of Mobile App Development Companies?

There are many types of mobile app companies across a variety of categories. There are mobile app businesses that focus solely on mobile games. Others are exercise or wellness focused. Some mobile apps provide guidance on specific topics, some offer music streaming, and other apps provide help or assistance on a variety of topics. Many companies have developed company-specific mobile apps to allow users to become more connected with their products or offerings. For instance, most major brands, restaurants and financial services companies have company-specific mobile applications.

What Are the Main Sources of Revenue and Expenses for a Mobile App Business?

The primary source of revenue for mobile app businesses are subscription paid by the users on an annual or monthly basis. Advertising (selling ad space to other companies on their app) is another significant revenue sources.

The key expenses for mobile app businesses are the costs to advertise and generate users. These expenses are often in the form of targeted social media advertising or online targeted marketing. Some major mobile app businesses pay to have their mobile apps advertised on television commercials or music streaming platforms. Another major expense for app companies are office space, employee salaries and technology licensing fees.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Mobile App Business Plan?

A mobile app startup is most likely to receive funding from angel investors and friends and family. Personal savings and credit cards are also often used. Venture capitalists will fund a business plan for an app once it achieves enough traction (e.g., enough users, in-app purchases, or generating enough revenue).

A well crafted mobile app business plan is essential for attracting any type of potential investor.  Most app startups require funding to get off the ground and cover at least their startup costs.

What are the Steps To Start a Mobile App Business?

Starting a mobile app development company 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 Mobile App Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed business plan for an app that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the mobile app industry and potential market size, information on the mobile app concept, 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 mobile app 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 mobile app business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Mobile App Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your mobile app 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 mobile app 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 Mobile App Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your mobile app 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 mobile app business.  A mobile app marketing plan 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 mobile app business:

• How to Start a Mobile App Business
• How to Start a Mobile App Development Business

Where Can I Get a Mobile App Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free mobile app business plan template PDF here . This is a sample mobile app business plan template you can use in PDF format.

• Case studies

How to Write a Business Plan for a Mobile App Startup?

Stanislav Bilenkyi

Tech Researcher

Anton Baryshevskiy

Head of Business Development, Co-Founder

Head of Business Development

Get your project estimation!

What is an app business plan, and why does every project need one?

The foundation of every business is an idea or a flash of inspiration. A simple idea or a conversation with a potential business partner could be the spark that sets everything in motion. It is essential to assess your real opportunities, regardless of how appealing an idea may be. For that, you should create a business plan before you consider launching a new business.

A company's business plan is like a roadmap. If you have a strategy in place, you can more easily lead your company to its desired destination. Whether you have been in business for years or are just starting out, a business plan is necessary for long-term success.

We at Mind Studios have been in the software development business for a while, and creating a business plan for a mobile app is something we’ve done plenty of times. The article you’re about to read is based on our own experience, with insights and advice on how to build a solid business plan from the ground up. Also, we’ve added our template to help stakeholders and investors have a clear and, most importantly, equal understanding of your startup idea. So if you don't know how to plan an app yet and where to start, let's find out more about it.

Highlights:

• Startups seeking investment must have a business plan that details their business idea, target customers, marketing approach, and financial estimations.
• The quality of a company’s business plan directly correlates to its ability to attract investors and stay focused on growth objectives.
• Executive summary, company and team overviews, financial projections, market analysis, and marketing forecasts are all crucial parts of most business plans.

What is a business plan, and why is it important for mobile app startups?

A mobile app business plan is a document for starting or scaling a mobile app business . It describes your business concept, identifies your ideal customer base, demonstrates your marketing strategy, and provides financial estimates, among other things.

A business plan is commonly considered a document that serves as a tool for obtaining financing. Still, it is much more than that because it contains a wealth of useful information for investors.

Who receives funding using a business plan for software development?

• Startups and early-stage companies
• Established companies looking for expansion.
• Mid-sized firms trying to expand or enter new markets.
• R&D projects

In 2023, worldwide venture capital investment in software development totaled around $85 billion.

Likewise, in 2023, the average deal size for VC-funded software businesses was approximately $8.5 million.

As for crowdfunding, in 2023, Kickstarter software development projects raised over $120 million, with the average campaign raising about $25,000.

It is important to remember that a business plan is, first and foremost, an internal document essential for the successful administration of your company. A company strategy can help business owners to:

• Assess the market environment and the strategic positioning of their business.
• Make informed decisions.
• Have a strong plan they can refer back to to evaluate success.
• Significantly increase the odds of receiving funding.

What should a business plan include?

Let's take a closer look at what a business plan actually includes. Despite the fact that there is no universally accepted standard or order of items for describing a business plan, there are several common components that will answer the majority of the questions that investors will have, such as:

Executive summary

Company description, market analysis, products and services.

• Marketing and sales strategy

Financial plan

This is the first and most important part of your mobile app business plan because investors will read it first. Although it is first on the list of sections in a business plan, you should write it after finishing all the other parts, since it will serve as a summary of an existing plan .

The executive summary should be brief and not go too deep into how your product works. Instead, in this section, you should briefly describe your business , the niche you aim to fill , your target customer , and your application's unique solution (or a service you want to provide ).

Make your pitch unique to set your company apart from the competition. Highlight your idea's unique value proposition. This proposition should clearly describe your mobile app's unique benefits and features, stressing how it stands out . To further differentiate your product, play up your company's capabilities, such as new technology , great team knowledge , and strategic relationships . Remember that a well-defined, distinctive value proposition is critical to persuade investors and stakeholders of your company's potential for success.

Determine your objectives . You need to set clear and attainable goals, since investors will evaluate your goals for suitability. In this phase, your exit plan's goal must also be determined. A business owner must plan to 'leave' the business through exit planning. An exit can take several forms, including selling all or part of the company, merging it with another, passing it to a family, or listing it on a stock exchange through an IPO.

You should list funding needs and how the funds will improve your company's appeal. An effective startup business plan for mobile app success must include maximum transparency at each stage.

Make your document convincing . To do this, keep your product's concept and goals consistent throughout the paper. Give your reader accurate data and realistic project expectations. Make sure the business plan and executive summary creator's name and your team members' names are consistent throughout the documentation.

Get an expert game plan — request your strategy

After the executive summary, we recommend creating a company description. In this section, describe your company's history, mission, and the values that inspire you and your employees. If you have a tech partner or an outsourcing company, you should include it, as investors would want to know about and understand your staff's skills and experience.

Although it may sound basic, it is important to ensure you provide further details about your team, such as the number of team members, their names, job titles, etc.

The mission statement should describe the purpose of your company and the fundamental principles that guide your business. After establishing your mission, outline the primary challenges and the solutions to them that your startup can offer.

In this business plan section, assess the current and projected market conditions. Similarly, emphasize the approximate market share you are targeting. You should be aware of the present situation in your industry, have up-to-date information, and be able to generate a short-term forecast.

Mind Studios tip: The TAM/SAM/SOM definition is a great resource for analyzing the market. You can learn more about them in our article How to Do Market Research for Startups . When creating a business plan for app development, we recommend that you treat it as a business in general rather than just a mobile application. However, some differences exist: mobile apps are usually presented in app stores (AppStore and Google Play are the most popular ones). Therefore, most of your market study operations will be focused on them. Research your competitors and carefully read reviews for negative feedback - they will provide you with vital information about what competitors are not doing efficiently so far, which you may use to your benefit.

Your goal is to assess whether there’s a real market for your product, whether there are enough customers in the market, and whether those customers are willing to pay money to use your product.

Here you can highlight your product's unique selling points and provide more information about it (you can also mention your startup business proposal). If you were advised to keep things concise in the Executive Summary , now is the time to paint a more in-depth picture of your services or products for the readers.

Mind Studios tip: When marketing a mobile app, it's important to be explicit about its value and the problems it solves. Learn how to differentiate yourself from the competition by taking advantage of the possibilities presented by mobile apps. Mind Studios has an extensive background in developing mobile apps, and we would gladly consult you with any questions you may have, so feel free to contact us .

Marketing strategy and sales strategy

This part of the document should detail your product promotion strategy goals, checklist of objectives, and projections. Your knowledge of marketing your product or service is more valuable than the product or service itself.

A successful marketing plan helps acquire and retain new users, so it should also include the channels you want to use to attract customers and the funding you need for that purpose.

• Content marketing Content marketing is a good way to develop and share valuable, relevant content to attract and engage your target audience. This can involve blog posts, videos, infographics, and social media updates tailored to your target customer needs and interests. When done right, quality content can establish your company as an industry leader and bring organic traffic to your app.
• Influencer marketing and collaboration Partnering with influencers with a large following in your niche can help you expand your reach and reputation. Influencers may generate attention for your app through reviews, tutorials, and endorsements. Collaborating with them helps you tap into their existing audience, potentially converting their followers into app users.
• Cold calls Cold calling, while more conventional, could still be a successful tactic, particularly in the B2B sector. Directly reaching out to potential clients allows you to tailor your presentation, solve individual requirements, and create important connections. Cold calls can also give rapid feedback and highlight areas for growth.
• Social media Social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube are effective tools for connecting with your audience. Regular articles, engaging stories, and live sessions help boost app awareness and build a community around your company. Social media also enables tailored advertising to reach specific demographics.
• Online advertising Online advertising, such as Google Ads and social network ads, can increase traffic to your app. Paid campaigns are highly personalized, allowing you to reach potential consumers based on their interests, habits, and demographics. Investing in online marketing may quickly increase your app's downloads and user base.

Marketing budget forecast

It is also important to set a reasonable budget for your marketing efforts. Depending on your client acquisition strategy, consider the costs of content development, influencer collaborations, social media management, internet advertising, and a specialized sales crew for cold calling. A well-planned budget should incorporate initial launch charges and continuing costs for sustained engagement and user acquisition.

Anticipated growth results

Lastly, setting attainable user acquisition and retention targets can help you measure the effectiveness of your marketing activities. Analyzing market trends, competition strategies, and historical data can help you predict growth results. Regularly analyzing and revising your plan based on performance metrics ensures long-term growth and adaptability in a competitive market.

Mind Studios tip: Advertising a mobile app frequently follows the same rules for any other kind of product. But there are a few subtle tactics that you can use as well. To illustrate the point, mobile app markets are interested in promoting new solutions. As a result, they subtly boost app traffic for the first day. Before releasing your app, verify that it has undergone thorough testing, is ASO optimized, and has received positive reviews. This approach can give you an early advantage and keep you going strong even after the first 24 hours. It will be easier if you target the best possible reviews right from the start.

If you have any further questions about marketing your product or service correctly, contact us for a free consultation , and our business analyst team will be happy to help you.

To correctly set up this part of your business plan, you should clearly understand what kind of financing you need to move forward. Moreover, you need to express it as clearly as possible to be sure a potential investor will also understand what funding you need.

The financial model typically consists of a three- to five-year prediction of all key forecasted indicators, such as profit and loss , cash flow , balance sheets , start tables , unit economics calculations , and your app's projected revenues and costs . To accurately estimate the actual cost and distribution of assets, your financial record must include all these elements, each with a clear explanation.

Startup costs and funding required

Inform your investors about estimated costs. Since these numbers fluctuate, we recommend making reasonable estimates and leaving room for extra expenses .

Designate all types of costs:

• One-time costs (e.g. relocation costs, costs for obtaining an office space, equipment, servers, software, licenses)
• Fixed costs : they remain unchanged regardless of whether you produce something or not (e.g. rent, insurance, lease payments, fixed salaries)
• Variable costs : costs that change according to the production volume (e.g. wages)

Mind Studios tip: When establishing a budget, the expense of designing and developing the app for mobile devices is a major component. Many factors go into this price tag, including the team's budget, the technology selected, and any necessary third-party services or libraries, among other factors.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have difficulty figuring out which library or combination of tools would be ideal for developing your idea; our experts will assess your concept and recommend the best course of action.

Estimate your marketing budget

You may estimate the cost of marketing services based on the market analysis you outlined in the preceding section of your business plan. Understanding the marketing budget is essential to all parties: you, as the app owner, investors, and other stakeholders.

Landing page creation

• Estimate costs for design and development.
• Include expenses for hosting and domain registration.
• Allocate funds for content creation, including copywriting and promotional videos.
• Budget for A/B testing tools to optimize content and design.
• Plan for analytics tools to track visitor behavior and campaign performance.

Website and blog launch

• Budget for website design, development, and maintenance.
• Include costs for hosting, domain registration, and SSL certificates.
• Plan for SEO services to optimize blog articles for better promotion.
• Estimate expenses for regular updates and content management.

Product launch type

Hard launch:

• Include costs for marketing campaigns targeting the entire audience.
• Budget for customer support and potential bug fixes post-launch.

Soft launch:

• Estimate expenses for releasing an MVP or full version with onboarding screens to a limited audience.
• Include costs for monitoring and gathering feedback for further improvements.
• Plan for incremental marketing expenses as the product is gradually introduced to a larger audience.

Monetization strategy

It is another section you need to add to your mobile app business plan. By illustrating your monetization model , you’ll demonstrate to your investors and other stakeholders that your project will be profitable and provide a return on investment with positive unit economics. It will also help you ensure your startup reaches its break-even point.

The most common ways to monetize an application are :

• Advertising (this model allows you to monetize your apps by displaying advertising to users through app ad networks, which use algorithms to deliver high-quality ads in real-time)
• Charging for the application (if your business model describes a paid application, you need to convince the consumer why they have to pay and what they’re paying for)
• In-app purchases (this is a widespread mobile app business model in iOS and Android applications)
• Subscriptions (this model of monetization is quite popular as well; in most cases, subscription apps have a free trial period)

Break-even point analysis

The break-even point is when total cost and revenue are equal, indicating that your business will not lose or earn money. In other words, you've reached the point where development or manufacturing expenses match product revenue.

This is a critical calculation to include in a fresh app business plan. Potential investors want to know the expected return on their investment and when they will see that return. Some businesses might take years to earn a profit, often losing funds for the first few months or even years before breaking even. As a result, the break-even point is a critical component of every business plan given to a prospective investor.

This can be useful for established businesses to examine costs, estimate earnings at various sales levels, and demonstrate potential recovery after unexpected or disaster scenarios.

Let’s discuss your tech needs

How does mind studios help customers in creating a business plan.

At Mind Studios, we understand that a robust business plan for an app is crucial for the success of any software or mobile app project. The discovery process in software development is a critical initial phase that aims to thoroughly understand the project requirements, align stakeholders, and establish a solid foundation for subsequent development stages.

Our comprehensive discovery phase is designed to help clients create a business plan for a mobile app that is both detailed and effective. Here’s how we assist our clients through this process:

#1. Understanding the project scope

Stakeholder interviews : We engage with clients, end-users, and key stakeholders to gather in-depth insights into their needs, expectations, and pain points. This helps us understand the project’s vision and goals.

Market research : Our team conducts thorough market research to analyze competitors, identify industry trends, and uncover opportunities and threats. This research is essential for positioning the project effectively in the market.

#2. Defining requirements

Functional requirements : We work closely with clients to detail the software’s features and functionalities through user stories and use cases. This ensures that all necessary aspects of the project are captured.

Non-functional requirements : We define the quality attributes of the software, such as performance, security, and usability, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the project’s requirements.

#3. User experience (UX) design

User persona creation : Our UX experts develop profiles representing key user groups, helping us understand user behaviors and needs.

User journey mapping : We visualize the steps users will take to achieve their goals within the software, identifying potential pain points and areas for improvement.

Wireframing and prototyping : We create low-fidelity wireframes and interactive prototypes to validate design concepts and ensure alignment with client expectations.

#4. Technical feasibility and architecture planning

Technical assessment : Our technical team evaluates the feasibility of proposed features, identifying potential challenges and risks.

Architecture design : We define the system architecture and select the appropriate technology stack, laying the groundwork for a scalable and robust solution.

#5. Project Planning

Project roadmap : We outline a detailed project timeline, including key milestones and deliverables, to ensure a clear path forward.

Resource allocation : Our project managers define the project team, allocate roles and responsibilities, and estimate the budget.

#6. Risk management

Risk Identification and analysis : We identify potential risks and analyze their impact, developing mitigation strategies to address them proactively.

#7. Creating documentation

Requirement and design documentation : We compile detailed functional and non-functional requirements, along with design documents.

Project plan : We create a comprehensive project plan that includes timelines, milestones, resource allocation, and risk management strategies.

#8. Validation and Approval

Review sessions : We conduct review sessions with stakeholders to present our findings, gather feedback, and refine the project scope and plans.

Approval : We obtain formal sign-off from stakeholders, ensuring everyone is aligned and ready to proceed to the development phase.

#9. Transition to development

Kick-off meeting : We align our development team with the project goals and plans, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Setting up environments : We establish the necessary development environments and set up continuous integration pipelines to support efficient development.

Our thorough discovery phase ensures clients have a well-defined app business plan, setting the stage for a successful software or mobile app development project. Contact our business development team anytime if you need assistance crafting a comprehensive business plan that secures funding.

Business plan example for a mobile app startup

So, what exactly does a business plan for a mobile app look like? Below is an example of a business plan we created for demonstration purposes. So, if you want to know exactly how to write a business plan for an app, you can take a look at our example. Although this mobile app business plan follows all the rules, the calculations are entirely fictional and may not apply to your plan.

We also provide a mobile app marketing plan template to complement our business plan, ensuring a strategic approach to promoting your app in the competitive market. This template includes up-to-date techniques for 2024, guiding you through effective advertising and user engagement strategies.

Download the free PDF app business plan template for a mobile app here

No matter which one you decide to create, a pre-written mobile app business plan can help you seamlessly navigate through the development process with its four fundamental stages : discovery , idea validation , design , and actual development .

Writing a mobile app business plan, especially the first page, is challenging. Many beginner entrepreneurs rush to download a free business plan from another company, mistakenly believing someone else's business strategy will help them succeed. It won't!

A detailed business plan that describes your company and mobile app justifies the use of funds, and addresses legal issues can help you build stakeholder trust. At Mind Studios, we suggest reviewing your app's business plan annually. This will help you meet user needs and assess progress. Refreshing a business plan regularly helps you track startup finances while developing smart investment strategies. In short, this document adapts to your startup .

Last but not least, business plans cannot be copied. They must be unique and show your enthusiasm for implementing your idea. Ensure your business plan shows its viability and profitability, since higher viability means more investment potential.

Contact us for a consultation with our tech experts

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How to Write a Mobile App Business Plan + Free Template

Anthony St. Clair

11 min. read

Updated July 29, 2024

Free Download:   Sample Mobile App Development Business Plan Template

When Apple released the first iPhone in 2008, it also launched its App Store—with about 500 apps. Nowadays, the number of apps on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store totals about 5 million. If apps were people, they’d outnumber the population of Los Angeles.

Sure, the “gold rush” days of app development are long behind us, but building apps remains a solid way to bring useful or entertaining services to market. An app can also be part of a narrow or broader business strategy.

But with so much competition, building a profitable, successful app takes more than just an idea and a team of mobile app developers. You need a business plan to help guide your vision and implementation. This article will cover the steps to create your mobile app business plan, along with some tips to run it successfully. 

Need more guidance? Download our free mobile app development business plan for a full business plan outline that you can use to inspire your own plan.

• How to write a business plan for a mobile app

A business plan can be as short or extensive as you need it to be, and not a page more. In fact, you could launch a successful business based on even a one-page plan for your app development firm.

Writing a business plan for your mobile app business comes down to thinking through where you are with your app idea, what you want to accomplish, and how you think you will get there. A good business plan gives you both a starting point and a road map, but you can always review it and update it as you go.

At its heart, that’s all your app business plan needs to do.

Here are some of the key things your mobile app development business plan should include.

1. Determine what kind of app you will develop

Competition and opportunity co-exist throughout every app sector. If you’re still trying to decide where you might want to target your app development , strong contenders and trending app verticals include:

• Productivity
• Shopping (mobile-specific and general eCommerce)
• Health and Fitness
• Personalization

The sector you’re developing your app for influences the type of app you’ll want to build. For example, will you code for Apple iOS, Google Android, or both? Will you focus on a web or hybrid app? Is the app an extension of a website or other business channel? 

You’ll need to have this information defined up front in order to conduct proper research and easily write your business plan . 

2. Conduct market research and identify competitors

It’s one thing to have a good idea for an app. But the real question is, does the idea have a market that will be hungry to buy in?

As you develop your business plan, understanding your potential customer base is key.

For starters, evaluate similar apps and competitors in the vertical you are developing for—especially if there is already an app doing something that you want your app to do. As you conduct research and put together a market and competitive analysis, be sure to think through the following questions:

• Who are their customers?
• Are they the same ideal customer and target market ? 
• What steps will your company take to engage the market and involve them in testing and promotion? 
• What are the demographics (such as profession, age, or sex) and psychographics (such as opinions, hobbies, and lifestyle goals) of your target market? 

If you don’t understand the market for your app, it will be difficult to get them to find, install, use, and tell the world about your app.

Researching the market and your competitors can also clue you into expected app features, pricing and revenue models, gaps in services, and pain points that customers feel aren’t being met.

Understanding these factors can also help your business plan address a potential threat to your app’s viability: abandonment. User retention can be challenging throughout the app market, with 25% of customers using an app one time and then ditching it. So, be sure that you take into account how to attract new customers as well as how you’ll keep them around.

3. Positioning and promotional strategies

Once you’ve proven the market demand for your app’s concept, you should start figuring out how to promote your app and position it in the marketplace. Your business plan doesn’t have to include a detailed marketing plan . But it can be the perfect place to set up a few essentials that can guide your app’s marketing throughout its development and release cycles.

At a minimum your plan should include foundational messaging for pitching, branding, mission, and your overall sales and marketing strategy for your app, such as:

Develop and refine your elevator pitch

How concisely can you get across what your app does, why it’s needed, and what will make people love it? Can you talk up those key points with anyone from potential investors to your ideal customer, developers, and engineers to your mom and your best friend?

Examine how you’ll build awareness, interest, and need for the app

Will early testers be part of your outreach? Will you work with social media influencers, traditional media, or celebrity endorsers? How will you articulate the problems your app solves or the joy it provides?

What are some of the branding and marketing tasks your startup will pursue? 

For example, what is the company name? The app name? How will you engage your market on the social media platforms they like to spend time on? What original supporting content will attract the interest of your key audience?

In your business plan, it’s essential to understand your startup from the point of view of a founder and key player. But the marketing and promotional components of your business plan help you see your app from the point of view of an outsider, such as a customer or investor. The better you understand these other points of view, the better you can develop your messaging, build your app, and make it a success.

Free Mobile App Business Plan Template

Use this proven business plan example to successfully launch a competitive mobile app development business.

Download Now

4. Startup costs, financials, and pricing

Figuring out the potential startup costs for your app is not a one-size-fits-all equation. Generally, these are some of the factors to consider as part of your financial plan .

Platform development

Expect different development costs when developing for iOS, Android, or both. Your process will include defining a function, outlining what you need for your MVP, wire-framing, coding, testing, designing, and more.

Internal employees or outside contractors? 

If you’re planning to build up a full-on firm with employees, benefits, and offices, you will be looking at a different cost structure than if you want to outsource to a contracted development company or work with a freelance team that’s not employed by your app startup. That team may need pros in charge of mobile and backend development, design, QA, customer support, design, marketing, managers, and more.

The resources you have and the resources you need

How long it’ll take to develop and release your app depends in part on the resources you have access to.

Successful apps monitor and improve. Did the app crash? Is it scaling sufficiently to handle increases in use and load? What usage metrics are you monitoring and analyzing? How will you need to update the app to deal with OS updates?

By understanding these and other potential costs, you can develop a budget in your business plan. For more in-depth financial considerations, you should develop forecasts to gauge costs, future cash flow , and how your app company might grow and change over time by hitting release and growth milestones.

5. Development milestones

The release of your app is a milestone that’s farther down the road. In the meantime, you’ll be developing milestones that reflect major accomplishments in the development process. Your business plan can reflect some of those milestones, such as:

• Production of key features and functions
• MVP completion
• Testing and refinement
• Acceptance of app in app stores
• Achievement of sales and adoption goals
• Implementation of new features and versions

Remember, app development takes time. Focus your initial milestones on pre-release goals. From there, you can set and work toward post-release milestones that can pave the way to future growth, releases, and profits.

• Mobile app development tips for startup growth

As you develop your mobile app’s business plan, here are a few other tips and considerations to keep in mind.

Native, hybrid, or web?

Creating apps tailored to each OS—Apple and Android—can cost the most to develop, but also can maximize your app’s performance. The better the performance, the most adoption and use you could see in your target audience. 

At the same time, other apps work solely on the web, and others are developed as hybrids. Hybrid apps can help you manage team and development costs, but they typically can’t take full advantage of each OS.

As a rule of thumb, typically the more complicated or intense the app’s function, the better it tends to be to develop a native app. Lightweight functions may work fine in a web or hybrid environment.

Security and privacy

Privacy and security are at the forefront of customers’ minds as well as industry discussions around app business models. If you are developing for regulated industries—such as health care or financial services—there may also be legal privacy and security requirement to adhere to.

Decide on a platform: Apple, Android, or both?

If your target market is predominantly on one OS, that can guide your development decisions. Developing for both platforms requires more resources, but can give you the benefit of maximizing your ability to develop the app for each OS, and reach the most customers. Another option to consider is launching on one platform and adding another over time, depending on milestones in your business plan.

Offline vs online

A growing consideration in today’s app development firms is whether the apps can only function online, or if it can function offline too. Some level of offline function—and messaging that the app is offline—can make for better customer satisfaction, since users will have access to at least some features regardless of their internet connection.

For example, Google Maps can download route information so a user still has the mapping and some functions, even if they enter a remote location or go through an area where they don’t have a cellular or wifi signal. 

Walking users through what they can and can’t do offline, and how functions can be completed or data can sync once online again—can also go a long way to winning trust and loyalty from your app’s users. You’ll also want to determine if the offline function is something you develop as part of the launch, or if you roll it out in a later version.

Revenue model: Free/freemium, subscription, in-app purchases, ads, or a combo?

Apps can drive revenue in many ways. A common strategy is a freemium model: Offer a free baseline app, but other features can be unlocked with purchase or subscription.

Subscription models (usually with a tie-based free trial period) have also become increasingly popular in companies, and they are finding broad acceptance in the market. An app can also drive revenue by being a mobile commerce tool, helping customers complete a transaction from the convenience of their phone instead of having to go to a browser, non-mobile device, or other fulfillment channels.

Some apps are only available for purchase, often as a way to showcase an app’s superior or unique place in the market. Once purchased, though, other revenue models can come into play. The popular game Minecraft is a prime example: Customers purchase the app, but the Minecraft Marketplace offers in-app purchases to further customize the game.

Test properly before launch

If your app doesn’t work at launch, it may never recover from that stumble.

As the app reaches development milestones, ongoing testing can help you find and resolve problems before you have to deal with them in the deployed product. Conducting extensive testing across various devices, users, and OS versions can help you catch problems before they harm your new app—and your startup’s viability and profitability.

• Download your free mobile app development business plan template

Our free mobile app development business plan can give you the template you need to start setting up your business plan—and your business. It’s just one of hundreds of free sample plans that have been time-tested by our team and by thousands of entrepreneurs all over the world.

The question is simple: What mobile app development business will you create? Whatever it is, your business plan can help you get there. Download your free business plan template now and get started.

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Anthony St. Clair is a business copywriter, author of the Rucksack Universe travel fantasy series, and a craft beer writer specializing in Oregon. Learn more at anthonystclair.com.

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Mobile App Business Plan

A business has three pillars: the idea, the plan, and the execution. Congratulations! You have the app idea already, now you have to step forward with a plan.

But, somewhere with all the workload, the concept of the app, hiring the right people, budget, and development of the app, entrepreneurs overlook the need for planning.

Worry not, we are here to lighten your burden with our step-by-step guide for mobile app business plan writing.

Key Takeaways

• A mobile application business plan helps you define your marketing strategy, customer acquisition strategy, retention strategy, and strategies to achieve your business goals.
• Craft an impactful executive summary that outlines the type of your app business, marketing approach, financial outlook, and team expertise to attract potential investors and partners.
• Conduct thorough market research to understand market trends, consumer preferences, and the needs of your target market.
• To ensure efficient daily operations, provide in-depth operational plans that incorporate staffing, additional services, and customer service.
• Create realistic financial projections for sales revenue, expenses, and profit forecasts while considering contingencies & emergencies.

Let’s get started with our guide, without any further ado:

How to Create a Mobile App Business Plan: A Complete Guide

1. executive summary.

An executive summary is a quick overview of the whole business plan. From mission & vision to financial projections, it includes everything in between.

Generally, entrepreneurs write this section at the end after having the full knowledge of the entire business plan.

Begin your executive summary with a brief introduction of your business, and include other elements like:

• Market Opportunity
• Vision & mission statement
• Target market
• Unique value proposition
• Details of your services
• Management team
• Financial Outlook
• Call to action

For instance, here is an example of an app business USP’s section:

USP for PrivyConnect – Social Media App: “Connect with Total Privacy”

Our social media app is dedicated to ensuring your online interactions remain private and secure. Unlike many other platforms, we don’t share your data or personal information with third parties.

We use robust encryption to protect your messages and content, and you have full control over who can see your posts. With us, you can truly connect with your friends and family in a safe and trusted environment. Your privacy is our priority.

Note: your readers might not read the whole business plan, but they will go through the executive summary. Therefore, make sure you write it engagingly to grab their interest.

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2. Company Overview

In this section, present your business in detail. It should provide the details of your business & app name, the location of your office, the structure of your business, and other such information.

Now it is time you introduce what type of business you own, for example, your app type will be one from below:

• Social media app
• Messaging app
• E-commerce app
• Entertainment app
• Health and fitness app
• News or magazine app
• Navigation app
• Finance app

After that, mention the company history if you have any. Add the name and other qualifications & achievements of business owners. Mention the vision & mission statement of your app business along with your future goals.

In short, this section should provide an in-depth understanding of your business and business owners.

3. Industry Analysis

In the industry analysis section of your mobile app business plan, you have to provide the details about the mobile app industry. It will help you understand the market and gain a better insight into your business positioning.

Here are certain questions to ask while performing industry analysis:

• What is the current size of the app industry in terms of both revenue and users?
• What are the current trends of mobile app businesses?
• Which apps are leading the industry?
• Which mobile app concept is famous in public?

Conduction this industry analysis will educate you about the market and help you prepare marketing strategies according to the market trends.

In short, industry analysis will help to know a clear picture of the market, helping you in making informed decisions.

4. Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis will help you identify the unique selling propositions (USP). Also, this way you will get to know your competitors.

Start by specifying who are your competitors – then compare it with both direct and indirect customers.

Now, let’s focus on your direct competitors, those similar to your mobile app. Provide an overview of each competitor, including their size and where they’re based.

Here are some questions to ask for competitive analysis:

• Who are your primary competitors?
• Who do they serve?
• What are their USPs?
• What is their pricing strategy?
• What do they need to work on according to their customers?

A more effective way to this analysis is to conduct it from the customers’ viewpoint. You might even ask your competitors’ customers what they like and dislike about their apps to better understand customers’ perspectives.

Here is an example of competitors and competitive advantage of the app:

Competitors

SocialShield: SocialShield is a notable competitor in the privacy-focused social media segment. It emphasizes strong user data protection and secure communications. Their user base has been steadily growing, particularly among privacy-conscious users.

GuardChat: GuardChat offers encrypted messaging and content sharing. It has a user-friendly interface and strong encryption features. While their user base is smaller compared to established platforms, they have garnered a dedicated following.

PriviNet: PriviNet has made a name for itself by offering comprehensive privacy controls and anonymous user interactions. They have built a niche community of users who value privacy and user-controlled sharing settings.

Competitive Advantages of PrivyConnect

PrivyConnect’s comprehensive privacy controls and encryption set it apart as a top contender.

The app’s transparent communication and commitment to environmental responsibility contribute to its appeal.

PrivyConnect’s active community-building efforts and user engagement foster loyalty.

The app’s plans to expand into secure content sharing and social community growth align with industry trends.

This way you can get to know the USP of a mobile app development company. Once you get the USP, flaunt it in the entire business plan.

5. Market Analysis

In the market analysis section, do the market research and dive right into the market where you will be providing your app services. Begin the section by providing the details of your target customers.

Your target customers will depend on the type of app you own and the services you provide.

After a thorough discussion of the target market, discuss the market trends. Mention what your target customers prefer and what new are they looking for. For example, people might be looking for:

• Integration of AR/VR
• Sustainable and eco-friendly apps
• Privacy and data protection
• Personalization

At the end of the market analysis, do mention the regulatory environment mobile apps need to follow in the particular location.

6. Sales and Marketing Plan

Writing the sales and marketing section means jotting down the marketing strategy you will use to acquire new users and retain the existing ones.

Now it is time to mention the marketing strategies for your app, there are three phases of the launch:

Pre-launch phase

• App-store optimization: Before launching the app, search for the keywords to include in your title, description, and other content.
• Build a landing page: You can create a website or build a landing page to make your brand presence prominent on the web too.
• Pre-launch promotion: Launch a teaser for your app before the release date itself. Give some special offers to the ones who will sign up even before the launch.

Launch phase

• Deploy it on major app stores: Launch your app on all the major app stores to reach a wider audience. Make sure it is working smoothly and is free of bugs.
• Social media marketing: There were going to be 147.2 billion annual app downloads in 2023 itself. Imagine the competition, so be sure to make your visibility strong through social media platforms.
• Content marketing: Create blog posts, videos, or infographics related to your app’s niche. Share valuable content on your website and social media to engage users.

Post-launch phase

• User reviews and feedback: Encourage users to leave positive reviews and ratings on app stores. Actively respond to user feedback and address issues (if any) ASAP.
• User engagement strategies: You can enable push notifications or in-app notifications to interact with your users. You can also ask them to invite friends in exchange for a referral bonus.
• Collaboration or influencer marketing: You can collaborate with some other mobile app companies and do cross-marketing. Influencer marketing is also a great choice.

Once you have noted down how you will acquire customers, then mention below things too:

• Customer acquisition cost
• Your monthly paid advertisement budget
• Number of followers you have on social media
• If there are any in-app purchases

7. Management Team

Knowing who is behind your app business will increase the appeal of your business plan.

The management team tells you about the people in charge of the app business. It should explain each manager’s experience, what they’re good at, and what their jobs are.

Here is an example of the management team:

Management team of PrivyConnect

Founder and CEO – Sarah Anderson Sarah is the visionary leader behind PrivyConnect. With a background in cybersecurity and a passion for online privacy, she founded the company to provide users with a secure and private social media experience. Sarah is responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction and ensuring its commitment to user privacy and data protection.

CTO – David Ramirez David brings a wealth of technical expertise to PrivyConnect. He has a strong background in mobile app development and security protocols. David oversees the technical development of the app, ensuring that it employs state-of-the-art encryption and privacy measures.

CMO – Emily Davis Emily is the marketing guru behind PrivyConnect’s success. With a knack for digital marketing and user engagement, she is responsible for building the app’s user base and promoting its unique selling propositions. Emily focuses on user-centric marketing strategies and community engagement.

COO – Michael Chen Michael is the operations expert at PrivyConnect. With years of experience in streamlining business operations, he ensures the app runs smoothly and efficiently. He also oversees partnerships and collaborations to enhance the app’s offerings.

8. Operations Plan

As earlier sections mentioned everything about your company goals, here it is time to mention how you will reach them. These goals are differentiated into two sections:

Everyday goals

They’re the heart and soul of your mobile app’s daily life, from coding and upgrades to the nitty-gritty of customer support. These are the everyday heroes that keep your app running smoothly.

Long-term goals

It’s all about milestones: the moments that make you pop the champagne. Picture celebrating your 10,000th app install, hitting that milestone sales figure you’ve dreamt of, or expanding your team.

9. Financial Plan

Your financial plan needs to have a 5-year financial forecast. For the first year, break it down into monthly or quarterly details, and then summarize it annually. This forecast should cover your income statement, balance sheet, Use of Funds, and cash flow.

Income statement

An income statement, often known as a Profit and Loss statement or P&L, displays your earnings and then deducts your expenses to know the profitability of your business. Make practical assumptions based on your competition.

Balance sheet

Balance sheets display your assets and liabilities. Although they can contain a lot of details, like equity, goodwill, other intangible assets, etc.

Uses of Funds

When you are seeking funding, this statement becomes necessary to show where you will use the funds. Here is an example of the Uses of Funds chart with the help of Upmetrics:

Cash flow statement

Your cash flow statement helps you see how much money you need to start or grow your business and avoid running out of money.

Surprisingly, you can make a profit but still face financial problems that could lead to bankruptcy. Therefore, you will need proper cash flow planning to avoid such circumstances.

Why Do You Need a Business Plan for Your Mobile App

For entrepreneurs who jump into business directly without writing a business plan is like delaying their success. Here are some reasons why you need a mobile app business plan:

Writing a business plan helps you work out and make clear your business strategy. Do you want customers to pay upfront? Or there are in-app purchases? Writing this down from the start helps your team understand where you’re headed.

Finances are important

Sometimes, it takes months or even a year to cover customer acquisition costs. So, you need a plan with a solid financial forecast. A good plan lets you play with different situations, so you know how much money you need for both the long and short term.

Acquiring and retaining customers

Acquiring and retaining customers is one of the sole purposes of a business. In the business plan, you have to mention in detail about your strategies to have a clear roadmap.

Knowing Your Market

A business plan lets you identify your ideal customer profile. Knowing your customers is crucial, and having a deep understanding of your customers helps you make the correct updates to your product in the future.

Related Mobile App Resources

• How Much Does it Cost to Start an App
• How to Start an Mobile App Business

Download a Mobile App business plan template

Ready to kick-start your business plan writing process? And not sure where to start? Here you go, download our free mobile app business plan pdf , and start writing.

This intuitive, modern, and investment-ready template is designed specifically for mobile app businesses. It includes step-by-step instructions & examples to help in creating your own mobile app business plan.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Finally! You know how to write a mobile app business plan. Thus, you are one step closer to starting or expanding your business.

No doubt, writing a business plan is a challenging task, but it is a lot smoother with a top business planning tool . Therefore, take a deep breath and get started with your plan. All the best!

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Business Plan Presentation Tips

Frequently asked questions, do i need to include information about competitors in the business plan.

Yes, in the section of competitive analysis: you need to mention your competitors and their USPs. This will help you to understand the market and know your strong points.

How often should I update my mobile app business plan?

An app business plan is a living document, you can change or update it whenever you want. Ideally, go through your plan and make changes according to the current situations atleast once a month.

Can I use a mobile app business plan to secure funding for my app project?

One of the main purposes of writing a business plan is to secure funding or get a loan. So, of course, you can present a solid mobile app business plan in front of lenders to secure funding.

How much does it cost to create a mobile app business plan?

Writing a mobile app business plan might cost from a few hundred to thousands of dollars depending on the complexity of the app, the number of integrations, UI/UX, etc.

About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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How to Write a Business Plan For Mobile App Startup in 6 Steps

Tech Editor and Content Team Lead

Tech Researcher and Writer

Table of content

• An app development business plan is structured into six key steps: executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing strategy, monetization strategy, and startup costs & funding. Each section addresses specific questions that provide a clear vision of the project to stakeholders.
• Detailed financial planning, including startup costs, funding, and a well-defined monetization strategy, is essential. Understanding the market, competition, and customer persona helps in crafting effective marketing strategies.
• Writing a comprehensive mobile app business plan is crucial for the success of a mobile app startup. It helps clarify goals, allocate resources effectively, attract investors, and reduce risks.

The number of unique, useful apps increases daily.

According to Statista , the number of applications available on the App Store was close to 5 million in 2023. The forecast says the mobile industry will generate almost $520 million in revenue in 2024.

These statistics prove two important statements:

• Running a mobile application is a great business idea with a large monetization potential
• The competition in this industry is intense, and there’s little chance you will start monetizing your app without a proper understanding of the industry, your direct and indirect competitors, and your strategy to outplay them.

If you would like to join this beneficial industry with your great app idea, it is time to take the next step toward your goals and create a great mobile app business plan.

Reasons to prepare an app business plan

When you get a new idea for an app, you feel super excited! You want to start working on it right away because you believe it's going to be a big hit. You're so pumped up that you don't even want to spend time researching the market or making a detailed plan. You just want to jump in and get started on making your idea a reality!

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Benjamin Franklin

As you know, Benjamin Franklin wasn’t involved in software development, but these words highlight the significance of the business plan for an app. Writing a plan enhances your knowledge about the market you are going to enter. It helps clarify your goals, set priorities, and build more accurate forecasts.

When you find out about all the benefits of a business plan for an app, you will get excited about the preparation stage, just as you are about the implementation. So this is why you have to plan your venture from A to Z:

Attracting great minds and great investments

Depending on your situation, you may need a technical co-founder or a development team. However, it is not easy to convince experienced professionals to start working on a product that hasn’t achieved anything yet and exists only in the mind of the initial founder. A detailed business plan may help you change their minds and attract ambitious engineers, designers, and managers.

The same works for investors. You won’t attract a significant sum from angel investors if you can’t prove to them that their money will be in good hands. But by presenting them with your business plan, you can prove your intentions to build a successful company and multiply their initial investments.

A correctly done app development business plan makes you a trustworthy employer and a trustworthy investee.

Allocating resources properly

When starting your app business, your resources are limited. Usually, you wish you could invest more time, money, and effort into your business than you actually can. Does this mean you have to postpone the start and wait until you have more time and money? Definitely not. You have to learn how to profit most from the resources you already have.

Creating an app development business plan allows you to analyze all your needs and decide on effective resource allocation. Taking intuitive steps can cause you to waste more of your resources without even realizing it.

Reducing the risks

Writing a business plan for app development is a way to get closer to your goals and ambitions.

When developing a business plan, you identify multiple risks that could impact your business. Being aware of these helps you either change direction to avoid pitfalls or prepare for potential negative outcomes.

Risk mitigation in software development is the strategy that increases the chances of success for your mobile app business.

Managing and delegating effectively

A business plan provides the vision of the critical tasks and helps delegate each of them to the particularly responsible person.

Yes, at first, it seems that you can manage every aspect of the mobile app startup creation on your own. However, if you want to scale and achieve outstanding results, prepare to hire new people and share the responsibility.

With the business plan, you make sure that every team member knows exactly where you head and can choose the most effective strategies within their responsibility to get the company there.

In short, a business plan helps you get the idea out of your head, digitize it, and build a detailed roadmap for startup to achieve the goal.

Yes, some businesses manage to achieve success without any plan. However, they don’t know which of the dozens of chaotic actions actually brought the desired results. And therefore, they are unable to scale this success.

If your goal is to start a mobile app business and achieve predictable and scalable results, prepare a pen and paper and get ready to draft your app business plan.

Is an app business plan different from a business plan for other software projects?

Here, we have to state that all cases are different. There’s no business plan template you can copy for your project. You have to approach the process wisely and define your goals.

What do you expect to achieve with a business plan document?

• Convincing investors to fund the development process?
• Attracting the best talents to build your startup?
• Creating a roadmap to bring your product to the market?

Depending on your goal, the focus of the business plan may shift.

Investors care more about the numbers. They want to see that you’ve done your homework, analyzing the target audience and proving that you will spend the money you attract in the most effective way.

Your potential co-founders and employees want to see the professional challenges and perspectives of their careers at your company.

This way, the business plan may differ according to your needs and goals. But the type of software you are going to build doesn’t influence the process. You still need to answer the same blocks of questions, whether you are building a simple mobile app, launching a SaaS product on the web, or integrating AI into existing processes of your own business .

So, no matter what type of app you are about to build, prepare to work on your business plan.

How to write a business plan for an app?

A business plan is a document that requires a clear structure. You will aim for high readability and intuitive navigation, which is usually achieved through clear formatting.

Writing a business plan is not about telling a chaotic story of how your app will change the world.

To give your target audience a clear vision of the project, you will have to answer many specific questions. We divide these questions into six blocks:

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Market analysis
• Marketing strategy
• Monetization strategy
• Startup costs and funding.

A business plan for an app usually consists of 20 to 40 pages.

Some of the questions in these blocks may require additional research, and some others may be too obvious, but we encourage you to write down everything that relates to your future app business. You will be glad you put these thoughts on paper. Let’s start with the first block.

Block 1. Executive Summary

This is the introduction to your business plan and the very first thing your potential investor or partner will see when getting acquainted with your idea.

An executive summary may become a standalone document for presenting your future app business, so make sure you provide the most important information on the first two to three pages of your business plan. Make it clear and remarkable, and answer these questions in your summary:

What problem do you want to solve?

Even though the market is full of different solutions, consumers always face obstacles and complications. You need to find these problems and identify the ones you can solve. Analyze what your target audience needs at the moment, why the existing solutions do not satisfy those needs, and what you can offer to solve this problem.

What is your solution?

First, make sure your application can address the problem. Then, introduce your idea but do not dive into details: it is not the right moment to introduce the functionality to investors. It is time to highlight what your app will do to make the app users happy.

For whom do you create your solution?

Identify your target audience in the executive summary. Provide basic information on your buyer persona, but keep in mind that you will have to describe it in more detail later in the Market analysis section.

What are the competitors' solutions?

Summarize the current market situation to give your stakeholders an overview of your competitors. Present this information to prove that there’s demand for similar solutions and convince them that there is space for your product on the market.

What goal do you pursue?

The primary goal of any business is financial return. In this section, tell what your goal looks like. Provide your vision of the app’s future; say how many users you expect to download your app and what profit it will bring. Visualize your short-term plans and enhance your answer with metrics.

The executive summary should include your unique value proposition (UVP) - the distinctive benefits and features of the app that set it apart from competitors and resonate with the target audience.

The next blocks after the summary will require more details.

Block 2. Company description

When you know what product you want to release, you have to go one step further. What company is capable of building such a product?

Present your current team, as well as the vision of a team in a few years. Pay specific attention to the following:

Mission, vision, and values of the company

In a world of dozens of similar software products, your mission, vision, and values set you apart from other companies in your industry. Consider your organization’s impact on the community; this will help you attract people with similar values.

Basic info about your organization

Your potential partners should know whether your company is an LLC or another entity. The company’s structure defines how the processes will be organized in the future.

Location is essential. If your team works remotely, mention it, too. And don’t forget to emphasize the reasons why you have decided on this location or opt for remote collaboration.

If you decide to delegate some of your operations, such as app development, describe how you choose a software outsourcing company . For example, in one of our articles, we have gathered reasons to hire Ukrainian developers. You can use these to convince your stakeholders that software development outsourcing is a financially rewarding decision.

Team introduction

The mobile app business plan should include details about your team so you can get even closer to the reader. By adding a few words about the company’s founders and employees, you turn a boring description into a real introductory meeting.

Tell the potential investor about your managers and the engineering team. You can specify names, positions, experiences, and even hobbies to make the readers feel like they know the people you talk about.

One more actionable tip is to provide the details about your advisory team. Those experts help you with decision-making, and their names make a difference in the market.

And as we mentioned the market, it’s time to describe it to your potential stakeholders as well.

Block 3. Market analysis

To launch an app startup, it’s essential to conduct market research for a startup . By knowing its past and present, you can impact its future. This stage is a transition from a hypothesis to real statistical data.

How big is the market?

To answer this question, you must analyze the following factors:

• Total Available Market, or market demand for your app,
• Serviceable Available Market, or the number of users you are able to reach out to,
• Serviceable Obtainable Market, or the segment of very first users.

How does the market change?

Analyze the market size five years ago and now. What has changed? How many influencers have broken into the market? How many of them failed? The amount of money spent in the industry will help you see your own potential income clearly.

Who are your direct competitors?

You are most likely entering an established market with players who have a significant impact there. What is their market share, and how did it change over time? How do they obtain new customers and retain existing ones? What services do they provide, and how did their offer change over the last years? Understanding your competitors’ paths will help you plan yours.

What is the customer persona?

The only way to develop a legendary app is to look at it with your customers’ eyes. This is why you need to understand the target audience and create a portrait of a customer. A customer persona is a detailed description of who the user of your app is. Define gender, age, occupation, education, hobbies, and daily challenges he or she faces. It is the portrait of a real person your app will serve.

In this section, you prove you understand the market. But you also have to demonstrate your plan to conquer it. The next block is dedicated to this.

Block 4. Marketing strategy

A solid mobile app business plan should describe the way your app will get to the potential user’s smartphone. Let’s have a glance at how to build a successful marketing strategy:

Decide on metrics

In the beginning, your success will be measured by the number of installations or conversion rates, not by financial revenue. So, decide what metrics will be useful for evaluating your project.

Outline your product launch plan

How do you plan to kickstart your app story? Once the mobile application is ready for release, you have to start implementing your product launch plan . Share your ideas to convince the stakeholders you know how to attract users to your app.

Identify the channels you can acquire customers from

Nowadays, social media marketing is an effective way to promote a product. But will it be enough for your app? Go back to the research phase and find out how many potential users you can meet on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Analyze other possible strategies and provide the stakeholders with the information about which channel may be the most profitable.

Think about collaboration with existing businesses

Referral programs and other types of collaborations may become your growth fuel. Decide on the companies to partner with and explain why you expect this cooperation to be fruitful.

Define the desired marketing budget

Unfortunately, you won’t acquire your users for free. And even if you decide not to use paid promotion methods, you still need to pay your marketing team to grow your brand awareness. How much do you need to spend, to acquire the necessary number of users? Calculate it in advance.

Block 5. Monetization Strategy

At the finish line of your mobile app business plan building, we will discuss the financial part. How do you plan to monetize your app? This question is extremely important, unless you plan to start a non-profit project. If your goal is to turn your app idea into a profitable business, tell the stakeholders how you plan to achieve this. You may choose one monetization strategy or a combination of them, such as:

Charge a subscription

Subscription-based apps are usually affordable and solve a specific need of the target audience. If you believe your service will be useful for your users, you can start with a free plan and charge a subscription for advanced functionality. Investors like the business models that rely on recurring payments as their revenue is more or less predictable. On the other hand, you have to work hard to provide top-notch service, otherwise your users can terminate the subscription and turn to your competitors.

Charge a fee for installation

There are so many free apps on the web. And there are two ways for you to convince them to buy your app:

• to deliver exceptional functionality none of the competitor apps offers
• to build a strong brand and make sure users don’t want any alternatives

Both ways require thorough planning and you have to convince potential product stakeholders that you know how to achieve these results.

Use advertising

You can simply advertise other products within your mobile app. It is a fast and easy way to monetize it; however, you should have an impressive number of active users to implement this strategy.

You can find out about other options to earn money from your digital product from our article on mobile app monetization .

Potential partners and investors will not support your idea unless the monetization strategy is well-defined and clear. So be ready to answer the questions about what financial profit you expect to make of this app.

Block 6. Startup Costs & Funding

Did you know one of the key reasons why do startups fail is financial issues? According to CB Insights , 29% of companies simply run out of cash; 18% of companies have different types of cost issues.

Now when you are as close to your first technology startup business plan as never, consider the importance of costs and funding for your business.

Why is the financial component of planning so important?

• It is vital for you to understand what type of funding you need to get your app up and running;
• It is necessary for your potential partners to know how much money you plan to spend.

The startup’s financial model should reflect the forecast for the next 3-5 years. Add the following data to your plan:

What are the one-time costs?

If you have an offline office, include the setup costs. Estimate your initial recruitment budget to get the core team on board.

If you decide to outsource app development, you can count it as a one-time expense as well. An experienced software development partner can precisely estimate the cost to build an app MVP according to your requirements. Add the figure to your mobile app business plan.

What are the recurring costs?

Here, you will have to estimate the costs to maintain the office space and your equipment.

Also, you will need to calculate the salaries of your full-time employees, or the ones you hire according to the staff augmentation model.

Usually, outsourcing all startup development stages is a better choice as it is more predictable and requires less project management activities from your side. This means, you as a startup founder can focus on strategic tasks.

Think how you can reduce the costs

Creating a software product is never cheap. However, in your mobile app business plan, it’s important to demonstrate to your potential investors that you can allocate financial resources wisely. There are various ways to reduce the overall development costs without compromising quality in any way:

Leverage outsourcing

Outsourcing can significantly cut costs. Instead of hiring in-house specialists to complete certain tasks within your project, you can partner with a reliable vendor and

tap into the expertise you need. In this case, you will pay only for the work outlined in the contract, not for the working hours of your employees. Just ensure you choose a partner with proven experience to maintain quality while reducing expenses.

Opt for remote work

If feasible, consider a remote work model. By eliminating the need for physical office space, you can save on rent, utilities, and office supplies. Remote work also allows finding skilled professionals at lower rates than local hires.

Use open-source solutions

Incorporate open-source software and tools wherever possible. Many high-quality open-source solutions are available for development, project management, and marketing. Utilizing these tools can reduce software licensing fees and other related costs.

Start with MVP

Building an MVP means focusing on developing core features first to test your concept. This approach not only reduces initial development costs but also allows you to gather user feedback and iterate efficiently. Avoid adding unnecessary features in the early stages that can increase both time and expense.

Being proactive about financial management helps you identify potential overspending areas and address them promptly. By thinking strategically about cost reduction from the outset, you can ensure that your resources are used efficiently, giving your mobile app startup a stronger chance of success. Remember, the goal is to maximize value while keeping expenses under control.

Review your mobile app business plan

Reviewing and updating your business plan for an app is essential to ensure it remains relevant and effective. Here’s how you can approach this process:

• Set regular review periods

How long does it take to develop an app ? It’s difficult to answer this question. You may get all that is necessary right away, or you may need some time for it. Regular intervals, such as quarterly or bi-annually, allows you to assess your progress, make adjustments, and stay aligned with your goals. Regular reviews help you stay agile and responsive to changes in the market and your business environment.

• Update market analysis

The market is evolving constantly. Your initial market analysis might become outdated at some point. Revise the latest industry trends, competitor activities, and customer preferences. Staying informed can help you ensure that your strategies remain competitive and relevant.

• Reevaluate finances

Your financial projections are based on assumptions that may change over time. Reevaluate your revenue forecasts, cost estimates, and funding needs to ensure they reflect your current situation.

• Assess your marketing strategy

Are you reaching your target audience? Are your acquisition channels performing as expected? Use data metrics and analytics to measure the success of your campaigns and refine your marketing strategy accordingly.

• Reflect on achievements and setbacks

Take time to reflect on what you have achieved and the challenges you have faced. Identify the strategies that worked well and the areas that need improvement. Learning from your experiences helps you refine your approach and avoid repeating past mistakes.

• Engage your team

Involve your team in the review process. Their insights and feedback can provide valuable perspectives and help identify areas for improvement. Collaborative reviews also encourage a sense of ownership and alignment within the team, helping you in achieving your business goals.

• Adjust your goals

Based on your review, adjust your goals and objectives if necessary. Setting realistic and achievable targets ensures your mobile app business plan remains not a theoretical but practical tool for guiding your startup.

• Document changes

Keep a record of the changes made during a review. Documenting updates ensures transparency and provides a clear history of your business plan’s evolution. This can be particularly useful when communicating with stakeholders and tracking your progress over time.

If you are planning to put your application into the list of top fast-growing startups , regularly reviewing your business plan for an app is essential to ensure your strategies remain aligned with your vision. By staying proactive and adaptable, you can navigate the dynamic landscape of the industry.

In conclusion

Unless you have started bringing your plans to life, a well-structured business plan is your main tool for archiving success. It not only provides a clear roadmap for your startup but also helps attract investors, allocate resources efficiently, mitigate risks, and manage your team effectively. By thoroughly addressing each of the blocks we have mentioned - executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing strategy, monetization strategy, and startup costs & funding - you can present a comprehensive and compelling vision of your app’s potential.

Want to know more about the project cost?

Mobile App Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Mobile App Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their mobile app development company. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a mobile app business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Mobile App Business Plan Template here >

What is a Mobile App Business Plan?

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

Why You Need a Business Plan for an App Company

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

Source of Funding for Mobile App Companies

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a mobile app are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, angel investors and venture capitalists. With regards 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 confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for a mobile app is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan.

Venture capitalists will also fund a mobile app and will take equity in return for their funding, VC funding generally comes after you’ve received initial proof of the mobile app concept or traction with your app.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a mobile app development company.

A comprehensive business plan for an app company should include the 10 sections as follows:

Executive Summary

• Company Overview

Industry Analysis

Customer analysis, competitive analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, management team, financial plan.

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 type of app business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a mobile app that you would like to grow, or do you already have several successful app businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the mobile app industry. Discuss the type of mobile app you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target audience. Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Analysis

In your company overview, you will provide a detailed description of your mobile app business.

For example, you might operate one of the following types:

• Business app : this type of mobile app generally helps increase productivity and/or decrease costs.
• Entertainment app : this type of mobile app includes news, social networking, music, video, etc.
• Lifestyle app : this type of mobile app includes things like fitness, shopping, dating, etc.
• Education app : this type of app must have the primary objective of advancing a user’s knowledge and overall breadth in a particular subject.
• Utility app : this type of app includes things like scanners, trackers, health-related apps, cell service providers, etc.
• Travel app : this type of app aids in planning and booking trips.
• Other app : there are a limitless number of areas in which a successful app could be created

In addition to the business description, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What is your company history?
• What is your mission statement?
• What is your business idea or app idea?
• What is your business model or monetization strategy (i.e., freemium, subscription, in-app purchases, affiliate marketing, crowdfunding, paid apps, sponsored content, etc.)?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include sales goals you’ve reached, new store openings, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of your app development business.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

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

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy particularly if your research identifies market trends. For example, if there was a trend towards quiz apps, it would be helpful to ensure your plan incorporates gamification into your app.

The third reason for market research 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:

• How big is the app 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 market for your mobile app? You can calculate this figure by multiplying the size of your target customer market by the amount they might spend per year on your app.

The customer analysis section must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: business operations managers, college students, sports enthusiasts, soccer moms, techies, teens, baby boomers, etc.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of mobile app you operate. Clearly, baby boomers would want different pricing and product options, and would respond to different user engagement strategies than teens.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the business types (if B2B), ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve.

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

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With Growthink’s Ultimate Mobile App Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

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

Direct competitors are other app businesses in your niche.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to achieve similar results to what your app offers.

With regards to direct competition, you want to detail the other app development companies with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be mobile app businesses offering the same type of service or activity that yours does.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses 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 products do they offer?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

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

• Will you provide superior features?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

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

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

Product : in the product section, you should reiterate the type of mobile app that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific features of your app.

Price : Document how you will price your app and if there will be different pricing levels (e.g., free, entry, premium) and what those levels will be.

Place : Place refers to your distribution method. Document how customers can download your app (e.g., from your website, the Apple App Store, Google Play, etc.).

Promotions : the final part of your mobile app marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your app(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Social media marketing strategy
• Advertising in magazines, newspapers and/or trade journals
• Reaching out to local bloggers and websites
• Pay per click advertising

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 mobile app such as writing code, building upgrades, fixing bugs, providing customer service, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect your 10,000th app install, or when you hope to reach $X in sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your Xth employee or launch a new location.

To demonstrate your mobile app’s ability to succeed as a business, 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 app development business. 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 team. An advisory team would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in mobile apps and/or successfully running small businesses.

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 revenues 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 have 100 downloads per week or 200? 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 : While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. For instance, if you spend $100,000 on building out your mobile application, that 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 bank writes you a check for $100.000, 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 make sure 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.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in an app startup or growing mobile app company:

• Cost of equipment like computers, data warehousing, etc.
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff and independent contractors
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

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 your store design blueprint or location lease.

Free Business Plan Template for a Mobile App Business

You can download our mobile app business plan PDF template . Our sample mobile app business plan would also be a helpful resource for writing your own business plan.

Mobile App Business Plan Summary

Putting together a business plan for a mobile app will improve your company’s chances of success. The process of developing your plan will help you better understand your target audience, your competition, and your business strategy. You will also develop the marketing strategies needed to better attract and serve your target market, an operations plan to focus your efforts, and financial projections that give you business goals to strive for and keep your company focused.

Growthink’s Ultimate Mobile App Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Mobile App Business Plan.  

Additional Resources for a Mobile App Startup

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Mobile App business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how Growthink’s professional business planning advisors can create your business plan for you.

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Guide to writing a business plan for a mobile app business

✓ Updated on 25 April 2024

Mobile app business plans

Thinking of developing a mobile app? Done properly, app development requires a significant investment of time, money and resources. And therefore some careful consideration before you proceed. 

Writing a business plan for a mobile app business, in advance of any development, can really help to clarify your vision as well as identify the steps you need to take to maximise the return on your investment.

We’ve written about how to make an app . But in order to make sure your app pays for itself and provides an income , you really need to make sure you have an app business plan in place.

How to write a business plan for an app:

Make sure you’ve taken the right factors into account

What problem are you aiming to solve with your app?

It’s vital to understand what your competitors are already doing – and how your app will improve on this

Think about your app’s USP and how it benefits your users

No matter how good your mobile app business idea, good financial management will ultimately be key to its success

You will need to give some considerable thought to how you plan to market your app

1. Decide what to consider when writing a mobile app business plan

Mobile apps are continuing to grow in popularity year on year – in fact, mobile apps are projected to hit $188.9 billion in revenue by 2020 – up from just $88billion in 2016 ( Statista ).

It doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to wonder  what the future holds for mobile apps  – and whether the market is already saturated.

And yet technology is constantly changing (think about the rise of voice-based apps such as Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri for instance) along with consumer habits and expectations. 

So there is no doubt that the demand is still there for apps that can genuinely be shown to be more innovative and more engaging than their competitors.

Whatever your business, writing a business plan takes time. But it’s an iterative process can and one that can be hugely helpful in clarifying exactly what you want to achieve in the development of your own app.

So what are some of the key points you might want to consider when putting together a business plan for your mobile app?

To get you started, here is a app business template:

App business plan template

• Executive summary
• Company overview and business goals
• Industry analysis
• Customer analysis
• Competitive analysis and market research
• Marketing strategy plan
• Operational plan
• Management team (if you have one!)
• Financial plan and forecast

2. Define what kind of app do you want to develop

It is tempting to rush into the development of an app simply because other businesses similar to yours already have one.

But it’s worth giving some genuine thought to the ‘problem’ that you aim to solve with the creation of an app.

Businesses build apps for all sorts of reasons, such as branding, improving customer engagement, direct marketing etc. 

But as online publishing platform  Medium  says “Ultimately an effective mobile strategy involves more than just a mobile friendly website.”

3. Research your market

Once you have identified  why  the marketplace needs you to develop the app, it is vital to understand what your competitors are already doing – and how your app will improve on this.

When  conducting market research , you should look at both primary and secondary data and consider key information such as include the size of your market as well as a thorough understanding of pricing. 

A  SWOT analysis  can be useful for understanding your business’ Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. 

LivePlan  explains “Strengths and weaknesses are internal to your company—things that you have some control over and can change. Examples include who is on your team, your patents and intellectual property, and your location.

“Opportunities and threats are external—things that are going on outside your company, in the larger market. You can take advantage of opportunities and protect against threats, but you can’t change them. Examples include competitors, prices of raw materials, and customer shopping trends.”

Building on this, there is also a value in conducting a  PEST analysis  to look at macro economic factors that may influence your business.  These are opportunities and threats due to Political, Economic, Social, and Technological forces. 

Pestle Analysis  explains these four areas in more detail: 

• Political   Here government regulations and legal factors are assessed in terms of their ability to affect the business environment and trade markets. The main issues addressed in this section include political stability, tax guidelines, trade regulations, safety regulations, and employment laws.
• Economic   Through this factor, businesses examine the economic issues that are bound to have an impact on the company. This would include factors like inflation, interest rates, economic growth, the unemployment rate and policies, and the business cycle followed in the country.
• Social   With the social factor, a business can analyze the socio-economic environment of its market via elements like customer demographics, cultural limitations, lifestyle attitude, and education. With these, a business can understand how consumer needs are shaped and what brings them to the market for a purchase.
• Technological   How technology can either positively or negatively impact the introduction of a product or service into a marketplace is assessed here. These factors include technological advancements, lifecycle of technologies, the role of the Internet, and the spending on technology research by the government.

4. Define your app’s unique selling point (USP)

So what problem does your app actually solve? What makes it different from all the other apps out there? Any why will someone download your app rather than another, similar one?

Identifying your app’s unique selling point (USP) is a useful exercise in really understanding what you plan to do that’s different to everyone else. 

It can also help you develop an ‘ elevator pitch ’ – a 20 second, one or two line summary that comprehensively explains your product. And which could, as the phrase suggests, be articulated to a potential investor between the floors of a buildings – should you be lucky enough to find yourself in a lift with someone on the lookout for your product! 

5. Understand your budget and how your app will make money

No matter how good your mobile app business idea, good financial management will ultimately be key to its success.

How, for instance, are you going to make money from your app? You might decide on a freemium model, where basic features are free but full functionality is hidden behind a paywall. You might prefer in-app advertising. Or your app might be for solely for in-app purchases. 

It is reassuring to know that  it is possible to develop a mobile app on a tiny budget  – but that budget still needs careful management.

Alongside all the usual business plan financial headings, you should also consider costs that are specific to app development. 

These can include customer acquisition cost, which  Appster  elaborates as cost per app install or CPI, suggesting “If you want to go one level deeper and be more exact, find out the cost per activation, keeping in mind that there will be a percentage of users who might install the app, and then uninstall it without engaging with the app.”

6. Decide how you plan to market your app

Developing an app is one thing but getting it to arguably saturated marketplace, with good take up is quite another.  

You will therefore need to give some considerable thought to how you plan to market your app once it is built (and possibly even before you have launched it). 

And so taking the time to put together a  marketing plan for your mobile app business  can pay dividends after launch.

Looking for a hand with writing a business plan for your mobile app business?  

If you would like a steer developing a business plan for your mobile app business, then the team at Creative.onl would love to help.

We are a friendly bunch with expertise across all of the following areas: 

• Digital strategy 
• UX design 
• App development
• Web development 
• Responsive web design
• Graphic design
• Video animation 
• Marketing support 

And we would love to help you with any aspect of your digital marketing strategy.

Whatever you are looking for,  get in touch with Creative.onl  to talk through the creative process.

App business plan FAQ

A mobile app business plan is exactly what is sounds like: a business plan, created specifically for a business based on launching a mobile app. Any startup business should have a business plan, and mobile app businesses are no exception.

Follow our 6-step process, and include the following 9 sections: • Executive summary • Company overview and business goals • Industry analysis • Customer analysis • Competitive analysis and market research • Marketing strategy plan • Operational plan • Management team (if you have one!) • Financial plan and forecast

If you feel that you have the expertise then you can go ahead and write your own app business plan yourself, without spending a penny: totally free. Or if you’d like some professional help, you can commission an app launch specialist like Creative.onl to write one for you: this might cost anything from £500 to £5000, depending on the level of support needed.

Every business is unique, whether it’s a mobile app business or otherwise. So this means that every mobile app business plan is also one-of-a-kind of tailored specifically to the business in question. But having said that, most app business plans follow the rough format we detailed, with emphasis added or removed from each section.

Send us an email to [email protected] and let us know what you need, we should be able to provide you with a PDF template.

✓ Reviewed by Joe Dawson , Managing Director

Why create a business plan for a mobile app?

A business plan is the backbone of any enterprise. Many people like to describe it as a map that assists you in getting from point A (idea) to point B (success) without accidentally venturing into point C (financial failure). You can also think of it as a set of guidelines used to devise app development strategies and manage the budget in a responsible and effective way.

A business plan helps steer the enterprise in the right direction

With a comprehensive mobile app business plan, you’ll be able to use facts and exact calculations to determine the overall direction of the business :

• Gain useful insights into the competition and the current state of the market
• Make informed decisions regarding marketing and communication
• Outline a comprehensive financial strategy
• Evaluate performance and decide on the best allocation of resources

It will also help you to better manage your team :

• Keep everyone in sync and focused on the same target
• Establish clear goals and KPIs, as well as set priorities

And finally, having a business plan is crucial if you want to win over investors and stakeholders.

This is not just our opinion — research confirms the value of writing a business plan. Recently, Palo Alto Software surveyed 2,900 entrepreneurs and discovered that those who create business plans are almost twice as likely to succeed as those who don’t. To measure “success”, Palo Alto used three metrics: business growth, secured investment capital, and secured loans. Find out more information about the study.

This study clearly shows that a business plan isn’t just a formality

What does a mobile app business plan look like?

A typical mobile app business plan is comprised of 8 sections:

• Executive summary
• Products & services
• Company overview
• Market analysis
• Competitive analysis
• Marketing strategy
• Financial strategy

The whole document usually runs 20 to 40 pages including appendices, but this number largely depends on the scale of your project and your goals. A mobile app business plan for a massive product with international presence may well run into hundreds of pages, while an average startup is unlikely to go over 50 pages. 

When writing a mobile app business plan, you should always consider the target audience . Keep everything informative but concise — otherwise, you run the risk of losing the reader’s attention. This is especially important if you’re writing a business plan to raise funds: investors don’t want to have their time wasted. However, it’s crucial not to sacrifice any important information for the sake of hitting a hypothetical 40-page goal.

Things to keep in mind when creating a business plan

Before we dive straight into writing a mobile app business plan, let us give you some tips that will help you along the way.

Before getting started on that Google Doc, ask yourself one question: what are you trying to achieve? The answer to that question defines your priorities. For example, if you’re going to use your mobile app business plan to raise some funds, you’ll want to focus on the reasons you need that money and exactly how you’re going to spend it.

Readability is highly important. This means that the information you present may be complex, but navigating it should be as simple to do as possible. The document should have a coherent structure, with one part logically flowing into another, and clear formatting with headings, subheadings, and enough white space. You can also supplement the numbers you provide with graphs to highlight the most important takeaways .

Pay attention not only to what the document says, but also to what it looks like: with headings, subheadings, and diagrams you create a better document structure

Fact-based estimates

All financial forecasts in your mobile app business plan should be realistic — too much optimism will likely damage your image and lead to lack of trust, not to mention that inflated expectations can ruin the enterprise itself. With that said, all the reports should clearly indicate that there are good prospects for the business and what investors stand to gain if they support the project. If the reports paint a bleak picture, maybe it would be a good idea to test another concept.

External review

Creating a 30-page formal document is a daunting task, and there’s not a single reason why you should face it in solitude. In fact, it’ll be much better if you don’t! As you go, ask other people (preferably experienced) to review it from time to time — this way, you’ll be sure that your plan is logical and makes sense.

How to create a business plan for an app

OK, so we’ve established that a typical startup business plan consists of 8 sections, each equally important. But what exactly do you put in these sections? Let’s find out.

Write an executive summary 

An executive summary is a rundown of the whole document. It describes the current situation in the market, establishes the target audience, as well as puts forward the product’s concept, business goals, and financial projections. Put simply, it answers three big questions:

A well-written executive summary can act as a standalone document. In fact, many investors make their initial decisions after reading this part only, so getting it right is crucial if you want to win over important stakeholders.

The secret is to keep everything clear and concise: you want to convey the message that your app idea has huge potential without overwhelming the reader with 5-page long sheets and abstract ideas. Ideally, the executive summary shouldn’t run longer than 2–3 pages.

The four key components of an executive summary

Prepare the company overview 

In this section of your mobile app business plan, you tell the reader more about your company . Include the following information:

• Mission. It’s a brief explanation why a company exists (take Google, for example: “Our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”)
• Vision. It’s a declaration of the company’s potential impact on the world.
• Corporate values
• History and past achievements (if any)
• Competitive advantages

You should also provide detailed information about the team : the number of people you employ, as well as their qualifications and previous experiences.

We recommend dedicating a separate subsection to your top management and key team members to tell about their background and achievements. This will help convince investors that apart from a great app idea , you also have great people behind it.

Make sure to cover the issue of ownership . Does each partner own an equal portion of the business? If not, how exactly is ownership divided?

Potential investors will definitely want to know this information.

Describe your products & services

This is where you really get into detail about your business idea. First, provide some information about the problem you want to solve. To do this, answer 3 fundamental questions:

You need to convince stakeholders that your product solves an important problem. Answering these 3 questions will help

You need to convince the reader that this issue is of importance. You can cite some research or statistics, but try not to oversaturate this section with numbers.

Then, you move on to the actual solution and tell how exactly you plan to tackle the problem. This is where you describe your product or service. Give a brief description of the processes involved, but again, avoid flooding the section with too many technical details.

Finally, give a brief examination of your competitors and highlight how exactly your product is going to surpass the already existing options.

Conduct an audience analysis

In the audience analysis part, you evaluate the current state of play and give justified reasons why you believe your product has a place in the competitive environment. This section includes queries into the target market , customer behavior, current trends , and several important metrics: cost per acquisition (CPA), total available market (TAM), service available market (SAM), and service obtainable market (SOM).

Try to be as specific as possible when talking about the target audience. Consider building customer personas — generalized representations of the people who are going to be interested in your product. To create a persona, conduct several in-depth interviews and organize the obtained information into the following blocks:

• Demographic information — age, gender, income, place of living
• Psychographic information — goals, challenges, motivation, personality type
• Professional activities — qualifications, current job, past job experiences
• Interests and personal tastes
• Needs — why would they need your product?

This is an example of what a customer persona sheet may look like

Carry out a competitive analysis

We’ve already touched on the subject of competition in the executive summary and the products & services section. This time, however, you dive in much deeper and provide a detailed analysis of your direct and indirect competitors, answering the following questions: What are their strengths & weaknesses? What marketing strategies do they use? What is their pricing?

Once you’ve described the competitive landscape, it’s time to show why your product is going to be superior. One way to do this is by conducting a SWOT analysis.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It actually doesn’t need to be any more complicated than this: the section names speak for themselves.

In Strengths , you state the advantages that separate you from the competition.

In Weaknesses , you focus on the things your product lacks and resource limitations.

In Opportunities , you describe the prospects for your business, as well as the external factors that can have a positive influence on the enterprise (rising demand, changing attitudes, etc.).

And finally, in Threats , you cite any external factors that can have a negative influence on the enterprise (bad media coverage, changing regulations, and so on).

Conducting a SWOT analysis is important for proper positioning

Outline your marketing strategy

This is where you describe three important things. First, you need to cover the channels you’re going to use to reach your target segments — for example, social media, target ads, or physical ads. Then, you specify the amount of money you plan to spend on marketing activities, and finally, the KPIs you’re going to use to evaluate efficiency.

Describe your financial strategy

We’ve reached the core of any mobile app business plan. A startup needs a financial strategy much like a ship needs an engine or a mast, and this section is where all the crucial number crunching is happening — akin to an engine room. Let’s look at what you need to include in this part of the plan:

• A revenue model, also known as a monetization strategy
• A monthly sales and revenue forecast for the first 12 months and annual projections for the next 3–5 years
• An income statement, which outlines annual net profits or losses
• A cash flow statement, which shows how much money the company operates with in total
• A balance sheet, which lists assets, liabilities, and equity in your company
• Funds needed (how much money you need to gain in investments)
• Use of funds (how exactly you’re going to use gained investments)

Exit strategy

You need an exit strategy if you plan to sell your company some time in the future. Having this subsection is crucial if you want to draw the attention of venture capitalists and angel investors. The most common exit strategies are acquisition, initial public offering (IPO), and management buyout.

Make sure you understand all these terms correctly and can confidently use them when pitching — investors are more likely to trust an entrepreneur who knows their numbers .

A typical balance sheet lists a hefty number of assets, liabilities, and stockholders’ equity. Complicated, but important!

Compile an appendix

This isn’t a mandatory section — you can omit it altogether, if you want. However, it might be a good place for charts, tables, legal notes, licenses, permits, detailed studies, illustrations of your product, and all other miscellaneous pieces of information that can seem a little out of place if you include them in any of the primary sections of your mobile app business plan.

How to fund your app startup

We’ve compared the main sources of funding in the table below.

And now a bit more about every source of funding.

Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping is just a fancy word for using your own money. Unsurprisingly, this is the best way to fund a startup: there are no loans, no interest rates, no bonds, and no contractual obligations. If the idea fails, you’ve got no one to answer to (well, apart from your wallet) — and if it takes off, you get to keep more of the returns. 

Personal networks

The second most desirable source of funding. A personal network is your friends and family — or, in other words, people you have a close emotional connection with. Persuading them to fund your mobile app development project will be much easier than pitching the idea to complete strangers. And in case the startup fails, they will likely give you enough time to recuperate and pay them back. 

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding means turning directly to end-users to get funding for the project, usually via the Internet. This method is very popular among smaller, niche-specific enterprises, but it doesn’t mean that large-scale ventures have nothing to gain from it — some businesses (including app development companies) manage to raise millions of dollars on Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms. Pros: you get to build a customer base super early. Cons: failure to deliver the promised product usually leads to court, unless you have exceptionally good PR.   

Angel investors

Angel investors are wealthy individuals who use their own money to support business ideas they find promising. They usually invest in budding projects in the seed stage, when the risks are at their all-time high — hence the name. But here’s the catch: in return, they get a share in the business, or at least a convertible bond. This means that if the idea takes off, they’ll gain a certain level of control over your company and become entitled to a share of your income. 

Startup contests at IT events

The tech industry is packed with conferences that can define the future of your app startup. Many of these events host startup contests with formidable prize funds reaching millions of dollars. Winning a contest like this is a quick way to get a solid influx of money early on — but, of course, there are no guarantees, and the competition is fierce.

Bank loans are your last resort. We recommend using this option only if every other one has failed. Why? Tons of paperwork, strict deadlines, and unfavorable interest rates make it poorly suited for fledgling startups — and don’t forget that failure to return the money on time may lead to severe consequences. It’s much safer to take a loan once you have an established company, but definitely not when you’re just starting out.

Monetization strategies

Deciding how your product is going to make money is one of the most important steps to take when developing a mobile app . There are multiple monetization strategies available, each of them suitable for specific types of businesses. Let’s look at some of the most popular ones.

One-time purchase

This strategy is based on the “pay once, use forever” principle. With this business model , you make your app available only after the customer purchases it, either before or after the download. This model can generate substantial revenue, but only if you offer unique features that are highly valuable to the user — otherwise they will most probably turn to free alternatives. Very common among productivity apps and games.

In-app purchases

The app and its basic functionality are free to use, but users can pay to access more advanced features or nice-to-have bonuses. The most famous examples of this model are probably games like Clash of Clans or Fortnite — you can play all you want for free, but if you want to progress faster or get in-game benefits , you can buy skins and in-game currency. Very lucrative if applied properly, but is mainly limited to the entertainment segment.

Subscriptions

Users can download the app for free, but to enjoy the full range of its features they’ll have to buy a subscription. Usually, this business model includes multiple options : for example, you can subscribe for a month, 6 months, or a year. To increase conversion, developers often offer trial periods that allow customers to fully experience all the advantages of the product before choosing to commit.

This strategy is also known as the freemium business model

Talentum , an app we developed a couple years ago, used a subscription-based revenue model. Users could order food from their favorite chefs without any paywalls, but there was always an option to upgrade their accounts and unlock the full range of features.

Talentum, the app that connects customers with top-notch freelance chefs

A fitness app we developed uses a similar system, but on the vendor side: coaches can buy higher-level subscriptions to take on more customers.

The subscription model is also used in dating applications such as Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge. Users that subscribe receive profile boosts, unlimited likes, advanced filters, and other benefits. Check out our article if you want to know more about dating app monetization strategies .

The most popular business model , which is also easy to combine with others. In this model, you use the app to run ads to generate revenue. There are several formats you can choose from, with some of them being more intrusive (like interstitial ads), and some less (like native or banner ads).

Many developers use this strategy together with a subscription-based model: the free version of the app is monetized using ads, while buying a subscription removes this annoyance and grants other benefits.

Keep in mind that the more intrusive the ad, the less users are going to like it

Commissions

Very handy for marketplaces of all sorts: if a vendor uses your app to sell their goods, you charge a commission for every sale they make at a fixed percentage. Alternatively, you can opt for charging fixed flat fees, but the first option is more widespread. The more vendors you attract to the platform, the heftier your revenue will be.

What is a business plan for a mobile app?

A mobile app business plan is a set of guidelines used to devise comprehensive app development strategies and manage the budget in a responsible and effective way.

How long does it take to create a business plan for an app?

Creating a mobile app business plan may take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month.

Is it possible to create an application without a business plan?

Yes, it’s entirely possible, but in this case you’ll need a reliable partner to help with refining the concept and turning it into a cool product on the go. If you have an idea for a mobile app, reach out to us — we’ll help bring it to life with low development costs.

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How to write a business plan for your mobile app development project.

Starting a mobile app development project is a great idea because it allows businesses to reach a larger audience with their product or service, and it gives users the convenience of being able to access the app from anywhere on their mobile devices.

But, first thing first, you need to write a business plan.

A business plan is essential for any project, especially for mobile app development. It outlines the goals, objectives and strategies needed to successfully launch the app. It also helps to identify potential risks and provides a roadmap for the project's success.

In short, a good business plan will help ensure the profitability of your mobile app development project .

What are the essential parts of a business plan for a mobile app development project? What is the recommended format? Which important financial measures should be there? What's the best way to create a business plan quickly and effectively?

Please, find comprehensive answers to all these questions below.

Also, please note that starting your business plan from scratch is not mandatory.

You can download our editable business plan for a mobile app development project and adapt it to your project.

How to prepare a business plan for a mobile app development project

Is it worthwhile to invest time in a business plan for your mobile app development project.

Yes, you should invest time in a business plan for your mobile app development project to ensure the success of your project.

Formulating a comprehensive business plan will allow to:

• get familiar with the mobile app development market
• stay on top of the industry's emerging trends
• identify what makes a mobile app development project solid and successful
• understand the target audience's requirements and preferences for mobile applications
• come up with a unique value proposition for your app
• analyze competitor target markets
• identify solid competitive advantages for your mobile app development project
• find a business model that will generate positive cash flows
• implement a well-structured and calculated action plan
• evaluate risks associated with a mobile app development project, including technical challenges, user privacy, and market competition

Our team has created a business plan for a mobile app development project that is designed to make it easier for you to achieve all the elements listed.

How to outline a business plan for a mobile app development project?

A business plan is filled with facts, figures, and indicators. It must be presented in a structured format, to make easy to read and digest.

When we built our business plan for a mobile app , we took care to arrange it appropriately.

The content is arranged in 5 sections (Opportunity, Project, Market Research, Strategy and Finances).

1. Market Opportunity

The introductory section has been named "Market Opportunity".

This section presents a comprehensive report on the mobile app development project, including key data and metrics to guide your decision-making.

We continuously update all the data there.

2. Project Presentation

The second part is dedicated to the "Project" of your mobile app development project. Here, you can outline the purpose and functionality of your app, target user demographics, user interface and experience design, development timeline, app store submission plans, and the unique value proposition that solves a specific problem or provides a unique solution for users.

Remember to introduce yourself at the end of this section.

Discuss your expertise in mobile app development, your range of services, and how you plan to provide innovative and user-friendly app solutions to clients. Highlight your track record of successful projects, your skilled team of developers, and your dedication to delivering seamless and engaging mobile experiences that meet the needs and expectations of users through your mobile app development project.

You'll find wording already provided in our business plan. Tailor it to fit your concept exactly.

3. Market Research

Next up is the "Market Research" section.

In this section, you will find a detailed market segmentation analysis for your mobile app development project.

It includes a presentation of other mobile app development companies in the industry that will be competing with you. Your project's unique app features and competitive advantages are also highlighted. A customized SWOT analysis is included.

4. Strategy

In the "Strategy" section, you will find a detailed growth plan for your mobile app development project, outlining all the necessary steps and initiatives to ensure its high profitability.

Furthermore, there is a marketing strategy, a risk management strategy, and a Business Model Canvas that has been filled in, all included in this section.

5. Finances

Ultimately, the "Finances" section provides a comprehensive view of the financial aspects and metrics of your project.

How to write an Executive Summary for a mobile app development project?

The Executive Summary is like an introduction to the business plan for your mobile app development project.

Keep it brief, not exceeding 2 pages. Stick to the crucial points.

When you show your business plan to an investor, this is what they will read first. It needs to get their attention and make them want to read the rest of the plan.

In the Executive Summary of your mobile app development project, answer these questions: what is your mobile app development project about? who is your target audience? are there any similar projects in the market? what makes your project unique? how much funding do you require?

How to do the market analysis for a mobile app development project?

The market study of your mobile app development project helps you understand external factors such as customer demands for mobile applications, competition within the app development industry, and emerging trends in mobile technology.

By conducting an extensive market study, a mobile app development project can understand user needs, offer innovative and user-friendly mobile app solutions, optimize pricing strategies, and execute targeted marketing campaigns, ultimately leading to increased user adoption, app downloads, and a prominent position in the mobile app industry.

This is what we've outlined in the "Market Research" section of our business plan for a mobile app :

• interesting data points and market insights about mobile app development, including app usage trends, app market revenue, and the growth of app-based services
• a list of potential customer segments for a mobile app development project
• the competitive research
• the competitive advantages for a mobile app development project

The key points of the business plan for a mobile app development project

What's the business model of a mobile app development project, business model of a mobile app development project.

A mobile app development project's business model revolves around creating and monetizing mobile applications for specific platforms such as iOS or Android. Revenue can be generated through app purchases, in-app advertising, in-app purchases, or subscription models.

The business model focuses on identifying market needs or gaps, designing user-friendly and engaging apps, developing robust and scalable code, testing and optimizing app performance, and implementing effective monetization strategies.

Success depends on market research, delivering high-quality user experiences, effective app marketing, regular updates and improvements, and staying responsive to user feedback and evolving industry trends.

Business model ≠ Business plan

Please don't mix up the terms "business plan" and "business model."

A business model outlines the way a company creates value, generates revenue, and operates.

In a business plan, you demonstrate your business model using a structure called the Business Model Canvas.

Rest assured, we provide a Business Model Canvas in our business plan for a mobile app .

How do you identify the market segments of a mobile app development project?

Market segmentation for your mobile app development project involves dividing your potential clients into different groups based on their app development needs, industries, and target audience.

These categories may include factors such as iOS app development, Android app development, gaming apps, or clients from specific industries (e.g., healthcare, finance, education).

By segmenting your market, you can offer specialized app development services and solutions that cater to each segment's specific requirements. For example, you might provide iOS app development services and design user-friendly and intuitive interfaces for Apple device users, offer Android app development services and optimize apps for a wide range of Android devices and versions, specialize in gaming app development and create immersive and engaging gaming experiences, or develop industry-specific apps tailored to the needs of clients in sectors such as healthcare, finance, or education.

Market segmentation allows you to effectively target your marketing efforts, showcase your app development expertise, and deliver high-quality and customized mobile app solutions that meet the unique needs of each client segment.

In the business plan for a mobile app , you will get a detailed market segmentation, helping you understand your target audiences and their needs.

How to conduct a competitor analysis for a mobile app development project?

Without surprise, you won't be the only mobile app development project in the market. There will be other developers working on innovative and user-friendly mobile applications.

Your business plan should encompass an extensive market study that examines your competitors' characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.

Address their weaknesses (such as inefficient app development processes, lack of user testing, or poor app performance).

Why should you focus on these elements? Well, these weaknesses can hinder the success of mobile app development projects. By addressing these aspects, you can offer innovative and user-friendly app designs, provide efficient and reliable app development and testing processes, and deliver excellent customer support, positioning your mobile app development project as a trusted and preferred choice for businesses and individuals seeking high-quality and functional mobile applications.

It's what we call competitive advantages—building them is key to standing out in the market.

Here are some examples of competitive advantages for an app: user-friendly interface, innovative features, regular updates and improvements.

How to draft a SWOT analysis for an app?

A SWOT analysis can help identify potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that can inform the development of a successful mobile app.

As you can guess, there is indeed a completed and editable SWOT matrix in our business plan for a mobile app

The strengths for a mobile app development project

When we talk about the "S" in SWOT, we mean Strengths, which are the project's positive attributes or advantages.

For a mobile app development project, possible strengths could include a user-friendly interface, comprehensive testing, scalability, and a secure back-end system.

The weaknesses for a mobile app development project

The "W" stands for Weaknesses, referring to the areas or aspects of the project that need to be addressed.

In the case of a mobile app development project, potential weaknesses could include an inexperienced development team, lack of proper project management, and poor quality assurance processes.

The opportunities for a mobile app development project

O represents Opportunities in SWOT, referring to the external factors or conditions that can create opportunities for the project's advancement.

In the case of a mobile app development project, potential opportunities include creating a social media app, a productivity app, a gaming app, and a shopping app.

The threats for a mobile app development project

When we mention the "T" in SWOT, we're referring to Threats, which are the external risks or negative factors that can impact the project's performance.

How to craft a marketing strategy for an app?

A marketing strategy plays a pivotal role in a business plan as it defines how a business will entice customers and generate sales.

An app can attract users by implementing a well-crafted marketing strategy that showcases its unique features, user-friendly interface, and how it solves a specific problem or meets a particular need.

Users won't choose your app without effective marketing; highlighting its features, usability, and benefits is necessary.

Have you explored marketing approaches to attract customers to your app? Consider optimizing your app store presence, running targeted advertising campaigns to reach your target audience, and utilizing social media platforms to engage with users and receive feedback.

No worries if you don't know anything about marketing and communication.

How to build a 3-year financial plan for an app?

A solid business plan must include detailed financial information such as projected income, expenses, cash flow, and balance sheets.

When creating your business plan, you must include anticipated revenue figures for your mobile app development project.

To earn the trust and confidence of potential investors, it's crucial to have revenue projections in your business plan that are based on believable and well-founded assumptions.

Our financial plan for a mobile app is straightforward and equipped with automated checks, enabling you to validate and adjust your assumptions easily. This way, we make sure you're building solid financial projections.

It goes without saying that you'll have to develop a provisional budget for your mobile app development project. Pay attention to every expense and don't leave any out (our financial plan includes a complete list for your convenience).

The break-even analysis is central in the financial plan as it will tell you whether your mobile app development project will generate profits or not.

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Home Blog How To Write A Business Plan For an App To Build It Properly

How To Write A Business Plan For an App To Build It Properly

It is worth mentioning that the journey from an innovative idea to a successful app startup requires a well-structured and meticulously crafted business plan. This essential document serves as the North Star, guiding entrepreneurs and developers through the intricate path of app development, market entry, and long-term growth. 

This article delves into the crucial elements of creating a comprehensive business plan for mobile app startups. Each section of the plan is like a building block, laying the foundation for your app’s success and offering a clear roadmap for its journey in the competitive app market.

With each section carefully interwoven, we present a step-by-step guide to building a powerful business plan that captures the attention of investors and partners and instills confidence in your app’s potential for success. Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur with a game-changing idea or an established developer seeking to expand your app portfolio, this comprehensive guide will empower you to create a compelling business plan for your mobile app startup.

Join us as we unveil the secrets to unlock success and transform your app dream into a thriving, innovative reality. So let’s dive in and harness the power of strategic planning to take your mobile app startup to unprecedented heights!

What is A Business Plan for A Mobile App?

A mobile app business plan is a detailed and structured document that outlines the entire strategy and vision for developing, launching, and operating a mobile application. It encompasses essential elements like the app’s concept, target market analysis, marketing strategy, revenue model, financial projections, and risk assessment. 

The plan serves as a roadmap to guide the app’s development process and helps attract investors and stakeholders by showcasing a well-thought-out approach to achieving business goals. It is a crucial tool for startups and entrepreneurs seeking to turn their app ideas into successful, sustainable ventures.

Many people confuse a mobile app business plan with a request for proposal (RFP), but RFP is not a plan. These documents are used in different stages and contexts of the app development process. 

In a nutshell, RFP is a list of questions for software developers. If you want to know how to write a software development RFP , follow the link above. 

Reasons To Create An App Development Business Plan

A well-crafted business plan is essential for the success of your mobile app for several reasons:

Clarity of Vision

Developing a business plan forces you to clearly articulate your app’s vision, mission, and objectives. By defining the purpose and goals of your app, you gain a deeper understanding of what you want to achieve and how to get there.

Market Validation

A business plan requires market research to analyze your target audience, competition, and market trends. This validation process helps determine whether there is a demand for your app and whether it can be successful in the current market.

Strategic Decision-Making

A well-thought-out business plan serves as a strategic roadmap. It outlines the steps and milestones needed to bring your app to market and helps you make informed decisions.

Attracting Investors

Investors and stakeholders expect a detailed app startup business plan before investing their resources. A comprehensive plan showcases your commitment, market knowledge, and potential for a return on investment, increasing the likelihood of securing funding.

Resource Allocation

With a business plan you  can estimate the financial and human resources required for app development, marketing, and ongoing operations. It helps manage your resources effectively and avoid overspending.

Realistic Financial Projections

Financial projections in your business plan provide insights into your app’s revenue potential, expected expenses, and profitability. It allows you to set realistic financial goals and create a sustainable business model.

Risk Identification and Mitigation

Creating a business plan helps identify potential risks and challenges your app might face. By anticipating and addressing these risks, you can develop contingency plans and minimize negative impacts on your app’s success.

An App Business Plan Template: A Detailed Guide To Building Your Software

Now we proceed to the most important part of the article. You should use this template to create your mobile app business plan and avoid unexpected gaps.  

#1 Section. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the first glimpse of your business plan for app development, capturing the essence of your app’s potential. Address these key questions clearly and compellingly:

Problem identification. Pinpoint the specific problem your app aims to solve. Explore the challenges your target audience faces and the inadequacies of existing solutions. Show a deep understanding of users’ needs and why your app is the ideal solution.

Your solution. Introduce your app concept without delving into intricate details. Highlight the core features that will delight users and differentiate your app. Emphasize how your solution addresses the identified problem effectively.

Market impact. Demonstrate why your app will stand out in the market. Support your claims with data, statistics, and projections. Avoid clichés, and instead, showcase the profound impact your app will have on users and the industry.

Goal & vision. Outline your financial objectives and your vision for your app’s future. Present your app’s growth potential by stating the number of users you aim to attract and the projected revenue. Strengthen your vision with measurable metrics and short-term plans.

Crafting a compelling executive summary entices potential investors and stakeholders to delve deeper into your business plan, making them more likely to support your app venture.

#2 Section. Business Description

In this section, craft an alluring overview that sparks interest and draws potential partners closer by presenting the following aspects:

Company basics. Clearly state your company’s legal structure, whether an LLC or another entity. The organizational structure sets the foundation for future processes and operations. Additionally, highlight the location of your company, and if it operates remotely, explain the rationale behind this choice.

A captivating history. Engage your readers with compelling storytelling of your company’s journey. Describe the inception of your business idea and the initial steps taken to establish your venture. Keep it concise yet captivating, leaving the reader eager to know more.

Team introductions. Introduce your team to build a deeper connection with your readers. Showcase the expertise and skills of your company’s specialists, transforming a mundane description into a virtual introductory meeting. Share key details about your managers and engineering team members, including names, positions, and relevant experiences. Adding personal information like hobbies creates a more relatable connection with the reader.

Advisory team expertise. Highlight the value of your advisory team in guiding crucial decision-making processes. Emphasize the significance of their involvement in your company’s success and how their expertise can impact the local market. By mentioning their names and credentials, you convey a sense of credibility and competence, further intriguing potential partners.

By crafting your business description artfully, you build a strong rapport with potential partners, igniting their interest and curiosity in your app startup.

Take advantage of the opportunity to captivate investors and partners with a compelling business plan. Begin your app journey today with our step-by-step guide! Contact Binerals for more assistance.

#3 section. market analysis.

A comprehensive market analysis is essential for launching a successful app startup. By delving into the industry’s past and present, you gain valuable insights to shape its future. This stage transforms hypotheses into tangible statistical data, providing a strong foundation for your app’s growth.

• Market size. Understanding the market’s size involves analyzing three critical factors:
• Total Available Market (TAM): Assess the overall market demand for your app’s solution. Determine the potential scale of users who could benefit from your app.
• Serviceable Available Market (SAM): Identify the specific segment of users within the TAM that you can realistically reach and engage.
• Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM): This refers to the portion of SAM that represents your initial target users, those most likely to adopt your app.
• Market dynamics. To make informed decisions, compare and analyze the market’s evolution over the past five years. Examine shifts in size, demand, and trends. Learn from successful influencers who have entered the market and the lessons from those who have failed. 
• By studying industry expenditure, you gain clarity on your app’s potential revenue.
• Customer persona. To develop an exceptional app, viewing it through your customers’ eyes is crucial. Understanding your target audience and creating a detailed customer persona is vital. It involves crafting a portrait of the ideal app user, encompassing gender, name, occupation, education, hobbies, and daily challenges. Knowing your users allows you to tailor your app to meet their needs effectively.

With a well-executed market analysis, your app startup gains a strategic advantage. It clearly explains your app’s potential impact, target users, and the path to success in a dynamic and competitive market landscape.

#4 Section. Marketing Strategy

A robust business plan for app startup must outline a well-crafted marketing strategy that ensures your app effectively reaches potential users’ smartphones. Follow our step-by-step guide to build a successful marketing approach:

Identify customer acquisition channels. Examine various channels through which you can acquire customers. While social media marketing is potent, delve deeper into your research to gauge the potential reach on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Provide the readers with insights on which channels hold the most promise for profitability.

An app landing page is another powerful tool to engage your target audience. Showcase an engaging mockup and elaborate on the number of potential customers your landing page can attract.

Decide on metrics. In the early stages, measure your success through installations and conversion rates rather than financial revenue. Determine which metrics will be most valuable for evaluating your project’s progress and success.

Explore referral programs. Leverage referral programs as a growth catalyst. Identify potential companies for collaboration and explain to the app business plan readers why such partnerships are expected to yield fruitful results.

Optimize for SEO. Enhance your website and mobile application to improve search engine optimization (SEO). This optimization ensures visibility and discoverability, driving organic traffic and increasing user acquisition potential.

A well-executed marketing strategy in your app business plan demonstrates your readiness to attract users, increase app installations, and ensure your app gains traction in the competitive app market. It acts as a roadmap for effective user acquisition, enabling your app to thrive in the digital landscape.

SWOT analysis. It stands for S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats. App startups gain valuable insights into their business situation by conducting a comprehensive SWOT analysis. It is a powerful tool to make informed decisions, mitigate risks, capitalize on strengths, and successfully navigate the ever-changing app market landscape. 

Embracing weaknesses as opportunities for improvement allows app startups to enhance their competitiveness and work towards building a resilient and thriving app business.

#5 Section. Define Your Competitors

In the vast world of app startups, having competitors is inevitable. Learning from them can be a catalyst for your app’s success. While striving to offer unique functionalities and cater to users’ needs exceptionally, acknowledge that similar solutions may already exist.

Understanding your competitors is vital. Conduct market research to identify potential rivals, study their track record, and assess their capabilities. By understanding their weaknesses, you can strategize to transform those areas into your strengths, giving your app a competitive edge. 

By embracing the power of knowledge and learning from your competitors, you position your app startup for success. Emulate their strengths while devising innovative approaches to address their shortcomings. Such a proactive approach strengthens your app’s market position and sets the stage for meaningful growth and success in the competitive app landscape.

#6 Section: Choose a Monetization Strategy

As we approach the culmination of your tech startup business plan, financial considerations take center stage. While running a non-profit project is commendable, mobile apps hold immense revenue potential, demanding focused attention on the monetization strategy.

To turn your app’s efforts into financial profit, consider the following strategies:

Use advertising. Implementing advertisements within your app is a quick and straightforward way to monetize it. However, you need many active users to reap substantial rewards. Advertisers will be more willing to invest in ad placements as your user base grows, boosting your revenue.

Charge a fee for installation. In a market flooded with free apps, standing out as a paid app requires demonstrating unique features and value. Communicate the app’s distinct advantages to convince users to pay for installation. Emphasize the value they will receive and how it sets your app apart from free alternatives.

Add a paid account option. Offering a free trial period allows users to experience your app’s capabilities before upgrading to a paid account. Showcase the app’s performance and powerful functionality during the trial phase to entice users to opt for a paid subscription. Delivering a seamless and valuable user experience increases the likelihood of successful conversions.

Selecting the most suitable monetization strategy is crucial before you begin drafting your sample business plan. Investors and partners seek a well-defined and clear monetization approach. Be prepared to articulate your expected financial profit from the app, as this clarity demonstrates your commitment to financial sustainability and makes your app startup more appealing to potential backers.

With a well-chosen monetization strategy, your app can unlock its full revenue potential and pave the way for financial success in the dynamic and lucrative mobile app market.

#7 Section. Startup Costs & Funding 

Understanding the critical role of finances in app startups is essential, as financial issues are a key reason for startup failures. With your first technology startup business plan example taking shape, recognize the significance of startup costs and funding for your business.

Why is the financial component of planning so crucial?

Understanding funding needs. Assessing the type and amount of funding required to bring your app to life is vital. Clearly outline the financial resources needed for app development, marketing, operational expenses, and other essential aspects. This outlining  enables potential partners and investors to grasp the financial commitment required to propel your app startup forward.

• Transparency for partners. Transparency regarding financial needs is critical for gaining the support of potential partners. Clearly articulate the required funding and demonstrate how it aligns with your app’s development and growth plans. Open communication about your financial needs builds trust and credibility with stakeholders.

Your startup financial model should encompass a forecast for the next 3-5 years. Include the following data in your plan:

• Talk about required funding. Provide a comprehensive estimation of the financing needed for various aspects of your app startup. Additionally, anticipate potential challenges and develop a contingency financial plan as a safety net.
• Specify payment frequency . Different costs have varying payment frequencies. Some may be one-time expenses, while others, such as salaries and maintenance costs, are recurrent. A detailed financial plan helps track expenses accurately and ensures prudent financial management.

By incorporating a well-structured startup cost and funding section in your app business plan, you demonstrate foresight and preparedness for the financial aspects of your app startup. This financial roadmap serves as a guiding force, securing the necessary resources and steering your app toward success in the competitive mobile app industry.

Wrapping Up

Crafting a comprehensive business plan for your mobile app startup is the compass that steers you through the turbulent waters of app entrepreneurship. As we conclude this explanation, we understand that every aspect of the business plan plays a vital role in shaping your app’s destiny.

In conclusion, your mobile app startup’s destiny lies in the blueprint you create. A well-crafted business plan is the culmination of your dreams, expertise, and unwavering determination. Armed with this strategic document, you navigate the challenges of the app landscape with foresight and precision, confident in your app’s potential to transform lives and revolutionize the market. If you correctly build a business plan, app development will be smoother and faster. 

Let your mobile app startup be the beacon of inspiration, driving change and elevating the human experience. As you embark on this path, remember that you can redefine the future of mobile applications, one visionary idea at a time. 

Join the league of successful app entrepreneurs by developing a game-changing business plan. Let's start this challenging task together! Contact Binerals right away.

A business plan provides a clear roadmap for your app startup, outlining your vision, target audience, marketing strategy, and financial projections. It is essential for attracting investors, guiding decision-making, and ensuring the long-term success of your app.

There are various monetisation strategies to consider, such as in-app advertising, charging a fee for installation, offering a paid account option with premium features, or implementing a freemium model. Choosing the right strategy depends on your app’s unique value proposition and target audience.

Yes, a SWOT analysis helps you identify your app’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, enabling you to make informed decisions and develop strategies that leverage your advantages and address potential challenges.

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There are a lot of rapidly growing and promising business niches with a relatively low entry threshold. Online dating is one of them. Despite being highly competitive, it still has room for new projects. Get started with discovering the trends dominating the industry to grab a winning idea for your new online dating app.  Online […]

Mobile App Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Writing a Successful Business Plan For Your Mobile App Business + Template

If you’re looking to start or grow a mobile app business, you need a business plan. Your plan will outline your business goals and strategies, and how you plan on achieving them. It will also detail the amount of funding you need, and if needed, present a case to investors and lenders regarding why they should invest in your business.

In this article, we’ll explain why you should invest the time and energy into creating a mobile app business plan, and provide you with a mobile app business plan template that includes an overview of what should be included in each section. Download the Ultimate Mobile App Business Plan Template here >

Why Write a Business Plan For a Mobile App Business?

There are many reasons to write a business plan for a mobile app company, even if you’re not looking for funding. A business plan can help you see potential pitfalls in your business strategy, as well as identify opportunities you may not have considered. It can also help you track your progress and adjust your plans as needed.

That said, if you are looking for funding, a business plan is essential. Investors and lenders want to see that you have a solid understanding of your industry, your customers, and your competition. They also want to know that you have a realistic view of your financial situation and how much money you’ll need to get started.

How To Write a Business Plan For a Mobile App Business

While every business plan is different, there are 10 essential components that all mobile app business plans should include:

Executive Summary

Company description, industry analysis, customer analysis, competitor analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, management team, financial plan.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to tailor this information to your specific type of mobile app business, but these 10 components should be included in every plan.

The executive summary is the first section of your business plan, but it’s often written last. This is because it provides an overview of the entire document.

In the executive summary, briefly explain what your business does, your business goals, and how you plan on achieving them. You should also include a brief overview of your financial situation, including how much money you’ll need to get started.

For organizational purposes, you could create headings for each main section of your business plan to highlight the key takeaways.

For example, your mobile app executive summary might look something like this:

Company Overview

[Insert Company Introduction / Short Summary]

Business Goals

[Insert Business Goals & How You Plan To Achieve Them]

Industry Overview

[Insert Industry Statistics on the Size of Your Market]

Competition

[Insert Overview of Competitors & Your Competitive Advantage]

[Insert Information About The Marketing Strategies You Will Use To Attract Clients/Customers]

Financial Overview

You can add and/or remove sections as needed, but these are the basics that should be included in every executive summary.

The next section of your mobile app business plan is the company description, where you’ll provide an overview of your business.

Include information about your:

• Company History & Accomplishments To Date

Mission Statement and/or Company Values

With regards to the company overview, here you will document the type of mobile app company you operate. For example, there are several types of mobile app companies such as:

• Developers (those who design and build apps)
• Publishers (those who market and sell apps)
• Enablers (those who develop the technology or platform that powers apps)

For example, a mobile app company description might look something like this:

We are an X type of mobile app company.

Company History

If an existing company: Since launching, our team has served X customers and generated $Y in revenue.

If startup: I conceived [company name] on this date. Since that time, we have developed the company logo, found potential space, etc. 

This is just an example, but your company description should give potential investors a clear idea of who you are, what you do, and why you’re the best at what you do.

The next section of your business plan is the industry analysis. In this section, you’ll need to provide an overview of the industry you’re in, as well as any trends or changes that might impact your business.

Questions you will want to answer include:

• What is the overall size of the mobile app industry?
• How is the industry growing or changing?
• What are the major trends affecting the mobile app industry?
• Who are the major players in the mobile app industry?

For example, your industry analysis might look something like this:

The size of the mobile app industry is expected to reach $XX billion by 20XX.

It is currently growing at an annual rate of XX% and is predicted to continue this growth in the future.

Major trends affecting the industry are:

– The continued growth of global smartphone usage

– The ever-changing landscape of the app store algorithms

– The rise of in-app purchase models

– The popularity of subscription-based models

How We Fit Into The Industry

This is just an example, but your industry analysis should give potential investors a clear idea of the overall industry, and how your company fits into that industry.

The next section of your mobile app business plan is the customer analysis. In this section, you’ll need to provide an overview of who your target customers are and what their needs are.

• Who are your target customers?
• What are their needs?
• How do they interact with your industry?
• How do they make purchasing decisions?

You want a thorough understanding of your target customers to provide them with the best possible products and/or services. Oftentimes, you will want to include the specific demographics of your target market, such as age, gender, income, etc., but you’ll also want to highlight the psychographics, such as their interests, lifestyles, and values.

This information will help you better understand your target market and how to reach them.

For example, your customer analysis might look something like this:

Target Market & Demographics

The demographic (age, gender, location, income, etc.) profile of our target mobile app customer is as follows: 

– Age: 18-24

– Gender: Male

– Location: Urban

– Income: $50,000-$100,000

Psychographics

Our core customer interests are as follows: 

– Technology: Mobile apps, smartphones, new technology adapters

– Music: Listening to music and going to concerts

– Lifestyle: Progressive and open-minded

– Values: Innovation, creativity and self-expression

– Gaming: Mobile and online gaming

In summary, your customer analysis should give potential investors a clear idea of who your target market is and how you reach them.

The next section of your business plan is the competitor analysis. In this section, you’ll need to provide an overview of who your major competitors are and their strengths and weaknesses.

• Who are your major competitors?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• How do they compare to you?

You want to make sure that you have a clear understanding of your competition so that you can position yourself in the market. Creating a SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) for each of your major competitors helps you do this. 

For example, your competitor analysis might look something like this:

Major Competitors

XYZ Company is our major competitor. Its offerings include this, this and this. Its strengths include XYZ, and its weaknesses include XYZ.

Competitive Advantage

Your competitor analysis should give potential lenders and investors a clear idea of who your major competitors are and how you compare to them.

The next section of your business plan is the marketing plan. In this section, you’ll need to provide an overview of your marketing strategy and how you plan on executing it.

Specifically, you will document your “4 Ps” as follows:

• Products/Services : Here is where you’ll document your product/service offerings.
• Price : Detail your pricing strategy here.
• Place : Document where customers will find you and whether you will use distribution channels (e.g., partnerships) to reach them.
• Promotion : Here you will document how you will reach your target customers. For instance, mobile app businesses often reach new customers via promotional tactics including online ads (e.g., Google AdWords), PR, social media marketing, etc.

For example, your marketing plan might look something like this:

Products/Services

We offer the following products/services: 

We will use a premium pricing strategy to establish ourselves as the highest quality brand.

We will serve customers directly and through a partnership with XYZ company.

As you can see, your marketing plan should give potential investors a clear idea of your marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics.

The next section of your business plan is the operations plan. In this section, you’ll need to provide an overview of your company’s day-to-day operations and how they will be structured.

• What are your company’s daily operations?
• How are your company’s operations structured?
• Who is responsible for each task?

Your operations plan should be detailed and concise. You want to make sure that potential investors have a clear understanding of your company’s day-to-day operations and how they are structured.

You will also include information regarding your long-term goals for your operations and how you plan on achieving them.

For example, your operations plan might look something like this:

Daily Operations

Our company’s daily operations include XYZ.

Operational Structure

Our company is structured as follows:

• Department 1
• Department 2
• Department 3

Each department is responsible for XYZ tasks.

Long-Term Goals

Our long-term goals for our operations are to achieve the following over the next five years.

Date 1: Goal 1

Date 2: Goal 2

Date 3: Goal 3

Date 4: Goal 4

Your operations plan should give readers a clear idea of your company’s day-to-day operations, how they are structured, and your long-term goals for the company.

The next section of your business plan is the management team. In this section, you’ll need to provide an overview of your management team and their experience.

• Who is on your management team?
• What are their qualifications?
• What is their experience?

Your management team ideally includes individuals who are experts in their respective fields. You want to make sure that lenders and investors have a clear understanding of your management team’s qualifications and experience, and feel they can execute on your plan.

For example, your management team might look something like this:

Our management team is comprised of the following X individuals with the following experience.

Team Member 1: 

Team member 1’s qualifications and experience include XYZ.

Team Member 2: 

Your management team should give potential lenders and investors a clear idea of who is on your team and how their qualifications and experience will help your company succeed.

The final core section of your business plan is the financial plan. In this section, you’ll need to provide an overview of your company’s financials.

• What are your company’s projected revenues?
• What are your company’s projected expenses?
• What is your company’s projected growth rate?
• How much funding do you need and for what purposes? For example, most startup mobile app businesses need outside funding for things like initial app development costs, marketing, and operations.

Your financial plan should give potential investors a clear understanding of your company’s financials. While you may include a summary of this information in this section, you will include full financial statements in the appendix of your business plan.

For example, your financial plan might look something like this:

Our company’s projected revenues over the next five years are $XYZ.

Expenses & Net Income

Our company’s projected expenses and net income over the next five years are $XYZ.

Uses of Funding

This is just an example, but your financial plan should give potential investors a clear idea of your company’s financial projections.

The final section of your business plan is the appendix. In this section, you’ll need to provide any additional information that was not included in the previous sections.

This may include items such as:

• Full financial statements
• Resumes of key management team members
• Letters of reference
• Articles or press releases
• Marketing materials
• Product information
• Any other relevant information

By including this information in the appendix, you are allowing potential investors and lenders to learn more about your company.

In summary, writing a mobile app business plan is a vital step in the process of starting and/or growing your own business.

A business plan will give you a roadmap to follow. It can also help you attract investors and partners.

By following the tips outlined in this article, you can be sure that your business plan will be effective and help you achieve your goals.  

Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

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

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

Finish your business plan today!

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Start With Your Idea

Craft Your Vision: Jumpstart your business journey with a brief description of your business. Acknowledge your business type and let us seamlessly transform it into a meticulously structured plan.

Series Of Guided Questions

Easily navigate through each section with Plannit's step-by-step guidance. Enter your own detailed solutions or leverage with AI-generated content and receive helpful prompts and ideas along the way. Plannit's AI capabilities provide insightful and precise content for market analysis, financial projections, marketing strategies, sales plan and more.

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Analyze your ventures through extensive business plans aligned with your vision and goals.

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Work alongside your founders as they build their plan to ensure they have a solid roadmap for scalability.

Funding Ready Business Plan

Executive summary, company overview.

Problem Statement

Business Description

Mission Statement

Business Model

Products and Services

Additional Features

Revenue Model

Market Analysis

Target Market

Market Size and Segments

Unique Value Proposition

Risks and Mitigations

Identified Risks

Mitigation Strategies

Financial Overview

Income Statement

Marketing and Sales Plan

Focus On Your Vision

Language support.

Key Features & Benefits

Ai editing companion.

Modify and regenerate sections of your business plan using premade or custom prompts. Our AI will help you refine your plan to perfection.

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Invite team members with easy sharing to collaborate on your business plan in real-time. Communicate and make changes together. Collaborate with your partners in real-time as you perfect your plan.

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Immerse yourself in a rich library of articles, tools, templates, webinars and resources for continuous business and professional growth. Learn all about the key aspects of starting, running and growing a business.

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Our algorithms are powered the latest in AI technology to ensure the most accurate and relevant output. We use OpenAI's GPT 4 and 3.5 engines for the perfect blend of accuracy and speed.

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We recommend a variety of useful tools and resurces that help sustain your growth. We only recommend the best in the business. Filter your needs and equip yourself with the best tools.

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Financial Projections

Take an additional questionnaire about your financial trajectory and get a detailed financial projection + 3 year income statement for your business.

Tools and Templates

Plannit's comprehensive suite that accompany business planning. From pitch decks to financial models, we have you covered.

Plan Export

Download your business plan in an editable .docx format. Fully edit & share your plan with investors, partners, and stakeholders.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Initiate with Your Business Concept: Lay the Groundwork: Start by introducing your business idea into Plannit AI's Business Plan Generator. This first step is crucial, as it sets the tone for a tailored, insightful business plan that truly resonates with your vision. Capture the Essence: Our platform is designed to grasp the nuances of your concept, ensuring that the generated plan accurately reflects the core and potential of your business.
• Navigate Through the AI-Guided Questionnaire: Tailored Interactive Experience: Plannit AI’s AI-guided questionnaire is your interactive guide through the planning process. It meticulously gathers information about your business's objectives, strategies, and market positioning, ensuring a comprehensive and reflective plan. Intelligent Feedback and Suggestions: As you progress through the questionnaire, benefit from smart prompts and suggestions, ensuring that your plan is not just detailed but also strategically sound and aligned with industry standards.
• Generate Your Plan with Advanced AI: Intuitive Plan Creation: With the questionnaire complete, Plannit AI's advanced algorithms intelligently analyze your responses. They then craft a detailed, customizable, and strategically aligned business plan, providing you with a structured, coherent, and actionable format. Benefit from AI-Powered Insights: Plannit AI offers AI-driven insights and suggestions, ensuring your plan is not just a document but a strategic tool equipped with tailored AI prompts and an in-app plan editor. Get inspired by browsing through our sample business plans, a collection of successful strategies across various industries.
• Finalize Your Plan with Confidence: Dynamic Adaptation and Refinement: Plannit AI recognizes that a business plan is a living document. Our platform allows for continuous adaptation and refinement, ensuring your strategy remains agile, relevant, and aligned with your evolving business goals. Professional Presentation and Sharing: Once your plan meets your standards, utilize Plannit AI's export features to present your plan professionally. Choose between various formats for exporting your business plan, ready to impress stakeholders, attract investors, or guide your team. Review and Adapt: Ensure your business plan is a living document, ready to evolve with your growing business. Plannit AI's dynamic platform allows you to adapt your strategy as new opportunities or challenges arise.
• Roadmap for Success: At its core, a business plan acts as a strategic guide, providing detailed steps on how your business will achieve its objectives. It helps you navigate the startup phase, manage growth effectively, and tackle unforeseen challenges with a well-thought-out strategy.
• Securing Funding: For startups and businesses looking to expand, a business plan is crucial for securing loans or attracting investors. It demonstrates to potential financial backers that your business has a clear vision, a solid strategy for profitability, and a plan for delivering returns on their investment.
• Informed Decision-Making: A well-prepared business plan offers valuable insights into your market, competition, and potential challenges. This information is vital for making informed decisions, from day-to-day operations to long-term strategic shifts.
• Market Analysis and Strategy: It allows you to conduct an in-depth analysis of your target market, understand customer needs, and position your product or service effectively. The marketing strategy outlined in your business plan helps in identifying the best channels and tactics to reach your audience and achieve market penetration.
• Financial Planning: One of the most critical components of a business plan is the financial forecast. It outlines your funding requirements, expected revenue, profit margins, and cash flow projections. This section is essential for budgeting, financial management, and ensuring the financial viability of your business.
• Goal Setting and Performance Measurement: A business plan sets clear, measurable goals and objectives. It provides a framework for monitoring performance, measuring success, and making necessary adjustments to stay on track.
• Aspiring Entrepreneurs: If you're at the idea stage, looking to transform your vision into a viable business, Plannit AI offers the tools and guidance to bring your concept to life. Our platform helps you articulate your business idea, define your target market, and develop a solid plan to turn your dream into reality.
• Students and Educators: For students delving into the intricacies of business planning and educators teaching the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, Plannit AI serves as an invaluable resource. It provides a practical, hands-on tool for learning and teaching how to create detailed business plans, analyze markets, and understand financials in a real-world context.
• Startup Founders: In the dynamic startup environment, Plannit AI is the ideal partner for founders looking to pivot quickly, secure funding, or understand their competitive landscape. With our AI-driven insights and market analysis tools, startups can make informed decisions and adapt their strategies to thrive in competitive markets.
• Small Business Owners: For small business owners seeking to optimize their operations, expand their customer base, or explore new markets, Plannit AI offers targeted solutions. Our platform simplifies the planning process, enabling owners to focus on growth while managing the day-to-day challenges of running their business.
• Consultants and Freelancers: Consultants and freelancers specializing in business development, strategic planning, or financial advising will find Plannit AI a powerful addition to their toolkit. It allows them to provide clients with comprehensive, data-driven business plans and strategies, enhancing the value of their services.
• Non-Profit Organizations: Leaders of non-profit organizations can leverage Plannit AI to plan initiatives, secure funding, and manage resources more efficiently. Our platform helps non-profits articulate their mission, set achievable goals, and measure their impact, ensuring they can make a difference in their communities.
• Innovators and Inventors: Individuals looking to commercialize innovative products or technologies can use Plannit AI to navigate the complexities of bringing new ideas to market. From patent strategies to go-to-market plans, our platform covers all bases, ensuring innovators can focus on what they do best.
• Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) and Government Agencies: Government and SBA backed entities can greatly benefit from integrating Plannit AI into their services, enhancing their ability to support a larger number of clients more efficiently. By facilitating quicker, more in-depth business plan development, these organizations can spend more time assisting with plan execution and less time on creation, ultimately serving their communities more effectively.
• Anyone with a Business Idea: Ultimately, Plannit AI is for anyone with a business idea, regardless of industry, experience, or stage of business development. Our mission is to democratize business planning, making it accessible, understandable, and actionable for everyone.
• Interactive Questionnaire and ChatGPT Integration: Plannit AI transforms the business planning process into an engaging conversation. Through our advanced ChatGPT integration, we offer a questionnaire that dynamically adapts to your responses, ensuring your plan is personalized, comprehensive, and aligned with your business goals.
• Dynamic Planning Environment: Unlike static templates provided by many, Plannit AI introduces a living platform that grows with your business. It features real-time updates, strategic insights, and a feedback mechanism that keeps your business plan current and actionable.
• Extensive Educational Resources: Our Education Center is packed with articles, guides, and sample plans to bolster your planning process. It's designed to arm you with the knowledge to navigate the complexities of your industry confidently.
• Enhanced Collaboration and Customization: Recognizing the collaborative essence of business planning, Plannit AI supports team efforts with multi-user editing, annotations, and feedback features, ensuring a comprehensive approach to your strategy.
• Customer Success Stories: Our users' achievements are a testament to Plannit AI's effectiveness. These success stories illustrate how diverse businesses have utilized our platform for strategic planning and growth.
• Tailored Business Plan Creation: Our platform stands out with its tailored approach, featuring customizable templates that directly cater to your business type and industry, making plan creation straightforward and relevant.
• Content Generation:: ChatGPT helps draft various sections of a business plan, from executive summaries to marketing strategies, by providing structured and coherent text based on the prompts given.
• Strategic Insights: It can offer suggestions on business strategies by analyzing trends and providing examples from a wide range of industries.
• Financial Planning: While it can't replace professional financial advice, ChatGPT can guide the structure of financial projections and statements, helping you consider important financial aspects of your plan.

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How To Write a Winning Mobile App Development Business Plan + Template

Creating a business plan is essential for any business, but it can be especially helpful for mobile app development businesses looking to improve their strategy or 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 are going to accomplish it. In order 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 mobile app development business owner should include in their business plan.

Download the Ultimate Mobile App Business Plan Template

What is a Mobile App Development Business Plan?

A mobile app development 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 Mobile App Development Business Plan?

A mobile app development 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 Mobile App Development Business Plan

There are a few key components of a successful mobile app development business plan.

Executive Summary

The executive summary of a mobile app development 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 mobile app development 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 mobile app development 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 mobile app development firm, mention this.

You will also include information about your chosen mobile app development 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 mobile app development 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 mobile app development 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 mobile app development business’ customers may include small businesses that need an app to increase their customer base and reach new markets.

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 mobile app development 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.

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, launch a direct mail campaign. Or you may promote your mobile app development business via word-of-mouth or by exhibiting at trade shows.

Operations Plan

This part of your mobile app development 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?

You also need to include your company’s business policies in the operations plan. 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, in your Operations Plan, you will lay out 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 mobile app development business include reaching $X in sales. Other examples include developing new products or services, launching a new website, hiring new employees, and so on.

Management Team

List your team members here including their names and titles, as well as their expertise and experience relevant to your specific mobile app development 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 ar e 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 Mobile App Development Company

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 Mobile App Development Company

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 Operations
• Cash Flow From Investments
• Cash Flow From Financing

Below is a sample of a projected cash flow statement for a startup mobile app development business.

Sample Cash Flow Statement for a Startup Mobile App Development Company

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.

Writing a good business plan gives you the advantage of being fully prepared to launch and/or grow your mobile app development 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 well-written business plan is essential for any mobile app development company. It can attract investors, provide clarity and direction, and keep you organized and on track as you grow your business.

Finish Your Mobile App Business Plan in 1 Day!

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

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

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• Building A Startup

How To Write The Best Investor-Ready Mobile App Business Plan

When it comes to launching an app startup, having a strong mobile app  business plan  is important. In the beginning, an app startup business plan helps you plot out your ideas and view your business across several perspectives. During the funding stage, having a business plan becomes a key piece in showcasing the details of your app startup to investors. Writing a business plan can seem difficult – there are many factors to consider and it isn’t easy turning it all into one cohesive strategy. A Google search on business plans pulls up a million different opinions, and 5,000 different templates. Selecting which is the “right” template to use can prove to be tricky, and taking the wrong advice can prove harmful to your funding efforts.

Here at ThinkLions, we’ve written hundreds of mobile app business plans and have worked with entrepreneurs across the world to develop strategies that have raised millions of dollars in seed funding. If it’s one thing we know, it’s business plans for apps – and we want to teach you everything there is to know! While it would take us years to write up everything we have learned over our many years of business, in this post, we’ll give you some really awesome tips to help you draft the perfect mobile app business plan.

Do I Need A Mobile App Business Plan?

While opinions vary on whether app startups need business plans, in our experience, it’s  always  useful. In essence, a business plan will effectively present your app idea and tie together multiple operational elements to create the story of how your business will grow from an idea to success. Business plans come in handy across many situations when trying to present your app idea to another person. Here are a few examples of previous clients who were definitely happy that they went through the mobile app business planning process:

• James was a solo entrepreneur when he asked us to write his app idea business plan. When he hired us for business planning services, his goal was to submit his business plan to a local  startup incubator  that would help grow his business. The incubator rejected him because they only accepted teams with two or more founders. James was later introduced to an interested tech-entrepreneur who already had two mobile applications launched in the market. Chris, the entrepreneur, was interested in James’ idea and asked him for his business plan so he could understand it better. Luckily for him, James already had one handy. James never made it to the incubator; instead, Chris partnered with him 50/50 and funded the launch of his app idea!
• An app startup team approached us last year with the idea of launching an app in the financial space. Initially, they wanted a financial app business plan so that they could understand their business and market better. After the plan was completed, they submitted it to gain entry into a Pitch Competition. With some consultation, they landed first place in the competition and earned $10,000 towards developing their app. Furthermore, an investor in the audience was so impressed with their pitch and  pitch deck , that they offered a  seed funding  of $75,000 in exchange for early ownership in the business.
• Kelly had launched a bare-bones app for pet owners, along with 6 of her friends. While they all had invested money, they had no idea what to do going forward. Members of the team were spending money irresponsibly on any trendy marketing technique, and they had no cohesive strategy to move forward. After working with ThinkLions, Kelly was able to clearly identify a niche market and come up with a plan to reach this market with her app. With a plan, the team was quickly able to stay on track and increased registrations to their app by over 100% in less than 60 days. After updating their document with new achievements, Kelly’s team was able to secure a seed funding investment of $25,000 from a local investor.

A business plan ensures that you know specific things about your business, before seeking funds or going into the development stages. Writing the best business plan early on can save you the headache of rushing to write one when an interested investor says, “Sounds good, let me see your plan!”

The Main Components

Sometimes, specific business plan layouts are required when seeking funding from investors, incubators, and banks. Some require different information to be present and may require  different formats . Generally, however, there are several particular sections that will be included in some form, no matter what the layout. Even with our international clients, we have found that these informational categories are still pertinent.

You won’t be hard-pressed to find a business plan template online. Instead of simply giving you the structure of an app startup business plan, I thought it would be more informative to use my experience and summarize the thought process  of each of these sections. Knowing how to approach this information will help you feel more confident when you begin writing out the details for your own business plan.

Executive Summary

Although written last, most plans begin with an executive summary. By most definitions, an executive summary would be a short version of each section of your business plan. I agree… sort of. A great executive summary DOES summarize all the important details of your business into just a couple of pages, but furthermore, it should also be a persuasive and informative  sales pitch . What are you selling, you ask?  You are selling your worthiness for their attention .

Your executive summary should say, “This is a great app business. It’s bound to grow, it’s fun, it’s exciting, and it’s everything that you want to be a part of.” It should do this by the way, without exceeding two pages. The payoff for an executive summary is rarely an investment into your app business, but instead, it is an attention magnet to make readers curious for more.

Put all of your best details into the executive summary. Avoid any fluff. Make sure to highlight the business’ current achievements. Think of the executive summary like the back of a novel. Does it leave you anxious to dive in and read the rest of the book?

Business Description & Information

Use this section to explain your mobile app concept and introduce your business. This section includes information related to corporate values, objectives & goals, product description, and key success factors. The point of this section is not only to describe your business but to explain what your business has accomplished and what they plan to accomplish in the future.

Stick to the facts, but make sure the facts are worthy enough to put on the paper. It’s easy to go on and on about your idea and to explain 20 different functions that your app will have. In an app startup business plan though, stick to the things that make your app different or better suited to the market. Describe the problem that your consumers face and make sure that you implicitly show how your app will solve this problem.

Think of this section as the “What?” Every following section will be “How?”. Tell them what your app idea is in this section, and in the following sections, we’ll tell them how you’ll get that idea to the market, and eventually, to success.

Market, Customer Analysis

This research section is where you provide the background for your story. In this section, the mobile app business plan shifts from what you believe your app business is, to the hard data that proves your business is viable and that there is actually a need and demand for your solution.

Analyze your market through secondary research, industry surveys, market reports, and most importantly, first-hand primary research. Use your research to estimate how large your market is (by revenue or number of consumers, for example), and try to discover how the industry is performing, trending, and transitioning. During this process, we typically take the following steps:

• Customer Profile:  First, we plot out who our target consumers are. We don’t just explain them, we give them a face and a name. We imagine who they are, what their life is like, what they do for a living, how much money they make, and the challenges they face. We also analyze how our solution can be used to help that specific customer – how they would find the app, why they would use it, how they would use it, etc. This allows readers to easily visualize what type of consumer we serve and how the app would fit into their life.
• Research:  Now that we know what customers we serve, we move into the research phase. We take any pre-existing knowledge we have of the market and combine it with industry research to form a profile of the total market. We seek to identify how many people face the problem that we are trying to solve, where they seek information, how they currently solve their issue, and how much money they spend each year. With this information, we perform a TAM-SAM-SOM analysis to help us identify not only how many people are in our market, but how many of them we can realistically reach with the mobile app solution.
• Insights:  Finally, we consider how all this research pertains to our app idea. Is there a real market? Are there enough people in the market, spending enough money? Would people pay to have their challenge solved? The entire point of the research section is to prove that a need exists for your particular app – have you proven it?

Marketing Strategy

At this point in your plan, you’ve detailed your awesome mobile app concept, identified a niche market, and proved a sufficient need within that market. Using this information, you now must decide how you will reach potential users, introduce them to your app, and persuade them to download and use it.

Investors want to know that there is a clarified  growth strategy  in place for getting your app to the market. The better you can explain this plan with clear steps, backed with accurate data, the more likely you are to persuade an investor to help fund the development of your app.

There are many marketing strategies and techniques available from PPC to social media, and beyond. Choosing which one is right for your business can be difficult. Start small,  perform a SWOT analysis , introduce new solutions, and test your ideas. Over time, as you identify techniques that are working on a small level, scale them upwards and eliminate the strategies that aren’t showing potential.

Furthermore, look at your competitors and identify how they are successfully reaching consumers. The more you know about what has and has not worked for your competitors, the easier it will be to avoid the obstacles that they may have faced previously.

Competitive Analysis

If you haven’t heard this before, let me stress a very important point:  No matter how innovative your app is, there ARE competitors.  Maybe no other app offers exactly what you offer, but there is some other app, process, product, or service that consumers are currently using to solve their problem.

Knowing who your competitors are is important, but knowing their position and operation within the market is a vital key to building a successful business. Investors will want to know that you have detailed knowledge of your competitors and that you have identified valid methods to exploit their weaknesses through your product strengths; creating a path to position yourself ahead of them.

Operational Strategy

To be effective, it is vital to consider how your startup company will operate on a day-to-day basis and how you will build and maintain customer relations. This section will contain information related to how customer service will be handled, how quality assurance will be maintained, how your app will be developed, who will manage the business, and more.

In addition, this section will highlight the user process – how the user will behave from the moment they learn about your app until they spend their first dollar. One of the largest components of this section is the personnel plan, which outlines when and how employees will be hired; how their salaries will be expensed; and how their positions will help progress the business.

Management & Advisor Bios

As mentioned previously, investors heavily consider the abilities of the “team” behind the app startups that they fund. In this section of the mobile app business plan, these team members can be showcased, and their skills can be highlighted to prove that the team has what it takes to propel the startup to success. In addition to co-founders and board members, this section will allow you to explain different advisor relationships you have secured; valuable relationships with non-executive members who are successful in related fields who have agreed to consult and advise the founders as they launch and grow their business.

Financial Model

Once all of this information has been compiled (excluding the executive summary), the financial model can be prepared.  App entrepreneurs  often find preparing their financial model to be difficult and beyond their comprehension. However, if you have prepared all of the previous information correctly, you should know exactly what you will need to fund in order to push the plan forward.

With this model, you will be able to forecast revenues, costs, growth, and other important financial factors. The financial model should include a 3-5 year projection of all the essential forecast models, including Profit & Loss, Cash Flow, Balance Sheet, Startup Table, and Valuation.

Winning Business Plans Aren’t Just Words And Numbers

That finishes the easy stuff. Many entrepreneurs mistakenly think that a mobile app startup business plan is just about plopping down some words on a page. They rush off to download a free business plan program, answer a few questions, or fill in a few blanks, and believe that they now have a business plan that will help them reach their goals.

What your business plan says, is important; but how you deliver the message may be the determining factor to whether you win or lose at  securing funding for your app . These three elements are what we refer to as the ‘secret sauce’ of business plans.

• Passion : I must admit, I’ve been suckered into more late-night infomercial products than I care to admit. On another occasion, I allowed this great door-to-door salesman to convince me to buy a huge box of steaks that were tougher than leather and tasted like Alpo Dog Food. Passion and enthusiasm sell… in a business plan too. It’s not just the words on a page, it’s the passion that is felt behind those words. Passion and enthusiasm are contagious traits, and your enthusiasm alone may be enough to make someone else passionate about what you are doing. Don’t write your plan to simply fill in paragraphs in a “template”, make every word count and make every thought express your tremendous passion for your business, brand, and app idea.
• The Story : Innovative apps are cool, but an app startup with a story… well, that’s captivating! What situation happened that led the founders to come up with the app idea? What problem did it solve for them specifically, that they know it will also solve for others? It’s not just about having a story, it’s about having a story that is relatable to the reader (or investor) – one that aligns with their experience or differs you from your competitors. Consider a company that is building a GPS device for dogs, where owners can use their mobile devices to track exactly where their dog is at any moment, in case they get lost. Maybe the founder lost the dog that she had for 10 years and looked at as her own child. Maybe she invented the device and app to ensure that no other pet owner would ever have to go through the heartbreak that she did after never recovering her companion. An investor who has gone through a similar situation would be able to relate instantly and would be more prone to have an interest in the idea than they would if the story was never told.
• Viability:  Is the plan you present truly viable? Could you actually reach the goals that you have set forth? It’s more than just having a “dreamer’s vision” here, it is about truly showcasing that your idea has legs to stand on. The single most important factor for most investors is whether they will make money. They don’t want your dreams, they want evidence, and the more your plan showcases this viability, the more potential you have to strike an investment deal.

Getting Started With Your Strategy

The hardest part of writing a mobile app business plan is writing the first page. Many people quit their business plan before they even get started on it. Writing a business plan for apps isn’t easy; there is a lot that needs to be known about your business, a lot of research that needs to be accomplished, and a lot of specialized knowledge needed to properly transform your thoughts into a successful document.

Check out our infographic below for more tips on creating an awesome mobile app business plan.

If you’re finding it tough to write your own app startup business plan, we have an expert team ready to help you get on track! Check out this app business plan example to see how our business plan writers put these insights into real plans each and every day. 

Do you have any other awesome tips on how to write an app business plan or a phone app business plan example that you’d like to share? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Mobile App Planning

Have a promising idea for an app on your mind? Great! That’s 20% of what you need to do to create a thriving product, already done!

Next comes the harder part of it, where you actually have to turn your idea into something that works.

We are about to dig into a visual strategy that could help you speed up your app development process. Read on to find out how to plan an app using easy-to-use visualization tools.

Goals for the App

Who is your target audience, brainstorm solutions, draw user flows, architecture diagrams, your app vs. your competitor’s app, outline your campaign process, putting it all together, working together, now you know how to plan an app. are you ready to plan yours, define the specifications.

There are a few specifications you need to define before you go ahead and develop your app.

These specifications come under your business plan – which documents what you want to do and how you plan to do it.

Check out how to visually improve your business plan here .

During the mobile app planning process, the goals you set will help you decide which features to add and how you should develop and design your mobile app.

Now, goals you set may vary from what you want your app to do to how you will market it to people. It is important to sit down and define what these are. Ask yourself

• What is the purpose of your app?
• How will it help simplify the lives of its users?
• How will it help solve the problems of its users?
• How do you plan to market it to your target audience?

Answers to these questions will help you outline the goals you need to focus on. And once you agree on them, prioritize your goals so you’d know where to start.

Tip: Usually it’s a good idea to keep your goals to 1-2 at max so that your app is focused and easy to use.

Understanding your target audience is vital to the development of your app.

Among information such as age, gender, career, location and other quantitative data, you should also learn about your user’s requirements, challenges, needs, and responsibilities.

Other qualitative information you should have a record of are the technologies your users use, what platforms (Android/ iOS) they are familiar with, what app functionalities they prefer etc.

For example, using a Venn diagram you can identify what app features you should prioritize given the different types of customers you would attract.

Now that you know who your target audience is and what problems they have, it’s time to figure out how to use your app to solve those problems.

This calls for brainstorming for ideas with your team. To facilitate the session, you could use a visual tool like mind maps .  What’s special about mind maps is that it increases productivity by helping you better structure or organize a free flow of ideas.

A completed mind map drawn around a single topic – in this case, the issue your user is facing – will give you a quick overview of how you should approach the situation and make quick decisions.

Tip: Color code – use different colors to represent each of your main branches – your mind maps to organize ideas better.

To determine which features to add to your app, you need to know how users are going to go through it. Is it a registered user who wants to edit information on her account, or is it a new user who wants to create an account?

All kinds of interactions that a user will have with your app can be visualized through use case diagrams – which are basically used to describe what a system does.

It’s the easiest way to convey to the developer what app features need to be focused on and show to your stakeholders what problems you are trying to solve.

Or you can draw some Flowcharts to explain how a user gets something done via the app. This will really help you zero in on how the app is supposed to work.

Start Sketching Your App

Now that you have identified how different users may interact with your app, it’s time to flesh it out. This means, turning your idea into pictures which will be converted into navigable screens during the final stage.

This is where you get to decide how many screens there will be and how each will look like. And putting them in a logical manner will help you get the idea as to how it will work.

Most apps will have some sort of data they have to capture and use. A great way to visually break it down is to use an  Entity Relationship (ER) Diagram. This will allow you to identify the key things you want to capture and how they are related to each other.

ER Diagrams are a really simple tool to do this even if it may sound daunting to use at first.

Based on your user flows and data needs identified earlier, it’s time to define how the app looks and works .

Wireframes are line sketches of the interface of your app. They show how it should work without really bothering about colors, placement, and other styling details. At this stage, it’s more about the functionality vs. styling.

Tip: Link the wireframes together via button clicks to show the navigation experience within the app.

When describing how your app works to outsiders such as stakeholders, you can use architecture diagrams like block diagrams or network diagram (example below).  They simplify complex processes that a non-tech savvy person might find confusing.

Plan Your Promotional Strategy

How many users you attract to your app depends on how you promote it.

Before you plan your strategy, you need to figure out where you are at compared to your competitors. This means analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your app against that of your competitors, and opportunities and threats that you might have to face in the market.

A simple SWOT analysis will help you get a quick overview of these factors.

SWOT analysis to plan your promotional or marketing campaign step-by-step. Get the input of your marketing team as well.

And if you initially want to brainstorm for new ideas, use a mind map to generate promotional campaign ideas .

As you can see, there are a series of aspects that go into creating an app. A great idea is to link these Flowcharts , Mind maps , ER Diagrams and wireframes together in a sensible fashion. This way anyone can really walk someone through the entire app concept and know exactly how things are going to work.

We guarantee you that this clarity will save you a large chunk of money and time when it comes to actual mobile app development.

Building an app is usually not a single person’s job. You’ll have your developers, potential clients/customers, partners all wanting to have a say in how things should work and be done.

Using real-time collaboration when you are on a conference call or even in the same room to update and modify the diagrams as you make decisions is a great way to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

If you are using Creately , you can also use offline commenting so that you can have pointed discussions on various parts of your mind-map, wireframe or flowchart easily with everyone in your team.

Visualization makes communication easier, whether it is between you and your development team or your stakeholders.

As they simplify complex processes, help organize and communicate ideas, visual tools like these make planning an app -well – a piece of cake!

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

FAQs on Mobile App Planning

Why is mobile app planning important.

• Clarifies the purpose and goals of the app, ensuring it meets user needs and aligns with business objectives.
• Takes a user-centric approach by understanding the target audience, their preferences, and behaviors.
• Efficiently allocates resources, estimating budget, time, and development requirements.
• Mitigates risks by identifying and addressing potential challenges in advance.
• Facilitates a seamless development process with a structured roadmap and improved collaboration.
• Enhances user experience through well-planned UX and UI design.
• Considers scalability and future-proofing to accommodate growth and expansion.
• Optimizes cost and time by defining scope, prioritizing features, and streamlining workflows.
• Aligns the app with business goals, evaluating its impact on revenue, customer engagement, and brand awareness.
• Provides a competitive advantage by conducting market research and developing unique features or value propositions.

What are the common mistakes in mobile app planning?

• Inadequate market research, leading to a lack of understanding of target audience needs and competition.
• Unclear objectives and goals, resulting in a lack of direction and purpose for the app.
• Poor user understanding, neglecting to consider user preferences and pain points.
• Feature overload, including too many features that can lead to a cluttered and confusing user experience.
• Ineffective planning and scope creep, causing delays, increased costs, and compromised user experience.
• Ignoring platform considerations, leading to inconsistent user experiences across different platforms.
• Poor UX/UI design, resulting in confusing navigation and unattractive visuals.
• Insufficient testing and quality assurance, leading to bugs and poor performance.
• Lack of analytics and metrics, missing out on valuable insights for optimization.
• Neglecting post-launch support and updates, hindering user satisfaction and app growth.

Who are involved in mobile app development?

• Product manager: Defines app vision, sets goals, and coordinates development process.
• UI/UX designer: Creates intuitive and visually appealing user interface and experience.
• Mobile app developer: Implements app functionality using programming languages.
• Backend developer: Builds server-side infrastructure, handles data storage and integration.
• QA engineer: Tests app for functionality, usability, and performance.
• Project manager: Manages timelines, resources, and communication.
• Database administrator: Manages databases, ensures data integrity and security.
• DevOps engineer: Handles app deployment and CI/CD processes.
• Security specialist: Ensures app security and data protection.
• Marketing specialist: Develops marketing strategy for app launch and user acquisition.

More Related Articles

Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

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How to Create the Best Business Plan for an App? Guide to a Business Plan App

Summary: The world has witnessed a great upsurge in the mobile app market. As per a report, the global mobile app market size was at USD 206.85 billion in 2022. And it is all set to increase at a CAGR of 13.8% till 2030. We all know that these and many other stats are right and effective.

On what basis are we so confident about? There is a major increase in the internet and the adaptability of online apps. So, now businesses tend to make calculative moves by developing mobile app business plans. Let’s have a look at how to write a good business plan for your mobile app.

Key Takeaway:-

• Such a business plan for the app will help you measure the risk factors beforehand.
• Steps to curate an app business plan are stated below to ensure a proper direction for your mobile app.
• Why should you opt for a mobile app plan? Ensure your futuristic success with a plan on hand prior to the SDLC.
• What good will such a business plan do? You will be able to figure out every necessary point in time & also get a good team to execute the plan.

Introduction

Anything well-planned always gives a better outcome than an unplanned thing.

Imagine the scenario in which you want to go on a trip.

In the first scenario, you have yet to plan the trip. You reach there and have to do a rekey of things. You will have to look for a nearby stay, have food, and have fun. Eventually, it did consume a lot of your time, money, and energy.

A planned trip with all the things right from the hotel to food and fun will help in a hassle-free holiday. Now you have travel apps and agents to go and get every booking document way before your trip.

So, while reading too, the first thought that came to your mind was a planned & well executed trip.

The same goes for apps. Plan it to win the online spectrum at the right time.  

In this competitive online space, who will not want a great curated business plan? Every startup or enterprise has to expand and grow to survive the online world.

Now, let’s directly chase the question.

Why Do You Need a Mobile App Business Plan?

• In general, the revenue in 2023 is over $935 billion. 
• 21% of millennials open an app 50+ times per day. 
• 49% open an app 11+ times each day. 
• A typical mobile user uses 30 apps per month and 10 apps per day.

All these mobile app statistics are alarming. To ace in the digital world, you have to strike hard with a business plan.

There are 100s of apps made on the same concept. Why will a user use your app? How will you lure them to stay for long? What are the other futuristic business ideas? Thus, you need a roadmap to discover your project phases and needs.

How will your mobile app startup succeed? From where will your app get funds? How will you survive in the later SDLC stages? All these things and many more can be noted in a mobile business plan app.

And most importantly, such advance plans always help to get to the user base.

What is the worth of a business plan? Know it from the best tycoon:-

Without a plan, even the most brilliant business can get lost. You need to have goals, create milestones, and have a strategy in place to set yourself up for success. – Yogi Berra .

Perks to Get an App Business Plan

• You need a strong business plan to transform your ideas into actions.
• A plan will always help you to improve. 
• It defines growth points and steps to expand in the future.
• You can raise funds by presenting it to the investors.

Now, without further due, let’s get into some exceptional steps to follow for your PRD.

How to Write a Successful Business Plan for Your Mobile App?

Pave a winning road with a business plan. It does not matter whether you are an SME, enterprise, or startup; every app idea will need a plan to flourish in the unknown online space. 

The key factors that you should know for a business plan are budget and investment returns on a timely basis. Apart from that, you have to provide maximum transparency to achieve each milestone in real-time. 

Let’s have a look at some of the intricate steps to follow when creating an app business plan.

8 Steps to Create a Good App Development Business Plan

#1 Executive Summary

As the name has, it is ‘summary’. We all know it means a precise & concise way to define one’s business; when you approach an investor, they do not have time to read every bit about you.

You need to jot down the essential details of your company and its offerings. 

What should be the overview?

• Make a unique proposal
• Create an excellent UVP
• Specify your goals
• Provide accurate documents

Your business plan must contain the current and expected market situation along with target customers. It should also have the crux of your app, i.e., what problem will it solve? But all the details are to be mentioned in a precise way.

#2 Introduce Your Firm

For a good plan, you need to start with your firm’s details and end with a mobile app idea. You have to show your investors your company’s mission, product vision, and other factors for your startup’s success. 

Describe Your Firm

Write the details of your startup. It should give a reader details like the company name, location, headquarters, team size, hierarchy, etc. The mission statement of your firm should specify its goals. Also, list the main problems and the likely answers your startup may provide.

Always ensure that your business plan is easy to read. And also, one should understand the mission of your firm from the very beginning of your plan.

Company History

Every investor is interested to check a firm’s background. How did your company come into existence? How did you come up with such an idea? What were the stages of your company’s development? How have you decided to launch your product? All these details will help you to win the trust of your fundraisers. 

Your Tech Team

Why will a third party take an interest in your venture? There are two reasons to believe you.

• Your app idea and its growth perspects.
• The team backing your app idea with their tech brains.

Whether you outsource app development or have an in-house team, you need to have a detailed description of the team members. From work expertise to company responsibilities, the business plan should consist of all of it.

#3 Marketing Analysis & Strategies

Details about your app idea’s market are very crucial. You have to keep a watch on the industry and consumer needs. Every factor, along with its impact and solution, has to be given into the plan. A forecast of your ideal situation is a must. Such details help to know your overall market knowledge and the analysis for the future.

What should be your intricate steps?

• Review the current business environment
• Define your research criteria
• Get to know your overall market, SAM, and SOM
• Know your rival
• Analyze your audience

Expert advice: One has to study Google Play Store and Apple App Store. You will easily come to know about who is at the top, who is paid more, and which apps are grossing well. Ensure that you get the nerves of every app in the store right. And prepare for the missing pieces in your app.

#4 Forecast Your Market Possibilities

Why should your mobile app business plan have such a market forecast? How will it help your market credibility? A market forecast always shows your app idea’s efficacy to grow in the later stages. And if you are someone with a startup app idea , then, of course, such a step is a must for you. 

Now, what are some of the reliable points to showcase in your plan?

• Describe the expansion of businesses.
• Include data about the amount of funds received by your firm. And who has invested in it so far?
• Add some forecasts about the behaviour of your target users.

Your goal is to look into a long term situation. Study and analyze deeply whether there is a real market for your product. Is there enough customer base? Will you be able to maintain money & funds in the future? All these factors do matter a lot. 

Being an IT professional in web and mobile app development , we know the importance of market forecasts. With every app idea before making our first move, we ensure to analyze every bit of the market. Thus, it gives our team of experts a proper picture of the current needs. And provides great insight to the project owner about the future.

#5 SWOT Analysis

Now, this is a well-known method to get the right analysis of your business. Every brain understands SWOT.

• Opportunity

Every business has a weakness; you cannot simply deny it. With SWOT, you will get all the loopholes in time. And can work on them to convert them into prospects. Such findings also represent a futuristic expansion for your business.

#6 Create a Marketing Campaign

How will anyone come to know about your app? Via Marketing. Obvious answer! One needs to be careful about how they present themselves to the world.

The market awaits eagerly about new entries. You need to focus and strike at the right time among the right audience. With so much of the online and offline world, you need to be on the right channel to meet your potential client. Let’s have a look at some examples:-

Create a Landing Page

A landing page is a trustworthy face for your brand. You need to showcase features, functionalities, and the motto of your online product on the page. Ensure that you use the logo and the name correctly. Also, to engage more audiences, you can integrate an explanatory video. 

Launch a Website & Blog

Today, the very first thing we all do is to check a brand, product, or service’s online presence. So, as we say, it has become a mandatory move to build a website and start to blog for a better SERP rank. You have to promote your app with keywords and all the other SEO rules to be among the untouched global audiences. 

It is a modern and trusted way of advertising your business.

Social Media Platforms

Of course, this is The Way to be among all kinds of age groups. Market yourself thoroughly on all the popular social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, etc. It helps a lot as these have their in-house plans, which helps a product reach and market itself well in advance.

You have to put aside a budget only for social media. And look into the analytics of your page to improve on every online front. It is very easy to be in the public eye, but to catch their attention for seconds is the game to be aced. 

The Market as per Budget

Marketing is an integral part of creating an app business plan. You have to get an estimate to spend on these strategies. You have to keep a check on your money spent. And the response achieved to be on the right strategy and meet the end goals on time.

#7 Product Growth & Launch

Every app is different and varies in user base, too. So, the growth of every online business differs a lot. An ABC tactic that worked for XYZ product is not necessarily apt for your venture. To expand in the right direction, you need a good sense of the market. And attract apt audiences that tend to make a loyal user base in a short span.

Now, as far as the product launch is concerned, there are two kinds of launches. In every app development business plan, you will have to mention one of these types. 

• Full-fledged deployment: You deploy a full bloomed SDLC. The one with all the features, tech stacks, and other growth criteria.
• MVP model: This is a minimalistic version of your idea. The MVP app development contains much needed features and functionalities. It is the best way to explore and know the possibilities of growth from the user’s perspective. 

#8 Finances

The financial model has a three- to five-year outlook for all the key forecasted indicators, like:-

• Profit and loss
• Balance sheets
• Start tables
• Unit economics calculation
• Revenues and expenses 

These will help you get an actual cost & asset value. In the future, it will help to figure out budget ways. 

Now, the investor might ask you about how you will monetize your app in the later stages. Here is a brief on it before ending the blog.

Monetization Strategy for an App Idea

If you are creating an app business plan, the strategy display is a must. Your firm will make profits in the future, and you are confident of it. 

Here are some of the common money-making tactics for your app business:-

• The charge for the services (You have a premium app model. Ensure that the users pay and use it.)
• In-app purchases are a great model for mobile apps on both iOS and Android.
• Subscriptions (this monetization strategy is very common. And continues to make revenue until the user decides to cancel the subscription. And so most apps offer a free trial period.)

Classic Tip from Our Experts

To flourish in your app business plan, you should take an MVP model with you. With such an app or software development, it becomes easy for the third person to understand your intent and be with you in the discussion.

A business plan with a functioning model is what will definitely make its way through. You can address your audience most effectively with such a profitable move. For more query on the topic, you can consult our experts. Also, get a free quote for your app idea!

On a Concluding Note!

Bring out your unique app business plan. No clone successfully made its way up to an original Uber, Netflix, Amazon, and Flipkart. Get yourself out there with our tech brains. Let’s explore the best for you and your business together. Invade the online space with a great mobile app business plan.

1. What is a business plan for a mobile app?

The app business plan is a document with all the details of the business and step wise representation of a futuristic SDLC. 

2. How does a mobile app business plan look like?

It starts from a brief history of your company to the marketing plan, launch date, investor details, and more. Every minute upgrade which will happen in the future has to be mentioned in the plan. 

3. What is the price to create a business strategy for an app?

It depends on the size of your business and the entire project scope. Our cost to create a business plan starts from $3000.

Mobile App Business Plan

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Bharat Patel

The software development world has been filling the gaps between customer and businesses at a lightning speed. Being an expert for 17+ years in the tech industry, I have been into multiple roles right from management to consulting. My team and I ensure to craft the best large scale apps with intricate designing to meet all the required and complex needs of a business.

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Step-by-step planning process, works for every business in every industry, a polished plan that will make an impact, the dashboard gives you revenue–boosting insights.

Business Planning For Startups & Entrepreneurs

The business plan app that’s helped over 1M+ entrepreneurs

Pitch to Anyone, Anywhere

Start by outlining your ideas & testing your assumptions

Every successful business starts with the right foundation. And with the LivePlan Pitch Builder , you get an easy way to outline the essentials. This includes helping you:

• Figure out who your customers really are
• Clarify what problem your business is solving
• Set smart goals & milestones so you can grow faster

The entire process typically takes just 60 minutes – you can even write it on your smartphone with our app for business planning. And once finished, you'll get a better idea of how to position your business for success.

Get a one–page pitch that's built to impress

Crisp graphics and a slick design help make your one–page pitch stand out. Plus it's easy to show off: share a link to your pitch for quick feedback or export it to PowerPoint for presentation–ready slides.

Write your plan in bite-sized chunks with AI assistance

There’s no escaping it: banks and investors want to see a complete, detailed business plan that includes strong financial forecasts.

LivePlan’s business plan writing app guides you through the entire business-planning process with:

• Simple step-by-step instructions
• Automatically generated content with AI
• Detailed examples for every section of the plan
• 550+ sample plans you can copy and paste from

Create financials without tricky calculations

No spreadsheets. No calculators. No math whatsoever.

Just answer a few questions about your sales and revenue and LivePlan will handle the calculations automatically using built-in formulas. That means you get ultra-accurate cash flow projections with a minimal amount of effort.

Plus the AI LivePlan Assistant gives you suggestions for revenue streams, expense types, and other forecast categories that are specific to your business.

Get a polished, fundable, easy-to-share business plan

Your business plan will be optimized to earn you funding

Our plans are approved by the Small Business Administration, which means they give lenders and investors all the information they need to see.

But it's not just about them. You can also customize your plan to match your business by selecting from 10 different document themes.

Once complete, download your plan as a PDF or Word doc. Or you can print it to get a professional document

Then track your actuals against your plan to grow 30% faster

The LivePlan Dashboard is a dashboard that makes it easy to compare the financial projections in your plan to your actuals. That way, you can make adjustments on–the–fly to optimize your business.

The Dashboard connects to Xero or QuickBooks, so there's no manual data entry.

LivePlan’s business plan app features that help you succeed

Industry benchmarks.

See how your business stacks up against the competition. Compare your profit, productivity and other metrics with industry averages .

Goals & Milestones

Keep your business on track by scheduling milestones for key tasks or projects. It's an easy way to make sure you hit all the most important goals.

Simple Budgeting

Quickly build sales forecasts and budgets without any clunky spreadsheets. It's a simple and visual way to handle your financials.

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Totally risk free. 35-day money-back guarantee., frequently asked questions, how does liveplan ensure the security of my data.

Yes, all your personal and business data are safe with us. All account and plan data are written to multiple disks instantly, saved every few seconds, and stored in multiple locations. Your business plan will remain completely confidential and entirely private unless you choose to share it via exporting or inviting guests to your account.

The plan data is stored securely on our servers and nobody from our company can view your plan unless you choose to allow us access for tech-support purposes. For more information, please read our security and privacy policy page.

Can I use LivePlan on my tablet or phone?

While LivePlan’s business plan app is primarily used on desktops, your business plan can still be accessed via mobile devices.

For the best performance, we recommend connecting your mobile device to WiFi or LTE. As with any web application, LivePlan requires a reliable broadband Internet connection. Spotty or low-speed connections may cause trouble.

Can LivePlan integrate with other business tools and software?

Yes, the LivePlan business plan app is compatible with QuickBooks Online and Xero, allowing you to bring your accounting data directly into your financial forecasts and keep them up-to-date.

You can also import and export your financials and forecasts to Excel as a .CSV file and export your one-page business pitch to PowerPoint to further customize your presentation.

Does LivePlan offer industry-specific business plan templates?

You can access over 550 business plan examples across dozens of industries within LivePlan’s business plan writing app. Use them to inspire your own plan writing and understand what information to include for your specific industry.

How can I customize my business plan using LivePlan?

With LivePlan, you have complete control over the structure of your business plan. Start with our lender-ready business plan outline and add, remove, or edit sections to fit your needs. You can even add charts, tables, and videos directly to your business plan to really make it stand out.

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3 Apps to Help You Write a Business Plan Helpful apps that guide you from brilliant business idea to an actionable plan.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow Feb 4, 2013

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you have a killer idea for a startup, but lack the time, resources and budget to develop a business plan , a business plan-generating app can help you get your plan on paper and, ideally, off the ground.

A number of apps simplify the often tedious, complicated process of crafting a thorough bank- and investor-ready business plan. You provide the information, they organize it into a plan, and hopefully soon you'll be in business.

Here's a look at three apps that can help get your business plan rolling:

1. Enloop. This is an all-in-one web app that walks users through every step of creating a traditional business plan. Here's how it works: Based on the data you enter into the app, Enloop automatically generates sales, profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheet projections for you, complete with explanatory graphs and other compelling visual elements. Enloop also provides standard, yet customizable business plan text for each section of your plan, including portions focused on key company information and financial data.

Enloop's Free & Easy option includes a single custom business plan packaged in a clean, professionally formatted PDF file that you can download, print and share. More fully featured paid versions range from $9.95 a month to $39.95 a month and allow you to make multiple business plans. Enloop is only web-based and not yet available for mobile devices.

Related: Reworking Your Business Plan? Consider These Tips

2. StratPad. Alex Glassey, who designed this iPad-only app , describes it as "a strategic-planning app that helps entrepreneurs with the thinking and decision-making process ." StratPad can be a smart choice for people who are writing their first-ever business plan. It is packed with several free how-to tools for beginners, including a 58-page business strategy tutorial, view-on-demand training videos, email-based customer service, and more.

A free basic StratPad edition is available for students. Paid, one-time fee plans range from $9.99 to $54.99. The more you pay, the more advanced business plan options you get. The easy-to-use app guides users through a series of simple questions and prompts. Your answers are used to develop a summary business plan, complete with revenue projections and full-color graphs and charts.

3. Business Plan Premier. This $7.99 iPad app does double-duty for users who are eager to have their business plan backed fast. Not only does Business Plan Premier help you organize and write your business plan at an extremely detailed level, it also enables you to present your finished plan to more than 3,000 high net worth potential investors, who are also members of investment research firm Ben Stein & Accredited Members Inc .

Business Plan Premier leads you through writing your prospective company's vision and mission statements, product descriptions and marketing plans. You can also use it to complete competitive and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, outline your management scheme, identify your startup expenses, define your target market and more depending on your needs.

Your completed business plan is exported as a Microsoft Word document that you can edit, print, email or upload to Dropbox. Business Plan Lite is the free (but much less functional) version of the app.

Related: Reverse-Engineering Your Business Plan: Success Starts With the End

Senior Writer. Frequently covers cryptocurrency, future tech, social media, startups, gadgets and apps.

Kim Lachance Shandrow is a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com. 

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• Best Business Plan Software

10 Best Business Plan Software In 2024

Updated: May 3, 2024, 5:15pm

Writing a business plan not only helps you stay on track as you start a new business but it can also help you secure funding. You can create one from scratch with a simple template, but business plan software often has features to make it easier, more nuanced and overall better. It could even make the difference between bringing investors on board and going it alone. So, Forbes Advisor found the best business plan software that has the features you need at an affordable price.

• Best Project Management Software
• Best Construction Project Management Software
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• Best Gantt Chart Software
• Best Task Management Software
• Best Kanban Software

The Best Business Plan Software of 2024

Forbes advisor ratings, methodology, how to choose a business plan software, benefits of business plan software, frequently asked questions (faqs), next up in business.

Featured Partners

From $8 monthly per user

Zoom, LinkedIn, Adobe, Salesforce and more

On monday.com's Website

Yes, for one user and two editors

$9 per user per month

Google Drive, Slack, Tableau, Miro, Zapier and more

On Smartsheet's Website

Yes, for unlimited members

$7 per month

Slack, Microsoft Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, Timely, Google Drive and more

On ClickUp's Website

$9.80 per user per month

Salesforce, Adobe, Miro, Netsuite, Quickbooks, SAP

On Wrike's Website

• Wrike: Best overall
• Smartsheet: Best for goal management
• LivePlan: Best for financial forecasting
• Aha!: Best for roadmapping
• Bizplan: Best for beginners
• IdeaBuddy: Best for ideation
• iPlanner: Best for no-frills business planning
• Enloop: Best for automatic business plan creation
• AchieveIt: Best for consultant groups
• Business Sorter: Best for teams

Best Overall

Starting price

Free; $9.80 per user

Team messaging

Roadmapping

Wrike is a project management (PM) tool that works well as business plan software because it gives you tools to help you gather and compare your data. Wrike makes it easy to start your business plan with its collaboration tools, business plan templates , drag-and-drop interface and goal management features. Another benefit of using Wrike to build your plan is that you see your ideas and goals from multiple views: Gantt chart, calendar or board views.

There are a few reasons why it’s a good idea to use Wrike for your business plan. First, you can map out exactly what your business goals are in a project, invite teammates to collaborate and message business partners to discuss everything. Plus, you can export your data when you’re ready to put all the details into a presentation to hand over to potential investors.

Wrike offers a free plan that’s good for putting your vision down in task and project form, but you may want to upgrade to a paid plan to invite collaborators, get custom workflows and add more views and automations. Paid plan pricing ranges from $9.80 per user, per month, to $24.80 per user, per month, both billed annually.

Learn more: Read our full Wrike review .

Who should use it:

Wrike makes it easy for any new business owner to create a business plan and collaborate with others on the financial and operational goals. Plus, it provides value after you finalize your business plan because it’s a good pick for a PM tool.

• Roadmapping ability
• Multiple views (Gantt, calendar and board)
• Business plan templates included
• Goal management via projects and tasks
• Free plan available
• Affordable plans
• No pitching tools
• No financial tools

Best for Goal Management

$7 per user, per month

(billed annually)

(added cost)

Using PM software like Smartsheet is a good idea for starting a business plan because it includes all the tools you need to collaborate and plan across multiple teams or stakeholders. It’s especially good for real-time goal management. Get your ideas in place, go over market and competitive research from other teammates and finalize everything together.

Smartsheet won’t help you write your business plan, but it does give you a place to compile all the data and then you can use one of its free business plan templates. As you figure out your milestones, you can invite an unlimited number of viewers to see how it’s going. The only downsides are that Smartsheet doesn’t have a native messaging app (you’ll have to use an integration), only commenting allowed and there’s no free plan.

Paid plans from Smartsheet cost $7 per user, per month, or $25 per user, per month (billed annually for both). The low-priced Pro plan limits you to 10 editors, but the Business plan allows unlimited editors (but it also has a three-user minimum).

Learn more: Read our full Smartsheet review .

Smartsheet lets you make changes in real time, so it’s a good option for those who are just starting to piece together a plan and looking for a way to manage ideas and goals before finalizing a business plan.

• Discounts for nonprofits available
• Automations on every plan
• Popular integrations allowed on low-tier plan
• 30-day free trial
• No free plan
• Only 10 viewers allowed on low-tier plan
• Three-user minimum on Business plan

Best for Financial Forecasting

$15 per month

One of the strongest cases for using LivePlan to create your business plan is its financial forecasting. It isn’t just a single feature, rather it’s a tool that lets you turn your balance sheet and cash flow statements into charts, graphs and what-if situations to help you show possible investors the best- and worst-case scenarios for your business.

There are two plans available: Standard or Premium (there is no free plan). The low-priced plan, which costs $15 per month (billed annually), doesn’t limit your contributors or guests and includes instructions to help you complete a business plan. It even includes the financial forecasting features and more than 500 sample plans to get you started.

The Premium plan costs $30 per month (billed annually), but it’s full-featured. You get a milestone planner and industry benchmark data, which can save you research time. Another timesaver: At this plan level, you can integrate QuickBooks or Xero to add your financial data seamlessly.

LivePlan is business plan software that includes prompts and accounting software integrations, making it great for new business owners that want easy financial forecasting.

• Unlimited guests and contributors
• Export finished business plan as PowerPoint presentation
• Includes step-by-step instructions with prompts
• 35-day money-back guarantee
• No free trial

Best for Roadmapping

$59 per user, per month

Every business plan starts with strategy and Aha! makes it easier to map out what you plan to do to get from point A to point Z. Aha! is primarily roadmapping software that product teams use to plan features, products or bug fixes. Any business in any industry can use it to shape ideas and strategy into plans and milestones.

Much like product development, business plans have phases and Aha! is ideal for the first few phases of business planning. Although you won’t find a scorecard feature with Aha! Roadmaps, you can score and prioritize your business vision and goals. Finally, you can present your plan to viewers (stakeholders) before you create your official business plan and secure funding.

There are three plans from which you can choose: Premium at $59 per user, per month; Enterprise at $99 per user, per month; and Enterprise+ at $149 per user, per month, all billed annually. The only reasons to upgrade to either Enterprise plan is if you want to add on automation, development tools and custom worksheets and tables.

Aha! Roadmaps is a great tool to help you strategize and get your ideas for your business in one place. You can use the presentation feature to share your business’s roadmap on your way to creating your finalized business plan.

• User-friendly interface
• Ability to score and prioritize ideas
• Share roadmaps with others
• Expensive for business plan creation
• Has a bit of a learning curve

Best for Beginners

$20.75 per month

Bizplan is specifically for business plan creation. It offers a guided walkthrough of each section you need for a complete business plan to use for funding or pitching to partners. Plug in the information, from your mission and goals to financial forecasts, and Bizplan will do the math and create the visual charts you need to get your point across.

Bizplan is very easy to use because it includes prompts and questions that take away the manual effort of figuring out what you need, so you can simply focus on providing the answers. When you’re satisfied you included all the data needed, you can invite stakeholders and consultants to look it over and add comments for approval or change requests. A unique feature of Bizplan is it gives you access to Fundable, a crowdfunding platform, on which you can share your business plan to try to generate funding.

Monthly pricing costs $29, but you can opt for annual pricing that averages to $20.75 per month. If you expect to need business plan software for much longer than a year, there’s a lifetime access option for $349 flat. All plans come with all features and access, including business courses, business planning tools and a route to investors.

If it’s your first time creating a business plan, Bizplan is a great choice to help guide you through all the sections you need to include in your plan for potential investors and partners.

• Monthly, annual and lifetime plans
• Unlimited business plans
• Unlimited collaborators
• Step-by-step instructions
• Modular, drag-and-drop interface
• Online business courses
• Access to Fundable
• Financial forecasting
• No roadmapping tools
• Lack of customization
• Only integrates with Xero

Best for Ideation

Free; $6 per month

IdeaBuddy is a basic business plan tool that lets you start for free, which is great for beginners who aren’t quite ready to create a plan. The idea plan feature is great because it lets you lay out your business plan on one page, giving you an overview. There are built-in sticky notes for brainstorming and custom templates to start you off with a bit of a guide (or just create your own).

Another great feature of IdeaBuddy is the whiteboard, which lets you drag and drop various elements, draw on it and collaborate with others to come up with your perfect business idea. That feature is locked behind the highest tier, so you’ll have to pay $22 per month (billed annually) to use it. However, that plan also gives you up to 10 collaborators and 10 ideas.

Other plans are more limiting: The free plan is for a solopreneur who has a single idea to work on and the Dreamer plan is $6 per month while the Founder plan is $12 per month, both billed annually. The Dreamer plan is also limited to one idea, but you get one collaborator while the Founder plan gives you up to three ideas and three collaborators. Plus, you’ll get access to the paid plans to export and share your plan with viewers.

IdeaBuddy is just what it sounds like: It’s best for ideation. You can create a full-fledged business plan, but this program is best suited for the very beginning stages of business creation.

• Free forever plan
• Affordable paid plans
• Monthly and annual billing options
• Easy to use
• Export to Word, Excel or as PDF
• Flexible whiteboard feature
• May be too basic for some users
• Doesn’t offer much guidance

Best for No-Frills Business Planning

$55 for one year

Business plan software doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective, and iPlanner certainly fits that bill. It’s been around since 2007 and it doesn’t appear to have updated its look or functions. The browser-based business planning software gives you a place to build out your business model and a business plan.

There are two different software options from iPlanner: Strategy Designer and Startup Framework. The Strategy Designer costs $59 for three plans, but it’s a one-time fee for the year. Choose it if you want a more condensed and no-frills kind of business plan. You can export it to Word or as a PDF.

The iPlanner Startup Framework is $55 per year, which gives you one plan to create. It’s similar to the Designer version, but you can create a business model, separate financials and build a team with various roles (view only, project owner or consultant).

iPlanner is best for those who have created a business plan before and don’t need hand-holding or fancy features.

• Business modeling option
• Samples on site for demoing
• Export to Word or as PDF
• No free plan or trial
• Not a lot of guidance
• Outdated interface

Best for Automatic Business Plan Creation

$11 per month

Enloop is a unique business plan app that generates a business plan for you based on information you provide. You can edit the text Enloop writes for you to make it more specific or change numbers in your financial forecasts as you see fit. Enloop offers a scorecard that updates as you change things, finish sections and make your business plan overall better.

Then Enloop compares your financial forecasts to industry standards, so you don’t have to do the research. The software shows you up to 16 ratios, such as sales, inventory and payables and then shows you what the average is for your industry as it compares to your financials. Enloop then gives you either a pass or fail so that you can modify your plan before you put anything into play.

Although Enloop doesn’t offer a free plan, there is a free trial for one week so you can see if it’s right for you. The Detailed plan costs $11 per month while the Performance plan is $24 per month, both billed annually. The biggest difference between the two plans is how many financial ratios Enloop analyzes: The Detailed plan only gets three ratios and Performance plan gets 16.

Enloop is best for those who have some experience creating business plans, not necessarily for those who are starting from scratch as there are no brainstorming or strategizing tools included. Use Enloop to create business plans quickly.

• Three business plans for each tier
• Generates a business plan automatically
• Compares your financials to industry standards
• Seven-day free trial available
• Scorecards indicate odds of success
• No messaging team members through app
• Not meant for strategizing

Best for Consultant Groups

$80 per, user per month

Not everyone wants to go it alone when creating business plans and consultants are often hired for industry expertise and business plan creation. AchieveIt offers generous plans that won’t limit the number of plans and projects you can create, so you can work on multiple business plans at one time.

Specifically, AchieveIt is planning software meant for medium to large teams to work on projects simultaneously. For business planning, it’s a great option for those strategizing and analyzing a variety of data points with multiple people—all of AchieveIt’s plans have a minimum requirement of 20 users.

Plans are pricey, especially when you consider the user minimum. Core, the lowest-priced plan, costs $80 per user, per month, and Plus is $90 per user, per month, both billed annually. So, it’s going to cost $1,600 per month, at least, which puts this software out of reach for most small businesses.

AchieveIt is a good choice for large businesses that need planning software and for business plan purposes, it makes most sense for established consultant groups.

• Unlimited plans and projects
• Collaboration tools
• Goal management
• 20-user minimum
• Pricier than most competitors
• Integrations at added cost

Best for Teams

Business sorter.

$10 per month

When you’re ready to craft your business plan, it can help immensely to have business planning software like Business Sorter. The cloud-based app makes it easy for you to start a plan and kicks off your business planning with a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). Then, you can follow a guide to build your plan with each section divided by areas. After which, you can choose cards to help steer you toward the right objectives and goals for your business.

You won’t find roadmapping tools in Business Sorter, but the card system keeps you on track (and even gives you goals you may not have considered). As you prioritize goals, you’ll find steps you need to take that guide you to completing your business plan. Every plan allows multiple users, so you can collaborate on what takes precedence.

Plans start at $10 per month, billed annually, and allows you to have three users on board. For 10 users, the Medium plan costs $30 per month, billed annually, and if you need 30 users, the Large Team plan will run you $80 per month, billed annually. It’s one of the most affordable business planning apps for teams.

Although Business Sorter doesn’t offer a messaging tool, it’s still one of the best options for teams. You don’t have to pay per person, but you can add multiple people to the account to work on creating business plans.

• Easy-to-use business plan templates
• Free trial available
• Card system helps guide your goal setting
• Create up to 40 business plans
• Plans limit user count
• No messaging in app
• Very limited integrations

Forbes Advisor carefully considered a variety of software to choose the right business planning apps for this ranking. We compared features, ease of use, costs and collaboration. We ranked each company based on these factors using a 5-star rating system. The highest possible score is 5 out of 5 stars.

Here are the details of the factors we considered:

• Features: We looked at general and unique features of each app and gave more credit to software that provides better functionality for business planning.
• Cost: Regardless of your business size, cost is an important factor to consider when you’re adding new software to your tech stack. We awarded a higher score to those that offer free trials, free plans and affordable options.
• Ease of use: Programs that have a steep learning curve aren’t likely to be adopted by you or your team, so we chose software that’s user-friendly. Drag-and-drop interfaces or guidance through features and tools are helpful for any team.
• Customer reviews: An important factor for any software is how the general public views the program. We considered other ratings and studied the pros and cons listed by other users of the software to help us with our ranking.

Technically, you don’t need business plan software, but using it can make the entire experience easier and you’ll have better odds of creating a solid plan. You don’t even have to choose software made specifically for business planning—project management software is great for roadmapping and goal management. Aside from looking for software that includes financial forecasting, you’ll want collaboration tools, a user-friendly interface, affordable plans and ways to brainstorm or roadmap for your business idea.

One of the most important sections of any business plan is the financials. If you haven’t already done the research and calculations, look for a business plan app that automatically calculates these numbers for you.

Collaboration is also key if you’re working with a partner, team or consultants. At the very least, look for software that lets you invite viewers to see the work you’re doing, but the best business plan software lets users leave comments or work on a plan in real time simultaneously.

Ease of use is nearly as important as pricing. You’ll need software you and your team will use without spending too much downtime learning how to use it. It also makes no sense to choose a cost-prohibitive tool for creating a business plan—most of the software Forbes Advisor suggests is appropriate for small business budgets.

Finally, depending on the stage you’re in of business planning, you may want a tool that offers features that make it easy for you to create a roadmap for your business. If you’re in the early stages, these tools can help with brainstorming, prioritizing goals and managing your goals before you finalize your actual business plan.

Most business plan software helps guide you through the creation of a business plan with prompts, suggestions or tips. So, using business plan software is especially helpful for new business owners who don’t know all the sections to include to increase the odds of getting funding or luring a partner to join your operation.

Business plan software can also automate some processes, such as calculations of financials or comparisons of those finances with industry standards. Some business planning apps give you whiteboards or editable cards you can use for brainstorming. Other features may include scorecards to let you know if you’re on the right track or roadmapping tools to give you an overview of your business plan.

The biggest benefit of business plan software is that it helps you organize and prioritize all of your goals so you can more easily analyze and then compile the data you need to create your business plan. After that, you can create your plan from scratch or if you’re using business planning software made specifically for crafting plans, you can piece it all together and then export it as a PDF or to Microsoft Word.

Which business plan software is the best?

Forbes Advisor suggests Wrike, Smartsheet or LivePlan to help you write your business plan. Depending on the stage you’re in of business planning, one tool or another may be better for you.

How do I create my own business plan?

There are several steps you should follow to create a good business plan, but there are different types of plans you can create. Every business plan starts with a strong executive summary and includes your business goals and financial forecasting. Follow a guide on how to create a business plan to ensure you include all the sections needed.

What are the different types of business plans?

There are many types of business plans you can create and the one that makes the most sense for you depends on your situation. A standard business plan is meant for when you need to present to investors or a bank for financial help. A lean plan doesn’t include all the summaries and background information a standard plan does, so it’s more suitable for established business owners. There are also one-page business plans that are more like pitches. You may also run across operational, tactical, strategic and contingency business plans. We created a simple business plan template that you can use to get started when launching a side gig or small business.

Is business plan software secure?

As  with most types of software, the best business plan software programs offer many levels of security. When choosing this type of software, you want to look for security features that include multifactor authentication (MFA), intrusion detection, the monitoring of user activities, documentation that shows frequent security updates and patches, data encryption and privacy protection.

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Amy Nichol Smith spent more than 20 years working as a journalist for TV and newspapers before transitioning to software and hardware product reviews for consumers and small businesses. She has been featured in publications such as L.A. Times, Tom's Guide, Investopedia and various newspapers across the U.S.

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What We Know About Kamala Harris’s $5 Trillion Tax Plan So Far

The vice president supports the tax increases proposed by the Biden White House, according to her campaign.

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Reporting from Washington

In a campaign otherwise light on policy specifics, Vice President Kamala Harris this week quietly rolled out her most detailed, far-ranging proposal yet: nearly $5 trillion in tax increases over a decade.

That’s how much more revenue the federal government would raise if it adopted a number of tax increases that President Biden proposed in the spring . Ms. Harris’s campaign said this week that she supported those tax hikes, which were thoroughly laid out in the most recent federal budget plan prepared by the Biden administration.

No one making less than $400,000 a year would see their taxes go up under the plan. Instead, Ms. Harris is seeking to significantly raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and large corporations. Congress has previously rejected many of these tax ideas, even when Democrats controlled both chambers.

While tax policy is right now a subplot in a turbulent presidential campaign, it will be a primary policy issue in Washington next year. The next president will have to work with Congress to address the tax cuts Donald J. Trump signed into law in 2017. Many of those tax cuts expire after 2025, meaning millions of Americans will see their taxes go up if lawmakers don’t reach a deal next year.

Here’s an overview of what we now know — and still don’t know — about the Democratic nominee’s views on taxes.

Higher taxes on corporations

The most recent White House budget includes several proposals that would raise taxes on large corporations . Chief among them is raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent, a step that the Treasury Department estimated could bring in $1.3 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years.

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Uber and cruise to deploy autonomous vehicles on the uber platform.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) and Cruise, two companies revolutionizing transportation, today announced a multiyear strategic partnership to bring Cruise autonomous vehicles to the Uber platform.

Uber and Cruise to deploy autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform (Graphic: Business Wire)

The companies plan to launch the partnership next year with a dedicated number of Chevy Bolt-based autonomous vehicles. Once launched, when an Uber rider requests a qualifying ride on the Uber app, they may be presented with the option to have that trip fulfilled by a Cruise autonomous vehicle.

“Cruise is on a mission to leverage driverless technology to create safer streets and redefine urban life," said Marc Whitten, CEO of Cruise. "We are excited to partner with Uber to bring the benefits of safe, reliable, autonomous driving to even more people, unlocking a new era of urban mobility."

“As the largest mobility and delivery platform, we believe Uber can play an important role in helping to safely and reliably introduce autonomous technology to consumers and cities around the world,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO. “We’re thrilled to partner with Cruise and look forward to launching next year.”

For more information on Uber, visit uber.com/newsroom , and for more information on Cruise, please visit getcruise.com .

Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 52 billion trips later, we’re building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.

About Cruise

In service of its vision for safer roadways, Cruise’s aspiration is to build the world’s most advanced self-driving vehicles to safely connect people with the places, things, and experiences they care about.

As of June 2024, Cruise has resumed supervised autonomous driving in Phoenix, AZ, Houston and Dallas, TX, in addition to its ongoing testing in Dubai. Majority owned by General Motors since 2016, Cruise combines a culture of innovative technology and safety with a history of manufacturing and automotive excellence. Cruise has received funding from other leading companies and investors—including Honda, Microsoft, T. Rowe Price, and Walmart.

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Email Alert Sign Up Confirmation Global citizenship US political engagement U.S. Political Activities 2021 U.S. Political Activities 2022 U.S. Political Activities H1 2023 Uber vs. driving jobs Uber for Business Uber Freight Uber Health Advanced Technologies Group Accessibility Facebook (Opens in new window) Twitter (Opens in new window) Youtube (Opens in new window) Linkedin (Opens in new window) Instagram (Opens in new window) 301 IMAGES How to Write Business Plan for Mobile App Idea? How to Create a Business Plan for Your Mobile App Mobile App Business Plan: How to Write the Perfect One How to Write a Business Plan for a Mobile App Startup? Mobile App Concept Business Plan Template How to Write a Mobile App Business Plan for Startup? COMMENTS Mobile App Business Plan Template & Example Sample Business Plan for a Mobile App Development Company. Below are links to an example of each of the key elements of a mobile app business plan template: Executive Summary - In the Executive Summary, you will provide a general overview of your comprehensive business plan including your target market, business model, and how you plan to ... How to Write a Business Plan for a Mobile App Startup? Make your document convincing. To do this, keep your product's concept and goals consistent throughout the paper. Give your reader accurate data and realistic project expectations. Make sure the business plan and executive summary creator's name and your team members' names are consistent throughout the documentation. How to Write a Mobile App Business Plan + Template By understanding these and other potential costs, you can develop a budget in your business plan. For more in-depth financial considerations, you should develop forecasts to gauge costs, future cash flow, and how your app company might grow and change over time by hitting release and growth milestones. 5. Development milestones. How to Start an App Business in (2024): Step-by-Step Guide 2. Brainstorm a mobile app name. Before you move to complex parts and start development, finalize the name of your mobile application. However, finding the right name is a struggle in itself. Now, if you are already operating as a successful business, launch your app with the same name. Mobile App Business Plan Template & Guide [Updated] Here you go, download our free mobile app business plan pdf, and start writing. This intuitive, modern, and investment-ready template is designed specifically for mobile app businesses. It includes step-by-step instructions & examples to help in creating your own mobile app business plan. How to Write a Business Plan For Mobile App Startup An app development business plan is structured into six key steps: executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing strategy, monetization strategy, and startup costs & funding. Each section addresses specific questions that provide a clear vision of the project to stakeholders. Detailed financial planning, including startup ... Mobile App Business Plan Template & Guide [Updated 2024] How To Write a Business Plan For a Mobile App Development Company. A comprehensive business plan for an app company should include the 10 sections as follows: Executive Summary. Company Overview. Industry Analysis. Customer Analysis. Competitive Analysis. Marketing Plan. Operations Plan. Guide to writing a business plan for a mobile app business You will need to give some considerable thought to how you plan to market your app. 1. Decide what to consider when writing a mobile app business plan. Mobile apps are continuing to grow in popularity year on year - in fact, mobile apps are projected to hit $188.9 billion in revenue by 2020 - up from just $88billion in 2016 ( Statista ). Why create a business plan for a mobile app? With a comprehensive mobile app business plan, you'll be able to use facts and exact calculations to determine the overall direction of the business: Gain useful insights into the competition and the current state of the market. Make informed decisions regarding marketing and communication. Outline a comprehensive financial strategy. Creating a Business Plan for Your App: A Template Instead, consider creating a business model canvas. A business model canvas is a more focused and agile form of the traditional business plan. One of its advantages is that it can more easily ... Mobile App Business Plan: How to Write the Perfect One Here's why a business plan is crucial for your mobile app: 1. Understand the Ins and Outs of the Market. The mobile market is saturated. A business plan for a mobile app involves in-depth market research, competitor analysis, and target audience detection. The lack of knowledge about how the market functions, specifics of the mobile app ... Mobile App: get a solid business plan (pdf example) A business plan is filled with facts, figures, and indicators. It must be presented in a structured format, to make easy to read and digest. When we built our business plan for a mobile app, we took care to arrange it appropriately. The content is arranged in 5 sections (Opportunity, Project, Market Research, Strategy and Finances). 1. How to Create a Business Plan for a Mobile App Startup Now we proceed to the most important part of the article. You should use this template to create your mobile app business plan and avoid unexpected gaps. #1 Section. Executive Summary. The executive summary is the first glimpse of your business plan for app development, capturing the essence of your app's potential. Writing A Successful Mobile App Business Plan + Template Date 1: Goal 1. Date 2: Goal 2. Date 3: Goal 3. Date 4: Goal 4. Date 5: Goal 5. Your operations plan should give readers a clear idea of your company's day-to-day operations, how they are structured, and your long-term goals for the company. Create a winning business plan quickly & easily with our Ultimate Mobile App Business Plan Template. Create a Business Plan in Minutes More Than A Business Plan Template Claim Your Business Plan. Plannit.ai is an AI-driven business planning platform that helps entrepreneurs, business owners, students and business consultants create professional business plans in minutes. Answer questions about your vision and generate a full professional business plan. How To Write A Mobile App Development Business Plan + Template The executive summary of a mobile app development 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 mobile app development company. Provide a short summary of the key points ... How To Write A Mobile App Business Plan In this section, the mobile app business plan shifts from what you believe your app business is, to the hard data that proves your business is viable and that. there is actually a need and demand for your solution. Analyze your market through secondary research, industry surveys, market reports, and most importantly, first-hand primary research. Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Mobile App Planning During the mobile app planning process, the goals you set will help you decide which features to add and how you should develop and design your mobile app. Now, goals you set may vary from what you want your app to do to how you will market it to people. It is important to sit down and define what these are. Ask yourself. How to Create Mobile App Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide Write the details of your startup. It should give a reader details like the company name, location, headquarters, team size, hierarchy, etc. The mission statement of your firm should specify its goals. Also, list the main problems and the likely answers your startup may provide. Write your business plan A good business plan guides you through each stage of starting and managing your business. You'll use your business plan as a roadmap for how to structure, run, and grow your new business. It's a way to think through the key elements of your business. 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