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Posted: Wed, June 20, 2007
Business Plan Pro 2007by Claire Jones All good businesses need a darn good business plan. Unfortunately, formulating one that is concise and well-structured may not be as easy as it sounds, and for some, one glimpse of a potentially terrifying financial forecast can be enough to send them running for dear life. If this is the type of problem you are encountering when preparing yours, then Business Plan Pro 2007's claims to be the 'fastest, easiest way to create a business plan' appear to be the answer to your prayers.
For those who are relatively clueless as to where to begin when creating a business plan - prior to a full-scale panic as to what from the endless lists of overviews, summaries and financial forecasts comes first - a look at some sample plans may help. The Sample Plan Browser provides a wide range of existing business plans from 'real-life' examples, with a search function to make it easier to access the right type of plan to match your proposed business. An interesting feature of this section is that the samples are delivered over the internet, meaning the most up-to-date content is available without taking up excess hard-drive space required by the software. The drawback of this of course, is that the select few without internet access are at a disadvantage, however for the vast majority it is a useful aspect of the package. Entering your initial Plan Setup details (outline setup, type of business, financials) will allow the programme to adjust to your type of business. This stage in the process can be as in-depth as you like - the joy of this being the ability to go back into your choices at a later date to edit or add to them. Each question has a default answer so if you are unsure of what options to choose, you are able to swap and change once you have studied the explanations within the comprehensive tutorial window for extra help if needed. Once this setup is complete, you are directed to the main homepage, which comprises of 3 steps: Write your plan, Check your work and Publish your plan. The software provides the opportunity to complete the plan in separate parts, (e.g. objectives, your market, personnel, etc) with prompts, explanations and being able to view examples from a selection of case studies from the Sample Plan Browser, from which you can paste into and customise. As each of these sections are edited the text is then automatically organised and collated to produce a printable plan that can be easily customised with your own graphics and fonts. It can be exported to Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint, it can create an Adobe PDF Document or there is the option to upload your completed business plan to a secure password-protected website. The Reports section is particularly useful here as it allows you to preview your business plan and customise your data in different formats for print, for example a short summary memo, product description or the full detailed version. The daunting task of producing financial information is eased by continuous prompts and the 'EasyPlan Wizard' which checks your work for errors. The tools provided help organise graphic forecasts, VAT information, spreadsheet and automatic charts and you are also able to import existing information from separate software, e.g. QuickBooks, or Sage Line 50. The Financial Plan section allows you to summarise your financials and compare them to industry average figures that are based on more than 9,000 industry profiles and your Standard Industrial Classification code (SIC code). This information is integrated automatically into your plan. Another useful feature is the collaboration tool - the ability to assign portions of the plan to team members to complete then combine into a complete plan. At first glance it seems that this package does everything you would ever hope for and will magically produce a business plan with just a few clicks of a mouse. Realistically, it is important to remember that it will not write the whole plan for you and the complexity of the sections menus, tutorials and wizards have the potential to cause confusion. Of course the ease at which you use this software is dependent on the user's business experience, nevertheless taking the time out to read the information provided within the 'Business Planning Resources' window, the overall task is made easier. Essentially, as much as there are ample excellent resources available, you also need to have a pretty good idea as to what you are looking to achieve in your business before you begin. I would suggest that the step-by-step tutorial and two books 'Hurdle' and 'On Target' provided should be read to provide an introduction to the concept of the business plan, and it is a shame that the software does not explicitly encourage the user to do so prior to commencing with the Plan Set-up. Although not as user-friendly as expected, the detailed task list ensures no sections are left out which helps create thorough results. It is a shame that despite using the UK edition, the figures provided in the sample plans are presented in US Dollars, although the range of business information offered here makes up for this problem. Overall, this is a value-for-money software package that should be a point of call for anyone looking to produce a professional, well-written business plan. Business Plan Pro 2007 is produced by Palo Alto Software Ltd, and is available from their website. You can also find it on Amazon.co.uk, and from Welsh software retailer Saver Software as well as many other software retailers. The software has a RRP of £79.99. Editor: As well as the software available, if you need a business plan and are based in Wales, you may find it useful to check out the Starting a Business section on the Business Eye website. Send a comment about this article to editor@itwales.com.
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The 'experts' choice' in business plan software, it is specifically designed to take
the lowly business planner by the hand and guide them through the process of producing a business plan from
scratch. This is done by means of prompted steps with expert interactive instruction and an excess of wizard-driven financial charts, as well as a large section on business planning resources including
tutorials and links to helpful websites.|
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