Business plans are very serious or formal statements of set business goals, including the reasons why these goals are considered attainable, and also the plans or steps for attaining them. A business plan may also include a bit of background information regarding the organization which has set and is trying to achieve these goals.

These business goals which are being attempted can be non-profit as well as for-profit. Plans of the government's agencies and non-profit business plans focus mainly on service goals. Whereas the for-profit plans, focus mainly on financial goals. A business plan can also aim at changing the perception or branding by the user, client, customer, tax-payer, or any larger group. Such a business plan, which includes a change in the way the customers perceive or the way the customers brand, and focuses on these changes as the primary goal is called a Marketing Plan.

A business plan may be focused upon in two ways; externally or internally. If a plan is externally focused, it targets the goals which are important to the external stakeholders, most importantly the financial stakeholders. These generally have in-depth information regarding the team / organization trying to achieve the goals. In terms of for-profit goals, the external stakeholders include customers or the investors.

When it comes to external stake-holders concerning the non-profit goals include all the donors and also all the clients the non-profit's service has. External stakeholders for the government agencies include all the high level governmental agencies, the tax-payers and also international lending bodies.

If a plan is internally focused, its targets are all the goals that lie before reaching the external goals. These can include something like the development of some new product or a service or even a new Information Technology system; these also include restructuring of finance or a restructuring of some organization. Internal business' often develop in conjunction along with a list of critical factors of success.

This enables non-financial measurement of success (of the plan). A business plan that identifies internal goals, but at the same time provides but a general guidance regarding how the organization plans to meet is called a strategic plan.

All the goals regarding an internal organization or a group or a department are described in operational plans. The goals of a project are described in project plans or project frameworks. These can also include the project's place among the organization's bigger goals.