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• Best Business Plan Software

10 Best Business Plan Software In 2024

Updated: May 3, 2024, 5:15pm

Writing a business plan not only helps you stay on track as you start a new business but it can also help you secure funding. You can create one from scratch with a simple template, but business plan software often has features to make it easier, more nuanced and overall better. It could even make the difference between bringing investors on board and going it alone. So, Forbes Advisor found the best business plan software that has the features you need at an affordable price.

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The Best Business Plan Software of 2024

Forbes advisor ratings, methodology, how to choose a business plan software, benefits of business plan software, frequently asked questions (faqs), next up in business.

Featured Partners

From $8 monthly per user

Zoom, LinkedIn, Adobe, Salesforce and more

On monday.com's Website

Yes, for one user and two editors

$9 per user per month

Google Drive, Slack, Tableau, Miro, Zapier and more

On Smartsheet's Website

Yes, for unlimited members

$7 per month

Slack, Microsoft Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, Timely, Google Drive and more

On ClickUp's Website

$9.80 per user per month

Salesforce, Adobe, Miro, Netsuite, Quickbooks, SAP

On Wrike's Website

• Wrike: Best overall
• Smartsheet: Best for goal management
• LivePlan: Best for financial forecasting
• Aha!: Best for roadmapping
• Bizplan: Best for beginners
• IdeaBuddy: Best for ideation
• iPlanner: Best for no-frills business planning
• Enloop: Best for automatic business plan creation
• AchieveIt: Best for consultant groups
• Business Sorter: Best for teams

Best Overall

Starting price

Free; $9.80 per user

Team messaging

Roadmapping

Wrike is a project management (PM) tool that works well as business plan software because it gives you tools to help you gather and compare your data. Wrike makes it easy to start your business plan with its collaboration tools, business plan templates , drag-and-drop interface and goal management features. Another benefit of using Wrike to build your plan is that you see your ideas and goals from multiple views: Gantt chart, calendar or board views.

There are a few reasons why it’s a good idea to use Wrike for your business plan. First, you can map out exactly what your business goals are in a project, invite teammates to collaborate and message business partners to discuss everything. Plus, you can export your data when you’re ready to put all the details into a presentation to hand over to potential investors.

Wrike offers a free plan that’s good for putting your vision down in task and project form, but you may want to upgrade to a paid plan to invite collaborators, get custom workflows and add more views and automations. Paid plan pricing ranges from $9.80 per user, per month, to $24.80 per user, per month, both billed annually.

Learn more: Read our full Wrike review .

Who should use it:

Wrike makes it easy for any new business owner to create a business plan and collaborate with others on the financial and operational goals. Plus, it provides value after you finalize your business plan because it’s a good pick for a PM tool.

• Roadmapping ability
• Multiple views (Gantt, calendar and board)
• Business plan templates included
• Goal management via projects and tasks
• Free plan available
• Affordable plans
• No pitching tools
• No financial tools

Best for Goal Management

$7 per user, per month

(billed annually)

(added cost)

Using PM software like Smartsheet is a good idea for starting a business plan because it includes all the tools you need to collaborate and plan across multiple teams or stakeholders. It’s especially good for real-time goal management. Get your ideas in place, go over market and competitive research from other teammates and finalize everything together.

Smartsheet won’t help you write your business plan, but it does give you a place to compile all the data and then you can use one of its free business plan templates. As you figure out your milestones, you can invite an unlimited number of viewers to see how it’s going. The only downsides are that Smartsheet doesn’t have a native messaging app (you’ll have to use an integration), only commenting allowed and there’s no free plan.

Paid plans from Smartsheet cost $7 per user, per month, or $25 per user, per month (billed annually for both). The low-priced Pro plan limits you to 10 editors, but the Business plan allows unlimited editors (but it also has a three-user minimum).

Learn more: Read our full Smartsheet review .

Smartsheet lets you make changes in real time, so it’s a good option for those who are just starting to piece together a plan and looking for a way to manage ideas and goals before finalizing a business plan.

• Discounts for nonprofits available
• Automations on every plan
• Popular integrations allowed on low-tier plan
• 30-day free trial
• No free plan
• Only 10 viewers allowed on low-tier plan
• Three-user minimum on Business plan

Best for Financial Forecasting

$15 per month

One of the strongest cases for using LivePlan to create your business plan is its financial forecasting. It isn’t just a single feature, rather it’s a tool that lets you turn your balance sheet and cash flow statements into charts, graphs and what-if situations to help you show possible investors the best- and worst-case scenarios for your business.

There are two plans available: Standard or Premium (there is no free plan). The low-priced plan, which costs $15 per month (billed annually), doesn’t limit your contributors or guests and includes instructions to help you complete a business plan. It even includes the financial forecasting features and more than 500 sample plans to get you started.

The Premium plan costs $30 per month (billed annually), but it’s full-featured. You get a milestone planner and industry benchmark data, which can save you research time. Another timesaver: At this plan level, you can integrate QuickBooks or Xero to add your financial data seamlessly.

LivePlan is business plan software that includes prompts and accounting software integrations, making it great for new business owners that want easy financial forecasting.

• Unlimited guests and contributors
• Export finished business plan as PowerPoint presentation
• Includes step-by-step instructions with prompts
• 35-day money-back guarantee
• No free trial

Best for Roadmapping

$59 per user, per month

Every business plan starts with strategy and Aha! makes it easier to map out what you plan to do to get from point A to point Z. Aha! is primarily roadmapping software that product teams use to plan features, products or bug fixes. Any business in any industry can use it to shape ideas and strategy into plans and milestones.

Much like product development, business plans have phases and Aha! is ideal for the first few phases of business planning. Although you won’t find a scorecard feature with Aha! Roadmaps, you can score and prioritize your business vision and goals. Finally, you can present your plan to viewers (stakeholders) before you create your official business plan and secure funding.

There are three plans from which you can choose: Premium at $59 per user, per month; Enterprise at $99 per user, per month; and Enterprise+ at $149 per user, per month, all billed annually. The only reasons to upgrade to either Enterprise plan is if you want to add on automation, development tools and custom worksheets and tables.

Aha! Roadmaps is a great tool to help you strategize and get your ideas for your business in one place. You can use the presentation feature to share your business’s roadmap on your way to creating your finalized business plan.

• User-friendly interface
• Ability to score and prioritize ideas
• Share roadmaps with others
• Expensive for business plan creation
• Has a bit of a learning curve

Best for Beginners

$20.75 per month

Bizplan is specifically for business plan creation. It offers a guided walkthrough of each section you need for a complete business plan to use for funding or pitching to partners. Plug in the information, from your mission and goals to financial forecasts, and Bizplan will do the math and create the visual charts you need to get your point across.

Bizplan is very easy to use because it includes prompts and questions that take away the manual effort of figuring out what you need, so you can simply focus on providing the answers. When you’re satisfied you included all the data needed, you can invite stakeholders and consultants to look it over and add comments for approval or change requests. A unique feature of Bizplan is it gives you access to Fundable, a crowdfunding platform, on which you can share your business plan to try to generate funding.

Monthly pricing costs $29, but you can opt for annual pricing that averages to $20.75 per month. If you expect to need business plan software for much longer than a year, there’s a lifetime access option for $349 flat. All plans come with all features and access, including business courses, business planning tools and a route to investors.

If it’s your first time creating a business plan, Bizplan is a great choice to help guide you through all the sections you need to include in your plan for potential investors and partners.

• Monthly, annual and lifetime plans
• Unlimited business plans
• Unlimited collaborators
• Step-by-step instructions
• Modular, drag-and-drop interface
• Online business courses
• Access to Fundable
• Financial forecasting
• No roadmapping tools
• Lack of customization
• Only integrates with Xero

Best for Ideation

Free; $6 per month

IdeaBuddy is a basic business plan tool that lets you start for free, which is great for beginners who aren’t quite ready to create a plan. The idea plan feature is great because it lets you lay out your business plan on one page, giving you an overview. There are built-in sticky notes for brainstorming and custom templates to start you off with a bit of a guide (or just create your own).

Another great feature of IdeaBuddy is the whiteboard, which lets you drag and drop various elements, draw on it and collaborate with others to come up with your perfect business idea. That feature is locked behind the highest tier, so you’ll have to pay $22 per month (billed annually) to use it. However, that plan also gives you up to 10 collaborators and 10 ideas.

Other plans are more limiting: The free plan is for a solopreneur who has a single idea to work on and the Dreamer plan is $6 per month while the Founder plan is $12 per month, both billed annually. The Dreamer plan is also limited to one idea, but you get one collaborator while the Founder plan gives you up to three ideas and three collaborators. Plus, you’ll get access to the paid plans to export and share your plan with viewers.

IdeaBuddy is just what it sounds like: It’s best for ideation. You can create a full-fledged business plan, but this program is best suited for the very beginning stages of business creation.

• Free forever plan
• Affordable paid plans
• Monthly and annual billing options
• Easy to use
• Export to Word, Excel or as PDF
• Flexible whiteboard feature
• May be too basic for some users
• Doesn’t offer much guidance

Best for No-Frills Business Planning

$55 for one year

Business plan software doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective, and iPlanner certainly fits that bill. It’s been around since 2007 and it doesn’t appear to have updated its look or functions. The browser-based business planning software gives you a place to build out your business model and a business plan.

There are two different software options from iPlanner: Strategy Designer and Startup Framework. The Strategy Designer costs $59 for three plans, but it’s a one-time fee for the year. Choose it if you want a more condensed and no-frills kind of business plan. You can export it to Word or as a PDF.

The iPlanner Startup Framework is $55 per year, which gives you one plan to create. It’s similar to the Designer version, but you can create a business model, separate financials and build a team with various roles (view only, project owner or consultant).

iPlanner is best for those who have created a business plan before and don’t need hand-holding or fancy features.

• Business modeling option
• Samples on site for demoing
• Export to Word or as PDF
• No free plan or trial
• Not a lot of guidance
• Outdated interface

Best for Automatic Business Plan Creation

$11 per month

Enloop is a unique business plan app that generates a business plan for you based on information you provide. You can edit the text Enloop writes for you to make it more specific or change numbers in your financial forecasts as you see fit. Enloop offers a scorecard that updates as you change things, finish sections and make your business plan overall better.

Then Enloop compares your financial forecasts to industry standards, so you don’t have to do the research. The software shows you up to 16 ratios, such as sales, inventory and payables and then shows you what the average is for your industry as it compares to your financials. Enloop then gives you either a pass or fail so that you can modify your plan before you put anything into play.

Although Enloop doesn’t offer a free plan, there is a free trial for one week so you can see if it’s right for you. The Detailed plan costs $11 per month while the Performance plan is $24 per month, both billed annually. The biggest difference between the two plans is how many financial ratios Enloop analyzes: The Detailed plan only gets three ratios and Performance plan gets 16.

Enloop is best for those who have some experience creating business plans, not necessarily for those who are starting from scratch as there are no brainstorming or strategizing tools included. Use Enloop to create business plans quickly.

• Three business plans for each tier
• Generates a business plan automatically
• Compares your financials to industry standards
• Seven-day free trial available
• Scorecards indicate odds of success
• No messaging team members through app
• Not meant for strategizing

Best for Consultant Groups

$80 per, user per month

Not everyone wants to go it alone when creating business plans and consultants are often hired for industry expertise and business plan creation. AchieveIt offers generous plans that won’t limit the number of plans and projects you can create, so you can work on multiple business plans at one time.

Specifically, AchieveIt is planning software meant for medium to large teams to work on projects simultaneously. For business planning, it’s a great option for those strategizing and analyzing a variety of data points with multiple people—all of AchieveIt’s plans have a minimum requirement of 20 users.

Plans are pricey, especially when you consider the user minimum. Core, the lowest-priced plan, costs $80 per user, per month, and Plus is $90 per user, per month, both billed annually. So, it’s going to cost $1,600 per month, at least, which puts this software out of reach for most small businesses.

AchieveIt is a good choice for large businesses that need planning software and for business plan purposes, it makes most sense for established consultant groups.

• Unlimited plans and projects
• Collaboration tools
• Goal management
• 20-user minimum
• Pricier than most competitors
• Integrations at added cost

Best for Teams

Business sorter.

$10 per month

When you’re ready to craft your business plan, it can help immensely to have business planning software like Business Sorter. The cloud-based app makes it easy for you to start a plan and kicks off your business planning with a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). Then, you can follow a guide to build your plan with each section divided by areas. After which, you can choose cards to help steer you toward the right objectives and goals for your business.

You won’t find roadmapping tools in Business Sorter, but the card system keeps you on track (and even gives you goals you may not have considered). As you prioritize goals, you’ll find steps you need to take that guide you to completing your business plan. Every plan allows multiple users, so you can collaborate on what takes precedence.

Plans start at $10 per month, billed annually, and allows you to have three users on board. For 10 users, the Medium plan costs $30 per month, billed annually, and if you need 30 users, the Large Team plan will run you $80 per month, billed annually. It’s one of the most affordable business planning apps for teams.

Although Business Sorter doesn’t offer a messaging tool, it’s still one of the best options for teams. You don’t have to pay per person, but you can add multiple people to the account to work on creating business plans.

• Easy-to-use business plan templates
• Free trial available
• Card system helps guide your goal setting
• Create up to 40 business plans
• Plans limit user count
• No messaging in app
• Very limited integrations

Forbes Advisor carefully considered a variety of software to choose the right business planning apps for this ranking. We compared features, ease of use, costs and collaboration. We ranked each company based on these factors using a 5-star rating system. The highest possible score is 5 out of 5 stars.

Here are the details of the factors we considered:

• Features: We looked at general and unique features of each app and gave more credit to software that provides better functionality for business planning.
• Cost: Regardless of your business size, cost is an important factor to consider when you’re adding new software to your tech stack. We awarded a higher score to those that offer free trials, free plans and affordable options.
• Ease of use: Programs that have a steep learning curve aren’t likely to be adopted by you or your team, so we chose software that’s user-friendly. Drag-and-drop interfaces or guidance through features and tools are helpful for any team.
• Customer reviews: An important factor for any software is how the general public views the program. We considered other ratings and studied the pros and cons listed by other users of the software to help us with our ranking.

Technically, you don’t need business plan software, but using it can make the entire experience easier and you’ll have better odds of creating a solid plan. You don’t even have to choose software made specifically for business planning—project management software is great for roadmapping and goal management. Aside from looking for software that includes financial forecasting, you’ll want collaboration tools, a user-friendly interface, affordable plans and ways to brainstorm or roadmap for your business idea.

One of the most important sections of any business plan is the financials. If you haven’t already done the research and calculations, look for a business plan app that automatically calculates these numbers for you.

Collaboration is also key if you’re working with a partner, team or consultants. At the very least, look for software that lets you invite viewers to see the work you’re doing, but the best business plan software lets users leave comments or work on a plan in real time simultaneously.

Ease of use is nearly as important as pricing. You’ll need software you and your team will use without spending too much downtime learning how to use it. It also makes no sense to choose a cost-prohibitive tool for creating a business plan—most of the software Forbes Advisor suggests is appropriate for small business budgets.

Finally, depending on the stage you’re in of business planning, you may want a tool that offers features that make it easy for you to create a roadmap for your business. If you’re in the early stages, these tools can help with brainstorming, prioritizing goals and managing your goals before you finalize your actual business plan.

Most business plan software helps guide you through the creation of a business plan with prompts, suggestions or tips. So, using business plan software is especially helpful for new business owners who don’t know all the sections to include to increase the odds of getting funding or luring a partner to join your operation.

Business plan software can also automate some processes, such as calculations of financials or comparisons of those finances with industry standards. Some business planning apps give you whiteboards or editable cards you can use for brainstorming. Other features may include scorecards to let you know if you’re on the right track or roadmapping tools to give you an overview of your business plan.

The biggest benefit of business plan software is that it helps you organize and prioritize all of your goals so you can more easily analyze and then compile the data you need to create your business plan. After that, you can create your plan from scratch or if you’re using business planning software made specifically for crafting plans, you can piece it all together and then export it as a PDF or to Microsoft Word.

Which business plan software is the best?

Forbes Advisor suggests Wrike, Smartsheet or LivePlan to help you write your business plan. Depending on the stage you’re in of business planning, one tool or another may be better for you.

How do I create my own business plan?

There are several steps you should follow to create a good business plan, but there are different types of plans you can create. Every business plan starts with a strong executive summary and includes your business goals and financial forecasting. Follow a guide on how to create a business plan to ensure you include all the sections needed.

What are the different types of business plans?

There are many types of business plans you can create and the one that makes the most sense for you depends on your situation. A standard business plan is meant for when you need to present to investors or a bank for financial help. A lean plan doesn’t include all the summaries and background information a standard plan does, so it’s more suitable for established business owners. There are also one-page business plans that are more like pitches. You may also run across operational, tactical, strategic and contingency business plans. We created a simple business plan template that you can use to get started when launching a side gig or small business.

Is business plan software secure?

As  with most types of software, the best business plan software programs offer many levels of security. When choosing this type of software, you want to look for security features that include multifactor authentication (MFA), intrusion detection, the monitoring of user activities, documentation that shows frequent security updates and patches, data encryption and privacy protection.

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Amy Nichol Smith spent more than 20 years working as a journalist for TV and newspapers before transitioning to software and hardware product reviews for consumers and small businesses. She has been featured in publications such as L.A. Times, Tom's Guide, Investopedia and various newspapers across the U.S.

Software Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Software Company Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Software Company business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create software business plans and many have used them to start or grow their software companies.

Below is a software business plan template to help you create each section of your own Software Company business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

SimpleBooks Inc. is a new accounting software company located in Seattle, Washington. We produce an accounting product that helps small and medium-sized businesses with all of their accounting tasks. Some of these features we provide in our software include bookkeeping, tracking cash flow, reconciling bank accounts, and creating/managing financial reports.

SimpleBooks Inc. is founded by Edward Jameson, who has been a developer for 20 years. He created this software based on the complaints that his wife had of the accounting software she was using. He initially created the software to help his wife’s business but decided to expand the product and sell it to other local small and medium-sized businesses with similar accounting needs.

Product Offering

SimpleBooks Inc. produces accounting software that helps small and medium-sized businesses with all their accounting needs. We offer an extensive list of features, including the following:

• Bookkeeping
• Reconciling bank accounts
• Cash flow tracking and management
• Accounts receivable
• Income and expenses tracking
• Invoice and payment processing
• Mileage tracking
• Receipt capture
• Bill management
• Tax deductions
• Inventory management
• Employee expenses tracking
• Business analytics
• Project profitability
• Time tracking
• Financial report generation

Customer Focus

SimpleBooks Inc. will primarily target businesses in the Seattle, Washington area. The software is designed for smaller businesses, so most of our clientele will include businesses with less than 500 employees.

Management Team

SimpleBooks Inc. is founded by Edward Jameson, who has been a developer for 20 years. He has substantial experience creating software for large companies and has been very successful in his career. He initially built the company’s accounting software to help his wife’s business, but decided to expand the product and sell it to other small businesses in the area.

Success Factors

SimpleBooks Inc. will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Edward Jameson has been extremely successful working in the software industry and will be able to use experience to create the best products for our target market.
• Edward knows many of the local leaders, business managers, and other influencers within Seattle, Washington and will use those connections to establish an initial clientbase.
• SimpleBooks Inc.’s products are designed with small businesses in mind and will be curated to help the particular accounting needs of this target demographic.

Financial Highlights

SimpleBooks Inc. is seeking a total funding of $500,000 of debt capital to launch. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office design/build: $100,000
• Software development: $150,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $50,000
• Working capital: $50,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for SimpleBooks Inc.:

Company Overview

Who is simplebooks inc..

SimpleBooks Inc. is a new accounting software company located in Seattle, Washington. We produce an accounting software product that helps small and medium-sized businesses with all of their accounting tasks. We offer three tiers of features. Our basic tier only offers basic accounting functions while our advanced tier offers an extensive list of features for larger and more complex businesses. Some of these features include bookkeeping, tracking cash flow, reconciling bank accounts, and creating/managing financial reports.

  SimpleBooks Inc. is founded by Edward Jameson, who has been a developer for 20 years. His wife is an accountant who was very unhappy with other accounting software products. Other accounting software can be overwhelming to use, unintuitive, and are geared toward large organizations and enterprises. Edward knew of her complaints and developed an accounting software geared towards her small business. Edward’s wife has been successfully using the software for nearly a year, so Edward is confident that this product can help other small and medium-sized businesses with similar accounting needs.

SimpleBooks Inc.’s History

After developing the software for his wife’s company, Edward Jameson did a thorough market analysis to see how well his software would do if he sold it to other local small businesses. Once his market analysis was complete, Edward incorporated SimpleBooks Inc. as an S corporation.

Since incorporation, the company has achieved the following milestones:

• Located a potential office space and signed a Letter of Intent to lease it
• Developed the company’s name, logo, and website
• Determined equipment and necessary supplies
• Began recruiting key employees

SimpleBooks Inc.’s Services

SimpleBooks Inc. produces accounting software that helps small and medium-sized businesses with all their accounting needs. Clients interested in our software can purchase one of three plans: basic, intermediate, or advanced. Our most basic plan will offer just the essential bookkeeping and accounting functions that most businesses need and only allow up to three users per account. Our intermediate plan will offer more features and allow up to seven users per account. Our most advanced plan will offer an extensive suite of accounting features and allow up to twenty users per account. All plans are charged on a monthly basis, with our basic plan being the cheapest option and advanced option being the most expensive.

Some of the functions and features included in our software products include:

Industry Analysis

According to market research, the global software industry is expected to grow substantially over the next five years. Nearly every business uses some form of software to automate its processes and increase efficiency and accuracy. Therefore, demand remains high and the industry continues to grow and expand.

Business software includes project management software, communication software, customer relationship management software, and accounting software. Accounting software is particularly popular as it significantly improves accuracy and efficiency when handling all things related to accounting. Good accounting software can help a business keep detailed tracking of all its finances, and prevent a business from bleeding money or losing track of funds.

Business software companies can succeed by providing competitive features, multiple plans and products, and keeping their products affordable. They will also succeed if they can make products that work for both small businesses and large enterprises. A company that can provide this type of software will remain competitive in the global market and see rising demand from its clientele.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

SimpleBooks Inc. will primarily target businesses in the Seattle, Washington area. The software is designed for smaller businesses, so most of our clientele will include solopreneurs, small businesses, and medium businesses with less than 500 employees. We hope to eventually branch out and serve clients located beyond the Seattle area.

Customer Segmentation

SimpleBooks Inc. will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Solopreneurs
• Small businesses
• Medium-sized businesses

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

SimpleBooks Inc. will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting programs out there. It provides businesses with everything a business needs for its accounting department, including tracking income and expenses, managing cash flow, and helping with taxes. Clients can choose one of four monthly plans depending on the features they need and how large their accounting department is. Plans are charged on a monthly basis and include quick and helpful support and app integration.

Xero is a powerful accounting software for companies of all sizes. Clients who have Xero can pay bills, manage payroll, claim expenses, send invoices, and track inventory. They offer three tiers to choose from, including a very affordable basic plan and other plans that offer extensive features. They also provide specialized features for small businesses and for businesses in particular industries.

Freshbooks is a popular accounting software with businesses of all sizes in mind. They offer numerous features that vary depending on if you are a freelancer, a business with contractors, or a business with employees. Some of these features include managing expenses and receipts, tracking mileage and time, invoicing, and generating financial reports. They offer three tiers of plans but also create custom plans for businesses with complex and unique accounting needs.

Competitive Advantage

SimpleBooks Inc. will be able to offer the following advantages over the competition:

• Management: Edward Jameson has been extremely successful working in the software industry and will be able to use his previous experience to create the best products and experience for his clients. His unique qualifications will serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than SimpleBooks Inc.’s competitors.
• Relationships: Edward knows many of the local leaders, business managers, and other influencers within Seattle, Washington. With his 10 years of experience and good relationships with business leaders in the area, he will be able to develop an initial client base.
• Small business focus: While our competitors do offer features for small and medium sized businesses, their products are designed with large enterprises in mind. This can make their products feel overwhelming and unintuitive. SimpleBooks Inc.’s products are designed specifically for small and medium businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

SimpleBooks Inc. will offer a unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Service built on long-term relationships
• A focus on helping small businesses succeed
• Affordable pricing
• Excellent customer service

Promotions Strategy

The marketing strategy for SimpleBooks Inc. is as follows:

Referral Marketing

SimpleBooks Inc. will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. Edward will create the company’s social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. He will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Social Media SimpleBooks Inc. will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. Edward will create the company’s social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. He will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Website/SEO

SimpleBooks Inc. will invest in developing a professional website that displays all of the features of our accounting software. It will also invest heavily in SEO so that the brand’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.

Direct Mail

SimpleBooks Inc. will blanket businesses with direct mail pieces. These pieces will provide general information on SimpleBooks Inc., offer discounts, and/or provide other incentives for companies to try out our accounting software.

SimpleBooks Inc.’s pricing will be on par with competitors so clients feel they receive great value when purchasing our software.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for SimpleBooks Inc.: Operation Functions:

• Edward Jameson will be the Owner and CEO of the company. He will oversee all the operations and executive functions of the company. In the beginning, he will also provide customer support and development support until he hires several other developers and customer support professionals.
• Edward will employ an experienced assistant to help with various administrative duties around the office.
• Edward will also hire several developers to develop, improve, and maintain the company’s software products.
• Edward will also hire a solid sales team to sell our products to potential clients. As the company grows, he will also hire a team that is solely dedicated to customer service.

Milestones:

SimpleBooks Inc. will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.

• 5/2023 – Finalize lease agreement
• 6/2023 – Design and build out SimpleBooks Inc.
• 7/2023 – Hire and train initial staff
• 8/2023 – Kickoff of promotional campaign
• 9/2023 – Launch SimpleBooks Inc.
• 10/2023 – Reach break-even

SimpleBooks Inc. is founded by Edward Jameson, who has been a developer for 20 years. His wife is an accountant who was very unhappy with other accounting software products. Other accounting software can be overwhelming to use, unintuitive, and are geared toward large organizations and enterprises. Edward knew of her complaints and developed an accounting software geared towards her small business. Edward’s wife has been successfully using the software for nearly a year, so Edward is confident that this product can help other small and medium-sized businesses with similar accounting needs.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The key revenues for SimpleBooks Inc. will come from the monthly fees that are charged to clients for using the software. There are three tiers that clients can choose from. The option that each client chooses will determine how much revenue the company makes.

The major cost drivers for the company include the lease, salaries, overhead, development costs, and marketing expenses.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

SimpleBooks Inc. is seeking a total funding of $500,000 of debt capital to launch. The funding will be dedicated to office design, software development, marketing, and working capital. Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of clients:
• Annual rent: $30,000

Financial Projections

Income statement.

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Software Company Business Plan FAQs

What is a software company business plan.

A software company business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your software company business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Software Company business plan using our Software Company Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Software Company Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of software company businesses , some examples include: Open source, Client-specific, Programming services, and System services.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Software Company Business Plan?

Software Company businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Software Company Business?

Starting a software company business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Software Company Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed software company business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your software company business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your software company business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Software Company Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your software company business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your software company business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.

7. Acquire Necessary Software Company Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your software company business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your software company business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful software company business:

• How to Start a Software Company Business

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Computer Software Business Plan Sample

Published Mar.03, 2021

Updated Apr.22, 2024

By: Noor Muhammad

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Table of Content

Computer software business plan for starting your own company

Do you want to start a computer software business? Well, the business has immense demand these days. Firstly, because of the introduction of software that enhance business efficiency and productivity. And second, due to the coronavirus that has made people work from home.

Starting this business doesn’t require you to occupy a large space. However, the startup costs are still high. Mainly because of the costs of software and the salaries of software experts.

To make sure that your business is started and run efficiently, you must create a business plan computer software. To help you in making an accurate business continuity plan computer software company for your business, we’re providing here a business plan for software product . This sample business plan software for mac and pc is written for a computer software startup, Tech Solutions.

Computer Software Business Plan Summary

2.1 the business.

Tech Solutions will be a registered and insured computer software business. The business will provide all sorts of management, business, engineering, analytics, and computer repair software. The company will also offer software that allows integration with hardware devices. Moreover, some hardware accessories will also be sold by the company.

In this business plan sample of an online computer repair and sales of hardware and software, we’ll be providing all details of Tech Solutions for your guidance.

2.2 Management of Computer Software Company

To ensure the smooth and successful running of your business, it is essential to first create a business plan template for computer software. In your computer software reseller business plan, you should mention all details of how you will establish your business, hire the staff, purchase the inventory, and software for reselling. Moreover, it should explain a proper management structure that will allow you to cater to unexpected orders, staff problems, and financial issues.

2.3 Customers of Computer Software Company

Tech Solutions identified the following groups of people as its target customers:

• Companies & Businesses
• Engineering Schools
• Others (Retail Stores & General Public)

2.4 Business Target

We aim to earn and maintain a CSAT score above 90% within a year of our launch. Financially, we aim at earning a profit margin of $32.3k per month by the end of the three years of our launch.

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

Tech Solutions will be owned by Dustin Grant. Dustin is a software engineer who has also acquired a master’s degree in business administration after his graduation. He has worked in a software firm for two years but eventually decided to start his own business plan for software product .

3.2 Why the computer software business is being started

Dustin started the computer software business to be an entrepreneur and earn huge profits. Throughout his academic and service years, he remained associated with software businesses. Therefore, at the time of starting his own business plan for software product , he believed the computer software business to be the best choice for him.

3.3 How the pc software business will be started

Step1: Develop computer hardware and software business plan

The first step to start this business would be to create a computer software and technology business plan. Dustin had adequate knowledge to develop the business continuity plan for computer software company, therefore he did the task himself. If you think that you don’t possess the required skillset to develop a business plan software for apple computers or any other relevant service, you must hire a professional for doing so.

Step2: Define your brand

After planning everything about your business plan for software product , you should step into the execution phase. This is the time to acquire licenses, registrations, inventory, and required software and hardware. Meanwhile, you should define your business values and services so that people can know about you.

Step3: Start the recruitment

The next step is to recruit the most component and skillful employees for your business plan for software product . A good approach is to also give them a few months of training so that they can learn to collaborate with each other.

Step4: Promote & market

After establishing your workplace and workforce, the next step is to promote your competitive advantages.

Step5: Establish a web presence

A strong web presence is inevitable for a software company. Since software services can be provided online, your customers are more likely to search about you on Google. Therefore, to offer your services on a wider scale, it is a must to establish a strong online presence.

Products of Computer Software Company

In your computer software retail business plan, you should also include the services you want to offer. To decide your services, you should study some guide to writing a computer software business plan examples. This will give you a broader idea of what other people are offering in the domain.

The products offered by Tech Solutions are provided below:

• Billing Software
• Asset Management software
• Clear Analytics
• Metric Insights
• SAP BusinessObjects
• StudioCloud
• Autodesk Revit
• JavaScript and more.
• Network Interface Cards
• Expansion cards
• Power supply unit
• Motherboard
• Optical disc drive
• Microprocessor
• Hard disk drive and more.

Marketing Analysis of Computer Software Business

Your business plan for computer software is incomplete unless you have done a detailed marketing analysis in it. Since purchasing software and hiring the persons who can run those software is a costly operation. Therefore, it is a must for you to purchase only the software that are demanded by your target customers. Knowing your target market will help you in understanding which type of software you should acquire. Moreover, by analyzing customers’ buying patterns you can figure out whether or not you should purchase a certain software.

In this computer programs business plan we’re providing the market analysis done for Tech Solutions. Dustin carried out a detailed marketing analysis before developing business plan software for mac computers and other devices. His special focus was to offer software products that weren’t offered by his market competitors.

5.1 Market Trends

The market stats for computer software-related companies are extremely good. According to IBISWorld, market size of $564bn is held just by online computer software sellers in the United States. The trends for business analytics software businesses are also highly encouraging. According to the same source, more than 4.5k such businesses are running in the United States successfully. The business has grown by 22.8% in the past five years, from 2016 to 2021. And is expected to grow more by 13.3% in 2021 alone.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

The groups of target customers identified by Tech Solutions are provided in this computer software business plan sample.

5.2.1 Companies/ Businesses & Organizations

The first group of our target customers will comprise organizations and enterprises that need management and cloud-based intelligent software to manage their business plan for software product . They are expected to be our potential customers as they will need the latest software support to enhance their productivity.

5.2.2 Engineering Schools & Firms

The second group of our target customers will be the universities and firms that make use of engineering software. They may include design engineering firms, software firms, and manufacturing firms.

5.2.3 Others

The third category includes all other people and businesses who may need software and hardware. For example, retail stores are expected to get billing software from us. High school students are believed to purchase hardware accessories from us etc.

5.3 Business Target

Our business targets are

• To achieve a Net Promoter Score above 50 by the end of the two years of our launch.
• To earn and maintain a CSAT score above 90% within a year of our launch.
• To earn a net profit margin of $32.3k per month by the end of the third year
• To achieve and maintain an average ranking above 4.75 throughout our service years.

5.4 Product Pricing

Our prices are a little higher as compared to our market competitors. It is because of the continuous software support and training we’ll be providing free of cost.

Marketing Strategy of Computer Software Business

In your business plan computer software company you should also include the ways, you will adopt to outperform your competitors. Ideally, you should analyze your competitive benefits, sales business strategy , and forecasted sales in this part of computer software training business plan.

6.1 Competitive Analysis

• Our biggest competitive benefit is that we’re providing free training to our customers. People who will purchase software from us will be given 10-12 days of training so that they can use all the features of the software.
• We are highly customer-oriented. Our collaborative staff will remain in touch with you to provide you expert advice whenever you face any technical issues with the provided software.
• Our software offerings are more than all of our competitors. Therefore, we expect to get more customers than them.

6.2 Sales Strategy

• We’ll establish a strong web and social media presence to reach out to a wider audience.
• To advertise our services, we’ll make use of Google Local ads service, and local newspaper.
• We’ll send our sales executive to several companies and organizations to let them know about us.
• We’ll provide a 20% discount on all of our software for the first month of our launch.
• We’ll provide a 30% discount on all of our hardware products for the first two months of our launch.

6.3 Sales Monthly

6.4 Sales Yearly

6.5 Sales Forecast

Personnel plan

The skills and performance of your employees are the things that will impact your business impression in the long run. To make your startup a success, it is essential to hire your employees with great care. And develop a human resource management plan to help them improve over time.

In this computer hardware software business plan, we’re providing the personnel plan of Tech Solutions.

7.1 Company Staff

Dustin will hire the following employees for his business:

• 1 Co-Manager to manage the company’s operations
• 4 Software Engineers to develop software and train people
• 2 IT Experts to maintain IT systems
• 2 Computer Technicians to help maintain the machinery
• 2 Sales Executives to discover new ventures for the company
• 1 Accountant to maintain financial records
• 1 Store Manager to manage hardware sales

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

Financial Plan

Though opening a computer software business doesn’t require you to rent a large space or procure huge inventory, still, the costs of starting and running this business are high. It is because many business software are very expensive especially those which are cloud-based and agile. And secondly, the salaries of highly expert software engineers are also high. Therefore, the finances of this business plan for software product need to be managed.

The best way for managing your finances, investments, profits, and losses is to develop a financial plan. In this computer software business plan sample we’re providing the financial plan that Dustin developed for Tech Solutions.

8.1 Important Assumptions

8.2 Break-even Analysis

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

8.3.1 Profit Monthly

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

8.6 Business Ratios

Download Computer Software Business Plan Sample in pdf

Professional OGS capital writers specialized also in themes such as smartphone business plan , computer store business plan, iPhone repair business plan , solid semiconductor business plan , best biotech business plans and many others.

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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Computer/Software Application Business: Example Business Plan

Have an idea for a new software program? Looking to sell to businesses not consumers? We’ve created an example business plan to help you get started.

Have you spent your weekends and nights coding; developing a software application that you think could make you millions? Great, sounds like you’re ready to build out your business plan. Although lean and agile development may be what you use, most organizations thinking about lending you money will require a more fully thought out business plan.

To help you get started we’ve created a business plan example for the computer/software application industry. Our example focuses on a company selling a software program to other businesses, but it will work as a framework if you’re selling a product/service directly to consumers. Click the ‘Download Tool’ button to gain access to the word document.

You can also find the same example in the Business Plan Writer , our free online tool that guides you through the process of starting your business. Just select “computer/software application” as your industry when you register.

Good luck and happy writing!

Related resources

• Entrepreneurship

How to Start a Profitable Computer Business [11 Steps]

By Nick Cotter Updated Feb 05, 2024

Business Steps:

1. perform market analysis., 2. draft a computer business plan., 3. develop a computer brand., 4. formalize your business registration., 5. acquire necessary licenses and permits for computer., 6. open a business bank account and secure funding as needed., 7. set pricing for computer services., 8. acquire computer equipment and supplies., 9. obtain business insurance for computer, if required., 10. begin marketing your computer services., 11. expand your computer business..

Before launching a computer business, it's crucial to understand the competitive landscape and consumer demand. A thorough market analysis will guide your business decisions and strategy. Below are key steps to consider:

• Identify your target customers by age, income, occupation, and computing needs to tailor your offerings accordingly.
• Analyze competitors by looking at their product range, pricing, market share, and customer reviews to find your unique selling proposition.
• Assess industry trends, such as the shift towards mobile computing or the increasing demand for eco-friendly products, to stay ahead of the curve.
• Examine supplier options and distribution channels to ensure you can source products efficiently and reach your customers effectively.
• Evaluate the regulatory environment to ensure compliance with local and international laws regarding warranty, customer service, and data protection.

Are computer businesses profitable?

It depends on the type of computer business and how it is managed. Some businesses, like web design and computer repair, can be quite profitable. Others, such as IT consulting or software development, can be more challenging to monetize.

Creating a business plan is a critical step in laying the foundation for a successful computer business. It serves as a roadmap, detailing your business goals, strategies, and how you plan to achieve them. Here are key elements to include in your draft:

• Executive Summary: Summarize your business concept, vision, and key objectives.
• Company Description: Provide an overview of your business, including the services or products you will offer.
• Market Analysis: Research and describe your target market, customer needs, and competition.
• Organization and Management: Outline your business structure, management team, and staffing requirements.
• Services or Products: Detail the computer services or products you will provide, along with any unique features or benefits.
• Marketing Plan: Explain how you plan to attract and retain customers.
• Sales Strategy: Describe your sales approach and pricing model.
• Funding Request: If seeking financing, specify the amount needed and how it will be used.
• Financial Projections: Offer an overview of projected revenue, expenses, and profitability.
• Appendix: Include any additional documents or data that support your business plan.

How does a computer business make money?

Computer businesses make money by offering services and products to consumers, businesses, and other organizations. These services can range from basic computer repair, to software and hardware development. Businesses can also make money by selling computers and related equipment. An example of a target audience for a computer business would be small-to-mid-sized businesses that need reliable computer systems for their operations. Furthermore, computer businesses can also service individuals looking for an upgrade or repair assistance to their home computers.

Creating a distinctive computer brand is crucial to stand out in the competitive tech market. It involves a combination of strategic design, clear messaging, and targeted marketing to appeal to your desired customer base. Below are key steps to help you develop a strong computer brand:

• Identify your target audience and tailor your brand's voice and aesthetic to resonate with their preferences and needs.
• Choose a brand name that is memorable, easy to pronounce, and reflects the core values and unique selling proposition of your computers.
• Design a professional logo and a consistent visual theme that will be used across all platforms and products, ensuring brand recognition.
• Create a compelling brand story that connects emotionally with customers and communicates the origins, mission, and vision of your brand.
• Develop a marketing strategy that leverages social media, content marketing, and collaborations to increase brand awareness and loyalty.
• Ensure your computers offer unique features or innovations that differentiate your brand from competitors in the market.
• Consistently deliver high-quality products and excellent customer service to build a strong reputation and foster brand trust.

How to come up with a name for your computer business?

When coming up with a name for your computer business, it is important to consider various factors. First, your name should be memorable and easy to spell. Second, keep your name concise and easy to pronounce. Third, think of a name that accurately reflects the type of services you offer. Lastly, make sure to check your chosen name’s availability to ensure it is not already taken. Using these tips will help you create a unique and effective name for your computer business.

Registering your computer business is a critical step to ensure its legal operation and to protect your personal assets. This process varies by location, but generally involves selecting a business structure, registering with appropriate government agencies, and obtaining any necessary licenses or permits. Follow these guidelines to formalize your business registration:

• Choose a Business Structure: Decide whether your computer business will be a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation. Each has different tax implications and levels of personal liability.
• Register Your Business Name: If your business name differs from your own, you may need to file a 'Doing Business As' (DBA) name. Check with your local government for specific requirements.
• Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN): If you plan to hire employees, you'll need an EIN from the IRS. It's also helpful for opening a business bank account and handling taxes.
• Register with State and Local Agencies: Depending on your location, you may need to register with state and local agencies for tax purposes and obtain a business license or permits.
• Comply with Additional Regulations: Depending on the nature of your computer business, you might need specific permits or licenses, such as for software development, repair services, or retail sales.

Resources to help get you started:

Explore key resources designed to empower computer entrepreneurs with the latest market trends, operational efficiencies, and strategic growth insights:

• TechCrunch: Detailed analysis and breaking news in the technology and computer sector. - https://techcrunch.com/
• Wired: In-depth coverage of current and future trends in technology. - https://www.wired.com/
• Gartner: World-leading research and advisory company providing indispensable business insights, advice, and tools for the IT industry. - https://www.gartner.com/
• Computerworld: Publication covering a range of technology topics, with a focus on computer technology and its applications in business. - https://www.computerworld.com/
• CIO: Offers the latest news, analysis, videos, blogs, and case studies for IT professionals and tech managers. - https://www.cio.com/
• The Information: Provides deeply reported articles about the technology sector and interviews with industry leaders. - https://www.theinformation.com/

Initiating a computer business involves complying with local, state, and federal regulations to operate legally. Ensuring you have the right licenses and permits is essential to avoid any legal issues. Below are the key steps to acquire necessary licenses and permits:

• Research your local city or county's business license requirements, as these vary by location and the type of business activities you'll conduct.
• Register your business name and structure (e.g., LLC, corporation) with your state's secretary of state office or business agency.
• Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS for tax purposes, especially if you plan to hire employees.
• Check for specific computer business-related licenses, such as electronics repair or software development certifications, if applicable to your services.
• Apply for a sales tax permit with your state's department of revenue if you will be selling goods or services that are subject to sales tax.
• Consult with a legal professional to ensure you comply with all industry-specific regulations, such as data protection and privacy laws.

What licenses and permits are needed to run a computer business?

To run a computer business, you will need to obtain several licenses and permits. This includes registering your business with the local government, obtaining a sales tax permit, and securing any necessary zoning or land-use permits from the local planning department. Depending on your location and business type, you may also need to obtain a business license from the county or state, an employer's identification number from the IRS, and any special permits or licenses required for specific services provided.

When starting a computer business, it's crucial to keep personal and business finances separate. Opening a business bank account will offer you clear financial records and make tax preparation easier. Securing funding, if necessary, can be the bridge between your business plan and its successful execution.

• Research banks and choose one that offers favorable business account terms and services such as low fees, online banking, and merchant services.
• Prepare necessary documentation to open a business account, including your business registration, EIN, and any ownership agreements.
• Consider your funding needs and create a detailed business plan to present to potential investors or lenders.
• Explore different funding options such as small business loans, lines of credit, venture capital, or angel investors, depending on the scale and needs of your business.
• Investigate government grants and subsidies for technology businesses, as there may be programs available to support innovation and growth in the tech sector.
• Be prepared to provide financial projections and personal financial information when applying for business loans or credit.

When setting prices for your computer services, it's crucial to strike a balance between being competitive and ensuring profitability. Consider the value you offer, the costs you incur, and the prices of competing services. Below are some key points to guide you in pricing your computer services:

• Analyze your costs: Include all expenses such as labor, parts, overhead, and desired profit margin to ensure sustainability.
• Research the competition: Look at what others are charging for similar services to gauge what customers expect to pay.
• Value-based pricing: Price services based on the value they provide to the customer rather than just the cost of the service.
• Offer tiered pricing: Create service packages with varying levels of support and features to cater to different customer needs.
• Consider hourly vs. flat-rate pricing: Decide if you will charge by the hour or offer a flat rate for specific services. Each has its advantages.
• Adjust for expertise: If your skills or services are specialized, price accordingly to reflect your expertise.
• Be transparent: Clearly communicate what is included in your pricing to avoid misunderstandings and build trust.
• Review regularly: Regularly assess your pricing strategy to ensure it remains appropriate and competitive.

What does it cost to start a computer business?

Initiating a computer business can involve substantial financial commitment, the scale of which is significantly influenced by factors such as geographical location, market dynamics, and operational expenses, among others. Nonetheless, our extensive research and hands-on experience have revealed an estimated starting cost of approximately $25700 for launching such an business. Please note, not all of these costs may be necessary to start up your computer business.

When setting up a computer business, it's crucial to equip your operation with the right tools and supplies. The following list provides guidance on the essentials you'll need to acquire to ensure your business runs smoothly and efficiently.

• Computers and Laptops: Invest in high-quality computers and laptops that can handle business operations, including servers for data management and storage.
• Networking Equipment: Obtain routers, switches, and wireless access points to establish a reliable and secure network.
• Software: Purchase necessary software licenses for operating systems, office suites, antivirus, and any specialized applications relevant to your services.
• Peripheral Devices: Include printers, scanners, and copiers, as well as keyboards, mice, and monitors to outfit workstations.
• Repair Tools: If offering repair services, gather a set of quality screwdrivers, soldering irons, and diagnostic equipment.
• Office Supplies: Stock up on cables, connectors, ink cartridges, paper, and other consumables.
• Storage Solutions: Acquire shelving, bins, and secure cabinets for organizing inventory and tools.

List of software, tools and supplies needed to start a computer business:

• Computer Hardware – typically around $500 - $2000 per computer
• Operating System – typically around $100 - $200 per system
• Business Software and Applications – can vary greatly depending on the types of software and applications used
• Networking Equipment – typically around $50 - $200 per device
• Security Software – typically around $50 - $150 per system
• Data Storage Solutions – typically around $100 - $500 per solution
• Monitoring Tools – typically around $200 - $1000 per tool
• Backup Solutions – typically around $50 - $200 per solution
• Customer Support Tools – can vary greatly depending on the types of tools used
• Office Supplies – typically around $50 - 100 per item

Securing the right business insurance is crucial for protecting your computer business against unforeseen events. Different types of insurance policies cater to various risks associated with technology businesses, such as data breaches, theft, or liability claims. Here are some steps you should consider to ensure you have the appropriate coverage:

• Assess your risks: Identify the specific risks your computer business may face, such as cyber threats, physical damage to equipment, or potential lawsuits from dissatisfied customers.
• Research insurance providers: Look for insurance companies with a good reputation and experience in insuring tech businesses. Compare their coverage options and prices to find the best fit for your needs.
• Consider the types of insurance: Common insurance types for computer businesses include general liability, professional liability, cyber liability, and property insurance. Determine which types are relevant for your operations.
• Review policy details: Once you select a policy, read the fine print carefully to understand the extent of the coverage, exclusions, deductibles, and policy limits.
• Consult with a professional: If you're unsure about the types of insurance you need, consult with an insurance agent or broker who specializes in business insurance for technology companies.
• Stay compliant: Ensure that your insurance meets any legal requirements specific to your location or industry, and keep your policies updated as your business grows and changes.

Now that your computer services business is set up, it's time to spread the word and attract customers. Effective marketing is crucial for building your client base and establishing a strong presence in the market. Here are some strategies to kickstart your marketing efforts:

• Develop a Website: Create a professional website that showcases your services, pricing, testimonials, and contact information.
• Utilize Social Media: Set up profiles on popular social media platforms and post regularly to engage with your community and reach potential clients.
• Network: Attend local business events or join online forums and networks to connect with potential clients and partners.
• Offer Promotions: Provide introductory discounts or bundled services to entice new customers to try your offerings.
• Content Marketing: Share your expertise through blogging or creating helpful guides to demonstrate your knowledge and attract organic traffic.
• Local Advertising: Consider traditional advertising routes such as local newspapers, radio, or flyers in community centers.
• Referral Program: Encourage word-of-mouth marketing by setting up a referral program with benefits for both the referrer and the new customer.

Now that your computer business is up and running, it's time to focus on expansion to stay competitive and grow your market share. Consider these strategic steps to ensure your business scales effectively and sustainably.

• Explore new markets by researching potential customer bases that you haven't tapped into yet, such as schools or small businesses.
• Diversify your product offerings to include the latest technology trends, like wearable devices or smart home products.
• Enhance your online presence through an improved website, search engine optimization (SEO), and active social media engagement to attract a wider audience.
• Invest in marketing by running targeted ad campaigns, attending trade shows, or partnering with influencers in the tech space.
• Seek out partnership opportunities with other businesses to offer bundled services or products, creating a more comprehensive solution for your customers.
• Consider offering training or consulting services to add value and establish your business as an expert in the field.
• Regularly review customer feedback to identify areas for improvement and adapt your services to meet evolving needs.
• Expand your team by hiring skilled professionals to support the increased workload and bring in fresh perspectives.

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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.

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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!

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Creating a business plan can take anywhere from a couple hours to several weeks. Your timeline will depend on things like the elements you choose to include, whether you use software or hire a writing service, and how much research goes into your plan.

That said, much of the business plan software out there brags that it can help you create a fairly detailed plan in a few hours. So if you’re going the software route, that can help you set your expectations.

If you want to get the most out of your business plan, you should update it on a regular basis―at least annually. That way, you can continually refer to it to inform your company’s strategies and direction.  

At the very least, you should update your business plan before you start looking for a new round of funding (whether that’s with investors or lenders).

Thanks to business plan software, you can easily write your own business plan rather than pay someone to do it for you. And in most cases, software will cost you less than a professional business plan service.

There are some times you might want to go with a service though. If time is tight, you might find that it’s worth the cost of a service. Or if you’ve got big investor meetings on the horizon, you might want the expertise and polish that a professional service can offer.

Ultimately, you’ll have to decide for yourself whether business plan software or a business plan service will work better for your company.

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.

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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 . |

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Software Company Business Plan

High margins, low startup costs, global reach, and a recurring revenue model make starting a software company a lucrative and rewarding profession.

Need help writing a business plan for your software company? You’re at the right place. Our software company business plan template will help you get started.

Free Business Plan Template

Download our free software company business plan template now and pave the way to success. Let’s turn your vision into an actionable strategy!

• Fill in the blanks – Outline
• Financial Tables

How to Write A Software Company Business Plan?

Writing a software company business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is the first section planned to offer an overview of the entire business plan. However, it is written after the entire business plan is ready and summarizes each section of your plan.

Here are a few key components to include in your executive summary:

• Introduce your Business: Start your executive summary by briefly introducing your business to your readers.This section may include the name of your software company, its location, when it was founded, the type of software company (E.g., enterprise software companies, mobile app development companies, data analytics companies), etc.
• Market Opportunity: Summarize your market research, including market size, growth potential, and marketing trends. Highlight the opportunities in the market and how your business will fit in to fill the gap.
• Products and Services: Highlight the software company services you offer your clients. The USPs and differentiators you offer are always a plus.For instance, you may include custom software development, software consulting, software testing, etc as some of your services.
• Marketing & Sales Strategies: Outline your sales and marketing strategies—what marketing platforms you use, how you plan on acquiring customers, etc.
• Financial Highlights: Briefly summarize your financial projections for the initial years of business operations. Include any capital or investment requirements, associated startup costs, projected revenues, and profit forecasts.
• Call to Action: Summarize your executive summary section with a clear CTA, for example, inviting angel investors to discuss the potential business investment.

Ensure your executive summary is clear, concise, easy to understand, and jargon-free.

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2. Business Overview

The business overview section of your business plan offers detailed information about your company. The details you add will depend on how important they are to your business. Yet, business name, location, business history, and future goals are some of the foundational elements you must consider adding to this section:

• Enterprise software companies
• SaaS companies
• Mobile app development companies
• Web development companies
• Cybersecurity companies
• HealthTech companies
• Describe the legal structure of your software company, whether it is a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, or others.
• Explain where your business is located and why you selected the place.
• Owners: List the names of your software company’s founders or owners. Describe what shares they own and their responsibilities for efficiently managing the business.
• Mission Statement: Summarize your business’ objective, core principles, and values in your mission statement. This statement needs to be memorable, clear, and brief.
• Business History: If you’re an established software company, briefly describe your business history, like—when it was founded, how it evolved over time, etc.Additionally, If you have received any awards or recognition for excellent work, describe them.
• Future Goals: It’s crucial to convey your aspirations and vision. Mention your short-term and long-term goals; they can be specific targets for revenue, market share, or expanding your services.

This section should provide a thorough understanding of your business, its history, and its future plans. Keep this section engaging, precise, and to the point.

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your business plan should offer a thorough understanding of the industry with the target market, competitors, and growth opportunities. You should include the following components in this section.

• Target market: Start this section by describing your target market. Define your ideal customer and explain what types of services they prefer. Creating a buyer persona will help you easily define your target market to your readers.For instance, businesses & entrepreneurs, the government sector, the public sector, or healthcare would be an ideal target audience for a software company.
• Market size and growth potential: Describe your market size and growth potential and whether you will target a niche or a much broader market.For instance; the global software market was 55.52 billion in 2022, so describe how much of the market you will cover and what will be the growth potential of your business.
• Competitive Analysis: Identify and analyze your direct and indirect competitors. Identify their strengths and weaknesses, and describe what differentiates your software company from them. Point out how you have a competitive edge in the market.
• Market Trends: Analyze emerging trends in the industry, such as technology disruptions, changes in customer behavior or preferences, etc. Explain how your business will cope with all the trends.For instance, cloud computing or artificial intelligence has a booming market; explain how you plan on dealing with this potential growth opportunity.
• Regulatory Environment: List regulations and licensing requirements that may affect your software company, such as intellectual property protection, software licensing, software licensing, data protection, antitrust & competition laws, etc.

Here are a few tips for writing the market analysis section of your internet software company business plan:

• Conduct market research, industry reports, and surveys to gather data.
• Provide specific and detailed information whenever possible.
• Illustrate your points with charts and graphs.
• Write your business plan keeping your target audience in mind.

4. Products And Services

The product and services section should describe the specific services and products that will be offered to customers. To write this section should include the following:

• Custom Software Development
• Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Software
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Software Development Tools
• Software Consulting
• Software Maintenance and Support
• Software Testing and Quality Assurance
• Training and Documentation
• Industry focus: Mention the industries that your software company serves if it specializes in serving those sectors. Describe how the needs and challenges are addressed by the products and services you offer.
• Quality measures: This section should explain how you maintain quality standards and consistently provide the highest quality service. This may include bug-free software, User Experience, performance optimization, compliance & standards, etc.
• Additional Services: Mention if your software company offers any additional services. You may include services like custom software development, software consulting & advisory services, software training & documentation, etc.

In short, this section of your software company plan must be informative, precise, and client-focused. By providing a clear and compelling description of your offerings, you can help potential investors and readers understand the value of your business.

5. Sales And Marketing Strategies

Writing the sales and marketing strategies section means a list of strategies you will use to attract and retain your clients. Here are some key elements to include in your sales & marketing plan:

• Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Define your business’s USPs depending on the market you serve, the equipment you use, and the unique services you provide. Identifying USPs will help you plan your marketing strategies.For example, customized & tailored solutions, innovation & cutting-edge technology, or exceptional user experience, could be some of the great USPs for a professional software company.
• Pricing Strategy: Describe your pricing strategy—how you plan to price your products or services and stay competitive in the local market. You can mention any discounts you plan on offering to attract new customers.
• Marketing Strategies: Discuss your marketing strategies to market your services. You may include some of these marketing strategies in your business plan—social media marketing, Google ads, email marketing, content marketing, etc.
• Sales Strategies: Outline the strategies you’ll implement to maximize your sales. Your sales strategies may include partnering with other businesses, offering referral programs, etc.
• Customer Retention: Describe your customer retention strategies and how you plan to execute them. For instance, introducing loyalty programs, discounts or offers, personalized service, etc.

Overall, this section of your software company business plan should focus on customer acquisition and retention.

Have a specific, realistic, and data-driven approach while planning sales and marketing strategies for your software company, and be prepared to adapt or make strategic changes in your strategies based on feedback and results.

6. Operations Plan

The operations plan section of your business plan should outline the processes and procedures involved in your business operations, such as staffing requirements and operational processes. Here are a few components to add to your operations plan:

• Staffing & Training: Mention your business’s staffing requirements, including the number of employees or developers needed. Include their qualifications, the training required, and the duties they will perform.
• Operational Process: Outline the processes and procedures you will use to run your software company. Your operational processes may include requirements gathering, design & planning, development, deployment, project management, collaboration & communication, etc.
• Software & Tools: Include the list of software & tools required for a software company, such as cloud services & infrastructure, project management tools, Version Control Systems, collaboration & communication tools, etc. Explain how these technologies help you maintain quality standards and improve the efficiency of your business operations.

Adding these components to your operations plan will help you lay out your business operations, which will eventually help you manage your business effectively.

7. Management Team

The management team section provides an overview of your software company’s management team. This section should provide a detailed description of each manager’s experience and qualifications, as well as their responsibilities and roles.

• Founders/CEO: Mention the founders and CEO of your software company, and describe their roles and responsibilities in successfully running the business.
• Key managers: Introduce your management and key members of your team, and explain their roles and responsibilities.It should include, key executives(e.g. COO, CMO.), senior management, and other department managers (e.g. operations manager, customer services manager, product manager.) involved in the software company operations, including their education, professional background, and any relevant experience in the industry.
• Organizational structure: Explain the organizational structure of your management team. Include the reporting line and decision-making hierarchy.
• Compensation Plan: Describe your compensation plan for the management and staff. Include their salaries, incentives, and other benefits.
• Advisors/Consultants: Mentioning advisors or consultants in your business plans adds credibility to your business idea.So, if you have any advisors or consultants, include them with their names and brief information consisting of roles and years of experience.

This section should describe the key personnel for your software company services, highlighting how you have the perfect team to succeed.

8. Financial Plan

Your financial plan section should provide a summary of your business’s financial projections for the first few years. Here are some key elements to include in your financial plan:

• Profit & loss statement: Describe details such as projected revenue, operational costs, and service costs in your projected profit and loss statement . Make sure to include your business’s expected net profit or loss.
• Cash flow statement: The cash flow for the first few years of your operation should be estimated and described in this section. This may include billing invoices, payment receipts, loan payments, and any other cash flow statements.
• Balance Sheet: Create a projected balance sheet documenting your software company’s assets, liabilities, and equity.
• Break-even point: Determine and mention your business’s break-even point—the point at which your business costs and revenue will be equal.This exercise will help you understand how much revenue you need to generate to sustain or be profitable.
• Financing Needs: Calculate costs associated with starting a software company, and estimate your financing needs and how much capital you need to raise to operate your business. Be specific about your short-term and long-term financing requirements, such as investment capital or loans.

Be realistic with your financial projections, and make sure you offer relevant information and evidence to support your estimates.

9. Appendix

The appendix section of your plan should include any additional information supporting your business plan’s main content, such as market research, legal documentation, financial statements, and other relevant information.

• Add a table of contents for the appendix section to help readers easily find specific information or sections.
• In addition to your financial statements, provide additional financial documents like tax returns, a list of assets within the business, credit history, and more. These statements must be the latest and offer financial projections for at least the first three or five years of business operations.
• Provide data derived from market research, including stats about the industry, user demographics, and industry trends.
• Include any legal documents such as permits, licenses, and contracts.
• Include any additional documentation related to your business plan, such as product brochures, marketing materials, operational procedures, etc.

Use clear headings and labels for each section of the appendix so that readers can easily find the necessary information.

Remember, the appendix section of your software company business plan should only include relevant and important information supporting your plan’s main content.

This sample software company business plan will provide an idea for writing a successful software company plan, including all the essential components of your business.

After this, if you still need clarification about writing an investment-ready business plan to impress your audience, download our software company business plan pdf .

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Frequently asked questions, why do you need a software company business plan.

A business plan is an essential tool for anyone looking to start or run a successful software company business. It helps to get clarity in your business, secures funding, and identifies potential challenges while starting and growing your business.

Overall, a well-written plan can help you make informed decisions, which can contribute to the long-term success of your software company.

How to get funding for your software company?

There are several ways to get funding for your software company, but self-funding is one of the most efficient and speedy funding options. Other options for funding are

• Bank loan – You may apply for a loan in government or private banks.
• Small Business Administration (SBA) loan – SBA loans and schemes are available at affordable interest rates, so check the eligibility criteria before applying for it.
• Crowdfunding – The process of supporting a project or business by getting a lot of people to invest in your business, usually online.
• Angel investors – Getting funds from angel investors is one of the most sought startup options.

Apart from all these options, there are small business grants available, check for the same in your location and you can apply for it.

Where to find business plan writers for your software company?

There are many business plan writers available, but no one knows your business and ideas better than you, so we recommend you write your software company business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind.

What is the easiest way to write your software company business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any software company business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software .

How do I write a good market analysis in a software company business plan?

Market analysis is one of the key components of your business plan that requires deep research and a thorough understanding of your industry. We can categorize the process of writing a good market analysis section into the following steps:

• Stating the objective of your market analysis—e.g., investor funding.
• Industry study—market size, growth potential, market trends, etc.
• Identifying target market—based on user behavior and demographics.
• Analyzing direct and indirect competitors.
• Calculating market share—understanding TAM, SAM, and SOM.
• Knowing regulations and restrictions
• Organizing data and writing the first draft.

Writing a marketing analysis section can be overwhelming, but using ChatGPT for market research can make things easier.

How detailed should the financial projections be in my software company business plan?

The level of detail of the financial projections of your software company may vary considering various business aspects like direct and indirect competition, pricing, and operational efficiency. However, your financial projections must be comprehensive enough to demonstrate a complete view of your financial performance.

Generally, the statements included in a business plan offer financial projections for at least the first three or five years of business operations.

What key components should a software company business plan include?

The following are the key components your software company business plan must include:

• Executive summary
• Business Overview
• Market Analysis
• Products and services
• Sales and marketing strategies
• Operations plan
• Management team
• Financial plan

Can a good software company business plan help me secure funding?

Indeed. A well-crafted software company will help your investors better understand your business domain, market trends, strategies, business financials, and growth potential—helping them make better financial decisions.

So, if you have a profitable and investable business, a comprehensive business plan can certainly help you secure your business funding.

What's the importance of a marketing strategy in a software company business plan?

Marketing strategy is a key component of your software company business plan. Whether it is about achieving certain business goals or helping your investors understand your plan to maximize their return on investment—an impactful marketing strategy is the way to do it!

Here are a few pointers to help you understand the importance of having an impactful marketing strategy:

• It provides your business an edge over your competitors.
• It helps investors better understand your business and growth potential.
• It helps you develop products with the best profit potential.
• It helps you set accurate pricing for your products or services.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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5 Best Business Plan Software in 2022

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When you’re starting a business, developing a strong business plan will be one of the first steps you take. Your business plan will cover everything from a detailed explanation of your products or services and pricing model to at least three years of financial projections—plus much more. Therefore, whether you’re not sure how to get started or you’re just looking to make the process easier, you may want to turn to business plan software for help.

In this guide, we'll break down five of the best business plan software options—discussing their pros, cons, features, pricing, and more—so you have all the information you need to decide which solution is right for your small business.

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The 5 best business plan software options

The right business plan software will make the process of writing your business plan much simpler. Like many business software solutions, however, there are a number of different business plan software options out there—each of which has a unique set of features, user experience, and price.

This being said, if you're looking for a place to start your search for the best business plan software, you can explore the five top options below:

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Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

1. LivePlan

Best overall business plan software.

If you want template-rich, modern-feeling business plan software, then LivePlan may be the right pick for you. LivePlan excels with their user interface, which feels updated and slick, and also offers intuitive, easy-to-use features and options.

Their step-by-step instruction will help you kick things off from the beginning, and you can take advantage of their online learning center to continue to gain business skills.

Affordable plans, including pay-as-you-go option

No long-term contracts or cancellation fee; 60-day money-back guarantee

Modern, intuitive interface; cloud-based, can be used on Mac, PC, as well as tablets

Ability to create unlimited plans in one account; over 500 customizable templates

Variety of business resources including video tutorials, step-by-step instruction, and general customer support

Limited integration options

Challenging to enter your own financial modeling projections

Can be difficult to learn

Ability to create an unlimited number of business plans on one account

More than 500 business plan templates spanning various industries

Integration with Xero and QuickBooks Online

Real-time tracking of financial data with accounting integrations

Ability to export your business plan to Word or PDF

Expert advice and step-by-step instruction included

Performance dashboards for tracking against budgets and sales goals

Ability to create and export a one-page pitch executive summary

Annual plan: $15 per month, billed every 12 months

Six-month plan: $18 per month, billed every six months

Pay-as-you-go plan: $20 per month, billed once every month

2. GoSmallBiz

Best for multiple business management tools in one platform.

Next on our list of the best business plan software options is GoSmallBiz, which is much more than just a business plan software. With GoSmallBiz, you have access to business continuity planning software with features that cover creating a roadmap, working through business and legal forms, building a website, and more.

In this way, GoSmallBiz is great for startups or newer businesses looking to access multiple business management tools through one platform.

Unlimited business consultation and extensive library of online resources

Multiple business tools in one software

Website consultation analysis and business assessment

Industry-specific business plan templates with emphasis on financial projections and statements

Expensive monthly cost compared to alternatives

Limited business plan features

Entire business plan can only be exported to Microsoft Word

Outdated interface

Industry-specific business plan templates with step-by-step building wizard

Ability to create financial statements and projections

Free website hosting and website builder

Customer relationship manager with integration with MailChimp

Digital marketing dashboard with social media and Google Analytics integrations

HR document builder

Corporate minutes writer

Business documents library

Business courses library

Unlimited business consultation

$39 per month, no contracts, free cancellation

Best for simple, fast business plan creation.

If you're looking for free business plan software, Enloop will be one of your closest options—they offer an all-inclusive seven-day free trial, no credit card required. Additionally, unlike some of the other options on our list, Enloop is strictly dedicated to business plan creation, including automated text writing, financial forecast comparisons, and a real-time performance score that tracks your progress.

This being said, if you'd prefer the most straightforward, fast, and simple way to write your business plan, Enloop will be a platform worth considering.

Simple and straightforward software, solely dedicated to business plan creation

Seven-day free trial

Automatic text generation available to streamline the writing process

Affordable plans with annual discount option

Limited additional educational resources

Only one template option

No integration options

Ability to create three business plans with customizable text, images, tables, charts, and over 100 currency symbols and formats

Includes automatic text generation for each plan section that you can then customize

Automatically generated financial statements

Includes financial performance comparison analysis (using three ratios with Detailed plan and 16 with Performance plan)

Real-time performance score to track your progress

Ability to invite users to edit (two with Detailed plan, five with Performance plan)

Pass/fail report and certificate to help you identify issues with your plan

Free plan: Seven-day free trial with no credit card required

Detailed plan: $19.95 per month or $11 per month, paid annually

Performance plan: $39.95 per month, or $24 per month, paid annually

Best for startups looking to acquire funding or find investors.

Part of the Startups.com suite, Bizplan gets top marks for their user interface—it’s intuitive, easy to use, and modern. You’ll work with a step-by-step business plan builder to get exactly what you’d like from your business plan. It may remind you of a modern website builder, since it has drag-and-drop tools to build templates.

Moreover, for one subscription fee, you have access to all of the tools in the Startups.com network, including self-guided courses, how-to guides, masterclass videos, and more. All in all, with a direct connection to Fundable, Bizplan is a top business plan software option for startups looking to acquire funding and find investors.

Subscription gives you access to all Startups.com tools

Lifetime access subscription option

User-friendly drag-and-drop business plan builder

Excellent educational resources

Connection to Fundable great for businesses looking for capital

No free trial

No templates based on industry

No mobile access

Drag-and-drop templates for business plan building

Financial command center to track all business financials in one place

Unlimited account collaborators

Ability to share business plan online with investors

Online resources including self-guided courses, masterclass videos, how-to guides, mentorship access

Unlimited software use for Fundable, Launchrock, and Startups.com

Monthly plan: $29 per month

Annual plan: $20.75 per month, billed at $249 per year

Lifetime access: $349 one-time fee

5. PlanGuru

Best for financial planning and budgeting.

Finally, for some of the strongest financial features among business plan software options, including budgeting and forecasting, you might check out PlanGuru. Whereas the other solutions we've reviewed were first and foremost focused on writing a business plan, PlanGuru is dedicated to business financial planning —providing the tools you need to create budgets, financial forecasts, reports, and more.

Therefore, if you need a software solution that can streamline the financial piece of your business planning processes, PlanGuru will certainly have the most to offer.

Extensive financial tools and detailed forecasting, budgeting, and reporting capabilities

Substantial library of resources

Cloud-based and desktop options

14-day free trial and 30-day money-back guarantee

Expensive, especially for additional users

Only focuses on the financial aspect of business planning; no templates or tools for basic business plan writing

Difficult to use without prior financial knowledge

Cloud-based version of software, as well as locally installed Windows version (desktop version has a few more features)

Works with QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Excel

Budgeting and forecasting for up to 10 years

Over 20 standard forecasting methods

Formula builder to create custom methods

Ratios and KPIs

Dashboard and reporting tools

Help guides, video tutorials, knowledgebase, and live U.S.-based customer support

14-day free trial

$99 per month (additional users $29 per month)

$899 per year (additional users $299 per year)

What to look for in business plan software

Ultimately, it's up to you to decide, which, if any, of the best business plan software solutions on our list is right for your business.

So, if you're trying to figure out how to choose between the various options out there, it might be helpful to compare your top choices based on the following criteria:

Features: As we've seen different business plan software solutions offer different features. You'll want to look carefully at the feature list of any software and determine what features are most important for your business needs. Do you need an extensive library of templates with detailed customization? Would you prefer software that includes an online learning center for business skills? Are you looking for a solution that combines business plan writing with other tasks? It may be useful to list out your ideal feature set, so you can compare individual software plans to that list.

Price: Although you might be able to find some free business plan software options (or at the very least, free trials), in most cases, you'll need to pay a subscription fee to access the platform you choose. Therefore, you'll want to think about what your budget is for this business tool and what type of software is most cost-effective for your needs.

User experience: User experience can vary widely among different business plan software options. You’ll find some programs that are newer or have been recently updated. Others might have the kind of interfaces that felt new years ago but are now pretty out of date—and, subsequently, make them a little harder to use. The right user experience for your needs is genuinely a matter of opinion and comfort—nevertheless, it's worth testing thoroughly testing out a platform to ensure that it can truly work for you before investing in a monthly or annual subscription.

The bottom line

There's no doubt that properly crafting your business plan is important for the future growth and success of your small business. Luckily, the right business plan software should make the process much simpler.

This being said, whether you opt for one of the best business plan software options listed here, or another platform entirely, you'll want to take the time to compare multiple solutions and ensure you choose the one that's right for your business.

As we mentioned, it can be helpful to think about the features you're looking for, your budget, and your user-experience preferences ahead of time—that way, you'll have a set of criteria in mind as you explore different solutions.

Ultimately, perhaps the best thing you can do to find the right software is to actually test out the platforms themselves—either by using a free trial or a money-back guarantee.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

On a similar note...

How to Write a Winning Software Company Business Plan + Template

Creating a business plan is essential for any business, but it can be especially helpful for software businesses who want to improve their strategy and raise funding.

A well-crafted business plan not only outlines the vision for your company but also documents a step-by-step roadmap of how you will accomplish it. To create an effective business plan, you must first understand the components that are essential to its success.

This article provides an overview of the key elements that every software business owner should include in their business plan.

Download the Ultimate Business Plan Template

What is a Software Business Plan?

A software business plan is a formal written document that describes your company’s business strategy and its feasibility. It documents the reasons you will be successful, your areas of competitive advantage, and it includes information about your team members. Your business plan is a key document that will convince investors and lenders (if needed) that you are positioned to become a successful venture.

Why Write a Software Business Plan?

A software business plan is required for banks and investors. The document is a clear and concise guide of your business idea and the steps you will take to make it profitable.

Entrepreneurs can also use this as a roadmap when starting their new company or venture, especially if they are inexperienced in starting a business.

Writing an Effective Software Business Plan

The following are the key components of a successful software business plan:

Executive Summary

The executive summary of a software business plan is a one- to two-page overview of your entire business plan. It should summarize the main points, which will be presented in full in the rest of your business plan.

• Start with a one-line description of your software company
• Provide a short summary of the key points in each section of your business plan, which includes information about your company’s management team, industry analysis, competitive analysis, and financial forecast among others.

Company Description

This section should include a brief history of your company. Include a short description of how your company started, and provide a timeline of milestones your company has achieved.

If you are just starting your software business, you may not have a long company history. Instead, you can include information about your professional experience in this industry and how and why you conceived your new venture. If you have worked for a similar company before or have been involved in an entrepreneurial venture before starting your software firm, mention this.

You will also include information about your chosen software business model and how, if applicable, it is different from other companies in your industry.

Industry Analysis

The industry or market analysis is an important component of a software business plan. Conduct thorough market research to determine industry trends and document the size of your market. 

Questions to answer include:

• What part of the software industry are you targeting?
• How big is the market?
• What trends are happening in the industry right now (and if applicable, how do these trends support the success of your company)?

You should also include sources for the information you provide, such as published research reports and expert opinions.

Customer Analysis

This section should include a list of your target audience(s) with demographic and psychographic profiles (e.g., age, gender, income level, profession, job titles, interests). You will need to provide a profile of each customer segment separately, including their needs and wants.

For example, a software business’s customers may include small, medium, and enterprise businesses. Each of these customer segments will have different needs and wants.

You can include information about how your customers make the decision to buy from you as well as what keeps them buying from you.

Develop a strategy for targeting those customers who are most likely to buy from you, as well as those that might be influenced to buy your products or software services with the right marketing.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis helps you determine how your product or service will be different from competitors, and what your unique selling proposition (USP) might be that will set you apart in this industry.

For each competitor, list their strengths and weaknesses. Next, determine your areas of competitive differentiation and/or advantage; that is, in what ways are you different from and ideally better than your competitors.

Below are sample competitive advantages your software business may have:

• Superior customer service
• Strong brand recognition
• Proven track record of success
• Robust product feature set
• Well-funded and experienced management team
• Innovative technology
• Scalable business model
• Strategic partnerships or alliances
• Favorable locations
• Access to important resources, like talent or capital

Keep in mind that your competitive advantages will change over time as your business grows and as new competitors enter the market. It is important to regularly review and update.

Marketing Plan

This part of the business plan is where you determine and document your marketing plan. . Your plan should be clearly laid out, including the following 4 Ps.

• Product/Service : Detail your product/service offerings here. Document their features and benefits.
• Price : Document your pricing strategy here. In addition to stating the prices for your products/services, mention how your pricing compares to your competition.
• Place : Where will your customers find you? What channels of distribution (e.g., partnerships) will you use to reach them if applicable?
• Promotion : How will you reach your target customers? For example, you may use social media, write blog posts, create an email marketing campaign, use pay-per-click advertising, or launch a direct mail campaign. Or you may promote your software business via a mix of these channels.

Operations Plan

This part of your software business plan should include the following information:

• How will you deliver your product/service to customers? For example, will you do it in person or over the phone only?
• What infrastructure, equipment, and resources are needed to operate successfully? How can you meet those requirements within budget constraints?

The operations plan is where you also need to include your company’s business policies. You will want to establish policies related to everything from customer service to pricing, to the overall brand image you are trying to present.

Finally, and most importantly, your Operations Plan will outline the milestones your company hopes to achieve within the next five years. Create a chart that shows the key milestone(s) you hope to achieve each quarter for the next four quarters, and then each year for the following four years. Examples of milestones for a software business include reaching $X in sales. Other examples include acquiring X number of customers or launching a new product line.

Management Team

List your team members here including their names and titles, as well as their expertise and experience relevant to your specific software industry. Include brief biography sketches for each team member.

Particularly if you are seeking funding, the goal of this section is to convince investors and lenders that your team has the expertise and experience to execute on your plan. If you are missing key team members, document the roles and responsibilities you plan to hire for in the future.

Financial Plan

Here you will include a summary of your complete and detailed financial plan (your full financial projections go in the Appendix). 

This includes the following three financial statements:

Income Statement

Your income statement should include:

• Revenue : how much revenue you generate.
• Cost of Goods Sold : These are your direct costs associated with generating revenue. This includes labor costs, as well as the cost of any equipment and supplies used to deliver the product/service offering.
• Net Income (or loss) : Once expenses and revenue are totaled and deducted from each other, this is the net income or loss.

Sample Income Statement for a Startup Software Business

Balance Sheet

Include a balance sheet that shows your assets, liabilities, and equity. Your balance sheet should include:

• Assets : All of the things you own (including cash).
• Liabilities : This is what you owe against your company’s assets, such as accounts payable or loans.
• Equity : The worth of your business after all liabilities and assets are totaled and deducted from each other.

Sample Balance Sheet for a Startup Software Business

Cash Flow Statement

Include a cash flow statement showing how much cash comes in, how much cash goes out and a net cash flow for each year. The cash flow statement should include cash flow from:

• Investments

Below is a sample of a projected cash flow statement for a startup software company.

Sample Cash Flow Statement for a Startup Software Business

You will also want to include an appendix section which will include:

• Your complete financial projections
• A complete list of your company’s business policies and procedures related to the rest of the business plan (marketing, operations, etc.)
• Any other documentation which supports what you included in the body of your business plan.

Write a Winning Business Plan for Your Software Company

Writing a good business plan gives you the advantage of being fully prepared to launch and/or grow your software company. It not only outlines your business vision but also provides a step-by-step process of how you are going to accomplish it.

A business plan is a critical document for any new software company. If you are seeking funding, your business plan will be a key component of your pitch to investors .   

Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

Wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With our Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Other Helpful Articles

How to Write a Winning Tech Company Business Plan (+ Template)

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 .

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Don't bother with copy and paste.

Get this complete sample business plan as a free text document.

Computer Support Business Plan

Start your own computer support business plan

I Tech Solutions

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

I Tech Solutions is a consulting-oriented company, intending to fill in the market need for a professional, customer-focused computer company. The company emphasizes service and support to differentiate itself from more price-oriented computer companies. We are on the brink of penetrating a lucrative market in a rapidly growing industry. The current trend towards an increase in the number of entrepreneurs and competition amongst existing companies presents an opportunity for I Tech Solutions to penetrate this market.

Located at (discussion omitted), we realize that, for us to prosper, we need to be flexible and responsive, to delight clients by providing them with what they want, when they want it, and before the competition can offer it. The company intends to achieve this through a solutions approach that is customer-centric, and in which the customer’s business objectives enjoy top priority.

Once the needs and processes are understood and described, leading edge products and best-of-industry skills will be applied to design and develop a fitting solution to enable the client’s business in the most cost effective way.

Our marketing strategy will be based mainly on ensuring that clients know what need the service(s) is able to fulfill, and making the right service and information available to the right target client. We intend to implement a market penetration strategy that will ensure that our services are well known and respected in our respective industry. Our strategy will convey a sense of quality and satisfaction in every picture, every promotion, and every publication. Our promotional strategy will involve traditional advertising, Internet marketing, personal selling, public relations, and direct marketing, details of which are provided in the marketing section of this plan.

It is important to recognize that make our intangible resources, such as our ability to relate to customers regarding their needs and wants, management style, corporate culture and commitment. These elements will differentiate us from our competitors and contribute towards the development of a sustainable competitive advantage.

In a nutshell, we don’t intend to just market and sell our product and services, but to provide customized services and products that will enable our clients to optimize their output and, assist in the attainment of their goals and objectives. However, for us to attain the above stated we shall need funding from outside investors.

Note : All currency values in the charts and tables are expressed in the Botswana Pula (P).

1.1 Objectives

Our business strategy will revolve around the need to provide quality products and services to our various target customers. This shall be undertaken through the establishment of a professional team and the provision of quality, custom-designed services, catering to the client’s particular needs.

We intend to attain the following objectives:

• Develop a follow-up strategy to gauge performance with all our clients.
• To continuously formalize and measure cross-functional working communication so as to ensure that the various departments work harmoniously towards attainment of company objectives.
• To instill a culture of continuous improvement in beating standards of customer satisfaction and efficiency.
• We are fully committed to supporting growth and development in the economy.

1.2 Keys to Success

The keys to the projects’ success will undoubtedly be effective market segmentation through identification of several niche markets and implementation strategies. The key success factors will include the following:

• Excellence in fulfilling the promise: completely confidential, reliable, trustworthy expertise, and service(s) through the provision of an uncompromising service. This dictates that we have the latest technology, hardware, software, and well-trained personnel so as to deliver this promise.
• Timeous response to clients’ orders: we cannot afford to delay our clients for whatever reason, as this will have a negative bearing on our image, reputation, and future business. We need to be continually communicating with the client, ensuring we provide needs-based solutions.
• Skill and depth of knowledge: Considering the nature of our services and their relative infancy on the market, the skill and depth of knowledge of our personnel is of utmost importance in determining the provision of the service(s) to the end-users.
• Clear product and marketing positioning: Not wanting to be associated with the numerous vendors on the market, we intend to aggressively market our business and the services we provide in order to be at the top of our clients’ minds.
• Leveraging from a large pool of expertise: The company’s various alliances with technological and training partners shall prove invaluable. The skills and intellectual capacity these partners will have in the fields of product support, design and system integration, implementation and execution, lifecycle support and understanding, training, and in the application of new technology are intangible benefits to I Tech Solutions.

1.3 Mission

Company Values

I Tech Solutions is committed to the fair and ethical treatment of employees and stakeholders. This shall be undertaken through implementation of the following company values:

• We intend to be a responsible corporate citizen, fulfilling our obligations as an integral member of society. Our business decisions will give appropriate weight and consideration to social and environmental impacts.
• We intend to provide products and services of uncompromising quality.
• We intend to seek mutually beneficial and enduring relationships in all the commitments that we make, ensuring that they are straightforward and honest. Our communication will be open and accurate, both internally and externally.
• We will intend to uphold all the above company values, promoting our employees to do likewise.

Through implementation of the company values, we believe that we will be able to attain our goals and objectives for the benefit of all concerned, in particular, the communities in which we will operate.

I Tech Solutions is built on the assumption that the management of information technology for business is like legal advice or accounting, in that it is not inherently a do-it-yourself prospect, and requires outside expertise to install and implement it. Smart business people need to find quality vendors of reliable hardware, software, service, and support. They need to use these quality vendors as they use their other professional service suppliers: as trusted allies.

I Tech Solutions intends to be such a solution provider. We will serve our clients as trusted allies, providing them with the loyalty of a business partner and the economics of an outside vendor. We want to make sure that our clients have what they need to run their businesses as well as possible, with maximum efficiency and reliability. Many of our information applications will be mission critical, so we will give our clients the assurance that we will be there when they need us. The above is well summarized in our mission statement which is as follows:

“The company is dedicated to leveraging emerging technologies to provide the highest level of quality products and services, customer service, and security.”

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

I Tech Solutions was founded in November 2000 as a private limited company. For most of its initial existence, the company intends to establish close relationships with its various clients, with the intention of expanding in the near future.

2.1 Company Ownership

2.2 Start-up Summary

Total start-up capital and expenses covered include legal costs, business cards, stationery, and related expenses. Messrs. T., S., and P. have provided investment covering much of the starting assets, with the rest of required financing coming from a 5-year commercial loan obtained from Bank Z. The start-up table below itemizes the start-up expenses.

Note : All currency values in the charts and tables are expressed in the Botswana Pula (P).

Products and Services

I Tech Solutions will provide computer products and services to small, medium, and large businesses. We will also be focused on providing network systems and services to businesses. The systems include both PC-based Land Area Networks (LAN) systems and minicomputer server-based systems. Our services include design and installation of network systems, training, and support.

3.1 Product and Service Description

I Tech Solutions intends to provide the following services:

• Financial Solutions ( discussion omitted in this sample plan )
• Network Solutions ( discussion omitted )
• Data Backup Solutions and Services ( discussion omitted )
• E-commerce Solutions ( discussion omitted )
• Hardware Supply and Technical Support ( discussion omitted )
• Paperless Office Automation Solutions ( discussion omitted )
• Training ( discussion omitted )

3.2 Technology

I Tech Solutions will strive to maintain the latest hardware and software capabilities so as to ensure we are continuously at the forefront in our market arena. The one certainty in our industry is that technology will continue to evolve and develop, changing what we market, as well as how we market it. Our aim is to be aware of the implications of this new technology, and utilize it in our existing framework where possible. Complete presentation facilities for preparation and delivery of multimedia presentations on Macintosh or Windows machines, in formats that include on-disk presentation or video presentation are also possibilities.

3.3 Macro-environment

Our macro-environment is exciting. We are in the middle of an unprecedented boom in connectivity and communications, as the Internet offers information technology like we never dreamed of. We are concerned with real value, real changes in the way we deal with information.

Meanwhile, all other signs are positive. The current drive by the government towards a more diversified economy presents an opportunity for our business to propel and excel in our intended markets, benefiting from the support of the concerned institutions and trade bodies. In addition to Botswana becoming an increasing economic hub, we foresee the demand for high quality business communication solutions to be on the rise. Through the undertaking of our business activities, we foresee no difficulty, in gaining market acceptance, provided we deliver the final service timeously, of good quality, and  at competitive rates.

3.4 Future Products and Services

We must remain on top of any new technology, because this is our bread and butter. For networking, we need to provide better knowledge of cross platform technologies. Also, we will be under pressure to improve our understanding of direct-connect Internet and related communications.

In putting the company together, we have attempted to offer enough services to allow us to always be in demand by our clients. However, technological developments have provided us with a new era of opportunities for the various organizations in which we can only guess at the needs. For example, current rapid innovations/development of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology presents an opportunity to be realized, particularly focusing on WAP-enabled cell phones that allow individuals to access or send email messages on a cell phone. However, the most important factor in developing future services will be market need. Our understanding of the needs of our target market segments will be one of our competitive advantages.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

The current drive and emphasis by the government on diversification of the industrial base away from the minerals sector presents an opportunity for I Tech Solutions to make a valuable contribution towards achieving this goal. This will result in the implementation of modern Information Technology (IT) services and techniques, transfer of knowledge, and availability of quality brands.

4.1 Market Segmentation

We will be focusing on proactive, market seeking organizations that want to ensure an efficient and effective IT system that will assist in the realization of their business objectives.

Our target companies are large enough to require the high-quality IT management we offer, but too small to have a separate computer management staff. However, our most important group of potential customers will be business executives in large, medium, and small corporations. These are marketing managers, general managers, sales managers, and other decision makers who often need to access company data and information in their various business decisions. They will not waste their time or money looking for bargain information, questionable expertise, or cheap computers and accessories. Our potential clients will include: (discussion omitted).

Another intention will be to offer an attractive development alternative to the company that is management constrained and unable to address opportunities in new markets and new market segments, due to technological shortfalls.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

Our marketing strategy will be based mainly on making the right service(s) available to the right target customer. We will ensure that our products and services’ prices take customers’ budgets into consideration, and that these people appreciate the product/service and know that it exists, including where to find it. One of our intentions will be to target those innovative or proactive companies contemplating transferring a part of their marketing activities on the Internet, in order to benefit from the advantages offered by this unique system of communication. We realize the need to focus our marketing message and our service offerings.

4.2.1 Market Needs

Since our target market is the product and service seeker, the most important market needs are support, service, training, and installation, in that order. One of the key points of our strategy will be the focus on target segments that know and understand these needs and are willing to pay to have them filled. We realize that all personal computer users need support and service. Many of our target customers are going to be those who cannot get good products or services from the major vendors who focus on high volume orders only.

4.2.2 Market Trends

The most obvious trend in the market is the increasing number of IT firms on the market. This has been true for years, but the trend seems to be accelerating. We see the major brand-name manufacturers being established on the market mainly through agents. Secondly, the computer has become a basic necessity in the office environment and business set-up. The vast improvements in computer power and storage, means that owners are mandated to up-grade or buy new and improved systems, with the former often being much cheaper. A third trend is ever-greater connectivity. Everybody wants to be on the Internet, and every office is looking at having a LAN. However, the major stumbling block for the majority of theses companies is the high cost of installing such networks.

4.3 Service Business Analysis

The following sections provided discussions on who participates in the computer industry, what the competition provides, and what the customer has been purchasing.

4.3.1 Business Participants

We are part of the computer reselling business, which includes several kinds of businesses:

• Computer Dealers : Storefront computer resellers usually offer a minimum of software, and very little, if any service and support. They are concerned with moving as much stock as possible. Their prices are usually higher than the larger stores.
• Chain and Computer Stores : They often occupy a large area of space, decent walk-in service, and are often warehouse-like locations where people go to find products in boxes. They often however charge exorbitant prices for their brand products and maintenance service, if they provide any at all.
• Computer Consultants : These include consultancy companies that mainly specialize in the installation of new systems. Their consultant fees are often very high, especially for small- to medium-sized companies.

4.3.2 Competition and Buying Patterns

The vast majority of proactive, market-oriented businesses understand the value of having an efficient computer system, as well as the concept of service and support. They are much more likely to pay for them when the offering and benefits are clearly stated.

There is no doubt that we will compete more against the box pushers than other service providers. We need to effectively compete against the idea that once a computer is out-dated businesses should buy new ones, when with ongoing service and support, they can be upgraded.

The most important element of general competition, by far, is what it takes to keep clients for repeat business. It is worth making huge concessions in any single service to maintain a client relationship that brings the client back for future services.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

I Tech Solutions intends to win and maintain customers by providing products and services that add value, safety, and are supported by a well-trained professional team with commercial expertise. This is important to the successful implementation of our overall strategy and the need to ensure that all divisions and functions in the organization are working harmoniously towards attainment of the goals and objectives.

Our marketing strategy emphasizes focus. The target customers will include key decision-makers in business, who often order or recommend on behalf of the whole organization, the aim being to obtain an initial order and fully satisfy the customer from then on.

• We intend to initially build image and awareness through consistency and distinctiveness in our product and service provision.
• We intend to focus on delivering quality products and services that produce good referrals, which can then generate revenue. We intend to have a heavy personal selling component, supported by regular advertising we will always be active in our personal relationships with clients and strategic allies, keeping abreast of their needs and wants.
• We are focusing advertising on several key media.

We intend to achieve growth by creating a more enthusiastic customer culture than that of our competitors. The strategy is to grow the business by nurturing customers, differentiating the product/service offering through service and staff behavior.

Through the implementation of a fair, effective, and competitive remuneration policy we intend to optimize our human resource output and advancement. We need the right people in the right place at the right time if we are to ensure optimum growth. We intend to develop our team so that our people can grow as the company grows–a mutually beneficial relationship.

5.1 SWOT Analysis

The SWOT Analysis is a necessity to any start-up, it is an in-depth look at your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. We are in a highly lucrative market in a growing economy. We foresee our strengths as the ability to respond to the market and to provide custom designed technological services. Our key personnel will have a wide and thorough knowledge of the technological services we intend to provide, which will go a long way towards penetrating the market. Below is a summary of the SWOT Analysis.

5.1.1 Weaknesses

• The introduction of new organizational practices and personnel who have not previously worked together presents a challenge to the organization.
• A limited financial base compared to the current major players in the IT industry.

5.1.2 Opportunities

• The Internet. The increasing opportunities of the Internet offer us another area of strength in comparison to the box-on-the-shelf major stores. Our potential customers want more help with the Internet, and we intend to be in a better position to give it to them.
• Service. As our target market needs more service, our competitors are less likely than ever to provide it. Their business model doesn’t include service, just selling the computers.
• Emerging Technologies. The rate of new product introduction in IT presents an opportunity to be explored.

5.1.3 Threats

• Innovation shortens life cycles and hence the need to act timeously on the market. This will recoup new service introductions in a shorter time frame.
• Concerns of decision-makers over ease of access and overall security of electronic transactions may need to be addressed. The recent glitch of the Barclays electronic system, which enabled some clients to access other account holders’ accounts while upgrading the system, proves the very realistic security concerns regarding the use of the Internet.
• The slow adoption rate of new technologies and products in these parts of the world does not bode well for our intended products and services.

5.1.4 Strengths

• Knowledge. Our competitors are retailers, pushing boxes. We know systems, networks, connectivity, programming, and data management.
• Relationship selling. We intend to get to know our customers, one by one. Our direct sales efforts will seek to maintain a relationship with our customers.
• Diversified market segments. The diversity of the products and services we intend to provide will ensure the lack of dependency on one particular market.
• Combination of skills in implementation. The management team intends to jointly develop business strategy and long-term plans with its strategic allies, having wide experience in their respective market and product know-how, and strong technical skills and business know-how.

5.2 Competitive Edge

5.3 marketing strategy.

One core element of our marketing strategy will be that of differentiation from our competitors. In terms of promotion, we intend to sell our company as a strategic ally, not just our products. We intend to offer extremely reasonable prices in comparison to competition, and we need to be able to sustain that. Market penetration through lower prices shall be undertaken where need be, while premium pricing in the case of the upper-end of the market.

We have developed two strategy foci, each based on one main fundamental strategy. The first strategy is about ( discussion omitted ).

Our second strategic focus, that of ( discussion omitted ).

5.3.1 Distribution Strategy

Service provision and consulting will be sold and purchased mainly on a word-of-mouth basis, with relationships and previous experience being, by far, the most important factor. In this regard we intend to provide a service that exceeds customer expectations so as to ensure they refer us to potential clients through word-of-mouth. New business shall be developed through industry associations, business associations, and, in some cases, social associations, such as country clubs.

5.3.2 Marketing Programs

Advertising

In view of the fact that we are new on the market, we intend to undertake extensive advertising of our name and products and services we offer. This is to instill awareness and knowledge of our existence in the marketplace, which shall convert into market share. We intend to advertise in business and IT magazines that are read by our target market and will ensure we are adequately exposed on the market. A constant lookout will be made of any special editions in these various publications, which may provide an opportunity for us to advertise our services and ourselves. Advertising will also be conducted through television, radio, newspapers/magazines, and the Internet. Sponsoring a technology discussion/call-in talk show is a possibility.

Personal Selling

Word of mouth is critical in this segment. We will have to make sure that once we gain a customer, we never lose him/her. To help accomplish this, we must work to establish and maintain relationships. Personal selling will be a powerful form of promotion due to the fact that its flexibility will enable us to match the customer’s needs to specific attributes of our services, as well as giving concise details of what we are able to offer.

Public Relations

Recognizing that we are relatively new on the market, there will be a need to organize an event introducing ourselves onto the market. To this we will invite potential customers, senior officials, possibly including a government minister and other stakeholders, so as to penetrate the market. In collaboration with this we, also intend to place news stories and features in magazines and newspapers to keep stakeholders updated on the latest developments and to increase awareness.

The number of IT companies on the market dictates that the organization needs to promote itself through participation in trade shows and expositions. Not only will these increase awareness of our products and services, but if a particular product or service were to gain recognition, for example through being chosen No. 1 in innovativeness, the organization will be able to take advantage of this in all its promotional campaigns, adding leverage to its reputation and corporate image. An example of a trade show we intend to participate at is BITEC. These expositions will also be a good opportunity for us to network with various organizations and individuals.

Internet Marketing

The company will sell its services over the Internet as it is cost effective to reach a large number of potential clients, regionally and internationally. We also realize that customer/client research is needed before building an effective website, something which is rarely done by existing companies, in order to find out how customers will want to access information and journey through the site.

5.3.3 Positioning Statement

I Tech Solutions will position itself as a reliable solutions provider and trusted strategic ally who makes sure systems work, people are comfortable and conversant with the system, and down time is minimal. Unlike the other vendors/retail stores, we intend to know the customer and go to his or her site when needed, offering proactive support, service, training, and installation. In addition, I Tech Solutions is an ally to our clients’ businesses, and offers them a full range of services, from installation to support.

5.3.4 Pricing Strategy

We must charge appropriately for the high-end, high-quality service and support we offer. Our revenue structure has to match our cost structure, so the salaries we pay to assure good service and support must be balanced by the revenue we charge. Therefore, we must make sure that we deliver and charge for service and support. Training, service, installation, and networking support–all of this must be readily available and priced to sell and deliver revenue. We will charge ( discussion omitted ). This will ensure we penetrate the market upon entry.

5.3.5 Promotion Strategy

Our promotion strategy will be based primarily on informing potential customers of our existence and making the right information available to our target customer. I Tech Solutions intends to utilize an aggressive promotional campaign to introduce its products and services to the market. The intention will be to take advantage of several media sources in announcing the products and services and in the process enforcing awareness of our existence.

5.4 Sales Strategy

I Tech Solutions will receive its revenue streams from a combination of licensing agreements, sales commissions, monthly subscriptions, registration fees, network access charges, service fees, transaction charges, training, promotional incentive programs, and sales of hardware and software. The derived value of I Tech Solutions will come from the key partnerships established and developed in order to deliver a product and service provision of transactionally-based activities, providing opportunity to build brand and loyalty, around which relationship marketing will play a key role.

The sales forecast monthly summary is included in the appendix. The annual sales projections are provided in a table below. It should be noted that as we become established and known on the market we project sales to increase at a faster rate than the initial year.

Note : All currency values in the charts and tables are expressed in the Botswana Pula (P).

5.5 Strategic Alliances

I Tech Solutions intends to go into strategic alliances with several organizations. This will also reassure our customers that they are investing in “winning” products, technology, and service that are maintainable, flexible, and scalable enough to meet future demands.

At this writing, strategic alliances with several companies are possibilities, including X, given the content of existing interest and discussions. By going into strategic partnerships with suitable organizations, we will benefit from being able to concentrate on our core activities in the delivery of our products and services to the end-user, while ensuring that we do not have to compromise on quality of execution or the number of products and services we are able to deliver.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

The human resources element shall be an essential component in the delivery of the total service. By having enthusiastic, capable, and empowered people interacting with our clients, we intend to build the competitive advantage of being able to comprehensively meet our clients’ needs. We also intend to give our teams enough leverage in decision-making to ensure that clients are handled promptly and to reduce lead-time in actual delivery of the service. It will be necessary to evaluate jobs and remuneration packages against market benchmarks to employees for their tasks to ensure they are competitive.

6.1 Organizational Structure

Our management philosophy is based on responsibility and mutual respect. We recognize the need to be constantly changing so as to adapt to the prevailing environment. We will have a flexible structure allowing for the above to be undertaken swiftly and smoothly. Please find below the job titles and descriptions we intend to have in place for the key personnel. ( table omitted )

6.2 Management Team

In a highly volatile industry with increasing competition, we recognize the need to be constantly changing to adapt to the prevailing environment. The management team extensive expertise and a broad knowledge of the products/services and markets, which, if well planned, will enable the business to realize its goals and objectives.

( profiles omitted )

The management style will reflect the participation of the shareholders. The company will respect its community and treat all employees well. We will develop and nurture the company as a community. We will not be hierarchical, especially considering the rate of change in our industry, which makes it mandatory for us to be highly flexible. Management’s ongoing initiatives to drive sales, market share and productivity will provide additional impetus.

6.3 Personnel Plan

The detailed monthly personnel plan for the first three years is included in the appendix. The annual personnel estimates are included here. We believe this plan is a fair compromise between fairness and expedience, and meets the commitments of our mission statement. We want the company to stay lean and flexible so that we can respond to our markets’ needs quickly. As we expand and increase in size we do expect to increase our personnel.

We will compensate our personnel well, so as to retain their invaluable expertise and ensure job satisfaction and enrichment through delegation of authority. Our compensation will include health care, generous profit sharing, and a minimum of 3 weeks vacation.

6.4 Training

In-house training shall be continuous with regular external training being undertaken, particularly following any new developments in the market. This is to ensure that we are continuously able to anticipate our markets needs–a proactive approach, which is so essential if we are to gain and maintain a competitive advantage. External training will also be conducted to ensure we are aware of the latest products and technology. This will also ensure that our personnel are able to set high standards, or benchmark, using these organizations standards.

6.5 Feedback and Control

(a) We will encourage our employees to put forward any suggestions they might have regarding the improvement of any of the company’s functions–an open door philosophy. Such a culture will enhance innovativeness and creativity in turn leading to job satisfaction and enrichment.

(b) We undertake to continuously formalize and measure cross-functional working communication so as to ensure that the various departments work harmoniously towards attainment of corporate objectives

(c) Important notices and developments will be continuously communicated to employees so as to keep them abreast of developments and promoting a sense of belonging and oneness in the organization.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

We want to finance growth mainly through cash flow and equity. We recognize that this means we will have to grow more slowly than we might like. The most important factor in our case is collection days. We can’t push our clients hard on collection days, because they are in larger companies and will normally have marketing authority, not financial authority. Therefore we need to develop a permanent system of receivables financing, using one of the established accounting systems. In turn we intend to ensure that our investors are compatible with our growth plan, management style, and vision. Compatibility in this regard means:

• A fundamental respect for giving our customers value, and for maintaining a healthy and congenial workplace
• Respect for realistic forecasts, conservative cash flow, and financial management
• Cash flow as first priority, growth second, profits third
• Willingness to follow the project objectives and contribute valuable input to strategy and implementation decisions.

Of these, only the last 2 are flexible.

7.1 Break-even Analysis

The following table and chart summarizes our Break-even Analysis. We don’t really expect to reach break-even until several months into the business operation, as illustrated in the financials.

7.2 Important Assumptions

The financial plan depends on important assumptions. From the beginning, we recognize that collection days are critical, but not a factor we can influence easily. Interest rates, tax rates, and personnel burden are based on conservative assumptions.

Some of the more important underlying assumptions are:

• We assume a strong economy, without major recession.
• We assume that there are no unforeseen changes in economic policy to make our products and service immediately obsolete.

Others include 30-day average collection days, sales entirely on invoice basis, including a favorable deposit policy, expenses mainly on a net 30-day basis, 30 days on average for payment of invoices, and present-day interest rates.

7.3 Key Financial Indicators

We foresee major growth in sales and operating expenses, and a bump in our collection days as we spread the business during expansion.

Collection days are very important. We do not want to let our average collection days get above 30 under any circumstances. This could cause a serious problem with cash flow, because our working capital situation is chronically tight. However, we recognize that we cannot control this factor easily, because of the relationship with our clients.

7.4 Projected Profit and Loss

Initial marketing and training expenses will be relatively high as we seek to become known on the market and staff get trained in provision of our services. This will be brought about by the development of sales literature, advertising expenses, and function expenses. As our market share increases and capital is generated, further marketing programs and the expansion of those in existence at the time will be undertaken, to ensure market development. However, with time, these programs will start generating revenue for the business, which we shall reinvest.

Our projected Profit and Loss is shown in the appendix, with sales increasing steadily from the first year through the second, and into the third year. We do expect to more than break-even in the first year of operation. Our cost of sales should be much lower, and gross margin higher, than in this projection.

7.5 Projected Cash Flow

The chart and table below present the cash flow projections for I Tech Solutions.

7.6 Projected Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows healthy growth of net worth, and strong financial position. The three-year estimates are included in the appendix.

7.7 Business Ratios

The following table shows important ratios from the computer related services industry, as determined by the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) Index #7379, Computer Related Services.

Contingency Plan

• Another possibility is the introduction of a company or several companies in our niche. The need to undertake aggressive marketing, networking, and delivering a value-added service in our organization is a fundamental one.

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How to Start a Computer Business

Last Updated: June 5, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Christopher M. Osborne, PhD . Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. This article has been viewed 199,969 times.

While your dream may be to start the next Apple or Microsoft out of your garage, it is more likely that your desire to start a computer business involves dealing with existing systems via sales, service, or support. With the rapid changes in technology that have already led some to place us in the “post-PC era,” [1] X Research source the job of a computer repair person , for instance, has changed quite a bit from ten years ago and will surely be quite different ten years from now. Beyond keeping up with changing technology and maintaining your expertise, however, starting a computer business requires many of the same skills required of any other small business field — things like a clear business plan, a smart marketing strategy , and outstanding customer service.

Aligning Your Skills and Goals With the Market

• Have you ever dissected, reassembled, or repaired a computer? Are you familiar with all major operating systems? Have you worked in the computer field before? Honestly assess your readiness to start a computer business, or ask someone else with industry knowledge help you make the assessment.
• Completing a degree in the computer field will certainly help you in starting a business, but it is unlikely that most customers will ask to see your diploma. More important is your ongoing gathering of experience, whether through education, training, or employment.
• Certification is a good way to indicate expertise, though. You may want to seek A+ certification from the Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), or the related N+ network certification, or become a Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE). [2] X Research source These can help give your business card an air of legitimacy.

• In this so-called “post-PC era,” you may find demand for traditional computer sales, service, and/or support to be much reduced, especially among a younger, tech-savvy population. However, especially in areas with older populations and/or small-town and rural areas, you may find a greater percentage of people in need of PC repairs and support. Remember, you need to keep up with the latest technology; many of your potential customers do not (and will not). [3] X Research source [4] X Research source

• New technology is meant to make life easier, but many consumers find it to be just another layer of confusion. General set-up and troubleshooting tasks, like setting up printers and wireless networks, data recovery and wiping, and media archiving or editing, may remain a viable component of your business, even if PC repair requests decrease.
• If you can prove yourself to be an expert on computers and related technology, and can build a positive reputation, you should be able to find a niche for your computer business.

• If you’re looking to keep your computer business as a part-time job, then keeping your focus on repairs and troubleshooting may suffice.
• Building your business into a full-time occupation, however, may require further diversification of the products and services you offer, perhaps by selling parts, accessories, or entire systems. You’ll need to draw in a loyal client base and build a positive reputation in the community.

Brandon Phipps

Your core goal is to offer benefits to your customers for a fair price. By providing such a service, you can earn a significant income while doing something you are skilled at and helping others.

Succeeding in the Computer Business

• Even if computers are your focus, expect people to seek help and guidance with all sorts of mobile technology, from phones to tablets to watches. You may or may not want to get into the mobile tech sales and/or service business — consider the increased inventory demands, for instance — but being able to provide general troubleshooting, training, and support on the latest devices may prove quite useful. [6] X Research source
• If home service calls are part of your business, the essential toolkit you take with you will continue to shift along with technology. However, you can find a good list of basic equipment you’ll need (for the time being) at https://www.technibble.com/categories/starting-computer-repair-business/ .

• You’ll deal with panicked customers who think they’ve just lost all their important files, irate customers who want immediate help at 10 p.m., and hovering customers who want to supervise (and ask about) every move you make. You need to be able to remain calm , courteous, and patient. As a small business, you’re not likely to be able to match the prices of your larger competitors — the personalized service you offer needs to offset this disadvantage.

• Put some thought to your business name, logos , signage, marketing, etc. Create a professional look that presents your business as legitimate and lasting.
• Referrals will be essential to your business. Always hand out professional-looking business cards to existing customers, and consider offering referral discounts or rewards. Throwing in some free service or equipment is a small price to pay in order to build up your customer base. [8] X Research source
• Especially if you don’t have a storefront, make your business website and/or social media presence appear professional and interconnected to your overall brand.

• Working from home, for instance, offers more flexibility and less overhead costs, but also offers less visibility and possibly more distractions. A well-placed storefront adds to your visibility and helps legitimize your business in the public’s mind, but it comes at a cost and tends to lock you into a more rigid schedule.
• If you focus on computer repairs, working in your own shop may limit distractions and save you time and travel money, but customers may be more comfortable with you working on the equipment in their homes. (Your potential liability is also likely to be reduced when you don’t take the equipment with you.)

Starting a Small Business: Some Basics

• See How to Write a Business Plan for a good primer on the process of creating this important document.

• You may want to save on taxes by having customers pay cash “under the table” and not reporting the income, but this gives your business an air of illegitimacy (as well it should) for your customers. You are better off paying the taxes and appearing (and being) legitimate. [9] X Research source
• How to Open a Small Business offers some nice information on the legal requirements of establishing a business. The U.S. Small Business Administration website is also a great resource; see, for instance, https://www.sba.gov/content/follow-these-steps-starting-business .

• Volunteer some of your time and expertise. Be a supporting sponsor at community events (with the requisite public recognition, of course). Use your advertising and branding to develop a sense of stability and permanence for your business, even in a field that changes as rapidly as computers.
• No matter the nature of your small business, you need to be visible, you need to be reliable, and you need to provide a personalized experience that builds customer loyalty.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.technibble.com/moving-wearable-mobile-repair-post-pc-era/
• ↑ http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001553.htm
• ↑ https://www.technibble.com/categories/starting-computer-repair-business/
• ↑ http://www.mytopbusinessideas.com/computer/
• ↑ http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1813630/starting-computer-repair-setup-consulting-business-tips.html

About This Article

To start up a successful computer business, find a way to match your skills with the needs of your local computer market. Assess the training and experience that you have with computers to determine the type of computer business that is best suited to your talents. For example, if you have experience building personal computers, you can use your background to start up a business selling discounted computers that you assemble from parts that you acquire. In addition to your skills and experience, it’s important that you analyze the market around you to see if you can start a successful business. Consider the demographics in your area and think about what type of computer products or services they’re likely to purchase. For example, if you’re selling discounted computer systems, and your area has a large number of older people looking to buy a simple home computer, you may have a market for your business! For tips about how to build your brand identity when you’re starting a computer business, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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IT Services Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

IT Services Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their IT companies.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating an IT business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write an IT business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is an IT Services Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your IT business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for IT Company

If you’re looking to start an IT business or grow your existing IT company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your IT business to improve your chances of success. Your IT business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for IT Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for an IT business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for IT companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for an it services business.

If you want to start an IT business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your IT business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of IT business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have an IT business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of IT businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the IT industry.
• Discuss the type of IT business you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of IT business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of IT businesses:

• Computer repair: This type of IT business provides computer maintenance and repair services.
• Computer training: This type of IT professional specializes in teaching others how to use computers as well as various software and computer programs.
• IT support: This type of IT professional provides services for businesses such as setting up a network, backing up data, and systems management.
• Cloud computing: This type of IT specialist helps individuals and businesses establish cloud platforms and tools, or may help to migrate their information to the cloud.

In addition to explaining the type of IT business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of new clients served, the number of repeat clients, reaching $X amount in revenue, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the IT industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the IT industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your IT business plan:

• How big is the IT industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your IT business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.