Business Plan Software

Fill-in-the-blank Software

Templates, while much faster and conceivably easy to use, are just that. Your business plan will look like every other business plan submitted to a lender using a template. Templates lose some effectiveness depending how dedicated you are to researching and creating a solid plan. Remember that a business plan is the key to obtaining financing from lenders, and lenders tend to be a conservative bunch who want the numbers laid out just so.

Some business plan software offers fill-in-the-blank data fields that can negatively affect a small business owner’s dedication to ferreting out information and researching data he needs in order to complete a solid plan individually geared for his company. Not only does this approach limit creativity, but lenders can spot canned plans from afar. If you submit a canned plan, they may inwardly question how much research you’ve performed or how much thought you’ve put into writing your business plan. Creativity is what sets your plan above the rest on the heap. Understand that lenders see hundreds of business plans every year and are quick to rubber stamp reject those plans that smack of a lack of adequate preparation. Would you loan money to someone who you considered lazy and who has only put in minimum effort in planning a business? Of course not. Neither will lenders.

Canned Plans Can Be Red Flags

Investors recognize templates and many will question you in greater detail than the plan suggests about how you’ll be running your business, trying to ascertain how much effort you have put into the process, because your knowledge is all that they have to make an investment decision besides what they see on paper. It’s called reading between the lines. Investors or business angels, have successful track records. They know what is possible and what isn’t. No software template will convince them that you’re worthy of an investment if they suspect you aren’t prepared or ready to progress.

Potential staffers with experience will also spot the tin in your plan and won’t be enticed to leave their secure positions for a stint with someone they consider to be unprepared. Why should they? Ninety percent of all small businesses that fail within the first 90 days, fail because of poor planning. It‘s simply not enough to have a good idea. No matter how good your widget, you’ve got to have a solid plan to get that widget to market and to be able to produce more as demand increases.

Is Business Plan Software Better?

Using business plan software is a better alternative to writing a plan filled with holes, misspellings and poor grammar. It can save you time and force you to give some thought toward major issues, and will also help with forecasting. But all-in-all, writing a business plan from scratch remains the best way to go. Writing forces you to think about what you’re committing to on paper, allowing frequent reviews and changes as time goes on and you gain experience in your business operations. Beneath the layers of a written plan are hours of unseen research and preparation, kind of like a financial planning iceberg floating in the sea with only 1/11th of its totality showing. It is this foundation of knowledge and research that will better prepare you for what’s to come in the creation and running of your business. If you can’t write it yourself, hire a business writer who can. If the services of a writer are beyond your means, check into a software product or check the free template sites listed below.

Business Plan Software Products

Palo Alto Business Plan Pro 2006

$99

Palo Alto Software, Inc.

CD-ROM

System compatibility: Windows NT / 98 / 2000 / XP / Me

Business Plan Builder

JIAN Software

Downloadable

$99

Plan Write

BRS Inc.

$129

Includes sample plans.

Interfaces with QuickBooks and exports to MS Word®, MS Excel®, and MS PowerPoint ®

Ultimate Business Planner® 3.0

$99

Atlas Business Solutions

Compatible with MS Word®, MS Excel®, Adobe® PDF, and QuickBooks®

1,000 sample business plan examples

Good Template Sources

My Own Business

SBA shareware library

SBDCNET

SCORE