business plan software reddit

Home > Business > Business Startup

5 Best Business Plan Software and Tools in 2023 for Your Small Business

Data as of 3 /13/23 . Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

We are committed to sharing unbiased reviews. Some of the links on our site are from our partners who compensate us. Read our editorial guidelines and advertising disclosure .

A business plan can do a lot for your business. It can help you secure investors or other funding. It can give your company direction. It can keep your finances healthy. But, if we’re being honest, it can also be a pain to write.

Luckily, you don’t have to start from scratch or go it alone. Business plan software and services can help you craft a professional business plan, like our top choice LivePlan , which provides templates, guidance, and more.

You’ve got quite a few choices for business plan help, so we’re here to help you narrow things down. Let’s talk about the best business plan tools out there.

LivePlan : Best overall
BizPlanBuilder : Most user-friendly
Wise Business Plans : Best professional service
Business Sorter : Best for internal plans
GoSmallBiz.com : Most extra features
Honorable mentions

Business plan software 101

The takeaway, business plan software faq, compare the best business plan software.

By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

LivePlan: Best overall business plan software

Data as of 3 /13/23 . Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *With annual billing

LivePlan has been our favorite business plan software for a while now, despite the stiff competition.

There’s a lot to like about LivePlan. It has pretty much all the features you could want from your business plan software. LivePlan gives you step-by-step instructions for writing your plan, helps you create financial reports, lets you compare your business’s actual financials to your plan’s goals, and much more. And if you ever need inspiration, it includes hundreds of sample business plans that can guide your writing.

LivePlan software pricing

But the best part? You get all that (and more) at a very competitive price. (You can choose from annual, six-month, or monthly billing.) While LivePlan isn’t quite the cheapest business plan builder out there, it’s not too far off either. And if comes with a 60-day money back guarantee. So there’s no risk in trying LivePlan out for yourself.

With a great balance of features and cost, LivePlan offers the best business plan solution for most businesses.

BizPlanBuilder: Most user-friendly

Need something easy to use? BizPlanBuilder fits the bill.

BizPlanBuilder doesn’t have a flashy, modern user interface―but it does have a very clear, intuitive one. You’ll be able to see your plan’s overall structure at a glance, so you can quickly navigate from your title page to your market trend section to that paragraph on your core values. And as you write, you’ll use a text editor that looks a whole lot like the word processing programs you’re already familiar with.

BizPlanBuilder software pricing

Data effective 3/13/23. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.

BizPlanBuilder also offers lots of helpful guidance for actually writing your plan. It gives you pre-written text, in which you just have to fill in relevant details. It offers explanations for what information you need to include in each section of your plan and way. It even gives you helpful tips from experts, so you’ll have all the information you need to plan like a pro.

So if you want planning software with almost no learning curve, you’ll like BizPlanBuilder.

Wise Business Plans: Best professional service

Custom quote

Unlike all the other companies on this list, Wise Business Plans doesn’t offer software. Instead, it offers professional business plan writing services―meaning someone does all the hard work for you.

Now, you might think that sounds expensive―and you’re probably right (you have to request a custom quote for your plan). But there’s a lot to be said for expertise, and Wise Business Plans has plenty of that. Your business plan will get written by an experienced writer (with an MBA, no less). They’ll get information from you, do their own research, and then write your plan. You get one free revision, and you can always pay for more.

Wise Business Plans service pricing

Your end result will be a polished, entirely original business plan. (You can even get printed copies.) And best of all, you won’t have to spend your precious time working on the plan yourself. Wise Business Plans takes care of all the hard parts, and makes your business look good while doing it. Sounds like a service worth paying for, right?

Put simply, if you want the most professional business plan possible, we recommend using Wise Business Plans’s writing service.

Business Sorter: Best for internal plans

Many businesses need plans to show to people outside the company (to get financing, for example). But what if you just need a plan for internal use? In that case, we suggest Business Sorter.

Business Sorter uses a unique card-based method to help you craft the perfect business plan. (You can watch a demo video to see how it works.) You’ll plan some of the usual things, like finances and marketing. But Business Sorter also lets you make plans for specific teams and team members. It also emphasizes more internal matters, like operations, that might get overlooked in a business plan for outsiders.

Business Sorter software pricing

After you’ve made your business plan, Business Sorter also helps you stay accountable to it. You can create tasks, give them deadlines, and assign them to team members―giving you basic project management tools to make sure your business plans become business actions. (Oh, and did we mention that Business Sorter has the lowest starting prices of any software on this list?)

It all adds up to a business plan software that works great for internal planning.

GoSmallBiz: Most extra features

Want to get way more than just business planning software? Then you probably want GoSmallBiz.

See, GoSmallBiz offers business plan software as part of its service―but it’s just one part of a much bigger whole. You also get everything from discounts on legal services to a website builder to a CRM (customer relationship manager) to business document templates. And more. In other words, you get just about everything you need to get your startup off the ground.

GoSmallBiz software pricing

Don’t worry though―you still get all the business planning help you need. GoSmallBiz gives you business plan templates, step-by-step instructions, and the ability to create financial projections. And if you get stuck, GoSmallBiz will put you in touch with experts who can offer advice.

If you want business planning and much, much more, give GoSmallBiz a try.

PlanGuru : Best financial forecasting
EnLoop : Cheapest tool for startups

We recommend the software above for most business planning needs. Some businesses, though, might be interested in these more specialized planning software.

Honorable mention software pricing

Planguru: best financial forecasting features.

PlanGuru is pretty pricey compared to our other picks, but you might find its forecasting features worth paying for. It has more forecasting methods than other software (over 20) plus it lets you forecast up to 10 years.

EnLoop: Cheapest tool for startups

EnLoop doesn’t have our favorite features or interface, but it does have really, really low pricing plus a seven-day free trial. It's the most affordable software for startup business planning and still provides all the essential features like financial analysis, team collaboration, charting, and more.

Data as of 3 /13/23 . Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. * With annual billing

Several of our previous favorite planning software, including BusinessPlanPro and StratPad, seem to have gone out of business.

A business plan is a written, living document that tells the story of your business and what you plan to do with it. It serves as the source of truth for you—the business owner—as well as potential partners, employees, and investors, but it also serves as a roadmap of what you want your business to be.

Why you need a business plan

While some small-business owners don’t see the point of creating a formal business plan, it can have some concrete benefits for your business. For example, one 2016 study found that business owners with written plans are more successful than those that don’t. 1

Still too vague? Then let’s get specific.

If you ever seek business funding (from, say, banks, angel investors , or venture capitalists ), you’ll have to prove that your business deserves the money you want. A formal business plan―complete with financial data and projections―gives you a professional document you can use to make your case. (In fact, most potential investors will expect you to have a business plan ready.)

Even if you’re not seeking funding right now, a business plan can help your business. A formal plan can guide your business’s direction and decision making. It can keep your business accountable (by, for example, seeing if your business meets the financial projections you included). And a formal plan offers a great way to make sure your team stays on the same page.

What to include in your business plan

Not all business plans are created equal. To make a really useful business plan, you’ll want to include a number of elements:

Basic information about your business
Your products/services
Market and industry analysis
What makes your business competitive
Strategies and upcoming plans
Your team (and your team’s background)
Current financial status
Financial and market projections
Executive summary

Of course, you can include more or fewer elements―whatever makes sense for your business. Just make sure your business plan is comprehensive (but not overwhelming).

How business plan software can help

With so many elements to include, business plan creation can take a while. Business plan software tries to speed things up.

Most business plan software will include prompts for each section. In some cases, you can just fill in your business’s specific information, and the software will write the text for you. In other cases, the software will give you specific guidance and examples, helping you write the text yourself.

Plus, business plan software can help you stay organized. You’ll usually get intuitive menus that let you quickly flip through sections. So rather than endlessly scrolling through a long document in a word processor, you can quickly find your way around your plan. Some software even lets you drag and drop sections to reorganize your plan.

Sounds way easier than just staring at a blank page and trying to start from scratch, right?

Choosing business plan software

To find the right business plan builder for your business, you’ll want to compare features. For example, would you rather write your own text, getting prompts and advice from your software? Or would you rather go with a fill-in-the-blank method?

Likewise, think about the elements you need. If your plan will have a heavy focus on finances, you’ll want to choose business plan software with robust financial projection features. If you care more about market and competitor analysis, look for software that can help with that research.

You may also want to find business plan software that integrates with your business accounting software . Some plan builders will import data from Xero, QuickBooks, etc. to quickly generate your financial data and projections.

And of course, you’ll want to compare prices. After all, you always want to end up with software that fits your business budget.

The right business plan software can make your life easier. With LivePlan ’s wide breadth of features and online learning tools, you can’t go wrong. Plus, BizPlanBuilder 's one-time pricing makes it easy to invest while Business Sorter has a low starting cost. And if you're business is looking to grow, GoSmallBiz and Wise Business Plans will scale with you.

But of course, different companies have different needs. So shop around until you find the software that’s best for you and your business.

Now that you've got a business plan, take a look at our checklist for starting a small business. It can help you make sure you have everything else you need to get your startup off to a good start!

Methodology

We ranked business plan software and tools based on features, pricing and plans, and connections to project management and other services. The value of each plan and service, along with what it offers, was a big consideration in our rankings, and we looked to see if what was offered was useful to small businesses or just extra. The final thing we looked at was the ease of use of the software to see if it's too complex for small businesses.

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

Sources 1. Harvard Business Review, “ Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed .” Accessed March 13, 2023.

5202 W Douglas Corrigan Way Salt Lake City, UT 84116

Accounting & Payroll

Point of Sale

Payment Processing

Inventory Management

Human Resources

Other Services

Best Small Business Loans

Best Inventory Management Software

Best Small Business Accounting Software

Best Payroll Software

Best Mobile Credit Card Readers

Best POS Systems

Best Tax Software

Stay updated on the latest products and services anytime anywhere.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

Disclaimer: The information featured in this article is based on our best estimates of pricing, package details, contract stipulations, and service available at the time of writing. All information is subject to change. Pricing will vary based on various factors, including, but not limited to, the customer’s location, package chosen, added features and equipment, the purchaser’s credit score, etc. For the most accurate information, please ask your customer service representative. Clarify all fees and contract details before signing a contract or finalizing your purchase.

Our mission is to help consumers make informed purchase decisions. While we strive to keep our reviews as unbiased as possible, we do receive affiliate compensation through some of our links. This can affect which services appear on our site and where we rank them. Our affiliate compensation allows us to maintain an ad-free website and provide a free service to our readers. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy Page . |

Best business plan software of 2024

For planning your business finance

Best overall

Best budget, best established, best for speed.

How we test

The best business plan software makes it simple and easy to plan your business finances in order to present them to a bank or investors.

1. Best overall 2. Best budget 3. Best basic 4. Best established 5. Best for speed 6. FAQs 7. How we test

The whole point of a business plan is that it allows you to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, not least via your Unique Selling Point (USP) ,and make product or service comparisons with competitors.

Of course, even the best business plan relies on estimates and guesstimates, as it's impossible to predict market changes, developments, and future performance under such conditions.

Ultimately, though, a business plan will demonstratively prove why your business is a solid enough investment to risk putting money into, and shows that you have properly and thoroughly researched your market, and details the real potential of a new business opportunities.

Here then are the best business plan software providers currently available.

You may also be interested in our featured business guides on best business laptops , best business computers and best business smartphones .

The best business plan software of 2024 in fill:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid.

Bizplan is the online business planning tool that claims usage of 30,000 startup founders from the Startups.co platform. They use a guided creator that can break the big project down into the component pieces that get tracked with a Progress Tracker, and expert guidance each step of the way including templates that can be dropped in, and completed, along with simple integration of visuals along the way.

Additional resources are also provided via the Bizplan Academy, with lessons on relevant topics, for example, “Building a Brand: How to Tell a Powerful Brand Story,” and “Critical Path Your Way to Higher Revenues,” among the many offerings. Those that need even more assistance also can take advantage of an expert consultation from a financial expert.

^ Back to the top

2. PlanGuru

PlanGuru is a comprehensive, and powerful software package in the business planning space. Education is provided via a series of case studies at their PlanGuru University and a whole slew of video tutorials.

The feature set includes flexible budgeting that can handle a simple small business, or a larger multi-department operating budget, and financial forecasting that uses multiple methods, including intelligent and turn-key methods - twenty methods in total. Historical results can also be imported with the general ledger import utility which can then applied to produce a rolling forecast. They also offer PlanGuru Launch, a service to bring in expertise and is charged per hour of assistance.

A significant downside is Planguru charges a higher cost than other software options. The cheapest option is around $75 per month for one business entity when billed annually. While there is no free trial, PlanGuru does offer a 30 day money back guarantee.

Our expert review:

Enloop is a great choice for business planning software for the cash strapped business as it is the rare offering that has a free tier. Step up up to the next tier, and this is no barebones product, as it has over 100 currency symbols, can automatically generate bank-ready financial reports, and even has automated text writing that can sync with financial data to turn it into text. There is also a real time performance score assigned, that dynamically changes as the business plan is strengthened.

The plans start with the Free tier, which is limited to a single business plan with simple text, no images, and does not offer any advanced features. The next plan up is the Detailed plan, that supports three business plans, and offers a significant 55% discount when paid annually, making it even better value. This plan costs around $20 per month. For a more comprehensive package you can buy the Performance plan costing around $40 per month.

Read our full Enloop business plan software review .

4. LivePlan

LivePlan is business planning software that offers a simple pricing scheme as there is only a single plan to choose from. As they have a 15+ year track record, they offer a clean and simple interface, that can create business plans that look like they were done by an expert consultant, and the software includes a live dashboard that can track day-to-day performance. Those with writer’s block will benefit from the over 500 included sample plans that can be turned to for inspiration.

Rather than complicate things with too many tiers to choose from, LivePlan only has a single plan which can be paid for monthly or annually.

5. Business Sorter

Business Sorter promises to simplify and speed up business planning and claims to be able to flesh out a plan in an hour or two, via a novel 273 card sort system that covers many common situations.

The ability to reword cards is included, or also to add cards to the already expansive deck, so no worries if there is not a pre-made card for your situation. Unlike some sites that have videos, the educational resources here are provided as PDFs and Word files, which can be quicker to access, but harder to follow for some learners.

The lowest tier plan, Basic is fully featured, and includes up to three team leaders.

Read our full Business Sorter review .

Other business plan software to consider

We've only covered some of the most popular business plan software platforms out there, but there are a number of other notables worth mentioning, plus a wide variety of providers of business plan templates. Below we'll briefly cover a range of some of the additional options out there that are worth considering to get your business plan right.

Go Business Plans is more of a consultancy than a software solution, but is worth mentioning for the simple fact that it's one of America's biggest business plan companies. While software might be able to do the job for you, if you're looking for significant funding, it's probably useful to get some professional advice, not least in terms of strategic planning, feasibility studies, and financial projections to ensure you have a solid base for your business plan.

Wise Business Plans provides a very wide range of templates to work from in constructing a business plan. These are particularly designed with funding in mind, no matter what kind of business you run. What is especially helpful is that Wise doesn’t simply deal with business plan templates for a diverse range of business types, the company also provides plan templates for franchises and non-profits.

Plan Writers is another bespoke service that essentially listens to what you want and then puts the plan together for you. Again, this technically falls outside of business plan "software", but the chances are you'll use a software package as a platform to build from, and Plan Writers can then help you build up from that base.

Bplans is another provider of business plan templates, but goes beyond that with additional pitch and SWOT analysis templates. There are also business plan guides, industry reports, and a free course on writing a business plan. Bplans also publishes a lot of free-to-use articles on business planning, financials, and tax reporting, to help ensure you can keep your figures and projections accurate and compliant.

We've also listed the best free software for small business .

A business plan is essentially your roadmap to profitability from an initial investment. Whether it's your own money, or a loan from a bank, it's still a good idea to set up a business plan for yourself.

Main things to look to are a SWOT analysis to provide an idea of your business idea's strengths and weaknesses, as well as identify a unique selling point (USP) that will give your business an edge.

While business plans inevitably demand the use of figures, and while these can be impossible to be accurate with, at least by making intelligent guesses you can set yourself targets to work towards.

That's another common feature of a plan, so that specific periods you can review your business progress and make adjustments to your plan as required. This allows you to use real figures for your projections, allowing you to better plan ahead.

Which business plan software is best for you?

When deciding which business plan software to use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require.

How we tested the best business plan software

To test for the best business plan software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the software could be used for different purposes and in different situations. The aim was to push each business plan software platform to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar .

Get in touch

Want to find out about commercial or marketing opportunities? Click here
Out of date info, errors, complaints or broken links? Give us a nudge
Got a suggestion for a product or service provider? Message us directly
You've reached the end of the page. Jump back up to the top ^

Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!

Jonas P. DeMuro is a freelance reviewer covering wireless networking hardware.

Adobe Dreamweaver (2024) review

Adobe Character Animator (2024) review

Don't be a fool: buy the Apple Watch 9 for an incredible price of just $299 at Amazon

LivePlan Software Review

Back to Business Plans

Written by: Carolyn Young

Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.

Edited by: David Lepeska

David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.

Published on September 15, 2023 Updated on December 13, 2023

When you’re starting a business , a business plan is essential whether you’re going to obtain financing or not. Creating a business plan helps you to research and analyze every aspect of your business and create a strategy for success. But for most entrepreneurs, a business plan is not easy to create from scratch without guidance.

Many online services offer tools to help you create your business plan, but it can be hard to decide which one to choose. In this review, we’ll delve deep into the workings of LivePlan, unpacking its features, analyzing user feedback, and determining whether it’s the go-to tool for aspiring entrepreneurs and established business owners.

Service Overview
Our Verdict on LivePlan

LivePlan, created by Palo Alto Software, is a highly regarded cloud-based business plan software designed primarily for startups and entrepreneurs without prior business planning experience.

Its intuitive interface, coupled with video tutorials and comprehensive templates, allows users to craft a professional business plan efficiently.

While the cost of LivePlan’s packages can be prohibitive for some potential users, the overwhelmingly positive reviews, transparent pricing, and extensive feature set make LivePlan an optimal choice for business planning needs.

For those uncertain, the 35-day refund policy offers an added layer of confidence in trying out the software.

Plans and Pricing

Customer Service

Customer Satisfaction

Site Usability

Overall Score: 4.3/5

Pros and Cons
Intuitive step-by-step instructions, simplifying the business planning process
Comprehensive financial planning features including budgeting and forecasting
Transparent pricing with 35-day refund policy
The software contains built-in, customizable templates
Collaboration capabilities allow partners to concurrently input and revise data
The subscription model of LivePlan can be prohibitive for some potential users
Transfering documents to common formats like Word or PDF can be challenging
What is LivePlan?

LivePlan (product of Palo Alto Software ) is an online business planning app that offers tools, guidance, and resources to help you create a business plan. They provide full guidance through the planning process and help you to develop strategies to grow your business. It’s more than just a template – the LivePlan app guides you through the process of creating your plan and strategy.

LivePlan Features and Pricing

LivePlan offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to simplify and enhance the business planning process. It provides step-by-step guidance coupled with expert advice throughout each phase of creating a business plan.

The software supports automatic generation of financials, charts, and graphs, eliminating the need for complex spreadsheets or intricate formulas. With visually compelling performance dashboards, it brings data to life, offering a clear perspective of the business’s standing.

Furthermore, LivePlan enables the use of real accounting data, allowing users to compare their forecasts against actuals through seamless integrations with Quickbooks & Xero. Users also benefit from industry benchmarks, facilitating a comparison of actual performance against industry competitors of similar size.

To cap it off, the platform supports planning for both best-case and worst-case scenarios, ensuring that businesses can use data to create a strategic roadmap, preparing them for various eventualities.

LivePlan’s Standard package costs $20 per month and includes step-by-step planning, lender-ready financial statements, a full financial forecast, and a one-page pitch builder. You’ll also have access to more than 500 sample business plans.

Their Premium package costs $40 per month ($20 in the first month) and includes everything above plus industry benchmark data and “what if” guides to help you prepare for the unexpected.

It also includes performance dashboards, real-time profit and cash forecasting, an automatic forecast builder, the ability to export sheets to Excel, and syncing with Quickbooks or Xero.

LivePlan offers a 25% discount on both plans if you pay annually instead of monthly (Standard Plan is $15/month and Premium Plan is $30/month if billed annualy), as well as a 35-day money-back guarantee, which in effect acts as a free trial.

Site Navigation

When you first go to the site, you have to click Start Your Plan to see their plans and pricing.

Then you can sign in with Google or email and you’ll go immediately to checkout.

From the home page you can instead choose to watch a video tour to see how it works.

You’ll see that the business planning page is well laid out so that you can click on any section to start writing.

The site will provide instructions to give you some guidance.

You can elect to have AI rewrite what you wrote.

The site also gives much guidance in the financials section of the plan.

The guidance even includes suggested revenue streams based on your business type.

LivePlan does the calculations for you.

The tutorial is a great way to see what you’re getting for your money, and entering your information to create the plan seems incredibly easy. I was also impressed with the financial guidance that it offers, since that’s an area that many entrepreneurs struggle with.

Overall, the site is quite easy to use and is loaded with information.

Customer Support

I started a chat and after going through a few prompts I was connected to an agent, Lindsay, in a few minutes. I asked about their cancellation policy and procedure.

I received this message almost immediately.

Chat Support Rating:

Response time:

The answer was clear – that you can cancel through your LivePlan account and you don’t have to call or email, which is convenient.

I sent an email to ask a slightly different cancellation question and received an immediate auto reply.

Support Rating:

I received an actual response within an hour, which is impressive! The answer was clear and professional.

I called customer service to ask a similar question, but I got a recording that told me that they offered their support through LiveChat and directed me there. I don’t particularly mind this, since I prefer chat, but I’m sure that many customers would prefer to have the phone option.

LivePlan Reviews

Palo Alto Software is not an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau and has a D-rating. They have no customer reviews on the BBB website, but they do have a few complaints. The complaints revolved around issues with cancellation and getting a refund, as well as unauthorized re-activation of an account and getting un-authorized charges.

Here are some positive reviews from LivePlan users:

LivePlan is my primary financial forecasting and issue raising tool. I build out annual Pro-forma in Q4 with detailed revenue and expense category forecasts. The ability to build revenue and expense forecasts by category and the appropriate level of detail is highly useful. Monthly, and especially quarterly, we can see if and where we are off track relative to original goals and make necessary adjustments in the business. In my opinion, this is the best tool of its kind for business owners/operators. Well done. – Jason Ogden, President

LivePlan has been a key product in our company when dealing with planning of our company business. It makes it easy for us to keep our entire business enterprise organized for better productivity. More to planning, it offers us an outstanding platform for budgeting, keeping a track of our business progress a d performance as well as doing accurate forecasts on the future of our business. It has made it possible for us to simplify the planning and funding various business projects aimed at promoting the agility and the productivity of our business. – Mariana Jones, National Key Account Manager- Fleet Sales

I started my startup consultancy in 1997. Soon after, I bought my first Palo Alto Business Plan Pro disc and spent quality time chatting with Tim about how helpful the financial section was. Since then, I have recommended this program MANY times and am thrilled to be able to recommend it again to whoever reads this review. Live Plan is wonderful, convenient, and worth every penny! – Victoria D.

Live Plan was perfect for my needs – it helped me shape my strategic plan and think through my start-up capital requirements and revenue projections. I loved that it gave me some industry benchmarks and suggested budget items (like employee payroll liabilities) I hadn’t thought of. The templates were also very helpful to show me what a plan should look like. – Laurie S.

Here’s a selection of constructive feedback from LivePlan users:

Where the product really falls down is when you want to compare with Actuals. It only connects to Xero and Quick Books and you have no control over the data or time period that it syncs at all – current year plus last two years, which is rubbish if your business has pivoted and you only want the last six months data for example. Whats worse is you cant roll back the sync – you have to manually delete all sync’d data. Further if you dont use Xero or QBooks, there is no option to import from a spreadsheet – so again you need a data entry person to manually enter actual data unless you want to spend ages doing it yourself… Very disappointed as up to this point had liked the platform. – Lucy B.

Generally going out 5 years is more than fine with projections. However, we did have a situation where we brought a new division in 2 years later and we need to combine it with the original plan and would have liked it going 6 or even 7 years. – Reid J.

LivePlan Alternatives

BizPlan offers monthly ($29), annual ($249), and lifetime access ($349) payment options. Their business plan software offers full guidance as you write your plan and calculates financial statements.

Their crowdfunding platform, Fundable, can help promote your plan and raise funding from the public and investors. In addition, you can access self-guided courses and educational videos and talk with expert mentors. Visit Bizplan.com here .

Founded in 2010, Enloop stands out with an automatically generated text tool that users can edit as they wish. Enloop offers a seven-day free trial and two paid plans.

The seven-day trial and the two paid plans (Detailed and Performance) all include a host of features. The Detailed plan costs $19.95 per month, while the Performance plan runs $39.95 monthly. Visit Enloop.com here .

PlanGuru

PlanGuru is not business plan software, but rather a sophisticated financial planning tool that can help prepare your company’s budget and financial plan. It’s available as either a cloud-based or desktop app. Both apps cost $99 per month or $899 annually. Visit PlanGuru.com here .

Conclusion – Is LivePlan Worth it?

LivePlan offers robust business planning tools for quite a reasonable price. You can get a professional looking business plan for funding, or just to create your strategy. Their phone support can be a bit better, but live chat and email support are great.

Overall, we would highly recommend LivePlan to new and existing entrepreneurs.

You can cancel your LivePlan subscription at any time through your LivePlan account on the site.

LivePlan’s pricing is quite transparent, with no hidden fees.

LivePlan claims to have bank-level security so you should have no security concerns.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Featured resources.

Crafting the Perfect Business Plan: A Deep Dive with Upmetrics’ Vinay Kevadiya

Carolyn Young

Published on October 13, 2023

In the first segment of our conversation with Vinay Kevadiya, the visionary behind Upmetrics, we explored the platform’s origins and itsunique ...

What to Include in Your Business Plan Appendix?

Published on September 13, 2023

Launching a business involves countless tasks, and one of the crucial early hurdles is writing a business plan. Many entrepreneurs who aren’tlooki ...

5 Best Business Plan Software

Published on March 7, 2023

Starting a business requires completing countless tasks, and a key early hurdle is writing a business plan. Entrepreneurs who aren’t looking forfu ...

No thanks, I don't want to stay up to date on industry trends and news.

10 Best Subreddits for Entrepreneurs

Startup Resources
Subreddits for Entrepreneurs

Last Updated: October 11, 2023 By TRUiC Team

Few corners of the internet are more interesting and insightful than Reddit . On Reddit, you'll find a network of communities — called "subreddits" — for discussing just about any topic that you could possibly imagine, including the topic of entrepreneurship. If you would like to get started using Reddit to grow your entrepreneurial skills, here are the 10 best subreddits for entrepreneurs to follow.

Also Recommended: Read our list of the best online communities for startup founders .

Top Entrepreneur Subreddits

1. r/entrepreneur.

Let's start with the subreddit dedicated specifically to the topic of entrepreneurship. On r/entrepreneur, you will find discussions on every possible topic of interest to entrepreneurs - from how to find investors to sales and marketing strategies to thoughts on leadership and everything in-between. If there's one subreddit that you should certainly frequent as an entrepreneur, it's r/entrepreneur.

2. r/LetsBePartners

r/LetsBePartners is a subreddit designed to serve as a networking platform for entrepreneurs and business owners, helping them connect with investors and business partners. Whether you are simply looking to raise capital for your startup or you are looking for someone to bring on as a more involved partner, r/LetsBePartners is one of the best startup subreddits to leverage.

3. r/leadership

Great leadership skills are one of the most important qualities of a successful entrepreneur. On r/leadership, you will find a wealth of information on leadership strategies and tips, making it one of the best subreddits for entrepreneurs to check out.

4. r/GrowMyBusiness

Starting a business is a big challenge, but growing a startup into a thriving company is often even more difficult. On r/GrowMyBusiness, you will find information on how to spur business growth, and this subreddit is a great resource for entrepreneurs that are trying to take the next step with their young company.

5. r/venturecapital

If you want to attract investors to your company, understanding the world of venture capital is an important place to start. On r/venturecapital, you will find advice on how to pitch a startup to investors along with plenty of other information covering everything you could possibly want to know about how investors choose where to invest.

6. r/AdvancedEntrepreneur

As the name suggests, r/AdvancedEntrepreneur is not a subreddit for beginners. However, if you are an experienced entrepreneur and are tired of hearing the same basic advice, this subreddit is a great place to find information geared toward a more experienced and knowledgeable audience. On r/AdvancedEntrepreneur, you can look forward to in-depth discussions from established entrepreneurs on a range of entrepreneurship topics - all of which are more advanced and detailed than most online resources.

7, r/marketing

Successful entrepreneurs are required to take on a lot of different roles. In the early stages of founding and growing a company, though, the role of a marketer is one of the most important of these roles that you will need to adopt. There's a lot to learn about startup marketing, and if you would like to hear tips and advice from experienced marketers across a range of industries, then r/marketing is a great subreddit to check out.

8. r/LadyBusiness

Female-owned businesses have increased by 68% since 1998 but still only account for 30% of all businesses currently in existence. If you are a female entrepreneur and would like to engage with other inspiring female business owners, r/LadyBusiness is the community for you. This subreddit is intended for both aspiring and current female entrepreneurs and is chock-full of great advice on what it takes to succeed as a woman in what continues to be a male-dominated sphere.

9. r/productivty

Great time management is one of the most important keys to entrepreneurial success, given the fact that trying to keep up with all the tasks and responsibilities that running a company entails is something that can quickly become overwhelming for even the most focused and committed individuals. If you would like to learn the tips and strategies that will help you manage your time for optimized productivity as well as tips for boosting the productivity of your employees, then be sure to check out r/productivity.

10. r/socialmedia

In 2020, over 3.6 billion people were using social media worldwide, making it one of the most popular online activities. No matter what industry you are in, you can guarantee that you will find your customers on social media - and mastering social media marketing has now become one of the most effective ways to grow a startup. On r/socialmedia, you will find discussions on a range of social media marketing topics and best practices, helping you leverage the power of social media to its maximum benefit.

How to Post on Reddit for Your Startup

Engaging with the communities in the best subreddits for entrepreneurs that we've covered is as simple as creating a Reddit profile for your startup. Once you've made your profile and filled out some basic information, you'll be able to both reply to existing discussions and create your own new discussions in whatever subreddit you choose.

The only thing to keep in mind is that Reddit does enforce rules regarding self-promotion. Reddit is supposed to be a platform for genuine discussion, not an avenue for spam — and Reddit moderators work hard to keep it this way. While there are some subreddits where shameless plugs are actually encouraged, you'll want to avoid directly promoting your company in most cases and instead use Reddit as a platform for research, collaboration, and thoughtful discussion.

Bizplan vs. Liveplan: Which is Best for Your Business?

What is Bizplan Used For?

Bizplan is one of the leading business plan software helping startups, entrepreneurs, and small business owners create business plans with direct access to planning experts.

This tool provides a guided business plan creator to streamline the writing process. This step-by-step builder breaks the tedious process into bite-sized pieces that you can actually complete.

Financial tools help create detailed projections and financial and cash flow statements in no time, so entrepreneurs can spend more time growing and scaling their businesses.

That’s not it. Once you’re done creating a business plan, you can directly share it with investors or use Fundable—their online fundraising platform, to raise capital for your business.

This platform has already helped raise over $500 million for startups.

Besides business & financial planning and fundraising tools, Bizplan provides guided courses on funding and direct access to a community of 20,000+ founders and experts.

Overall, Bizplan could be an excellent investment for startups and small businesses to create a comprehensive business plan. Still, it may lack in certain areas—like industry-specific guidance or assistance.

What is Liveplan Used For?

Liveplan is also a business planning and management software created to help entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed through strategic business planning. With tools like Liveplan, creating a business plan takes only a few hours, which used to take several weeks to complete.

This tool simplifies professional business plan creation with its instruction manuals, tutorials, and expert guidance, whereas its automated financials built-in with formulas ensure precise financial forecasting.

With its robust financial and budgeting capabilities, users can easily track financial projections, create and manage budgets, and track the company’s financial health. In contrast, AI assistance helps write or improve content using artificial intelligence.

Overall, Liveplan provides a comprehensive suite of features including one-page plans, budgeting, financial reporting, collaboration tools, AI assistance, automatic financials, and others to create a seamless business planning experience.

However, you may need to look for other Liveplan alternatives considering its steep learning, limited financial analysis capabilities, and limited integrations.

Best Suitable for

Start with $20.75

Entrepreneurs, Startups, Small Businesses

Start with $15

SMBs, Consultants, Educators.

Start with $7

Startups, SMBs, Consultants, Educators.

At a Glance

If you compare some of these tools’ basic but essential functionalities, you can certainly make a better decision. Looking at the comparison chart, it becomes apparent that both tools stand very closely to each other.

For instance, considering value for money and features, Bizplan and Liveplan are close. Although, when it comes to ease-of-use customer support, Liveplan seems slightly ahead of Bizplan.

Have a look at the user ratings of Bizplan vs. Liveplan along with Upmetrics to get a better understanding of all the tools.

Quick Comparison

Now let’s dive deeper to understand these tools better to see which comes on top, Bizplan or Liveplan. If we compare some of the essential aspects of these tools, it will become apparent that Bizplan and Liveplan have different strengths and weaknesses.

Bizplan looks a little pricey, with its packages starting from $20.75, compared to Liveplan, which costs $15. However, it has unlimited team members and workspaces, which justifies its high pricing.

When considering basic features associated with a business planning tool like business plan builder, financial forecasting, and business plan templates, both Bizplan and Liveplan have all of them.

Still, Bizplan lacks features like a one-page pitch builder, AI Assistance, and Strategic planning. Not having a free trial or a demo plan is another drawback for both tools. Bizplan seems ahead with email, chat, and call support compared to Liveplan, as it lacks call support.

It’s hard not to mention that Upmetrics provides all the features, including AI assistance, making an incredible Bizplan alternative at an unbelievable price!

You can compare all the notable features of Liveplan vs. Bizplan along with Upmetrics to see which one is better.

A Bizplan subscription includes access to self-guided courses, 650 expert masterclass videos , and 1,000+ how-to guides on business & financial planning.
Unlike other business planning software, Bizplan offers a lifetime plan at $349 , which can be an excellent choice for business consultants.
A fundraising platform to pitch your plan directly to investors—the platform has helped startups raise over $500 million in committed capital.
While Bizplan offers templates and prompts for timely guidance, some users may find the platform lacking in customization options.
According to some users, text-only sections offer you the freedom to write in any format, but the output isn't aesthetically structured , so there's no real advantage over Word.
The process of creating a financial model is time-consuming and getting to grips with the platform can be a bit challenging.
Writing a business plan is easy with its step-by-step guidance , AI Assistance , and industry-specific business plan examples.
It provides industry benchmarks and suggests budget items to help you understand your market and make informed decisions.
Its automated financials , built-in with formulas, help you automatically project your cash flow.
It only connects to Xero and QuickBooks , and you have no control over the data or time period it syncs.
Some users may find Liveplan challenging to try and figure out even after watching video tutorials and guides.
Liveplan’s formatting options are a bit limiting in certain aspects of formatting. i.e., not providing font selection options.
This web app simplifies the heavy lifting of thinking/planning of writing a business plan, pitch deck, etc.
Even if you have never done a business plan, the step-by-step guides and template make it super easy to create a fantastic business plan in a couple of hours.
Upmetrics’ AI Assistance is the best solution for business plan writing . It helps you auto-write, auto-improve, shorten-expand, and change the tone of your text.
Upmetrics has a library of 400+ templates best for SMBs, but they should add a few more templates for small niche business types.
Some users reported that financials are a bit complicated to follow, but this isn’t the case with only Upmetrics. Financial planning, in general, could be complicated for a beginner with any business planning software.
Upmetrics is an excellent business planning tool. However, it’s not available in French or other regional languages, which can be a drawback for those who do not use English as a business language.

Pricing is one of the most vital aspects when comparing Bizplan vs. Liveplan or other tools. As both tools offer significantly different pricing plans, it’s a bit challenging to have a fair comparison.

Bizplan has three monthly, annual, and lifetime subscription plans, which cost $29, $249, and $349 , respectively. All these pricing plans include unlimited business plans, collaborators, and all features on Bizplan.

On the other hand, Liveplan has two subscription plans, standard and premium, which cost $15 and $30 per month on annual billing. Liveplan’s standard and premium plans provide access to 5 contributors to work on one business plan which is limiting compared to Bizplan.

However, Bizplan’s pricing plans aren’t customized to cater to specific audiences and may lack many advanced functionalities compared to Liveplan .

Here’s a head-to-head comparison of all pricing plans, Liveplan vs. Bizplan along with Upmetrics to get a clearer view.

*Pricing is based on annual billing.

In-depth Business Plan Builder Comparison

Let’s take a look at the feature that can set any business planning software on solid ground—business plan builder.

Both tools offer a step-by-step guided business plan builder with necessary features, including drag-and-drop templates, business outlines, progress tracker, performance dashboard, and more. Though Bizplan lacks many advanced features like task management and a one-page pitch builder compared to Liveplan.

Though Liveplan seems ahead of Bizplan by offering these features, it lacks advanced functionalities like business plan version control, strategic planning, and a pinboard to organize ideas.

Upmetrics, however, does have all the general and advanced features necessary for business planning, making it a very reliable and affordable Bizplan alternative .

Here’s an in-depth comparison of Bizplan vs Liveplan’s business plan builder feature along with Upmetrics for a clear understanding.

In-depth Financial Planning Comparison

Financial planning is the most critical aspect of business planning. So it’s time to compare financial planning features of both tools.

Be it Liveplan or Bizplan, both tools offer excellent financial features and tools for accurate financial projections. Both tools include necessary features like financial reporting, dashboard, automatic financials, country currency formatting, and more.

However, Bizplan lacks some advanced forecasting functionalities like “what if” scenarios, real-time profit & cash forecasting, and integration with accounting software like Xero & QuickBooks.

Check out this table for Bizplan vs Liveplan comparison of financial forecasting features.

In-depth Step-by-step Guide and Templates Comparison

We compared the business plan builder and financial features of both planning software. Now it’s time to compare their step-by-step guides and business plan templates.

Both tools, Bizplan and Liveplan, offer business plan templates and step-by-step instructions to help you create a business plan. However, Bizplan lacks how-to articles & guides and webinars & events. Though Liveplan has these features, just like Bizplan, it lacks a thorough business planning course.

In contrast, Upmetrics provides all the necessary features , step-by-step guidance and includes a detailed course on business planning to help you out.

Here’s the table for the Bizplan vs Liveplan comparison of step-by-step guides and templates.

In-depth Collaboration Capability Comparison

You need a tool with excellent collaboration capabilities when working with a team. That’s why collaboration is yet another aspect of business planning tools we can’t afford to ignore.

Bizplan and Liveplan both have different pricing plans, so their collaboration capabilities have to be different. While both tools allow online sharing and access to unlimited guest viewers, Liveplan is limited to 5 team members .

In contrast, with Bizplan, there’s no limit for team members and contributors as their plans allow unlimited team members to work on unlimited business plans. However, it is fairly expensive for this extra feature.

Following is a comparative chart of the collaboration capabilities, Bizplan vs. Liveplan, along with Upmetrics.

Transform Your Business with AI-Assisted Planning

Unlock the Power of AI for Your Business Success with Upmetrics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is bizplan better than liveplan.

Bizplan and Liveplan are great business planning tools with necessary features, including step-by-step guidance, financial forecasting, and team collaboration. Compared with Liveplan, Bizplan is more expensive and lacks many critical features.

But both tools are pretty overpriced for startups and small business owners, considering their feature offerings.

What are Liveplan and Bizplan?

Liveplan and Bizplan are both diverse business planning tools helping entrepreneurs create investment-ready business and financial plans with advanced business planning features and step-by-step guidance.

What is better than Liveplan?

Liveplan is an incredible business plan software. However, Upmetrics provides all the advanced business planning features that Liveplan provides at a much more affordable price, making it a better Liveplan alternative .

Does Liveplan have a free version?

Liveplan doesn’t offer a free plan, trial, or demo. However, they do offer a 35-day money-back guarantee on all their plans. So you can get a refund if you don’t find it the right fit.

Do people still use Bizplan?

Yes, people still use Bizplan, as it has been in the space for quite some time now. However, Bizplan lacks many advanced functionalities and is relatively expensive compared to other tools in the market. So more and more users are migrating to more cost-effective tools like Upmetrics. It includes all the features Bizplan offers at a fraction of its price point.

Popular Templates

ZenBusinessPlans

Home » Business Plan Tips

26 Best LivePlan Alternatives (FREE & Paid)

Is LivePlan business plan software too expensive or complicated for you? If YES, here are 26 best LivePlan alternatives; both free and paid options.

LivePlan has always bagged the top spot whenever it comes to the best business plan software you can find online. This is because the creators of this app provided a slick and interactive service that offers a step-by-step business plan approach to businesses; with a rich collection of cloud-based features, and online learning tools. The software also provides easy-to-use templates built to meet your specific goals.

However, its annual package is priced at a healthy $139.92 per year. If you’re not willing to pay that much up front, opt for its monthly package at $19.95 per month, and enjoy the first month for only $9.95.

If you are a startup entrepreneur who does not have the kind of money it takes to purchase a subscription for LivePlan , you can simply consider these LivePlan alternatives to do the job for you at a much lower cost.

1. BizPlanBuilder

Cost – $19.97 to $97.00

BizPlanBuilder is yet another business plan writing software that has been helping small businesses out over the years. This intuitive software provides a simple wizard that walks users through effective business planning. With its premade, industry-specific templates, BizPlanBuilder can help you craft a functional business plan that reflects your business goals.

While it provides solid business plan services, its flagship service surrounds financials. With a single link, business owners can share their plan with investors online. So instead of sending bulky attachments, users can present their plan directly in a browser using modern navigation.

BizPlanBuilder’s financial tools also come with calculators, charts, and graphs, show financial projections, cost analyses, and budget sheets. The software also allows users to import financial data from their accounting software program into the app to make it easier to work on.

In addition to its business planning and financial features, BizPlanBuilder offers real-time collaboration, which means multiple team members can view and edit the business plan simultaneously. The pricing for BizPlanBuilder starts at $19.97 per month. BizPlanBuilder has 2 different plans such as – Start-Up or Strategic Planning at $19.97 per month and Windows App and Cloud-Based BizPlanBuilder at $97.00 per year.

2. GoSmallBiz.com

Cost – $39 per month

Founded by NFL Hall of Famer and veteran entrepreneur Fran Tarkenton, GoSmallBiz.com provides hundreds of business-specific templates that generate the exact documents business owners need for their business plans. In addition to these features, this business plan writing software has online calendar management that can schedule meetings, appointments, and customer events while setting up automated reminders.

Another great feature of this online software is its financial statements and projections. Business owners can perform sales and profit analyses and look over income, cash flow, and balance sheets.

For those who are new to business planning, GoSmallBiz.com offers a slew of online learning tools, including business mentoring, business courses, and weekly updates. It also offers users help from a real CEO and business planning expert, so you can be rest assured knowing that you’ll never be steered in the wrong direction.

In terms of pricing, GoSmallBiz.com is priced at an affordable $39 per month. But you can test the waters by opting for their 60-day free trial.

3. Business Plan Pro

Cost – $99.95 to $159.95

Business Plan Pro is reputed to be the number one best-selling business plan software for ten years straight. As an industry leader among small-business owners, Business Plan Pro offers a flock of top-notch technical and customer support to help new business owners succeed.

Plus, it offers clear instructions and cutting-edge funding tools to create a solid business plan and impress investors. With Business Plan Pro, you also get over 500 complete sample business plans you can use for inspiration or edit directly.

More than a million entrepreneurs have used Business Plan Pro. That includes everyone from first-time business owners to leaders at more than half of the Fortune 500. Business owners can sign up for Business Plan Pro’s Standard edition for $99.95 per month. Or upgrade to the Premier edition for a flat rate of $159.95. Keep in mind that you can cancel anytime if you’re not satisfied.

4. OnePlace

Costs – $5/mo to $99/mo

OnePlace plays an important role in business plan writing, especially for freelancers. It allows you to track the time you spend on each task. When time is applied, OnePlace automatically calculates leftover effort, which helps you plan more effectively for future projects and tasks.

OnePlace allows businesses to store plans and other documents that can be accessed by members of the team. You can assign an estimated time for a task and keep track of the actual effort spent on the task. It will report on actual versus estimated time so you can compare how well you are meeting your projections.

As an added bonus, OnePlace offers affordable pricing. In fact, its basic plan, which offers limited features, is free. If you need more robust features, move up to its Enterprise plan ($5/mo.), Bronze plan ($24/mo.), Silver plan ($49/mo.), or Gold plan ($99/mo.). OnePlace also offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

5. PlanGuru

Cost – $99 per month

PlanGuru is yet another comprehensive, and powerful software package in the business plan writing space. Some of the features of this business planning software include; a flexible budgeting that can handle a simple small business, or a larger multi-department operating budget, and financial forecasting that uses multiple methods, including intelligent and turn-key methods – twenty methods in total.

Historical results can also be imported with the general ledger import utility which can then be applied to produce a rolling forecast. The company also offers PlanGuru Launch, a service to bring in expertise that starts at $250 per hour of assistance.

In addition, the software provides business plan writing and management tutoring for entrepreneurs that are still struggling aspects of their business.

A significant downside of this awesome software is the cost, with the least expensive plan costing $99 per month, which only includes a single user, and additional users cost $29 each per month. While there is no free trial, PlanGuru does offer a 30 day money back guarantee.

6. Business Sorter

Cost – AUD$12 – $768 AUD/year 33% discount

Business planning can be complex and implementation is an ongoing process. Business Sorter provides a really simple, cost-effective way to put together a plan and execute it. Business Sorter promises to simplify and speed up business planning, and claims to be able to flesh out a plan in an hour or two, via a novel 273 card sort system that covers many common situations.

The card sort system lets you work out the basis of your plan in 1–2 hours, instead of many hours or even days. The ability to reword cards is included, or also to add cards to the already expansive deck, so no worries if there is not a pre-made card for your situation.

Unlike some sites that have videos, the educational resources here are provided as PDFs and Word files, which can be quicker to access, but harder to follow for some learners. The lowest tier plan, Basic, starts at $12 monthly, with an annual discount of $80 on an annual basis, is fully featured, and includes up to three team leaders.

Cost – $9.95 to $39.95

Enloop lets you try its business plan creation capabilities for free with a no-charge version using simple text and no images. If you want anything else more than that, you need to pay at least $19.95 per month. With a paid version, Enloop helps company owners create business plans quickly and easily.

One of the coolest features of Enloop is it’s EPS (Enloop Performance Score). As you create your business plan, Enloop assigns a score to your plan which is displayed as you move through each step of your plan. This score is Enloops scoring of the projected success of your business, which is calculated as a score (1-1000) using Enloop’s proprietary algorithm.

Enloop’s free version lets a single user create a single business plan with three-year forecasts, PDF file output, and a business report card. Enloop’s three paid levels, which range from $9.95 per month to $39.95 per month, add features such as financial ratio analysis, rich text formatting in report creation, and additional users, plans, and charts. Enloop can also let you invite other people to contribute to the same plan.

8. Tarkenton GoSmallBiz

Cost – $99 per year or $14.95 per month

GoSmallBiz from Tarkenton Companies, Inc. is a web-based, template-driven system that offers business planning tools and other resources for small businesses. It begins at $99 per year or $14.95 per month. It can also be purchased as part of a $39-per-month Tarkenton GoSmallBiz membership, which includes other services such as business consultations, a website builder, an HR document builder, customer relationship management (CRM) with email marketing, and more.

Delivered entirely over the web, GoSmallBiz from Tarkenton Companies, Inc. works using a template-driven organization that offers not only business planning tools, but a host of other resources for small businesses, especially learning and mentoring.

Tarkenton GoSmallBiz started out in 1996 doing education and advocacy for small business start-ups. Founded by former NFL player Fran Tarkenton, the company’s main service is to provide consultants who respond to questions about small business owners.

9. Restaurant Success Kit

Costs – $97

If you aren’t looking for a largely pre-researched and pre-written plan, you may want to consider the Restaurant Success Kit package that is available from RestaurantFunds.com. This package includes an easy-to-use fill-in template that is designed to help restaurant entrepreneurs create effective business plans, as well as a number of other resources designed to be helpful to restaurant owners with various aspects of operations.

The business plan portion of the kit includes several template plan versions, including options that are appropriate if you are creating a plan document to submit to banks or investors for funding consideration. The kit also includes market and demographic research sources and an ebook that can help you more fully understand the process of creating a plan for your restaurant business.

Beyond the planning portion, the kit includes a comprehensive financial software package designed especially for restaurants. Additional kit features include a guide for effective marketing, restaurant operations resources, loss prevention strategies, information about franchising versus opening your own restaurant concept and more. The Restaurant Success Kit costs $97 and comes with a one year money-back guarantee.

10. Business Plan Pro

Business Plan Pro is considered as among the most widely-used business planning application in the business community for almost a decade, outselling all other similar software apps combined. For years, it is a regular entry in the top 10 bestsellers list of Amazon, business applications category. Business Plan Pro is designed to help new and existing businesses of all sizes to easily draft and complete business plans compliant to SBA standards.

With Business Plan Pro, you can remove the guesswork out of drafting and writing a business plan . Business Plan Pro includes 500 sample business plans for hundreds of business types. You can use the built-in Sample Plan Browser to select one sample that suits your business. Trusted by over 1 million entrepreneurs, the tool has been among the leading business plan software solutions for businesses for more than 10 years now.

This business plan software is available in two editions:

Premier – $159.95; Its a the top seller, with more tools you need to succeed.
Standard — $99.95, it just gives you what you need to get started with your plan.

Bplans is another online provider of business plan templates, but goes beyond that with additional pitch and SWOT analysis templates. There are also business plan guides, industry reports, and a free course on writing a business plan.

Bplans also publishes a lot of free-to-use articles on business planning, financials, and tax reporting, to help ensure you can keep your figures and projections accurate and compliant. Bplans may not be a software per-say, it is website that provides free business plan templates that can enable you craft your own. This site offers a free, basic template to download.

Score is a nonprofit business mentorship program that offers free business plan templates for both startup and established businesses, as well as planning tools for nonprofits. Their startup business plan is made up of a narrative along with financial worksheets.

The template includes over 150 questions to establish the body of the business plan you are trying to create and the questions can be answered in any order. The executive summary, however, should be completed last. The goal of this completed template is to provide you with a fluid narrative.

13. Office.com

Another software where you can get free business plan templates to write your own is office.com. The Microsoft Office site offers a gallery of templates, including business plan checklists, financials, presentations and marketing. These templates are useful if you want a specific template, rather than a general business plan. In addition, there is a PPT for business presentations for when you are ready to showcase your business to potential investors.

14. Free-Plan

Cost – free

This software is basically a comprehensive Word-based document that contains a detailed framework for building your business plan, including sample text, tables and charts, as well as a manual with section-by-section assistance. Free-Plan is ideal for new and established businesses looking to expand and in need of a business plan for internal or external use. Their micro-plan is designed for startups and very small businesses.

15. U.S. Small Business Administration

This site allows you to fill out a template online, with instructions on what to include in each section. Next to each category, tips and examples are provided as an additional resource. After completing the template, you can generate your business plan and save it to your computer as a Word document.

16. BizGym.com

This Online business planner allows you to fill out a template on the site section by section, tracks your progress on the plan, and allows you to share the plan once it’s completed. BizGym’s recent update offers a collaborative platform with multiple pricing options, including a free “Inventor” plan. Through this application, you can access resources such as a deck builder, budget builder and pivot plan.

17. Business Plan Software

Cost – $129.95

Business plan software is a business planning system that consists of business plan wizard, complete financials, detailed examples, PowerPoint presentation, and color charts and graphs.

This software is second to none. You can convert a simple idea into a master plan, you have at your disposal a set of tools of infinite utility. Not only that, you can also collaborate with your work team, develop your plan, bet on it and follow its progress.

Starting Price – $129.95

18. QuickPlan Restaurant

Cost – $50 to $195

QuickPlan is a business plan writing software that is targeted at restaurants. The software offers a number of industry-specific pre-researched restaurant business plan packages. The QuickPlan Restaurant package is designed for medium-size, single-location full service restaurant and bar enterprises, but options are available for other types of establishments.

QuickPlan actually has several niche-specific plan software options within the food service industry, including versions specific to Mexican restaurants, chicken wing establishments, delicatessens, multi-unit operations and many others.

New QuickPlan packages are released each year, so be sure to verify exactly what is available when you are ready to start working on your plan. The cost for the complete 2012 version QuickPlan Restaurant package is $195; the cost of a download only version is $50 lower.

19. MAUS MasterPlan Lean

Cost – $299.00/one-time

MAUS MasterPlan Lean is challenging the status quo of contemporary business planning. This revolutionary tool takes you through a simply questions and answer format, guiding you through the entire process, presenting to you a stunning business plan with a complete set of financials.

The MasterPlan Lean software drives accountability with goals and actions produced throughout the business plan. This means that you will be held accountable to staying on track with the business plan as you grow!

MasterPlan will save you 50-90% of the time, and give you the best chance of successfully creating a highly professional business or marketing plan tailored to your business. MasterPlan business planning software is more advanced than a set of templates that you modify.

It is a premium technology platform that works in the background to automate and calculate as much as possible for you. Overall, this software is a fantastic online software for doing business in medium and large sized companies.

Starting Price $299.00/one-time

20. getlaunched

Cost – $28.48/month

getlaunched is a business plan writing software solution that simplifies business plan generation and evaluation. getLaunched is business plan software that includes features such as collaboration, and financial projections. This software requests reasonable quantity of data for planing, and the dashboard design is good and the tools provided are very practical. product pricing starts at .48/month

21. Knowlium

Cost – $19 to $49

Knowlium is a business plan software made specially for startups. This software includes drag/drop section, customizable pagination, and infographic widget. The software provides a drag/drop tool to help develop and collaborate on a business plan for your startup.

A financial dashboard is available to monitor the status of your business in real-time and you can present your business plan with Custom Branding, embedded Infographics, and Revision Tracking Code to enhance your business solutions.

It also features a customizable paging system and infographic widget. Knowlium Plot helps you stay updated on the digital efforts of your competition, influencers and other key players in your field and strategically improve your market position and take advantage of decisive intelligence gathered from various sources to enable you get the best of opportunities faster while minimizing the risk of threats as much as possible.

The pricing for Knowlium Plot starts at $19.0 per month. Knowlium Plot has 3 different plans such as – Solo at $19.0 per month, Startup at $29.0 per month and Business at $49.0 per month.

22. PlanMagic Business

Cost – $69.95 to $119.95

PlanMagic Corporation is a united states software company that was founded in 1995, and offers a software title called PlanMagic Business. PlanMagic Business has been seen as the Leader in business plan software service. The software now boasts of 12 new versions.

The software offers an easy to use interface, trend-setting business specific planning templates, presentation template, fully automated financial forecasts, with products and personnel wizards, automated charts and state-of-the-art financial analysis tools, several bonus tools and lots of business related information. The Advanced Edition offers analysis and reporting tools not even common in most high-cost accounting software.

Costs start at $69.95/one-year/1user. The Advanced Edition (AE) is $119.95 and offers 2 investor pitches, executive dashboard, state-of-the-art analyses and scenarios as well as an interesting Web marketing guide.

23. EquityNet

Cost – $199 per month

EquityNet provides a free, industry-leading tool that helps businesses and entrepreneurs connect to funding sources that fit their growth plans, including thousands of investors.

The primary focus of EquityNet is right there in the name: a network for getting and providing equity. This is an investor site that also has a business planning tools as part of its overall feature set. The service begins at $199 per month, and certainly helps you create your business plan, but only as part of the process for getting your venture funding rather than being all about ongoing planning or writing the official document.

Think of EquityNet as crowdfunding, with a good documentation process since the company boasts qualified investors willing to help businesses raise anywhere from $10,000 to $10 million.

24. iPlanner.NET

Cost – $24 to $59

iPlanner is a secure enterprise business planning tool that is offered as an online service. The application is designed to meet the needs of small business owners, advisors, investors, and serial entrepreneurs. You can use it to easily write and share your business plans online.

iPlanner.NET was launched in 2007 and has been helping entrepreneurs develop their business plans either as an individual business plan software, or in conjunction with a mentor to review the project online and in real-time. iPlanner.NET helps businesses to raise finance for growth, better understand and manage risks, and communicate the company’s to the team.

The pricing for iPlanner.NET starts at $24.0 per month. iPlanner.NET has 2 different plans such as – Professional at $24.0 per month and Corporate at $59.0 per month. iPlanner.NET also offers a custom plan based on the customer’s request.

25. The Business Plan Shop

Cost – $22 to $53.73

The Business Plan Shop provides a good-enough business plan writing aid, but mainly for people who know what needs to be in the document. For this reason, this software is not too useful for beginners or those looking for plan writing guidance.

The Business Plan Shop provides a serviceable business plan creation tool which begins at $22 to $53.73 for a three-month subscription. Aside from creating the plan, the software is also capable of forecasting for three to five years.

The application does a good job of walking entrepreneurs and business owners through collecting financial projections and descriptive text, and then generates an attractive business plan document. However, unlike much of the competition, the app doesn’t provide much guidance on what exactly to write in your business plan.

26. Atlas Business Solutions Ultimate Business Planner 5.0

Cost – from $99.00

Atlas Business Solutions (ABS) Ultimate Business Planner 5.0 is yet another reliable business plan writing software that is available to entrepreneurs. This software will start you off using a fairly intuitive-looking wizard that takes you through the process of building a business plan as well as a financial projection.

The good part here is that it contains advanced functionality, though the software is still capable of helping beginning entrepreneurs as well. Ultimate Business Planner begins at $99.00 per year for a single-user license. That price decreases slightly the more users you add, so for 10 users, for example, the cost is only $549.

To start using ABS Ultimate Business Planner 5.0, get set for a lengthy interview process and some smart decision making. The software asks you to enter information about your company; answer questions about your assets, liabilities, and equity; enter your projected monthly income and expenses; and then write and assemble the business plan.

In the company section, you’re asked a series of questions about the company name, contact information, income tax form, customer credit policy, and the start date of the plan.

More on Business Plan Tips

Finished Papers

Jam Operasional (09.00-17.00)

+62 813-1717-0136 (Corporate) +62 812-4458-4482 (Recruitment)

Affiliate program

Refer our service to your friend and receive 10% from every order

Member Login

Customer Reviews

Jalan Zamrud Raya Ruko Permata Puri 1 Blok L1 No. 10, Kecamatan Cimanggis, Kota Depok, Jawa Barat 16452

How Do I Select the Most Appropriate Writer to Write My Essay?

The second you place your "write an essay for me" request, numerous writers will be bidding on your work. It is up to you to choose the right specialist for your task. Make an educated choice by reading their bios, analyzing their order stats, and looking over their reviews. Our essay writers are required to identify their areas of interest so you know which professional has the most up-to-date knowledge in your field. If you are thinking "I want a real pro to write essay for me" then you've come to the right place.

Hire experienced tutors to satisfy your "write essay for me" requests.

Enjoy free originality reports, 24/7 support, and unlimited edits for 30 days after completion.

Our Professional Writers Are Our Pride

EssayService boasts its wide writer catalog. Our writers have various fields of study, starting with physics and ending with history. Therefore we are able to tackle a wide range of assignments coming our way, starting with the short ones such as reviews and ending with challenging tasks such as thesis papers. If you want real professionals some of which are current university professors to write your essays at an adequate price, you've come to the right place! Hiring essay writers online as a newcomer might not be the easiest thing to do. Being cautious here is important, as you don't want to end up paying money to someone who is hiring people with poor knowledge from third-world countries. You get low-quality work, company owners become financial moguls, and those working for such an essay writing service are practically enduring intellectual slavery. Our writing service, on the other hand, gives you a chance to work with a professional paper writer. We employ only native English speakers. But having good English isn't the only skill needed to ace papers, right? Therefore we require each and every paper writer to have a bachelor's, master's, or Ph.D., along with 3+ years of experience in academic writing. If the paper writer ticks these boxes, they get mock tasks, and only with their perfect completion do they proceed to the interview process.

Sophia Melo Gomes

Amount to be Paid

Customer Reviews

Our team of writers is native English speakers from countries such as the US with higher education degrees and go through precise testing and trial period. When working with EssayService you can be sure that our professional writers will adhere to your requirements and overcome your expectations. Pay your hard-earned money only for educational writers.

Finished Papers

EssayService strives to deliver high-quality work that satisfies each and every customer, yet at times miscommunications happen and the work needs revisions. Therefore to assure full customer satisfaction we have a 30-day free revisions policy.

Password reminder
Registration

Allene W. Leflore

Who are your essay writers?

You may be worried that your teacher will know that you took an expert's assistance to write my essay for me, but we assure you that nothing like that will happen with our write essay service. Taking assistance to write from PenMyPaper is both safe and private. We respect your privacy and thus do not ask for credentials like your name, college, location, or your phone number. To pay for the essay writing, you can either use your debit or credit cards to pay via PayPal or use your wallet balance from our website. All we would need is your card details and your email-id. This is our responsibility that your information will be kept all safe. This is what makes our service the best essay writing service to write with.

Generative AI
Office Suites
Collaboration Software
Productivity Software
Augmented Reality
Emerging Technology
Remote Work
Artificial Intelligence
Operating Systems
IT Leadership
IT Management
IT Operations
Cloud Computing
Computers and Peripherals
Data Center
Enterprise Applications
Vendors and Providers
United States
Netherlands
United Kingdom
New Zealand
Newsletters
Foundry Careers
Terms of Service
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Copyright Notice
Member Preferences
About AdChoices
E-commerce Affiliate Relationships
Your California Privacy Rights

Our Network

Network World

Software vendors dump open source, go for the cash grab

First, they build programs with open source. Then they build their business with open source. Then they abandon it and cash out.

Essentially, all software is built using open source. By Synopsys’ count, 96% of all codebases contain open-source software .

Lately, though, there’s been a very disturbing trend. A company will make its program using open source, make millions from it, and then — and only then — switch licenses, leaving their contributors, customers, and partners in the lurch as they try to grab billions. I’m sick of it.

The latest IT melodrama baddie is Redis . Its program, which goes by the same name, is an extremely popular in-memory database. (Unless you’re a developer, chances are you’ve never heard of it.) One recent valuation shows Redis to be worth about $2 billion — even without an AI play! That, anyone can understand.

What did it do? To quote Redis: “Beginning today, all future versions of Redis will be released with source-available licenses. Starting with Redis 7.4, Redis will be dual-licensed under the Redis Source Available License (RSALv2) and Server Side Public License (SSPLv1) . Consequently, Redis will no longer be distributed under the three-clause Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) .”

For those of you who aren’t open-source licensing experts, this means developers can no longer use Redis’ code. Sure, they can look at it, but they can’t export, borrow from, or touch it.

Redis pulled this same kind of trick in 2018 with some of its subsidiary code. Now it’s done so with the company’s crown jewels.

Redis is far from the only company to make such a move. Last year, HashiCorp dumped its main program Terraform’s Mozilla Public License (MPL) for the Business Source License (BSL) 1.1 . Here, the name of the new license game is to prevent anyone from competing with Terraform.

Would it surprise you to learn that not long after this, HashiCorp started shopping itself around for a buyer? It didn’t surprise me.

Before this latest round of license changes, MongoDB and Elastic made similar shifts. Again, you might never have heard of these companies or their programs, but each is worth, at a minimum, hundreds of millions of dollars. And, while you might not know it, if your company uses cloud services behind the scenes, chances are you’re using one or more of their programs,

There is a threefold reason these companies did this. First, all of them, at one point or another, mistook “open source” as a business model. It wasn’t then, it isn’t now, and it never will be.

Second, having made that first mistake, they discovered the hard way that while they could make millions, other companies, usually the hyper-cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), were making just as much, if not more, from their programs. They did it by providing their software as a service to businesses.

It’s a matter of scale. People want to use the software as a service, not as a one-off they need to work on themselves.

Finally, hidden behind the financial curtain, venture capitalists don’t want hugely successful companies; they want unicorns . If a business isn’t worth a billion dollars before its initial public offering (IPO), it’s not a winner in their books.

Welcome to life in Silicon Valley,

So, what’s the simplest way to do this — besides firing employees to replace them with insufficiently ready AI bots? Drop the open-source license. They’ve developed their program with the help of others; they got their customers thanks to open-source assurance; why let anyone else get a share of the pie?

Software companies are ticked off. At least two Linux distros, Fedora and openSUSE , are considering getting rid of the Redis program. If they do, you can expect their big commercial brothers, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) to follow suit.

Who’s really furious about this, though, are developers. It’s their work, after all, that’s disappearing into semi-proprietary vaults, never to be touched by them again.

So, as they’ve done before and they’ll do again, at least two sets of programmers are forking it. First off the mark was Drew DeVault, founder and CEO of SourceHut , with Redict . He was quickly followed by Madelyn Olson, principal engineer at Amazon ElastiCache , itself an open-source fork of Elastic . However, as Olson observed, this as-yet-unnamed Redis fork is not an AWS project. AWS is working on its own response.

They can do this because while Redis has changed its license going forward, they can’t take back the code they’d licensed under the previous code. You can still do whatever you want, according to the terms of the old license, with earlier versions of the code.

This is a big deal in open-source and high-end IT circles, but it also matters to everyone who uses software. Remember, I just pointed out how important open source is to software development. Suppose programmers get sick and tired of companies taking their donated code and decide they won’t put up with this anymore.

Some businesses making the license shift say they’re doing it to pay the developers what they’re worth. I’m all in favor of open-source programmers making more money. But I can assure you that even the very best developers won’t be the ones making the real cash from these proposals. It’s the venture capitalists, private equity groups, and top brass who will get serious coin.

This is not what open source is all about. Making money, sure. Even Richard M. Stallman, Free Software’s founder, said, “There is nothing wrong with wanting pay for work, or seeking to maximize one’s income, as long as one does not use means that are destructive. [But] extracting money from users of a program by restricting their use of it is destructive.”

For once, Stallman and I agree.

Show me more

Mcdonald's serves up a master class in how not to explain a system outage.

Report: Scale cuts off subsidiary’s remote workers in several countries

Apple will continue to enhance its DMA compliance

Will AI overload and errors doom the technology?

Looking for gold: Where will the next OpenAI come from?

Apple Vision Pro: Useful for business or just an expensive toy?

Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years in prison

How to combat social media addiction

How social media companies are addicting adolescents

Election 2024
Entertainment
Newsletters
Photography
Personal Finance
AP Buyline Personal Finance
Press Releases
Israel-Hamas War
Russia-Ukraine War
Global elections
Asia Pacific
Latin America
Middle East
Election Results
Delegate Tracker
AP & Elections
March Madness
AP Top 25 Poll
Movie reviews
Book reviews
Personal finance
Financial Markets
Business Highlights
Financial wellness
Artificial Intelligence
Social Media

AT&T notifies users of data breach and resets millions of passcodes

FILE - An AT&T sign is seen at a store in Pittsburgh, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. AT&T said, Saturday, March 30, 2024, it has begun notifying millions of customers about the theft of personal data recently discovered online. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Copy Link copied

AT&T said it has begun notifying millions of customers about the theft of personal data recently discovered online.

The telecommunications giant said Saturday that a dataset found on the “dark web” contains information such as Social Security numbers for about 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and 65.4 million former account holders.

The company said it has already reset the passcodes of current users and will be communicating with account holders whose sensitive personal information was compromised.

It is not known if the data “originated from AT&T or one of its vendors,” the company said in a statement. The compromised data is from 2019 or earlier and does not appear to include financial information or call history, it said. In addition to passcodes and Social Security numbers, it may include email and mailing addresses, phone numbers and birth dates.

While the data surfaced on a hacking forum nearly two weeks ago, it closely resembles a similar data breach that surfaced in 2021 but which AT&T never acknowledged, said cybersecurity researcher Troy Hunt .

“If they assess this and they made the wrong call on it, and we’ve had a course of years pass without them being able to notify impacted customers,” then it’s likely the company will soon face class action lawsuits, said Hunt, founder of an Australia-based website for warning people when their personal information has been exposed.

An AT&T spokesperson didn’t immediately return a request for comment Saturday.

It is not the first crisis this year for the Dallas-based company. An outage in February temporarily knocked out cellphone service for thousands of U.S. users. AT&T at the time blamed the incident on a technical coding error, not a malicious attack.

News for KKR

SunFireMatrix Acquired By KKR For Undisclosed Terms

(RTTNews) - SunFireMatrix, Inc., a software and tech-enabled services platform serving the insurance distribution and health plan markets, announced Tuesday that it has been acquired by funds managed by investment major KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR).

The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Following the deal, funds managed by Stone Point Capital LLC, SunFireMatrix's previous majority owner, will continue to be a significant minority shareholder in the company.

KKR is funding the investment through its Health Care Strategic Growth (HCSG) Fund II, which is focused on investing in high-growth health care companies.

Ali Satvat, Partner and Global Head of Health Care Strategic Growth at KKR, said, "SunFire is a leading, purpose-built platform with a culture of customer centricity and patient focus that we believe is highly differentiated. We have been impressed by what Dave and the entire SunFire team have achieved and look forward to collaborating closely with them during the next phase of the Company's growth."

In the deal, Evercore and William Blair acted as financial advisors to KKR and SunFire, respectively.

KKR News MORE

Related stocks.

Share full article

Supported by

New York Takes Crucial Step Toward Making Congestion Pricing a Reality

The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to approve a new $15 toll to drive into Manhattan. The plan still faces challenges from six lawsuits before it can begin in June.

Multiple cars are stopped at a traffic light at a Manhattan intersection. A person responsible for controlling traffic stands nearby wearing a yellow reflective vest.

By Winnie Hu and Ana Ley

New York City completed a crucial final step on Wednesday in a decades-long effort to become the first American city to roll out a comprehensive congestion pricing program, one that aims to push motorists out of their cars and onto mass transit by charging new tolls to drive into Midtown and Lower Manhattan.

The program could start as early as mid-June after the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that will install and manage the program, voted 11-to-1 to approve the final tolling rates, which will charge most passenger cars $15 a day to enter at 60th Street and below in Manhattan. The program is expected to reduce traffic and raise $1 billion annually for public transit improvements.

It was a historic moment for New York’s leaders and transportation advocates after decades of failed attempts to advance congestion pricing even as other gridlocked cities around the world, including London, Stockholm and Singapore, proved that similar programs could reduce traffic and pollution.

While other American cities have introduced related concepts by establishing toll roads or closing streets to traffic, the plan in New York is unmatched in ambition and scale.

Congestion pricing is expected to reduce the number of vehicles that enter Lower Manhattan by about 17 percent, according to a November study by an advisory committee reporting to the M.T.A. The report also said that the total number of miles driven in 28 counties across the region would be reduced.

“This was the right thing to do,” Janno Lieber, the authority’s chairman and chief executive, said after the vote. “New York has more traffic than any place in the United States, and now we’re doing something about it.”

Congestion pricing has long been a hard sell in New York, where many people commute by car from the boroughs outside of Manhattan and the suburbs, in part because some of them do not have access to public transit.

New York State legislators finally approved congestion pricing in 2019 after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo helped push it through. A series of recent breakdowns in the city’s subway system had underscored the need for billions of dollars to update its aging infrastructure.

It has taken another five years to reach the starting line. Before the tolling program can begin, it must be reviewed by the Federal Highway Administration, which is expected to approve it.

Congestion pricing also faces legal challenges from six lawsuits that have been brought by elected officials and residents from across the New York region. Opponents have increasingly mobilized against the program in recent months, citing the cost of the tolls and the potential environmental effects from shifting traffic and pollution to other areas as drivers avoid the tolls.

A court hearing is scheduled for April 3 and 4 on a lawsuit brought by the State of New Jersey, which is seen as the most serious legal challenge. The mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., Mark J. Sokolich, has filed a related lawsuit.

Four more lawsuits have been brought in New York: by Ed Day, the Rockland County executive; by Vito Fossella, the Staten Island borough president, and the United Federation of Teachers; and by two separate groups of city residents.

Amid the litigation, M.T.A. officials have suspended some capital construction projects that were to be paid for by the program, and they said at a committee meeting on Monday that crucial work to modernize subway signals on the A and C lines had been delayed.

Nearly all the toll readers have been installed, and will automatically charge drivers for entering the designated congestion zone at 60th Street or below. There is no toll for leaving the zone or driving around in it. Through traffic on Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and the West Side Highway will not be tolled.

Under the final tolling structure, which was based on recommendations by the advisory panel, most passenger vehicles will be charged $15 a day from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. The toll will be $24 for small trucks and charter buses, and will rise to $36 for large trucks and tour buses. It will be $7.50 for motorcycles.

Those tolls will be discounted by 75 percent at night, dropping the cost for a passenger vehicle to $3.75.

Fares will go up by $1.25 for taxis and black car services, and by $2.50 for Uber and Lyft. Passengers will be responsible for paying the new fees, and they will be added to every ride that begins, ends or occurs within the congestion zone. There will be no nighttime discounts. (The new fees come on top of an existing congestion surcharge that was imposed on for-hire vehicles in 2019.)

The tolls will mostly be collected using the E-ZPass system. Electronic detection points have been placed at entrances and exits to the tolling zone. Drivers who do not use an E-ZPass will pay significantly higher fees — for instance, $22.50 instead of $15 during peak hours for passenger vehicles.

Emergency vehicles like fire trucks, ambulances and police cars, as well as vehicles carrying people with disabilities, were exempted from the new tolls under the state’s congestion pricing legislation .

As for discounts, low-income drivers who make less than $50,000 annually can apply to receive half off the daytime toll after their first 10 trips in a calendar month. In addition, low-income residents of the congestion zone who make less than $60,000 a year can apply for a state tax credit.

All drivers entering the zone directly from four tolled tunnels — the Lincoln, Holland, Hugh L. Carey and Queens-Midtown — will receive a “crossing credit” that will be applied against the daytime toll. The credit will be $5 round-trip for passenger vehicles, $12 for small trucks and intercity and charter buses, $20 for large trucks and tour buses, and $2.50 for motorcycles. No credits will be offered at night.

Grace Ashford contributed reporting.

Winnie Hu is a Times reporter covering the people and neighborhoods of New York City. More about Winnie Hu

Ana Ley is a Times reporter covering New York City’s mass transit system and the millions of passengers who use it. More about Ana Ley

April Fools' Day pranks: Apps to translate baby stoner sayings, a ghostbuster at Tinder

Every april 1, brands and companies want to get some laughs – and attention – with goofy new 'product' launches. here are some ideas from companies such as sweetgreen, welch's and omaha steaks..

If you don't like Mondays, this one may especially be grating. It's April Fool's Day , when you should trust no one and question everything.

The roots of April Fools' Day may date back before to before the 15th century. But the modern-day April Fools' Day has become a day to prank a friend, family member, co-worker − or your customers.

Even though some companies have had April Fools' pranks backfire , marketers continue to issue spoof products in attempts to get some laughs and attention.

Already ahead of April Fools' Day, 7-Eleven has hinted at a possible prank product: In addition to new Lemon Lime, Green Apple and Sweet Orange flavored 7-Select sparkling waters, out now with partner Miracle Seltzer, there's a fourth flavor coming April 1: Big Bite Hot Dog.

The hot dog-flavored water "combines the mouthwatering experience of 7-Eleven’s iconic Big Bite Hot Dog into one refreshing beverage – ketchup and mustard included," the convenience chain says in a press release . "Say goodbye to the days of alternating bites of a hot dog with sips of a beverage, now those on the go can swap the bun for bubbles."

Krispy Kreme: A special doughnut deal for April Fools' Day

Will Big Bite Hot Dog sparkling water be sold? Its availability will be announced April 1. However, some reporters were sent a can of the drink. USA TODAY can confirm that it definitely smells like hot dog water and has a smoky aftertaste.

If you are interested in trying it, both 7-Eleven and Miracle Seltzer have hinted at having some to give away on their Instagram pages. (If you get a can, share with a friend as it's 16 ounces.)

Here's a roundup of many of the brand-related April Fools’ gag announcements. You've been warned.

Sour cream & onion flavored soda

Despite the proliferation of crazy-flavored products including Peeps-flavored Pepsi , Frank's RedHot sauce-flavored Vlasic pickles and Doritos Nacho Cheese-flavored liquor , healthy soda brand OLIPOP and Pringles are not really teaming up to bring to market a Sour Cream & Onion soda.

The product would have been "a match made in heaven … to bring the delicious, tangy flavor of Pringles’ Sour Cream & Onion flavor to life in liquid form with prebiotic benefits," the companies said.

Stoner lingo translation app

Another dream team prank product: Rosetta Stoned, a mobile app from Rosetta Stone and medical marijuana company Fluent , that "bridges the conversational gap between novice users and seasoned stoners in any social setting."

Da da decoder

Infant equipment site BabyQuip has its own language-bridging lark: the “Baby Translator” app, to decode your baby's secret language.

"Say 'goodbye' to restless nights as you decode your baby's coos and cries instantly, providing you with the understanding you need as a parent, all in one convenient app," it promises.

An AI-powered plush doll

Custom stuffed animal maker Budsies already makes selfie plush dolls with a built-in voice recorder. Its April Fools' spoof: Artificial intelligence-enabled dolls that "come programmed to learn everything about you and to become your new best friend."

A 50-pound Bearabuddy

Sorry to the 3,500 or so who have already signed up to buy Bearaby's Jumbo Benji plush toy, which is four times the size of its regular weighted plush toys and twice as heavy as its heaviest weighted blanket . This isn't actually going to be sold. But it is real and will be making its home in the lobby at The Child Mind Institute in Harlem to welcome children and their families. More weighted plushies are due the day after April Fools' Day, the company says.

A sleeping bag to go bananas over

The Dole Banana Peel Sleeping Bag, conveniently promoted as being available on April Fools' Day only, is made from actual banana fiber and "allows parents to escape into their own cocoon of sensory deprivation."

A full-body cleaning suit

Outrageous clothing company Tipsy Elves has a special product for April Fools' Day: The Mopsie. You don't need paper towels anymore, you can use your body to clean up those messes, with this "innovative, wearable microfiber towel jumpsuit" for "effortlessly soaking up spills and messes with ease." There's also a Baby Mopsie for "hard to reach places."

Korean BBQ deodorant

Kevin's Natural Foods , which has paleo- and keto-certified ready-to-cook and easy-prep entrées, is touting a new line of personal care products inspired by its food dishes including Korean BBQ Deodorant, Cilantro Lime Toothpaste, Lemongrass Basil Shampoo and Tikka Masala Sunscreen.

"These new face, body and hair care essentials will help fans prioritize self-care inside and out," the company says.

Omaha Steaks' meaty sprays

Omaha Steaks has its own personal care prank product: Meaty Spritz sprays with flavors such as Omaha Fog, Hog Haze, and Cock-a-Doodle-Dew.

"The world’s first protein-infused, flavor-packed, portable pump spray … (to) enjoy all the mouthwatering flavors of your Omaha Steaks gourmet favorites no matter how far away from the kitchen you are!" the company says.

Sriracha toothpaste

Asian sauce maker Lee Kum Kee , which makes Sriracha Chili Sauce and Sriracha Mayo Dressing, is introducing – not – its Siracha Mayo Toothpaste. It's "fiery and creamy goodness … is sure to spice up your morning dental routine."

Post-salad dental kit

Need some less powerful toothpaste? Sweetgreen offered these fanciful personal hygiene products as part of its Sweetgreen After Salad Kit, which is "designed with your pearly whites in mind … offering everything you need to freshen up post-meal."

Choose from Miso Ginger Toothpaste, Spicy Cashew Mints, Lime Cilantro Dental Floss, and Sweetgreen Toothbrush and Floss Picks.

Fruit juice lip gloss

More personal care prank products: Welch’s Juicyfuls Juicy Fruit Lip Gloss – now available in five flavors: grape, orange, peach, strawberry and raspberry – made with real juice from Juicefuls fruit snacks so "you get that irresistible sweet flavor you love, all in a lip gloss that's as fun as it is nourishing."

Protein-powered seasonings

Quest Nutrition , maker of protein powder, snacks and other products, has a prank product line of seasonings including All Purpose, Lemon Pepper, and Garlic Herb, each of which deliver "21g of protein, 2g of net carbs and less than 1g of sugar."

If you want to try Quest's real products, you can use code NOJOKE for free shipping on online orders over $49 April 1-3.

Superpowered Superfeet?

These would certainly come in hand on a run, but – sorry – it's a jogging joke. Superfeet SuperBoost Power E-Soles gives you 8 hours of continuous battery-powered boost, for almost Iron Man-like propulsion. "All the comfort and support of Superfeet , now with electrifying performance," the company says in a video about the prank product. "It's like having a powerful electric motor in your shoes."

Scotch tape-branded Scotch?

This shenanigan seems like a blend that could stick: Scotch Whisky by Scotch Brand. The whisky "features a nose of cherry wood and a delightfully smooth finish that hits like a well-wrapped gift."

Who you gonna call when ghosted? This new title at Tinder

Dating app Tinder announced a new April Fools' Day hiring quest for a Vice President of Ghost Hunting to help combat "one of dating culture’s most prevalent vices – ghosting," a practice inflicted on 78% of singles already in 2024 (an untrue fact from Tinder).

Patrón's bringing back a beloved liqueur. No kidding.

Patrón patrons get some good news today. The premium tequila maker chose April Fools' Day to announce the return of its Patrón XO Cafe tequila-based coffee liqueur, which was discontinued in 2021. Since production ceased, devotees took to social media and signed a petition asking parent company Bacardi to bring it back.

Made with Patrón Silver tequila and Arabica bean coffee – the dry liqueur can be sipped straight, in cocktails and as dessert topping – Patrón XO Cafe will begin arriving in stores again later this month.

Say it with dead flowers

Don't forget to put roses on your April Fools' Day list. UrbanStems has this "special" delivery, The Dead Inside Collection, "an assortment of dead flower bouquets, dead plants, half empty vases, and more for the pessimist in your life." But, for real, check UrbanStems' social media accounts including Instagram for how to get 20% off an order of real flowers.

Cheesecake Factory's real deals

The Cheesecake Factory also has a deal that's no joke: Sign up for the chain's Cheesecake Rewards loyalty program on April 1 to get an Any Slice, Half Price reward, redeemable for 50% off any slice of cheesecake or layer cake, with any food or beverage purchase (no gift cards).

Those who were members before April 1 will find something special in their account on Monday, too: either a free slice of cheesecake each month for a year, a free whole cheesecake, a free slice of cheesecake, $5 off $25 purchases, or $10 off $40 purchases. (All rewards redeemable by April 16; can be redeemed for dine-in, to-go and DoorDash.)

New merch from Dunkin', bonus points in app

Dunkin' announced it is going back to its roots and rebranding to just "Donuts'" on Monday, April 1. To celebrate the rebrand, the company is selling "Donuts'" merch, including sweatshirts that read "DONUTS," on ShopDunkin.com .

Additionally, Dunkin' Rewards members will receive 3x bonus points on any donut order through the mobile app on April 1.

Urban Outfitters launches 'Name Three Shirts' movement

Urban Outfitters said it is launching a global movement to "stand in solidarity against band-tee-shaming" by launching a new collection called "Name Three Shirts."

The t-shirt line "playfully mocks the gatekeeping attitudes of older generations who insist that band-shirt wearers should be required to name songs by those artists," the company said in a news release.

The line, which features revamped logos from bands such as The Grateful Dead, Joy Division and Led Zeppelin, is a "playful jab at the attitudes of older generations, and fights back against the misogynistic undertones of the infamous ‘name three songs’ line of questioning," Urban Outfitters said in the news release.

The collection of shirts is available online and in select Urban Outfitters stores starting April 1. You can shop the collection online here .

Auntie Anne's, Frontier Airlines collaborate on Pretzel Plane

Auntie Anne's pretzels and Frontier Airlines announced they have collaborated on the newest addition to Frontier's fleet: the Pretzel Plane.

According to a news release, the plane includes new in-flight entertainment featuring Auntie Anne's pretzels rolled seat-side, the "luxurious" smell of hot, fresh pretzels throughout the cabin and airplane-shaped pretzels if you're feeling hungry.

Moe's Southwest Grill, Sonic team up to introduce a Queso Slush

Two popular fast food chains announced a collaboration that is sure to be polarizing.

Moe's and Sonic announced a new beverage, the Queso Slush, a queso-flavored slushie. "The frozen goodness of a Sonic Slush meets the delicious flavor of Moe's queso."

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider .

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].

What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day

IMAGES

15+ Best Business Plan Software Tools [in 2023]
The 3 Ultimate Free Business Plan Software
11 Best Business Plan Software and Tools of 2021 (Reviewed)
7 Best Business Plan Software in 2023
The 10 Best Business Plan Software
The best business plan software

VIDEO

Top 10 Business Plan Software for General Contractors (2024)
Что такое бизнес план? Как написать бизнес план? Бизнес планирование
✅Bizplan Review 2024: Unveiling the Secrets of Bizplan 2024: Is It Worth Your Investment? {REVEALED}
POS Business Software
🔥Smartsheet Business Plan Software Review 2023
How to Create Premade Line Items

COMMENTS

Favorite Business Plan software? : r/Entrepreneur
A Business Model Canvas is free and it's far more likely to be the tool you need. For most people, a business plan is like a fax machine. At one time, a fax machine was the tool that we all had to use. But there are much better tools now that get the job done way easier and way faster. Go for https://upmetrics.co.
Business Plan Software : r/smallbusiness
92 upvotes · 63 comments. r/smallbusiness. $200k revenue, around $50k profit. What is this business worth? 177 upvotes · 152 comments. r/smallbusiness.
10 Best Business Plan Software In 2024
The Best Business Plan Software of 2024. Wrike: Best overall. Smartsheet: Best for goal management. LivePlan: Best for financial forecasting. Aha!: Best for roadmapping. Bizplan: Best for ...
5 Best Business Plan Software and Tools 2023
5 Best Business Plan Software and Tools in 2023 for Your Small Business. Entrepreneurs who write formal business plans are 16% more likely to achieve success than entrepreneurs who don't. 1 This software can help. Data as of 3/13/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Best business plan software of 2024
Here's how it works. Best business plan software of 2024. The best business plan software makes it simple and easy to plan your business finances in order to present them to a bank or investors ...
The Best Business Plan Software
The 10 online business plan software solutions examined in this roundup —Atlas Business Solutions Ultimate Business Planner 5.0, Enloop, EquityNet, NetEkspert iPlanner.NET, OnePlace, Palo Alto ...
LivePlan Review 2024: Pros, Cons, & Alternatives
We didn't cherry-pick either, as you'll see on Shopper Approved, a third-party customer review site where LivePlan scores a 4.8/5. As of 2023, LivePlan now has over 1,500 customer reviews on Shopper Approved. According to many LivePlan reviews, there's some serious value in the business plan software. Customers often mention how LivePlan ...
LivePlan Review: Good and Bad in 2024
Our Verdict on LivePlan. LivePlan, created by Palo Alto Software, is a highly regarded cloud-based business plan software designed primarily for startups and entrepreneurs without prior business planning experience.. Its intuitive interface, coupled with video tutorials and comprehensive templates, allows users to craft a professional business plan efficiently.
LivePlan vs Business Plan Pro: Which is Better?
However, if you're looking for cloud-based software, easy collaboration, month-to-month payments, or any other valuable features Business Plan Pro doesn't offer, LivePlan is your best bet. Palo Alto Software is re-focusing their attention and putting their best foot forward. Try LivePlan & Get 25% Off. Try LivePlan for 60 days risk free.
Startup Reddit
2. r/LetsBePartners. r/LetsBePartners is a subreddit designed to serve as a networking platform for entrepreneurs and business owners, helping them connect with investors and business partners. Whether you are simply looking to raise capital for your startup or you are looking for someone to bring on as a more involved partner, r/LetsBePartners ...
Bizplan vs. Liveplan: Which is Best for Your Business?
Liveplan is also a business planning and management software created to help entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed through strategic business planning. With tools like Liveplan, creating a business plan takes only a few hours, which used to take several weeks to complete. This tool simplifies professional business plan creation with its instruction manuals, tutorials, and expert ...
Palo Alto Software LivePlan Review
To build a business plan with Palo Alto Software LivePlan, as with the other solutions I tested in this roundup including Enloop (9.95 Starting Price at Enloop) and The Business Plan Shop (53.73 ...
Top Business Plan Software for Reddit in 2023
Use the comparison tool below to compare the top Business Plan software for Reddit on the market. You can filter results by user reviews, pricing, features, platform, region, support options, integrations, and more. 1. Venngage. Venngage. $19.00/ month See Software.
26 Best LivePlan Alternatives (FREE & Paid)
26 Best LivePlan Alternatives (FREE & Paid) 1. BizPlanBuilder. Cost - $19.97 to $97.00. BizPlanBuilder is yet another business plan writing software that has been helping small businesses out over the years. This intuitive software provides a simple wizard that walks users through effective business planning.
Best Low Cost House Plan Software for Non-Professionals
Best Low Cost House Plan Software for Non-Professionals. Best Low Cost House Plan Software for Non-Professionals. [PC WIN10 BASED] I have a couple of different 'house plan' apps; but i am very interested as to what most NON-professional users use/recommend for creating house plans to check out as possibly better/easier alternatives.
Business Plan Software Reddit
All files are checked for plagiarism so that your professors cannot make claims. Nobody divulges personal information and cooperation between the customer and the contractor remains secret. 1 (888)814-4206 1 (888)499-5521. Gustavo Almeida Correia. #27 in Global Rating. Business Plan Software Reddit -.
Business Plan Software Reddit
Business Plan Software Reddit, Cheap Dissertation Introduction Ghostwriters Service For University, Essay On Oil Conservation For Better Health And Environment, Application Letter Translator Position, Geography Coursework Evaluation A Level, Ilm Level 5 Developing Critical Thinking Assignment, Cuny Brooklyn College Thesis ...
Business Plan Software Reddit
Level: College, University, Master's, High School, PHD, Undergraduate. 22912. Finished Papers. Business Plan Software Reddit, Academic Paper Example, Pokemon Business Plan, 1-3 Independent And Dependent Variables Homework Answers, Structured Finance Resume, Case Study On Boundaryless Organization, Topics For Essay Grade 9. Total orders: 7428.
Business Plan Software Reddit
Business Plan Software Reddit. 7 Customer reviews. 764. Finished Papers. Toll free 1 (888)814-4206 1 (888)499-5521. Finish Your Essay Today! EssayBot Suggests Best Contents and Helps You Write. No Plagiarism! Essay, Coursework, Research paper, Discussion Board Post, Questions-Answers, Term paper, Case Study, Rewriting, Editing, Book Review ...
Software vendors dump open source, go for the cash grab
Essentially, all software is built using open source. By Synopsys' count, 96% of all codebases contain open-source software. Lately, though, there's been a very disturbing trend. A company will ...
AT&T security breach affects millions. Here's what to know
AT&T says it has begun notifying millions of customers about the theft of personal data recently discovered online. The telecommunications giant said Saturday that a dataset found on the "dark web" contains information such as Social Security numbers for about 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and 65.4 million former account holders.
SunFireMatrix Acquired By KKR For Undisclosed Terms
Apr. 2, 2024, 07:19 AM. (RTTNews) - SunFireMatrix, Inc., a software and tech-enabled services platform serving the insurance distribution and health plan markets, announced Tuesday that it has ...
Micron Stock Jumps On Q2 Beat And Raise
Micron stock jumped on the news. The Boise, Idaho-based company earned an adjusted 42 cents a share on sales of $5.82 billion in the quarter ended Feb. 29. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected ...
NYC Congestion Pricing and Tolls: What to Know and What's Next
Fares will go up by $1.25 for taxis and black car services, and by $2.50 for Uber and Lyft. Passengers will be responsible for paying the new fees, and they will be added to every ride that begins ...
April Fools' Day 2024: Big brands and companies unveil pranks, jokes
Dating app Tinder announced a new April Fools' Day hiring quest for a Vice President of Ghost Hunting to help combat "one of dating culture's most prevalent vices - ghosting," a practice ...