Business Plan Pro 2006 review

A business plan is nothing more than a specialised report with tables and charts, so there's no reason why you shouldn't produce one using only a word processor and spreadsheet, but you'll never be able to produce anything, in terms of content or presentation, to match the impressive business plans generated by Business Plan Pro.

The program is rather idiosyncratic, looking like a cross between a web browser and Windows Explorer. Plans can be created from scratch or by modifying one of 500 sample files. It would be hard to imagine a business activity that is not covered by these - there's everything from Agriculture to Yoga. Although the sample files are listed on the system, they are downloaded on demand from the web, and most of them are North American in origin. Happily, they're converted after downloading to correctly display sterling currency and to handle VAT. US spellings are used throughout, but this isn't an issue because you replace the sample text with your own company's information. Even the multimedia tutorial has been given a voiceover in British English.

Every tool you need is incorporated. There's an Excel-like spreadsheet and charting module, and a text editor with formatting tools that will be familiar to users of any Windows word processor. Best of all, you're led by the hand through all the writing stages by a wizard that describes what is required and uses clear examples, from which you may cut and paste as much as you like.

Plans can be viewed as outlines or as formatted documents, and the Plan Review feature checks every aspect of your plan to make sure you've missed nothing out - and that financial statements make sense. Completed plans can be viewed and printed from Business Plan Pro, or exported in several formats including PowerPoint, Word, HTML and PDF.