Fill it in, print on Letter (or Save as PDF), and hand it to your banker, accountant, or factoring company.
The One-Page Business Plan
New Trucking Company — 1 to 5 Trucks
This is the plan a bank, SBA officer, or factoring company actually reads. Seven sections, one decision each. If you cannot fill a line, that is the work to do before you need the money, not after.
1. Business identity & authority who you are on paper
The auditor and the banker both start here. It has to match FMCSA and your formation documents exactly.
Legal / DBA name
USDOT #
MC / FF #
Entity type (LLC / S-corp / sole prop)
Date authority granted
Owner(s) & % ownership
Years operating experience
2. The operation what you actually do
One sentence: what you haul, where, and on whose authority. Specific beats broad. "Step-deck heavy-haul, TX–OK–LA, our authority" reads better than "general freight, anywhere."
Equipment & # of trucks
Trailer type(s)
Primary lanes
Owned / financed / leased
3. Market & customers where the freight comes from
Brokers, direct shippers, or a mix. Name the first three sources of revenue and how committed they are. "Hope to find loads on a board" is not a customer.
4. Rates & cost per mile the money math
If you do not know your loaded CPM, the rest of the plan is a guess. Use the free Cost Per Mile calculator on the site, then transfer the numbers here.
Line
Per mile
Per week
Fixed cost (truck, insurance, permits, ELD)
Variable cost (fuel, maintenance, tires, tolls)
Driver / owner pay
All-in cost per mile
Target rate per mile
Margin per mile
The One-Page Business Plan
Sections 5–7 — Money, Risk, Execution
5. Startup & 12-month budget what it costs to survive year one
Banks want to see you can cover the gap between the first load and the first settlement check. Factoring shortens it; it does not erase it.
Item
Startup
Monthly
Truck / trailer payment or buy-in
Insurance (primary, cargo, physical damage)
Permits, IFTA, IRP, UCR, drug consortium
Fuel float (before first settlement)
Owner draw / living expenses reserve
Cash needed before revenue is reliable
6. Compliance & risk what fails new carriers
Name the three things most likely to take you off the road in the first 18 months, and the control for each. Honest beats optimistic here.
Risk 1 / control
Risk 2 / control
Risk 3 / control
New entrant audit date (est.)
7. 90-day execution plan what you do Monday
Three concrete moves in the next 90 days with a date on each. A plan with no dates is a wish.
Move 1 / by when
Move 2 / by when
Move 3 / by when
Quarterly review
Put a recurring 30-minute review on the calendar every quarter. Compare actual CPM and revenue to this page, change one thing, and re-date the execution moves. The plan that gets reopened is the only one that works.
