How much does a business plan cost in South Africa? New entrepreneurs seeking business plan consultants or services in South Africa may find themselves with the mammoth task of researching how much it would take to compile the magical blueprint business plan. I once wrote an article on this website which ultimately points to this one and vice versa but with different implications and aspects. In the article, I wrote of the 3 pricing levels that I found (low level, mid level and premium level). The whole purpose was to establish how the services are priced by different companies but today I want to take a different approach to it. I want to talk about how the two main options of business plan documents are priced.
Related : For Business Plan options that every entrepreneur can afford click here
Why you need a business plan? Business Plans serve a variety of reasons that include but are not limited to:
- You need start-up or expansion funding from a bank, sme development fund or private investor.
- To apply to be an approved agent to import and export goods
- You want to manage business more professionally and be more in control.
- You plan to lease a business premise.
- You are submitting a tender.
- You need project finance.
- You are starting up a new business unit in an existing company.
- You are buying a business or franchise.
- You are applying for a government or international grant.
Starter Business Plan/Micro Business Plan/ Standard Business Plan in South Africa
This is the startup option plan which is normally needed for new businesses that require less than R1 million in funding. This is the most common type of plan that most entrepreneurs request. It is normally anything between 25 to 35 pages with financials included. The same plan can be used not just for raising funding but other uses as stated before. This plan is priced anywhere from R3 500 to R6 000 by many business plan consulting services throughout South Africa. I met one quotation from a premium service provider that priced it at R 10 000 which according to me was rather too steep for the type of plan it is. If you pay anything more than R 8 000 for a Micro Business Plan, you are probably being short changed unless there is more than just business consulting during the course of the plan and some sort of help or value added service. I will leave that to your discretion though.
Related : For Business Plan options that every entrepreneur can afford click here
Comprehensive Business Plan in South Africa
This is the plan that would be needed for finance usually above R1 million. if you are reading this article from any part of the world you may want to convert the prices in South Africa to your local currency. I generally advise people to make use of their local business plan consultants as I feel that they are usually the ones with a primary research advantage when online or public data is not available. The price range is currently from R 4 000 to about R 15 000. Please note that this is an average range and some companies may be way out of this range. You may need to research further. The issue at stake for me as a customer seeking such services is to understand how much I am getting and for how much. To some, a comprehensive business plan means going all out and to some its just a few pages or some changed templates.
How do you choose the right business plan for your business and which consultant would be better for you?
Please note, I would recommend you to do your research carefully. There are too many scam artists in South Africa who act like professionals when doing business plans or any other service.
The first thing is to at least verify that a company really exists. Verify its location. Scam artists usually want to meet at some place besides a fixed address. Verify its online presence on social media and business listings.
Just having a registered company is not enough, verify the owners/principals of the business. if you see a lot of stuff with no people behind it, then question yourself.. Why would a real company hide the people behind it? How long have they been around?
After verifying the company and the people behind it, then have a handy look into their work. Because of confidentiality of a business plan it might be difficult to get a full sample of any full plan compiled by a company but on visiting their premises they may have you to look over their past work.
Request client testimonials if need be. Some clients don't want to be used as testimonials but not all of them. Make independent verification that the people or companies being referenced are actually existent.
For Business Plan options that every entrepreneur can afford click here
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