Strategic Growth Planning & Funding Options for Checkout.Com

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of growth planning strategies for Checkout.Com, a payment services company, focusing on evaluating growth opportunities, potential funding sources, and exit or succession options. It utilizes tools like PESTLE analysis, Porter's generic strategies, Ansoff's growth matrix, and the BCG matrix to assess market conditions and strategic options for expansion, particularly in the Australian market. The report also includes a detailed business plan for securing investment and outlines strategic objectives and frameworks for achieving growth. Furthermore, it evaluates different exit or succession options for small businesses, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each to provide recommendations for Checkout.Com's future strategic direction. The aim is to provide actionable insights for Checkout.Com to achieve its business objectives and navigate market complexities effectively, with a focus on sustainable growth and competitive advantage.

Unit 42 Planning for growth

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Analysing key considerations for evaluating growth opportunities..................................3
P2 Ansoff’s growth vector matrix..........................................................................................5
M1& D1 Critically evaluate specific options and pathways for growth................................9
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................10
P3 Assess the potential sources of funding available to businesses and discuss benefits and
drawbacks of each source.....................................................................................................10
M2 Evaluate potential sources of funding and justification for the adoption of an appropriate
source of funding for a given organisational context...........................................................12
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................13
P4 and D3: Business plan.....................................................................................................13
M3 Develop an appropriate and detailed business plan for growth and securing investment,
setting out strategic objectives, strategies and appropriate frameworks for achieving objective
..............................................................................................................................................17
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................19
P5 and D4: Assess exit or succession options for a small business explaining the benefits and
drawbacks of each option. ...................................................................................................19
M4 Evaluate exit or succession options for a small business comparing and contrasting the
options and making valid recommendations........................................................................20
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................22

INTRODUCTION
Growth planning is defined as those strategic tools that can be used by the businesses so
that to attain higher assistance for inhaling growth options in prominent manner. Growth
planning is highly essential as with the help of appropriate growth business expansion can be
made easier. These aspects are highly essential for business as by the help of the same
appropriate results can be ascertained and organisational success can be accomplished in short
range of time (Papageorgiou and et. al., 2019). In current time for each and every business this is
imperative that they work for attaining competitive advantage so growth planning is one of the
significant movement which can be exerted by business in sufficient manner. These are the
activities which may align the business to grab options for inhaling higher sustainability for the
business. This report is prepared in order to understand various aspects of growth planning in the
respect of Checkout.Com which is company engaged in providing payment services to their
customers. The company is associated with providing economic services to their customer which
are high in quality and use. Checkout.Com is having prominent market image which leads them
to grab higher growth opportunities in shorter period of time. This report is providing various
aspects of growth planning and a business plan which can be used by Checkout.Com in order to
attain their business objectives and market complexities in direct manner.
TASK 1
P1 Analysing key considerations for evaluating growth opportunities
Profit is regarded as one of the essential aspect for which a business is being run and
implementing various steps as well. For earning profit and dealing with business objectives this
is imperative for the business that they analyse and recognise market opportunities in such a way
that the same can be aligned with business objectives in direct manner. Besides this for inhaling
succession opportunities businesses are required to acquire such opportunities through which
they can sustain in the market with higher ratio of prominence (Mazzarol and Reboud, 2020).
For Checkout.Com the business manager is examining various growth opportunities so that they
can retain in the market for longer period of time and acknowledge efforts exerted by marketer in
primal manner. In this aspect manager is using various options so that to inhale success and
market image as well. Besides this these growth opportunities may be helpful in enhancing
business survival so that higher sustainability can be attained.

PESTLE analysis: -
This is an analysis which is helpful in recognising macro environmental aspects which
may hamper working of business in clear manner. Checkout.Com is planning to expand in the
markets of Australia so this is imperative that they examine situations existed within Australia in
order to recognise business opportunities and threats pertained to their business. For this
PESTLE analysis is elaborated as under:
Political: These are defined as the factors which are associated with rules and regulations
propounded by government due to which stability within national situation can be seen.
Australia is one of the most stable and successful country so there are various opportunities
existed for Checkout.Com so as to expand their market and earn higher profitability. For
Checkout.Com Australia is creating higher opportunities of sustainability and market growth
(Ali and Mehreen, 2019).
Economical: These factors are linked with fluctuation in foreign rate, rate of inflation and
interest rate existed within a country. Economic condition of Australia is stable and
providing various opportunities to every business to grow and sustain. This is the major
reason that Checkout.Com may attain higher opportunities to deal with expanding their
business in market segments of Australia. In this reference Checkout.Com is taking higher
assistance to expand their market so that they can generate higher sales.
Social: These are categorised as taste and preferences of customers in regard to product and
service offered by the organisation. In this regard people of Australia are highly educated
which is an advantage for Checkout.Com that they can place their services within market in
prominent manner.
Technological: These factors are associated with using latest and emerging technology within
business so that market trends can be exerted. Checkout.Com is a company associated with
IT so managing technology is imperative for them and by inhaling higher technological
aspects within business the company can deal with attaining success in easy manner.
Legal: These factors are related with application of legal frameworks and law application in
order to avoid any legal proceedings. In the context of Checkout.Com the company is taking
care of all the laws and legal application so as to minimise any redundancy.

Environmental: These factors are associated with such practices those are not providing any
harm to environment. Under this aspect Checkout.Com is managing their record in digital
manner.
Porter's generic strategy
This strategy is helping a business to attain competitive edge so that rivals can be treated
in better way. In the context of Checkout.Com this model is elaborated as under:
Cost leadership: This is the strategy which is used by business in order to provide high
quality product and services to their customer in prompt manner. Under this strategy affordable
prices so that competitive rivalry can be attained. In the context of Checkout.Com by using this
strategy they can enhance their market share and growth as well.
Differentiation: This is the strategy which is focusing over satisfying needs of customers
by rendering innovative products and services. In this context Checkout.Com is trying to provide
distinct services to their customer so that their mission of enhancing customer base can be
accomplished.
Cost focus: Under this strategy the businesses are trying to minimise their cost in best
possible manner in order to attain competitive edge. For instance, this strategy can be used by
Checkout.Com in order to attract large pool of customers.
Differentiation focus: Under this business are focused over providing distinctiveness to
their services in order to compete with their rivals.
Checkout.Com is planning to expand their business in the markets of Australia and in
this manner they are willing to adopt cost leadership strategy so that to deal with their rivals in
optimal manner.
P2 Ansoff’s growth vector matrix
Ansoff growth matrix is highly assisting business in order to enhance revenues in a way
that profit can be retained and objectives related to business can be attained (Fusarelli, Fusarelli
and Riddick, 2018). This is regarded as plan for strategic development under this Checkout.Com
can enhance their market size and profit as well. In the context of Checkout.Com Ansoff growth
matrix is elaborated as under:

(Source: Ansoff Growth Matrix, 2019)
Market penetration: This is a market expansion strategy which can be used by business
in order to intensify their market size and customer. Under this strategy existing products are
offered to existing customers by working upon their prices. This is highly advantageous for
Checkout.Com as with the help of market development strategy they can fulfil market demands
in effective manner in order to deal with market supply as well.
Market development: Under this market expansion strategy existing product can be
launched to new market segment so that to enhance market capture (Peters-Hawkins, Reed and
Kingsberry, 2018). Within this strategy by undertaking existing product new market can be
explored due to which new market segments can be inhaled. By using market development
strategy Checkout.Com can retain in the market for longer period of time due to which customer
capture can be enhanced.
Product development: Under this strategy a new product is proposed to develop within
existing market in order to grab attention of various customers and to enhance customer base in
direct manner. For Checkout.Com this strategy can be used by them so that to inhale higher
success in competitive market and to develop areas of succession. This is an appropriate strategy
to deal with market competition as emerging markets can be unleashed which may be helpful for
business to reach out to their ultimate objective.
Diversification: This is the riskiest market expansion strategy in which business can
diversify range of their product or services. This method needs high investment due to which this
involves high risk. In the context of Checkout.Com this strategy may provide them higher

opportunities to deal with market competition but at the same time this may hamper goodwill of
the organisation when business gets failed.
From the above analysis this can be concluded that for Checkout.Com market
development could be the best and suitable strategy as with the help of market development they
can unleash new market size in order to meet business objectives (Ballaro and Polk, 2017). With
the help of market development strategy, they can attain higher competitive edge which could
lead the company to inhale sustainability and market growth as well. Besides this market
development is one of the major development or expansion plan which is least risky as already
an established product is going to be launched in another market where prominence for product
is already existed.
Boston Consultancy Group Matrix
BCG matrix is known as a mixture of product portfolio which is used as a strategic intent
and providing planning opportunities to business so that growth options can be examined in such
a way that the same can be aligned with business objectives. For making proper investment
decision within business BCG matrix is used. This could lead the business in managing role of
acquiring fuller efficacy (Kepczynski and et. al., 2018). Besides this BCG matrix is useful for
managing all the products and services in such a manner that fuller capabilities can be used and
dealt in prominent manner. In the context of Checkout.Com BCG matrix is elaborated as under:
(Source: How to use the BCG matrix model, 2020)

Dogs: Under this dimension product with lowest market shares are included. For
enhancing market share this is imperative to use highly advanced and innovative advertising as
businesses do not focus on advertise their dog products. For example, in the context of
Checkout.Com their Anyavan payment services are associated with dog category.
Cash Cows: This category is helpful for the business to gain higher business insight and
profits so this could be highly beneficial to invest in this category. For example, ACE money
transfer system is one of the cash cow product for Checkout.Com as this service is providing safe
and reliable payment services to its users in appropriate manner.
Star: These product or service range are related with generation of huge cash in which
overall market segment can be enhanced. Checkout.Com is giving card processing system to
their customers in which flexible service are one of the major concern associated with these
services and the same is being fulfilled by Checkout.Com in prominent manner. These are the
services which are playing significant role in attaining higher profits for overall organisation.
Question Mark: These products or services are related with that segment of product
portfolio which have started to lose their markets share (Gurumurthy, 2018). This is the segment
in which future investments are required to be prepared by the organisation so that gap can be
bridged significantly. In the context of Checkout.Com insufficient payment services are regarded
as part of question mark services.
GE Matrix
This is the matrix which is being initiated by McKinsey which is a nine cell grid matrix used for
calculating effectiveness within industry and business units as well. This is regarded as
intensified version of BCG matrix and under this managers of the business are totally dedicated
to examine attractiveness within industry. For Checkout.Com this matrix is holding higher
significance as for them in order to grow this is highly necessary that they analyse industry
effectiveness so that any strategy can be placed in prominent manner. For Checkout.Com this
matrix is elaborated as under:
Invest/ grow: This is termed as the most effective and prominent unit of business which is
having higher opportunities within marketplace to grow and sustain. In the context of
Checkout.Com the company is wholly focused on enhancing their payment gateways and
payments services so that they can receive higher emphasis of their customers. This is
helpful in dealing with competitors and grab market position as well.

Hold/ selective: This cell in GE matrix is related with product and services lying with question
mark. These are having low market share but high opportunities for growth. This is the grid
in which attractiveness of industry is moderate which is the major reason that various
modifications can be inserted (Chen, Yu and Jin, 2019). In the context of Checkout.Com
under question mark products various innovation and modifications due to which market
share can be enhanced.
Divest/ harvest: Under this grid business performance and industry unattractiveness can be
associated. In this products and services of dog categories are added and as these products
are not giving any profits so this is advised that production of these products and services
should be stopped and another type of segment should be explored so that to intensifies in
early manner.
M1& D1 Critically evaluate specific options and pathways for growth
There are numerous risks associated with every expansion option for example for market
development expansion plan the major risk is associated of losing existing customers due to
which customer range can be minimised. Besides this for product development strategy risk is
associated of higher cost and minimised profits which could be riskier for the business to cop up
with the same. On the other hand, diversification is the most dangerous strategy as this is
associated with loosing of market share. Although risk involved with market penetration is that
competitors can propose risky strategy which could swipe up business of others.
In this regard this can be concluded that market development is the most profitable
strategy for Checkout.Com as this could lead them to unleash other market segments in effective
way (Atwood, 2020). Besides this market development strategy could lead them for developing
strengths in such a way that they can sustain in the market for longer duration of time.

TASK 2
P3 Assess the potential sources of funding available to businesses and discuss benefits and
drawbacks of each source.
Sources of Finance
Business is an activity which produce and distribute goods and services to consumer for
attaining profit. Every business requires money for smooth functioning of organisation. The
capital brought by the owner is not sufficient to fulfil the financial needs of the company so they
look out for the new ways through which money can generate. There are two sources of finance;
Internal Source and External Source.
Internal Source-
Internal Source of finance refers to fund which is generated by the organisation internally
from sources like sales, loan advanced, collection of debtors and retained profit. There are
various internal sources of finance they are as follows-
Retained Profit-
Retained profit is the portion of business's profits that is not distributed among
shareholders as dividend but instead of it is reserved for reinvestment into the business. These
funds are used in paying off debt obligations and purchasing of fixed assets. Retained earnings is
mentioned under balance sheet at the end of each accounting period under shareholder’s equity
section.
Advantages of Retained Profit
 Convenient: Retained Earning is convenient source of finance. It doesn't require any
advertisement and prospectus to be issued. There is no legal formalities and expenses
involved for Checkout.Com
 Cheap: Retained Earning is cheap but not free as profit is reinvested back into the
business. This is an opportunity for the shareholders of Checkout. Comto leave the profit
and aim higher return on investment (Demo, 2014)
Disadvantages of Retained Earning
 Speculation- Large reserves in Checkout.Com may indulge the owner into speculation in
the prices of its shares. The owner can change the rate of dividend to create price changes
in their favour. Such fluctuation of prices may result in loss for shareholders, the director
can also use the funds for personal benefits.

 Low dividend- Retained profit reduces the current rate of the dividend, through which
the shareholders of Checkout.Com are dissatisfied as they don't get the expected rate of
dividend.
Sale of Assets- Sale of Asset is another internal source of finance. The company sells some or all
its actual assets whether tangible or intangible, the money generated by selling the asset is used
internally to fulfil the financial needs of the organisation. The sale of assets helps the company to
find which asset is useful and required (Stoyka and et. al., 2020).
Advantages of Sale of Assets-
 Short term and long term Finance- Sale of asset can work as a short term and long
term finance depends on what kind of assets have been sold. Selling a car meets short
term requirement whereas selling building, land fulfils long term requirements of
business operations of Checkout.Com.
 Screening of fixed assets- Selling of assets helps in regular screening of the fixed assets
for Checkout. Command finds assets which are no longer in use or obsolete.
Disadvantages of Sale of Asset-
 Asset sold before their useful life- It is a major disadvantage of sale of asset, when the
assets are sold before their useful life. There is a capital loss due to the assets being sold
at scrap value.
 Complex process- Asset sale is a complex process if there are many assets included in
sale. Every single asset title is transferred and new title is assigned to the new owner
which is a problem for Checkout.Com.
External Source-
External Sources of finance means that the fund arranged from outside the business. The
External sources of finance are equity, debentures, bank overdraft, trade credit, lasing, factoring,
etc. they are as follows-
Debt Financing
Through Debt Financing the money is raised by selling debt instruments to institutional
investors or individuals.
Advantages of Debt Financing-
 Tax Advantage- The amount paid in interest is tax deductible and it reduces net
obligations for Checkout.Com(Bogue, Collins and Troy, 2017).

 Retain Control: When business use debt financing for raising money, it allows the
owners to keep the ownership of the company. The owner has right to take decision.
Disadvantages of Debt Financing-
 Discipline: The organisation should have a financial discipline to make repayments on
appropriate time.
 Expensive: Debt Financing carries a higher rate of interest than the current market rate
for government securities. It invites the investors, but Checkout.Com have to offer a
competitive interest payment to get the best investors in offering.
Bank Overdraft
Bank Overdraft is the facility provided by the bank to its client for getting withdraw of
money from their accounts in excess of the current balance.
Advantages of Bank Overdraft-
 Flexibility- Bank overdraft has the advantage of flexibility, as the client can take money
at any time, any amount and even they can take for one or two days.
 Less interest cost: The interest is calculated on the amount of fund used, it allows a
greater saving in interest cost as compared to loan taken for fixed period.
Disadvantages of Bank Overdraft-
 Risk of Decrease in limit: Bank revisit the overdraft facility taken by the clients, as it
may run a risk of withdrawal of limits.
 Increase in rate of interest: The rate of interest in bank overdraft is higher than the
loans which may create difficulty in surviving for Checkout.Com.
Crowd funding
This is a type of source funding in which money can be obtained from larger number of
audience. Crowdfunding is helpful for running the business in appropriate manner and
specifically when a start-up is growing.
Advantages of crowdfunding
 It provides funding to many new ideas due to which Checkout.Com can introduce their
idea in market with high prominence.
 It centralizes and streamline fundraising efforts due to which business objectives can be
attained by Checkout.com.
Disadvantages of crowdfunding

 Failed projects risk damage to the reputation of Checkout.com in negative manner.
 Chances of idea copy is high as Checkout.com will have to showcase their idea at large
public.
M2 Evaluate potential sources of funding and justification for the adoption of an appropriate
source of funding for a given organisational context.
From Various internal and external sources this can be concluded that these sources of
funding are helpful for a business to get appropriate funds and to acquire growth opportunities as
well. In this manner retained profit can be used by Checkout.com for collecting funds but this
may provide disadvantages to shareholders which may hamper business goodwill in negative
manner so this is not an advantageous source of funding. In order to mitigate risk of loosing
market goodwill Checkout.com is required not to obtain whole funds from retained earnings in
this way they can minimise risk of minimised goodwill. This method of funding is not providing
as much coverage to the company in terms of funds so this is not useful method for
Checkout.com to acquire funds.
Similarly by selling of their own assets Checkout.com can get desired amount of funds
but this will lead the assets to initiate sales process before ending of its useful life which is not
advantageous for the business. For mitigating the risk obtained from selling own assets
Checkout.com can sell those assets whose useful life is least out of others. This method is not
justifiable for Checkout.com as in current time high funds are required by them in order to grow
their business in markets of Australia.
On the other hand, debt financing could be an option for Checkout.com to get appropriate
amount of funds but this is an expensive method and as Checkout.com is planning to expand
their business so this could cause them to face losses rather than earning profits. For mitigating
the risk associated with debt financing Checkout.com can avoid the method of debt financing in
order to obtain funds. In this way debt financing is not an appropriate manner for Checkout.com
as risk of facing losses within this method is high.
So by analysing all the options, Bank overdraft is the best source of finance for
Checkout.com company. The company can withdraw extra fund from its account at less interest
cost. The organisation can take money at any time, any number of amount for any number of
period (Basiri, Moore, Hill and Bhatia, 2015). It also requires a less paperless work, as overdraft
facilities are easy to get. If company needs a funds for short period of time, bank overdrafts helps

to avail the funds and it will provide affordable working capital. So by obtaining funds from
overdraft Checkout.com can get required amount of funds in significant manner in order to get
assistance to their business expansion in Australia.
TASK 3
P4 and D3: Business plan
Executive summary
Business plan is categorised as one of the prominent writing document which could be
helpful for business to describe their action plan in order to get success. Besides this in order to
get business succession business plan is holding appropriate concern in which projection can be
enlightened due to which a proper pathway can be created for attaining goals and objectives of
the business. Business plan is a detailed association of various controlling measures that can be
undertaken so that to attain objectives in appropriate manner. Business plan is a systematic
document which is helpful in evaluating different measures so that performance of plan can be
monitored and the same can be aligned with business objectives. With the help of business plan
mission and vision of the organisation can be dealt in sufficient way and continuous
improvement plan can be exerted (Kaur and Kang, 2016).
The business and operation
Checkout.Com is a UK based payment service provider which is associated with
providing secured gateways to customer so that they can experience hustle free payment
services. The company is managing in business so that emerged and innovative services to their
customers so that appropriate security can be exerted to them. Checkout.Com is rendering fast
payment services to their customer in a way that they receive higher reliability and sufficiency
within payment services. The company is planning to provide in higher technology services in
order to get efficacy within various payment services.
 Vision: Vision of Checkout.Com is to eliminate business complexities in order to
enlighten business and enhance status quo as well. Besides this other vision of the
company is to inhale positive changes in their payment gateways so that errors existing
within their business can be eradicated in early manner. This could lead them for
managing business operations in effective way along with this the can reach out to
accomplishing goals and objectives in effective way.

 Mission: The major mission of Checkout.Com is to improvise security in their payment
services so that they can retain customers for longer duration of time and manage their
business objectives as well. On the other hand, the company is trying to inhale higher
innovation so that they can be aligned with market trends.
 Strategical objectives: Checkout.Com is planning to attain 25% profits within next
coming year. In this manner the company is trying to emerge marketing objectives in
appropriate manner in order to manage transparency within business and to manage
business operation.
 Financial information: This is related with capabilities of financials in which resources
can be used in its fuller manner. For Checkout.Com they are arranging funds from
external and internal sources in such a way that they can expand their business in easy
and significant manner (DeTienne, McKelvie and Chandler, 2015).
In order to expand business in significant manner budget is playing vital role as this is
association of various elements that could be used by the business in their plan of expansion.
Budget is used in order to examine sales forecast by which control can be rendered in varied
expanses in appropriate manner. There are different types of expanses that is being incurred by a
business within their expansion plan and the same are elaborated as under in the context of
market development plan of Checkout.Com.
Market/competitor analysis
SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
 Sector of services within Australia is
developing which is a strength for
Checkout.Com so as to expand their
business in markets easily.
 Checkout.Com is providing secured
and innovative services to their clients
which is the major reason that the
company is having high market edge.
 The cost of living for Australia is very
high which may impact cost structure of
Checkout.Com.
 Checkout.Com is a SME and they are
planning to expand their business so
high risk is existed for the company for
market expansion.
Opportunities Threats

 Market of Australia is full of
opportunities which may be helpful for
Checkout.Com to expand their
business.
 In current time innovation is the aspect
which could lead a business to
succession and Checkout.Com is high
in this.
 There are so many market competitors
existed.
 Cost is another threat for
Checkout.Com to earn high profit.
Size of the industry in money's worth
The global online payment market size was estimated at USD 3,286.52 billion in the year
of 2019 and this is forecasted to reach at USD 17,643.35 billion by the year end of 2027. As
digitalisation is increasing in current time which is making this industry to grow in significant
manner.
The company is segmenting their market on the basis of behavioural aspect in which they
are targeting to people those feel safe using online payment services. In this manner the company
can acknowledge their target customers and may grow within industry in optimal manner.
Checkout.Com is having various competitors such as Stripe, Venmo and many more. These
competitors are prominently known in online payment industry. At the same time Checkout.Com
is dealing with these competitors by providing innovative services to their customers.
Marketing & Sales
Marketing mix
Product: Checkout.Com is providing payment services to their customers and these services are
innovative as in comparison to rivals. These services are helping the company to attract
customers and to manage loyalty for long term.
Price: Being a SME Checkout.Com is using penetration pricing strategy as the major aim of the
company is to grab customers in optimal manner. So by using this strategy the company can
manage customer loyalty in appropriate manner.
Place: Checkout.Com is operating their business in UK, Paris, Berlin, Hong Kong, Dubai,
Singapore and many other locations. By operating business at various location this is helpful for
the business to grab high customer loyalty and market retention as well.

Promotion: The major promotional tool used by Checkout.Com is social media as being a
payment service provider they are making their marketing campaigns over online platform.
Management & Ownerships
Checkout.Com is serving to a wide range of countries and Owner of the organisation is
Guillaume Pousaz. The company is a sole proprietorship in which various shareholders are kept
by the organisation. Checkout.Com is planning to expand their business in Australia for this
various operations are executed by the organisation such as managing daily customer ration and
sales. On the other hand, Guillaume Pousaz is having personal plan to expand Checkout.Com in
such a manner that high market prominence can be attained along with high customers.
Total forecasted budget
Particular 31/12/15 ($) 31/12/16 ($) 31/12/17 ($)
Implementing
technology cost
16000 - -
Promotional expense 8000 9000 8000
Advertisement
expense
5000 6600 6800
Catalogues 3000 5000 4000
Training charges 7500 7000 7500
Total Cost 39500 27600 26300
As from the above budget this is being analysed that Checkout.Com is associated with
numerous aspects in which they are incurring different expenditures so that to make their
expansion process highly successful. Besides this as the company is planning to expand in
markets of Australia so this is imperative that they need high financial assistance so that
smoothly business operations can be exerted.

M3 Develop an appropriate and detailed business plan for growth and securing investment,
setting out strategic objectives, strategies and appropriate frameworks for achieving
objective
Executive summary
This business plan is a layout which is followed by business so that proper efficacy can
be managed and appropriate results can be obtained as well. As business plan is all about
exerting proper planning in course of action so this could be followed by each business so as to
deal with their final objectives and business aims as well. For inhaling appropriate success
Checkout.com is considering business plan in such a manner that all the proposed plan could be
enlightened in effective way. In order to get appropriate efficiency in plan of action and proposed
plan this is necessary that a business plan is prepared along with covering all the possible
dimension so that business aims and objectives can be aligned with organisational efforts. In the
context of Checkout.Com the company is managing effective performance so that all their
mission and vision can be attained with higher efficiency and stability. By making appropriate
business plan al the efforts of business can be aligned with objectives of business in direct
manner so that attainability for goals can be enhanced. Besides this business plan is one of the
effective movement which can be exerted by Checkout.Com so they can meet overall plan of
business expansion in sufficient way. Business plan for Checkout.Com is associated with all the
policies and mission that they are going to accomplish with their next movement of market
expansion. As Checkout.Com is planning to expand their business in markets of Australia so this
is required that they introduce effective planning so that they can plan to attain goals in better
way and acquire higher sufficiency as well. The company is managing prominent clarity in their
plans so that this could be clear to all relevant parties in order to deal with business objectives in
sufficient way. Besides this by inculcating various aspects in business plan Checkout.Com is
giving authorities and responsibilities to various parties in significant manner.
The business and operation
Vision: The vision of Checkout.com revolves around providing customers the best
quality services in accordance to accessibility as well as affordability criteria of their target
customers. In addition to that, other vision of the company is to inhale positive changes in their
payment gateways so that errors existing within their business can be eradicated in early manner.

Mission: Mission of Checkout.com is an accumulation of many factors. The organization
focuses on growth as well as securing investments. In order to initiate growth, the focus of
organization is on sales maximization, in addition to that in order to secure investments cash
flow plan is taken into consideration. In order to fulfil human resource requirements of the
organization a personnel plan is taken into consideration.
Strategical objectives: There are three main objectives of Checkout.com which are as follows:
 To initiate growth by focusing on sales maximization.
 To secure investments using an accumulation of different sources of fund acquisition.
 To establish an outline for human resource requirements using personnel plan.
Operating strategies
Growth: In order to initiate growth Checkout.Com will focus on sales maximization by
expanding their operations in Australia. In order to initiate their sales, they will focus on
enhancing the overall security of their interface. In addition to that, the organization plans on
using Omni-channel marketing to initiate acquisition of their target customers and retention of
their existing customers. Furthermore, Checkout.com plans on reducing their costs so that with
enhanced sales they can use high profit margins and plan their growth accordingly.
Sales plan for Checkout.com is elaborated as under:
Sales plan
The company is planning to intensify their sales by expanding business in Australia and
for this various marketing measures are undertaken by them. In order to mitigate marketing
complexities, the company is using impactful marketing tools.
20% increase in overall revenue By end of year 2021
15% increment in sales By end of year 2021
From the above mentioned table, it has been interpreted that sales plan is important for
business growth and success. Checkout.Com wants to increase their overall revenue unto 20%
and also increase their sales is 15%. In order to achieve this, Checkout.Com wants to attract
larger base of customers by increasing brand awareness. During COVID 19, it is important and
essential for customer to pay online. Therefore, by doing this, Checkout.Com can easily increase
their sales and revenue within minimum period of time.

Securing investment strategies: The strategies for securing investments will cover two
main areas, the focal point of the same will revolve around acquiring secure funding and making
secure investments in the associated market, which will give them good returns. The source of
fund acquisition taken into consideration by Checkout.Com is loan from financial institutions. As
seen in below mentioned cash-flow statement, Checkout.Com have taken loan in their first year
of operation worth 100000 as it was supposed to be the most critical stage of since their
establishment. Now the organization plans on expanding their operations and in order to do so
they will focus on bank loans. In addition to that, the organization have invested in insurance
worth 3500 in their third year of operations. Checkout.com plans on continuing making secure
investments in their future as well in order to achieve this goal.
Cash flow plan
Month
Pre-
Start Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
INCOME
Cash Sales 18000 50000 55750 62161 69310
Credit Sales 8500 9478 10567 11783 13138
Business Loans 100000
Income from
other sources 5500 6133 6838 7624 8501
Opening balance 0
Total 132000 65610 73155 81568 90948
Cash Purchases 10500 9500 9900 9300 8300
Stock 4700 4700 4700 4700 4700
Drawings 1300 1450 1990 850 1750
Wages/Sub Con. 6000 6500 6800 6900 7200
Rent 6500 6500 6500 7000 7000
Rates 850 870 920 910 820
Light/Heat/
Power 1050 1050 1050 1050 1250
Telephone /
Mobile /
Broadband 250 250 250 300 300
Stationery &
Post 250 250 250 300 300
Insurance PL 3500

Advertising &
Marketing 750 750 750 800 800
Repairs/
Renewable 1120 1120 1120 1120 1120
Motor & Travel 3700 3700 3700 4000 4000
Consumables- 1100 1265 1455 1673 1924
Accountancy 4500 4500 4500 4500 4500
Loan
Repayments 4000 4000 4000 4000 4000
Miscellaneous 90 100 80 120 140
Tools &
Equipment
(Capital Items) 95000
Total 141660 46505 51465 47523 48104
Surplus/Deficit £0.00 -9660 19105 21690 34045 42844
Balance @
Start £0.00 0 -9660 9445 31135 65180
Balance @ End £0.00 -9660 9445 31135 65180 108025
Human resource strategies: In this Checkout.Com is planning to use fair recruitment
practices so that to provide skilful workforce to the business. This may aid the business to get
high end growth and success in their expansion plan. Besides this by managing human resource
in significant way Checkout.Com can unleash market opportunities in optimal manner. As the
company is planning to expand their business in Australia so this is imperative that new
recruitments are required to be made so by adopting prominent strategies for fair recruitments
growth opportunities can be obtained by Checkout.Com. This is also essential for Checkout.Com
to improve their human resource. As it will help them in recruiting and selecting of talented
employees at workplace that result in achievement of long term goals and objectives. Human
resource is important part of the organisation and support Checkout.Com in attainment of
competitive advantages.
Personnel plan:
This will help Checkout.Com in making sure that they are hiring the right workforce at right
costs and the associated costs for their training and development are structured accordingly.
Below is the personnel plan for Checkout.Com.
Time Frames 3 months 6 Months 9 Month 12 Months 15 Months

HR Department 100 100 100 100 100
IT Department 100 120 140 160 180
Management 200 220 240 260 280
Support staff 500 550 600 650 700
On the basis of aforementioned plan, it can be concluded that:
 In every 3 months Checkout.Com plans on introducing new 100 job requirements in HR
department.
 In beginning 3 months of expanding their operations in Australia Checkout.Com will
introduce 100 new jobs for IT Department, in next 6 months the expected staff
requirements will be 120, in next 9 months it will be 140, in next 12 months it will be 160
and in next 15 months it will be 180.
 In beginning 3 months of expanding their operations in Australia Checkout.Com will
introduce 200 new jobs for Management, in next 6 months the expected staff
requirements will be 220, in next 9 months it will be 240, in next 12 months it will be 260
and in next 15 months it will be 280.
 In beginning 3 months of expanding their operations in Australia Checkout.Com will
introduce 500 new jobs for Support Staff, in next 6 months the expected staff
requirements will be 550, in next 9 months it will be 600, in next 12 months it will be 650
and in next 15 months it will be 700.

TASK 4
P5 and D4: Assess exit or succession options for a small business explaining the benefits and
drawbacks of each option.
Exit or succession options for a small business
Exit Strategy are the plans which is executed by the owners to liquidate their position in
financial assets. There are very few exit strategies for small business owners, they are as follows-
Initial Public Offer
An Initial Public Offering Exit Strategy means selling shares to the public, the company
turns from privately owned to publically owned.
Advantages

 It is a one of the most profitable exit strategy.
 It also determines a high valuation on ownership interest. The stocks of the company will be worth in the tens or hundreds.
Disadvantages
 It is a most difficult and expensive exit strategy.
 Few number of Small businesses have this option available to them as there are very few
IPO's.
 The Director will spend most of his time in selling the company instead of running the
business.
Liquidation-
Liquidation exit strategy is the best way of closing a company that is no longer to pay
their debts. The company can choose to liquidate voluntarily or forced by creditors pressure or
financial circumstances.
Advantages of Liquidation-
 Liquidation process is simple and fast.
 The owner may decide whether the portion of company to be liquidate and keep the
profitable parts.
 The Directors responsibility to deal with the creditors get over.
 Liquidation process enables to get cash right away.
Disadvantages of Liquidation-
 The cost of liquidation of company is more expensive than the cost of selling.
 The managers and the employees working in the organisation lose their jobs.
 Business reputation and trading license of the company will be lost.
 The Liquidation brings one of the lowest ROI's.
Sell in open market
It is a method used by investors in small businesses. This method is usually adopted by
small business by which they can exit from the market by selling their business in an open
market and may get retired. Even if it is a company run by a sole proprietorship, it needs exit
strategy. An exit strategy provides an entrepreneur a way to reduce his share in a business and if
business gets successful, to make a profit. If business does not get successful, an entrepreneur
can use exit strategy or exit plan to limit losses. Venture capitalists also uses exit strategy for the

planning of cash out of investment. An entrepreneur makes an exit strategy in initial stages of
business plan before incorporation of business. Various exit strategies offer different levels of
liquidity to entrepreneurs. Advantages: One of the best advantages for selling in open market is that owners may get
desired profits and returns because of that goodwill can be enhanced which helps in
increasing selling prices.
 Disadvantages: The biggest disadvantage of this process is that it is a time consuming
process that becomes a tough task for the businesses to get their returns on the time they
wish to.
M4 Evaluate exit or succession options for a small business comparing and contrasting the
options and making valid recommendations.
From the above detailed analysis this can be concluded that for Checkout.Com in case
they fail in their expansion so they will have to exit from the existing market in order to
minimise their losses. In this manner Checkout.Com can sell their business in open market in
order to eliminate major losses in their business. This is the method which is highly beneficial
for Checkout.Com as the company is a SME and there is high risk for the organisation to deal
with those market changes and challenges during business expansion. So by selling their
business in open market Checkout.Com can exit from the market in easy market and minimise
their risks as well.
CONCLUSION
From the above detailed report this can be analysed that growth planning is an essential
aspect for the business in order to deal with their expansion plan and to enlighten success
opportunities. Besides this it is imperative that all the aspects related to succession planning so
that appropriate opportunities can be grabbed by the business for enhancing sustainability
opportunities. On the other hand, all the business may need to take care regarding an option
which can be used by them in case of failure and to get exit from market by minimising risks and
losses.

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