Customer Reviews

Palo Alto Business Plan Pro 2006

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been using BPlan Pro since 2002 when they released the version "BPlan Pro 2002", and HAD been a very satisfied user of the product.
Last week I purchased (upgraded to Business Plan Pro 2006- Premier), and my experience has been pretty bad. As a rather experienced user of the product I found the following problems.

New Users


1. Exporting to MS Word gives pathetic quality for chart-images. You would never want to take anything like this to a potential investor. I contacted Palo Alto Technical help and they were LEAST helpful. The person said "That's a Microsoft problem. We cannot do anything with that". If they don't expect it to show up right in Word, I wonder what program they are expecting it to show up in. (FYI, I must say here that the resolution in Adobe Acrobat was perfect, but unfortunately you CANNOT edit a PDF document unless you have the Acrobat Writer-approx $500)
2. In short, you have to work within the Bplan Pro 2006 itself, and export directly to Adobe PDF format (which gives you very little flexibility to work on the document, outside of Bplan Pro 2006). In contrast, Bplan Pro 2002 gave you the flexibility to export it anytime (any part of the plan) into MS Word and you could edit it without losing any clarity in the charts at all! (Interestingly, I asked Bplan Tech support, why they cannot do something which they easily had in their own product 4 years back!!, and the answer again was.."it has something to do with Microsoft"

Old Users Upgrading

Stick to your older versions, unless you really need Year 2 month-wise breakup for your financials and sales projections.

1. When you export from a previous version to the current version, you need an additional utility (free download from the maker's website) to convert it. In other words it's not backward compatible like a Mircrosoft Word or Excel file. A previous version file WILL NOT open in a newer version of BPlan Pro. This is excusable, BUT the problem lies in the fact that many of the formulae that you had built into building the business plan in the OLD version WILL NOT reflect in the new version (after you convert). Instead, Bplan Pro 2006 merely puts in the "value" without showing the formula on which it was based.

2. The problem with the older versions is that, lets say you are starting your business in Sep 2005. All you can get is a monthly projection for the FIRST year (which is just the first 3 months), whereas most of the action will happen over the next year (2006), and only business plan pro premier version allows you to do a month-wise for second year. (Note:" There is NO option if you want a month-wise for year 3). In my case, the investors wanted split up for first 6 quarters. (which is Q4-2005, Q1-Q4 2006, and Q1-2007, a genuine scenario where one might need monthly/quarterly spilt up for the first 3 years because the first 6 quarters are spread over 3 separate years).

3. Few bugs in the embedded spreadsheet

4. The few plus points that I found:

a. There is a forecaster tool, that lets you "drag" charts and values on the fly, and that's pretty cool, without having to manually enter values (e.g, sales projections, expenses, etc)
b. Look and feel is slightly better.
c. Export into Excel is very much better, and in good format.
d. Again, this is just a week of playing around...so I should have more updates soon.

I just purchased BP Pro 2006 and have completed about half of a business plan. This is less useful as a planning tool and really more practical as a presentation tool (sort've the business plan equivalent of power point). I had figured the sample plans would have actual information about the industries they cover. Since they don't, you have to figure out all that stuff yourself. That's a lot of work. Furthermore, I'm not sure there is anything in the software you can't find for free. The free sample plans that are already on the web are probably as useful as anything they supply with the software. For $75, it's not a terrible investment, but it's not a silver bullet either. The good thing about the software is that it does allow you to create a reasonably professional looking business plan. If you already feel comfortable doing it and you need to save money, you might want to think about this purchase. Of course, they have a 60 day money back guarantee so it's a pretty low risk investment. On a separate note, I called customer service with a question and was told to call technical support. I called technical support and found the person on the other end of the line about as pleasant as my snotty 15 year old niece. I just wondered at which point in his training program was he instructed that one sylable is all that is needed to answer any question. I swear he was just like David Spade in that commercial where he answers every question "no."

I was looking for something to make my planning process simpler, and still very professional. I have used Business Plan Pro in the past, and I am very happy with the latest version. The increased help is wonderful and really explains issues related to the concepts behind business planning. I love the new wizards to help me get through the process, and the output is very professional with color charts and graphs. Hooray for the new version!

I was trying to save a little time by using this software and I was a little disappointed. The sample business plans leave much to be desired. Still, its gives many examples of different types of businesses, which is ok if you are going into a business that is common (i.e. a retail store or food service). Just don't think you can create a business plan in a few hours that will attract investors.

Good luck!

As a new business owner I found the Business Plan Pro the perfect tool to get started. It is extremely thorough and contained invaluable information, including a detailed expense check list that has helped me forcast and budget for every situation. For those of us who studied political science instead of business in college, Business Plan Pro's simple step-by-step process is truly appreciated. I would recommend this program to any new business owner, especially those who are going out on their own for the first time.

I thought the product was great. It was well organized and it helped me when I had to write a marketing plan for class. I even suggested my workmate to buy this product since he plans on someday owning his own business; it'll give him some guidance.

What can i say.....If i knew about this software before it would have solved me many headaches and sleepless nights. This is easy!!! I feel confident to present my plan everybody.

This Product is great if you are trying to type up a business plan, my son suggested it because he has used it, and I love the product. It is a good product for putting together fantastic business plans. Even if you do not know much about computers and or programs, this guides you with every step, to come up with a professional business plan.

El programa que compré - imposible de comprar en mi país - llegó en la fecha prevista y en perfectas condiciones. Muy buen precio. Un muy servicio tanto de parte de Amazon cuanto del vendedor.

They did not send me a Activation code that comes with the program, so not I can't open it up. They just took my money!I e-mailed the sender and they never contact me back.