How To Choose a Company’s Legal Formation in a Business Plan

In Enloop's business plan creator software you can select the legal formation that you've established for your business. The term Legal Formation means how the company is actually setup up within the state that it operates.

How to Set Your Legal Formation

Within the Enloop Business Plan Creator software, you can set the type of Business Formation in the Basic Info section, in the Business Information subsection.

You can select these types of business formations: None; Sole Proprietorship; Limited Liability Company (LLC); Corporation; Partnership; NonProfit

In the United States, the types of formations that are available vary from state-to-state. If your company operates outside of the United States, you can select an equivalent form or select 'None'.

Using the dropdown menu, select the type of formation that you intend to use or that is currently used by the company. If you don't know what type of formation your company will use yet, just select 'None'. You can always edit your entry in the future.

How the Legal Formation is included in a Business Plan

the Business Plan Writing software includes the Legal Formation type in the software's AutoWrite™ feature. AutoWrite™ automatically generates, updates and manages text for each section of your business plan, so you never have to worry about updating your business plan text when ever you make any changes to your business plan data. This feature is available at all paid subscription levels.

The Legal Formation information is also displayed on a one-page cover sheet breakdown of the company that's included (and can be excluded) with each business plan.

Why Choosing a Type of Legal Formation Matters

Starting a business includes deciding on the type of legal formation you want for the business. This is an important decision that greatly affects how your company is taxed and managed. If you've not yet legally formed the business, or you're not sure an existing company is formed correctly, consulting with a business attorney and accountant is the best way to determine how the company should be formed. You can also familiarize yourself with the options, paperwork process and costs for incorporating your business in your state by searching the Internet for your state's corporation division home page and reading their guidelines.

Business Plans for Non-Profit Organizations

You'll notice there is no setting for 'Non-Profits' in the Legal Formation dropdown menu. These types of entities traditionally create Strategic Plans that emphasize their organization's mission rather than focusing on revenues and profitability. The Enloop business plan writing app is not designed to be used by not-for-profit organizations. Although, as many nonprofits struggle financially due to a lack of organized financial planning, it's a good idea to create a traditional business plan and set the tax percentage to '0%'. Used in this way, Enloop's free business plan app provides a good framework to create and manage your nonprofit's financial forecast...even if some of the concepts and metrics aren't relevant.