BMO Harris Bank is here to help you take your finances further. No matter what your practice goals are, this guide can assist you in successfully building your own business plan.
Writing a well-thought-out business plan is an important early step in planning for a successful dental practice. Whether you’re acquiring an existing practice, expanding a current practice or starting from scratch, a business plan adds the necessary muscle to the skeleton of your idea, allowing prospective lenders and investors to evaluate your request for funds.
The five core elements of a business plan include:
- Description of practice
This explains the service you plan to provide in clear terms. It should contain the following information:
- Name and address of your practice
- List of owners and licensed dentists
- Number of years they have been in practice
- Legal form of ownership of the practice
- State where it is (or will be) registered
Be sure to include details like size, a target number of patients, a breakdown of staffing, and number of locations. If you are acquiring an existing practice, highlight the changes you may be planning to make regarding staffing, hours of operations, locations, and so forth. It can also explain who your target patients are, how you wish to treat them, and your philosophy of care.
- Management and staffing plan
You may need to hire more employees, including a qualified practice manager, as your practice grows. A management and staffing plan identifies:
- Who you intend to hire and how potential employees will be screened (such as background checks)
- All salaried roles, both dental and non-dental
- The responsibilities you intend to give them
- The forms of compensation you plan to provide
- The benefits you plan to provide
- Operational plan
This explains the day-to-day operations of your practice, such as:
- Hours of operation
- Emergency and backup procedures
- Clinical, procedural and administrative scheduling
It also considers payment options for patients, including accepted payer mix (private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid).
- Marketing plan
This includes an analysis of client characteristics such as age and other demographics, treatment pricing, and your strategy to increase the number of new patients and retain existing ones. A marketing plan should include:
- Your strategy and tactics
- A competitive analysis of other practices in your area
- An outline of the geographic area being targeted
- Financial data
This is perhaps the most important element of a business plan and should consider the following:
- Startup and operating budgets. When starting a practice from scratch, you’ll have to pay for what you need to get up and running such as office space, equipment and supplies. After your initial acquisition, you’ll need to estimate the cost to maintain practice operations, typically over 12 months, otherwise referred to as an operating budget. Until it’s earning enough to cover an operating budget, your practice will likely rely on other funds (such as a line of credit or your personal savings) to pay the operating expenses.
- Balance sheet. This is a graphical representation of your practice’s assets, liabilities and equity at a given point in time. Through a process called articulation, the balance sheet is related to the other two major types of financial statements — income and cash flow. Including a set of forecasted financial statements demonstrates an understanding of accounting principles to lenders or investors.
- Break-even analysis. This examines various combinations of sales and fixed costs necessary for your practice to begin earning a profit. The break-even point is the volume of sales necessary to cover your fixed and variable costs.
- Forecasted income. The income statement connects the period of time between two balance sheets, which is typically 12 months. It measures the following over the full reporting period: patient collections, expenses and profits or losses. Because you don’t know what your income statement will look like in the future, you have to make a forecast, often referred to as projections. Expect a prospective lender or investor to question your assumptions. To counter such scrutiny, make realistic forecasts.
- Forecasted cash flows. The cash flow statement is the other financial statement that connects the balance sheet between two points in time. The cash flow statement measures cash inflows and cash outflows from three business activities: operating, investing and financing.
First-time dental practice owners often have great ideas and a willingness to work hard. Including a business plan with your request for funds can help demonstrate that you have financial stability with a strategic focus on running and growing the practice.
For a free business plan toolkit and representative sample:
- Call 833-276-6017 (8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. CST)
- Visit ada.org/businessplan
The information contained in this document as well as the planning template are meant to provide educational assistance in the development of a business plan. Please note that each dental practice is unique and the information provided in this document and the template itself are not intended to capture circumstances specific to all practices.
Note: We recommend practice owners consult qualified professional advisers for legal, finance, accounting and tax guidance when considering starting or acquiring a practice.
Banking products and services are subject to bank or credit approval. BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC.
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