Free Software for Small Businesses
Have you ever dreamed of starting a business of your own? Would you like a little free assistance? And are you willing to pay for more detailed help?
If the answers are yes, here are some computer programs to interest you. As is common with special-purpose software, you won’t find any of them in stores, but they can be ordered through toll-free telephone calls.
The nonprofit National Business Assn., headquartered in Dallas, (800) 456-0440, offers a free computer program called “First Step Review” to help assess your chances of obtaining a U.S. Small Business Administration-guaranteed loan. Versions are available for both IBM compatible and Macintosh computers.
Additionally, the NBA has two other programs, tested and approved by the SBA, to help you produce the financial forms needed to apply for a loan. “Projected Profit or Loss Statement” and “Cash Flow Analysis” are just $5 each, including shipping.
A fourth program to round out the process, “Business Plan,” is in the testing phase now and should be available by spring, also for $5.
At $195, “Loan Express” from ValuSource in San Diego, (800) 825-8763, is more of an investment, but it does more than the low-cost software. It is designed to help you prepare an application for virtually any kind of funding.
Then there is “Venture-The Entrepreneur’s Handbook,” $150, from Star Software Systems in Torrance, (800) 242-STAR. First it helps you prepare a detailed business plan and all the financial reports to go along with the plan. Then it gives you the tools you need to run your new business, including word processing and general ledger accounting complete with check writing.
The National Business Assn. programs are certainly worth more than the diskettes on which they are published, but still they are bare-bones products. There are no manuals to explain them, just a few instructions on how to get started, printed on the disk envelope or on a separate sheet of paper. They are easy to install and to use, with on-screen instructions to guide you.
“First Step Review” asks a series of questions about your business and the loan you seek. Then it grades your chances of being approved. If you don’t score at least 70, don’t bother to apply.
A quick way to get started is to fill in just a few of the blanks with sketchy information and then let the program analyze the results. In doing so, it reveals what the authors think is really needed to get approval.
Of course, there is no guarantee that you’ll get a loan, no matter how well you score. The same sort of caveat holds for all of the other programs discussed here: They can’t guarantee you success. But all give you valuable information that, if properly used, should prove beneficial.
“Loan Express” from ValuSource comes with a quite informative 132-page spiral-bound manual. One chapter details the various kinds of loans and investment funding available. It also explains what bankers are looking for.
More than 20 kinds of forms are provided in this IBM-compatible-only program, each of which you can tailor to your specific needs. They include business profile, business cycle data, five-year historic profit and loss, cash flow and net worth.
Throughout, its emphasis is on making a realistic assessment of all aspects of your business. It doesn’t produce a business plan for you, but a short bibliography cites several publications and business planning software for consideration.
“Venture” is an elegantly designed program based on Tandy’s easy-to-use Deskmate integrated software model. It is packed with an inch-thick manual that combines practical business planning advice with detailed instructions on using the software. An appendix presents a complete business plan for a fanciful toy company.
The planning segment was developed at the University of Southern California Business School and has two parts, the feasibility plan and the business plan. Each presents a series of questions that force you to grapple with every aspect of the proposed venture and come up with answers as detailed as you can make them.
New for the current version is strategic planning, which is basically a specialized outlining tool to help you define a hierarchy of missions, goals, objectives, strategies and plans.
Another new feature produces business graphs. The mainstay modules for word processing, database for clients and contacts, spreadsheet analysis and general ledger accounting remain from the original version. While these programs lack the typographic sophistication of the latest Windows software, they are quite functional.
