If you are considering starting a new business or expanding an existing one, you are going to need a business plan. A business plan is basically a set of instructions on how you intend to grow your company and make it profitable. You may be worried about creating a business plan yourself, but that is not necessary. There are many business plan software programs out there that can help you create the perfect plan for your company.
Business plan software is important if a startup wants to create professional business plans. Best Business Plan Software for startups has to be easy to use and have reasonable price. There are loads of business plan software online but choosing the right one gets tricky. Here is list of best business plan software for new businesses and startups.
LivePlan
LivePlan has been our favorite business plan software for a while now, despite the stiff competition.
There’s a lot to like about LivePlan. It has pretty much all the features you could want from your business plan software. LivePlan gives you step-by-step instructions for writing your plan, helps you create financial reports, lets you compare your business’s actual financials to your plan’s goals, and much more. And if you ever need inspiration, it includes hundreds of sample business plans that can guide your writing.
LivePlan software pricing
| Plan name | Annual pricing | Monthly pricing | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $15.00/mo. | $20.00/mo. | View Plans |
| Premium | $40.00/mo. | $30.00/mo. | View Plans |
Data as of 12/21/21. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
But the best part? You get all that (and more) at a very competitive price. (You can choose from annual, six-month, or monthly billing.) While LivePlan isn’t quite the cheapest business plan builder out there, it’s not too far off either. And if comes with a 60-day money back guarantee. So there’s no risk in trying LivePlan out for yourself.
With a great balance of features and cost, LivePlan offers the best business plan solution for most businesses.
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
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.
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.
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.
Conclusion:
Creating a business plan is a tedious job. You can choose from best business plan software or use free business plan creator software. You will have a choice between dozens of options, so it can be overwhelming to find the best option. Find out what you need to consider!