Programs Can Help Put Your Plans in Focus
Every business, even the smallest one, needs a plan.
For some, a business plan is just a notion in the founder’s mind. For others, it’s a detailed document or set of documents that serves as a blueprint for the evolution of the business.
“Too many businesses make a plan only when they have to,” says Tim Berry, the principal author of Business Plan Pro, a business planning software program (for Windows, $89.95) from Palo Alto Software ([800] 229-752). Berry argues that “all businesses, not just new or large ones, need business planning.” A written plan helps you “set goals and priorities and provides a forum for regular review and course corrections.”
Of course, you can write a business plan with a word-processing program or even pen and paper, and you can do the math with a spreadsheet or calculator. But Berry’s software has all the tools you need. The friendly prompts and the 376-page book that accompanies the program guide you through the process in a logical, step-by-step manner.
The program starts by having you assess your business. A 16-step “plan wizard” asks you a series of questions, starting with whether your business sells products, services or both. Some of the questions it asks (including “Do you always get paid when you make the sale?”) can turn out to be very important later when the program’s built-in spreadsheet helps you manage cash flow.
The program is divided into text and numeric sections. The text areas are designed to help you document your business’ objectives, create a mission statement and define your business’ “keys to success, the key factors that make the difference between success and failure.” The program’s integrated word processor lets you type, edit and spell-check your plan. The program also has an integrated spreadsheet for handling financial data and displaying graphs.
After you’ve entered some initial text about your business, it’s time to get serious about numbers. If you’re planning a new business, the first task is to create a break-even analysis, whereby you enter average per-unit sales price, monthly costs and fixed costs to produce a chart showing when your business is likely to break even.
Later, you can enter more detailed information to get a complete picture of your projected costs, revenue and profit or loss. The program makes it easy to isolate different factors that affect the success of a business. The Cash Plan section, for example, helps you see the enormous impact that changing the number of collection days on your accounts receivable can have on your company’s available cash.
At any point, you can view or print out graphs to show the status of your business. You also can print out the entire plan for your own use, to share with employees or partners, or to submit to a lender or investor. Because the data is in spreadsheet form, you can easily make changes as your business changes.
Business Plan Pro runs only on Windows, but Palo Alto Software also publishes Business Plan Toolkit 6.0 for Macintosh ($89.95). Unlike the Windows product, the Mac program is basically a set of templates that you use within the Macintosh version of Excel, Microsoft Works or Claris Works. It also comes with sample business plans on disk that you can modify and print out with your word-processing program.
Another business plan program, Smart Business Startup ($149), comes from American Institute for Financial Research ([800] 791-1000 or https://www.smart online.com/). This program starts by asking you to select your type of business (service, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade or custom) and then asks you if yours is a new or existing business. That’s followed by a series of screens that ask you to name your plan, say to whom the plan is being submitted, and enter other information about yourself and your company. Then, as with Smart Business Plan Pro, you go to a content area where you enter textual information about your business and its key personnel.
As you go through the program, you’ll also see areas where you can enter numerical data such as product unit pricing. When you have filled in all the information, the program creates a written report, which includes an executive summary, market analysis, product information, risks, financial assumptions and a conclusion. You can download an 8.4-megabyte demo of the program from the company’s Web site. The demo will give you a sense of how the program works, but it may be a bit frustrating because many of the features will be disabled.
Another option is to download a shareware product. One example is Business Plan Master, which includes a spreadsheet template that will chart your cash flow, generate income statements, balance sheets, ratio analysis, asset use and technical analysis. The program also comes with word-processing files that provide you with a ready-to-go form, which you can modify to create your own business plan. You can download a copy of this and several other business plan shareware programs by pointing your browser to https://www.shareware.com and typing “business plan” in the quick-search area. As with most shareware, there is no charge to download and try the program, but there is a fee to register it if you plan to use it after the trial period.
It’s not a full business plan program, but if you have Microsoft Excel you may already have a template file (planning.xlt) that can help you analyze your current operating expenses and forecast your future cash flow. If the template isn’t installed, check the ValuPack sub-folder on the Microsoft Office CD-ROM or download the file by pointing your Web browser to https://www.microsoft.com/officefreestuff/excel/
Business Plan Preparation Services, a Whittier firm that helps companies prepare business plans, will e-mail you a free business plan outline. You can order it at the company’s Web site (https://www.bizplanprep.com) or request it by sending e-mail to larrycobb@pacificnet.net
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You may write to Lawrence J. Magid at magid@latimes.com and visit his Web site at https://www.larrysworld.com
