6 Best Business Plan Software for Startups (Tested and Reviewed)

6 Best Business Plan Software for Startups (Tested and Reviewed)

Arif Chowdhury
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Last Updated on September 17, 2022 by Arif Chowdhury

Managing a new or existing business is challenging and requires complex procedures with expensive experienced employees; otherwise, you may have to count thousands of dollar loss. It is not a job; business is your liability. If anything goes wrong, you are the one who is going to suffer the most because you have invested your hard-earned money.

Therefore, your intention should be “how to manage your business more effectively and efficiently.” That includes generating new ideas, forming a robust business strategy, building a practical marketing blueprint, creating a website, and incorporating business entries. All of these must-haves to handle smartly and timely require vast knowledge and previous experience that many new businesses do not have.

However, you were not in 1990. Luckily you are in 2022, an era where digital technology is simply rising. As a result, you do not need to have prior experience in business planning and also no need to hire expensive experts to handle complex tasks timely and effective. Instead, you can leverage the power of business software, which is far more effective and efficient than any human in this world.

With Business Planning Software, you can do the following things:

  • Incorporate a business entity and form a business plan.
  • Generate an effective marketing plan beforehand.
  • Manage accounting and tax calculations and documents.
  • Build intelligent analysis reports, financial projections, and business forecasts.
  • Run your entire business from a single command center.

In this guide, I will walk you through all the best business plan software for startups I have used. These are all effective and efficient for handling business planning and execution. I have ranked them based on affordability, usefulness, effectiveness, efficiency, user interface, and deployment.

Let’s dig in.

Which one is the best business planning software?

Which one is best is subjective. It depends on your affordability and needs. I will describe each of them as detail as possible. However, you are the one who has to decide which one suits you most.

1. LivePlan.

An intelligent way to build a professional business plan – 60 days free run.

LivePlan is a good solution for planning your business. It is one of the best business plan software for startups.

It is one of the most simple yet professional-looking business planning cloud-based software. If you can write in MS Word documents, you can build a business plan using this software.

Before you even get started, there is a piece of good news. You can try this software before investing in it for 60 days without even showing your credit card information.

I already said that if you can write in an MS Word document, you can build a business plan. And I think even a kid can do it. First, I will talk about “One-Page Business Planning.” It is the most fantastic thing for a startup. On this planning page, all details will be presented professionally.

Your business name, description, and logo. The opportunity you have. Target markets, competitors, and how you will advertise your business. The funding you need to incorporate. Your sales channels and marketing activities. Financial projections, milestones you want to achieve—your team members and partners.

Building a one-page professional business plan is easy 1-2-3.

Using LivePlan, you can build a professional business plan with a single click.

A one-page business plan is excellent for a startup and displays your plan to team members and partners. It’s so tiny and straightforward that anyone can read and understand it within 60 seconds. And to build this one-page business plan, you may need a maximum of 60 minutes.

Another exciting feature is the “Step by step guide.” The software will ask you several questions and, by answering those, will complete a business plan for you—no need to think and write. Let the software do this for you.

If you run out of ideas, 500+ readymade business plans are available to check. Pick one that suits yours needs to get started—automotive, transportation, health, food, education, etc.

You do not have to hire an expert accountant or financial analyst to forecast your business cash flow. LivePlan has an “Automatic Financials” option which has the same feature as building a business plan. Just answer a few questions about your financial goals, and you will get an accurate budget plan with an automatic economic forecast and future cash flows.

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Get ideas from sample plans to build your own.

Finally, you can collaborate with your entire team members. Share in pdf format—no need to hire an expert to build a business profile so you can get funds from investors. There are readymade SBA-approved templates available for you to use.

And with this software, you can automatically get all detailed analyses by AI-powered systems. Revenue, expenditure, profit margin, forecasting, and cash flow are all types of research that can be done automatically. You can also input competitors’ data to compare performance with your business.

Pricing Model:

An exclusive 60-day free run (no credit card)

  • Monthly plan: $20 per month
  • 6 Months Plan: $18 per month (10% discount)
  • Yearly plan: $15 per month (25% discount)
LivePlan subscription model.

2. Bizplan.

Perfect place to plan a business and get funded from investors.

BizPlan could be your ultimate solution for business planning & get funded from investors.

Bizplan is not just another business planning software; it also gives you access to global investors to raise funds for your startup business.

Though they do not have any trial options, they offer you more than that—an entire University for startup businesses where experts share their knowledge in a course format. Articles, videos, and courses all are free.

When it comes to planning business, you no longer have to hire an expert with many years of previous knowledge and experience. With their “Guided Business Plan Creator,” anyone can create a business plan. It will ask you several questions and build a business plan for you. Easy as a piece of cake. Or you can make by yourself a simple interface like an MS Word document. 

This business management software has a user-friendly drag-and-drop feature allows even the most novice computer user to create a professional-looking business plan. In addition, you can add stunning visuals from the library, and the progress tracker will help you to complete all the necessary steps.

Quick Note: From small businesses to large organizations, whenever they need business plan creation in real-time, they can utilize a business planning tool to formulate a proper analysis using financial data. All top business use this software to streamline their business planning.

No need to become an expert to create a professional business plan.

With a guided business plan creator, even a 7-year-old can create a professional business plan.

After creating an initial business plan, it is time to make a detailed financial plan, for example, revenue projection, expenditure estimates, profit margin calculation, cash flow breakdown, gross margin, salary calculation, working capital availability, VAT and Tax calculation, etc.

You would have to hire a Chartered Accountant for this complex task. However, now you do not have to. Don’t forget that you are in the digital era. You can do everything with modern technology software. Just tell it your financial goal and how you want to proceed. That’s it. AI-powered technology software will calculate everything within a moment and give you a complete professional report that would take 1-2 weeks for a Chartered Accountant.

Describe what you want, and software will design a financial plan for you.

With an automation system, the software will help you to create a robust, in-depth business plan within hours.

Finally, you can access global investors ready to finance you after completing everything. Yes, Bizplan offers you free access to Fundable. So you can display your business plan and raise funds from online investors. More than $500 million in funds have been raised since opening. So it is an excellent chance before you even start anything.

And if you need expert advice, they have an entire University completely free. You can access it without even registering an account. 650+ classes and 1,200+ guides are waiting for you to learn about startup business planning and running.

Pricing Model:

  • Monthly plan: $29 per month
  • Yearly plan: $20.75 per month (discounted)
  • Lifetime Access: $349 (one-time)
BizPlan subscription model.

3. Business Plan Pro (Now LivePlan).

Stand-alone business planning software – 60-day money-back guarantee.

Business Plan Pro is the best solution when you want stand-alone software.

Business Plan Pro is the predecessor of LivePlan. Still, you can use this stand-alone software if you don’t want to pay an ongoing subscription plan monthly and yearly.

It has a 60-days money-back guarantee. Thus, you can test it out without anything to worry about.

If you already used LivePlan, this software should be familiar to you. It has a step-by-step guide to help you to get started. No need to tackle complex planning procedures; instead, answer a few questions about your business, i.e., what type of business you want to start, your budget goal, profit margin target, niche, etc. That’s it. The software will take care of the rest automatically.

No matter what type of business plan you want to design, you can do it with this software. Not only that, it offers you 500+ readymade business plan templates to get you started, for instance, clothing, education, food, real estate, professional service, non-profit, retail, hotels, home-based business, anything you can imagine.

In-house business planner to deal with all complex tasks.

With Business Plan Pro, you can do almost all complex tasks of business planning.

With step-by-step guidelines, you can complete a professional-looking business plan. But how about financial planning with complex calculations? Tax and VAT, salary calculation, revenue, expenditure, profit margin, gross margin, inventory calculation, etc. Hundreds of complex tasks like these in a business are impossible to solve without prior experience.

You do not need to hire expensive employees or experts for this task. With this software, you can do all in complete automation. All you have to do is describe your financial goals. Then, the software will automatically calculate all these complex tasks and give you a detailed financial report, projected cash flow statements, etc.

Finally, you may not know appropriately about legal issues when incorporating a new business. You do not have to visit an expert or lawyer; follow the software guidelines and all the necessary documents required to form a new business entity.

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Everything you need to build a professional business plan.

No need to hire professional or expert personnel for business planning.

After you incorporate a new business, your task is not over. It’s just the beginning. Now you have to measure business performance with various analysis reports that are impossible to do without accounting knowledge. Again no need to hire employees to handle those tasks. Business Plan Pro can provide you with all the analysis reports you want within a matter of moments and is 100% accurate. So, you can make an informed decision based on that.

Pricing Model:

  • Standard: $99.95 (one-time)
  • Premier: $159.95 (one-time)

4. PlanGuru.

Not just a business planning software but university – 30 days free run.

PlanGuru is not only a business planning software but also a University to learn more.

PlanGuru is different from all other business planning software. It has allowed you to build a professional business plan within a matter of moments and learn from PlanGuru University (PGU). PlanGuru is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). CPR credits of 7 hours. The subject area is Finance, Management service, Computer software, and app.

Additionally, you can get access to this software for a straight 30-days. Enough to evaluate the product.

PlanGuru business planning software design for three major tasks. Strategic planning, budgeting, and financial analytics with the rolling forecast. You can do everything your business requires, from developing a business plan, launching it from the ground, and maintaining all its tasks.

In business, three primary financial statements are always needed, from minor to most prominent organizations—the income statement, financial statement, and cash flow statement. You can do all with this software; all you have to do is fill out the proper information.

Learn everything about business planning and managing.

Learn about professional business planning & managing.

There are 20+ forecasting methods you can use to project your business for up to the next ten years. To get an idea of how your business will run with current planning. An excellent way to measure the future performance of your business.

Within a matter of moments, you can analyze your business performance with various valuation metrics. In addition, scenario analysis is a unique feature that allows you to test your business performance in different financial events to measure its robustness.

If you use QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Excel sheets for your business, you can easily import all the data to PlanGuru software with one click. 

AI-powered virtual financial manager and analyst.

Get a virtual assistant for your business management & planning.

They have a section of video tutorials created by business management experts for you to learn from home. These videos can be handy tools if you have never used this business planning software. How to set up the software, add a new company, add a consolidation analysis, how to import data from other accounting software, how to use this software to prepare a balance sheet, income statements, reporting, research, etc.

Pricing Model:

  • Monthly plan: $99 per month ($29 per additional user)
  • Yearly plan: $899 per year ($299 per additional user)

They have both desktop software as well as the app.

PlanGuru subscription plan.

5. GoSmallBiz.

All-in-one solution for business planning, management, and marketing.

GoSmallBiz is an all-in-one solution for business planning, marketing & management.

GoSmallBiz is not just a business planning software; it covers almost everything you require for your business from beginning to end. 

By using their service, you can plan for your business through a step-by-step guide. Get consultancy from industry experts within 48h timeframe. Build a website for business, email marketing, SMS marketing, lead tracking, social media marketing, Google analytics integration, business performance analysis, audience tracking, HR documents builder, employee handbook, corporate minute writer, etc.

As you can see, they are offering almost everything you would require for business management. However, only one drawback, you are not getting any free trial to test their service. Though it’s a problem, their service fee is cheap compared to other business planning software—only $39 per month.

Systematic guideline wizard will build an intelligent business plan.

Step-by-step guideline to build a robust business plan.

Their business planning software is straightforward to use. It’s an award-winning planning software. With varieties of industry-specific business planning templates, you can build almost any type of business plan within a moment. You won’t have to brainstorm where to start and how to make it. Instead, a step-by-step guideline wizard will ask you a few questions, and based on your answer; it will draw a base plan for your business.

Shortly after you create a business plan, the software will draw future projections of your business based on your financial goals. This projection will show you future possible economic events, i.e., revenue, expenditure, gross profit margin, etc. Doing so lets you know how your base plan will perform shortly. It is an excellent way to improve your base plan.

Still, even after that, if you need experts’ help, you can get it within 48h of asking any question. It’s like having your mentor along with you all the time.

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Get valuable advice from business experts within 48 hours.

Stuck & need business consultation? No worries, get an unlimited business consultation from industry experts within 48 hours.

Not only business planning and consultancy with business experts. If you need to build a professional-looking business website, you can do it with a simple drag-and-drop feature—no need to worry about hosting providers. They are giving you that offer too.

Then when you need to start your online marketing, you can also get help. Email marketing and social media marketing solution is already packed for you in this package. Do not look for additional CRM solutions; it’s here as well.

So I ask you, is there anything left you to need for your business? Well, I don’t think so. It’s a wholly packed solution.

Pricing Model:

  • Monthly plan: $39 per month

That’s it, no complication—just a straightforward package is covering all your requirements.

GoSmallBiz subscription plan.

6. Enloop.

Simple business planning and writing software – 7 days free run.

Enloop is a robust business planning & writing software.

Create a professional business plan, and you can easily do financial forecasting with Enloop software. If you need to prepare your financial statements, look no further; this software can do it in complete automation. Even writing an entire business profile can also be done with it.

If you want to test it before investing, there is good news. Straight seven days free trial is available, and no credit card is required. Just register a free account, and you are good to go.

If you can open a Facebook account, you can create a professional business plan with this software. Nothing is complex here. A simple and easy-to-use interface will guide you through adding your new business information.

No more complications to writing a business profile – let it be automated.

Automatic business profile creation is helpful & fast.

Adding your business information is easy. However, have you ever seen a business profile? You have to write thousands of words with financial and legal terms. The most troublesome part is that you have to edit the whole document every time you update any financial information—too much time-consuming work.

Thanks to the Enloop software, now there is nothing you have to do. Just fill out the form, and thousands of text will be generated in complete automation. Every time you update anything, the text will be updated automatically.

Now let’s talk about financial reporting. There are three primary financial reports. Income statements, financial statements, and cash flow statements. Creating these three reports requires vast experience and knowledge in accounting. Otherwise, you have to hire expensive employees like a Chartered Accountant. Well, none of these you have to do. Why? Because this software will do everything automatically and 100 times faster than humans.

Advance financial analysis and report creation in complete automation.

Automatic financial reporting is the best feature of Enloop.

You have built a professional business plan and then created all financial reports; however, you still need forecasting or future projections reports for predictions. Every business has to plan in time to get an advantage in the upcoming financial event. Like financial reports, this software can prepare a complex forecasting report that you would otherwise need to hire an expensive financial expert.

You can add your business team members to collaborate on all tasks and documents from this platform.

Pricing Model:

  • Detailed plan: $19.95 per month and $11 per month (55% discount if paid annually)
  • Performance Plan: $39.95 per month and $24 per month (60% discount if paid annually)
Enloop subscription plan.

Executive Summary.

In the digital era of 2022, modern technology advancement has changed everything. We no longer read books; we read ebooks. We are no longer interested in the newspaper; getting news from the website is much faster. So, why don’t businesses take advantage of technology? Exactly, this is why we should use business-planning software.

Back then, in 1990 and before, people had to struggle to make a simple business plan by hiring expensive financial experts like Chartered Accounts. Creating financial reports and forecasting would take considerable time and is not error-free. But, now, using business planning software, you can do it almost instantly and 100% accurately guaranteed. Reducing your expenditure would otherwise be impossible back then without this technology.

Some features I recall about Business Planning Software:

  • A step-by-step guide to preparing a professional business plan.
  • Hundreds of pre-made business planning templates to get started.
  • Fully automated financial and forecasting reports.
  • Funding options available for your business (global investors).
  • Easy drag-and-drop interface to handle all tasks.
  • Easy team collaboration system (secure channel).
  • An Entire University to learn about business planning and management.
  • Building a professional business website.
  • Easy integration with other third-party business software.
  • Online marketing, i.e., email and social media marketing integration.

Ultimately, you can do almost anything you need for your startup or established business.

Further Reading on Cliobra: for your startup business CRM software can be helpful to manage the sales and marketing department; read my guide about “Which is the Best CRM for Startups? 12 Best CRM Tools (Reviewed)“. Also, for managing the different tasks, there is no alternative to scheduling software; I recommend you read this guide, “9 Best Online Booking Systems for Small Business (Tested and Reviewed)“.