Draft a business plan from your own notes

Give it your own notes on the business, what it does, who buys, what you charge, what it costs and who is involved, and run it whenever you want a draft. A new Google Doc is created and each section of the plan is written in turn under its own heading, from your notes and nothing else, with each section told what has already been covered so it carries on rather than repeats.

You end up with a first draft to work through with your accountant or adviser, not advice. Nothing is calculated, forecast or valued: the AI is told to use only the facts and figures in your notes, and every number in a drafted section is checked against them. A section that uses a figure you did not write is left out and reported, as is one that could not be written, and the closing list of gaps tells you exactly what to add before you rely on it. A fresh document is created every run, so nothing you already have is touched.

Set companyName to blank.Set companyName to blank.

Set businessNotes to blank.Set businessNotes to blank.

Set sectionPlan to:Set sectionPlan to:Executive summary The problem and who has it What we sell Customers and how we reach them Competition and why people choose us How the business makes money Operations and the team Milestones for the year ahead Risks and what we would do about them What we still have to work out

Set maxSections to 12.Set maxSections to 12.

Trim companyName and save it as company.Trim companyName and save it as company.

If company is emptyIf company is empty

Yes

Stop and report a problem: Put the business's name in the 'companyName' step - it names the document and heads every page - then run it again.Stop and report a problem: Put the business's name in the 'companyName' step - it names the document and heads every page - then run it again.

No

No steps

Trim businessNotes and save it as notes.Trim businessNotes and save it as notes.

If notes is emptyIf notes is empty

Yes

Stop and report a problem: Fill in the 'businessNotes' step first: what the business does, who buys, what you charge, what it costs, who is involved and every figure you want the plan to use. Nothing that is not in these notes will reach the page, and no figure is ever invented for you.Stop and report a problem: Fill in the 'businessNotes' step first: what the business does, who buys, what you charge, what it costs, who is involved and every figure you want the plan to use. Nothing that is not in these notes will reach the page, and no figure is ever invented for you.

No

No steps

Set sectionLimit to maxSections multiplied by 1.Set sectionLimit to maxSections multiplied by 1.

If sectionLimit is less than 1 or sectionLimit is greater than 40If sectionLimit is less than 1 or sectionLimit is greater than 40

Yes

Stop and report a problem: Set 'maxSections' to a whole number between 1 and 40 - it is the most sections this workflow will write in one run.Stop and report a problem: Set 'maxSections' to a whole number between 1 and 40 - it is the most sections this workflow will write in one run.

No

No steps

Set sections to an empty list.Set sections to an empty list.

For each planLine in sectionPlan split by a new line:For each planLine in sectionPlan split by a new line:

Trim planLine and save it as heading.Trim planLine and save it as heading.

If heading isn't emptyIf heading isn't empty

Yes

If the length of sections is greater than or equal to sectionLimitIf the length of sections is greater than or equal to sectionLimit

Yes

Stop repeating.Stop repeating.

No

No steps

Add heading to the end of sections and save it as sections.Add heading to the end of sections and save it as sections.

No

No steps

If sections is emptyIf sections is empty

Yes

Stop and report a problem: List the sections you want, one per line, in the 'sectionPlan' step.Stop and report a problem: List the sections you want, one per line, in the 'sectionPlan' step.

No

No steps

Extract all matches from notes and save it as sourceFigures.Extract all matches from notes and save it as sourceFigures.

Join sections with a new line and save it as planText.Join sections with a new line and save it as planText.

Set promptBase to You are drafting one section of a business plan for the company named below. The person you are writing for will take this to their own accountant, their bank or an investor, so a sentence you invented is far worse than a sentence you left out.Set promptBase to You are drafting one section of a business plan for the company named below. The person you are writing for will take this to their own accountant, their bank or an investor, so a sentence you invented is far worse than a sentence you left out. Everything you write comes from the notes below. You know nothing else about this company, its market, its competitors or its numbers. Rules you must not break: - Use only the facts, names, customers, prices, costs and figures the notes give you. Add none of your own. - Digits are reserved for figures that appear, character for character, in the notes. Write every other quantity in words: three staff, the first year, twice a month. - Never write a statistic, market size, growth rate, market share, valuation, price, cost, headcount, date, year, study, survey, ranking or named source that is not in the notes. Where the writing needs one, write [figure to add] and carry on. - Do not produce financial projections, forecasts, break-even points, valuations or funding recommendations, and do not tell the reader what to raise or what the business is worth. Present the figures the notes give you as the writer's own figures and assumptions, and say where they still have to be worked out. - Do not name a competitor, customer, supplier, partner or investor the notes do not name. - Do not give legal, tax, accounting or investment advice. - Do not number your list items. Start each one with a dash. - Write the section itself and nothing else: no heading, no preamble, no sign-off. - If the notes do not tell you enough to write this section honestly, say so in two or three sentences and name exactly what the writer still has to supply. Do not fill the gap yourself. Company: company The notes, in the writer's own words: notes The full plan for the document. The other sections are written separately, so cover only your own: planText.

Google DocsCreate the document '@company - business plan (draft)'. Save it as created.Create the document '@company - business plan (draft)'. Save it as created.

Trim created.document_id and save it as documentId.Trim created.document_id and save it as documentId.

If documentId is empty or documentId is nullIf documentId is empty or documentId is null

Yes

Stop and report a problem: Google Docs did not give back a new document, so there is nothing to write into. Check the Google Docs connection and run it again.Stop and report a problem: Google Docs did not give back a new document, so there is nothing to write into. Check the Google Docs connection and run it again.

No

No steps

Google DocsAdd the heading '@company - business plan (draft)' to documentId.Add the heading '@company - business plan (draft)' to documentId.

Google DocsAdd text to documentId.Add text to documentId.This is a draft. Every section below was written from the notes you supplied and nothing else. The figures in it are yours: this document calculates nothing, forecasts nothing and values nothing, and it contains no figure you did not write down yourself. Check every one of them,...

Set sectionsWritten to 0.Set sectionsWritten to 0.

Set notWritten to an empty list.Set notWritten to an empty list.

Set needsFigures to an empty list.Set needsFigures to an empty list.

Set unusedFigures to an empty list.Set unusedFigures to an empty list.

Set covered to an empty list.Set covered to an empty list.

For each section in sections:For each section in sections:

Google DocsAdd the heading section to documentId.Add the heading section to documentId.

Set coveredText to none yet - this is the first section.Set coveredText to none yet - this is the first section.

If covered isn't emptyIf covered isn't empty

Yes

Join covered with ; and save it as coveredText.Join covered with ; and save it as coveredText.

No

No steps

Set sectionPrompt to promptBaseSet sectionPrompt to promptBase Sections already written, in order: coveredText Write this section now, and only this section: section Length: about 300 words, in plain English. Carry on from what has already been written and do not repeat it.

Set draftText to blank.Set draftText to blank.

If a step below fails, save the error as draftErrorIf a step below fails, save the error as draftError

Try

ClaudeAsk Claude: sectionPrompt. Save it as reply.Ask Claude: sectionPrompt. Save it as reply. Maximum response length: 1500

Trim reply.response_text and save it as draftText.Trim reply.response_text and save it as draftText.

On error

Change draftText to blank.Change draftText to blank.

Show in the output: Could not draft the section '@section'. It is reported as not written at the end of the document.Show in the output: Could not draft the section '@section'. It is reported as not written at the end of the document.

If draftText is nullIf draftText is null

Yes

Change draftText to blank.Change draftText to blank.

No

No steps

If draftText is emptyIf draftText is empty

Yes

Google DocsAdd text to documentId.Add text to documentId.This section was not written - nothing came back from the writing step. Run the workflow again to try this section once more.

Add section - nothing came back from the writing step to the end of notWritten and save it as notWritten.Add section - nothing came back from the writing step to the end of notWritten and save it as notWritten.

No

Extract all matches from draftText and save it as draftFigures.Extract all matches from draftText and save it as draftFigures.

Set unsourced to an empty list.Set unsourced to an empty list.

For each figure in draftFigures:For each figure in draftFigures:

If sourceFigures doesn't contain figure If sourceFigures doesn't contain figure

Yes

Add figure to the end of unsourced and save it as unsourced.Add figure to the end of unsourced and save it as unsourced.

Add section - figure to the end of unusedFigures and save it as unusedFigures.Add section - figure to the end of unusedFigures and save it as unusedFigures.

No

No steps

If unsourced isn't emptyIf unsourced isn't empty

Yes

Google DocsAdd text to documentId.Add text to documentId.This section was not written. The draft that came back used figures your notes do not contain, and this workflow will not put a figure you did not write into a business plan. The figures it tried to use are listed at the end - add the real ones to your notes and run it again.

Add section - the draft used figures that are not in your notes to the end of notWritten and save it as notWritten.Add section - the draft used figures that are not in your notes to the end of notWritten and save it as notWritten.

No

Google DocsAdd text to documentId.Add text to documentId.draftText

Add 1 to sectionsWritten.Add 1 to sectionsWritten.

Add section to the end of covered and save it as covered.Add section to the end of covered and save it as covered.

If draftText contains [figure to add] (ignoring case)If draftText contains [figure to add] (ignoring case)

Yes

Add section to the end of needsFigures and save it as needsFigures.Add section to the end of needsFigures and save it as needsFigures.

No

No steps

Google DocsAdd the heading 'Figures and gaps to close before you use this' to documentId.Add the heading 'Figures and gaps to close before you use this' to documentId.

Set checks to an empty list.Set checks to an empty list.

Add Sections written from your notes: sectionsWritten of the length of sections. to the end of checks and save it as checks.Add Sections written from your notes: sectionsWritten of the length of sections. to the end of checks and save it as checks.

For each item in notWritten:For each item in notWritten:

Add Not written - item to the end of checks and save it as checks.Add Not written - item to the end of checks and save it as checks.

For each item in needsFigures:For each item in needsFigures:

Add Supply the figure where the draft wrote [figure to add] - item to the end of checks and save it as checks.Add Supply the figure where the draft wrote [figure to add] - item to the end of checks and save it as checks.

For each item in unusedFigures:For each item in unusedFigures:

Add Figure left out because your notes do not contain it - item to the end of checks and save it as checks.Add Figure left out because your notes do not contain it - item to the end of checks and save it as checks.

Add This is a first draft assembled from your own notes. Every figure in it is yours to verify, and nothing here is financial, legal or investment advice. Work through it with your accountant or adviser before you show it to anyone. to the end of checks and save it as checks.Add This is a first draft assembled from your own notes. Every figure in it is yours to verify, and nothing here is financial, legal or investment advice. Work through it with your accountant or adviser before you show it to anyone. to the end of checks and save it as checks.

Google DocsAdd a bulleted list to documentId.Add a bulleted list to documentId.

Show in the output: Draft written into a new Google Doc. Sections written: sectionsWritten of the length of sections.Show in the output: Draft written into a new Google Doc. Sections written: sectionsWritten of the length of sections.