Planet IT Reviews BizPlanBuilder

Starting Point: Getting Your Project Organized With BizPlanBuilder
BizPlanBuilder doesn't do the thinking for you when you write a business plan. But it does almost everything else.


by Esther Schindler

Need to write a business plan? Jian's BizPlanBuilder is software that helps business-plan authors organize all the necessary documents in one place. The new release of this software, costs just $100 and is well worth the modest investment. It's not that BizPlan Builder does anything all that astonishing. It doesn't come up with persuasive arguments or evaluate the wisdom of your business model. Rather, the software helps you organize all the necessary documents in one place.

BizPlan's Microsoft Office spreadsheet and word-processing document templates are managed in a what's essentially an integrated business-plan development environment. BizPlan's interactive "interviews" prompt you to fill in the blanks with everything from corporate information and stock allocation to cash flow projections, market expectations, and company mission. Into which, of course, I dutifully typed, "To dominate the industry," just like every other wannabe. Nobody says that this software will make you smart; you'll just have a complete business plan with no gaps and with no questions unanswered.

That's not a bad thing. For a lot of corporate projects, it's more important to be comprehensive and rigorous than to provide scintillating prose. Plus, Jian already created the necessary spreadsheets and calculations, so you don't have to reinvent that particular wheel or suffer the indignities of forgetting an important component. Because all the documents are linked, when you inevitably make changes, you won't have to retype (or, worse, forget to retype).

In this latest release, Jian has increased its online resources, such as a referral network of business experts, to help you become as smart and compelling as possible. The software also includes several worthwhile tools including a due diligence checklist, stock option tracking, and GAAP-compliant financial statements -- all the documents that an investor or CIO expects to see, and many of which you'd have to invent on your own.

BizPlan is easy enough to use that you can give it to a "marketing type" without fear. After you answer its initial interview questions, BizPlan creates the related documents in a logical tree structure (grouping together product strategy or financial projections, for example). Then, you "fill in the boxes" with your details, using individual interview processes for each document or spreadsheet. BizPlan makes suggestions along the way. For instance, when you need to enter the customer's ROI, BizPlan points out that common answers include faster inventory turnover or lower warranty costs.

At times, the fill-in-the-blank process feels like the old kids' game of Mad-Lib, but it did help me swiftly re-create a business plan that once got the attention (though not the money) of investors. The feature set is deeper than it initially appears. I wish I'd had such a supportive tool back then.

The Windows 9x/NT/2000 application doesn't get in your way and, happily, you can use its templates with Windows 3.x and Macintosh systems, even if the "environment" isn't available. The printed manual is about business planning rather than where to click (though the online help does an adequate job on that score). I hadn't expected to learn from a software manual that most businesses devote 8% of their advertising budget to trade shows, but it's nice to know.

The Best-Laid Plans
Naturally, you can always edit the business plan that BizPlanBuilder creates and use its documents simply as a starting point. You'll probably want to do so for more-adventurous projects, as the resulting plan does sound a bit canned. That's really BizPlanBuilder's major weakness: no matter how good a job they do, a just-add-water solution will never be able to communicate your own spirit and passion.

Yet BizPlanBuilder may help you get your head screwed on straight, and that's the hardest -- and most important -- part of the project. According to Bill Teags, CEO of xPackage.com, a startup that was recently accepted into the Arizona Venture Capital Conference, "BizPlanBuilder helps you qualify your numbers so that you can stand up to the scrutiny of venture capitalists." And that's the whole point, isn't it?

Whether you're trying to convince the CEO to sponsor a corporate Web development project, you're appealing to venture capitalists to fund your startup company, or you're attempting to prepare for business possibilities, a business plan is the one must-have weapon for your arsenal. Even if you can pull together a successful business plan from an assortment of spreadsheets, word-processing documents and (optionally) eyes of newt, a copy of BizPlanBuilder is worth your time.

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