Business Plan Help

The easiest way to write a business plan

This guide looks at the different options you have when it comes to writing your business plan. You can either pay someone to write the business plan for you, produce the plan yourself from scratch using a word processing package such as  MS Word and a spreadsheet like Excel, or use dedicated business planning software.

The big advantage of using business planning software is that it walks you through the entire process, giving you lots of examples and help to make sure your finished plan contains all the key elements. You can read the guide here.

The Uk's Best-Selling Business Plan Software

Business Plan Pro is the No.1 rated and best-selling business plan software. And it's no surprise really. It leads you through every step of the way with prompts and tips to help you quickly create a professional business plan.

You can jump start your own business plan by using one of the 500+ sample plans provided in Business Plan Pro 2007, or start your own plan from scratch. Whichever route you choose, the EasyPlan Wizard ® guides you through every step from start to finish. Business Plan Pro 2007 is very good value at £79.99 and comes with a no questions asked 60-day money-back guarantee.

Click here to obtain an extra 10% discount.

Easy-to-Follow Business Plan Software

Harcourt Business has a business plan software package that can help you to build a business plan, step-by-step. The software aims to save you time and effort with easy-to-follow graphics, clear navigation and on-screen instructions. This business planning software is ideally suited for high growth start-up businesses and early-stage SMEs.

Ready-Made Business Plans

Business Plan International provides more than 1,200 individual business plans from 40 industries and for 10 different countries. If you’re looking for a specific business plan template you’ll probably find it here. Prices range from about £50-£80, with all documents being e-mailed directly to you. For your money, you get a pdf document of the entire business plan, a Word document for the narrative and an Excel spreadsheet for the financial forecasts.

Online Business Plan Tool

You can register on SMARTONLINE (the UK site of the US business) for 30 days free access to its online business plan tool. Using the interactive tool allows you to let others read your plan online which can be useful for feedback or if several of you at different locations are working on the business plan at the same time.

Your business plan is stored securely in your personalised area allowing you to access and amend it at any time. It also allows you to create professional financial tables and 3-D graphs to give your business plan that professional touch.

Produce Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and Cashflow Forecasts

Cashflow Wizard models are just like a normal excel model and have all the information you need to see detailed financial forecasts for your business plan.

Just like an Excel spreadsheet, you can change the assumptions, data and formulas and add your own formulas and memo calculations. You can use it to produce your Profit and Loss, Balance sheets and Cashflow forecast. Cashflow Wizard gives you over 20 pages of useful charts and management ratios that are ready to print for your business plan. Prices range from £49 for ‘Quick & Dirty’ to £250 for ‘Tailor Made’.

Online Tool to Help Write Your Business Plan

BizPlan Wizard is an online tool to help you write a business plan narrative (no financial forecasts). The tool has been developed for use across all industries. It will help you to produce a standard format business plan, giving you hints and tips for each section as you go along. You can even view sample sections that you can easily cut and paste directly into your business plan.

£49 buys you 60 days access to Bizplan Wizard. A ‘Mentor Helpline’ is also available at £1 per minute.