Product Reviews

Many people are turning away from the corporate grind to run their own small businesses. But the complexities of the paperwork involved can be overwhelming. Business Plan Pro 2005 is designed with the novice entrepreneur in mind, providing you with a simple way to create an effective and impressive business plan.

A professional business plan is the key to success in any startup. It can help secure investors, finance or partners. You can use Business Plan Pro 2005 to help you find this sort of backing. It can also help you market a new product or service.

There are two ways to develop a business plan. The first is aimed at absolute beginners and consists of over 400 sample plans. These plans are written for a variety of businesses, ranging from a sports bar to a dating service. This range illustrates that Business Plan Pro helps you with any type of small business, no matter how unusual or individual.

But if your business doesn't fit into any of the categories covered by the sample plans, you can build your own from scratch. This process is wizard-driven,

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in keeping with the program's target market of novice users, and you are guided through every step of creating the plan. The options cover businesses ranging from one-man enterprises through to employers with several staff. It can also be used for non-profit organisations.

We tested the Premiere Edition, which adds several extra features. These include a 'What if?' planning tool that allows you to view how changing key variables will affect your cash flow, plus the ability to import from Excel and collaboration tools. These tools are useful for businesses with several employees. It enables you to assign different team members to specific parts of the plan, then combine their work into the final plan.

When you are presented with a question about your plan, there is usually an option for you to say 'I don't know', which then pulls up guidance on how to answer the question.

Business Plan 2005 is fully integrated with QuickBooks Pro and Sage Line 50. If you already use one of these products to handle your finances, you can simply import all that information into your plan. You can also export charts, graphs and tables into PowerPoint to help create professional presentations from your plans.

Business Plan Pro 2005 is a comprehensive program for small business users. However, make sure you have all your financial information to hand before you get started. The program also requires that you have a good idea of what you want to achieve before you start, which perhaps defeats the purpose to some extent. But it provides an easy way to create a professional plan, providing lots of useful tips and guidance along the way.