What a plan actually looks like
Rather than describe it, here is the part that matters most: how the costs are set out, how the cash position is worked out from them, and what a source looks like when the plan cites one.
Pages from a real plan
Not published yet.
We changed how plans are built, and we would rather show you nothing than show you pages from the old process. Extracts from the new one go up once they have been generated and read end to end by a person.
The worked calculation below is live and real: the numbers in it are produced by the same engine that will produce yours.
A worked calculation
Mwangaza Bakery, a fictional bakery in Nyeri, starting with KES 180,000. A fictional business, used to show how the calculation works. It is not a customer's plan and the figures are illustrative.
What it costs to open
Every line says where the figure came from. Your plan does the same.
| Item | Where it came from | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Deck oven, 2-tray, second hand | Checked fact | KES 68,000 |
| Dough mixer, 10kg | Checked fact | KES 34,000 |
| Baking trays, tins and utensils | Marked estimate | KES 11,500 |
| Display counter | Marked estimate | KES 18,000 |
| Single business permit, Nyeri County | Current source | KES 7,500 |
| Public health certificate and food handler tests | Current source | KES 4,200 |
| Shop deposit and first month rent | Checked fact | KES 24,000 |
| Opening stock: flour, yeast, fat, sugar, packaging | Current source | KES 22,000 |
| Total to open | KES 189,200 | |
What the model makes of that
These four figures are calculated, not written. Change a cost above and every one of them moves.
- Cost to open
- KES 189,200
- Funding gap
- KES 9,200
- Break-even
- Month 1
- Capital paid back
- Month 9
The first six months, month by month
| Month | Sales | Cost of sales | Fixed costs | Profit | Cash in hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KES 153,000 | KES 93,600 | KES 52,500 | KES 6,900 | KES -2,300 |
| 2 | KES 153,000 | KES 93,600 | KES 52,500 | KES 6,900 | KES 4,600 |
| 3 | KES 165,960 | KES 101,484 | KES 52,500 | KES 11,976 | KES 16,576 |
| 4 | KES 180,029 | KES 110,038 | KES 52,500 | KES 17,490 | KES 34,066 |
| 5 | KES 195,302 | KES 119,321 | KES 52,500 | KES 23,482 | KES 57,548 |
| 6 | KES 211,885 | KES 129,393 | KES 52,500 | KES 29,992 | KES 87,540 |
The plan itself carries all twelve months, plus a three-year summary.
The model flags problems rather than hiding them
- Cash goes negative before month 3 - the business may run out of money early.
What a source looks like
On a Researched Plan, a current figure carries a reference, and the reference resolves to a link at the end of the plan. This is the shape of it:
A single business permit for a small bakery in Nyeri County is quoted at KES 7,500 a year [S3]
- Source
- Nyeri County — Finance Act, single business permit schedule
- Kind of source
- Kenyan county government publication
- Checked on
- 2026-09-18
Permit bands change with each county Finance Act and depend on your floor area and staff count. Confirm the band that applies to you at the county revenue office before you budget it.
What this sample is not
- The bakery above is invented. The costs are illustrative and are not a quotation for anything.
- Your plan will not look like this one. It is written around your town, your capital and your answers, so the costs, the prices and the risks will be different.
- A plan is a projection, not a promise. Month 4 in a table is an assumption about the future, not a fact about it.
- Confirm every price, fee and licence requirement locally before you spend money.