Import Export Business Plan Template: Free Word + PDF for Importers and Exporters

This page has a free import export business plan template, a Word file with a PDF copy, for an importer, an exporter or a trading agent. Beyond the standard plan sections, it has supplier and buyer pipelines, a landed cost sheet, an order-to-cash timeline and a compliance checklist that names where to check each rule. It gives no duty, tariff, bond or fee figure, because those depend on your product and the date, and the download asks for your first name and email.

• Import export business plan template (Word .docx, about 56 KB)
• Import export business plan template (PDF, 19 pages, about 530 KB)

The form says: “Your download starts right away. We'll also add you to our free business-plan newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime.”

Yes: the two files above are one fill-in plan for importers, exporters and trading agents. The form also says: “Free sample: check all information before you use it. Provided as is, without support.”

It follows the SBA's common sections, from the executive summary to the funding request and financial projections, plus trade worksheets (SBA: Write your business plan; no date shown, read 2026-10-23). Sections 9 and 10 are an addition to the SBA's sections.

Section	What goes in	Where the numbers come from
1. Executive summary	Model, first order, cash need, funding	Write it last
2. Company description	Owners, legal form, storage, identification number	Your records
3. Market analysis	Products, markets, classification numbers, buyers	Your research, with source and date
4. Organization and management	Roles, trade experience, who files customs paperwork	Your team
5. Products and operations	Pipelines, terms, landed cost, timeline, checklist	Your quotes, contracts and broker
6. Marketing and sales	How buyers find you	Your quotes, dated
7. Funding request	Funding crosswalk and request	The lender's or program's own list
8. Financial projections	First-order cash, profit and loss, monthly cash, balance sheet	The Excel workbook; 8.3 by hand
9. Risks and what you'll do	Exchange rate, delays, duty changes, late payment	Your plan
10. Appendix checklist	Quotes, contracts, permits, orders	Your documents

Worksheet 3.1 asks for each product, its classification number, the country and your dated evidence of demand. Import numbers come from your broker or the official tariff schedule; for exports, the Census Bureau “provides a Schedule B Commodity Search Tool” (Census Bureau: Schedule B; no date shown, read 2026-10-23). The template supplies no number. See how to test your market research.

One plan, with a switch: importer, exporter, both, or agent or broker (a commission, no goods of your own). Seven places change:

Where it changes	Importer	Exporter	Agent or broker
3.1 Product and market	Source countries and your U.S. buyers	Target countries and your foreign buyers	The suppliers and buyers you bring together
5.1 Suppliers	Your overseas suppliers	Your U.S. suppliers or your own production	The suppliers you represent
5.2 Buyers	Your U.S. buyers	Your foreign buyers	The buyers you find, and your commission basis
5.4 Cost sheet	Landed cost sheet	Delivered cost sheet	Your commission and your own costs; no goods to buy
5.5 Timeline	Supplier deposit to buyer payment	Production or purchase to buyer payment	When the commission is paid to you
5.7 Checklist	Importer rows	Exporter rows	Ask your adviser which rows apply
8.1 First-order cash	The first order's landed cost	The first order's delivered cost	Your costs before the commission arrives; no inventory

In customs rules, “Importer” means “the person primarily liable for the payment of any duties on the merchandise, or an authorized agent acting on his behalf” (19 CFR § 101.1, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23). On the export side, the U.S. principal party in interest (USPPI) is “The person in the United States that receives the primary benefit, monetary or otherwise, from the export transaction” (15 CFR § 30.1, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23).

The agent column is the template's framing, not a rule. Acting for others in customs business is a licensed activity (19 CFR § 111.2, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23), and the template does not cover it.

Selling online to consumers? The e-commerce business plan template fits better.

Its landed cost: the supplier's price plus every charge until the goods reach your warehouse, including duty, fees, broker and bond costs. Sheet 5.4 works it per shipment and per unit.

A U.S. import invoice must itemize “All charges upon the merchandise itemized by name and amount, including freight, insurance, commission, cases, containers, coverings, and cost of packing” (19 CFR § 141.86, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23). Customs value starts from “the price actually paid or payable” (19 CFR § 152.103, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23). Ask your broker which charges are part of the customs value. Duty, fee and bond lines are blank, with a source-and-date column.

Paying a broker does not move the duty bill: “Payment to a broker covering duties does not relieve the importer of liability if the duties are not paid by the broker” (19 CFR § 141.1, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23).

From your first payment to the supplier until your buyer pays. Delivery terms decide which freight and insurance lines are yours; payment terms decide when cash leaves and comes back.

The 5.5 timeline lists each payment by day: deposit, balance, freight, clearance, delivery, invoice and buyer payment. Peak cash need is the lowest cumulative figure.

Under the SBA's Export Working Capital Program (EWCP), “An applicant must submit cash flow projections to support the need for the loan and the ability to repay” (13 CFR § 120.344, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23). For a monthly view, see this monthly cash flow format.

The importer rows of the 5.7 checklist. Each says what the source says and where to check; none states an amount, rate or threshold or decides anything about your product.

Row	What the source says (eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23)	Where to check
Importer identity	CBP Form 5106 is filed “with the first formal entry”, using your IRS employer identification number or, if none has been assigned, your Social Security number (19 CFR § 24.5)	CBP or your licensed customs broker
Customs bond	Single transaction or continuous. A single-transaction application identifies “the value and nature of the merchandise”; a continuous one states the general character of the merchandise and the prior calendar year's duties and taxes. CBP considers your payment record and “The value and nature of the merchandise” (19 CFR §§ 113.11, 113.12, 113.13(b)). Amount: ask your surety or broker.	Your surety or broker; CBP
Entry	“All merchandise imported into the United States is required to be entered, unless specifically excepted.” Documents include the entry form, the commercial invoice and “Other documents which may be required by CBP or other Federal, State, or local agencies” (19 CFR §§ 141.4, 142.3)	CBP or your broker
Classification and duty rate	From the official tariff schedule or your broker, dated. The Customs Service, which 19 CFR § 101.1 defines as CBP, gives “full and careful consideration to written requests” for rulings on prospective transactions; oral advice is not binding (19 CFR § 177.1).	The official tariff schedule; CBP; your broker
Invoice contents	Price in the purchase currency, itemized charges, country of origin, in English (19 CFR § 141.86)	Your supplier; your broker
Country-of-origin marking	Unless excepted, foreign articles (or their containers) show “the English name of the country of origin” (19 CFR § 134.11)	CBP or your broker
Importer Security Filing	For vessel cargo, most elements are due “before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port”, with exceptions (19 CFR § 149.2)	CBP or your broker
Other agencies	The SBA lists federal permits for some activities, such as importing animals or plants (USDA), alcohol (TTB), firearms (ATF) or wildlife (SBA: Licenses and permits; read 2026-10-23). FDA prior notice applies to “all food for humans and other animals that is imported or offered for import”, with exceptions (21 CFR § 1.277).	The agency for your product; your broker
State and local licenses	On the SBA licenses page	Your state and local offices

Five rows, none a verdict on your product. Take each to the Bureau of Industry and Security, your freight forwarder or a trade compliance adviser.

• Electronic Export Information. Filed through the Automated Export System by the USPPI or an authorized agent “for all exports of physical goods”, with exceptions (15 CFR § 30.2, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23).
• Classification and license check. The export rules (the EAR) say “The following five types of facts determine your obligations”: what is it, where is it going, who will receive it, what will they do with it, and what else do they do (15 CFR § 732.1). They also restrict exports to “certain end users and end uses” (15 CFR § 744.1; both eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23).
• Schedule B number. From the Census Bureau's search tool, with the date.
• Sanctions screening. Transactions under OFAC's prohibitions not authorized by general license “may be effected only under specific license” (31 CFR § 501.801, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23). Screen each new buyer and their country.
• The buyer's country's import rules. Ask your buyer or forwarder.

The checklist's last row: “Rules changed during 2026. Re-check each row before your first order and at least before each new product or market.”

The file's funding crosswalk (7.1) covers three SBA programs. Nothing in it says you qualify: ask a lender.

Export Working Capital Program. “Under the EWCP, SBA guarantees short-term working capital loans made by participating lenders to exporters”, and “Proceeds can be used only to finance export transactions” (13 CFR § 120.340, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23). An EWCP applicant “must be in business for one full year at the time of application, but not necessarily in the exporting business”, and “SBA may waive this requirement if the applicant has sufficient export trade experience or other managerial experience” (13 CFR § 120.341, eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23).

State Trade Expansion Program (STEP). “STEP provides financial awards to state and territory governments.” Its grants are “specifically for established U.S. small businesses” doing listed activities such as trade missions and trade shows (SBA: Grants; no date shown, read 2026-10-23). Contact your state or territory's STEP representative.

7(a) Working Capital Pilot. It can “Provide financing for domestic and/or export purposes” (SBA: 7(a) loans; no date shown, read 2026-10-23).

What the lender or program asks for (eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23)	Where in this plan
Cash flow projections that support the need for the loan and the ability to repay (EWCP, 13 CFR § 120.344)	5.5 and 8.3
What the money is for, from the listed uses of proceeds (EWCP, 13 CFR § 120.342)	8.1
Export trade or other managerial experience (EWCP, 13 CFR § 120.341)	4
Collateral, such as insured accounts receivable or letters of credit (EWCP, 13 CFR § 120.343)	5.6 and 10
For STEP: the eligible activity you want support for	6
For the 7(a) Working Capital Pilot: financing for domestic and/or export purposes (SBA)	7.2 and 8.1

In the file's words: “Some lenders and programs ask for items like these. Use their own list; programs change.”

Build the 5-year model in the free Excel business plan template, copy its summaries into 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4, and do the Year-1 monthly cash with order timing by hand in 8.3. The SBA says: “For the first year, be even more specific and use quarterly — or even monthly — projections.” (SBA: Write your business plan; read 2026-10-23)

Section 8 sets out the bridge:

• Fits: units × price; Initial inventory (the first order's landed cost); Loan amount; Owner equity; Lowest month-end cash in the year.
• Direct cost: a share of sales: landed cost per unit ÷ selling price, from 5.4.
• No receivables, payables or inventory timing: use 8.3.
• One currency label, no exchange-rate line: convert supplier prices to dollars in 5.4 first.

• eCFR, current as of 2026-10-21, read 2026-10-23: 19 CFR §§ 24.5, 101.1, 111.2, 113.11, 113.12, 113.13, 134.11, 141.1, 141.4, 141.86, 142.3, 149.2, 152.103, 177.1; 15 CFR §§ 30.1, 30.2, 732.1, 744.1; 31 CFR § 501.801; 13 CFR §§ 120.340 to 120.344; 7 CFR § 1493.210; 21 CFR § 1.277
• SBA — Write your business plan
• SBA — Apply for licenses and permits
• SBA — Grants (STEP)
• SBA — 7(a) loans
• U.S. Census Bureau — Schedule B

SBA and Census pages show no date; read 2026-10-23. Example numbers are made up.