flow chart of a business plan

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Write your business plan

Business plans help you run your business.

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.

Business plans can help you get funding or bring on new business partners. Investors want to feel confident they’ll see a return on their investment. Your business plan is the tool you’ll use to convince people that working with you — or investing in your company — is a smart choice.

Pick a business plan format that works for you

There’s no right or wrong way to write a business plan. What’s important is that your plan meets your needs.

Most business plans fall into one of two common categories: traditional or lean startup.

Traditional business plans are more common, use a standard structure, and encourage you to go into detail in each section. They tend to require more work upfront and can be dozens of pages long.

Lean startup business plans are less common but still use a standard structure. They focus on summarizing only the most important points of the key elements of your plan. They can take as little as one hour to make and are typically only one page.

Traditional business plan

Lean startup plan

Traditional business plan format

You might prefer a traditional business plan format if you’re very detail-oriented, want a comprehensive plan, or plan to request financing from traditional sources.

When you write your business plan, you don’t have to stick to the exact business plan outline. Instead, use the sections that make the most sense for your business and your needs. Traditional business plans use some combination of these nine sections.

Executive summary

Briefly tell your reader what your company is and why it will be successful. Include your mission statement, your product or service, and basic information about your company’s leadership team, employees, and location. You should also include financial information and high-level growth plans if you plan to ask for financing.

Company description

Use your company description to provide detailed information about your company. Go into detail about the problems your business solves. Be specific, and list out the consumers, organization, or businesses your company plans to serve.

Explain the competitive advantages that will make your business a success. Are there experts on your team? Have you found the perfect location for your store? Your company description is the place to boast about your strengths.

Market analysis

You'll need a good understanding of your industry outlook and target market. Competitive research will show you what other businesses are doing and what their strengths are. In your market research, look for trends and themes. What do successful competitors do? Why does it work? Can you do it better? Now's the time to answer these questions.

Organization and management

Tell your reader how your company will be structured and who will run it.

Describe the  legal structure  of your business. State whether you have or intend to incorporate your business as a C or an S corporation, form a general or limited partnership, or if you're a sole proprietor or limited liability company (LLC).

Use an organizational chart to lay out who's in charge of what in your company. Show how each person's unique experience will contribute to the success of your venture. Consider including resumes and CVs of key members of your team.

Service or product line

Describe what you sell or what service you offer. Explain how it benefits your customers and what the product lifecycle looks like. Share your plans for intellectual property, like copyright or patent filings. If you're doing  research and development  for your service or product, explain it in detail.

Marketing and sales

There's no single way to approach a marketing strategy. Your strategy should evolve and change to fit your unique needs.

Your goal in this section is to describe how you'll attract and retain customers. You'll also describe how a sale will actually happen. You'll refer to this section later when you make financial projections, so make sure to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales strategies.

Funding request

If you're asking for funding, this is where you'll outline your funding requirements. Your goal is to clearly explain how much funding you’ll need over the next five years and what you'll use it for.

Specify whether you want debt or equity, the terms you'd like applied, and the length of time your request will cover. Give a detailed description of how you'll use your funds. Specify if you need funds to buy equipment or materials, pay salaries, or cover specific bills until revenue increases. Always include a description of your future strategic financial plans, like paying off debt or selling your business.

Financial projections

Supplement your funding request with financial projections. Your goal is to convince the reader that your business is stable and will be a financial success.

If your business is already established, include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for the last three to five years. If you have other collateral you could put against a loan, make sure to list it now.

Provide a prospective financial outlook for the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and capital expenditure budgets. For the first year, be even more specific and use quarterly — or even monthly — projections. Make sure to clearly explain your projections, and match them to your funding requests.

This is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business.  

Use your appendix to provide supporting documents or other materials were specially requested. Common items to include are credit histories, resumes, product pictures, letters of reference, licenses, permits, patents, legal documents, and other contracts.

Example traditional business plans

Before you write your business plan, read the following example business plans written by fictional business owners. Rebecca owns a consulting firm, and Andrew owns a toy company.

Lean startup format

You might prefer a lean startup format if you want to explain or start your business quickly, your business is relatively simple, or you plan to regularly change and refine your business plan.

Lean startup formats are charts that use only a handful of elements to describe your company’s value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances. They’re useful for visualizing tradeoffs and fundamental facts about your company.

There are different ways to develop a lean startup template. You can search the web to find free templates to build your business plan. We discuss nine components of a model business plan here:

Key partnerships

Note the other businesses or services you’ll work with to run your business. Think about suppliers, manufacturers, subcontractors, and similar strategic partners.

Key activities

List the ways your business will gain a competitive advantage. Highlight things like selling direct to consumers, or using technology to tap into the sharing economy.

Key resources

List any resource you’ll leverage to create value for your customer. Your most important assets could include staff, capital, or intellectual property. Don’t forget to leverage business resources that might be available to  women ,  veterans ,  Native Americans , and  HUBZone businesses .

Value proposition

Make a clear and compelling statement about the unique value your company brings to the market.

Customer relationships

Describe how customers will interact with your business. Is it automated or personal? In person or online? Think through the customer experience from start to finish.

Customer segments

Be specific when you name your target market. Your business won’t be for everybody, so it’s important to have a clear sense of whom your business will serve.

List the most important ways you’ll talk to your customers. Most businesses use a mix of channels and optimize them over time.

Cost structure

Will your company focus on reducing cost or maximizing value? Define your strategy, then list the most significant costs you’ll face pursuing it.

Revenue streams

Explain how your company will actually make money. Some examples are direct sales, memberships fees, and selling advertising space. If your company has multiple revenue streams, list them all.

Example lean business plan

Before you write your business plan, read this example business plan written by a fictional business owner, Andrew, who owns a toy company.

Need help? Get free business counseling

Business Plan Flowchart Complete Guide

Edraw content team, do you want to make your business plan flowchart.

EdrawMax specializes in diagramming and visualizing. Learn from this article to know about what is the business plan flowchart and business plan flowchart example. Just try it free now!

Do you want an organized route for your business workflow? Keeping track of your business progress can become difficult if you cannot enlist your goals. Plus, you need something that reminds you about the resources and guides you to their usage. A business plan flow chart is the solution for you. It is a graphical representation of the workflow of a business process. This simple chart shows how each step in the process gets to the finish line and how it relates to others.

1. What Is A Business Plan

A business plan is a formal statement of business goals and objectives. It's a written document that describes the company's mission, strategies, and financial information. Moreover, It is also a road map for the future.

Furthermore, this comprehensive document that outlines the business's goals, objectives, and strategies is a passage for your future success as an entrepreneur. Business plan flow charts are essential for any business owner who wants to take their business to the next level.

Elements Of A Business Plan:

The business plan is not just the name of a hard piece of paper. On the contrary, it is a mixture of diverse statistical and theoretical elements, some of which are as follows:

The first element of a business plan is its purpose. When starting a new business, you'll want to define your goals and how you intend to achieve them.

The second element is the product or service that your business provides. You'll want to describe what it is you're offering, and why it's better than those alternatives. Furthermore, it is better to target customers and answer what problems or issues it solves for them.

• Financial Statistics:

The third element of the business plan flow chart is how much capital (money) you need to get started. You'll need enough funds to cover initial expenses, such as advertising costs and lease payments on office space or equipment.

• Task Timeline:

The fourth element is a timeline for when accomplishments must meet the end. Plus, it includes milestones that indicate finished objectives and money spent on them.

• Financial Analysis:

The fifth element is a financial analysis. It breaks down the costs of running the business by category. As a result, it helps you to determine whether or not there's enough money available for everything involved in running it at once.

2. 4 Different Business Plan Types

A business plan flow chart helps you understand what your company will look like and how much money it will need to get off the ground. However, not all of them are created equal. It may vary based on the company framework, data provided, and business objectives. In this article, you'll get a comprehensive overview of 4 different business plan flow chart templates that can help you understand the overall notion of a business plan.

2.1 Business Plan Process

The business plan process flow chart type is a simple diagram. However, it is an essential one indeed. The visualization includes a top-down process enlisting for business growth. It all starts from the goal, which maps the further procedures accordingly. The end focus product is the budget. The business plan flow chart highlights specific strategic and tactical objectives throughout the journey. Each is essential for business performance and judgment for better decision-making. The overall physical presentation may not be luxurious. However, it serves a much bigger purpose, making it far more critical. Considering all the above facts, we can say that this type is a comprehensive process guide for employees and investors to look into.

2.2 Market Analysis Business Plan

The Market Analysis Business Plan is a business plan that focuses on the industrial analysis of your company. It's essential to include information about the following:

• The market, including its size and growth rate
• Your competition (including their strengths and weaknesses)
• Your target audience (what do they want?)

Unlike the above example, this business plan flow chart type gives a much more detailed overview to the business owner and investor. It focuses on the target market, and the share business has in it. This type is essentially beneficial for most companies. Whether you have a small or huge business, it will analyze your market exposure accordingly.

2.3 Business Plan Timeline

The business plan timeline visually represents the order in which tasks should be completed. It helps you visualize your progress and decide what's most important for your project. It can be of yearly timeline progress or future task procedural approach. In general, every business plan flow chart based on a timeline has four different quadrants.

The first quadrant defines what the business is all about. As a result, it sets the stage for everything else in the plan. All the goals and subjects come under this category. The second quadrant helps you assess what your company wants to accomplish, focusing specifically on customer needs or wants at a specific time. Unlike the above example, this business plan flow chart type gives a much more detailed overview to the business owner and investor. It focuses on the target market, and the share business has in it. This type is essentially beneficial for most companies. Whether you have a small or huge business, it will analyze your market exposure accordingly.

2.4 Business Strategy Diagram

A business strategy diagram is a step-by-step flowchart. This business plan flow chart helps you simultaneously visualize the process of developing and implementing your company's overall mission, vision, and goals. Moreover, it can help you evaluate potential new growth strategies and improve current ones. A business strategy diagram includes a whole architecture that summarizes your organization's overall goal.

Simply put, it is a step-by-step roadmap targeting economic departments, strategies to work, and actions performed in a business. Furthermore, it classifies how grouped, and individual actions impact business growth. All in all, this type is an in-depth value analysis chart for every small and big firm that wants ideal business automation.

3. Tips To Create A Business Plan That Stands Out

The Business Plan Flow chart is a visual way of showing the procedural roadmap of a business. It helps your team see the big picture and visualize the order in which tasks need completion. It can help them understand how to sequence their work, so they don't miss anything.

An exemplary flowchart also helps you create a business plan that stands out from competitors. It is possible by providing more information than other companies do about their company goals, services offered, and market presence. To create an ideal business plan that has the potential to visualize a complex production framework, you must follow the given tips.

• The business plan flow chart should be simple, clear, and concise so readers can easily understand it.
• The business plan should include at least one example of how each element has been completed successfully or unsuccessfully in the past. It is necessary because it shows how other people have accomplished similar tasks previously and helps increase confidence that you can do it too!
• Be honest, and do not overestimate your capabilities. Be realistic about the time it takes to accomplish your goal and what resources you need.
• It s better if the business plan flow chart references previous projects as testimonials for future projects. It shows that you have experience with similar tasks, improving customer and investor confidence.
• Make sure that you clearly understand your target audience's demographics and how they will react to your product or service.

4. Conclusion

A business plan flow chart effectively organizes your business and keeps track of the tasks due for completion. It is also a great tool for communicating with investors, bankers, or partners. The above examples show how a simple flowchart can help you communicate ideally while maintaining order in your company's growth process. With EdrawMax , creating, designing, and sharing happens all in one place. You do not have to worry about losing your files, as all the exported files from EdrawMax are highly encrypted. All in all, EdrawMax is a solid tool -- you just sit with your design ideas and explore the tons of features that this business plan maker has to offer.

Flowchart Complete Guide

Check this complete guide to know everything about flowchart, like flowchart types, flowchart symbols, and how to make a flowchart.

You May Also Like

Expenditure cycle flowchart complete guide, what is the accounts receivable flowchart, bpmn complete guide, accounting flowchart complete guide, digestive system diagram complete guide, functional organizational chart complete guide.

• Auto Insurance
• Full Coverage Car Insurance
• Liability-Only Car Insurance
• Free Car Insurance Quotes
• Best Car Insurance Companies
• Cheapest Car Insurance
• Health Insurance Quotes
• Home Insurance Quotes

How to Write a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide

A strong, well-thought-out business plan is crucial for a business's success. Without one, it's tough to maintain a vision of the future and what the next steps for your business should be. Think of it as a litmus test to prove that every step taken is part of a larger calculated effort.

Business plans are also crucial for external affairs. If you want to want to take out a loan, bring on a business partner, or more you'll need a solid plan in order. Your plan should be your pitch.

However, writing a business plan isn't easy and not everyone knows exactly what the business plan should outline. What's even more confusing is that no two business plans should look the same. We wrote a complete guide to show what your business plan should detail and how to write it.

• Before You Begin Writing

How to Write a Traditional Business Plan

• How to Write a Lean Startup Plan

Additional Tips

Things to know before you begin writing.

Know your audience. For example, if your business operates in a very niche space, you don't want to use niche and complex language that no one will understand if your plan will be reviewed by lenders or investors who don't have much knowledge of your space.

Also, keep the length of your plan in mind when it comes to your reader. We would always recommend keeping your plan as short as possible, but certain readers might want to see more details while others might want only the high level information. For example, a potential business partner will likely want to see a bit more details than an underwriter evaluating your business. However, don't go overboard with this and write a 50-page plan, as no one will read that.

Pick Your Format (traditional vs. lean startup)

There are now two ways you can write your business plan. The traditional route, and the most common, is likely what you'll be using. The traditional plan contains far more details and should be used for most scenarios. Alternatively, you can explore a lean startup plan , which are onepagers and detail your business only at the highest level. This is most appropriate for businesses that are likely to change quickly or are on a very, very short timeline.

A traditional plan is typically comprised of seven sections that are each crucial for explaining a different angle of your business. The length and detail of your plan will vary with the audience of the plan and how mature your business is. You'll use a business plan to sell your business to investors, qualify your business with for a loan with lenders, and more. Having a solid plan is always useful and can also help keep your actions as a business owner on track.

Step 1: Write an Executive Summary

As with any other piece of writing, this introduction to your plan is the hook. Why should the reader believe in your business? Sell your business and explain why it matters. Additionally, supplement your sell with a high level summary of your plan and operating model. However, don't go over one or two pages.

• Business Name
• Key Employees
• Business Background
• Listing of goods/services offered

Step 2: Write a Business Description

This is your first opportunity to really go into detail about your business. What's the opportunity that your business is capitalizing on? What's the target market? How are you standing out from competitors? Highlight how your business is differentiated.

Step 3: Market and Competitive Analysis

Any good business will have done comprehensive analyses of the market that its entering. This doesn't just apply to large corporations, and your reader will likely want to see evidence of this. Here, you can describe the industry and market your business will operate in and highlight the opportunities your business will take advantage of. Did your market research reveal any unique trends? If so, this is the place to show it.

Illustrate the competitive landscape as well. What are your competitors doing well and not so well? Why are you moving into this space, and what's the weakness to be exploited in the industry? How will competitors logically react? Are you going to take competitors' customers? How?

Step 4: Operational Structure

This now gets into the tangible details of your business. How will your business operate on a day-to-day basis? Your plan should really detail this out.

What's your business's legal structure? Is it a sole proprietorship? Include this as well. We'd recommend putting together an organizational chart if there are multiple stakeholders to not only show who's involved but to also show how everyone brings something to the table.

Step 5: Product Description

Now, you finally get to discuss in detail what you'll be selling or offering. What's your good or service that's for sale? This section will likely be a bit longer than the others because of its importance.

Be sure to describe your product and how it is differentiated from similar ones. How will it be priced, and how does that play in the market compared to competitors?

Also include a marketing or promotions plan here. You could have the best product in the world but it won't matter if no one knows about it. Identify your target market and really detail out how you'll make that market aware of your product. What's the message you want to promote and why does that resonate with your specific product and the target audience? How will you build awareness and retain loyalty?

Step 6: Raise Capital

If you intend for a prospective investor or lender to read this, you'll want to include a section here on your funding request. Be clear with how much you're asking for and why. You don't want to ask for a $100,000 loan or investment without a clear plan as to what exactly that money would be used for. On top of explaining what the funds would be used for, also clearly state the projected ROI.

Step 7: Financial Analysis and Projections

It doesn't matter if you include a request for funding in your plan, you will want to include a financial analysis here. You'll want to do two things here: Paint a picture of your business's performance in the past and show it will grow in the future. Use charts and images to help make the experience easier.

If your business has already been operating for a few years, demonstrate stability through your finances. But if your business is newer and not yet profitable, be clear and realistic with your projections. For example, if your sales have been increasing at a steady 5% every quarter, you don't want to suddenly assume 50% sales growth per quarter for no reason.

Research industry norms and look up how comparable businesses have performed. Include income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements for multiple years if possible. When showing your financial outlook, project your vision out over at least five years. Clearly state the logic behind your projections, and you can also tie this section back to your previous section on raising capital if applicable.

Step 8: Appendix

If you have any remaining pieces of information such as relevant patents, licenses, charts or anything else that wasn't able to fit in organically in the plan elsewhere, feel free to include those here. Don't use this as a space as a document dump. Instead, be absolutely sure that every piece of information that goes here goes toward supporting your business plan.

How to Write a Lean Startup Business Plan

The logic behind lean startup plans is that every business plan can be divided into nine segments. Without going into detail, you can describe each of those segments at a high enough level where they can be listed out on a single page. Compared to the traditional business plan, this allows for far more flexibility in case your business drastically changes quickly. There are dozens of templates to choose from but the most common is listed here .

Here are the basic components you'll need in a lean startup plan:

Customer Segments. Describe your target audience(s) that your business will appeal to. Most businesses will have multiple segments listed here and it's imperative that you properly identify them.

Value Proposition. Your business will potentially appeal to different customer segments in different ways. If that's the case, you should list out the different value propositions for each segment clearly and succinctly. If that isn't the case, you can list out the single value proposition your company will have. If you can't figure out what your value proposition is, that means you don't know what your business's value add is.

Channels. How is your value proposition going to be communicated to your customers? Detail out brand awareness as well as ongoing communication channels with your customers.

Customer Relationships. After you've explained how you'll be communicating to your customers, think about the kind of relationship you'll want to maintain with them. Will communication be ongoing? Will you personally be contacting them or sending automated emails?

Revenue Streams. How will your business make money? At what point in the relationship with your customers do you start to recognize revenue? Most companies will have multiple streams although if your business is just starting out, you may only have one. That's OK, but just be sure to demonstrate you know exactly where your revenue will come from.

Key Resources. You've described how you'll be capturing revenue from your customers, but what will the infrastructure look like that will support it? Supporting resources may include but aren't limited to staff or capital.

Key Activities. What are the absolute necessary activities in your plan for your business to be successful? Detail them out here and show why they're important.

Key Partnerships. As a new business, you likely won't own all of your key resources and won't be able to do all of the key activities yourself. What other entities are you working with? Consider suppliers, vendors and anyone else you're planning on doing business with.

Cost Structure. Now that you understand your business's infrastructure and needs, you can detail out the total projected costs of your business or at least identify the biggest costs you have in your plan right now. What is your plan to ensure you're maximizing the value out of those costs?

Be efficient with your plan: Be sure every single word and image in your plan serves a purpose. You don't want window dressing for the sake of window dressing here. Being concise and getting straight to the point will help make your plan more digestible and easier to understand.

If your plan starts to exceed 20 pages, really proofread tosee if anything should be cut out. Also, follow the advice we mentioned above and be aware of your audience. Don't write a plan that will confuse or bore the reader.

Keep yourself honest: Don't assume a fantasy world when writing your plan. Be honest and realistic. Use industry or sector benchmarks to determine what those realistic measures are, and be wary of inflating projections. This is a very common problem and it doesn't help anyone out.

Accept help: There are so many free resources both online and in person to help with all small-business affairs. Nonprofit organizations like SCORE offer things like free mentoring and can help you write your business plan. If you're a woman or a minority, there are many government sponsored resources like the National Women's Business Council that also provide free consulting.

What needs to be in a business plan?

The exact contents of a business plan will differ plan by plan, but in general, the typical plan should include an executive summary, a business description, a market or competitive analysis, a description of the proposed operational structure, a product description, and a pitch to raise capital if applicable.

Why is a business plan important?

Business plans are efficient ways to explain your business in a comprehensive and broad manner. Lenders may make decisions to lend to you based on your business plan. Investors may decide whether they want to invest in your business based on your plan.

Not only are plans useful to externally communicate details about your business, they're also useful as an internal reference. Plans will help keep your business on track and help align your strategic goals with actions that you make on a daily basis.

How do I write a business plan for a loan?

Most lenders will require a business plan from applicants. A business plan should always take the audience into account and in this case, you'll want to emphasize how your business stands out in the market, why it's likely to be a success, and how your plan involves paying off your loan quickly and on time. As long as a lender is confident that you'd be able to meet your loan repayments, your business plan did its job.

What's the difference between a traditional and a lean plan?

A traditional plan is far more common and will carry a lot more detail than a lean plan. While the two are relatively similar in content and structure, a lean plan only contains the bare minimum level of detail. A lean plan is usually a one-pager and only has the minimum amount of detail to be able to describe the business at the highest level and should only be used when the company is both very new and time is scarce.

Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.

Our Top Picks

Small business financing resources.

• Line of Credit for Businesses

Small Business Loan Analysis

• Average Commercial Mortgage Rates
• Average Small Business Loan Amount
• Small Business Loans

All About Business Process Mapping, Flow Charts and Diagrams

What are your requirements regarding bpmn diagrams, i want to create a bpmn in lucidchart., i want to create a bpmn diagram based on a lucidchart template..

Learn all about business process mapping and discover how you can effectively use it within your organization.

9 minute read

Would you like to create a BPMN diagram? Test Lucidchart - fast, easy, free.

What is business process mapping?

Business Process Mapping details the steps that a business takes to complete a process, such as hiring an employee or ordering and shipping a product. They show the “who,” “what,” “when,” “where” and “how” for these steps, and help to analyze the “why.” These maps are also called Business Process Diagrams and Business Flow Charts. Like other types of diagrams, these maps use defined symbols such as circles, rectangles, diamonds and arrows to depict the business activities.

Business Process Mapping can be used to document a current process and to model a new one. Its purpose is to gain a detailed understanding of the process, people, inputs, controls and outputs, and then potentially to simplify it all, make it more efficient and/or improve the process results. It requires time and discipline to conduct this mapping, but the payoff can be significant over time. Mapping has become common in the business world to standardize procedures, become more efficient, meet audit requirements and gain competitive advantage.

Business Process Mapping has its roots in the 1920s and ‘30s. In 1921, industrial engineer and efficiency expert Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr. introduced the “flow process chart” to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).  In the early 1930s, industrial engineer Allan H. Morgensen used Gilbreth’s tools to teach business people at his work simplification conferences how to make their work more efficient.  In the 1940s, two Morgensen students, Art Spinanger and Ben S. Graham, spread the methods more widely. Spinanger introduced the work simplification methods to Procter and Gamble. Graham, a director at Standard Register Industrial, adapted flow process charts to information processing. In 1947, ASME adopted a symbol system for flow process charts, derived from Gilbreth’s original work.

Current-day purpose and benefits

Business Process Mapping can be used to prepare for business audits or a sale, to reduce expenses, to plan for automation, to understand impacts of pending changes, to realign related processes, and to measure and realign the efforts of people involved in the processes. Often, a business may think it understands its processes, but then discovers twists and turns during a mapping initiative. When modeling a new business process, the mapping is sometimes called Business Process Modeling, or BPM. (That same acronym means Business Process Management, a related area.) For a more detailed look at Business Process Modeling, see this article.

Here are more specific examples of the uses of Business Process Mapping:

Compliance with International Organization for Standardization, called ISO 9001.

Internal audits., compliance with the 2002 sarbanes-oxley act, or sox., standardizing a process., training employees., improving a process., communication., business process mapping symbols.

Here’s one more important entrant in the acronym arena: BPMN. That’s Business Process Modeling Notation, the set of symbols and notations in common use today for modeling. It was developed by the Business Process Management Initiative. It depicts these main components of Business Process Diagrams:

Task or Activity:

Participant:.

Another important mapping concept is called swimlanes , which show who is responsible for specific work. Just like swimlanes in a pool, tasks are shown for a particular participant in a lane, or row, on the map.

Need more detail? See this article on BPMN .

How to do business process mapping

This requires a commitment of time and energy, but the payoff in understanding and analysis can be large. There are four major steps to a mapping initiative:

Identify the process.

Gather information., interview participants and stakeholders., draw the maps and analyze..

To conduct a significant mapping project, you will need to have a support structure in place first. As with any project, you would follow these steps:

Create a project charter or purpose statement

Have an executive sponsor, select the team, plan and conduct the mapping,.

In Business Process Management, the idea is to create a life cycle of continuous improvement. The steps are model, implement, execute, monitor and optimize.

Business Process Mapping is better for some types of processes than others. For example, it usually doesn’t lend itself to diagramming decision-making processes. High level, open-ended decision making often has too many intangibles and wild cards to effectively map. Business Process Mapping is better for the other two types of processes: transformational and transactional, both of which have more clearly defined activities. Transformational refers to processes such as manufacturing or systems development, which take inputs and change their forms, either physical or virtual. Transactional refers to an exchange such as a sales process or any other transaction.

As with any type of diagram, there are situations when another diagram method might be more fitting. For example, a Data Flow Diagram (DFD ), popularized by computing pioneers Ed Yourdon and Larry Constantine in the 1970s, is best at illustrating how information flows through a system or process. Value Stream Mapping (VMS) details the steps required to deliver a product or service. Items are mapped as adding value or not adding value from the customer’s standpoint, with the purpose of rooting out items that don’t add value. And Unified Modeling Language (UML) is used in software engineering to visualize the design of a system.

Key tips for business process mapping

• A skilled practitioner, such as someone trained in Six Sigma, can make a mapping project go much, much smoother. If you don’t have one in house, consider a consultant to work with your internal team.
• Identify metrics of importance. This will enable your mapping to speak effectively with data.
• Interview one or two people at time. If you interview in groups, some people might not speak up or might not want to contradict another person.
• As you interview, keep asking how, where and why. Such as: How do you spend most of your time, and why? Where in the process do you repeat work, and why? Do you ever skip steps? Why? Where are your pain points, and why?
• Be on the lookout for assumptions that may not be true. Keep asking questions until you reach the definitive answer.
• Validate your maps after you initially draw them by reviewing them with participants and your other data sources.

Drawing your map

For a simple process, you might start with Post-It Notes, a white board or a hand-drawn map. However, you might find yourself limited rather quickly as the complexity increases. With chart software, you can draw professional-looking maps that allow for more detail. You also will be able to do subsequent breakdowns with multi-level Business Process Maps, typically ranging from Level 0 (overall view) to Levels 1 through 4 for breakout detail of subprocesses, tasks and flows. Sometimes, a sequence table can be the best way to supplement a map by showing a series of steps. Map software will provide you with the shapes you’ll need to map out the process.

How to do mapping with Lucidchart

Helpful resources.

• Visio BPMN Stencil and Templates
• BPMN Event Types
• BPMN Diagram Symbols & Notation
• BPMN Activity Types
• BPMN Gateway Types
• BPMN & BPMN 2.0 Tutorial
• What is Business Process Modeling Notation

Lucidchart makes it quick and easy to build business process maps that can help improve efficiency within your organization. 

How to Build a Detailed Business Plan That Stands Out [Free Template]

Updated: March 29, 2022

Published: March 11, 2022

While starting a company may seem easier now than ever before, entrepreneurs have an uphill battle from the moment they start a business. And without a clear, actionable business plan for selling, marketing, finances, and operations, you're almost destined to face significant challenges.

This is why crafting a business plan is an essential step in the entrepreneurial process.

In this post, we'll walk you through the process of filling out your business plan template, like this free, editable version :

Download a free, editable one-page business plan template.

We know that when looking at a blank page on a laptop screen, the idea of writing your business plan can seem impossible. However, it's a mandatory step to take if you want to turn your business dreams into a reality.

That's why we've crafted a business plan template for you to download and use to build your new company. You can download it here for free . It contains prompts for all of the essential parts of a business plan, all of which are elaborated on, below.

This way, you'll be able to show them how organized and well-thought-out your business idea is, and provide them with answers to whatever questions they may have.

Free Business Plan Template

The essential document for starting a business -- custom built for your needs.

• Outline your idea.
• Pitch to investors.
• Secure funding.
• Get to work!

Download Free

All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Building a Successful Business Plan

In the next section, we'll cover the components of a business plan , such as an executive summary and company description. But before we get to that, let's talk about key elements that should serve as building blocks for your plan.

For some entrepreneurs, the thought of writing a business plan sounds like a chore — a necessary means to an end. But that's a bad take.

A solid business plan is a blueprint for success . It's key to securing financing, presenting your business, outlining your financial projections, and turning that nugget of a business idea into a reality.

At the core, your business plan should answer two questions: why your business and why now?

Investors want to know why your business is entering the market, i.e. what problem it's solving and how it's different from what's currently out there. They also want to know why now is the right time for your type of product or service.

At a minimum, your plan should:

• Be more realistic than idealistic: Too often, business plans focus too much on how things could be instead of how they are. While having a vision is important, your plan needs to be rooted in research and data.
• Legitimize your business idea : If an idea fails on paper, it's a signal to go back to the drawing board. In doing so, you avoid losing precious time or money chasing an unrealistic idea.
• Position your business for funding: To get your business off the ground, chances are you'll need financial backing. Even with a solid business idea, investors, lenders, and banks still need convincing. An effective business plan will outline how much money you need, where it's going, what targets you will hit, and how you plan to repay any debts.
• Lay the foundation: Investors focus on risk – if anything looks shaky, it could be a dealbreaker. Ideally, your business plan will lay down the foundation for how you'll operate your business — from operational needs to financial projections and goals.
• Communicate your needs: It's nearly impossible to communicate your needs if you don't know what they are first. Of course, a business’ needs are always changing — but your plan should give you a well-rounded view of how your business will work in the short and long term.

So back to the question of why and why now – consider three things:

• Your industry – How does your product or service fit within your industry? Are you targeting a specific niche? Where do you see the industry going in the next five to 10 years?
• Your target audience – Who are you targeting? What challenges are they facing? How will your product or service help them in their daily lives?
• Your unique selling proposition (USP) – What sets you apart from your competitors? Is it your product/service features? Your company values? Price?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you'll be equipped to answer the question: why your business and why now.

How to Build a Business Plan

• Executive Summary
• Company and Business Description
• Product and Services Line
• Market Analysis
• Marketing Plan
• Legal Notes
• Financial Considerations

Featured Resource: Free Business Plan Template

1. cover page.

Your business plan should be prefaced with an eye-catching cover page. This means including a high-resolution image of your company logo, followed by your company's name, address, and phone number.

Since this business plan will likely change hands and be seen by multiple investors, you should also provide your own name, role in the business, and email address on the cover page.

At the bottom of this page, you can also add a confidentiality statement to protect against the disclosure of your business details.

The statement can read as follows: " This document contains confidential and proprietary information created by [your company name]. When receiving this document, you agree to keep its content confidential and may only reproduce and/or share it with express written permission of [your company name] ."

Remember to keep your cover page simple and concise — and save the important details for other sections.

Why it matters: First impressions are everything, and a clean cover page is the first step in the right direction.

Example of a Cover Page

2. Executive Summary

The executive summary of your business plan provides a one- to two-page overview of your business and highlights the most crucial pieces of your plan, such as your short-term and long-term goals.

The executive summary is essentially a boiled-down version of your entire business plan, so remember to keep this section to the point and filled only with essential information.

Typically, this brief section includes:

• A mission statement.
• The company's history and leadership model.
• An overview of competitive advantage(s).
• Financial projections.
• Company goals.
• An ask from potential investors.

Why it matters: The executive summary is known as the make-or-break section of a business plan. It influences whether investors turn the page or not — so effectively summarizing your business and the problem it hopes to solve is a must.

Think of the Summary as a written elevator pitch (with more detail). While your business plan provides the nitty-gritty details, your Summary describes — in a compelling but matter-of-fact language — the highlights of your plan. If it's too vague, complicated, or fuzzy, you may need to scrap it and start again.

Example of an Executive Summary Introduction

"The future looks bright for North Side Chicago, particularly the Rock Hill Neighborhood. A number of high-end commercial and residential developments are well on their way, along with two new condo developments in nearby neighborhoods.

While the completion of these developments will increase the population within the neighborhood and stimulate the economy, the area lacks an upscale restaurant where residents and visitors can enjoy fine food and drink. Jay Street Lounge and Restaurant will provide such a place."

3. Company & Business Description

In this section, provide a more thorough description of what your company is and why it exists.

The bulk of the writing in this section should be about your company's purpose – covering what the business will be selling, identifying the target market, and laying out a path to success.

In this portion of your business plan, you can also elaborate on your company's:

• Mission statement
• Core values
• Team and organizational structure

Why it matters: Investors look for great structures and teams in addition to great ideas. This section gives an overview of your businesses' ethos. It's the perfect opportunity to set your business apart from the competition — such as your team's expertise, your unique work culture, and your competitive advantage.

Example of a Values/Mission Statement

"Jay Street Lounge and Restaurant will be the go-to place for people to get a drink or bite in an elegant, upscale atmosphere. The mission is to be North Side's leading restaurant, with the best tasting food and the highest quality service."

3. Product & Services Line

Here's where you'll cover the makeup of your business's product and/or services line. You should provide each product or service's name, its purpose, and a description of how it works (if appropriate). If you own any patents, copyrights, or trademarks, it's essential to include this info too.

Next, add some color to your sales strategy by outlining your pricing model and mark-up amounts.

If you're selling tangible products, you should also explain production and costs, and how you expect these factors to change as you scale.

Why it matters: This section contains the real meat of your business plan. It sets the stage for the problem you hope to solve, your solution, and how your said solution fits in the market.

There's no one-size-fits-all formula for this section. For instance, one plan may delve into its ability to market in a more cost-effective way than the competition, whereas another plan focuses on its key products and their unique features and benefits.

Regardless of your angle, it's critical to convey how your offerings will differ from the competition.

Example of a Product/Service Offering

"The menu at Jay Street Lounge and Restaurant will focus on Moroccan cuisine. The stars of the menu (our specialties) are the Moroccan dishes, such as eggplant zaalouk, seafood bastilla, tagine, and chickpea stew. For those who enjoy American dishes, there will also be a variety of options, from burger sliders and flatbread pizza to grilled steak and salads.

The food at Jay Street will have premium pricing to match its upscale atmosphere. During the summer months, the restaurant will have extra seating on the patio where clients can enjoy a special summer menu. We will be open on all days of the week."

4. Market Analysis

It helps to reference your market research documentation in this section, like a Porter's Five Forces Analysis or a SWOT Analysis ( templates for those are available here ). You can also include them in your appendix.

If your company already has buyer personas, you should include them here as well. If not, you can create them right now using the Make My Persona Tool .

Why it matters: Having an awesome product is, well, awesome — but it isn't enough. Just as important, there must be a market for it.

This section allows you to dig deeper into your market, which segments you want to target, and why. The "why" here is important, since targeting the right segment is critical for the success and growth of your business.

It's easy to get lost (or overwhelmed) in a sea of endless data. For your business plan, narrow your focus by answering the following questions:

• What is my market? In other words, who are my customers?
• What segments of the market do I want to target?
• What's the size of my target market?
• Is my market likely to grow?
• How can I increase my market share over time?

Example of a Market Analysis

"Jay Street Lounge and Restaurant will target locals who live and work within the Rock Hill Neighborhood and the greater North Side Chicago area. We will also target the tourists who flock to the many tourist attractions and colleges on the North Side.

We will specifically focus on young to middle-aged adults with an income of $40,000 to $80,000 who are looking for an upscale experience. The general demographics of our target market are women between 20 to 50 years old.

A unique and varied Moroccan-American menu, along with our unique upscale atmosphere, differentiates us from competitors in the area. Jay Street will also set itself apart through its commitment to high-quality food, service, design, and atmosphere."

5. Marketing Plan

Unlike the market analysis section, your marketing plan section should be an explanation of the tactical approach to reaching your aforementioned target audience. List your advertising channels, organic marketing methods, messaging, budget, and any relevant promotional tactics.

If your company has a fully fleshed-out marketing plan, you can attach it in the appendix of your business plan. If not, download this free marketing plan template to outline your strategy.

Free Marketing Plan Template

Outline your company's marketing strategy in one simple, coherent plan.

• Pre-Sectioned Template
• Completely Customizable
• Example Prompts
• Professionally Designed

Why it matters: Marketing is what puts your product in front of your customers. It's not just advertising — it's an investment in your business.

Throwing money into random marketing channels is a haphazard approach, which is why it's essential to do the legwork to create a solid marketing plan.

Here's some good news — by this point, you should have a solid understanding of your target market. Now, it's time to determine how you'll reach them.

Example of a Marketing Plan Overview

"Our marketing strategy will focus on three main initiatives:

• Social media marketing. We will grow and expand our Facebook and Instagram following through targeted social media ads.
• Website initiatives. Our website will attract potential visitors by offering updated menus and a calendar of events.
• Promotional events. Jay Street will have one special theme night per week to attract new clients."

6. Sales Plan

It doesn't matter if your sales department is an office full of business development representatives (BDR) or a dozen stores with your products on their shelves.

The point is: All sales plans are different, so you should clearly outline yours here. Common talking points include your:

• Sales team structure, and why this structure was chosen.
• Sales channels.
• Sales tools, software, and resources.
• Prospecting strategy.
• Sales goals and budget.

Like with your marketing plan, it might make sense to attach your completed sales plan to the appendix of your business plan. You can download a template for building your sales plan here .

Why it matters: Among other things, investors are interested in the scalability of your business — which is why growth strategies are a critical part of your business plan.

Your sales plan should describe your plan to attract customers, retain them (if applicable), and, ultimately, grow your business. Be sure to outline what you plan to do given your existing resources and what results you expect from your work.

Example of a Sales Plan Overview

"The most important goal is to ensure financial success for Jay Street Lounge and Restaurant. We believe we can achieve this by offering excellent food, entertainment, and service to our clients.

We are not a low-cost dining option in the area. Instead, the food will have premium pricing to match its upscale feel. The strategy is to give Jay Street a perception of elegance through its food, entertainment, and excellent service."

7. Legal Notes

Your investors may want to know the legal structure of your business, as that could directly impact the risk of their investments. For example, if you're looking for business partners to engage in a non-corporation or LLC partnership, this means they could be on the line for more than their actual investment.

Because this clarification is often needed, explain if you are and/or plan to become a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, LLC, or other.

You should also outline the steps you have taken (or will need to take) to operate legally. This includes licenses, permits, registrations, and insurance.

The last thing your investor wants to hear after they've sent you a big chunk of change is that you're operating without proper approval from the local, state, or federal government.

Why it matters: The last thing your investor wants to hear after they've sent you a big chunk of change is that you're operating without proper approval from the local, state, or federal government.

Example of Legal Notes

"Jay Street Lounge and Restaurant is up-to-date on all restaurant licenses and health permits. Our business name and logo are registered trademarks, presenting the possibility of expanding locally."

8. Financial Considerations

Ultimately, investors want to know two things:

• When they will earn their money back.
• When they will start seeing returns on their initial investment.

That said, be clear, calculated, and convincing in this section. It should cover:

• Startup costs.
• Sales forecasts for the next several months/quarters.
• Break-even analysis for time and dollars.
• Projected profit and loss (P&L) statement.

Facts and figures are key here, so be as specific as possible with each line item and projection. In addition, explain the "why" behind each of these sections.

However, keep in mind that information overload is a risk, especially when it comes to data. So, if you have pages upon pages of charts and spreadsheets for this section, distill them into a page or two and include the rest of the sheets in the appendix. This section should only focus on key data points.

Why it matters: One of the most important aspects of becoming "investor ready" is knowing your numbers. More importantly, you need to understand how those numbers will enhance your business.

While it's easy to write a number down on paper, it's more important to understand (and communicate) why you need capital, where it's going, and that your evaluation makes sense.

Example of Financial Projections

"Based on our knowledge and experience in the restaurant industry, we have come up with projections for the business.

Starting with an expenditure of $400,000 in year 1, we forecast sales of $1,500,000 and $2,800,000 for years two and three. We expect to achieve a net profit of 15% by year three."

9. Appendix

A detailed and well-developed business plan can range anywhere from 20 to 50 pages, with some even reaching upward of 80.

In many cases, the appendix is the longest section. Why? Because it includes the supportive materials mentioned in previous sections. To avoid disrupting the flow of the business plan with visuals, charts, and spreadsheets, business owners usually add them in the last section, i.e. the appendix.

Aside from what we've already mentioned – marketing plan, sales plan, department budgets, financial documents – you may also want to attach the following in the appendix:

• Marketing materials
• Market research data
• Licensing documentation
• Branding assets
• Floor plans for your location
• Mockups of your product
• Renderings of your office space or location design

Adding these pieces to the appendix enriches the reader's understanding of your business and proves you've put the work into your business plan without distracting from the main points throughout the plan.

Why it matters: An appendix helps the reader do their due diligence. It contains everything they need to support your business plan.

Keep in mind, however, that an appendix is typically necessary only if you're seeking financing or looking to attract business partners.

Use a Business Plan Template to Get Started

Writing a business plan shouldn't be an insurmountable roadblock to starting a business. Unfortunately, for all too many, it is.

That's why we recommend using our free business plan template. Pre-filled with detailed section prompts for all of the topics in this blog post, we're confident this template will get your business plan started in the right direction.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in June 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

How to Calculate Your Lead Generation Goals [Free Calculator]

What Are Direct Costs & How Do They Differ From Indirect Costs?

How to Write a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide [Examples + Template]

9 Handy Business Calculators That’ll Make Your Life Easier

The Definition of CAC [In Under 100 Words]

How to Calculate the Value of Your Social Media Followers [CALCULATOR]

How to Calculate & Track a Leads Goal That Sales Supports

2 Essential Templates For Starting Your Business

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

How to Write a Business Plan for a Small Business

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated September 2, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

• The basics of writing a business plan

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that writing a business plan helps you: 

• Raise money
• Grow strategically
• Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your business plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After writing your business plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

Brought to you by

Create a professional business plan

Using ai and step-by-step instructions.

Secure funding

Validate ideas

Build a strategy

• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

• A summary of the problem you are solving
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your financials
• Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

When writing a business plan, the produces and services section is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

When writing a business plan, the operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

• Supply chain management
• Manufacturing processes
• Equipment and technology
• Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

• A description of each task
• The proposed due date
• Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

• Website launch date
• Store or office opening date
• First significant sales
• Break even date
• Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Profit per customer
• Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

The last section of your business plan is your financial plan and forecasts. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

• Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
• Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
• Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
• Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
• Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

• Company logo
• Business name
• Value proposition (optional)
• Business plan title
• Completion and/or update date
• Address and contact information
• Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI to write a business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information to include in a business plan is sometimes not quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

There are plenty of great options available (we’ve rounded up our 8 favorites to streamline your search).

But, if you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template , you can get one right now; download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

• Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
• Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
• Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
• Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
• Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

• Did you meet your sales goals?
• Is spending following your budget?
• Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of writing a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Writing a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of writing a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

• Write a brief executive summary
• Describe your products and services.
• Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
• Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
• Outline your organizational structure and management team.
• Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
• Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

• 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
• Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
• Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
• Failing to establish a sound business model.
• Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

• How will your business make money?
• Is there a need for your product or service?
• Who are your customers?
• How are you different from the competition?
• How will you reach your customers?
• How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Table of Contents

• Use AI to help write your plan
• Common planning mistakes
• Manage with your business plan

Related Articles

5 Min. Read

How To Write a Business Plan for a Life Coaching Business + Free Example

3 Min. Read

What to Include in Your Business Plan Appendix

1 Min. Read

How to Calculate Return on Investment (ROI)

7 Min. Read

How to Write a Bakery Business Plan + Sample

The LivePlan Newsletter

Become a smarter, more strategic entrepreneur.

Your first monthly newsetter will be delivered soon..

Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy .

The quickest way to turn a business idea into a business plan

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

No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents.

Discover the world’s #1 plan building software

• Infographics
• Most Recent
• Presentations
• Data Visualizations
• Forms and Surveys
• Video & Animation
• Case Studies
• Design for Business
• Digital Marketing
• Design Inspiration
• Visual Thinking
• Product Updates
• Visme Webinars
• Artificial Intelligence

How to Make a Flowchart: Beginner’s Guide (& Free Templates)

Written by: Mahnoor Sheikh

Knowing how to make a flowchart is a valuable skill, regardless of your field or industry. If you’re intimidated by the thought of creating a flowchart from scratch, we’re here to help you out.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the basic steps of designing a flowchart that helps you achieve your goals in the best possible way.

If you want to skip the tutorial and start creating your own flowchart, use our drag-and-drop flowchart maker to get started right away.

Here’s a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit  flowchart templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more templates below:

How to Make a Flowchart in 7 Simple Steps

Step #1: know the purpose of your flowchart., step #2: start with a template., step #3: add shapes and symbols., step #4: connect your shapes with lines and arrows., step #5: split paths or add decisions., step #6: customize your flowchart’s appearance., step #7: download or share your flowchart., bonus: make your flowchart interactive., flowchart best practices, 10 flowchart templates to help you get started.

• A flowchart is a visual representation of the steps, decisions and relations involved in a process.
• The best way to create a flowchart is to start by clarifying its purpose, choosing a suitable template, adding relevant shapes and symbols and connecting them using lines and arrows.
• Then, include decision points or branching paths, customize the appearance of the flowchart, and finally, download or share the completed flowchart.
• Visme's flowchart templates come with a wide variety of shapes and symbols that can be used to represent different parts of your process. You can also customize the colors, style and size of the shapes as well as their alignment within the flowchart.
• Sign-up for Visme's free online flowchart maker and create professional-looking flowcharts in just a few clicks.

What is a Flowchart?

A flowchart is a visual representation of a process, system or workflow. It uses a combination of symbols, shapes and arrows to illustrate the sequence of steps and decisions involved in accomplishing a task. Think of a flowchart as a roadmap that guides you from start to finish, showcasing the logical flow of actions and providing a clear overview of a process.

Much like bubble charts , scatter plots and graphs, flowcharts have versatile applications across various industries and disciplines. They are widely used for process analysis, project management and designing systems, providing a visual framework that enhances understanding.

What are the 4 Types of Flowcharts?

Flowcharts come in various types, each with its unique purpose and structure. Let's dive into the four main types of flowcharts you need to know. Additionally, we will provide an example flowchart template for each type to enhance your understanding.

1. Process Flowcharts

This is one of the most commonly used flowcharts compared to the others. Process flowcharts or process flow diagrams depict step-by-step sequences of activities within a process, making it easy to understand the workflow. They are ideal for analyzing and optimizing processes, identifying bottlenecks and improving efficiency.

2. Swimlane Flowcharts

Swimlane flowcharts take process flowcharts to the next level by introducing swimlanes representing different departments, individuals or responsibilities. They provide a clear visual representation of handoffs and interactions, helping identify accountability, collaboration and areas of improvement.

3. Data Flowcharts

Focused on the movement of data within a system or process, these flowcharts illustrate how data is processed, stored or transformed. They are widely used in software development, system analysis and data management to understand and optimize data flow.

4. Workflow Diagrams

Also known as deployment flowcharts, these diagrams showcase interactions between different entities in a system or process. They visualize the flow of tasks, decisions and events among individuals, departments or systems. Workflow diagrams help understand and improve coordination and communication between various components.

Read this article to learn more about the 15 most popular types of flowcharts and discover how each one can enhance your understanding of processes, optimize workflow, and improve decision-making.

The best flowcharts are simple and clear, and effectively communicate each step of the process.

By following some basic structure, diagramming and design concepts, you can create visually appealing and easy-to-understand flowcharts.

Our flowchart tutorial below is broken down into 7 simple steps

Follow these simple steps to create a flowchart that checks all the right boxes.

Before knowing how to design a flowchart, it is mandatory to find out why you’re creating one in the first place.

Your flowchart can have various goals, such as:

• Making a complex process easier to understand
• Improving an existing business process by identifying bottlenecks
• Explaining or communicating a process to someone else
• Standardizing a process for consistency and efficiency

When you know the purpose of your flowchart, it’s easier to choose the type of flowchart to create, pick the most relevant template, and know whether to focus more on design or function when making one.

Creating a flowchart from scratch can be intimidating. Luckily, you don’t have to.

There are plenty of flowchart templates available online that you can customize and adapt for your own use. Try to select a template that’s created specifically for your field or industry so it takes you less time and effort to finalize.

If you’re looking for professionally designed flowchart templates, browse through Visme’s flowchart template library with dozens of options for various fields. When you find something you like, hover on it and click on Edit to start customizing it.

You can also choose to start with a blank canvas and use pre-made flowchart content blocks to put your diagram together.

The easiest way to create a flowchart is by utilizing a dedicated flowchart maker, such as Visme. However, you can also create a basic flowchart using software like Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. This can be difficult for a beginner but might be a good option if you’re already confident about your diagramming skills and aren’t interested in using pre-made templates.

Samantha, a satisfied small business owner, shares why Visme is the ultimate destination for finding the perfect flowchart template.

“I was looking for flow-chart style templates with other brands in the trial phase, and I couldn't find anything- I tried Visme and instantly found at least 100 different flow-chart template options.”

Shapes and symbols play a vital role in any flowchart. They define the components of your flowchart, and each symbol represents something unique.

Read our brief guide to flowchart symbols above to familiarize yourself with the most common shapes and symbols before continuing with this step.

After you’ve identified the purpose of your flowchart, it’s time to draw your diagram. The first thing you need to do here is add the symbols that represent all the components in your flowchart.

If you’re making your flowchart in Visme, you can add flowchart symbols by clicking on the Data tab on your left, and then selecting Diagrams .

You can also add blocks of pre-made flows with 3-4 shapes by navigating over to the Basics tab and selecting Diagrams from there.

Once you’ve added some basic shapes, you can now connect them with lines and arrows. This leads us to the next step.

Once you’ve added all the different shapes you need, it’s time to connect each one with lines and arrows.

We recommend using arrows if you want to show a specific direction of your flow of information. For example, the flowchart example below visualizes how information is flowing in different directions with the help of arrows.

In Visme, there are various line and arrow designs to choose from if you want to add them manually. All of the lines and arrows are fully customizable, drag-and-drop, and easy to rearrange and move around.

Another way to quickly create your flowchart in Visme is to integrate the two steps of adding shapes and connecting them.

You can simply add one shape, click on it, select any of the small arrows that appear on the sides of the shape, and click on a pre-made flow to extend your diagram.

If you want to change the new shape that appears, just click on it, tap on Edit at the top, and change the shape or symbol to one that suits your needs.

Keep doing this until your flowchart is ready!

Transform technical, complex information into easy-to-understand reports

• Create detailed diagrams of workflows , systems and processes to see how they interset
• Easily create and share resources for your team , from login credentials to security best practices
• Get more visual with your communication to ensure intricate information is resonating and sinking in

Sign up. It’s free.

In some cases, you may want to split paths and add decisions to your flowchart, such as adding two different paths based on Yes/No decisions.

This is useful for visualizing complex processes that require people to take different actions based on varying inputs and outputs.

For example, you may want your employees to shut down a system in case of a power outage. At the same time, you’d want them to keep the system turned on if there’s only minor electricity fluctuation.

In Visme, adding decisions and split paths is easy.

When you click on a shape to extend it, you can choose one of the pre-made split path blocks to extend your flowchart in two different directions.

If you want, you can add text next to each path, such as “Yes” or “No”. Just drag and drop the Text block from the Data → Diagrams tab in the left-hand panel, and edit it.

Suppose you want to educate your audience on diagnosing and resolving slow server issues. To do this, you must include checking both swap and CPU percentages, along with appropriate actions to take based on high and low values.

Here is a flowchart template that visualizes the process:

The next step is to customize your flowchart’s appearance. Your flowchart’s design will depend on how you plan to use your diagram, where you’ll use it and who the audience is.

Visme’s “Shortcuts” feature makes it super easy for you to find everything you need to customize your flowchart template. By typing the forward slash "/" on your keyboard, a popup appears, providing quick access to a wide range of customization options.

From animations, shapes, and icons to special effects and data visualizations, you'll find almost everything Visme offers right at your fingertips.

With this time-saving feature, you can focus more on your content and ideas, knowing that the design aspect is simplified and optimized for maximum visual impact.

There are several ways to customize your flowchart’s appearance in Visme.

Customize your shapes and lines.

First, you may want to change the size, color, border, roundness and other characteristics of your shapes, symbols and lines.

You can do all of this in Visme by selecting the element in question, and clicking on Edit at the top to reveal the customization toolbar.

You can also change the font, font size, font color and font style of any text in your flowchart, such as the text inside shapes or next to the lines.

Resizing your shapes and lines is easy to do as well. Simply click on a shape and drag it using the controls on each side and corner.

Add relevant icons.

Flowcharts don’t always need to be all text and shapes and no graphics. Sprinkle some visual fun into your flowchart by adding icons where possible.

For example, instead of using text that says “Yes” or “No”, you can add icons of green check marks and red X/cross marks.

You can also add icons in place of the actual shapes and symbols to visualize components. This is especially useful in system diagram flowcharts, where you can add icons of computers, cloud, firewalls, switches, routers and more.

Visme comes built-in with thousands of free vector icons — all fully customizable.

Just click on the Graphics tab, select Icons and sift through the categories manually, or type in your keyword at the top to find relevant options.

You can change the colors of the icons, resize them, replace them with one click and even upload your own icons to enhance your flowchart’s design.

Add a header.

Make your flowchart design stand out by adding an eye-catching header at the top. Headers are not only useful for making your flowchart look good, they’re great tools for communicating the title and purpose of your flowchart.

Create an effective flowchart header by using large and bold text, and even add a graphic like an image or illustration to emphasize on your topic.

In Visme, you can add a header to your flowchart by clicking on the Basics tab and selecting Header & Text . Browse through the options and drag what you like onto your flowchart.

You can also choose from pre-designed font pairs or customize the header that came with your Visme flowchart template.

If you want to add an image to your header, select the Photos tab, and browse through millions of free stock photos. You can also upload your own images from your computer.

Another way to decorate your flowchart header in Visme is to find a relevant illustration or icon in the Graphics tab and resizing it so it’s big enough to fit in the header. Play around with the design and take advantage of visuals to communicate your flowchart topic more effectively.

Change the background.

Add a background to your flowchart to make it stand out. You can add a solid color background or take things up a notch and add an image.

Whatever background you choose to go with, make sure it doesn’t distract readers from the actual flowchart. Your shapes, symbols and lines should be clearly visible at all times.

One way to do that is to add a color overlay to your background image to make the objects and text on top stand out in contrast. You can easily add color overlays to any images in Visme.

Take it a step further and utilize Visme's AI Image generator to effortlessly create various types of backgrounds. This powerful tool enables you to generate unique and eye-catching visuals, such as gradients, abstract patterns or even custom images.

By leveraging the AI Image generator, you can easily customize your flowchart's background to make it truly stand out and leave a lasting impression on your audience. Just type what you want and it will give you exactly what you are looking for.

Once your flowchart is ready, it’s time to download it or share it with your target audience.

In Visme, you have a range of download options for your flowchart, including high-quality PNG and JPG image formats for printing and sharing.

You can also save it as a PDF document for a consistent layout in reports and presentations. Visme offers interactive HTML5 files for embedding in websites, as well as SCORM and xAPI formats for integration with e-learning platforms. Additionally, you can download your flowchart as a PPTX file to use as a presentation slide.

Apart from downloads, Visme lets you publish your flowchart online with a unique URL or generate an embed code for seamless integration into web pages or projects. These features provide flexibility in sharing and distributing your flowcharts.

Breathe life into your flowcharts through an array of interactive features. With the intuitive drag-and-drop functionality, you can effortlessly add clickable buttons, links and hotspots to engage viewers and provide additional information.

Imagine you're creating a flow chart to explain a step-by-step process for using a software application. You can add clickable buttons to each step of the flowchart, allowing users to navigate directly to relevant sections of the application or access related resources.

For instance, you can create a button labeled "Settings" that, when clicked, takes the user to the settings page of the application.

Enhance the user experience by incorporating hover effects and animated transitions, ensuring a seamless journey through your flowchart.

For example, when moving from one phase to another in a flowchart depicting a project management workflow, you can utilize animated transitions to create a visually appealing and engaging transition effect.

Additionally, you can embed multimedia elements like videos, audio and interactive charts to convey complex concepts with clarity and impact.

Visme's collaboration features enable team members to work simultaneously on the same flowchart. Use it to brainstorm ideas, make edits, and provide feedback. Everyone involved can see changes happening in real time, fostering a cohesive and efficient workflow.

Additionally, Visme keeps a detailed revision history, allowing you to track changes and revert to previous versions if needed.

Invite your team members via email or a shareable link and collaborate seamlessly on creating captivating flowcharts.

Also, Visme's workflow management tool streamlines your design process by letting you assign tasks, set deadlines, and oversee progress. Easily manage your team's work in one place to deliver quality content on time.

Making a flowchart is an art, and if you know the basic rules you will do wonders. Below are some best practices to help you make any flowchart more effective and efficient.

• Establish the flow direction. The format of your flowchart must be from left to right or top to bottom. This sort of formatting will help the user of your flowchart understand the process more easily.
• Run your return lines under your flowchart. Make sure that the return lines of your flowchart do not overlap because this can create complications for the users of your flowchart.
• Keep consistent spacing between symbols. A neat and clean flowchart will help you achieve your goals faster. So, make your flowchart clearer and easier to understand by adding consistent spacing between the symbols.
• Use the correct symbol for each step. Every symbol has a specific role in your flowchart, so make sure you use the right one to visualize each step to avoid any potential confusion or miscommunication.
• Use all caps. Using all caps in your flowchart text makes it look more professional and easier to read. It also highlights each step and gives it equal importance.

Looking for some flowchart templates to give you a head start?

In this section, we’ve put together a bunch of flowchart templates that are professionally designed and ready to use.

You can use these flowchart examples to accelerate your flowchart creation process. This is especially useful if you’re a beginner and you don’t want to deal with making a flowchart from scratch.

Click on the button below the template to start customizing using Visme’s flowchart generator .

Template #1: Server Network Diagram

Make an eye-catching server flowchart for your business with this basic network diagram template. You can also use it for other specific purposes, such as for visualizing a firewall system or an office network.

This ready-to-go flowchart template can be customized in Visme’s drag-and-drop editor. Change shapes, lines, text, colors, background and more.

Template #2: Customer Service Flowchart

This yes/no flowchart is a great way to train your customer service employees, such as sales reps, on how to respond to various customer queries and problems.

You can modify this ready-made flowchart with your own text, rearrange the shapes, and customize the design with your own brand colors and fonts.

If you need assistance writing your flowchart's text and description, use Visme’s AI Writer . This tool can generate, proofread, edit and even rephrase your flowchart text. All you need to do is provide the tool with the necessary information about your requirements, and it will do the work for you in seconds.

Template #3: Project Team Flowchart

This project team flowchart is essentially an organizational chart that you can use to visualize your team structure.

You can customize this flowchart for any business, department or team, and it’s very helpful for understanding roles, responsibilities and who to report to. Replace the existing text, colors, shapes and more in the template with your own and you’re good to go.

If you want to maintain consistent branding, it's crucial to create a flowchart design that aligns with your organization's brand personality .

With Visme's brand wizard tool , you can easily achieve this level of consistency. Save your brand colors , brand fonts , and logo within the brand wizard, and apply them to your flowchart design in just a few clicks.

This ensures that your flowchart seamlessly reflects your brand's visual identity , reinforcing your brand image and professionalism.

Watch the tutorial video below to learn about saving your brand assets under the My Brand aread in Visme.

Template #4: Hiring Process Flowchart

This hiring process flowchart is an asset for your human resources team and makes it easier to understand the entire recruiting process.

Feel free to customize this template according to your unique needs. For example, you may want to use it to visualize a production process or another HR process. Also, you can seamlessly create a process map to represent and improve any procedure visually.

Template #5: Website Rebranding Flowchart

This website rebranding flowchart can help you make decisions faster by mapping out the various factors that go into making a particular decision.

You can customize this template for any other use, such as for helping sales reps make better decisions, and even change the design so it’s more in line with your company’s branding.

Template #6: Should I Check Email Flowchart

This fun flowchart template is attractive and functional. You can use it to visualize decision-making for your business or personal use.

Modify this template for your own use by editing the colors, text, shapes, background and more. Download it in high-quality image or PDF format to use on its own or add to other projects, or share online using a link or embed code.

Take your flowchart to the next level with Visme's dynamic text animation features . With a selection of eight different animation styles, you can bring your flowchart to life and captivate your audience's attention.

By strategically applying text animations to key elements or labels within your flowchart, you can effectively highlight important information, guide the viewer's focus, and improve your flowchart's overall quality and impact.

Template #7: Technology Flowchart

Use this flowchart template to help your employees or customers solve technology problems, such as a slow server or an unresponsive application.

This is a great flowchart idea to place on your website's help page, and then if it doesn't solve the problem, users can get in touch for additional support.

The user-friendly editing tools in Visme are the best way to make a flowchart that aligns with your brand. You can shorten or extend it to fit your diagramming needs.

Template #8: Circuit Block Diagram

Explain the basics of circuits better with this block diagram template. You can also use it as a data flow diagram for any other purpose.

The best thing about this template is you can make changes in the text, colors and design easily. Download it once you’re done and add it to other projects like reports.

And if you're looking to create detailed reports, Visme can assist you with that. With Visme's AI report writer , you can streamline the report creation process. It helps you generate first drafts that you can further customize with your own colors, text and branding and ensure a professional look that suits your project's needs.

Template #9: Social Media Flowchart

This how-to flowchart can help you explain the process of completing a task quickly and easily based on Yes or No decisions.

This particular template focuses on setting up social media channels, but you can modify it for any other topic, field or industry.

Use Visme's powerful analytics feature to track the performance of your flowchart and gain valuable insights into how users engage with the content. You will get access to the number of views, average time spent, unique visits, date/time of view, visitor IP, visitor location and more.

Utilize this information to evaluate user interactions, pinpoint areas that need improvement, and make informed decisions to enhance the efficiency of your flowcharts.

Template #10: Product Launch Flowchart

This bright and engaging flowchart template is all about planning a successful product launch day or event. It’s a great tool for keeping all the team members on the same page so everyone knows what to do and when.

You can keep this small business flowchart as is or modify everything — from the topic to text to colors to shapes and more.

In addition to the flowcharts, you can use decision trees for easy and logical decision making. Explore this comprehensive guide to learn more and get free decision tree templates .

Create Your Own Flowchart for Free

If you’re all prepped to create your own flowchart and you know what the common flowchart symbols are, it’s time to make your own flowchart.

Making a flowchart is an easy process if you have the right tools at your disposal.

Visme’s flowchart maker is a great alternative to Word, especially for beginners who want to quickly create flowcharts with minimum effort. It is also an excellent Visio alternative due to its ease of use and functionality.

Another benefit of using Visme is that you get access to professionally designed flowchart templates that are a treat to the eyes.

So, what are you waiting for? Happy diagraming!

Easily create a beautiful flowcharts in minutes with Visme

Trusted by leading brands

Recommended content for you:

Create Stunning Content!

Design visual brand experiences for your business whether you are a seasoned designer or a total novice.

About the Author

Mahnoor Sheikh is the content marketing manager at Visme. She has years of experience in content strategy and execution, SEO copywriting and graphic design. She is also the founder of MASH Content and is passionate about tea, kittens and traveling with her husband. Get in touch with her on LinkedIn .

• Concise, focused guide that cuts through the clutter
• Step-by-step instructions for creating a project plan in under a day
• Master essential skills like work breakdowns and task sequencing
• Real-world troubleshooting for 20 common scheduling challenges
• Rapidly get up to speed if you're new to Microsoft Project
• Includes glossary, support resources, and sample plans
• Start planning like a pro
• Get your copy today!

10 Flow Chart examples - FREE downloads [in visio & PDF]

Flow charts are a diagrammatic representation of the inputs, outputs and steps that make up a business process. stakeholdermap.com

• The Top 10 Flow Chart symbols you need to know
• Example flow charts to download

Why you need Lucidchart for Flowcharts!

[Business Process] Maps and flowcharts help make work visible. Increased visibility improves communication and understanding, and provides a common frame of reference for those involved with the work process. Damelio, R. 1996, pg. 1

Flow Chart examples from real world projects

Patient check in flow chart.

Raise Purchase Order Process

Distribution Process Flow Chart

Match Invoice Process

Get References for a New Hire Flow Chart

Project Start-up Flow Chart

Risk Management Process Flow Chart

Service Request - Call Flow Chart

Scrutiny Process

Scrutiny Process second example

Business Readiness Flow Chart

An example Data Flow diagram

Taking the Cat to the Vet - Flow Chart

• Easy to use with a simple drag and drop GUI
• Great pricing! Unlimited digrams for as low as $7.95 / month
• 100s of templates for Flowcharts, UI design, Projects, and Reports
• FREE online training videos, webinars and case studies
• Multiple people can work on a diagram at once
• Share with your team with a click of a button

Example Flow Charts - references and further reading

Share this image.

Your current User-Agent string appears to be from an automated process, if this is incorrect, please click this link:

Essential Guide to Business Process Mapping

By Kate Eby | February 24, 2017 (updated August 4, 2023)

• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn

Link copied

With the range of disparate personalities and ways of thinking on your team, how do you get everyone to see something the same way? Moreover, how do you get your whole team to actually perform a task or a process in the same way, every time? Business process maps are a framework intended to do just that: layout a process graphically so that everyone has the same vision of it and can perform it the same way.

In this guide, we tackle newbie and advanced topics around business process mapping including its scope and purpose, its history, the types of maps, and the benefits. We’ll look at the principles and framework to map out processes, and the current state of process mapping. Then we will review the symbols often found in process mapping and modeling, and explain how to go about actually creating a map. Finally, we’ll cover where business process mapping fits in with process documentation and business process management life cycles, and share expert tips from around the web and around the world. Happy mapping!

What Is Business Process Mapping?

Business process mapping is a visual representation of work processes. Process maps show the relationship among the steps required to complete a product or service, and can be expressed as flowcharts or as Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) symbols.

A part of business process management (BPM) , business process maps are concerned with business activities, purpose, standards for success, roles and responsibilities, and when and where different steps will occur. Business process mapping promotes transparency, not only for those within the company, but also for all stakeholders, especially those involved in compliance.

Business process mapping is often mistaken for business process modeling. When professionals perform business process modeling, they are more interested in how the processes are performed, and who (or what department) is performing them. In this way, they focus on analyzing and optimizing the business process architecture through reviewing the processes and considering the company’s goals and requirements. A business’s process architecture details the entire enterprise’s set of processes. Often termed a “blueprint,” the architecture is typically used to align the company’s processes with their objectives. Modeling is more about how processes flow, while mapping is about what is in existence. For more information on business process modeling, see the Beginners Guide to Business Process Modeling .

See how Smartsheet can help you be more effective

Watch the demo to see how you can more effectively manage your team, projects, and processes with real-time work management in Smartsheet.

Watch a free demo

The Scope and Purpose of Business Process Modeling

Business process modeling is part of project planning for a wide range of project types. Businesses may choose to map their processes because they are conducting strategic planning, developing new metrics for reporting, or improving on their existing processes.

Process maps inspire professionals to consider how to make their organization more effective by thinking through their workflows. When you map a process, you must diagram it out in a way that achieves a shared understanding. The scope of business process mapping will show end-to-end activities, inputs such as materials or labor, and the linkages. A process map can cut across different departments and teams, and could even include external partners. It all depends on the process.

Organizations use business process modeling for different reasons, but primarily it’s a formal approach to quality management. Overall, businesses want to become more effective, so when all of the company objectives are measured and compared, it becomes possible to align them with your company’s values and capabilities. With aligned objectives, your organization can behave as a single entity with interconnecting parts, which significantly increases the value of your end-product or service. Other purposes of building business process maps include:

• Process standardization
• Employee onboarding and training
• Process improvement
• Communication
• Compliance with regulating agencies (e.g. International Organization for Standardization, 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act)
• Internal auditing

The History of Business Process Mapping

Business process mapping began with The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1921. From there, engineers and manufacturing plants adopted business process maps and evolved them into the software solutions we have today.

In 1921, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth introduced the flow process chart in a presentation that they gave called “Process Charts, First Steps in Finding the One Best Way to Do Work.” (Purdue University has an archive of these materials , if you want to learn more.) The tools that the Gilbreth’s presented quickly became engineering standards and continued to be shown through the 1940s, having been sanctioned by the ASME. In 1947, the ASME adopted a symbol system for consistency in this type of chart.

The manufacturing industry also adopted process maps to identify value-add activities and inefficiencies. These maps often took days to create and were static. More recently, business process mapping has evolved with software development. Businesses can use software tools to create their maps quickly, evolve them over time, and make them accessible to all team members, facilitating a culture of improvement. Most business process mapping software integrates with business process management software systems, so that you can draw the maps and have them come to life within your business.

Types of Business Process Maps

You can create business process maps for project plans, details, documents, products, roles, locations, strategies, or interactions, at varying levels of detail. We’ve outlined the most common types of business process maps in the list below.

The Reasons Why We Map Processes

There are many reasons that companies choose to map their business processes, including increased visibility, decreased errors in processes, and the ability to identify risk. The list below outlines some reasons your organization may decide to map its processes:

The Principles of Business Process Mapping

To properly transform your organization into a sustainable one, you must understand how we begin to map business processes. These following principles should be present in every mapping project:

• Define the scope of the project itself, with the boundaries, start, and end points.
• Look at the big picture - the intent of the process.
• Define each step clearly.
• Get feedback from everyone in your organization who is involved in the process.
• Strive to be complete in your accuracy, especially with the map of the “as-is” process.
• Strive to keep the sub-processes simple.
• Test the process with accepted metrics. Metrics should measure the time, volume, rates/costs, equipment, and any added value.
• Work from output to input, backward.
• Create ownership with single points of contact where feasible.
• Redesign processes to be customer-centric.
• Use technology to enable your processes.
• Decrease inefficiencies in the hand-offs.

The Framework of Business Process Mapping

To map your business process, first identify your business’s ideal processes. Then, define the purpose of the map. Analyze the process, optimize it, and then document the process while identifying problem areas. We’ve expanded on these steps below:

1. Identify your organization’s best practices: As in the principles of good business process mapping, your organization should agree on what is mapped and the scope of each. The process should be easily understood as mapped by someone who is not close to it. Each process should also have a series of questions posed to it that answer why it is being done and what goes into each detail of it. Finally, apply metrics as a basis for measuring the success of each process.

2. As-is in process design: Specifically define the purpose of mapping the process. Ask where the process initiates and ends, and determine what the opportunity of fixing it could become. After selecting a process, determine all the steps in it, as well as inputs and outputs. Establish the systems, roles, and time involved. Select a mapping technique. Interview the contributors for the roles they play in the process, looking at every duty and decision point.

The following are the specific criteria that you are looking for in every process:

• Responsibilities
• Risks and controls
• Key performance indicators

3. Analyze and evaluate: Review your process map. You are looking for processes that are redundant, delays and unnecessary steps, vagueness, bottlenecks, points of rework, and flows that continually pass back and forth between certain people. Determine a measure for each segment, and where exactly to implement it. Identify the appropriate people to review the map. Select a process improvement plan. Process innovation analyses should consider Steven Shapiro’s 7 R’s of process innovation:

• Reconfigure

4. To-be in process design: Document the process, emphasizing any problem areas. Using the best practices developed in Step 1, document the differences in the existing and new processes. Use a root cause analysis to ferret out potential problems.

The Current State of Business Process Mapping

Businesses today are more focused than ever on sustainable improvement. Using software to map business processes allows companies to review and develop process maps more easily, so they can sustainably improve them.

Even with measurable operational improvements, it may be difficult to sustain the enhancements you make. Many businesses still have inefficient processes, and view technology as a magic bullet that can solve their woes in one shot. Experts say that while technology can certainly help, you need to use it judiciously in order for it to make lasting positive change. 

Furthermore, the organization must make cultural improvements, since the development of technology for developing process maps has far surpassed most organizations’ ability to implement them. Without cultural shifts, the people who are involved in the process can easily sink the improvements before they even take hold.

The Symbology of Business Process Mapping

The standard notation for business process maps is known as Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) , but many businesses use a simpler form of notation. Many common software solutions support both BPMN symbols and their simpler counterparts.

We’ve summarized the BPMN symbols in the charts below:

Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) is a different matter, however. BPMN is a much more formalized approach to mapping and modeling. Special software is required, and there is a learning curve in the use of BPMN. It is an extremely regulated language of notation, with specified symbols for almost any scenario. Mainly professionals who produce a lot of process models use BPMN. Across industries, countries, and languages, BPMN acts as a consistent way to identify the steps in processes. A more in-depth exploration of BPMN may be found in Beginners Guide to Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) . Some basic symbols of BPMN are inlcuded in the chart below.

Steps in Business Process Mapping

To map your business process, start by identifying the process to map. Gather information about the current process, and analyze it to determine where improvements can be made. Continue to monitor the process for improvement.

Performing the Business Process Mapping

In business process mapping, the processes you choose to map will determine how advantageous your maps are. Ensure that your business process maps are as impactful as possible by considering how they affect your customers and your overall business strategy.

We’ve outlined three methods for determining the most effective processes to map below:

• Group your processes based on their effect on your customer: These processes are core, enabling, and guiding processes. Core processes reflect the reason that the business exists, and have a direct effect on your clients. Enabling processes are those used in the management of the business. Guiding processes are those used in the planning and governance of the business. It is recommended in a process improvement project to start with either an enabling or guiding process so as you fine-tune your improvement method and do not impact your customers.
• Link your overarching strategy with your process and tasks: This starts with identifying your organization’s strategic goals. Once complete, you can form a process architecture based on it for your current processes. In this, you are determining what processes are most relevant to achieving your company’s strategy, and in what order to improve them to most keep in line with it and create a future agenda of improvement.
• Forced improvement: Less about a planned approach, this is more about reacting by necessity. For example, a failed audit or a management mandate can force a process improvement initiative. In this case, the required processes are targeted and mapped.

What Is Process Documentation and How Does Business Process Mapping Fit In?

Process documentation includes any documents that support or delineate a process. Business process maps are an element of process documentation that creates a visualization of how you perform your processes.

You can use process documentation as a roadmap for your organization to capture not only the end-products of your process improvement projects, but also how you got there. Decide how often you will update your process maps, and who will initiate new improvement projects. Another big component of process documentation is software documentation. Encourage users of all levels to use the software for the intended processes.

Business Process Management Life Cycle

The full BPM lifecycle is made up of unique business process improvement projects, and generally includes five phases: design, modeling, execution, monitoring, and optimization. 

Business process management aims to systematically improve business processes. It is a cohesive agenda for the advancement of people and information with many components, including software. To learn more, see our guide to business process management .

Tips for Business Process Mapping

Business process mapping can be intimidating for first time users. We’ve collected expert tips, from recognizing your assumptions to using subject matter experts, in the list below: 

• Apply business process mapping to the right types of processes. Processes that reflect how decisions are made may not be the best processes to map because they are limited in steps, and may not offer the most impact for your time.
• Be clear about the focus of your process mapping. Sometimes the inefficiencies in your processes are outside of the process itself. It then becomes critical that you review any intersecting (secondary) processes as well.
• Aim for good. There is no perfect. Enough said.
• Use care in cross-party responsibility process maps. These types of process maps are not the ideal, as the leading party is difficult to show graphically. Take care in the analysis to differentiate the leader when the process crosses boundaries.
• Get someone skilled to map your processes. Consider outside help if you do not have someone currently trained in mapping.
• Validate your maps. Right after you draw them, review them with the process participants so that you ensure they are correct.
• Be constantly aware of your assumptions. Your assumptions and those of your staff can get you into trouble. Keep asking the questions that reveal your biases. 
• Don’t fix your processes until they are fully mapped. Define your ‘as-is’ state completely, ensuring that you see the whole picture and changes are then better informed.
• Remember that there are always exceptions and errors. Capture these, but remember that they may not be the norm and may not reflect the real as-is situation.
• The people who use the processes are the experts. It is critical that you have an appropriate overview because some people may be too close to change the processes, but they will be able to tell you whether the postulated changes have a chance of working.
• Collect all the documents from your improvement process. Improvement projects are not just about the map. Sure, it is important, but you may have to create it again.

According to Sean Martin, Marketing Manager:

“We are actually in the process of BP Mapping for our sales and marketing teams right now. It's important that we tie these different reports into a singular goal: Growth. To do that, we've employed some strict metrics in what we call a 5x3 Growth Plan. But the most important piece of advice I have for companies looking to invest in BPM is to RECORD AND MAP ALL OF YOUR PROCESSES BEFORE YOU START CHANGING THEM. Today's marketing world is in a flux of constant innovation and optimization. Because of this, we marketers are often hustling to implement, report, and optimize our tests all at one time. This simply doesn't work. I advise agencies employing business process modeling to slow down and make sure you get a complete and accurate picture of your business process before you start making changes. Crawl before you walk - and walk before you crawl - otherwise you'll end up tripping over your own optimization goals.”

According to Ray McKenzie, Founder and Principal of  Red Beach Advisors :

“Companies that decide to map their processes should evaluate the top three to five processes to map first.  Every company has several processes and they all need to be addressed. However, every process cannot be a top priority. It is best for companies to evaluate the top company-impacting pain points, evaluate which points need process definition, and structure a process to solve that pain point. If there is a process that is revenue generating or negative impacting, those should rise to the top of the priority list. As a company is able to develop more and more process, the company injects more stability and growth potential. 

“The first process selected to be mapped should be the largest pain point in the business which restricts revenue generation. Every business is going to have obstacles and pain points to have growth. An efficiently run business is a successful business and successful businesses have significant revenue. Revenue generation keeps the business moving forward so a company should want to remove all obstacles slowing the acquisition of revenue.”

According to Robby Slaughter, Principal at  AccelaWork :

“The technical capacity of BPM has dramatically outpaced the level of adoption or even awareness of the field. Most companies have never done any process mapping -- not even informally -- and they suffer from poorly-defined procedures, minimal staff engagement, and significant rework and duplication.

“Your time is the most important investment, and purchasing software or hiring consultants won’t help if your team isn’t truly committed to process mapping. Learn one or two of the UML forms. I suggest using case diagrams and activity diagrams. Practice these extensively with fun, non-work processes like planning a party or scoring a frame of bowling. Once you learn the technology of process mapping, you’ve got a fighting chance of implementing it in your organization.

“We’ve done process mapping for all kinds of organizations, from marketing firms to factories to logistics companies. In most cases, the experience requires sitting down with staff directly and watching them work to learn about the procedures. This is the only accurate method to document the as-is state of the organization. Training materials, manuals, and even what management says is usually outdated or flat wrong.

“It’s good to select a low-impact, high-visibility process to highlight the capacity and utility of mapping. From there, the next step is to develop a lexicon for the organization. This is the terminology that people use to describe activities and work product. Then, we’re most interested in processes that cross teams or departments. That’s usually the area where there is the biggest disconnect and the most challenges.”

According to Mike Hammontree, CEO of  WundrMedia :

“Business process mapping is a very important part of setting up a new business or just a new part of a business. You have to know who is going to do what and at what level of efficiency and quality because if they aren't meeting those needs your business could fail right out of the gate.   “My best advice is make sure you have every little thing mapped out, even to who will be getting the coffee for the office, you want your office to be moving as smoothly as possible to make sure there are no kinks. Especially when starting something new, it has to move quickly and effectively to be successful.

“We just recently finished recruiting our teams for our new magazine, Wundr Magazine, which is an entity of Wundr Media. When doing so we had to map out every single thing from editors to journalists and content creators along with managing trips and photoshoots to make sure everyone is doing their job to the highest level possible. The way I chose to map my processes was to decide on which is the most important and what would fail if we didn't get it exactly right from the start. For us it was marketing, of course. If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? Or if a magazine launches and no one knows about it, does it even exist?”

According to Jitesh Keswani, CEO at  e-Intelligence :

“Business process mapping has been high on most lists of important business sustainable growth plans throughout the last year. It is a logical continuation of deliberate investment into the improvement of business processes. The demand for business process mapping is slowly and steadily picking up. The business owners and leaders have understood the value of optimized business processes as an essential part of their overall success. According to a recent study by AIIM, most businesses see business process mapping as a systematic approach to improving their processes. However, less than half of the business owners really know all they need to about business process mapping. While they show a positive attitude toward adopting business process mapping for their businesses, most of them cite stuck-in-process as the biggest reason for failing to implement business process mapping. Increasing awareness about business automation however increases the scope of adoption of business process mapping among the business and technology leaders."

In the field of marketing, business process maps are called journey maps. These journey maps are based on the customer’s perspective and transform complex data into a one-page visual diagram. 

According to Kevin Sides, Chief Marketing Officer at  ShipMonk , who uses journey maps as business process maps, “Journey maps are our key to business. My specialty is mapping out the standard growth or marketing funnel. It looks like this:

• Acquisition - How do we get customers to our site?
• Activation - How do we get them to sign up?
• Retention - How do we get them to stay?
• Revenue - How do we make money?
• Referral - How do we use those customers to get more customers?

“Starting with the gap from customers visiting our site and signup up for our service, we utilize a few different tools to enter them into a journey. Our live chat and eBook are at the forefront of the mix. We use these to get more information on who they are and what pain points they are having. Once we get their contact information, we enter them into a journey decided upon by the sales person or the lead form they filled out. For example, if they are fulfilling orders in-house, we'll send them information on how to transition to outsourcing and the benefits associated, free consultations, signs to outsource, etc. If they are using another fulfillment center, we'll sell them on what ShipMonk specifically does better. If they are just getting started we'll give them information on how to get started themselves and when to consider outsourcing. 

“Once we get customers to sign up, our focus is solely on retaining them. It costs five to seven times more to gain a new customer than to retain a current customer so this is very important. We send milestone emails and rewards each time a customer reaches a certain number of packages shipped and we check it every few months to make sure everything is going as they've hoped. We proactively try to stay ahead of issues before they boil out of control. This is all done through marketing automation and timed in a behavioral journey.

“Revenue - We have partners who have services that benefit our customers and if we see an opportunity that would benefit our customers first, we'll enter them into another journey to promote a partner service. If they aren't interested, we remove them from the journey immediately and move on. Our goal is to help our customers sell and ship more packages. If they sell more we ship more. 

“Referral - It’s pretty simple, if you have a good product or service people will be willing to let others know and write a review. The problem is most people are extremely busy and don't think to write a review unless they are unhappy. We use journeys to remind customers of the review and what it would mean to our business.”

According to Ted Hessing, Owner at  Charlotte Web Development  and  SixSigmaStudyGuide.com :

“Business process modeling and mapping can seem daunting at first. Which process should you start with? The answer is: Which process needs the most attention? Company or initiative strategies comes into play, but that may only tell you the general direction to go. In that case, or in the case of initiatives containing multiple processes, it's a good idea to refine your search. There are tools that I like to achieve focus: the SIPOC and the Process Performance & Process Capability calculations. A SIPOC can give you a high-level end-to-end view of your process. Often by examining the interactions on the ends, the suppliers and consumers, it's obvious which process to begin to model. Process Capability and Process Performance calculations give us common language to measure processes against each other - even if they are wildly different. Once we have a way to quantitatively measure processes, we can then choose to model the worst-performing process in order to begin to see how we might improve it, which would then improve the whole.”

According to Kimberly Watson-Hemphill, Founder and CEO of  Firefly Consulting , and Co-Author of Innovating Lean Six Sigma:

“Business Process Mapping is an excellent way to get started on a journey of continuous improvement. How can we improve if we don’t know our starting point? We can’t! So, the first step is understanding our current level of performance. To this end, we need to know what our current processes are and how to measure their performance.

“Each company has core processes that are essential for achieving the company’s strategy. For example, in an insurance company, the claims process is absolutely critical, and could be a good starting point for process mapping. In a manufacturing company, planning and scheduling is essential, and could be an excellent starting point. Pick something that is important, so that the time spent on documenting and evaluating the process is viewed as beneficial.

“To map the process, work with a team of individuals who do the work on a daily basis. They’re the ones who know how the process is really working, and what are the potential issues. Some key questions to ask include:

• What are the process steps from beginning to end?
• What function is responsible for each step in the process?
• How do we measure the performance of each process?

“No investment is needed to get started. The team can begin with just a stack of sticky notes on a white board, and once the process is determined, document it for future reference in a software program that the company is already using. Through the exercise of working with the team on business process mapping, many process improvement ideas will surface. You’ll be amazed at all of the good ideas that team members have on how things could be done better. Now is the perfect time to get started!”

Business Process Mapping: Tools and Software

Depending on the long-term needs of your business, you may consider purchasing business process mapping software and tools. It is important to determine what features are available and find a solution that fits the needs of your team. 

We’ve made a list of popular features for your consideration below: 

• Drag-and-drop interface
• Formatting capabilities
• Integrated BPM tool
• Publishing and sharing capabilities
• Venn diagram maker
• Mind mapping software
• Data flow diagram software
• Intuitive design
• Automated updates
• Integration with MS Office products
• Graham process maps
• Linking between charts and other documents
• Reporting capabilities
• Review scheduling capacity
• Unified platforms
• Collaboration
• Business rules management
• Process analysis
• Process simulation

How Smartsheet Can Help Improve Business Processes

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

Ultimate Flowchart Tutorial | Learn What is a flowchart and How to create a flowchart

So you want to learn flowcharts? Well, This flowchart tutorial will teach you all you need to know. It will cover the history of flowcharts, flowchart symbols, how to create flowcharts, flowchart best practices and we’ve also included a section to answer frequent questions about flowcharts. Best of all you can use our flowchart software.

Creately already has some really awesome articles and videos covering various things related to flowcharts like meanings of flowchart symbols, how to use swimlanes in flowcharts, flowchart best practices, case studies, and much more.

History of Flowcharts

Frank Gilberth introduced flowcharts in 1921, and they were called “Process Flow Charts” at the beginning. Allan H. Mogensen is credited with training business people on how to use flowcharts. Wikipedia has a great summary of the history of flowcharts, read more in this wiki section .

What is a Flowchart

Flowcharts are visual representations of processes and systems, showing the various steps, decision points, and paths through a process. In a wide range of fields, including software development, engineering, business, and education, it is used to help understand, analyze, and optimize processes. A well-designed flowchart should be easy to read and follow a logical sequence of steps.

Flowchart Symbols

Flowchart symbols are graphical representations of various components of a process or system. Each symbol is used to denote a particular action, decision, or result in the process being represented. Each symbol also has a specific meaning.

So what are the different symbols used in a flowchart?. Most people are only aware of basic symbols like processes and decision blocks. But there are many more symbols to make your flowchart more meaningful. The above image shows all the standard flowchart symbols.

The most common symbol used in a flowchart is the rectangle. A rectangle represents a process, operation, or a task. The next most common symbol is the diamond which is used to represent a decision.

With this following list, you can figure out the most commonly used flowchart symbols as well as those that are little-known. All these shapes are available in Creately and you can try out a demo or take a look at some flowchart examples for more context.

Terminal / Terminator

The terminator shows where your process begins or ends. You can use words like ‘Start’, ‘Begin’, ‘End’ inside the terminator shape to make things more obvious.

Process / Rectangle

Flowchart process shape is used to represent a process, action step, or operation. While these are pictured with rectangles, the text in the rectangle mostly includes a verb. For example, ‘Edit Video’, ‘Try Again’, ‘Choose Your Plan’.n’.

The Data object, often referred to as the I/O Shape shows the Inputs to and Outputs from a process. This takes the shape of a parallelogram.

Decision / Conditional

The decision shape is represented as a Diamond. This object is always used in a process flow to ask a question. And, the answer to the question determines the arrows coming out of the Diamond. This shape is quite unique with two arrows coming out of it. One from the bottom point corresponding to Yes or True and one from either the right/left point corresponding to No or False. The arrows should always be labeled to avoid confusion in the process flow.

The document object is a rectangle with a wave-like base. This shape is used to represent a Document or Report in a process flow.

Stored Data

This is a general data storage object used in the process flow as opposed to data that could be also stored on a hard drive, magnetic tape, memory card, of any other storage device.

Direct Data

Direct Data object in a process flow represents information stored which can be accessed directly. This object represents a computer’s hard drive.

Internal Storage

This is a shape that is commonly found in programming flowcharts to illustrate the information stored in memory, as opposed to on a file. This shape is often referred to as the magnetic core memory of early computers, or the random access memory (RAM) as we call it today.

Sequential Access

This object takes the shape of a reel of tape. It represents information stored in a sequence, such as data on a magnetic tape.

Manual Input

This object is represented by a rectangle with the top sloping up from left to right. The Manual Input object signifies an action where the user is prompted for information that must be manually input into a system.

Subroutine / Predefined Process

This shape takes two names – ‘Subroutine’ or ‘Predefined Process’. Its called a subroutine if you use this object in flowcharting a software program. This allows you to write one subroutine and call it as often as you like from anywhere in the code.

The same object is also called a Predefined Process. This means the flowchart for the predefined process has to be already drawn, and you should reference the flowchart for more information.

Although these are the standard symbols available in most flowchart software, some people do use different shapes for different meanings. The most common example of this is using circles to denote start and end. The examples in this flowchart tutorial will stick with the standard symbols.

How to Draw a Flowchart

How do you draw a flowchart? Well, our flowcharting tool is a good place to start. But before directly using the tool, let’s take a look at some basics.

There are four main types of flowcharts. Document flowchart, System flowchart, data flowchart, and program flowchart. Not everyone agrees with this categorization, but the core principles of drawing a flowchart remain the same. You need to consider a few things when drawing a flowchart, Check out 6 useful tips on drawing flowcharts before you start.

If you are drawing a flowchart with many responsible parties you can group them together using swimlanes. Swimlanes are a powerful technique to increase the readability of your flowchart so you should use them according to the situation. Read how to use cross-functional flowchart for planning to learn more about the process.

The below video shows how to draw a flowchart using Creately. It is very simple to use and one-click create and connect helps you draw them faster as well. You can drag and drop symbols from the library or drag images to your diagram by doing an image search.

Here are the Steps to Draw a Flowchart

1. explain the procedure.

Determine the function and boundaries of the system or process you wish to depict in the flowchart. The process’s inputs, outputs, and actions should be identified.

2. Choose the shapes and symbols

To represent the many process components—such as the start and end points, inputs, outputs, actions, decisions, and loops—choose the right symbols and shapes. Rectangles, diamonds, circles, and arrows are the most often utilized shapes in flowcharts. To access all shapes, enable Creately’s flowchart shapes library.

3. Organize the flow

Determine the order of the steps in the process and the different paths that can be taken. This will help you organize the flow of the flowchart. Use Creately’s Plus Create to add the next shape and the connector in a single click.

4. Review and revise

Check that the flowchart accurately depicts the procedure and is simple to read and understand. If required, revise it to make it more precise and understandable. Share feedback using Creately’s contextual comments.

5. Share the flowchart

Distribute the flowchart to coworkers, stakeholders, or clients who will need to use it or refer to it easily with a workspace link

Flowchart Templates and Examples

Although you can start drawing flowcharts by scratch it is much easier to use templates. They help you reduce errors and remind you about the best practices to follow. If you want to use a ready-made template, go to the flowchart examples section and click on the flowchart that best suits you. Click on the use at template after the image and you are ready to draw your flowchart.

Below are two templates out of hundreds of flowchart templates available to the user. Click on any of them to start drawing flowcharts immediately.

• Ready to use
• Fully customizable template
• Get Started in seconds

Flowchart Best Practices

There are a few things you can do to make your flowchart universally accepted. And there are some things that you can do to make it visually pleasing to others as well.

If you’re planning to share your flowchart or hoping to use it on a presentation etc. then it’s wise to use standard symbols. However, it is important to remember that the idea is to give out information in an easy-to-understand manner. It is perfectly acceptable to use an alternative image instead of the document symbol as long as the audience understands it.

Keeping the arrow flow to one side, using the same size symbols, naming the decision blocks, processes, arrows, etc. are a few things you can do to make it better. The common mistakes section covers most of these practices in detail.

Map out any process, workflows, or system with ease. Dedicated shape library, drag and drop interface, and powerful diagramming for super-fast drawing.

Common Mistakes Made when Drawing Flowcharts

This section highlights the common mistakes made when drawing flowcharts. Some of the things mentioned here are to make it better looking and more understandable, not having them in your flowchart won’t make it wrong. Since there are two posts covering these mistakes in-depth I will link to them from this flowchart tutorial.

Effective Use of Flowcharts – Case Studies

A flowchart tutorial isn’t complete without some case studies. Below are three case studies and real-life examples of how flowcharts can help you make decisions.

• Ten Flowchart Ideas for Your Business – How flowcharts can be used in making business decisions and optimizing the current business processes
• Analyzing Sales Funnel with Flowcharts – How to analyze the Google analytic sales funnel using a flowchart.
• Flutterscape Case Study – How one of our customers used flowcharts to enhance their processes.

Frequently Asked Questions About Flowchart

The comments section of this article is full of questions. Please note that I will not draw flowcharts for specific scenarios. Below I have answered some of the most frequently asked questions.

Q 01 : What is a subprocess in a flowchart?

Answer: Sometimes complex processes are broken down into smaller sub-processes for clarity. So a flowchart can point to a different sub-process within its flow. The predefined process symbol is used to show such subprocesses.

Q 02 : How are flowcharts used in computer programming?

Answer: A computer program consists of many processes and flows. Flowcharts are used to visualize the processes and make them understandable for non-technical people. They are also used to visualize algorithms and comprehend pseudo-code which is used in programming.

Comments and Feedback on the Flowchart Tutorial

I hope this flowchart tutorial will help you to come up with awesome flowcharts. Flowcharts are a great way to present complex processes in a simple-to-understand manner and they are used all over the world in many industries. If you have a question about drawing flowcharts or have any suggestions to improve this post, feel free to mention in the comments section.

More Diagram Tutorials

• Sequence Diagram Tutorial: Complete Guide with Examples
• Business Process Modeling Tutorial (BPM Guide Explaining Features)
• Use Case Diagram Tutorial (Guide with Examples)

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

More Related Articles

Software engineer turned tech evangelist. I handle marketing stuff here at Creately including writing blog posts and handling social media accounts. In my spare time, I love to read and travel.

Transform teamwork with Confluence. See why Confluence is the content collaboration hub for all teams.  Get it free

• The Workstream
• Project management
• Process Flow Chart

Process flow chart: what it is & how to create one

Browse topics.

Keeping your business organized can be a tall order — especially as it grows. Process flow charts are one way to organize business processes by visualizing the steps of a process or workflow . As you dive deeper into the individual steps of a process, you can discover opportunities to improve teamwork and productivity.

Visualizing processes with a flowchart can help you organize important details and improve your operations. As you develop your process flow chart, you can discover non-value-added processes and optimize your workflow.

In this guide, we’ll discuss what a process flow chart is and how you can create one for your business. Keep reading to learn more.

What is a process flow chart?

Process flow charts are a way of visually organizing your workflow. They use different shapes connected by lines, each representing an individual step.

A process flow chart aids in project management by helping you outline and visualize your workflows. An example could be a chart showing how you process and fulfill customer orders from the moment an order is placed to delivery.

Importance of process flow charts

Visualizing your workflow allows you to understand your project scope better so you can plan your project based on your goals and deadlines.

Having a clear visual representation of your processes helps improve teamwork and keep everyone on the same page. This way, everyone can understand your business processes from start to finish and the role they play in those processes.

Creating a flow process chart can improve productivity by weeding out non-value-added activities. You have ample room to grow and improve if you’re not wasting precious time on unnecessary steps.

Types of flow charts

There are several types of flow charts, each serving a different purpose. You can learn more about some of the different flow charts below:

• Basic flow chart: Simple flow charts are ideal for visualizing basic steps without many complexities or details.
• System flow chart: System flow charts show how every part of a system interacts with the other parts.
• Workflow diagram: Workflow diagrams visualize steps or processes required to complete a project, which can help you minimize waste.
• Data flow chart: Data flow charts show how data moves throughout your system and other connected systems.
• Decision flow chart: These flow charts play a vital role in the decision-making process , answering simple questions to arrive at a final decision.
• Swimlane flow chart: Swimlane flow charts allow you to visualize who’s responsible for each part of a process or project, whether that’s an individual or a group.

Components of a process flow chart

Process flow charts have a few key symbols used to contextualize the information in the chart. Different symbols are used for different steps within a process flow chart with connecting lines in between.

Different shapes and symbols—including diamonds and rectangles—are used for each process or step, with lines connecting the symbols. Different types of lines denote the beginning and end of the flow chart, and directional arrows indicate the flow direction of the chart.

Visualizing information with flow charts can play a crucial role in project planning , and it’s easy once you understand what the symbols represent.

Steps to create a process flow chart

Creating a process flow chart isn’t rocket science, but there are some basic guidelines you need to follow. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you create your next process flow chart.

Identify the process

Start by clearly defining the process or workflow you’re going to outline. Choosing which projects to visualize and optimize is critical to strategic planning . Once you have a good idea of what you want your flow chart to represent, you can start building it out.

Define boundaries

When it comes to process flow charts for businesses, you can always add more details or break a process down further by adding more steps. However, when creating a flow chart, you only want to include the necessary details.

Figure out the scope and boundaries of your flow chart before you start fleshing it out. That way, you’ll avoid wasting time adding information that complicates the main objective. Details are good, but you don’t want to go overboard.

Gather information

This is where knowledge sharing comes into play. Now, it’s time to collect detailed information about the steps, inputs, and outputs contributing to the process. Ensure you track the process from start to finish to avoid missing crucial steps.

Identify the sequence of steps

Now that you know the steps involved in the process you’re outlining, you can put them in the correct sequence to start organizing your flow chart. Your flow chart should move in one consistent direction from beginning to end, with each step bringing you closer to completing the process.

Draw the flow chart

With process flow charts, the individual steps only tell part of the story—you need to connect them to tell the whole story. Complete your flow chart by using symbols and connectors to connect individual steps and create an accurate visual representation of the process from start to finish.

Review and revise

Once you’ve organized and drawn everything out, review your flow chart to ensure it’s accurate, complete, and clear. If there are any issues, you can revise your flow chart.

Reviewing and revising is a never-ending battle. Even after completing a flow chart, you must review and update it regularly to ensure accuracy. Make sure to reflect any changes in your flow charts as they occur.

Uses of process flow charts

A good process flow chart can provide several benefits for businesses. Here are some of the common uses of process flow charts:

• Process improvement: Visualizing processes helps you understand how to optimize them, saving you time and money.
• Training and onboarding: When you clearly understand your training and onboarding process, you can streamline it and ensure everyone receives the same training.
• Communication: Flow charts can help you identify communication gaps in different project stages to keep everyone on the same page.
• Documentation: Using visuals helps everyone follow documentation best practices — from project documentation to team documentation.
• Compliance and quality assurance: Creating a step-by-step visual representation of a process helps you identify potential compliance or quality assurance issues before it’s too late.

Best practices for creating effective process flow charts

An effective flow chart can help you optimize business processes and improve productivity and project collaboration . Here are some guidelines to follow to ensure you’re doing it right.

Keep your process flow chart simple. Focus on adding key steps and information only.

Using consistent symbols and connecting lines adds clarity to your process flow charts, making it easier to collaborate with your team and boost productivity. You can even involve stakeholders in the process.

Once your flow chart is complete, there’s still work to do. Updating and maintaining flow charts helps you keep a constant visualization of the processes that your business relies on.

Create process flow charts with Confluence Whiteboards

Process flow charts can offer several benefits for businesses, improving productivity and teamwork while eliminating unnecessary steps. With Confluence Whiteboards, you can visualize and turn ideas into tasks.

Confluence brings everyone together in a connected workspace to move projects forward. Teams can create, edit, and share project plans in a connected workspace so everyone is on the same page.

Confluence flow chart templates make it easy to create effective flow charts quickly, plus you can convert stickies into Jira issues with a few clicks.

Use Confluence Whiteboards to visualize your workflow and optimize your business with process flow charts.

Process flow chart: Frequently Asked Questions

What is an example of a process flow chart.

A great process flow chart example is product delivery. You can use a process flow chart to visualize the delivery of a product from the moment the customer contacts you to the moment you finish the job. The first step may be the customer contacting you (or vice versa), eventually leading to the point where you fulfill the order, and the customer receives an email letting them know their order arrived.

You can use process flow charts for almost anything, including manufacturing, service delivery, product delivery, and project management processes.

What tools can you use to create process flow charts?

Confluence allows you to create process flow charts that visualize your business processes accurately. Confluence is easy to use, and you can start with a flow chart template so you don’t have to do all the work. Once you’ve chosen a template, you can add individual steps and symbols to clarify the chart. Confluence also integrates seamlessly with Jira and various third-party tools.

How often should process flow charts be updated?

If you modify a workflow or process outlined in a flow chart, update the chart accordingly. Flow charts don’t provide much value if they’re inaccurate, and you probably add or remove steps from various processes and workflows more than you think. You should regularly review and update your process flow charts to ensure they continuously add value to your business.

You may also like

Project poster template.

A collaborative one-pager that keeps your project team and stakeholders aligned.

Project Plan Template

Define, scope, and plan milestones for your next project.

Enable faster content collaboration for every team with Confluence

Copyright © 2024 Atlassian

Business Process Flow Chart: How to Make One In 7 Steps

Creating an automated business process flow chart will go a long way in determining your restaurant business workflow and dynamics. If you do not have an effective business process flow chart template, you need to get one.

Key Takeaway - Having a business workflow that projects productiveness for every team member is crucial. Besides using ecommerce automation tools , a process flowchart makes getting work done within your company easier.

With the perfect business process mapping, you can automate daily tasks. You can also standardize business operations.

Operations like invoice processing , creating an invoice template , or using order management software are all done smoothly. In addition, you can set up a loyalty program , or automate orders. 

A process flowchart can simplify complex activities like payment processing . The inventory management process and order management workflows can become easy tasks. The inventory definition is even easier to understand with the correct flow chart usage. Heck, the right flow chart can even help offset the inventory carrying cost if you know what you're doing with it.

The point is for your entire team to be in sync. A process workflow chart can help the restaurant team remain aligned with each operation and workflow process. 

How do you design a process flow diagram? This article will help you understand the intricacies of restaurant business process automation. You will also learn how to create a business process flow chart. First, however, let's begin with the most basic question.

What Is a Business Process Flow Chart?

A business process flow chart is a diagram that details the entire process of a business operation. It is a diagrammatic representation of distinct business processes and tasks. 

The purpose of a business process flow chart is to simplify complex procedures and map out your process flow. Restaurant process maps depict the workflow using conditional logic to account for every potential situation. 

Besides the entire business operation, the process flowchart maps out who is doing what tasks. It also shows timelines, and resources needed to perform specific tasks. Kind of similar to how warehouse system flow charts work.

For instance, you can create a business process flow chart to automate handling complaints and requests. Or one to make sure the sales team gets approval upon receiving a new purchase order.

You can create flowchart templates that will help your team handle complex processes if you are off work or unavailable to help. The idea behind process flowcharts is that anyone can replicate the actions for specific operations and get the same results.

Documenting your business workflow makes it easy for employees to work with minimal likelihood of errors. It doesn’t matter if you know the entire business process management by heart. Having a system in place helps your employees adopt the processes as their own.

Creating a process flow is similar to how you write your restaurant business plan . In the long run, it will improve restaurant business productivity. It also helps you continue delivering high-value customer service .

How Can Process Flow Diagrams Help to Improve Productivity?

Do you know that about 50% of employees in a company lack an understanding of their job function and duties? According to a report, most managers do not set expectations for new hires. Ultimately this leads to poor performance and productivity. ( Effectory )

You can avoid this by having a simple business process flow chart template for each operation in your company. So, let's put it into context. How can business process optimization boost business efficiency? 

Increased Work Productivity

Having a business process map template for every process in your company improves productivity. Every employee knows what tasks they are doing and when they are doing them.

Business process diagrams answer the questions of business processes' what, where, when, how, and why. In addition, business process flow charts help employees understand each step in a work process.

Overall, work performance increases because of the work autonomy and clarity of purpose. 

Business Process Improvement Solutions

Documenting your process flow will help create a standard mode of operation. Then, it is possible to align these standard processes with your company's goals and set KPIs to monitor the results.

Business process flow makes checking how simple and complex processes function within your company easier without manually tracking anything. 

Employee Training Guide

Creating a business process flow chart makes it easier to train new employees. It can also help enforce compliance with the company's rules and regulations. 

A typical onboarding process for new employees can take up to six months. But with a flowchart, employees can quickly understand their new roles, making it easier to align with the company's working system.

How Do You Design a Process Flow Diagram? Getting Started In 7 Easy Steps

We've established that your company needs a business process flow chart. The next thing is designing one that will fit your business needs. After that, you can automate the entire work process and remove all errors in your work system.

Designing a business process flow chart is easier than you think. However, the design process begins with picturing the business process. 

Thinking ahead for all possible workflow scenarios when fulfilling a task. It accounts for the solutions to these scenarios.

Let's start designing your business process flow chart in these seven simple steps:

• Select a Workflow Process

The first step is to select the workflow process you want to automate. Next, choose a process that will achieve specific objectives and can be quantifiable. For instance, you can automate the invoice management operation to reduce processing costs.

• Define the Process Steps 

After selecting the process, you want to make sure you understand every possible outcome involved in that process. Reach out to team members and get more information from their experiences. This will help you define the components of each step.

You must break down each step into the tiniest detail without leaving anything out. Also, make sure you walk through these steps to check if the system works.

• Create the Process Flow Diagram

You can use a pen and paper to draw out the diagram. Make sure to draw out the start and end points of each process. For example, the start point for purchase order management can be to “create a requisition,” and the endpoint is “issuing the invoice.”

Remember to set conditions and fill in the details of the steps within the diagram. Also, use business process model and notation, as well as clear tags, colors, and shapes when depicting specific steps.

• Test and Update the Process

Now, you need to test your process diagram. Are there any redundancies? Does it achieve the desired outcome? Is it easy to understand? 

The good thing about a business flow diagram is that you can edit it based on new information. However, with further edits and updates, make sure to run an experiment.

It is essential to update the process as your company expands to eliminate redundancies and improve team performance.

• Set KPIs and Monitor

Setting restaurant business KPIs and metrics for each automated process makes it possible to monitor performance. For example, you can check if the flowchart still aligns with your company goals. 

In addition, setting performance metrics makes it easier to monitor complex processes. The results you get over time will inform if there is a need to break that process down or change the steps involved.

• Business Process Management Tool

You can use a pen and paper to draw your process diagram. However, it is not feasible. 

An eCommerce business process management tool offers a workflow solution for your process flow management. It is much easier than drawing the entire process on paper. You can learn more in our eCommerce business guide.

Business process management tools offer pre-built template options and workflow wizards to help you set up your company's processes. All you need to do is select the process, add the steps, and set the conditions.

Most tools also have a drag-and-drop feature that makes it easy to customize and create a workflow. You can assign roles to each task and add supervisors to monitor the entire process.

However, you can use a business process flow chart template if you don't want to go through the time-consuming process of starting from scratch to create a process flow chart. Most business process management platforms make it easy to modify a flow chart template to suit your B2B eCommerce business .

Therefore, you can fill out the template with your specific business processes and procedures.

• Use a Restaurant Management Software

The whole essence of having a business process flowchart template is to create efficient business systems . A process flowchart is a great place to start if you are looking to automate your restaurant operations.

However, using restaurant management software will offer similar benefits. A restaurant management software is designed to run restaurant operations.

The tool can help process payments, and help streamline marketing and operations. A restaurant management system can improve inventory management and employee scheduling. 

You can even make changes to different types of menus. Using both a process flowchart and a restaurant management tool will help you stay on top of all activities in your business. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Business Process Flow Chart

Why is a process flowchart useful.

A process flowchart helps to automate the workflow in a business. Whether you are running a bar or a deli restaurant, a business flowchart can help to organize your operation.

Here are some uses of a process flowchart for your restaurant business:

1. Organizes the operations of a business.

2. Provides easy-to-follow process documents for employees.

3. Reduces employee training requirements.

4. Sets standards and desired outputs for work processes.

5. Improves conversation and efficiency within the company.

What Is the Best Way of Documenting Business Processes?

There are various methods of documenting business processes. You can use a flowchart diagram to map out your workflow processes. However, if you are looking for something really simple, you can try a checklist app.

The most important thing is that whatever method you choose is able to capture your workflow. In the long run, it should be easy for your team to follow.

How Do I Organize Business Processes In a Developing Startup?

Here's a checklist of how you can organize your startup restaurant business processes :

1. Map out business processes.

2. Implement the business process flow chart.

3. Analyze and review set KPIs.

4. Monitor and adjust the process as needed.

5. Use restaurant management software.

The hospitality business is not for the faint of heart. Having a business process in place with the perfect hospitality software will help to grow your restaurant startup.

To Sum It All Up

Running a new restaurant business can be difficult if you do not have the perfect plan in place. A flowchart simplifies things and gives you an excellent head start.

It does not matter if you are operating a small business. As long as you have plans to expand someday in the books, it’s best if you think about process flow-charting.

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

• Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

• Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

• Google Tag Manager
• Infographics
• Daily Infographics
• Popular Templates
• Accessibility
• Graphic Design
• Graphs and Charts
• Data Visualization
• Human Resources
• Beginner Guides

Blog Graphic Design 21+ Flowchart Examples for Business Use

21+ Flowchart Examples for Business Use

Written by: Jennifer Gaskin May 17, 2023

Process flowcharts can be used to visualize the steps in a process, organize the flow of work or highlight important decisions required to complete projects.

These amazing flowchart examples with their many use cases may help you apply the format to tackle problems in your organization.

Once you’ve gotten a bit of inspiration, head over to Venngage’s Flowchart Maker to begin creating engaging and effective flowcharts for your organization. We offer hundreds of engaging, fully customizable flowchart templates that are easy to edit.

Click to jump ahead:

• Flowchart examples  

What is a process flowchart?

How do i make a flowchart with venngage, 21 flowchart examples.

Process flowcharts can come in many types and styles, but the basic format created by the Gilbreths a century ago remains the most popular.

If you’re planning to create a flowchart but not sure where to begin, here are some sample ideas to get you started.

Health and safety flowchart example

Keep your team safe in the event of inclement weather or another urgent situation with a health and safety flowchart.

For flowcharts that will apply to all members of the team, be sure you’re not using lingo that folks may not know. (This version also has the added benefit of being a cross-functional flowchart— more on that later .)

Flowcharts are particularly useful in implementing new procedures or training team members on your existing ones, as in the sample flowchart below.

This example applies to a finance department, but it could be adapted for any other industry or process.

Decision flowchart example

Let’s take a closer look at some process flowchart examples.

Some process flowcharts will be organized in a decision format, while others will follow a workflow.

There’s no one right way to do it, so it’s often a good idea to experiment with the format to get the best result.

The flow of information in this process flowchart is guided by the arrows, and there’s no need for the reader to make any decisions along the way.

On the other hand, this process flowchart is simple but requires the reader to make many decisions until they reach their logical conclusion.

Process flow diagrams example

Process flowcharts are sometimes referred to as flow diagrams. The term diagram may be more appropriate in technical fields like programming or engineering. Regardless of the terminology used, charts and diagrams serve the same purpose in organizing and visualizing a process flow.

Related :  How to Diagram a Business Process [Process Diagramming Templates]

Let’s take a look at some examples of process flow diagrams.

This process flow diagram was designed to assess the level of risk team members assume based on their jobs within the organization.

This flow diagram was designed for troubleshooting, but it could apply to any process flow in which the reader will need to make a series of choices, and can be used for both internal and external communications.

Here’s an example of a process flow diagram designed with customer service in mind. It’s easily customized for any job, especially those that deal with clients, customers or members of the public.

Workflow diagram example

Whether you’re dealing with new employees or you’re instituting a new policy that your existing team members will need to master, workflow diagrams can be helpful.

Workflow charts and workflow diagrams are useful in any industry, even one as familiar as food service. After all, everyone is new to a workflow when they first begin.

This workflow diagram example introduces a new student to the various offices they’ll need to know to be successful. It’s easy to customize this example to ensure that new team members get the lay of the land quickly.

As this workflow chart example illustrates, workflow charts do not have to be vertical to be effective. In fact, creating a horizontal workflow diagram is better in some cases, as it may be more intuitive.

Simple flowchart example

We’ve touched upon this already, but flowcharts do not necessarily require a complex structure with questions and answers. Some of the most effective flowcharts are also the most simple.

This simple, easy-to-read flowchart focuses on varying levels of risk in an organization. But it could be modified to organize information across teams or departments in any business.

Consider creating flowcharts for your team members to solve common problems. This simple flowchart is about troubleshooting a computer issue, but it could be customized to apply to any of the repeated issues your team has with systems or processes.

Related:  What is a Problem-Solving Flowchart & How to Make One

Website flowchart example

One of the first industries to fully embrace flowcharts was the computer programming industry. Flowcharts continue to remain popular among programmers, designers and developers. They can aid with troubleshooting or even organizing content on a website.

This flowchart example covers troubleshooting server problems to ensure a website remains up and running.

Website flowcharts are often referred to as site maps. Site maps are critical tools for visualizing all the content and the structure of a website.

Cross-functional flowchart example

Process flowcharts are at their best when they are organizing complex and potentially confusing information. Often, that means ensuring the flow of information across departments in an organization and detailing who is responsible for which task.

This cross-functional flowchart shows the departments or teams impacted at the top. When creating a cross-functional flowchart, it’s best to err on the side of a subdued color palette, as these types of flowcharts and process diagrams can become confusing.

We mentioned this flowchart earlier as a great example of a simple approach. That’s particularly notable considering that it’s also cross-functional thanks to the color-coded key distinguishing which teams or individuals will need to make each decision.

Circular flowchart example

Many processes are circular in nature, meaning they repeat themselves again and again. That’s why it’s useful to have a circular process flowchart template to visualize repeating processes.

Use a circular flowchart like this one to visualize the steps a lead takes to become a regular customer or, as this one does, visualize the revenue cycle of a doctor’s office.

Here we see a slightly different approach to a circular flowchart. In this case, the content is similar, but the circle takes on a pie chart shape.

Fun flowchart example

While flowcharts are excellent tools for internal communication and organization, they are also popular among the general public. Pop culture, sports and lifestyle are all topic areas that lend themselves to flowcharts in content marketing or other external communications.

Help readers determine if they’re ready to buy a house with a fun process flowchart like this one. This type of content is useful for organizations in real estate, transportation, home design and more.

While flowcharts are known for their utility, they can also just be pure fun like this one. You can customize this fun flowchart for internal communications or resize it to use for social media.

Use a process flowchart to engage in the cultural debate. And bonus points if you can be extra snarky with it, like this example that went viral on social media a few years ago.

A process flowchart, also known as a process flow diagram, is a type of flowchart that illustrates the steps involved in the completion of a task or process. In a process flowchart, various shapes and symbols represent different components of the process.

Flowchart software can be particularly useful in creating and customizing these diagrams efficiently.

The most commonly used flowchart shapes include:

• Parallelograms.

The invention of the flowchart can be traced back to husband-and-wife researchers Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, who in the early 1920s developed what they called a process chart to diagram and improve workflows.

Process flowcharts soon caught on across many industries, particularly in computer science.

IBM used flowcharts to help engineers with early computer programming. Flowcharts have evolved along with businesses’ needs, and modern flowcharts can cover just about any area.

They can improve decision-making, allow for visualization of processes or help organize the flow of information.

One of the most popular uses for flowcharts is to make decisions. Even when the topic is flowcharts themselves like in this example, the basic structure of a decision flowchart is simple and clear.

Process and decision flowcharts can take on serious issues like this one that covers a disciplinary process. Similar to the previous example, lines and color variation are crucial aspects to ensuring the flow is obvious.

Some flowcharts are designed to focus on information organization. This sales pipeline flowchart example illustrates the steps involved in turning a lead into a sale, and the funnel-style flowchart keeps this complicated process on track

Related :  12+ Organizational Chart Examples and Templates

Venngage’s Flowchart Maker is simple and easy to use. Within 5 simple steps, you can create dazzling flowcharts to organize your team and keep your projects on track. No design experience required.

Step 1: Sign up for a free Venngage account

You can sign up with your email, Gmail or Facebook account.

Step 2: Select a flowchart template from our templates library

Aside from the ones we’ve shared above, we also offer hundreds of flowchart templates that are easy to edit even if you have no design skills.

Step 3: Start editing your flowchart

Most of our templates are created with the simple drag-and-drop editor that lets you design in minutes, even if you have no design skills.

We’re also rolling out new smart templates with the smart diagram editor which makes it easy for you to add new nodes/branches to your flowcharts.

You can add, edit, delete or drag nodes, texts, icons around in one click, and the node will automatically adjust to whatever content you add to it as well.

Step 4: Liven up your flowchart with icons, illustrations and branding elements

We offer over 40,000 icons and illustrations for you to visualize any information you want on your flowchart.

If you upgrade to a Business account, you can enjoy My Brand Kit —the one-click branding kit that lets you upload your logo and apply brand colors and fonts to any design.

Step 5: Share a public link for free or upgrade to download

Once you upgrade, you can download your flowchart in PNG, PDF, Interactive PDF or PowerPoint format—if you want to use it for your presentation.

Use process flowcharts to simplify your business communications

Explaining how things get done in your organization only goes so far. People are visual creatures, and visualizing processes, procedures, workflows and more through flowcharts can help make sure nothing gets lost in translation.

Organize your team, improve existing workflows, devise new ways of doing things and more with flowcharts using Venngage’s Flowchart Maker . Start creating your own flowchart for free, no design skills required.

Discover popular designs

Infographic maker

Brochure maker

White paper online

Newsletter creator

Flyer maker

Timeline maker

Letterhead maker

Mind map maker

Ebook maker

Newly Launched - AI Presentation Maker

Researched by Consultants from Top-Tier Management Companies

AI PPT Maker

Powerpoint Templates

Icon Bundle

Kpi Dashboard

Professional

Business Plans

Swot Analysis

Gantt Chart

Business Proposal

Marketing Plan

Project Management

Business Case

Business Model

Cyber Security

Business PPT

Digital Marketing

Digital Transformation

Human Resources

Product Management

Artificial Intelligence

Company Profile

Acknowledgement PPT

PPT Presentation

Reports Brochures

One Page Pitch

Interview PPT

All Categories

Top 5 Business Plan Chart Example Templates with Samples

Kavesh Malhotra

Tim Fargo once said,  " Good intentions might sound nice, but it’s positive actions that matter. "  

This quote highlights the importance of not only creating a business plan but also executing it effectively. This is where business plan charts come in; they provide a roadmap for businesses to follow which ensures that they stay on track in achieving their goals.

There is no doubt that business planning is an essential element of any successful venture, and a well-executed plan can make a significant difference to business success. As mentioned above, one of the most critical components of a business plan is the use of charts to display information in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand manner. 

SlideTeam is delighted to present its selection of the Top 5 Business Plan Chart Templates with Samples . These templates are designed to assist owners, managers, and other professionals involved in business management to create a comprehensive and effective business plan that fulfills the needs of end-users and stakeholders alike.

Utilizing these top 5 business plan chart templates can help companies in prioritizing tasks, creating a clear and concise communication plan , focusing on their strategy and critical goals, tracking their progress toward achieving their revenue targets, and expanding into new markets. 

Unlock your true potential as a business manager with our pre-designed PowerPoint Slides. These templates are the ultimate solution to all your business needs, providing you with the power to customize your tasks and plans in ways you never thought possible. With our structured content-ready slides, you'll have everything you need at your fingertips to streamline your workflow and optimize your productivity. 

We're here to have a closer look at each of our business plan ppt templates and help you choose the one that suits your specific business requirements. So, what are you waiting for? Download one of these templates today and become a master in designing a breakthrough plan!

Check Out our Top 5 Business Plan Chart Templates

Template 1: initial six-month business plan gantt chart.

This PowerPoint Slide presents a comprehensive roadmap for developing a successful business plan. It covers critical areas such as strategy, finance, personnel, customers, and finances. This PPT Template allows you to create a clear project plan by outlining important details like project start and end dates, status updates, and assigned teams. This chart facilitates effective collaboration among team members, enables you to share your product plans, and provides a platform for discussing project progress with executives. Additionally, the task management chart helps align your activities efficiently, while the template's versatility allows for high-level resource planning and flexible implementation, benefiting your business. Seize the opportunity to elevate your business plan with this top-rated template.

Download Now!

Template 2: Strategic Business Plan Flow Chart with Key Goals

This chart is an essential tool for an organization's strategic business planning. Its comprehensive set of slides covers key areas such as marketing strategy, SWOT analysis , and other vital tools that can help businesses identify their target customers and develop a successful business strategy . With this chart, companies can create a clear and concise communication plan that outlines their process and how it aligns with their target customers and market evaluation . Download this set of slides and take your business to the next level.

Template 3: Marketing Gantt Chart for Business Plan

This chart is ideal for businesses focusing on their digital marketing strategy and revenue sources . With this chart, companies can create a timeline for their marketing initiatives, such as advertising campaigns and social media promotions, and track their progress in achieving the revenue targets. This PowerPoint Template is a valuable tool for digital managers and social media team members for monitoring project progress and highlighting key milestones. It features a Gantt chart design that effectively showcases different social channels, timelines, and progress percentages. This template is a must-have for anyone looking to stay organized and efficiently manage their social marketing projects.

Template 4: New Business Development Planning Chart with Market Evaluation

This PPT Chart is perfect for enterprises looking to expand into fresh markets or launch new products or services. With this PPT Layout, businesses can conduct a SWOT analysis to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and create a clear plan for entering new markets. It also clearly defines the New Business snapshot , Market evaluation , Expense Sources, and expected Revenue Sources . Download now and unleash the full potential of your new business development efforts.

Template 5: Business Plan Chart for Data Flat PowerPoint Design

This chart is perfect for businesses wanting to create a snapshot that provides a quick overview of their business plan. With this chart, businesses can display key information such as their target customers, revenue sources , and market evaluation in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format. Download these templates via the link below, and start executing your business plan with confidence.

Bottom Line

Business plan charts are crucial for any business owner or manager looking to create a roadmap for success. Whether you're looking to visualize your business strategy, set key goals , conduct a SWOT analysis , plan a task timeline , develop strategies, or communicate plans to team members and stakeholders, we have a business plan chart template that can help you achieve your goals. By incorporating these templates into business planning, professionals can easily create visual representations of their plans, track progress, and make informed decisions based on their business snapshot , market evaluation , and revenue sources .

Professional Note:

Please visit here for more information on strategic business plan templates, business approaches, and other related topics. These templates incorporate many resources, including samples, descriptions, and USPs (unique selling points), to help professionals develop effective business plans and management strategies.

FAQs on Business Plan Chart

How do i make a business plan chart.

Making a business plan chart involves several steps that can be streamlined using pre-designed PowerPoint templates. Start by identifying the purpose of your business plan and defining key goals and objectives. Then, create a task timeline and identify the resources needed to achieve those goals. This can be done using a Gantt or flow chart, which helps you visualize your plan and track progress.

What Are The Four Types of Business Plans?

There are four types of business plans: strategic plans, operational plans, internal plans, and growth plans. 

Each plan serves a different purpose, such as outlining the company's business strategy , setting key goals , or evaluating market opportunities. A business plan often includes a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Why is a Business Plan Important?

A business plan is vital because it is a roadmap for the company's success. It outlines the company's key goals , strategies, and revenue sources and helps in identifying potential challenges and risks. A business plan also serves as a communication plan , allowing stakeholders to understand the company's vision and goals.

What Are the Elements of Business Plan?

The key elements of a business plan include:

• Business snapshot- It outlines the company's mission and values. 
• Market evaluation - It analyzes the target customers and competitors.
• Revenue sources - It identifies the company’s sources of income. 
• Marketing Gantt - It outlines the company's marketing strategy and task timeline.  

Other essential elements include financial, operational, and risk management plans. 

Related posts:

• Top 10 Business Development Strategy Templates with Samples and Examples
• Top 5 Business Plan Timeline Template with Samples and Examples
• Top 7 Corporate Strategy Templates with Samples and Examples
• Must-Have Freelance Business Plan Template to Achieve Long Term Success

Liked this blog? Please recommend us

Must Have Term Sheet Templates for Entrepreneurs and Founders

Top 5 Company Newsletter Templates with Samples and Examples

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA - the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

--> Digital revolution powerpoint presentation slides

--> Sales funnel results presentation layouts

--> 3d men joinning circular jigsaw puzzles ppt graphics icons

--> Business Strategic Planning Template For Organizations Powerpoint Presentation Slides

--> Future plan powerpoint template slide

--> Project Management Team Powerpoint Presentation Slides

--> Brand marketing powerpoint presentation slides

--> Launching a new service powerpoint presentation with slides go to market

--> Agenda powerpoint slide show

--> Four key metrics donut chart with percentage

--> Engineering and technology ppt inspiration example introduction continuous process improvement

--> Meet our team representing in circular format

Skip to main content

• Contact sales
• Get started Get started for free

Figma Design

Design and prototype in one place

Collaborate with a digital whiteboard

Translate designs into code

Figma Slides

Co-create presentations

Explore all Figma AI features

Get the desktop, mobile,
and font installer apps

See the latest features and releases

• Design systems
• Prototyping
• Wireframing
• Online whiteboard
• Team meetings
• Strategic planning
• Brainstorming
• Diagramming
• Product development
• Web development
• Design handoff
• Engineering
• Product managers

Organizations

Creator fund

Build and sell what you love

User groups

Join a local Friends of Figma group

Learn best practices at virtual events

Customer stories

Read about leading product teams

Shortcut: The Figma blog

Stories about how products take shape—and shape our world

Get started

• Developer docs
• Best practices
• Reports & insights
• Resource library
• Help center

17 types of flowcharts and when to use them

Whether you're figuring out complicated workflows, mapping out how systems interact, or showing the order of important events, flowcharts are the perfect tool for making sense of scattered information. These versatile diagrams help illustrate the steps in a process or actions within a system.

Since there are so many scenarios you’d want to organize information, there are also many different types of flowcharts. This post will cover:

• 17 types of flowchart diagrams
• Key characteristics of basic flowcharts
• Flowchart FAQs
• FigJam ’s collection of flowchart templates

Map your flowchart with a free template today

Type 1: process flow diagram.

Best for: outlining steps and decisions in a process

Process flow diagrams, or process maps , visualize the step-by-step sequence of tasks in a process. This type of flowchart shows every step in a project, providing important details like timelines, resources, and teams needed to complete each step. Process flow diagrams are commonly used in engineering, business management, and product design to streamline project planning.

Try this process map template to get started.

Type 2: Workflow diagram

Best for: illustrating and refining team workflows

A workflow diagram visualizes the steps in a business process. Each step maps out the tasks or actions an employee or team must complete to finalize the process. Its simple design makes it easy to refine existing workflows or guide new hires through a new process.

Outline or rework your process with this workflow diagram template .

Type 3: Data flow diagram

Best for: explaining how data moves through a process or system

A data flow diagram (DFD) helps you understand how data flows through a system. A DFD simplifies complex processes by breaking them down into interconnected bubbles and arrows, creating a visual representation of how data moves and changes. For instance, a software developer might employ a DFD to map how user input is processed within a software system.

Map your information flow with this data flow diagram template .

Type 4: Swimlane flowchart

Best for: explaining how different teams work on cross-functional processes

Swimlane diagrams display how different roles approach steps in a shared process or workflow. Each “lane” in this diagram type represents a different role or department, showing who's responsible for each step. Swimlane flowcharts can be used by teams, project managers, and leadership to improve communication and drive a project forward.

Define who does what and when with this swimlane diagram template .

Type 5: Decision tree diagram

Best for: identifying inefficiencies, challenges, and opportunities for process improvement

Decision tree diagrams help you analyze options and ideas by illustrating possible outcomes of different decision-making paths. By guiding you through a series of yes-no questions, decision tree diagrams help identify how specific business decisions could unfold.

Start mapping your choices with this decision tree diagram .

Type 6: System flowchart

Best for: showing how external inputs get processed in a system

A system flowchart, also known as a software flowchart, outlines data flow and how external inputs influence decisions. It uses shapes and arrows to map the order of operations, making it easy to track data paths and process connections. For example, a software developer might use a system flowchart to visually map the interactions between different modules in a software system.

Diagram how your complex systems work with this system flowchart template .

Type 7: Document flowchart

Best for: important forms requiring multiple approvals

Document flowcharts outline the necessary steps and people involved in approving a document. These flowcharts detail the steps, departments, and people needed to draft, review, and sign the document before it is considered final.

Chart your document flows with this document flowchart template .

Type 8: Product flowchart

Best for: manufacturing or supply chain management teams

A product flowchart shows how a product moves from creation to delivery, outlining key stages and decisions. It helps visualize the flow of materials and tasks as they go through different stages in the production process.

Stay on top of development with the product flowchart template .

Type 9: PERT chart

Best for: ensuring projects stay on schedule and meet deadlines

A project evaluation review technique (PERT) chart breaks down a project’s tasks and dependencies in order according to a timeline. This type of flowchart helps your team meet objectives and milestones and stay on track at every stage.

Project managers can use PERT charts to allocate resources and stay ahead of potential issues, making sure projects stay on schedule and meet their deadlines.

Sequence the order of tasks for your teams with the PERT chart template .

Type 10: Use case flowchart

Best for: visualizing user experiences within a product or system

Use case flowcharts offer a detailed view of the user journey within a system or product by breaking down user interactions and mapping actions to outcomes. This visualization helps designers create user-centric experiences during development.

Try this use case flowchart template to see how users interact with your system.

Type 11: Event storming flowchart

Best for: mapping the requirements needed for a program or process to work

Event storming flowcharts visually outline simple sequences of events needed to make a program run. They give high-level overviews of key players and processes — making them great for brainstorming, communicating ideas, and getting feedback before, during, and after a project.

Start storming with this event storming flowchart template.

Type 12: Customer journey flowchart

Best for: charting the flow of customer interactions leading to a conversion

Customer journey flowcharts illustrate the steps a customer takes from discovering your brand to making a purchase. It’s a visual story that helps you evaluate two things:

• How effective marketing is in attracting users
• The website’s ability to convert visits into sales

For example, product teams may use this flowchart to better understand customer touchpoints and interactions. This could be helpful for brainstorming better processes, like onboarding, for your customers.

Enhance user experiences with a customer journey map template .

Type 13: Production flowchart

Best for: organizing the steps between customer orders and order deliveries

A production flowchart traces the steps between customer orders and fulfillment. This flowchart highlights the relationship between design work, material production, reviews, and shipping to reveal how a business meets customer demand. Project managers and leaders can use this template to refine core workflows involving an entire business.

Manage orders, production, and deliveries with the production flowchart template .

Type 14: Logical model flowchart

Best for: diagramming the inputs, processes, and outputs leading to process outcomes

A logical model flowchart maps the planning, implementation, and assessment of a business initiative or process. It notes inputs, outputs, and the tasks between them. Beyond documenting operations, logical model charts go a step further to detail the long-term outcomes of the process, highlighting what it tries to accomplish and how well it meets that goal.

Optimize your process outcomes with a logical model flowchart template .

Type 15: Code flowchart

Best for: charting how a program or block of code functions

Code flowcharts diagram the processes within a program or set of code. Like user stories, you can map how user inputs trigger internal processes to produce an output. The diagram also makes room for branching decisions based on a program’s conditions for giving an output. Reviewing the code flow on this chart helps shape tighter, better-performing programs in software development.

Break down complex programs with the code flowchart template .

Type 16: E-commerce flowchart

Best for: mapping an e-commerce website’s sales pipeline

E-commerce flowcharts give an overview of your internet sales pipeline. The diagram lets you map your website’s pages and user interactions. You can then adjust how users select items and make purchases to streamline sales and optimize billing processes.

Streamline your online sales process with the e-commerce flowchart template .

Type 17: Website flowchart

Best for: diagramming website architecture

A website flowchart maps the structure of your web architecture. Designers can review how pages connect and change web structure to improve the user experience. You can also title the boxes to share page names for search engine optimization. This flowchart is a great starting point for teams building a new website or those considering a website redesign.

Improve your web design with the website flowchart template .

5 key characteristics of a flowchart

What are the characteristics of a flowchart?

Distinct from mind maps and similar diagrams, every basic flowchart gives a sense of growth and change. Instead of allowing room to brainstorm themes and related ideas, flowcharts focus on illustrating how concepts and workflows progress through different steps. In general, flowcharts include these key elements:

• Start and end points. One or more start and end points linked to a core idea, system, or process.
• Substeps and processes. These guide readers through the entire process or flow, from the beginning to the end.
• Directional arrows. These indicate the sequence of steps, providing a clear, visual order.
• Decision points. Decision points break charts into multiple directions, allowing for different outcomes.
• Flowchart symbols. Standardized flowchart symbols represent specific actions within a system or process.

Flowchart FAQ

Keep reading for answers to frequently asked questions about flowcharts.

What are the four most common types of flowcharts?

The process flowchart, workflow diagram, data flowchart, and swimlane diagram are the most popular types of flowcharts.

When can you use a flowchart?

Teams can use flowcharts to:

• Document complex processes and brainstorm refinements.
• Share how a process or system works with stakeholders and other teams.
• Organize teams for specific tasks in a process.
• Identify bottlenecks and workflow issues.
• Standardize processes, especially in software engineering.
• Check progress during development.
• Outline business process modeling (BPMN), information systems, and manufacturing processes.

What are the rules for flowchart design?

Flowcharts follow specific rules to effectively convey data flow or actions. Keep these guidelines in mind:

• Clearly begin flowcharts at a defined starting point.
• Include endpoints to represent the end of a process or system output.
• Connect flowchart symbols with arrows for clear direction.
• Keep text concise and to the point.
• Ensure the flow of steps follows a logical order.
• Use standardized symbols to prevent confusion.

Collaborate on flowcharts with FigJam

FigJam makes the most of every diagram regardless of the flowchart type you want to use. FigJam is a shared online whiteboard that allows you to seamlessly collaborate at any distance and make new flowcharts on the fly. With FigJam’s flowchart templates, your team can:

• Save time with premade standardized symbols for flowcharts
• Easily share flowcharts with observation and prototyping modes
• Make adjustments to flows and share notes in real time

Are you ready to begin diagramming? Try FigJam to improve collaboration.

Keep reading

What is a UML diagram

UML diagrams can help you plan complex systems and processes.

How to create a swimlane diagram

Swimlane diagrams give flowcharts an extra-informative superpower.

What is a fishbone diagram

Use a fishbone diagram to help you solve problems by understanding what’s causing them.

Diagramming Build diagrams of all kinds from flowcharts to floor plans with intuitive tools and templates.

Whiteboarding collaborate with your team on a seamless workspace no matter where they are., data generate diagrams from data and add data to shapes to enhance your existing visuals., enterprise friendly easy to administer and license your entire organization., security see how we keep your data safe., apps & integrations connect to all the tools you use from microsoft, google workspace, atlassian, and more..

• What's New Read about new features and updates.

Product Management Roadmap features, brainstorm, and report on development, so your team can ship features that users love.

Software engineering design and maintain complex systems collaboratively., information technology visualize system architecture, document processes, and communicate internal policies., sales close bigger deals with reproducible processes that lead to successful onboarding and training..

• Getting Started Learn how to make any type of visual with SmartDraw. Familiarize yourself with the UI, choosing templates, managing documents, and more.
• Templates get inspired by browsing examples and templates available in SmartDraw.

Diagrams Learn about all the types of diagrams you can create with SmartDraw.

Whiteboard learn how to combine free-form brainstorming with diagram blueprints all while collaborating with your team., data visualizers learn how to generate visuals like org charts and class diagrams from data., development platform browse built-in data visualizers and see how you can build your own custom visualization., open api the smartdraw api allows you to skip the drawing process and generate diagrams from data automatically., shape data add data to shapes, import data, export manifests, and create data rules to change dashboards that update..

• Explore SmartDraw Check out useful features that will make your life easier.
• Blog Read articles about best practices, find tips on collaborating, learn to give better presentations and more.

Support Search through SmartDraw's knowledge base, view frequently asked questions, or contact our support team.

• Site License Site licenses start as low as $2,995 for your entire organization.
• Team License The SmartDraw team License puts you in control with powerful administrative features.

Apps & Integrations Connect to all the tools you use.

• Contact Sales

What's New?

Solutions By Team

License everyone for as low as $1 per user per month.

Save money, and replace Visio, Lucidchart, Lucidspark, and Miro with a SmartDraw site license.

Getting Started Learn to make visuals, familiarize yourself with the UI, choosing templates, managing documents, and more.

Templates get inspired by browsing examples and templates available in smartdraw., developer resources, additional resources.

Site License As low as $1 per user per month for your entire organization.

Team license get powerful administrative features for your team., solutions for your team.

Free Online Flowchart Maker

Make flowcharts easily with smartdraw's flowchart software, the easy choice for creating flowcharts online.

SmartDraw's flowchart software is the easiest way to make any type of flowchart or diagram representing a process.

You start by picking one of the flow chart templates included and add steps in just a few clicks. Our flowchart maker aligns everything automatically so you don't have to worry about formatting, rearranging, or reconnecting steps.

You and your team can work on the same flowchart and leave comments and feedback. SmartDraw will let you easily share files using an emailed link. SmartDraw also works with your existing tools. You can save your files directly to OneDrive ® , SharePoint ® , Google Drive ™ , and more. You can also work together in Teams, Confluence, or Slack or add your flowcharts to Microsoft Office ® or Google Workspace ™ . SmartDraw is easy to work with no matter what other apps you use.

Easy to Edit Flowchart Templates

Choose a flowchart template below to open SmartDraw in your browser to start making a flowchart right now.

SmartDraw is Used by Over 85% of the Fortune 500

Try smartdraw's flowchart software free.

Discover why SmartDraw is the best flowchart maker today.

Business Flow Chart

Ai generator.

Charts, as we know, are often used in representing information in a visual sense. Because charts use images or symbols in presenting information, and can be easily devised, people rely on them in the delivery of information.

As we’ve seen them a lot since school days, we’re familiar of the different types of charts, such as pie chart, bar chart, line chart, etc. A flowchart examples, is another type of chart typically used to represent order of things, or step-by-step processes.

Business Plan Flow Chart

Size: 75 KB

Flow Chart for Startup Business

Size: 43 KB

Business Process Flow Chart

Size: 84 KB

Business Development Flow Chart

Size: 24 KB

What Is a Business Flowchart?

As the name implies, a business flowchart is a flowchart intended for business processes. Just like any other flowcharts, business flowcharts contain a series of steps, or processes, which in this case are created for a business or an organization. Business flowcharts vary in appearance and content, depending on the people who devised them.

Example of business flowcharts samples are business development flowchart which indicates the flow of processes or items to be considered in building development.

 Advantages of a Business Flowchart

A business flowchart have countless advantages to a business and its employees. I believe it is necessary for one to recognize those advantages in order to realize the benefits of using business flowcharts. Here are some of those advantages:

• Business flowcharts promote proper communication.
• Business flowcharts provide information in an appealing way.
• Business flowcharts promote better understanding and comprehension.
• Business flowcharts efficiently map different processes and workflow inside a company or business.
• Business flowcharts provide an effective training guide to new employees.
• Business flowcharts provide a better way of memorizing the processes listed.

Small Business Flow Chart

Size: 233 KB

Business Continuity Flow Chart

Size: 280 KB

Flow Chart for Business Communication

Size: 418 KB

How to Create a Business Flowchart

Creating a business flowchart can be fun in so many ways. However, you might find this a burden especially when you have a lot already in your hands. So to make the process easier and more fun, here are some tips you need to consider in creating a business flowchart.

• Determine what kind of flowchart you’re creating, and why you’re creating it. Treat this as your end goal. Trust me, this will motivate you better.
• Know what points to include in your flowchart. The information and steps will vary depending on what kind of flowchart you want to create. You can do proper research, and determine the proper contents to include.
• Write the content simply and clearly. If you’re writing about processes, you need to write the instructions clearly so they’re easier to follow. This is to, of course, avoid confusion on your readers’ part.
• Make it brief. Keeping your flowchart concise will cut the reading time of your readers, and will give them more time in understanding and following the processes.
• Insert a hint of creativity. In other words, not too much. You may add a few shapes and colors to make your flowchart appealing, but try to minimize them, and keep them consistent.
• Polish your work. Best way to do this is to get rid of any error spelling and grammatical errors. Ask someone to check you business flowchart example for possible errors and areas for improvement.

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

10 Examples of Public speaking

20 Examples of Gas lighting

All Formats

• Graphic Design

7+ Business Flow Chart Templates

Maybe you are on the road of creating a business flowchart and are searching the Web for flowchart templates. You’re on the right road. Our website is ideal for you since we give a wide exhibit of Flow Chart Templates for you to look over and utilize.

Small Business Flowchart Template

Business Process Flowchart Template

Business Plan Flowchart Template

Business Organization Flowchart Template

What Is a Business Flowchart?

• A flowchart makes it possible to look at the bigger picture and consider all types of scenarios that may surface and create a plan to resolve these.
• A flowchart helps in the research and understand the process entirely so that any inconsistencies can be fixed and improved.
• A flowchart provides a good visual where all members of the team can agree on and discuss.
• A flowchart can help in reducing potential errors and prevent changes that can tear the organization down.

How to Create a Business Flowchart

• Create an initial diagram based on the topic and issue. This is the overview of what the business flowchart will look like. A diagram where members will look at to have a baseline of the actions needed to be exected and what comes next.

Business Development Process Flowchart Template

Business Model Flowchart Template

Business Continuity Flowchart Template

Business Communication Flowchart Template

• Gather intruments and data to be able to fully compose your diagram. Obtaining the requirements and information needed to be able to create a proper type of document. This part is where questions such as, What is the overall goal of the flow chart? What triggers the start? What activities are needed to be involved? Are there any other routes in the process? will be answered. This determines the staff and departments that need to participate.
• Incorporate the diagram with topic and steps needed to include. Each requirement should have a purpose in the diagram because a diagram will become useless unless it is detailed and correct. Make sure the team members have discussed and agreed to the format cosisted in the flowchart. Brainstorm the steps in the process.
• Create detailed work. Construct the chart using rows, columns, or arrows with the associated healthcare work unit laid out in a way that they placed to work with one another. Arrange the steps beginning with the highest priority toward the least priority.
• Review the flowchart and validate its accuracy with other staff members who are part of the team.

More in Charts

Performance Workflow Template

Business workflow template, recruiting workflow template, incident reporting flow chart template, incident reporting flow chart, business management flowchart template, business flow chart template, business workflow chart template, business office flowchart template.

• 15+ Recruitment Process Flowchart Templates in PDF | MS Word
• 8+ Logistics Process Flow Chart Templates in PDF
• 4+ Logistics Flow Chart Templates in PDF | MS Word
• 16+ Simple Flow Chart Templates in Word
• 14+ Medication Chart Template – Sample, Example, Format Download!
• 10+ Business Succession Plan Templates in Google Docs | Word | Pages | PDF
• 50+ Flow Chart Templates
• 9+ Offboarding Workflow Templates in PDF | Word | Pages | Google Docs
• 10+ Onboarding Process Templates in Excel | Word | Numbers | Pages | PDF | Google Docs
• 21+ Printable Shoe Size Chart Templates
• 26+ Blank Guitar Chord Charts
• 10+ Revenue Recognition Templates in Google Docs | Google Sheets | PDF | Numbers | Pages | Word | Excel
• 10+ Business Liability Insurance Templates in Google Docs | Word | Pages | PDF
• 9+ Revenue Model Templates in Google Docs | Google Sheets | Word | Excel | Numbers | Pages | PDF
• Blood Pressure Chart Template – 36+ Free Word, Excel, PDF Format Download!

File Formats

Word templates, google docs templates, excel templates, powerpoint templates, google sheets templates, google slides templates, pdf templates, publisher templates, psd templates, indesign templates, illustrator templates, pages templates, keynote templates, numbers templates, outlook templates.

Advertisement

Supported by

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.

• Share full article

By Andrew Duehren

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.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .