Business Plan Pro? For nearly a decade, Business Plan Pro has been the business world’s most popular business plan software (according to NPD Intelect, formerly PC Data), outselling all of its competitors combined, and it is regularly on Amazon’s top 10 list of best-selling business software.
- Business Plan Pro? For nearly a decade, Business Plan Pro has been the business world’s most popular business plan software (according to NPD Intelect, formerly PC Data), outselling all of its competitors combined, and it is regularly on Amazon’s top 10 list of best-selling business software.
- Gir.ticaret.edu.tr This is another free business plan template for Mac. You can find details such as vision, plan, and a small summary of your company here. 850+ FREE & PRO Ready-Made Plan. Professionally Made, Easily Editable Templates to Get your Work Done Faster & Smarter.
- Palo Alto Software builds the world's leading business plan software, plus tools that help teams manage shared email inboxes. We're the makers of LivePlan, Outpost, and Business Plan Pro.
- Business plan templates offer step-by-step instructions and prefabricated slides for your executive summary, company overview, financial plan, and more. You’ll even find a business plan template for specific industries including business plan templates in Word for healthcare providers, professional services, and retail.
1. LivePlan - $20 to $30/month
We love LivePlan overall because it offers great value at an affordable cost. The software lets you quickly create business plans from anywhere in the world using what is arguably the best business plan software available on the market. It does everything better than its competition and costs way less.
What’s more, the online “cloud-based” platform is easy to use and you are under no contract or obligation to keep paying for the service. Even better, if you decide to stop service for whatever reason, Palo Alto Software, the makers of LivePlan, will keep your account active and business plan data preserved for at least a year should you decide to reactivate your account later.
Features:
- Create an unlimited number of business plans
- A forecast feature for those less mathematically inclined. Plug in data, and it will generate charts, graphs, figures, and even the profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow documents for your business plan
- 500+ business plan templates spanning all major industries
- Xero and QuickBooks integration
- Real-time financial data tracking
- Export your business plan to Word or PDF
- Step-by-step instruction and expert advice included
- Performance dashboards track sales and budgeting
- Create one-page pitch plans for investors
- Milestone scheduling feature — Some people will use it when working with others on their plan; it will let you assign milestones to people.
Pros:
- Free trial
- Low-cost annual plans
- Affordable pay-as-you-go plans
- No contracts
- No cancellation fees
- Reactivate anytime
- Business plan data saved for 12-months, even after cancellation
- Clean, modern platform
- Cloud-based; works on any business machine (Linus, Windows, Mac)
- Create unlimited business plans
- Access to over 500 business plan templates
- Integrates with Quickbooks and Xero to import your data easily
- Knowledgeable customer support to get help with your plan
Cons:
- No valuation capabilities
Templates built on Palo Alto Software’s earlier software Business Plan Pro require some modifications to be used on LivePlan
Insider Information:
Talking to the nice people at LivePlan we learned some inside information that we wanted to share with our readers.
Here's what we learned:
- LivePlan has been used by contestants on ABC's hit show 'Shark Tank' to win over angel investors to help them get their ideas and businesses funded.
- LivePlan makes business plans for those who don’t want to create them themselves.
- Accountants use LivePlan as an added-value service to sell to their clients.
- Businesses continue using LivePlan because of a feature called “Dashboard” which lets you manually enter your actuals or pull actuals from Quickbooks online to do comparative forecasting and analysis.
- LivePlan helps with business continuity planning (BCP).
- LivePlan executives use LivePlan to make important business decisions.
- 'Dashboard' does profit and loss, cash flow, and balance sheet reports and lets you compare and contrast your actuals from your forecasts to be able to show to investors.
- LivePlan lets you create business plans in 1/5th the time it takes using templates.
Customer Reviews:
LivePlan receives great feedback from customers. LivePlan reviews average 4.6 stars out of 5 on GetApp. LivePlan is an easy company for us to recommend for the best business plan software.
2. Bizplan - $29/month, $249/year, $349 lifetime
Bizplan rates high on our list because they offer a lifetime plan that gets you 'forever access' to their business plan software. As an added bonus, you also receive free access to Startup Courses and LaunchRock, a landing page builder.
Features:
- Easy, 'fill-in-the-blanks' plan builder
- Publish your business plan online
- Unlimited business plans
- Bizplan takes care of the financials
- Cloud-based (use any browser on any computer)
- Unlimited tables
- Unlimited sections
- Options to add more graphics and photos
- Export to PDF
- Currently integrates with Xero accounting software
- QuickBooks integration in the works
Pros:
- Inexpensive lifetime plan
- Low-cost yearly plans
- Affordable pay-as-you-go plans
- No contracts
- No cancellation fees
- Clean platform
- Cloud-based; works on any business machine (Linus, Windows, Mac)
- Create unlimited business plans
- Xero to import your data easily
- Excellent and responsive customer support (email/chat/phone)
- Free access to Startup.com and LaunchRock.com
- Discount at Fundable.com (connect with lenders and investors)
Cons:
- No valuation capabilities
- Can't export in Word
- Doesn't currently integrate with QuickBooks
- No free trial
- No third-party app integrations
Insider Information:
Talking with BizPlan insiders, we learned that the premise behind BizPlan is to help startups easily create professional business plans to give them a leg-up with lenders and investors.
Here's what else we learned:
- BizPlan's does all your financial calculations for you.
- BizPlan strives to be an all-in-one solution for Startups needing funding.
- BizPlan is constantly making improvements to its software.
Customer Reviews:
BizPlan receives great feedback from customers. BizPlan reviews average 4.4 stars out of 5 on GetApp. Still a relatively new option, BizPlan already has over 30,000 satisfied customers. As their platform grows, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them integrate even more valuable features. Keep a close eye on this one.
3. Enloop - Free to $39.95/month
If you’re looking to try before you buy, Enloop is a strong choice as one of the only business planning software tools with a free trial.
Features:
- User-friendly platform
- Compare your financials against your industry's performance
- Bank ready financial statements (Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash flow)
- Enloop's business plan software lets multiple team members work on a business plan
- 36-Month detailed financial reports
- Sync date and text into your business plan
- Real-time performance rating
- Financial projections
- Generated business plan Pass/Fail report
- Colored charts
- Multiple currency formatting
- Enloop's performance rating score
- Customizable sample plans
- Write a business plan fast with auto writing feature
Pros:
- Seven-day free trial (no credit card required)
- Video tutorials to help you with business plan writing
- Low-cost yearly plans
- Affordable pay-as-you-go plans
- Advanced financial ratios
- Financial projections
- No contracts
- No cancellation fees
- Cloud-based; works on any business machine (Linus, Windows, Mac)
Cons:
- No phone or chat support, just a 'contact us' form.
- No valuation capabilities
- Three business plan limit per account
- Doesn't integrate with QuickBooks or Xero
- No third-party app integrations
- No financial forecasts beyond 36-months
- No 30-day money-back guarantee
Insider Information:
We learned that the premise behind Enloop is to make business planning easier for entrepreneurs. Enloop achieves this by making plan software easy to navigate through and takes risks off the table with their no credit card needed seven-day free trial. Their business plan creation software offers financial forecasting for up to 36 months.
Here's what else we learned:
- Enloop utilizes 16 financial ratios to get your business ready for investors.
- Enloop offers some sample business plans that are easy to modify.
- Enloop's performance score increases as you create your detailed plan.
- A new business or small businesses benefit the most from Enloop's solutions.
- The process of creating an Enloop business plan is relatively straightforward.
Customer Reviews:
Enloop receives fair feedback from customers. Enloop's reviews average 3 stars out of 5 on PCMag. Enloop's main complaint is its lack of instructional text for writing mission statements and other key sections of a business plan. What they rank high on is their efficiency and the speed at which the software lets you write a business plan.
Even beyond the free version, Enloop Basic is just $9.95/month ($6/month when paid annually), so they’re one of the least expensive tools for writing a business plan.
4. PlanGuru - $99/month or $899/year
PlanGuru is a good option if you’re looking for considerably more robust software that offers quite a bit more. The most notable feature we like is the valuation tool, only present on the desktop version of the software. PlanGuru lets you calculate the valuation of your business using three different methods. No other business plan software offers this that we know of.
Business Plan Template Mac
PlanGuru also offers budgeting, forecasting, and performance tools to help you put together a business plan. In the main, PlanGuru allows you to get a custom-tailored three financial statement budget model up and running out of QuickBooks or Xero in a matter of minutes. PlanGuru's business plan writing software takes you through a setup process where it asks you questions such as:
- What's the first month of your fiscal year?
- How many historical years do you want to import?
And, once you answer these questions, PlanGuru then generates a model for you that you can then populate with your historical data if you have it. Then you can go through PlanGuru's 20+ projection methods.
Some financial data projection methods include:
- Revenues
- Expenses, like payroll, etc.
- Balance sheet items, like accounts receivable, accounts payable, crude expenses, prepaid expenses, loans, etc.
These are only a few of the features the business plan software offers. Here are some more.
Features:
- Budgeting/Forecasting Software
- Analytics Service for Financial Performance & KPIs
- Excel-based Advanced Report Builder
- User-friendly platform
- Compare your financials against your industry's performance
- Bank ready financial statements (Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash flow)
- PlanGuru's business plan software lets multiple team members work on a business plan
- Valuation calculations (desktop software only)
- Financial projections
- Colored charts, graphs, tables
- Ongoing support and free updates
- Huge library of resources
- Desktop and cloud-based options
- Free 14-day trial and 30-day money-back guarantee
Pros:
- Great customer support and knowledgeable sales staff
- Lower-cost yearly plans offered
- Pay-as-you-go plans offered
- Advanced financial calculations
- Financial projections
- Business valuation calculations
- Unlimited business plans
- No contracts
- Integrates with QuickBooks and Xero
- No cancellation fees
- Desktop software option
- Cloud-based software option
- Excellent and responsive customer support (email/chat/phone)
Cons:
- Costlier than LivePlan and most other business plan software options
- Additional cost per user can add up quickly
Insider Information:
The great thing about PlanGuru is that the only thing you have to worry about is the income statement and balance sheet projections because the cash flow statement is automatically generated.
Then once you have the cash flow statement, income statement, and balance sheet in place, you can then lock down the budget.
Here's what else we learned:
- PlanGuru's desktop version has three different types of valuation methods that calculate the worth of your business.
- PlanGuru has some really nice reporting tools that pull together your financial statements into table formats, say, for the bank, line-by-line.
- PlanGuru also has some nice charts, graphs, scorecards, and some easily digestible reports that can help you visualize how your company is performing.
- PlanGuru business plan software exports to Excel, PDF, and Word documents --and, there's even a tool that lets you create customized reports.
- You can print your business plan off too to show partners, lenders, and investors.
- PlanGuru now offers a cloud-based version of its software, though it will take some time to catch up to the rich features offered by the current desktop software version.
- With PlanGuru you also get free updates, bug fixes, and new releases as they become available.
Important Note: These tools are important because investors may want to see not only historical performance but also projections.
5. IdeaBuddy - $15 to $45/month
IdeaBuddy makes our list because of what's behind their approach. IdeaBuddy focuses on helping entrepreneurs develop their idea first, then share it, and then refine it into a plan. If you have a business idea and don't know what to do next, IdeaBuddy could be what you're looking for in a business plan software.
Features:
- Single-page business plan pitch (Idea plan)
- Clean modern design platform combined with great financial tools
- Business guide
- Financial plan
- Business plan
- Marketing plan for selling and promoting your products
- Market overview plan where you create targeted customer profiles, identify your competition and calculate the market potential.
- Create a financial plan to learn how much you need to get started.
- Business plan creation that includes forecasting performance and cash flow projections.
- A proprietary algorithm calculates a final score for your idea providing recommendations for improvement after you complete 'Story Mode.'
- Idea Journal, that is an internal business plan for you to show potential investors.
- A 15-day free trial, no credit card needed.
Pros:
- A lifetime plan costs only $178
- Great for developing ideas
- Great for doing market research
- Lower-cost yearly plans offered
- Pay-as-you-go plans offered
- No contracts
- No cancellation fees
- Cloud-based software option
- Excellent and responsive customer support (email/chat/phone)
Cons:
- Email-only customer service
- Software lag time issues
- Fewer software options than most other small business options
Insider Information:
IdeaBuddy has some great features that are fantastic from idea conceptualization down to cost projections and the laying out of steps to take to start a business. We would have liked, however, to been given more KPIs that would notify us of tasks, help with idea validation, and help us measure other objectives to better monitor the health of our business. Another thing lacking was the design of the finished business plan--it contained some noticeable structural issues.
Customer Reviews:
IdeaBuddy has received some outstanding customer reviews on GetApp. IdeaBuddy has earned a 4.6-star rating out of 5 possible stars.
6. iPlanner - $49 to $55/year
Easily the least expensive of all the major business planning software tools, iPlanner allows you to build a professional business plan for just a few dollars a month. They still have some quality features as well:
Features:
- Unlimited Team Members & Collaboration
- A La Carte Pricing Model vs Packages
- Discounts for Serial Entrepreneurs & Business Coaches
Pros:
- Experience: iPlanner has been in the business planning game since 2007, so they’ve got a solid amount of industry knowledge and experience.
- Options: They’ve got two trademarked business planning services, Startup Framework™ and Strategy Designer™. This can be confusing when you’re navigating their site – to be honest, I got a bit lost myself – but it’s good to have options, right?
- Unlimited Users: All of their business planning packages allow you to have unlimited collaborators and assign people three different roles: Project Owners, Advisors, and Viewers.
- Cost: iPlanner’s rates start at only $49/year, which is much cheaper than many comparable services on the market.
- Modeling Capability: Their Startup Framework software has a business modeling section where you can design a business model canvas and strategize as much as you need before diving into your business plan.
Cons:
- Commitment: iPlanner doesn’t have a month-to-month option for either of their services. Their Strategy Designer is payable only annually, while their Startup
- Framework is available for 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month payments. They also don’t offer refunds, which is a bummer since you’re locked into committing to a minimum of 3 months of their services.
- Clunky: Their website is pretty old school and tough to navigate. For example, initially, we found it difficult to find the checkout page for the Startup Framework software. Their Strategic Designer page is a bit better, but still not super sophisticated.
- Trial: Unlike other business planning software, iPlanner doesn’t offer a free version or trial. However, you can take a tour of their Startup Framework software or view a demo of the Strategy Designer to get a feel for them.
- No refunds
iPlanner's Business Planning Software
If a simple framework is all you’re looking for, iPlanner can help you out. They don’t have many bells and whistles, but at these price points, they offer a good value.
7. Wise Business Plans - $98/diy plan or 1,800 - $5,000/custom plan
Wise business plans website is a little confusing to navigate, and pricing is by request only, which can get frustrating. They do have a lot of options for different kinds of business plans for various types of business types, which makes them versatile. They also have business building and funding options as well. And, if you wish to establish business credit, they offer net-30 accounts that get reported to Equifax business.
Features:
- Customer business plans starting at $1,800
- Claim to be the only business plan company to write for Fortune 100 and 500 companies
- Business formation services
- Business license searches
- EIN services
- Digital marketing services
- Business website design and branding
- Business education services
Pros:
- Has a lot of helpful information
- Helpful options for forming your business
- Options to help after you start your business
- Helps new businesses establish business credit
- Business formation services
Cons:
- Not an actual business plan software
- Expensive by comparison
- Website is difficult to navigate
- Pricing is by request only
- Limited products and features
- Turnaround is one month
- Requires some work on your end
Business Plan Software Pros and Cons
Business Plan Software Pros
- By using business plan software, you’ll be able to create a solid outline for your business. Although some of the options above are better than others, each will walk you through from start to finish.
- No matter how you look at it, business planning software is cost-effective. As long as you actually use the tool, you’ll generate significantly more value than you’re spending on monthly subscription fees.
- If you spend the time to create a solid business plan, you’re much more likely to hold yourself accountable. Think of planning software like an accountability buddy for entrepreneurship.
- Your business plan tool will help set realistic financial goals, and most can also keep your bottom line in check by integrating your accounting software.
- Business planning software enables you to collaborate with partners, mentors and investors.
Business Plan Software Cons
- Some of the business plan tools don’t offer support and can have slightly buggy features. That said, if you’re serious about writing a solid business plan, go with a tool that’s constantly updated and well made.
- Although some business plan tools have a collaboration feature, none of them can review the plan when you’re done. All business planning tools lack a human touch.
Which is the Best Business Plan Software?
You know the unique requirements of your business better than we do. These are all quality services that offer business planning software tools for entrepreneurs like you. Feel free to read over our full reviews if you’d like to know more about any of them or even visit the websites directly.
In general, we do prefer LivePlan because they have a huge library of business plan templates, and we love their convenient dashboard. They're the planning software that is most likely to help you via customer support, continue updating their tool and figure our ways to make your business experience better. Enjoy!
What is the best business plan software?
You know the unique requirements of your business better than we do. These are all quality services that offer business plan software tools for entrepreneurs like you. Read over our full reviews if you’d like to know more about any of the best business plan software or visit their websites directly.
In general, we prefer LivePlan because they have a huge library of business plan templates, and we love their convenient dashboard. They're the planning software that is most likely to help you via customer support, continue updating their tool and figure out ways to make your business experience better.
What does business plan software do?
Business plan software helps entrepreneurs organize their business ideas, map out their business, factor in several variables, and in the end, come up with a working business plan that can help fund a business.
What is Palo Alto Software?
Palo Alto Software is a company that's been around since the late 1980s. They created business management software for startups and existing businesses. The software has since been updated and rebranded as LivePlan and today happens to be one of the most sought-after business plan software available in the marketplace.