Create your business continuity plan (with free template)

small business continuity plan template uk

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As a small business owner you may have been alarmed by the events and uncertainty of the past few years. Since COVID first hit, a barrage of tough trading conditions has seen countless businesses forced into administration or even company liquidation .

With a background of Brexit, pandemics, lockdowns, the Great Resignation, an in-and-out-and-in-again recession, and other current stressors – you will need a clear plan in place to keep operations running smoothly in these uncertain times – one that focuses on the continuity, survival and durability of your small business. That's where a Business Continuity Plan can be essential.

You may have heard about Business Continuity Plans (BCPs), but don't know exactly what they are or how to go about creating one. Whilst many small businesses have insurances in place, far less know they need a BCP or some kind of framework to deal with unexpected or unpredictable events.

We’ll guide you through the process here, explaining the key considerations and elements. By the end of this article you’ll know how to write a thorough and workable BCP, using the free template provided to get started .

In this article, we will cover:

What is a business continuity plan, why is a business continuity plan important.

  • How to Create A Business Continuity Plan

Next Steps: Testing and Reviewing Your Plan

Our below guide will give you detailed advice on how to write a quality BCP.

But first, you need to know what to include – and that's where a high quality template can help.

We recommend using the free clickup.com BCP template to ensure nothing gets missed. Every step involved in the business continuity plan – coordinating your emergency response, forming your strategy to get back up and running and communicating with your customers – is already mapped out for you, ready to be filled in with your details.

We recommend creating an account with Clickup to use this free template – doing so means you may be able to keep your business protected financially and otherwise in the event of an emergency. You can see the template below, or click to try it for yourself by signing up to Clickup.

small business continuity plan template uk

Business continuity is the ability of an organisation to continue production and delivery to an acceptable standard following a disruptive incident. A Business Continuity Plan details the steps and strategies to how you intend to do that.

Your Business Continuity Plan can take many different forms – a paper document that you could store away in a filing cabinet, or a digital document that you store on your computer (or multiple if you want to be really safe).

Ultimately it is the emergency strategy you use if you want to get your business on track in terms of regaining customers (and to avoid losing them to competitors) from supply chain issues, for example, to fixing physical damage to products or property, recovering from any losses of particularly significant people, and keeping the business from fully having to close down due to significant negative events.

You would normally use it as soon as you possibly can after said negative events to mitigate as much damage (whether physical or representational) as you can. This would also inspire confidence about you to your team and show the leadership needed to deal with stressful situations when it’s most needed.

The state of the world leaves much to be desired right now. We are seeing such unprecedented upheavals in almost every sector of everyday life – from the cost of living, to post-pandemic effects, to rising electricity prices and other forms of inflation – that Collins Dictionary chose “Permacrisis” as their 2022 word of the year.

“Permacrisis” perfectly encapsulates the ‘survival mode’ most small business owners are in right now . But having a Business Continuity Plan ensures that your company and its assets are protected and are able to function quickly in the event of a disaster – so that the business survives with as little damage as possible (financial or otherwise).

Your business continuity plan should detail such important aspects such as:

  • Coordinating an emergency response
  • Dealing with damaged infrastructure
  • Timescales for getting systems back up and running
  • Strategies for reassuring customers

How to Create a Business Continuity Plan

We know you already have a lot on your plate right now, and creating a new plan may seem like a lot of work with multiple considerations and factors – but not to worry. A solid plan is worth it, as it can be an essential asset for years to come, and we’re here to walk you through making one.

(We’re also assuming you already have your business plan in place, but if not, we also have a guide that will give you detailed advice on how to write a quality business plan here.)

Step 1: What are your potential risks and impact?

  • Consider all the potential risks to your company. There are external risks (for example power cuts, natural disasters, cyber attacks and other things that are out of your control for the most part), and internal risks (for example sudden cash-flow issues, tough sales months or losing key staff).
  • What parts of the business could they affect? The issues could affect anything from your premises, people, stock and equipment, operations and processes, to technology.
  • What could the impact be? You could for example experience a loss of sales and income, increased expenses, decreased customer satisfaction and loyalty, delayed service delivery, poor product quality, or regulatory fines.

Let’s put it together: If you owned a hair salon and a competitor opened up next door .(potential risk), it would affect the volume of potential customers (part of business affected) and there may be a loss of sales (business impact).

Step 2: What are your critical business functions?

  • A critical business function is a process that must be restored in the event of a disruption to protect the business and keep meeting expectations (up to the standards of shareholders, for example). A good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system would help with this process, and you can find some of the best CRM for small businesses here .
  • A few different business functions that exist are paperwork, employees, and production for example .
  • Using paperwork that was at risk of a fire as an example, a way to mitigate this potential risk would be to have multiple backups , in different locations and the responsibility of different people in the business.

Step 3: Who holds the key roles and responsibilities?

It’s important to consider the key roles and responsibilities in your business because that way, the right information can get to the right people in a streamlined way and issues can be resolved by the right people quickly.

These may include:

  • Internal staff (sales leaders, accountants, client managers etc)
  • External key players (contractors and service providers, suppliers and distributors, IT consultants, utility companies etc)
  • It’s important to have a list of key people (with their documented roles), and other important contacts, as well as clear instructions that clarify their responsibilities in an emergency situation.

Let’s put it together: If there was a security breach in a tech company, the customer service department (internal staff) would need to be alerted who could send out a reassuring email to customers. Next, a call would need to be made to an IT consultant to fix the issue (external key players). At the same time, a senior manager for example (key people) could also send out a message to shareholders to clear up and clarify any incorrect information showing on systems.

Step 4: What is your communication plan?

  • Who needs to be contacted: in the event of a disruption or emergency? Some examples may include employees, customers, clients, or suppliers.
  • How will you communicate with them: Depending on the severity of the situation and also taking into consideration the tone of your company brand and the mediums your customer base use most, you could use social media, press releases, or an email newsletter for example.
  • What will the tone be? The tone can be serious, reassuring, optimistic or anything else you feel most accurately serves the situation, and that would be on brand for your company.
  • Test your plan. It is extremely important to make sure your plan works BEFORE it's put into action. There would be nothing worse than to feel you have a good plan but when something serious actually happens, it all falls apart because it wasn’t properly tested or viable in actual practice.
  • The various components of testing may involve training staff, practice drills where you can receive feedback on areas of improvement, and allowing yourself time to make adjustments where necessary. Project management software would be useful in organising all of this with the many different people involved – we have an article on some of the best free project management software here.

When Should You Review Your Plan?

A Business Continuity Plan should be a living, breathing entity just as your company is. As life’s natural changes occur, and shifts in your business infrastructure inevitably occur over different periods of time, you will need to ensure that your plan is regularly updated so it’s the best it can be.

Key factors that should trigger a review include:

  • Changes to staff: New staff will need to be informed about the practices of your plans, and sometimes the plan may need to be adjusted to accommodate new staff, if they have specific needs for example.
  • Changes to premises: Your plan should include emergency procedures for every physical premise you have, so if there is a change there make sure your plan reflects that to ensure it’s as optimal as possible.
  • Changes to processes: If there are changes to your processes, your plan should reflect these changes so that everyone can stay updated and there is as little confusion as possible in the event of anything unexpected.

How Often Should You Review Your Plan?

  • Timeframe: An annual review is good practice to review and update your business continuity plan, because usually in that amount of time a business, the environment of the business and the world would have naturally changed and evolved to some extent.
  • Who to update: You should inform anyone within your company that the changes will affect, such as staff and employees, who will need to know in order to adjust their behaviours and processes and move forward safely. (You can use your list of key people for this).
  • How / where to store your BCP: As mentioned above in the ‘critical business section’, it’s important that your BCP is stored in a few different locations, and accessible to the people who may need it.

Your business continuity plan should not just be something you create then never intend to action. You never know when an emergency event will come into play that could potentially break your business in some way or another, and you can use the free template provided by Clickup to rectify that.

Hopefully you’ll never need to use your plan, but in the worst case scenario, you can rest assured that you have yourself and your business covered.

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small business continuity plan template uk

Free business continuity template

Download this business continuity plan template and use it to make your business more resilient. Or try Xero accounting software for free.

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Getting started with the business continuity template

Using this business continuity template.

When filling out this business continuity plan, it helps to have scenarios in mind. Think about what you’d do if some of these things below went wrong. They could be crises within the business or in the world around you.

  • Included Losing key staff or a big client
  • Included Failure of critical equipment
  • Included Fire
  • Included Shipping and supply chain issues
  • Included Natural disasters
  • Included National or global financial shocks

Resources for resilience

As you work through this business continuity plan template, you’ll see ways to make your business stronger. You may want to know more about:

Types of business structure

Your business structure can affect your levels of legal and financial protection.

Learn about business structure

Types of business insurance

Insurance can cover things like property, staff, public liability and business continuation.

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Accoutnants and bookkeepers can help build financial resilience into your business budgets.

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Xero does not provide accounting, tax, business or legal advice. This template has been provided for information purposes only. You should consult your own professional advisors for advice directly relating to your business.

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The Ultimate Guide to Business Continuity Plan for Small Business

small business continuity plan template uk

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Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) are essential documents that provide your organisation with guidance when faced with unexpected outages or disruptions. These plans outline steps to take in order to ensure employees’ safety, while containing potential losses such as data loss or equipment damage.

In this blog post, we will discuss what exactly BCPs are as well as how they can be developed so that you can make sure your organisation is prepared for anything disaster might throw its way.

What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a vital document that outlines a strategy to ensure an organisation can continue to operate during and after a disruptive event, such as a natural disaster, cyber-attack, or pandemic.

A BCP typically outlines key information including emergency contacts and procedures, critical business functions and processes, alternate work locations, data backups, and recovery procedures .

Illustration of Business Continuity

By having a BCP in place, small businesses can minimise the impact of disruptions and ensure the safety of employees and stakeholders. It's important to regularly review and update the BCP to ensure it aligns with current business operations and evolving risks.

Why is Having a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Important?

In today's fast-paced business world, unexpected events and disruptions can occur at any moment and have severe consequences. This is why having a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is essential for small businesses to prevent catastrophic losses and keep operations running smoothly during unexpected scenarios.

A BCP is a structured approach which includes a recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) to identify potential threats to your key business processes, and it ensures that all essential processes and systems remain operational.

It includes everything from crisis management procedures to protocol for employees' safety, data backup plans, and recovery strategies.

By having a comprehensive BCP in place, companies can minimise downtime, reduce the chances of reputational damage, and quickly recover from any unexpected event.

Benefits of Business Continuity Planning

Here are some key benefits of business continuity planning:

1. Improved Risk Management

Business continuity plans help small businesses to identify and manage potential risks to their business operations. By developing a plan that outlines the steps necessary to respond to various types of disruptions, organisations can better prepare for and mitigate any potential risks.

Additionally, having a plan in place allows organisations to quickly respond to unexpected events, reducing the amount of time it takes to get back up and running.

2. Increased Resilience

Having a business continuity plan also increases an organisation’s resilience in the face of disruption. A well-crafted plan will provide guidance on how to handle different types of disruptions, allowing the organisation to remain operational even when faced with unforeseen circumstances.

This increased resilience can help a small business maintain its competitive edge by ensuring that they are able to continue providing services or products despite any disruption.

3. Reduced Costs

Having a business continuity plan can also help reduce costs associated with human error and disruption. By identifying potential risks and outlining steps for responding to them, small businesses can avoid costly delays or interruptions in their operations due to unexpected events.

Additionally, having a plan in place reduces the need for expensive emergency management response teams, as key staff members are already trained on how to respond in the event of an incident.

4. Improved Compliance

Organisations may also be required by law or industry standards to have some form of BCP in place as part of their compliance requirements.

Having a plan that meets these requirements demonstrates an organisation’s commitment to risk management and helps ensure that they are meeting all relevant regulations and standards related to business continuity planning.

5. Enhanced Reputation

Having a business continuity plan can also help enhance an organisation’s reputation among customers or other stakeholders by demonstrating their commitment to preparedness and reliability if disaster strikes.

Customers may be more likely to trust an organisation if they know that it has taken proactive steps such as developing a BCP in order to protect itself from potential disruptions or threats.

6. Improved Employee Morale

Finally, having a business continuity plan can improve employee morale by providing employees with peace of mind that their employer is taking measures necessary for protecting them if disaster strikes.

Knowing that their employer is taking steps such as developing a comprehensive BCP can make employees feel safer and more secure which may leave them feeling more engaged and motivated in a work environment.

Elements of BCP (Examples)

1. risk assessment.

A key component of any business continuity planning is a risk assessment. This is the process of identifying potential risks that could affect the organisation and assessing their likelihood and potential impact.

The risk assessment should include both internal and external risks, such as natural disasters, cyber-attacks, or supply chain disruptions.

Once the risks have been identified, the organisation can begin to develop strategies to mitigate them.

2. Data Backup and Disaster Recovery Planning

Data backup and disaster recovery planning are essential for any business continuity planning. These plans ensure that critical data is backed up regularly and can be quickly recovered in the event of an emergency or disaster.

The plan should include details on how data will be backed up, where backups will be stored, and how they will be accessed in an emergency situation.

3. Business Impact Analysis

A business impact analysis (BIA) is a tool used to identify which business processes or systems are most critical to the organisation’s operations.

It considers factors such as financial losses, customer satisfaction, legal liability, and organisational reputation when determining which processes or systems should be prioritised for protection in a disaster scenario.

4. Communication Plan

Communication plans are also important components of any business continuity planning. The communication plan outlines how information will be shared with employees, customers, vendors, suppliers, partners, etc., during an emergency or crisis situation.

It should include details on who will receive what type of information and when they will receive it so that everyone is aware of what is happening and can respond appropriately.

How to Create an Effective Business Continuity Plan

Here are 9 steps to create an effective BCP:

Step 1: Identify Critical Functions

The first step in creating a business continuity plan is to identify the critical business functions that need to be maintained during an emergency or major disruption.

This includes identifying which business processes, systems, and personnel are essential for the continued functioning of the organisation.

It is important to ensure that all key stakeholders are involved in this process, as their input will help to ensure that all key functions are identified.

Step 2: Assess Risks

Once the critical functions have been identified, it is important to assess the possible risks associated with them.

This includes analysing potential threats such as natural disasters, cyberattacks, and supply chain disruptions.

It is also important to assess how likely new risks are to occur and what its potential impact on the organisation would be if it did occur.

Step 3: Develop Strategies

Once the risks have been assessed, it is time to develop strategies for mitigating them. This may include developing backup plans for critical systems or personnel, implementing procedures for responding quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency or disruption, and establishing protocols for communicating with stakeholders during a crisis situation.

Step 4: Create Disaster Recovery Plan

A disaster recovery plan outlines specific steps that should be taken in order to restore operations following an emergency or disruption.

The disaster recovery plans should include detailed instructions on how to respond to various types of incidents as well as contact information for key personnel who can help during an emergency situation.

Step 5: Establish Testing Procedures

It is important to establish business continuity testing procedures in order to ensure that your business continuity plans work as intended when needed.

Testing can involve simulating various scenarios in order to evaluate how well different components of the plan work together and whether any changes need to be made prior to implementation.

Step 6: Train Employees

In order for a business continuity plan to be effective, employees must understand their roles and responsibilities before, during, and after an emergency or disruption occurs.

Training sessions should be conducted regularly so that employees are familiar with their duties under different circumstances and know what steps they need take when responding to an incident.

Step 7: Document Plan

Once all of these steps have been completed, it is important that everything is documented properly so that it can easily be accessed by those who need it when necessary.

This includes recording contact information for key personnel as well as detailing each step of the response process so that everyone knows exactly what needs to be done in order to maintain operations during an emergency situation or disruption.

Step 8: Review & Update Plan

It is important that your business continuity plan remains up to date with changing technologies and regulations so that it remains effective over time.

Therefore, you should review your plan at least once per year (or more often if necessary) and make any necessary updates.

Additionally, any changes made within your organisation should also be reflected in your business continuity planning.

Step 9: Monitor Performance

Monitoring performance allows you to identify areas where improvements can be made in order to increase efficiency.

This could involve tracking response times, reviewing customer feedback, or assessing how well different components of your business continuity plan work together.

By monitoring performance, you can make sure your organisation remains prepared for any type of incident or disruption.

Business Continuity Management

Business continuity management is the process of ensuring that a company's critical functions and operations continue to operate uninterrupted in the face of unforeseen disruptions.

This involves creating plans and strategies that allow businesses to respond swiftly and effectively to any crises or disasters with a crisis management communication.

In addition, an effective business continuity management team is critical to a company's success, as the ability to quickly recover from unexpected disruptions can mean the difference between success and failure.

By implementing a strong business continuity plan, companies can ensure that they are able to quickly return to full function after any business disruption, minimising the impact on clients, employees, and customers alike.

Business Continuity Planning Standards

The ISO 22301:2019 standard, developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), is recognised worldwide as the benchmark for business continuity management. This standard is often complemented by other relevant standards, including:

  • ISO 22313: Guidance on the use of ISO 22301
  • ISO 22317: Guidelines for business impact analysis
  • ISO 22318: Continuity of supply chains
  • ISO 22398: Exercise guidelines
  • ISO 22399: Incident preparedness and operational continuity management

Additionally, there are other notable standards in this field, such as:

  • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600: Emergency management and business continuity
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-34: IT contingency planning
  • British Standards Institution (BSI) BS 25999: Standard for business continuity

Business Continuity Plan Template for Small Business UK

A business continuity plan template is a document that outlines the strategies and procedures, your small business will use to continue operating during and after a disruption. This business disruption can be caused by natural disasters, power outages, cyber-attacks , or other unforeseen events.

A comprehensive BCP template will help you identify potential risks and develop proactive solutions to mitigate these risks.

In other words, a BCP template will help ensure that your business is prepared for any unexpected event that could potentially impact your operations, thus ensuring your business's survival in the long run.

business comtinuity plan template uk

BCP templates consist of:

  • Aim of the Plan
  • Objective of the Plan
  • Critical Function Checklist
  • Critical Function analysis and business recovery process
  • Emergency response checklist
  •                Key Staff
  •                Key Suppliers
  •                Key Customers
  •                Utility Companies
  •                Local Emergency Services
  •                Insurance and Finance Companies
  • Emergency Pack Contents
  • Action and Expenses log

You can download the UK business continuity plan template here .

Business Continuity vs Disaster Recovery

Illustration of BCP vs DR

When it comes to preparing for potential disruptions in day-to-day operations, two concepts often come up: business continuity and disaster recovery plans . While they share some similarities, they are not interchangeable terms.

Business continuity is a proactive and holistic approach to maintaining essential business functions during and after a disruption. It involves thinking through all aspects of the business, identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities, and putting plans in place to manage them.

Conversely, disaster recovery is a reactive approach that focuses primarily on restoring IT infrastructure and data in the event of a disaster or system failure.

In short, business continuity is about keeping the business running, while disaster recovery is about recovering from a particular event.

Business Continuity Planning FAQs

What are the 5 components of a business continuity plan.

A business continuity plan consists of five key components: risk assessment, business impact analysis, strategies and solutions, plan development, and plan testing and maintenance.

What are the 5 steps of a business continuity plan?

The Business continuity plan consists of five essential steps that a business must take to ensure its survival during such crises. First off, the plan must identify potential risks and their impact on the business. Second, it should establish communication protocols, so employees can be informed and kept safe. The third step involves having a comprehensive plan in place, which should include a recovery strategy. Fourth, it is important to test the plan regularly to ensure it is effective. Lastly, the continuity plan should be reviewed and updated regularly to accommodate any changes that might occur.

What are the 4 P’s of business continuity?

The 4P’s of business continuity includes people, processes, premises, and providers with additional 3 P’s which are preparedness, protection, and performance.

What should be in a business continuity plan?

There are several key elements that should be in a business continuity plan, including a clear explanation of the essential business functions, risk assessments, recovery strategies, communication protocols, and roles and responsibilities of team members.

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Business continuity vs disaster recovery: what’s the difference, disaster recovery: why 90% of businesses fail after losing data, 7 strategic benefits of digital transformation for businesses.

Free Business Continuity Plan Templates

By Andy Marker | October 23, 2018

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In this article, you’ll find the most useful free, downloadable business continuity plan (BCP) templates, in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and PDF formats. Customize the templates to fit the needs of your business, ensuring you maintain critical operations at all times.

Included on this page, you’ll find a business continuity plan template , a small business continuity plan template , a business continuity framework template , and more.

Business Continuity Plan Template

Business Continuity Plan Template

Download Business Continuity Plan Template

Word | PowerPoint | PDF  | Smartsheet

Use this template to document and track your business operations in the event of a disruption or disaster to maintain critical processes. With space to record business function recovery priorities, recovery plans, and alternate site locations, this template allows you to plan efficiently for disruption and minimize downtime, so your business maintains optimal efficiency. This template is available for download in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and PDF formats.

Additionally, you can learn the definition of a business continuity plan, the steps involved in business continuity planning, as well as about the business continuity lifecycle in our article about business continuity planning .

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IT Service Continuity Plan Template

IT Service Continuity Plan template

Download IT Service Continuity Plan Template

This template is geared specifically to IT business operations and aims to maintain IT processes despite any possible harmful disruption. Use this template to document recovery objectives, teams, and strategies in order to accurately capture all facets of the continuity plan needed for an IT team. This template is available in both Word and PDF formats.

Business Continuity Framework Template

Business Continuity Framework Template

Download Business Continuity Framework Template

Word | PowerPoint | PDF

This template outlines the structure involved in creating a business continuity plan. It provides an easy, comprehensive way to detail the steps that will comprise your unique BCP. Use this template to plan each phase of a typical BCP, including the business impact analysis, recovery strategies, and plan development. This template can serve as an overall framework for your larger BCP plan.

Business Continuity Program Template

Business Continuity Program template

Download Business Continuity Program Template

Similar to the business continuity plan template, this template documents the steps involved in maintaining normal business operations during an unplanned disruption or disaster. Using this template, you can plan out the critical elements needed to continue business as usual, including recovery priorities, backup and restoration plans, and alternate site locations. This template is available for download in both Microsoft Word and PDF formats.

Business Continuity Procedure Template

Business Continuity Procedure Template

Download Business Continuity Procedure Template

Much like the business continuity framework template, this template helps users create a thorough, streamlined BCP by detailing the procedure involved in creating and maintaining a plan, as well as implementing one. Use this template to document everything from a business impact analysis to plan development, plan testing, and exercises. Download this template in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or PDF to get started.

Business Continuity Plan Template for Nonprofits

Business Continuity Plan Template For Nonprofits

Download Business Continuity Plan Template for Nonprofits

In the event of a disruption in business that affects your nonprofit organization, use this template to document a business recovery strategy, identify alternate business locations, and effectively plan for inevitable business downtime. This template is available for download in Microsoft Word and PDF formats.

School Business Continuity Plan Template

School Business Continuity Plan Template

Download School Business Continuity Plan Template

Plan for disruptions in regular school activities and operations in the event of emergency or crisis with this helpful template. This template, designed with schools, colleges, and universities in mind, allows you to prioritize operations and responses, identify important phases of recovery, design a restoration plan, and more.

Small Business Continuity Plan Template

Small Business Continuity Plan Template

Download Small Business Continuity Plan Template

Record your business recovery priorities, identify alternate site locations to conduct business, create recovery teams, and assign recovery responsibilities to specific team members with this continuity plan for small businesses. Ensure that you are able to maintain critical processes and minimize downtime so your business can keep moving forward.

SaaS Business Continuity Plan Template

SaaS Business Continuity Plan Template

Download SaaS Business Continuity Plan Template

Use this business continuity plan template to keep your SaaS business productive and efficient, despite any unforeseen events or disruptions. With space to record everything from recovery procedures and strategies to relocation strategies and alternate site locations, you’ll be able to keep business moving and remain productive during a crisis or disruption.

Business Continuity Plan Template for Medical Practices

Business Continuity Plan Template For Medical Practices

Download Business Continuity Plan Template for Medical Practices

Identify risk strategies for specific areas of business, like clinical, finance and operations, and IT, designate specific recovery strategies, and prioritize the most important, mission-critical operations for your medical practice with this complete business continuity plan template.

Business Continuity Plan Template for Healthcare Organizations

Business Continuity Plan Template for Healthcare Organizations Template

Download Business Continuity Plan Template for Healthcare Organizations

Some businesses, like healthcare organizations, rely on critical processes and procedures to maintain productivity and keep both patients and staff safe. To ensure these processes are followed — even during a business disruption — use this business continuity plan template to identify all potential risks, create mitigation plans, and assign tasks to key team members.

Activities to Complete Before Writing the Business Continuity Plan

Certain steps can help you prepare to write a business continuity plan. See our article on how to write a business continuity plan to learn more.

Common Structure of a Business Continuity Plan

Every business continuity plan should include certain common elements. See our article on how to write a business continuity plan to learn more.

Tips For Writing Your Business Continuity Plan

Business continuity experts have gathered time-tested tips for business continuity planning. See our article on how to write a business continuity plan to learn more.

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Business continuity and crisis management, create a business continuity plan.

A business continuity plan is a document that sets out how business processes will continue during a time of emergency or crisis. It is a blueprint for restoring vital business activities appropriately, and in good time, if disruption occurs.

How do you write a business continuity plan?

The basis for business continuity planning is often two linked, but distinct practices:

  • the risk assessment - which shows you what kinds of incidents you might face
  • the business impact analysis (BIA) - which identifies recovery times for key activities

The BIA sets the priorities and deadlines for the activities in the plan. The risk assessment, on the other hand, defines the possible scenarios, their impact and likelihood. Their outputs give you reliable information upon which you can build your continuity plan.

What should a business continuity plan include?

You should aim to cover the following areas:

Emergency response

Focus on the welfare of people before containing and controlling the disruption. Consider the different emergency scenarios and develop incident response flowcharts or checklists, evacuation guidelines and procedures, a list of relocation sites, working from home procedures, etc. Once any health risks to people are mitigated, you can shift the focus to containing the damage to your business.

Crisis management

Determine how information will flow to media, stakeholders, staff, etc. Agree communication protocols, decide how you manage the loss event, and consider the resources you will need to support the recovery. Set out how you'll deal with possible media interest in an incident. Appoint a company spokesperson to handle questions and try to be positive in any statements you issue. If at all possible, inform your staff, customers and suppliers about the incident before they find out about it in the media.

Business recovery

Set out detailed operational plans for critical functions and assets, as recognised in the BIA. Identify the resources and personnel needed to restore critical operations. Agree clear strategies and responses that you can follow for different loss scenarios and identify responsibilities for carrying out disaster recovery actions, including systems recovery, stock and supplier recovery, resources and equipment recovery, etc. The first hour after an emergency occurs is critical in minimising the impact. Your plan needs to clearly outline the immediate actions you will take. Consider giving staff specific training to enable them to fulfil their duties in an emergency. Ensure all employees are aware of what they have to do.

Key contacts

Create a list of internal and external people and organisations whose support you may require and their designated roles in an emergency. For example, provide details of key staff, critical suppliers, local councils, neighbouring businesses or emergency responders like police, utility providers, landlords or insurers. It's also worth including details of service providers such as glaziers, locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, and IT specialists. Include maps of your business premises' layout to help emergency services, showing fire escapes, sprinklers and other safety equipment.

Keep in mind that different disruptive situations will require different responses. Keep your plan broad enough to address different disaster scenarios - from worst-case events that shut down your facilities or operations completely, to partial outages.

Business continuity plan templates and tools

You can build your business continuity plan from scratch or use one of the many templates or software tools available online to help you get started. Keep in mind that the best plan will be the one that is customised and specific to your business.

GOV.UK's business continuity management toolkit (PDF, 569K) can help you create a plan and tailor it to the particular circumstances of our business.

Difference between disaster recovery and business continuity

A disaster recovery plan creates a blueprint for responding to a variety of technological incidents. It aims to help you restore the data and applications that run your business if your data centre, servers, or other IT infrastructure get damaged or destroyed.

A disaster recovery plan works alongside the business continuity plan to give you an essential strategy for managing the risk of disruption. See more on IT incident response and recovery .

Business continuity and insurance

Continuity planning relates very closely to business insurance. Most insurers now expect business continuity as a basis for providing cover. For more information, see business insurance: the basics .

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Free business continuity plan template

Download our high quality and comprehensive Business Continuity Plan (BCP) templates recommended by the Federation of Small Business Insurance Service.

Template #1

Business impact analysis.

Your Business Impact and Risk Assessment (BIA). It helps to explain how the business could be affected by a major incident and provides the basis for Business Continuity Planning (BCP) by identifying recovery times for key activities. It should be reviewed at least quarterly or following any major change.

Contents include sections and templated tables for:

  • What we can tolerate
  • What our customers expect
  • Recovering our critical products and services
  • Recovering our critical activities
  • Recovering our critical systems
  • Recovering our critical plant equipment and resources
  • Restoring our critical supplies
  • Dependencies

Template #2

Business continuity plan.

Your Business Continuity Plan or BCP. The BCP is designed to enable responsible managers to concentrate on their own area of business restoration whilst leaving issues such as recovery of data and voice links, staff welfare, staff relocation and media communication to specialists in those areas.

Contents include sections and templated tables for :

  • Emergency response
  • Crisis management
  • Business recovery
  • Product recovery
  • Operational recovery
  • Systems recovery
  • Resources, plant and equipment recovery
  • Supplier and stock recovery
  • Key contacts

Need a hand?

Get your Business Continuity Plan completed in a day with the Inoni Micro online tool. Answer a short set of questions and let Micro instantly turn your plan into a professional PDF document.

Find out more

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small business continuity plan template uk

  • Emergency preparation, response and recovery

Business continuity guide launched

Cabinet Office has produced Business Continuity for Dummies, working with the Business Continuity Institute and Emergency Planning Society.

small business continuity plan template uk

27 September 2012

Cabinet Office, in partnership with the Business Continuity Institute and Emergency Planning Society has worked to produce the new ‘Business Continuity for Dummies’, an essential survival guide for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Download a sample chapter here.

Reducing the risk from emergencies allows SMEs to go about their business more freely and with confidence that they can manage challenges they may face.

Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform, Chloe Smith MP said:

The resilience of SMEs matters. SMEs are the life-blood of the economy, providing employment and growth, and critical services and products to larger companies. They’re also vital in supporting their local communities cope with disasters. The quicker they can be up and running again after problems hit, the quicker whole communities can recover.

Written with SMEs in mind, the guide acknowledges that smaller businesses just do not have the money, time and resources to prepare for disruptions, yet the cost of dealing with them when they do arise can be significant.

The guide provides simple, and for the most part inexpensive, ‘how to’ measures to deal with difficulties ranging from being let down by one of your key suppliers all the way through to major disruptions caused by challenges such as flooding, severe weather and a pandemic influenza outbreak.

Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Rt. Hon. Michael Fallon MP, said:

Business Continuity for Dummies brings together the wealth of experience within government in support of business continuity planning in SMEs. Working with business, this book takes an innovative approach to reaching out to the 5 million SMEs in this country to build the resilience of our communities and our economy.  This government is committed to supporting SMEs and this book builds on and supports the work taking place to ensure the survival and growth of our SMEs.

In collaboration with the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) and the Emergency Planning Society (EPS), tens of other organisations representing or supporting SMEs have come together for the first time in this way, to support and help protect the health of our SMEs.  

Jim Haywood, Executive Director, Business Emergency Recovery Group, said:

Business in the Community (BITC) has been pleased to be involved in the development of this important guide.  Through the Business Emergency Recovery Group, an initiative of HRH The Prince of Wales and convened by BITC, Business in the Community aims to support smaller businesses and local communities in getting back on their feet after an emergency.  But prevention is always better than cure - planning ahead and building in resilience is what responsible and successful businesses do.  This guide will be an enormous help with that.

SMEs often suffer disproportionately from disruptions of all kinds, including bigger emergencies, because many haven’t realised the impact to their business and their wider markets from disruption.  Understanding the importance of continuity and getting it right, early, can see competitive advantages and in some areas, lower premiums to pay.

Simple, practical, and low cost steps are outlined that companies can take to make sure they stand up to disruptions. Based on simple things SMEs can do to understand their key processes and vulnerabilities, these can include:

  • getting a good understanding of the risks their business faces, and the consequences if these events happen;
  • ensuring business continuity plans match the business, fitting in with what the company does, its size, its resources, where it is based, and how it works;
  • making sure that everyone gets involved, at all levels, so they all buy into the idea of business continuity, know what their role would be, and how disruption would affect those outside the organisation too.

Notes for editors

  • As part of its ongoing work, the Cabinet Office engages with central, local and regional partners to prepare for emergencies and to coordinate the central government response to major disruptive challenges.
  • The Civil Contingencies Secretariat sits within the Cabinet Office at the heart of central government. It works in partnership with government departments, the devolved administrations and key stakeholders to enhance the UK’s ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.
  • Find further detail on Contingency and Resilience here. 
  • Business continuity management (BCM) is a process that helps manage risks to the smooth running of an organisation or delivery of a service, ensuring continuity of critical functions in the event of a disruption, and effective recovery afterwards. The government aims to ensure all organisations have a clear understanding of Business Continuity Management (BCM). Find more guidance here.
  • Partner organisations included: Aon Global Risk Consulting, Association of British Insurers, Bank of England, Barclays, British Bankers Association, British Franchise Association, British Insurance Brokers’ Association, British Retail Consortium, British Standards Institution, Business in the Community, Confederation of British Industry, Cheshire Local Authorities, CIR Magazine, City of London Corporation, Codrim, Continuity Forum, Cranfield University, Detica, Emergency Planning College, Financial Services Authority, Forum of Private Business, JP Morgan Chase, Harrogate Borough Council, Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales, Institute of Directors, Institute of Risk Management, Irwin Mitchell LLP, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Metropolitan Police Service, Olympic Delivery  Authority, Partners in Enterprise, Perpetual Solutions, Sainsbury’s, Santander, Securities Industry Business Continuity Management Group’ (SIBCMG), Steelhenge, SunGard Availability Services, Tagish, T-Systems Limited, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Department of Communities and Local Government, Department of Health.

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Business continuity plan template 2024

Have you thought about your business continuity.

It is imperative that business owners and leaders plan for any unexpected or sudden circumstances should something happen to them or one of their employees . This is where a business continuity plan template comes in.

Without wanting to sound sombre, if a key player in your business was to die or be unable to work, what would happen to your business? What happens to the key tasks you or they perform?

How can you ensure any internal circumstances don’t affect your customers, stakeholders, profitability, and growth?

As a result, business continuity planning is so important, and we’ve put together this guide and template so you can approach your business continuity in the best way.

This guide covers the following:

What is a business continuity plan?

Who needs a business continuity plan, benefits of having a business continuity plan.

  • A business continuity plan template: step-by-step (including a free template download).

A business continuity plan is an outlined process detailing all the business operations that must continue should an unexpected circumstance arise.

It should include which functions of the business are the highest priority and detail how, quite often, those functions will be maintained through written procedures.

Succession planning is also considered a branch of business continuity.

The ultimate objective of a business continuity plan is to achieve these three things in the event of something unexpected:

  • That the business continues without interruption to the customer or client base
  • That the income of the business owner and employees is protected
  • That this can be achieved without a duplication of work or a big cost incurred

If you own a business or are a senior leader in one, you need a business continuity plan. Every business does.

Why don’t most businesses have a business continuity plan?

Quite often, it's because it never seems important enough. It is only when something happens that directors often realise the importance of one.

Just take the last few years as an example. The COVID pandemic caught all businesses off-guard, but those who survived and still thrived will most likely have had some sort of business continuity framework to follow to adapt and pivot their business around the ever-changing circumstances to staff availability, working patterns and supply chains.

Myth-busting around business continuity

It's scary that 50% of UK small businesses don’t have a business continuity plan.

Here are a few common objections from business leaders and the reasons why they can’t be justified:

  • “I’m too busy.” – The process doesn’t take long. Have a look at our step-by-step.
  • “I don’t know where to start.” – It’s an easy process, and you probably just need a basic framework. Our step-by-step guide and our free business continuity template will help.
  • “It will cost a lot.” – It doesn’t have to cost anything to put the actual plan together, it’s your decision on how you do that, whether that’s with external help or not.

A question: can you afford not to have a plan?

Most of the benefits of a business continuity plan probably go without saying, but here’s a reminder:

  • It’ll give you peace of mind that you’re protecting your business
  • By having a plan and maintaining key functions, your customer confidence won’t be affected
  • Your staff will have higher morale, leading to improved performance
  • Stakeholders and investors will be reassured

A business continuity plan template: step-by-step

Without any further ado, let’s dive into our step-by-step guide for a business continuity plan. To accompany this, make sure to download our business continuity plan template document .

Step 1: Identify and assess risks

In a similar way to a SWOT analysis , when looking to evaluate the risks to your business, you need to make a note of the following:

  • All the potential risks or threats to your business
  • How are those risks currently controlled
  • How could those risks be controlled in the event the current process isn’t possible
  • The likelihood of those risks occurring
  • The impact would the risk have on the business if they did

Step 2: Evaluate and prioritise

Once you have identified the risks and threats, evaluate which are your highest priority threats.

You can do this by using two tools:

  • A visual risk map
  • An evaluation grid

Both are available to use in our downloadable business continuity template.

Business continuity

Step 3: Plan and action

Next is bringing together the plan.

This doesn’t just involve you; every department and business function needs to create an internal plan addressing their key processes so that there’s minimal disruption to the business if their department is affected.

Put together a business continuity team, which includes the key personnel from each department or function.

For each of your highest priority threats:

  • Decide on your goals; what is the acceptable level of performance in the event of an incident?
  • Strategies and processes; how will you achieve those goals?
  • A clear action plan before, during and after any incident
  • Who is responsible for this high-priority threat? Who is responsible, should the other be out of work?

When it comes to the planning stage, there are loads of online resources available such as our guide on how to protect your business and through organisations like The Business Continuity Institute.

Plus, having an advisory board or a business coach with experience in this area will guide you to ensure you don’t miss any crucial elements of your business continuity plan.

Step 4: Monitor and review

Of course, your business will change and grow as time goes on. An important part of business growth is continually monitoring and reviewing your processes; business continuity is no exception.

Make sure to schedule regular reviews with your team, and if you recruit new staff, make business continuity planning part of their post-induction period. By reviewing the plan, you can identify any gaps or areas that could need further processing.

We hope you’ve found this article useful, and don’t forget to check out our free business continuity template document . By creating an effective business continuity plan, you can sleep easily at night, knowing that your business will be safe if disaster strikes.

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Business continuity planning guidance and template

Business continuity planning: guidance and template §.

As a care provider, you should have a business continuity plan to help you manage situations that may not happen, but could have a major impact on your business and your ability to provide care if they did.

The CPA has developed guidance to help you to develop your plan, as well as a template plan that you can use to either create or update our existing plans.

Access updated information on escalation processes – including the DHSC letter issued to care providers on 21 December 2020.  This sets out steps that care providers can take in the event of, for example, disruption to supplies or travel.

Business continuity planning guidance – Updated 25 June 2021 – CPA §

From exceptionally bad weather, a fuel shortage or a flu outbreak, to financial or quality problems, there are many circumstances that can disrupt the services that adult social care providers run. 

This guide has been written to help you to develop plans to ensure continuity of care and support, and to ensure that your business can continue, if a problem occurs. 

It doesn’t cover everything – but it’s a good starting point. It is primarily about how you might go about maintaining services rather than about how best to resolve specific issues.

As well as making good business sense, your local authority or healthcare commissioner and the Care Quality Commission will also expect you to have a business continuity plan in place.

Business Continuity Management is about “Identifying those parts of your organisation that you can’t afford to lose – such as information, stock, premises, staff – and planning how to maintain these, if an incident occurs.”

What you need to put in place will depend on the size and type of your organisation. A single local service may simply need the kind of plan discussed in this guide. A large national or regional organisation will need a more sophisticated suite of well-developed organisational policies and plans.

Business continuity plan template – Updated 25 June 2021 – CPA §

This Word template will help you create or refresh your business continuity plan to prepare for situations that, should they arise, could have a major impact on your business and the people who use your services. 

It provides an overview of the detail and risk you should consider as part of a robust plan, regardless of the service you provide. It does not cover everything that might be needed by individual businesses, so please use it as the basis for your plan, adding anything specific to your service and reflecting your existing business continuity plans. Please use this document alongside the CPA’s business continuity planning guidance.

Quick Links

Endsleigh

Business and charity

Does my charity need a business continuity plan.

Published: 19/11/2020

Way back in March at the very start of the pandemic, the Charities Aid Foundation found that 54% of charities surveyed felt their ability to operate as they did then would be impacted within a year.

Carry that forward 7 months, and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the pandemic has drastically changed the way charities function for good, with a renewed focus on finding ways to manage services and donations digitally under social-distancing measures.

That’s why it’s never been more important to have a robust Business Continuity Plan in place, and to ensure it is regularly reviewed in the evolving digital landscape.

What is a Business Continuity Plan?

A ‘Business Continuity Plan’ (BCP) is a plan you create within your organisation to ensure your core services can continue to run (or are not irreversibly impacted) should an unforeseen event affect business operations – like during a pandemic, for example.

A strong Business Continuity Plan will identify any risks to your organisation, assess their potential impact and propose a plan to mitigate them – or at least manage the fallout should disaster strike.

business-continuity-planning-1.jpg

Why is it important to have a Business Continuity Plan in place?

It’s never been more important to make sure you have considered emerging risks to your organisation, with the pandemic drastically affecting the way charities fundraise and provide services.

Ben Harris, charity account manager for Endsleigh, said “this year it has become clearer than ever the positive impact a robust Business Continuity Plan can have for an organisation. You never know when disaster will strike, but considering the potential impact of increasingly common risks – such as cyber attacks, severe weather events and worldwide pandemics – could be the first step towards ensuring your organisation survives and thrives through challenging times.

Ultimately, organisations that have a Business Continuity Plan in place are much better placed to recover from an incident that threatens its survival compared to those that don’t.”

What should my charity’s Business Continuity Plan include?

There are all sorts of risks and natural disasters that could impact your organisation’s operations – here are just a few:

  • Perhaps the most pressing issue at the moment – pandemics
  • Extreme weather events, such as flood or snow
  • Cyber risks – including accidental data breaches and malicious attacks
  • Reliance on technology – e.g. do your staff have the equipment they need to work from home, and will your IT systems support this?
  • Service impact – e.g. will you still be able to operate if there’s a disruption in the supply chain or a drop in volunteers?
  • Acts of terrorism
  • Charity insurance – your provider may recommend or require certain measures to be taken to mitigate risk, including the creation of a BCP.

business-continuity-planning-2.jpg

How to create a Business Continuity Plan

If you don’t already have a BCP in place for your charity or not-for-profit, lockdown might be the perfect opportunity to create one. Here are some useful tools and resources to get you started:

Check out the government’s downloadable Business Continuity Management Toolkit . This includes a guide to Business Impact Analysis, carrying out a risk assessment and how to develop and implement a Business Continuity Management response

Take a look at Ecclesiastical’s useful ‘Preparing a Business Continuity Plan’ guide

Download ROBUST , a free software package from RISCauthority that will provide all the tools you need to create your own Business Continuity Plan.

Protecting your charity against the unexpected

An important part of any Business Continuity Plan will be ensuring you have suitable charity insurance cover in place to protect your assets, staff and income should disaster strike.

With over thirty years’ experience and over 3,000 not-for-profit customers in the UK, we work with market-leading insurers to provide competitive coverage, expert consultation and specialist advice for charities, community groups and not for profit organisations.

Find out more about charity insurance or get a quote .

Stay up-to-date with the latest COVID-19 guidance by visiting the government website .

Looking to protect trustees, directors, governers, officers and committee members? Find out more about trustee insurance .

Does your charity earn under £250K?

Find out more about small charity insurance with Markel Direct.

Read our content disclaimer .

Related articles:

  • Case Study: How charities have adapted during the pandemic
  • How to support your staff while working from home
  • How remote-working could bridge your charity’s funding gap
  • Protecting your charity from a costly cyber attack

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    Create your business continuity plan (with free template) A business continuity plan could be your saving grace in the event of an emergency, so isn't it time you created one? Here's how you do it. Written by Stephanie Lennox Updated on 23 November 2022

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    11 February 2022 What is a business continuity plan and why do you need one? Even as a small business, it's vital to know the steps you'd follow if you're faced with a crisis. By assessing the risks and planning your response, you can help keep your business running (or get back on track as quickly as possible) in the event of a disaster.

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    1. Improved Risk Management Business continuity plans help small businesses to identify and manage potential risks to their business operations. By developing a plan that outlines the steps necessary to respond to various types of disruptions, organisations can better prepare for and mitigate any potential risks.

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    A business continuity plan (BCP) helps your company survive and continue running after a major disruption or disaster, like a fire, flood or cyber-attack. It highlights the step-by-step process of what should be done to prevent risks that can lead to your business having to close.

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    You can build your business continuity plan from scratch or use one of the many templates or software tools available online to help you get started. Keep in mind that the best plan will be the one that is customised and specific to your business. GOV.UK's business continuity management toolkit (PDF, 569K) can help you create a plan and tailor ...

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    Cardiff Council is firmly committed to helping businesses across Cardiff and has developed this simple guidance document and Business Continuity Plan template to assist small to medium sized businesses.

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    A business continuity plan sets forth your organization's plans that are put in place to help deal with a disaster. These plans might involve the process by which business is resumed if there is an interruption in provided services or operational function. Your BCP will also help to reduce downtimes and lost revenue.

  23. Does my charity need a Business Continuity Plan?

    A 'Business Continuity Plan' (BCP) is a plan you create within your organisation to ensure your core services can continue to run (or are not irreversibly impacted) should an unforeseen event affect business operations - like during a pandemic, for example. A strong Business Continuity Plan will identify any risks to your organisation ...