Best Software for Business Plan

What software should you use to complete your business plan? There are plenty of packages out there, but not all of them are right for you. This article breaks down the best software for preparing your business plan.

What is a Business Plan Software?

Many people have come up with amazing ideas over the centuries, but you will find that not everyone has managed to convert these ideas into a valued business.

Why is that so?

The fact is, converting a great idea into a legitimate and convincing business plan is not as easy as one would hope.

It is a mammoth undertaking to create a plan to get your business started, funded, and generating revenue for the business to take off. That is where business plan software comes into play.

A business plan software aims to help you write a business plan that will help you obtain business capital or business loans.

The software is usually aimed at helping entrepreneurs, business developers, and start-ups.

The Criteria for Choosing Our Top Picks

Narrowing down our list to just the top business plan software available was quite a feat, what with there being so many to choose from.

After much research, review, and consideration we managed to limit the list to just the cream of the crop. You may as well label them as ‘crème de la crème.’

Our picks are based on the following criteria:

The number of features that each software has to offer
Whether the software is easy to use and user-friendly?
Pricing: We tried to incorporate software ranging in different price points
Reviews of the software from other users
The customer support that the software developers offer

Best Business Plan Software

Without further ado, let’s get into our top picks for the best business plan software.

We will go over each tool in detail and discuss its prominent features and the pricing plans available.

However, if you wish to simply go over each in a glance, scroll down below for a concise comparison of all the tools we picked in our overview table.

Let’s get to it.

1. nTask – Best Business Planning and Management Software

nTask goes beyond the typical business planning by several huge strides.

Yes, you can plan your business or whatever project you are working on, but the best part comes in bursts of nTask robust planning features.

So, saying that nTask is merely a business planning software would be an understatement. The program was developed to help project managers, home users, contractors, and MNCs with their daily workflow activities.

To that end, this tool is doing an amazing job. Top it all off with competitive pricing and a visual Gantt Chart feature that you can interact with for timeline management and create task dependencies. You can also create multiple workspaces in nTask to streamline different projects simultaneously.

nTask Features:

Multitasking by managing multiple workspaces, projects and teams on one app
Project Collaboration: Multi-user management and real-time team collaboration
Task Management: Users can create, organize, assign and manage unlimited tasks using nTask app.
Issue tracking and management
Risk assessment matrix implementation
Timesheets and various other time tracking modules
Budget Tracking: Billing system (billable & non-billable projects), budget management and financial summary
Gantt Charts: Ability to show business and project progress through interactive Gantt charts
Ability to invite stakeholders to view your projects/ businesses
3^rd party app integrations such as Zapier, Zoom, Slack, Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar.

nTask Pros:

Ability to bring all business teams in one loop.
Business meeting management features
Complete project management suite

nTask Cons:

No templates available for now
No mind mapping features

Pricing:

Basic free plan
Premium plan starts at $2.99 per user/ per month.
nTask Business starts at $7.99 per user/ per month.

nTask is one of the Best Business Planning App.Manage all your tasks, projects, collaboration, timesheets and more in one place. Sign up today!
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2. Enloop – Automatically write business plans online.

Enloop is a cloud-based business plan software.

With almost 300,000 users, it is a great option to consider if you want a software that helps you create a plan catered to a bank or an investor in a short amount of time.

With a load of valuable features, Enloop is a tool that can help make the process of making a convincing plan easier and faster.

Enloop Features:

AutoWrite and TextSync feature automatically generate basic customized text for your business plan, including 10 of the main sections for any impressive plan.
Forecast Modules in Enloop allows you to create a business plan based on one of two different forecast modules. You can choose from an annual or 36-month option, that provides a profit and loss forecast, balance sheet forecast, and cash flow forecast.
Financial projections in Enloop allow you to include in your business plan how your business will perform from a financial standpoint.

The tool gathers personal financial information and alongside financial data in the industry. Such features reportedly help to create financial reports and ratios that can be analyzed and used in your plan.

Enloop Pros:

Enloop provides great automation for a range of data
Along with Auto Write features, Enloop allows multiple customizable options

Enloop Cons:

You can only reach their customer support through an online form. Therefore they may not be as easy to reach as other options
Certain fields of data required to be filled do not provide enough data to properly understand how to do it

Enloop Pricing Plans:

A detailed plan for $19.95/month
Performance plan for $39.95/month

3.ProofHub – Complete Business Planning And Collaboration Software

ProofHub is a robust award-winning business planning software with project management and collaboration features included.

ProofHub is used by more than 85,000+ teams and businesses from all over the world for planning their projects and keeping track of everything. Along with project planning, ProofHub has got amazing team collaboration tools as well. It brings all your teams, projects, and communications together to keep things centralized and secure.

ProofHub Features

You can use existing project templates or create new ones.
Gantt charts to boost your project planning efforts with features like project timelines, task dependencies and more.
Effectively manage teams with its powerful task management features. You can create custom workflows using kanban boards or use tasks lists for managing simple tasks.
An in-built chat tool for communicating with team members, and a dedicated space to carry out real-time discussions.
Comes with a reporting tool, in which you get project and resource reports for effectively managing your resources and planning your projects.
Integrates with third-party apps like Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Freshbooks and more to give you a central place to access all your favorite tools.

ProofHub Pros

All-in-one tool for planning your projects, collaborating with teams, and keeping your work organized
Has a free trial, and paid plans includes unlimited users and projects

ProofHub Cons

Limited third-party integrations

ProofHub Pricing Plans

Essential plan available at $45/month (billed annually)
Ultimate control plan available at $89/month (billed annually) with unlimited users and projects

4. Bizplan- Build your plan and grow your business

Bizplan helps with your presentation for your business plan. The software incorporates functionality and refined visuals into your plans to make it more memorable.

Bizplan helps you create business plans that are catered to attracting investors and thus be able to acquire finances for your business.

Bizplan Features:

Financial projections allow you to incorporate and present a solid financial case for your business idea.
Bizplan uses your financial data and provides you with the option to create a range of reports that you can analyze according to either month, quarter or year and allows you to download it to add to your presentation.
Bizplan’s Step-by-step builder feature walks you through creating a business plan in an easy to follow manner.
Progress tracker tool allows you to understand how much of your business plan is complete, ensuring that you stay on top of your creation and do not miss out on anything important.
Templates in Bizplan lets you add elements that include market size and charts, content, advantages, team, reports, and problems.

Bizplan Pros:

Assistance is available in Bizplan with easy to follow video lessons.
Completion is made easy with templates to facilitate your creation

Bizplan Cons:

There is no free trial in Bizplan, so you don’t have an option to see if the tool is right for you before you purchase it
Customer support is not provided through a traditional phone call but rather a skype call, that may be of no use to some. There is however an option of live chat which is pretty useful.

Bizplan Pricing:

Annual plan for $20.75/month
Monthly plan for $29/month
Lifetime access for $349/month

5. LivePlan – A business plan software with performance tracking

Palo Alto Software’s LivePlan has been in the market for a while and there is a reason that many people still choose it as the best option available.

The software is a complete business planning tool and is loaded with customizable features along with learning resources and online help.

LivePlan Features:

Financial forecasting features in LivePlan include walking you through each piece of financial data that will allow you to include all important data in your projection. You can create annual and monthly budgets with this feature.
With the Charts and graphs tool in LivePlan, you can convert your financial data into more appealing visual aids.
LivePlan offers more than 500 Templates, making it one of the top software in this area. Templates can be used as a guide for your own content or used as is with the specific language already included.
LivePlan shows you how your financial projections compare to industry benchmarks that can be used in your business plan.

LivePlan Pros:

Includes 500 templates and loads of sample plans
The interface is attractive and user-friendly

LivePlan Cons:

No free trial version for evaluation purposes
Includes limited third-party integrations

LivePlan Pricing:

Annual plan for $15/month billed every 12 months
6-month plan for $18/month billed every 6 months
Pay as you go option for $20/month, billed once every month

6. GoSmallBiz – The tool that provides everything your small business needs

GoSmallBiz is a user-friendly business planning application that provides step-by-step templates with built-in advice modules.

Founded by Fran Tarkenton, GoSmallBiz allows you to create the exact documents you need as a business owner.

GoSmallBiz Features:

GoSmallBiz’s step-by-step wizard walks you through each step of creating a great business plan.
GoSmallBiz provides everything you need to create financial statements through the financial projection
Create a wide range of reports based on the financial data you input for your business plan giving you an attractive visual aid to bring more attention to your plan.
Templates give you a starting point to work off of, to help you with the process of creating a business plan.

GoSmallBiz Pros:

Mentoring and business consultations
30-day money-back guarantee

GoSmallBiz Cons:

Only exports to PDF formats and Microsoft Word
Each subscription is limited to two licenses

GoSmallBiz Pricing:

GoSmallBiz provides a single pricing plan for $39/month that you can cancel anytime.

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7. PlanGuru – A leading business planning software

PlanGuru is one of the leading forecasting and budgeting software available. Therefore, it can be seen more as a financial reporting software than a business plan creator.

However, the features offered in PlanGuru have made it land a place in the list of our top picks.

PlanGuru Features:

PlanGuru provides tools for financial tools, forecasts, and calculations, allowing you to build an array of analysis reports for your company
PlanGuru provides in-built video tutorials to help you navigate not just the software, but also the creation of your business plan
PlanGuru provides you with the ability to export reports to Excel, Word, and PDF.

PlanGuru Pros:

Provides links to analytics add-ons
QuickBooks support is available

PlanGuru Cons:

Does not provide sample business plans for you to use
Does not provide the option to take a free trial

PlanGuru Pricing:

PlanGuru App for $99/month or $899/year
PlanGuru Desktop for $99/month or $899/year

8. BizPlanBuilder – The “practical and tactical” business-building roadmap and investor proposal

For over 30 years, BizPlanBuilder has been formally known as JIAN. They later transitioned to a different brand name.

Regardless, the tool is great no matter whether you are looking to create a growth strategy plan or a fundraising one.

BizPlanBuilder Features:

Whenever you start a new portion of your business plan, BizPlanBuilder provides an explanation tab and video for your education and guidance.
BizPlanBuilder provides a Business plan workshop to help you understand what investors are in search of.
Dozens of templates to choose from to get your business plan off the ground.
Provides you with the ability to create a pitch deck.
Ability to create a 5- or 10-year financial model.

BizPlanBuilder Pros:

Predefined text for each section of your business plan is available
A variety of templates available to choose from

BizPlanBuilder Cons:

Dependent on Microsoft Office to run
Often viewed as a time-intensive program to use

BizPlanBuilder Pricing:

Free guest account option
Subscription for everything at $97/month
Strategic planning, start-ups, and growth funding $27/month
Employee policies and procedures $47/month
Marketing, PR, sales and, social media $37/month

9. IdeaBuddy – A tool to plan and develop a business model

IdeaBuddy is an innovative business planning software that helps you plan out your business from the initial idea to an investor-ready business plan.

With IdeaBuddy aspiring entrepreneurs can develop their ideas, create a business model, validate a business concept, and get an impressive business plan. It all comes with a business guide that helps them understand the planning process better and makes sure they thought about everything.

IdeaBuddy Features:

Idea Plan helps you sketch out your business quickly. It’s their own business canvas that helps you build a business model by posting idea notes until you’ve covered all your business elements.
Business Guide is a step-by-step guide that takes you through the five stages of the business planning process. All along the way, you can consult guides and tips that will help you plan out each stage to perfection.
Financial Plan helps you get financials as accurate as possible without you having to do the boring maths yourself.
Business Plan is created automatically as you finish planning out each stage of your business. This way, you get a great, customizable business plan, without having to do it twice.
Financial forecasting features in LivePlan include walking you through each piece of financial data that will allow you to include all important data in your projection. You can create annual and monthly budgets with this feature.
IdeaBuddy is offering templates for different kinds of businesses that can help you pan out your business faster.

IdeaBuddy Pros:

Attractive visual appearance
Innovative step-by-step business guide
Idea templates

IdeaBuddy Cons:

Limited features in the free trial
Some of the features are ‘coming soon’

IdeaBuddy Pricing:

Dreamer plan – $15 per month or $45 per year
Founder plan – $25 per month or $85 per year
Team plan – $55 per month or $245 per year
Lifetime plan – $155, one-time payment

10. Cuttles – Startup Idea Building

Cuttles is SaaS’ing up business planning with an educational and interactive platform that makes it’s simpler, faster, and more impactful than ever to plan and start a startup. This tool can help you make beautiful presentations and help you share the information with investors and stakeholders in a better way.

Using this application, you can create your business plan in minutes and present the business financials too.

Cuttles Features:

Validate your idea and create your business canvas with Cuttles’ guided Pitch feature. Convince investors, your team, and future customers to get on board with a modern and beautiful presentation of your business idea.
With Cuttles’ guided and powerful user-friendly editor you can create a best-practice, personalized, and amazing-looking business plan in no time that your stakeholders will love! Plan and structure your work to stay on course – even in wild waters. Set milestones and tasks, prioritize what to build, monitor your progress.
Have all your key financials at hand to keep track of and update your stakeholders. We’ve made it “click-easy” to make budgets, do revenue projections, and keep track of your runway at all times.
Showcase your team and equity. Always have a clear and convincing presentation of ownership and your most important assets: The employees, co-founders, advisors, investors – and you of course.
Present everything of the above to anyone – simpler, faster, in your brand design.

Cuttles Pros:

Great in-app guides and help
Awesome budgeting and runway feature
Beautiful app and very user-friendly

Cuttles Cons:

Needs more customization
Only available in English

Cuttles Pricing:

Dreamer Plan- For the entrepreneur with a great business idea (€15/month)
Startup Plan- For startups working together to bring one business idea to life (€30/month)
Unlimited Plan- For entrepreneurs and startups with more ideas to pursue (€50/month)

11. EquityNet – EquityNet A Leading Business Funding Platform

EquityNet is a versatile platform that is not simply limited to creating business plans. The tool offers functionality and features to help you whether you are looking to find investors or looking to invest.

The platform is a great tool to help any startup or business get the funding they are after.

EquityNet Features:

Newsletter system allows you to easily get in touch with users of the platform
Email notifications and app alerts keep you up to date with account activities
Payment gateway integrations to help with investments
Captcha enabled signups forms to avoid spam and fake signups
Progress meters help you visualize how each of your campaigns is progressing at first glance
Secure and multi-layer platform to protect against hacks and other vulnerabilities

EquityNet Pros:

The tool offers a specific set of features to help those looking for investors for their business and help make effective business plans to get your business running at its best.

EquityNet Cons:

The tool functions on a crowdfunding framework which means that your investments will come from individuals and people that you do not know of.
EquityNet is a complex tool with a wide range of features and functionalities and therefore may not be the right choice if you are after a simple business plan software.

EquityNet Pricing:

For pricing details contact the provider.

Honorable Mentions

During our time testing and research, certain tools did not make it to the list but still deserve to be considered.

1. Wise Business Plans:

With Wise Business Plans you can take the help of the range of templates available to you, to create your business plan. Although the templates are particularly tailored to funding, they are still useful no matter what type of business plan you are trying to create.

2. Business Plan Pro:

Business plan pro came up quite often when looking over reviews and made us want to check it out too. There is a variety of templates and plans to choose from helping you start your business plan, but then further for planning financials and consultancy services so you do get to know everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a business continuity planning software?

Business continuity planning software is a program aimed at making business continuity planning metrics, processes, and compliance more efficient.

This type of software helps businesses to update or create recovery plans, identify gaps in business continuity management, and conduct business-impact analyses.

2. What is some free business plan software?

Sometimes, the budget is limited and therefore you want to consider some free options for creating your business plan.

One such option is what we listed above which is BizPlanBuilder that provides a free plan for your business plan creating needs.

Other such software includes 123Bizplan and Poindexter.

Other business plan software to consider

HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN

A business plan is essentially your roadmap to profitability from an initial investment. Whether it’s your own money, or a loan from a bank, it’s still a good idea to set up a business plan for yourself.

Main things to look to are a SWOT analysis to provide an idea of your business idea’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as identify a unique selling point (USP) that will give your business an edge.

While business plans inevitably demand the use of figures, and while these can be impossible to be accurate with, at least by making intelligent guesses you can set yourself targets to work towards.

That’s another common feature of a plan, so that specific periods you can review your business progress and make adjustments to your plan as required. This allows you to use real figures for your projections, allowing you to better plan ahead.

We’ve only covered some of the most popular business plan software platforms out there, but there are a number of other notables worth mentioning, plus a wide variety of providers of business plan templates. Below we’ll briefly cover a range of some of the additional options out there that are worth considering to get your business plan right.

Go Business Plans is more of a consultancy than a software solution, but is worth mentioning for the simple fact that it’s one of America’s biggest business plan companies. While software might be able to do the job for you, if you’re looking for significant funding, it’s probably useful to get some professional advice, not least in terms of strategic planning, feasibility studies, and financial projections to ensure you have a solid base for your business plan.

Wise Business Plans provides a very wide range of templates to work from in constructing a business plan. These are particularly designed with funding in mind, no matter what kind of business you run. What is especially helpful is that Wise doesn’t simply deal with business plan templates for a diverse range of business types, the company also provides plan templates for franchises and non-profits.Advertisement

Plan Writers is another bespoke service that essentially listens to what you want and then puts the plan together for you. Again, this technically falls outside of business plan “software”, but the chances are you’ll use a software package as a platform to build from, and Plan Writers can then help you build up from that base.

Business Plan Pro really is a business plan software platform, and one of the biggest selling ones over the past decade. What works particularly well here is that there are a huge number of plans and templates to start from, with additional support for planning financials and consultancy services on top, if required. The company also provides customers with access to a number of books and survey data sets, which offers additional value to the product.

Bplans is another provider of business plan templates, but goes beyond that with additional pitch and SWOT analysis templates. There are also business plan guides, industry reports, and a free course on writing a business plan. Bplans also publishes a lot of free-to-use articles on business planning, financials, and tax reporting, to help ensure you can keep your figures and projections accurate and compliant.

Conclusion

A successful business journey journey doesn’t begin without a strong foundation. The right software will allow you to create a solid foundation for future success. What are the best business plan software?