Creating a Business Plan for 2026

As you review how the past year has been for your business, take some time to build a business plan for 2026. It will help you think clearly about your 2026 goals, prepare for the worst-case scenarios, and give you a structure you can work within to achieve your long-term objectives. 

A good business plan consists of four main parts: clear goals and priorities, a grounded financial plan, proactive tax planning, and a resilient strategy. 

Clarify Your 2026 Vision and Priorities

What does success in 2026 look like in terms of revenue, operations, your team, and growth? Write a list of the goals you’d like to achieve in order of priority. 

• Make the goals SMART—that is, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—with concrete numbers you can easily track your progress toward. 
• Clarify your long-term objectives. For example, “I want to dominate a particular market segment in 3 years’ time.” This helps you set proactive goals that move you toward your long-term objectives rather than just reacting to what’s happening now. 
• Don’t make goals in a vacuum. Consider current and expected market conditions such as competition, economic shifts, supplier concerns, and industry-specific risks. 
• Crunch the numbers and develop a realistic financial plan to achieve your goals. Without financial support, your goals are assumptions. 

Have a Business Financial Plan for 2026

Having a financial plan helps you identify which goals you can realistically achieve and reveals constraints that could hinder your progress. 

You might have a goal of expanding into a new market in 2026. But when you look at your cashflow, you realise you don’t have enough to support expansion. 

A financial plan can also change your goals and priorities. If you realise that cash flow is a problem, you should probably focus on shoring it up before you think about expanding. 

When creating a financial plan for 2026, here’s what to include: 

• A budget with projected revenue, fixed costs like rent and wages, variable expenses, planned investments, and target profits. 
• Don’t forget to add tax obligations to your budget, including PAYG instalments, GST, and Super contributions. 
• Use rolling forecasts (updated monthly or quarterly) to reveal vulnerabilities and seasonal changes. These are better than traditional static forecasts. 
• Include scenario planning to project how your business will hold up under best, worst, and base case scenarios. 

Understand Your Tax Position 

Review your tax position for the upcoming year. Determine which tax rates and thresholds will apply to your business structure and check if there are any legislation changes that could impact FBT, Super contributions, or allowable deductions. 

This is also the time to polish your tax strategy. For example, if you project higher profits, bring forward deductible expenses to reduce your taxable income. Don’t forget to check which concessions you can utilise and include them in your tax planning. 

The goal is to be proactive with how you plan your taxes. It maximises your tax efficiency, helps you avoid unnecessary tax exposure, and makes it easier to stay compliant (it’s easy to mess up when you’re scrambling to find deductions at the last minute).  

Build Resilience 

In business, something inevitably goes wrong. Building resilience increases the chances that your business will survive and thrive in uncertainty. 

Here’s what goes into a good resilience strategy: 

• Mechanisms to identify risks early and report them. These can be internal dashboards to track key metrics (e.g. conversions), collecting direct feedback from employees and customers, and better cashflow visibility so you can spot shortages well ahead of time. 
• Have an action/escalation protocol that’s automatically triggered when you identify certain risks or when they pass a specific threshold. For example, if sales drop below a particular point, what happens? Reporting without action is pointless. 
• Have contingency plans for worst-case scenarios. Map out these contingencies early so you know exactly what to do if the worst happens. 

Why Expert Guidance and Support is Important in Business Planning 

Trusted advisors ensure your goals and assumptions are based on reality and accurate projections. Good advisors will pressure-test your plans before the market does and provide external accountability during implementation.  

At PCR Accounting & Advisory, we can support your business plan giving insight on tax efficiency, your long-term goals, expert financial planning, and risk management. We provide ongoing virtual CFO support to help you implement your business plan and adjust it as the business environment changes. 

Enquire online today to see how we can build a strategy for your business plans in 2026. 

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial or legal advice. Consult with a qualified professional for personalised guidance based on your specific circumstances.