Economic recessions are no time to be plowing into software development unless the company either needs the cash flow from a new version to keep going, or the product is so outdated that an update is mandatory. Otherwise, the money is better spent in beefing up product support and planning for marketing when the economy recovers. That's a pretty basic rule, and one that holds true in particular for business-planning software. We have not seen many substantial changes in the software, and don't expect to see much other than patches and a change in version name for 2009.

Yet times of economic distress are when business-planning software is most needed. Companies looking to maximize their cash flow need planning tools to help do that. And times of employee layoffs and downsizing are when most new small businesses are created - the class of businesses that most desperately need a plan.

This is a time when accounting firms should be scouting for startups and others to bolster their small business practices, and honing their business-planning skills to move quickly when an opportunity is found. Fortunately, the field of business-planning solutions is not particularly crowded or expensive. In fact, the packages that make up the top levels of business-planning software all offer excellent features and benefits, even if they do take different approaches to the planning process.

For 2009 we looked at seven different business-planning solutions, each of which can rightfully stake a claim to being a best-of-class product.

BIZ PLAN BUILDER

In contrast to many other business-planning products, Jian has maintained a substantial upgrade schedule for Biz Plan Builder that provides incremental improvements, updates to business templates and a compelling reason to own the most current version.

Jian offers a complete line of planning and management tools that spans the spectrum from planning and human resources to marketing and safety, building each on the familiar applications of Microsoft Office (PC or Mac). The plan is edited in MS Office, with spreadsheets in MS Excel, and the entire plan is then compiled into a book for effective communication.

In Version 11, the core concept of BizPlanBuilder has not changed - the ability for someone writing a business plan to draw on hundreds of business concepts drawn from every industry and quickly adapt these proven ideas for use in the business plan. In addition, BizPlanBuilder steps away from the familiar model of having the planner choose from hundreds of business plans. Instead, the plan is built on a small number of templates that are more flexible and customizable.

The financial statements have evolved over 20 years to include not only a basic level for a quick snapshot of the financial health of the company, but also more advanced intermediate and comprehensive levels. The intermediate financial model provides linked financial statements favored by banks and has proven successful with Small Business Administration loans. The comprehensive model presents bottom-up or top-down scenario-building suitable for evaluating a new product or service or developing a detailed budget for planning or investors. Both models offer quick-fill assumptions sections to quickly set up financial statements and run "what-if" scenarios.

• 1
• |
• 2
• |
• 3
• |
• 4
• |
• 5
• |
• 6
• |
• next