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Product Specifications
| License: | N.A. |
| Version: | Full version |
| Language: | English |
Business Plan Pro
More from Palo Alto Software | All Palo Alto Software Discounts
1.4 out of 5. Based on 98 votes | Write a review
Best Uses For Business Plan Pro: Budget Plans, Export to HTML, Export to MS Office, Export to PDF, Forecasting, Import from Peachtree Accounting, Import from QuickBooks, Market Analysis Tools, Org Chart Builder
Product Description
Writing your business plan just got easier
With the right tools, anyone can produce a professional business plan. Business Plan Pro is packed with the features and advice you need to forget your fears and write your plan with the confidence of an expert. And get expert results!
500+ sample plans
Say goodbye to writer's block and hello to getting your plan done quickly. Easily find, read, and edit more 2,000 samples and examples. Business Plan Pro software comes with more than 500 complete sample business plans for all sorts of company types.
The exclusive Sample Plan Browser lets you quickly find the plan that meets your needs. Then you can write up the plan in your own words (step-by-step guidance makes it a snap!). Or simply edit the text found in any of the real working sample plans. Every single plan can be opened and edited in Business Plan Pro to give you the jump-start you need.
Let the software do the math
Just plug in your numbers and the calculations are done for you. Now you have instant access to business planning calculations, and an explanation of every financial term. Only Business Plan Pro offers powerful, integrated financial and spreadsheet support.
A planning expert at your side
Tim Berry is the recognized authority on business planning. An expert business planner and principal author of Business Plan Pro, his advice and expertise guides you through every step of creating your business plan. He's a best-selling author and prolific writer, whose blogs can be found at TimBerry.com, Bplans.com, Amex Open Forum, and others. Using Business Plan Pro is like having Tim sitting next to you while you write your business plan.
Business planning course
Create the best possible plan for your business by completing Tim Berry's video course on business planning, included in Business Plan Pro. Originally created for the Small Business Administration (SBA), the course breaks planning into manageable pieces and helps you understand the principles behind the process.
Easy to follow instructions
Wherever and whenever you need help, Business Plan Pro offers complete and newly updated instructions for every topic and table in your business plan. If you're more of a visual learner, new video instructions will guide you through the financials and other key components of your plan.
Examples for every topic
No matter what section of your plan you're working on, there are examples to help you figure out what to write and how to write it. Say you're not sure what your Market Needs section should say. No problem - just click the Examples tab and view a handful of Market Needs descriptions. Cut and paste if you find one that works for you, or just get a sense of direction for writing your own. No more wondering if you're doing it right.
Free business planning ebooks
The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan by Tim Berry
Every purchase of Business Plan Pro includes the e-book edition of The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan. In this new book from Entrepreneur Press, celebrated planning expert Tim Berry describes his no-nonsense approach to business planning for small and growing businesses.
Hurdle: The Book on Business Planning by Tim Berry
Also included with Business Plan Pro is the e-book edition of Tim Berry's classic business planning guide. Hurdle: The Book on Business Planning is a practical, step-by-step guide to developing a business plan. Berry's book covers all the basics including what to include in a plan, where to find information, and a simple guide to business numbers that stands out for its explanation of cash flow.
Unparalleled customer service
At Palo Alto Software, we pride ourselves on providing quality, U.S.-based customer service. And we're not going to charge you for it. Whether you've lost your serial number, are having computer issues, or have questions about how to use Business Plan Pro, our in-house customer care team is highly trained and ready to help you.
Fool-proof error checking
The built-in Plan Review feature double checks key sections of your plan. This unique tool makes sure your plan is realistic.
Help everywhere you need it
Click in any cell in any spreadsheet and the software will show the definitions and explanations you need to make sure you get it right.
Become a power user
If you feel like you need more help, sign up for the Business Plan Pro Specialist Line. You'll get one-on-one help and from a product expert. Includes 30-day free trial!
Free professional feedback
Business Plan Pro customers get tons of extras, including a free business plan review from professional business plan writers.
Even the financials are easy
Don't fear the financial section of your business plan -- you don't need an MBA to get it right. Business Plan Pro makes financial forecasts easy, with built-in formulas in all the spreadsheets and expert advice every step of the way.
No errors. Guaranteed.
Business Plan Pro's table wizards guide you through creating your financial forecasts. You just plug in your numbers and the calculations are done for you. Plus, you have instant access to the methodology behind standard business planning calculations, and an explanation of every financial term. Only Business Plan Pro offers such powerful, integrated financial and spreadsheet support.
Simplified forecasting
Create forecasts visually with a "drag and drop" graphic forecaster. The forecaster is a simple and powerful tool to streamline the forecasting process. You can easily change your sales and expenses estimates. Simply click your mouse button to move the line on your forecast chart, or apply a growth rate to the whole year. Build forecasts using visual common sense.
Real-world financial data
Business Plan Pro leverages more than 9,000 industry profiles to give you insight into how your business compares against similar companies in your industry. The most recent data from your industry gets pulled right into your plan, so you can show investors that your numbers are on target, or explain why they differ.
Import from your other accounting software
Importing from QuickBooks or Peachtree saves you valuable time and effort. Instead of retyping all the historical data you want to include in your plan, just click import and it's done for you. Once it's there, it's easy to base your forecasts on your past performance.
Create long-term financial forecasts
Business Plan Pro allows for long-term financial forecasting. Detailed forecasting is available through the first five years, while a long-term macro-view summary plan can be created for up to 10 years in the future.
All the spreadsheets
Not everyone needs every table, but if you do, it's in there. And if you don't need it, it's easy to remove it from your outline.
Plan settings for nonprofits
Create a business plan or funding plan for your nonprofit organization or social enterprise by selecting the nonprofit option.
Create impressive plans that get results
Business plans shouldn't all look alike. Every business is unique, and every business plan should be too. Make yours stand out from the rest with custom charts and graphs and easy PowerPoint presentations. Whether you're presenting to your boss or to a lender, be sure you wow your audience with a great looking plan.
A presentation-ready plan
Every page is automatically organized and collated to produce a bulletproof plan that gets results, all in the preferred format of banks, investors, and SBA lenders.
Business Plan Pro even includes five professional PowerPoint templates, so you can pitch your plan like a pro and impress any audience.
Easy export for presentations
You'll want to put your best foot forward when you present your plan to bankers, investors, or potential partners. Simply export to Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF to share your plan. You can even export to PowerPoint to create a winning presentation.
Customize every page
Create a plan that is unique for your business. Rearrange the outline and add just what you need. Don't be squeezed into an inflexible, one-size-fits-all cookie-cutter planning product.
Automatic charts and graphs
No need to spend time creating charts and graphs to go with all the tables in your plan. Business Plan Pro does it for you. As you input and update your numbers, your charts change automatically. You can choose the colors and types of charts you want to use, or go with the standard settings and not have to think about the charts again.
Easy plan set up
The easy to navigate Wizards in Business Plan Pro save you tons of time as they guide you through setting up and completing your plan.
Create the reports you need
It's easy to print just what you need, whether it's one table, all the financial tables, one chart, or the entire business plan.
Collaborate with your team
Upload to SecurePlan.com and share your plan with collaborators or potential investors. Or leave visible notes right inside the plan file, so you can work with partners and never miss an important suggestion.
Present your pitch
Business Plan Pro includes professional PowerPoint templates for you to use to impress investors or lenders when you pitch your idea. Plus, a free ebook is included, to help you perfect your pitch and seal the deal.
Funding tools to impress investors
If you're showing your business plan to bankers, investors, or other lenders, you better make sure it's got all the information they're going to need to make a decision. Business Plan Pro is packed with tools to make sure your plan is complete and accurate, and even includes a database to help you find venture capital!
Matches the format preferred by banks, investors, and SBA lenders
Business Plan Pro uses a format that meets the most stringent requirements of banks, SBA lenders, angel investors, and venture capitalists
Step-by-step financials
Expert guidance and a simple interface take you through every step of every financial table in Business Plan Pro. Detailed instructions and explanations ensure that you build a solid plan. And the table wizard gives you feedback about your numbers to help you create a business plan that will get you the funding you need.
Real-world financial data
Business Plan Pro leverages more than 9,000 industry profiles to give you insight into how your business compares against similar companies in your industry. The most recent data from your industry gets pulled right into your plan, so you can show investors that your numbers are on target, or explain why they differ.
Research your funding options
You could scour the Internet for a week and not find all the information we've amassed in our Venture Capital database. Over 1,200 profiles of venture capital firms worldwide are included. The database is searchable, so you can look for firms by business type, funding stage, location, or funding need.
Get funded by SBA Lenders
Business Plan Pro includes resources for entrepreneurs seeking funding backed by the Small Business Administration.
Present with confidence
Wow investors with a great looking, organized business plan. Business Plan Pro creates polished and professional documents that are sure to impress.
Publish your plan
Share your plan with potential investors by uploading to Secureplan.com, our secure, password-protected site that you control.
Plan for better business management
Whether you're just starting up a business or have been running one for years, you know the connection between good management and success can't be ignored. Measuring how your business is doing against your business plan is the best way to make sure you're on track or to make quick course corrections when you're not. And it's easy with the special features built into Business Plan Pro Premier.
Keep ahead of the competition
The industry profiles included in Business Plan Pro do more than help you complete your financial projections. They also can guide your future business decisions. As you revisit your plan, you'll see how your business is doing and how it stacks up against others in your industry. If you're doing better than the averages, good for you! If you're behind, use the information to make changes to help your business grow.
The reports you need
Easily generate reports for presentations or long range planning sessions. Whether you need one charts or all the charts, just the appendix or every table in your plan... All you have to do is decide and the reports are generated for you and ready to print with the click of a button
Small business legal guide
Manage your business better by learning the ins and outs of small business legal issues and how to choose a legal structure.
Everything you need for a winning plan
When you buy Business Plan Pro, you're not just getting the best-selling business plan software available. You're also getting tons of extra value from our partners who offer tools and services every business needs.
Free industry data included
With over 9,000 industry profiles built into Business Plan Pro, you have an incredible amount of financial research and information right at your fingertips. See how your business stacks up against others in your industry, or use the data as a basis for your own financial projections.
Free bonus softwareStart, Run & Grow Your Business is simple software full of essential tools and resources, discounts, and free offers that every business needs. Valued at $59.95, it's included free with Business Plan Pro!
Answers to your legal questions
There are plenty of legal issues you have to think about when you're starting up a business. Business Plan Pro includes resources to help you navigate the legal waters. From "Trademark Basics for Naming Your Small Business" to the Nolo Small Business Law Center, you'll find answers to most of your legal questions.
One-year subscription to Inc. magazine (or $10 refund)
Your online purchase of Business Plan Pro software includes a one-year subscription (12 issues, valued at $10) to Inc., one of the most popular magazines for entrepreneurs and small businesses. If you are a current subscriber, your subscription will be extended for another year. Offer available to U.S. residents only, limit one per household.
Learn from an expert while you plan
Palo Alto Software Founder and President Tim Berry is a recognized authority on business planning. When we say he wrote the book on business plans, we're not joking. He's written several, and two of them are included as ebooks with your purchase of Business Plan Pro.
The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan describes Tim's no-nonsense approach to business planning for small and growing businesses. It'll help forget your thoughts of overwhelming, formal business plans to create an easier, modern business plan that evolves as your business grows.
Hurdle: The Book on Business Planning is a practical, step-by-step guide to developing a business plan. It covers all the basics, including what to include, where to find information, and a simple guide to business numbers that stands out for its explanation of cash flow.
Additional services every business needs
Learn the basics of using social media for your business, view the video business planning course, set up an online store, or read up on Internet marketing. Business Plan Pro's Resources area includes downloadable guides, ebooks, and free and discounted offers (including email management software and free printed materials!) to help you get your business plan done and your business running smoothly.
Trademark basics ebook
This ebook from Nolo gives you an overview of trademark law, doing business name searches, and much more.
Free business plan review
Business Plan Pro users get a free plan review from professional business plan writing consultants.
Small business legal guide
Learn the ins and outs of small business legal issues and how to choose a legal structure for your business.
Free customer service
Professional, U.S.-based customer service reps are on hand to help any time you need it. Just give us a call (or email or join a live chat).
Business Plan Pro Videos
Business Plan Pro Reviews & Ratings
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Compare Business Plan Pro
| Business Plan Pro | Drag another product here | Drag another product here | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget Plans | Y | ||
| Export to HTML | Y | ||
| Export to MS Office | Y | ||
| Export to PDF | Y | ||
| Forecasting | Y | ||
| Import from Peachtree Accounting | Y | ||
| Import from QuickBooks | Y | ||
| Market Analysis Tools | Y | ||
| Org Chart Builder | Y | ||
| Phone Support | Y | ||
| License | N.A. | ||
| Version | Full version | ||
| Free Trial | |||
| Reviews | 0 review | ||
| Discounts |
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Business Plan Pro News
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Editor's Review
For the new business owner, the hassles of trying to sort out the logistics of a new venture are troublesome enough without the added stress of an unorganized, unprofessional business plan for investors and staff.
The Standard edition of the Business Plan Pro software takes the edge of that stress, giving you access to hundreds of ready-made templates and professional examples which are extremely strong visually, making financial forecasts, expenses, sales and cash flow (those tricky details) interpretable, and are capable of holding large amounts of data.
Software.com Labs were particularly impressed with how intuitive the business planning software was, after outlaying your initial needs (the in-built market research will help you establish these) the EasyPlan Wizard almost works by itself, bringing you along with it through detailed step-by-step instructions.
It seems that Palo Alto have realized that most new business owners, whilst often new to the business planning world, still desire some form of control and personalization in a business plan. The efficient set of tools provided in the Standard edition of Business Plan Pro give you a good level of customization, giving you a range of spreadsheets and numerous methods of visualizing your data.
Though not packed with the features and power of the Premier edition, for basic business planning that is stress free and professional, Business Plan Pro Standard is a cut above its competition.
Business Plan Pro Standard: What We Liked
There are many benefits to using the Standard edition of Business Plan Standard Pro compared to the bulk of similar software on the market:
Efficiency - With a streamlined user interface and instructions that get you straight to the point, you will waste no time or money planning the complicated details of your business proposal. The Standard edition Business Plan Pro asks you what you need to show, and leads you through to completion. Usability, for us, is the undisputed highlight of the Business Plan Pro 11.0 Standard software.
Customizable - The freedom of Business Plan Pro Standard edition compares well to the Premier software. You can follow the step-by-step template instructions to completion, shift them slightly, or use your own graphics, logos, photos, and even fonts and layouts to make it your own. Software.com Labs even had fun defining what the business will sell, who its customers are, reasonable sales forecasts and other gritty details with these options.
Add-ons - Built-in market research that gives you the information used by the professionals, accessible eBooks on successful business planning, legal plans, and industry profiles among other extras made for an impressive set of bonuses in the Standard edition.
Easier business planning - Updated instructions (including videos) and new video course from planning expert Tim Berry
Tools for growing your business -"Plan as you go" option for ongoing business management plus new and improved templates\
Improved collaboration for planning teams - New notes feature lets you know when your team or partners make comments on your plan.
Tons of NEW extras to help you run your business - Start, Run and Grow Your Business software (a $49 value), free domain name for your website, press release builder, and more!
Business Plan Pro Standard: What We Didn't Like
Without the features of the Premier edition of Business Plan Pro, the complexity of your visualizations and the movement of information importing and exporting is limited. One thing to note is that the same exporting/importing functions (Quickbooks, Peachtree) are available across as in the Premier version, except for Excel).
Print-outs of the plans were often a bit shaky.
No tool for business valuation or visualizing cash planning.
Palo Alto Support
Palo Alto provide a direct phone line for technical support and customer care. They also offer online support via email contact, FAQs, blog and user forum.
About Palo Alto
Palo Alto Software is the worldwide leader in business plan software and marketing plan software. The company was founded in 1983 by Tim Berry, a business planning expert, Stanford MBA, and co-founder of Borland International with a long history of technology sector leadership in the Silicon Valley. Despite the company's name, Palo Alto Software is now headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, with international offices in London and Ireland.
Business Plan Pro software by Palo Alto has been recommended by critics all over the world, from the Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur Magazine to PCWorld and Accounting Today. Palo Alto is headquartered in Oregon, USA.