Prepare a business case

Question

I have been asked to prepare a business case -is this the same as a business plan, or a business proposal?

Answer

No, not at all. Each of these three has a very specific function, and they are used at different times to cover separate roles.


You need to know the difference and understand what is required if you are asked to produce any one of them.

A business plan

A business plan sets out the company’s business goals, strategy and objectives. is usually developed at the launch of a business and is often used to introduce potential lenders and investors to the business to help it access funding.

We do already have a section on the business plan on the site, revisit it here
Developing a Business Plan

A business case

A business case is usually written with the intent of convincing decision makers to approve a proposed business action. It may be used to obtain approval for a project, or obtain resources for it, or perhaps to document the scope of the proposed project and justify the funding.

A business proposal

A business proposal is a document that can be sent to a potential client, usually to bid for a contract or to quote for carrying out a specific piece of work for them.

I have been asked this question before a, about distinguishing between these documents, so will address this with a module explaining the difference in detail very shortly, as well as how to produce the required documents. We will take a look at each of them separately and offer guidance on their function and their format.

So, look out for it – you can search the site for anything you want to know about, and if we have covered it, you will find it easily. Just open any lesson (not page) and a search bar appears at the top of the right hand vertical navigation bar.