Business Plan Software
Business plan software makes writing a formal business plan considerably easier than starting with a blank sheet. Of course, it is important to know when to write a formal business plan, and when you do NOT need to write one. Most business plans are simply a waste of time, and not needed in such a formal presentation form. The section on Planning presented in this website explains the difference between Planning and various Business Plans, and it is recommended you read that discussion before deciding on any of the business plan sources below. You can access this section here. For those instances when you do need to write a formal business plan, here are the most popular sources of business plan software currently available:
Business Plan Software
(Each name is a link and opens in a new window.)
- Business Plan Pro
This is the most popular of all business plan software and is used by 3 out of 4 businesses that prepare formal business plans. It is produced and supported by PaloAlto Software, who also owns Bplan, the company that offers free sample business plans and other services--see below. To access the Business Plan Pro website click here.
Growthink
This company is like a one-stop business plan destination, in that they also provide guides, templates, courses, and ebooks on the business planning process. In addition, they offer consulting services to help you with your plan, and assist you in finding the appropriate investor for your business. For more information click here. PlanWrite
This company has been in business since 1989 and has a broad base of business planning guides and templates. Their business plan template appears to be highly customizable, and they also emphasize strong support to help you use their products. They do NOT offer products for Mac, and they also are not cheap, but for PC users they do seem to be very comprehensive. For more information, click here.PlanWare
This company is based in Ireland and is one of the most complete sources of all types of business plans. They not only offer software for business planning, but they have numerous support documents and articles that will help in the preparation of your plan. Unfortunately, their software does NOT run on Mac platforms. There are, of course, many sources of software for writing business plans, but I believe these are the ones most used by entrepreneurs today.
Free sample business plans
Several software companies and other business sites offer sample business plans that a person can look at and perhaps figure out from them how to best write their own business plan. Here are a few of the more popular sites that offer free sample business plans. Just remember that many of them would also like to sell you their software, or plan-writing services. - SBA Business Plan Template
This template is designed to help any entrepreneur build a business plan. You simply complete each section of the template, and when completed you can save your business plan for further editing, or download a copy as a final product. This could be a good place to start. - SCORE
This website is similar to the SBA plan and is quite educational. - Bplans
This site is also owned by PaloAlto Software (makers of Business Plan Pro), and it contains a gallery of over 500 sample business plans. You can then use one of the samples for reference in writing your own plan. Or, more importantly, you can open one of the samples in Business Plan Pro software and edit it to match your own business. - enloop This is a fairly new service that is still in Beta, but it is free at the moment. They have more powerful software in development and it will be released in the future—at a cost. This is a new concept that assists you in writing a custom business plan.
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
This library webpage lists types of small businesses and a corresponding sample business plan, or book, for each. Entries that have actual sample plans are shown in bold print. They also show a typical model plan for any type of startup business, available online from the Ace Management Group Inc. (pdf). - BulletProof Business Plans
This sample business plan can be used as a guide for preparing your own plan document. They also provide a full range of support services to help you complete your business plan. - Entrepreneur
This is a website page displaying a number of sample business plans that can be customized to your own needs. NOTE: customizing these plans requires Business Plan Pro. - Small Business Information
For an additional list of various free sample business plans, check out this website.
Return to Top of Page
Return from "Business Plan Software" to Business Resources For New Entrepreneurs to view the "List of Resource Categories"
Return to Home Page, from "Business Plan Software"
9/28/11
|
