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Business case template

A free business case template for getting a project approved: the problem, the options compared, costs and benefits over time, risks and one clear recommendation. Add your notes and figures, and Cobl drafts it for the committee that decides.

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Make this template yours

Turn this template into a real document for your company. Cobl adapts the content, branding and structure to your context.

Use this template
We never train a model on your content.
Format
Slides · 16:9
Length
13 slides
Sections
8 sections
Exports
PDF · PowerPoint
Time saved
Hosted in the EU. No model training on your data.
What's inside

The eight sections a committee needs to say yes

A business case is read by people weighing your project against others. These sections give them what they need to compare and approve it.

1
Executive summary
The decision requested, the cost, the expected return and the recommendation, on one page. Many approvers read nothing else.
2
Problem or opportunity
What happens if nothing changes, with numbers where you have them: hours lost, revenue at risk, the cost of the current setup.
3
Options considered
Doing nothing plus two or three real alternatives, each with its cost and outcome. Committees trust a case that shows the alternatives.
4
Costs
One-off and recurring costs over three to five years, including internal time. A hidden cost found later undermines the whole case.
5
Benefits and how they are measured
Each benefit with its baseline, target, owner and date. It is what the committee checks a year after approval.
6
Financial summary
Payback period, ROI or NPV, and a sensitivity line showing what happens if benefits come in lower. One table, with its assumptions stated.
7
Risks
The main risks of doing the project and of not doing it, each with its mitigation and owner.
8
Recommendation and next steps
The option you recommend, the approval and budget requested, and the first milestones once approved.
9
How it works

From this template to client-ready

1
Start from the template

Click “Use this template”. You start from a real example, with its structure, its method and its design.

2
Add your context

Nothing to prepare. Cobl asks you the right questions and pulls your company knowledge: your CRM, your tools, your past work and your branding.

3
Get the best of both

Cobl assembles the two. The rigour of the template, with your content and your branding. So, what comes out is client-ready.

Why this template

Built to be approved, not just read

Business case templates tend to stop at costs and benefits. Committees also want the alternatives, the numbers behind the benefits and who owns them.

Doing nothing is an option

The status quo is costed like every alternative. It is usually what your project competes with, so the case makes that comparison explicit.

Benefits have owners

Each benefit comes with a baseline, a target and a named owner. Approvers see how the return will be tracked, not just promised.

Numbers that survive questions

A sensitivity line shows the result if benefits arrive late or smaller. Finance sees you tested the case before they did.

FAQ

Questions about this template

Is the business case template free?

Yes. Download it as it is, in Word or PDF, without an account. You only create one when you want Cobl to rewrite it with your own figures and your branding.

How do I write a business case?

Start with the decision you need and the cost of doing nothing. Compare two or three real options against that baseline, cost each one over three to five years, and list the benefits with a baseline, a target and an owner. Summarize payback or ROI, test what happens if benefits come in lower, then write the one-page executive summary last.

Can we export the business case as slides for the committee?

Yes. Slides for the meeting, Word or PDF for the file. Same context and same numbers across all of them.

Do you need both a mutual action plan and a business case?

Yes, and they do different jobs. The business case argues why the purchase is worth making and is usually presented internally by your champion. The mutual action plan sets out how the purchase gets done and by when. Sellers on r/sales who use both tend to build the business case first, then the plan, because the plan needs an agreed outcome to hang milestones on.

Can I use my own branding?

That is the point. Give Cobl your website and it reads your colours, your typography and your tone, then applies them to every page. Upload a past document and it locks onto your real design system.

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Every deal deserves the right move. Make it.

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