Is Business Plan Pro software any good?

[WhichLance]

Has anyone used Business Plan Pro software from Palo Alto? I am considering buying it but want to know if others have used it and if it really delivers the time savings it claims.

I have already written about 75% of the plan, but expect I will spend alot of time formatting, creating charts and anticipate the financials to be a bit of a nightmare.

Also, has anyone used it for the purpose of producing a business plan aimed at business angles and raising seed capital? That is my purpose and it would be good to know if these software based/templated plans are well received.

TIA!

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Never used it but believe its the personal touch thet would impress a lender more than a computer generated printout

Regardless of the reason for the plan, its mainly your own plan proving to yourself that there is room in the market place for your company, you will be able to get enough sales to justify starting up, you know all your overheads, break even and expected profit and staffing requirements

 

[movietub]

Never used it but believe its the personal touch thet would impress a lender more than a computer generated printout

Regardless of the reason for the plan, its mainly your own plan proving to yourself that there is room in the market place for your company, you will be able to get enough sales to justify starting up, you know all your overheads, break even and expected profit and staffing requirements

I disagree with the first part of what you say, not because the personal touch is broadly unimportant, but because lenders these days have almost zero discretion, and the key is to give the computer the figures it needs to say yes. However, if the figures look overly 'fettled' then the bank manager can overide the computer to say no. In doing so, without ever taking a risk, the bank manager can improve his ROI. As I understand it, these packages are capable of mimicking the risk assesment of the banks systems, and will highlight areas (in the finacial forecast etc) which would likely raise issue.

But the second part of what you say, I agree entirely. My business plan was never presentable really, it was a mess of my own scrawlings. In the end, I started with no loan... But crucially, in trying to write the plan, I had to examine my ideas in detail and prove they would work once passed through a calculator.

For me, a business plan is a vital excercise as it forces you to subject a 'good idea' to the cold reality of mathmatics. And if you end up having to tweak parts of your plan to avoid ending with a minus figure on the projections, then it's probably worth thinking of something else

 

[benjamin_c]

It downloaded a free version a few years back to have a play and its ok but nothing great, and not worth the price it is, the only really good thing about it is all the examples but you can see good examples by googling "example business plans" use MS Word and excell for it, then you will know your plan more, and if your bank manager askes you a question about your plan you will be better placed to answer it Bank managers will be able to see a computer generated business plan a mile off and will be more impressed if you have made the effort and done it your self

 

[Morraine]

Business plan pro is a brilliant piece of software.

I think it’s the right tool for the job. If you want to write a letter then use word if you have never written a business plan before and need a tool to help you break it up into bit sized chunks and guide you through everything you will need to provide to create a solid business plan then use business plan pro.

I don’t believe reading other peoples plans are the way forward what business plan pro will do is ask you the question and you will need to answer it in your own words.

It will also create a lot of visual charts and graphs for you with the figures you provide.

I think it’s invaluable if you want to present a professional plan to your bank manager or investor and for your own use so you can keep a living breathing business plan as you start your business and move forward with it.

Michael

 

[paultnl]

Lloyds give away a good piece of software for buisiness plans if you enquire about a business account.

 

[WhichLance]

Thanks for all the responses. I wasn't so much thinking of using it for the sample plans or ideas, my business is pretty unique and the associated products I want to launch are also one of a kind, so I doubt they have anything to use in that sense. I just thought it may make the job of formatting the document itself quicker and easier and perhaps steer me on the right path in terms of coming up with the best chronology.

The price is the biggest deterrent for me, although I found an Ebay store selling it for £59.99 instead of £79.99 it still seems a lot, but I guess if it saves even 4 or 5 hours playing around with formatting and excel it would pay for itself.

Still not decided so will plug away in word and excel for now.

 

[daptone]

Im using a Business Planner package that I downloaded from alliance & Leicester website.

 

[oldeagleeye]

Quote.

The price is the biggest deterrent for me, although I found an Ebay store selling it for £59.99 instead of £79.99 it still seems a lot, but I guess if it saves even 4 or 5 hours playing around with formatting and excel it would pay for itself.

How much seed and total funding you hope to raise and what is your business sector.

Rob

 

[WhichLance]

Quote.
How much seed and total funding you hope to raise and what is your business sector.
Rob

Looking for between £85 and £150k seed. 2nd round funding I have not done the financials for yet, but it will be significantly more than that. Business sector is online freelance marketplaces - aiming to launch a range of unique services building on the http://whichlance.com website.

Obviously in the scheme of how much I want to raise £59.99 is not much, but nobody has sung BP Pro's praises enough to convince me its worthwhile yet.

 

[Morraine]

Looking for between £85 and £150k seed. 2nd round funding I have not done the financials for yet, but it will be significantly more than that. Business sector is online freelance marketplaces - aiming to launch a range of unique services building on the http://whichlance.com website.

Obviously in the scheme of how much I want to raise £59.99 is not much, but nobody has sung BP Pro's praises enough to convince me its worthwhile yet.

The fact that you’re on here debating whether you should get BP-pro or not and you want to raise £150k strikes me as a pretty a good argument for you to pull your finger out, get it, and just get down to the business of perfecting your business plan and not worrying about £60 for the price of software that will be more benefit to you than trying to mess around in word and excel. If you’re trying to scrimp on this then why would you think your plan is going to impress anyone you show it to especially for that much money?

I too will be looking for a large investment as well so I knew I had to get the correct tool for the job.

 

[WhichLance]

The fact that you’re on here debating whether you should get BP-pro or not and you want to raise £150k strikes me as a pretty a good argument for you to pull your finger out, get it, and just get down to the business of perfecting your business plan and not worrying about £60 for the price of software that will be more benefit to you than trying to mess around in word and excel.

Fair comment, tried the Alliance & Leicester tool for a few minutes, but wasn't impressed. Going to bite the bullet and get BP Pro Premier off Ebay (from Palo Alto - but 25% cheaper on Ebay than their website). Thanks for the input everyone - and thanks for the prompt Morraine - you are right - better to get on with it than uhm an ahh.. have put £5k in to the business already, so another £90 won't make much difference anyway.

 

[WhichLance]

Morraine,
thanks for the nudge! I bought it, and as you say it is a great piece of software! Slick, easy to use, intuitive and well worth the money for the speed with which it ties all the financial tables together and generates the graphs and appendix. Should have bought it sooner!

 

[truesilver]

Hi

Business Plan Pro does what it says on the tin - you put in the information and it creates some pretty charts and puts things into the right format.

It doesn't however go to the degree that I believe a business plan should. In most cases the plans I've seen created with the software repeat themselves several times (not good for attracting an investor) and don't cover some of the major points like market research and in depth marketing plans. You can buy the marketing plan version too - but why would you?

If you want, I have a format I use with my clients that I can email to you for free which will enable you to give the information you need for an investor and the flexibility to add in critical information.

Good luck with it all. Sounds like you're doing great so far.

L

 

[Morraine]

Morraine,
thanks for the nudge! I bought it, and as you say it is a great piece of software! Slick, easy to use, intuitive and well worth the money for the speed with which it ties all the financial tables together and generates the graphs and appendix. Should have bought it sooner!

Great!
Good luck with your business.

Michael

 

[WhichLance]

L,
Yes I know what you mean, once it all 'wrapped up' from the software perspective I think I will need to export it to word and jiggle things around a bit. Yes the marketing plan section is seriously lacking - and I have no intention of stumping up another £90 for that as that is something more readily done in word. I think the main benefit for me was in structuring the financials and not having to copy and paste tables all over the place.

Be great if you could send me your template too though so I can compare and plug the gaps!

Thanks
Saif

 

[movietub]

Something odd about this thread...

Given the amount the OP is seeking to borrow, one would assume that they would have the experience and nouse to bash out their own plan on word/excel, designed not to look pretty, but to tick the boxes they know will need ticking by the bank.

Frankly, these days, you could wander into a bank with a plan scrawled on a newspaper and it would be no less effective than any other so long as the figure's made the risk system happy, and of course, that those figures can be backed by evidence or example. The days of a bank manager's response being swayed by a smart suit and leather bound document sleeve are long gone. Business plans are invaluable to the individual, but to the bank, they are a calculation alone.

My point being, sod the software. This decision will come down to how much private investment the OP is able to secure as deposit etc. The focus should be on making the figures work and stand up to attack.

 

[MArkStewart]

You may Want to make a comparison between Business Plan Pro and this project management tracker toolthat I've started using with my own business from ADDONX. If you are after organizing all your business details from the largest and even to the smallest, then I guess this could be a good option for you.