Construction Business Plan Template: Free Word + PDF With a License and Bond Register

The PDF is 19 pages as rendered in LibreOffice with the Carlito font; the count depends on the renderer. It has 11 main entries: a one-page summary, the SBA's eight sections in order, a risks section and an appendix checklist (the last two are ours, not the SBA's), plus 13 sub-sections. Page 1 says the file “is a sample to help you get started, not finished advice”.

The SBA says lean plans “can take as little as one hour to make and are typically only one page”, and that “Some lenders and investors may ask for more information” (SBA: Plan your business). The file's one-page summary can serve as that short version; see also business plan vs lean canvas. Not a contractor? Use our general business plan template.

1. Download the Word file (or the PDF to print) and read the note on page 1.
2. State your trade and work types (5.1) and who holds each license (section 2).
3. Fill in the register (5.2).
4. List your backlog (6.1): signed and bidding work, with a probability you assign yourself. The file gives no default and no win rate.
5. Work through the bonding-capacity prompts (5.3).
6. List equipment as owned, leased or rented (5.4). Fill in the safety rows (5.5) after checking OSHA and your state plan.
7. Fill in job costing and WIP (8.1) and the overhead worksheet (8.2). Overhead rate is annual overhead divided by annual direct job cost: your own calculation, with no target markup in the file.
8. Fill in retainage and cash timing (8.3) from your contract terms.
9. State the funding request (7), build the 5-year numbers in the workbook and copy the summary figures into 8.4 to 8.7.
10. Write the executive summary and one-page summary last, and delete every shaded box.

The numbers for sections 8.4 to 8.7 come from our free Excel business plan template. Its Assumptions tab says “Units are whatever you sell: jobs, customers on a plan, items.” Enter jobs per month at full Year-1 volume as units and your average contract value as the price.

• It applies a six-month ramp-up, seasonality by calendar month, and annual growth from Year 2. It has no monthly growth input, so months 7 to 12 cannot be entered job by job.
• It has no retainage, work-in-progress, job-costing or backlog lines. Its Cash Flow tab says: “No receivables or payables timing: cash follows profit in the same month.” Retainage and slow payment are worked by hand in 8.3.
• Key Ratios shows the lowest month-end cash in the year.
• Bond premiums can go under “Other fixed costs per month” or “Other startup costs”. That is a modeling choice, not a rule.

The SBA says: “SBA guarantees contract bonds, but doesn’t guarantee commercial bonds. Contract bonds ensure the terms of a specific contract are fulfilled. Commercial bonds ensure all applicable laws and regulations are followed. Government agencies require certain companies or individuals to obtain commercial bonds, which protect the general public against things like fraud” (SBA: Surety bonds).

The register's labels “the job” and “the law” are the template's own shorthand for that split. Which commercial bonds your work needs: check with your state.

The SBA lists four categories of bonds it guarantees, in these words (SBA: Surety bonds):

Before you sign a bond, ask your surety agent what you are required to sign.

The file's sheet is a prompt, not their checklist. It sets no thresholds and no ratios. It asks for your largest job completed, work in progress (from 8.1), backlog (from 6.1), working capital (from your accountant), whether owners' financial statements are attached, your banking relationship or line of credit, references, and whether this plan is attached.

Check whether it fits; nothing here promises a bond. Each fact below was read on sba.gov on October 17, 2026; confirm the current figures there.

• Fee: “All performance and payment bond guarantees require small businesses to pay SBA a fee of 0.6% of the contract price.” “SBA does not charge a fee for bid bond guarantees.” (SBA: Surety bonds; read October 17, 2026.)
• Contract size: the SBA's eligibility list includes “Have a small contract”, described as “Up to $9 million for non-federal contracts and up to $14 million for federal contracts”. The SBA lists this as eligibility; it does not say what applies above it. (SBA: Surety bonds; read October 17, 2026.)
• Small business: the list also includes “Qualify as a small business according to SBA’s size standards.” The surety page names no table or code, so ask your surety agent which size standard applies to you. (SBA: Surety bonds; read October 17, 2026.)

Separately, SBA assigns a size standard to each NAICS code, with exceptions by industry (SBA: Get started). The SBA says the exceptions by industry are listed in 13 CFR 121.201 and in its table of size standards; check yours. The surety page does not say this table applies to the surety program.

Example — replace with your numbers. A hypothetical contract.

This is only the SBA fee. Ask your surety agent what the premium is.

Enter the contract value, the cost to date, the cost to complete and the amount billed to date. Then work each line:

• Estimated total cost = cost to date + cost to complete.
• Estimated profit or (loss) = contract value − estimated total cost.
• Percent complete = cost to date ÷ estimated total cost.
• Earned to date = percent complete × contract value.
• Billed ahead of work, or (work ahead of billing) = billed to date − earned to date.

This is the template's method, and it is one way to measure. Ask your accountant and your surety which method they use. The schedule has no margin column and shows no target margin.

Example — replace with your numbers. A hypothetical company with three jobs; dollars.

Job A has billed 20,000 more than it has earned; Job B has done 25,000 of work it has not yet billed. Job C is at a loss on purpose, so the schedule shows a problem job. No margin, cost split or completion pattern is implied.

In this template, retainage means an amount a customer holds back from each payment until a later date. Your contract sets the percent held back, the billing dates, the payment terms and the release date. How retainage works in your state: check with your state.

Example — replace with your numbers. A hypothetical job: contract 200,000; 50,000 billed at the end of each of months 1 to 4; 6% of each billing held back; each billing paid the next month less the held-back amount; the held-back total released in month 6; job costs of 40,000 paid in each of months 1 to 4. The 6% and the payment terms are made-up contract terms, not a rate to use or expect.

Totals: cash in 200,000 (188,000 paid plus 12,000 released); cash out 160,000; ending cumulative cash 40,000, which is 200,000 − 160,000.

Two effects show up. Cumulative cash is lowest in month 1, at (40,000), because job costs are paid before the first payment arrives, one month after the first billing. It turns positive in month 5, at 28,000, before the held-back 12,000 arrives in month 6. Retainage delays that 12,000 to month 6. Without the hold-back, cumulative cash in month 5 would be 40,000 instead of 28,000; the ending figure is the same (own arithmetic). Change the contract terms and the table changes. The company needs working capital to cover the first months of this job.