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Answers help support your research to download the best business planning software for you

If you are comparing business plan software, really compare it. You are investing far more than just $150 in a software program — if you're looking to raise $5,000 to $50 million, it's crucial that you choose the right system to write your business plan. If it's your strategy you're building, then what better way to incorporate as many ideas as possible and prioritize opportunities. There is so much to learn. So many things can happen (many you'll want to avoid) and there are opportunities for success everywhere.

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about Biz Plan Builder:

How does BizPlanBuilder compare to the competition?
When we first introduced Biz Plan Builder in 1988 it was a collection of text and spreadsheet documents. Some time later, competitors, realizing that this was a great idea, created 'application programs' that automated some of their own templates. The problem is they never really got the text or spreadsheets right (For them, it was about the razzle dazzle of the program.), but investors and lenders read and finance the finished plan! We stay on top of the leading competitors and have read many of the 'plans' produced by their software. If you research in more depth, you'll notice that few have ever produced many large financings. In their own words, read what people who have used other software, as well as BizPlanBuilder, have to say.

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The top 3 unique features of BizPlanBuilder that make it out-perform other business plan software

1. Topping $2 billion in capital raised, Biz Plan Builder incorporates professionally-written, compelling text that provides the desired content and demonstrates the style proven with investors & lenders. The idea is that it's easier to edit than to write from scratch -- rather than answer a series of questions in a vacuum and let the program assemble a collection of canned paragraphs, Biz Plan Builder presents the text and numbers in familiar Word, Excel & PowerPoint templates where the user can see the context into which their answers will go — finish the sentences, overwrite the examples, and modify the formatting to make it perfect for your business. The financial models have evolved over 20+ years and include characteristics gleaned from angels, VCs, bankers, and customers worldwide. For advisors working with business owners on their plans, Biz Plan Builder provides a valuable business eduction in itself.
   
   
2. Biz Plan Builder is the only "open" business planning system on the market
   Most business concepts are very unique today, rendering most industry-specific sample plans useless. Instead, BizPlanBuilder provides the best of hundreds of business concepts cross-pollinated from every industry enabling the user to quickly adopt proven ideas and include them in their plans. A pull-down menu even lets you include external documents. The financial planning models incorporate Excel workbooks designed to make it easy to enter all of your assumptions, play "what-if", and handle the presentation to investors and lenders. An interesting addition is the inclusion of a table in the "Use of Proceeds Summary" page suggesting levels of investment required over 9/12/18/24 month periods -- compelling the user to plan for certain milestones. The financial models are completely flexible enabling perfect customization to any business model, plus they allow an unlimited number of links to and from external spreadsheets. (Not so with Business Plan Pro.)
   
   
3. Multi-user system enables time-saving collaboration over a network, server or web
   The BizPlanBuilder system is optimized to enable collaboration with an unlimited number of others over a network, server or the Internet. Entrepreneurial and/or consulting teams can easily divide projects and work together no matter where they are. No more emailing sections, cutting & pasting or overwriting each other's work. Most of JIAN's 10+ business-building titles run on this same system -- learn one, use them all. (You can even drag and drop a section of your business plan in to your employee policies manual!) Beyond the templates; however, business teams can even use the JIAN system itself for developing their own custom projects like technical manuals, sales books, or procedures guides. Likewise, individual users can enjoy anytime access to their plans from office, home, and laptop PCs. Click here to read more business plan softyware user comparison comments...

You seem to offer a lot of add-ons... What does the main program provide? Does the program produce a complete set of financial statements or do I have to buy some additional add-on products?
BizPlanBuilder provides the both text and the financials. It is a complete business plan where most of the writing has been done for you. It is template based, meaning that by adding the information specific to your endeavor, the plan becomes customized.

It appears you need Office for BizPlanBuilder to work. Which versions of Office will work with BizPlanBuilder.
BizPlanBuilder v10 requires any version of Windows Vista, XP or 2000. You will need any version of Microsoft Office 2000, XP, 2003 or 2007. There are several financial model options, giving the user flexibility to describe a very simple business or a very complex one. The entire BizPlanBuilder Table of Contents is listed here...

What are the BizPlanBuilder Financial Models? Are they included?
Yes, a full set of financial models are incorporated in BizPlanBuilder. We also offer them separately. These are the same financial models included in BizPlanBuilder. If you have already written the narrative of your business plan and just require the financial portion, we have un-bundled them and offer them separately for half of the BizPlanBuilder price.

Are all financials linked so that "what if" analysis can be done? For example if I change a figure in the income statement will it update the balance sheet and then the retained earnings statement.
Yes, all financials are properly linked. We use ‘Assumptions’ pages to make it easy for you to enter, update and experiment with your data.
Formulas have been developed and independently tested by qualified and practicing business consultants who hold valid CPA certifications.

Can the financials be easily and fully exported to Excel so they can be customized?
All JIAN financial models are already built using Excel. There is no need to export, no translation problems, data losses or formula incompatibilities. Pull-down under ‘Tools’ to ‘Protection’ and you can immediately enable complete customization throughout each and every spreadsheet.

Can the finished Business Plan be exported to word for further editing or to a publishing program such as Quark before printing?
BizPlanBuilder is already written formatted in Word. You can easily export the text to a desktop publishing program for further refinement. You can also save it as a .pdf or HTML file.

Does the program have a backup function?
Yes, it does. You can pull-down under the 'Options' menu to 'Back Up' or you can click the icon. You will be asked where you would like to store your backup copy. When you click ‘Restore,’ it will automatically return your backup file to your active folder. Note: Restore will overwrite the current file in the active folder.

Does the program include any form of tech support if it won't install correctly, print, or has some other coding problem?
Yes, we provide comprehensive technical support to make sure the program is working properly for you. We are available Mon-Fri 8 am – 5pm Pacific Time. Occasionally, we can address certain business questions, but that is usually beyond the scope of a tech support response. We also provide a database of business consultants available via email to respond to your situation.

Does your licensing allow me to load the same copy of you software on my laptop so I can continue to work on it when I am traveling.
Our philosophy is that you should be able to work on your project from your office desktop, home pc as well as your laptop. We created the multi-user version to enable you to access your files. If you want other people to access your files so you can collaborate, they will need their own licensed copy of BizPlanBuilder.

If my PC crashes can your software be reloaded from the downloaded file or do I have to go through some elaborate process of activation and registration.
Unfortunately that seems to happen a lot. Yes, it can be reloaded from the file that you downloaded. If you lose that, you can always contact us via email for phone for another download.

When you say"check the file out" to work on it and then return it. Does it keep track of the changes? How do you return the file?
File Check-Out enables a collaborator to grab one of the files for working on privately (preventing multiple people from making changes and over-writing each other's work.) Check-In automatically returns the file to the same place in the system. If you want to keep multiple version along the way, we recommend backing up. Restoring writes the backup over the original. You can, however, make a Copy of the plan at any time. Most likely, you will simply want to Copy a plan to another folder, perhaps more accessible to collaborators, or yourself when you want access from home or on the road.

I gather that using an online filing space (like the one you use) will enable us to collaborate on the document. Does this apply to the financials as well?
You can also copy the file to an online filing space — it must be 'mapped to your desktop' so you can easily browse for the folder from within BizPlanBuilder. The financials can be managed the same way