Each day, over 100 new business plans are launched by startups and established businesses. That’s a lot of plans to wade through. Question is, do you really know about the best business plan software? If you’re thinking about starting from scratch? Are you willing to spend money on a business plan software?
When writing a business plan, you will need help to save time and get better results. A lot of people tend to neglect this important aspect of the business plan writing process because it’s too complicated and boring. These software helps you develop a plan quickly and easily.
Bizplan
Best for startups looking to acquire funding or find investors.
Part of the Startups.com suite, Bizplan gets top marks for their user interface—it’s intuitive, easy to use, and modern. You’ll work with a step-by-step business plan builder to get exactly what you’d like from your business plan. It may remind you of a modern website builder, since it has drag-and-drop tools to build templates.
Moreover, for one subscription fee, you have access to all of the tools in the Startups.com network, including self-guided courses, how-to guides, masterclass videos, and more. All in all, with a direct connection to Fundable, Bizplan is a top business plan software option for startups looking to acquire funding and find investors.
Pros
- Subscription gives you access to all Startups.com tools
- Lifetime access subscription option
- User-friendly drag-and-drop business plan builder
- Excellent educational resources
- Connection to Fundable great for businesses looking for capital
Cons
- No free trial
- No templates based on industry
- No mobile access
Features
- Drag-and-drop templates for business plan building
- Financial command center to track all business financials in one place
- Unlimited account collaborators
- Ability to share business plan online with investors
- Online resources including self-guided courses, masterclass videos, how-to guides, mentorship access
- Unlimited software use for Fundable, Launchrock, and Startups.com
Pricing
- Monthly plan: $29 per month
- Annual plan: $20.75 per month, billed at $249 per year
- Lifetime access: $349 one-time fee
PlanGuru
Best for financial planning and budgeting.
Finally, for some of the strongest financial features among business plan software options, including budgeting and forecasting, you might check out PlanGuru. Whereas the other solutions we’ve reviewed were first and foremost focused on writing a business plan, PlanGuru is dedicated to business financial planning—providing the tools you need to create budgets, financial forecasts, reports, and more.
Therefore, if you need a software solution that can streamline the financial piece of your business planning processes, PlanGuru will certainly have the most to offer.
Pros
- Extensive financial tools and detailed forecasting, budgeting, and reporting capabilities
- Substantial library of resources
- Cloud-based and desktop options
- 14-day free trial and 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- Expensive, especially for additional users
- Only focuses on the financial aspect of business planning; no templates or tools for basic business plan writing
- Difficult to use without prior financial knowledge
Features
- Cloud-based version of software, as well as locally installed Windows version (desktop version has a few more features)
- Works with QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Excel
- Budgeting and forecasting for up to 10 years
- Over 20 standard forecasting methods
- Formula builder to create custom methods
- Ratios and KPIs
- Dashboard and reporting tools
- Help guides, video tutorials, knowledgebase, and live U.S.-based customer support
Pricing
- 14-day free trial
- $99 per month (additional users $29 per month)
- $899 per year (additional users $299 per year)
IdeaBuddy
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.
iPlanner
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
Wise Business Plans
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
LivePlan
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.
Features
- Ability to create an unlimited number of business plans on one account
- More than 500 business plan templates spanning various industries
- Integration with Xero and QuickBooks Online
- Real-time tracking of financial data with accounting integrations
- Ability to export your business plan to Word or PDF
- Expert advice and step-by-step instruction included
- Performance dashboards for tracking against budgets and sales goals
- Ability to create and export a one-page pitch executive summary
Pricing
- Annual plan: $15 per month, billed every 12 months
- Six-month plan: $18 per month, billed every six months
- Pay-as-you-go plan: $20 per month, billed once every month
GoSmallBiz
Best for multiple business management tools in one platform.
Next on our list of the best business plan software options is GoSmallBiz, which is much more than just a business plan software. With GoSmallBiz, you have access to business continuity planning software with features that cover creating a roadmap, working through business and legal forms, building a website, and more.
In this way, GoSmallBiz is great for startups or newer businesses looking to access multiple business management tools through one platform.
Pros
- Unlimited business consultation and extensive library of online resources
- Multiple business tools in one software
- Website consultation analysis and business assessment
- Industry-specific business plan templates with emphasis on financial projections and statements
Cons
- Expensive monthly cost compared to alternatives
- Limited business plan features
- Entire business plan can only be exported to Microsoft Word
- Outdated interface
Features
- Industry-specific business plan templates with step-by-step building wizard
- Ability to create financial statements and projections
- Free website hosting and website builder
- Customer relationship manager with integration with MailChimp
- Digital marketing dashboard with social media and Google Analytics integrations
- HR document builder
- Corporate minutes writer
- Business documents library
- Business courses library
- Unlimited business consultation
Pricing
- $39 per month, no contracts, free cancellation
Enloop
Best for simple, fast business plan creation.
If you’re looking for free business plan software, Enloop will be one of your closest options—they offer an all-inclusive seven-day free trial, no credit card required. Additionally, unlike some of the other options on our list, Enloop is strictly dedicated to business plan creation, including automated text writing, financial forecast comparisons, and a real-time performance score that tracks your progress.
This being said, if you’d prefer the most straightforward, fast, and simple way to write your business plan, Enloop will be a platform worth considering.
Pros
- Simple and straightforward software, solely dedicated to business plan creation
- Seven-day free trial
- Automatic text generation available to streamline the writing process
- Affordable plans with annual discount option
Cons
- Limited additional educational resources
- Only one template option
- No integration options
Features
- Ability to create three business plans with customizable text, images, tables, charts, and over 100 currency symbols and formats
- Includes automatic text generation for each plan section that you can then customize
- Automatically generated financial statements
- Includes financial performance comparison analysis (using three ratios with Detailed plan and 16 with Performance plan)
- Real-time performance score to track your progress
- Ability to invite users to edit (two with Detailed plan, five with Performance plan)
- Pass/fail report and certificate to help you identify issues with your plan
Pricing
- Free plan: Seven-day free trial with no credit card required
- Detailed plan: $19.95 per month or $11 per month, paid annually
- Performance plan: $39.95 per month, or $24 per month, paid annually
Conclusion
The best business plan writing software is what all small business owners prefer to use. To make it even easier to get started with creating your own top rated business plan, you should check out the free business plan software available on the market.