Business Plan Freeware: Free-Plan & Biz-Plan

1. Introduction

This section introduces Free-Plan and its sister product, Biz-Plan. Here is what DOWNLOAD.COM said in two reviews of Biz-Plan (aka Free-Plan):

Writing a good business plan is the first step to success. But what if you don't know where to start? Never fear; Biz-Plan can help. This Word template provides the outline of a business plan along with an excellent help file (in CHM and PDF format) containing detailed instructions and important hints. The template itself has helpful comments in each section. Colors and fonts greatly facilitate text editing, as does the automatically updated table of contents. Best of all, Biz-Plan is free; you just have to register by e-mail. Whether you follow it to the letter or draw on it for ideas, Biz-Plan is a great resource for getting a business off the ground.

This Word template aims to help novices write a sensible business plan. Biz-Plan holds your hand throughout the process. First, the concise white paper offers brief directions and important hints. The template itself is commented in detail and has an extensive tutorial in the appendix. Colors and fonts greatly facilitate text editing, as does the automatically updated table of contents. Finally, Biz-Plan is free, with email registration required. Novice business people will benefit from this program's advice.

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2. Details

About Free-Plan:
Free-Plan is a business plan Guide and Template compiled and distributed as freeware by PlanWare. It comprises:

1. The Word-based Template (48 pages) contains a detailed framework and structure for writing a business plan with sample text, typical tables and charts (click thumb opposite to enlarge view).
   
2. The complementary Guide (supplied as a 90+ topic Help file and as a 100+ page PDF file for printing) offers extensive section-by-section help related to the Template. It covers executive summary, strategy and mission, profiling target markets, marketing strategies, sales plans and projections, technology and R&D, operations and management, financial projections and funding. It also discusses such matters as planning to plan, length of a business plan and writing a basic/short plan.

Free-Plan is ideal for new and established businesses seeking to expand, raise finance etc. which need to produce a comprehensive business plan for internal/external use. While Free-Plan is not specifically aimed at very small businesses (e.g. annual sales under, say, $250,000), it contains many ideas and issues which could be adopted to produce a shorter, simpler plan as explained in the Guide.

Free-Plan is freeware. The supplied Template is a protected, 'read-only' document for Microsoft Word. Upon registration, this protection can be removed and the Template can be freely modified by the registered user. Free-Plan registration is completely free and there are no strings attached ! You will not be added to any email list as a result of registering. Check our privacy policy.

The latest release of Free-Plan is designated 3.0. It is a major revamp with the complete separation of the Template from the Guide. The Template has been restructured and the Guide contains substantial additional advice and guidance. If you have an earlier release, you may wish to delete/uninstall it and use the links below to download the latest release.

To check your release of Free-Plan, look for the release number on the third line within the colored table on the first page of the DOC file.

To register Free-Plan, you should email its serial number which is visible on the first page of the Free-Plan Template file (click thumb opposite to enlarge) to <freeplan@planware.org> or use the Registration Form below.

About Biz-Plan:
Biz-Plan and Free-Plan are, in theory, identical packages with different names. In practice, different releases of Biz-Plan are scattered around the Internet and these may not be as up-to-date as Free-Plan. The latest release of Biz-Plan is designated 3.0. If you have an earlier release, you may wish to delete/uninstall it and use the links below to download the latest release of Free-Plan.

To check your release of Biz-Plan, look for the release number on the third line within the colored table on the first page of the DOC file.

To register Biz-Plan, you should email its serial number to bizplan@planware.org (see README.TXT for further info.) or use the Registration Form below.

About Exl-Plan (which incorporates Free-Plan):
Exl-Plan is our range of Excel-based planners for generating comprehensive financial projections for businesses of all types and sizes. It is the ideal companion for use with either Free-Plan or Biz-Plan. Get full details and download trial copies. If you have already downloaded the free version of Exl-Plan, our freeware business financial planner for Excel, it contains a copy of Free-Plan. If you register Exl-Plan Free (click thumb above for guidance), you will be automatically also registered for Free-Plan. If the copy of Free-Plan included with Exl-Plan Free is not release 3.0, you may wish to download the latest release of Free-Plan using the links below. If you do this, you must register Free-Plan separately from Exl-Plan Free.

To check your release of Free-Plan, look for the release number on the third line within the colored table on the first page of the DOC file.

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3. Download Links

To Download Free-Plan:
Click an appropriate link below. To download Exl-Plan Free for business finanical projections (which includes a copy of Free-Plan), go here instead.
Important: Free-Plan requires Microsoft Word.

Free-Plan - For Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista running with Word 97, 2000, XP, 2003 or 2007:
	Free-Plan - Zipped File (FREEPLAN.ZIP - 1.4 meg) Download this file if using Word on a Mac
or:	Free-Plan - Self installing (FREEPLAN.EXE - 1.6 meg)
If you are using Windows XP or Vista, you can ignore the Security Warning about "unknown publisher" when downloading FREEPLAN.EXE as we are the publisher. FREEPLAN.ZIP needs to be uncompressed using an utility like WinZip before installation. Our Privacy & Security Statement applies to all our software. This means that Free-Plan DOES NOT contain "adware", "spyware" or any devices for collecting and/or transmitting any user information and we DO NOT send spam..

Free-Plan - For Windows 3.1 or Word 6 & 95 only:
		Free-Plan - Zipped File (FREEPLN5.ZIP - 49k)

To Set Up Free-Plan:
If you downloaded the ZIP file, unzip and open it and place the files* in an appropriate folder (e.g. call it Free-Plan) on your PC. If you need an unzip utility, download WinZip.

If you downloaded the EXE file, run it to install the Free-Plan files*.

To Use Free-Plan after Installation:
If you downloaded the ZIP file, just open the supplied files.

If you installed from the EXE file, use Start | Programs | Free-Plan and select Free-Plan Template. Alternatively, go to the folder where you placed Free-Plan and click on FREE-PLAN_TEMPLATE.DOC. Both approaches will start Microsoft Word and load the Template.

The detailed Guide can be opened via Start | Programs | Free-Plan (if you used the EXE) or by clicking FREE-PLAN_GUIDE.CHM (HTML style help file). Open FREE-PLAN_GUIDE.PDF if you'd like a printable copy of the Guide (this requires the widely-used free Acrobat Reader).

To modify the Free-Plan template, you need to register for free - see below.

To Uninstall Free-Plan:
Use Add or Remove Programs within the Control Panel (access via Start | Settings) if you used the EXE file, or simply delete the ZIP file and its contents.

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4. Registration Instructions

1. First, you must download, install and run the Free-Plan or Biz-Plan DOC file using Word.
   
   
2. Register by sending us a special serial number (a) using the form below or (b) within the body of an email to <freeplan@planware.org>.
   
   You will find this serial number inside the box/table on the first page (click thumb opposite for guidance) of FREE-PLAN_TEMPLATE.DOC once you have opened it with Microsoft Word.
   Note: With earlier releases of Free-Plan and Biz-Plan, this box will only become visible once Word has been set to View | PageLayout (Word 6, 95 or 97) or View | Print Layout (Word 2000, XP or 2003).

Depending on your time of day, time zone and day of week, allow between one and twelve hours to secure your registration code by email (in plain text with no attachments). Note that:

1. Our Privacy & Security Statement applies to all users.
2. If you don't hear from us within 24 hours, make contact again but double-check your email address - wrong email addresses are a problem! If you have just recently registered, please don't register a second time - it won't speed up the process. In common with most Internet-based businesses, we operate extensive spam-filtering. If we don't respond to your request, check your original message to ensure that it is not "all caps", overly HTML-intensive or contains other spam-related elements, and then resend it.
3. If your own email system uses aggressive anti-spam filtering, you may not receive our email containing your registration code. You should temporarily add emails from "@planware.org" to your white or friends list, or allow messages containing the phrases "Free-Plan" and "Biz-Plan" to pass through your filters. Do this before you seek registration.

If you intend to register Exl-Plan Free (which includes Free-Plan), download it from here and/or register it here - there is no need to separately register Free-Plan as you'll be given codes for both packages when you register Exl-Plan Free.

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5. Registration Form

Instead of sending an email, you can use the Registration Form below to register either Free-Plan or Biz-Plan.
You may wish to bookmark this page to return to it once you have accessed Free-Plan or Biz-Plan to secure its serial number.

Allow between one and twelve hours to secure the Unlock Code. Please register just once!

Name: (Essential) Email: (Essential and double-check) Email must be in general form of xxx@xxx.xx - we cannot make contact if your address is wrong! Don't blame us! Up to 5% of addresses are wrong - make sure that your one isn't! Free-Plan/Biz-Plan Serial Number: (Essential - without spaces between characters) This number is clearly visible inside a box/table on the first page (click thumb opposite for guidance) of either FREE-PLAN_TEMPLATE.DOC or BIZ-PLAN.DOC once you have opened the file with Word. This box will be visible immediately when using Word 2007. If using Word 2000, XP or 2003, set it to View | Print Layout. If using Word 6, 95 or 97, you must set it to View | PageLayout. Note that "XXXXX", "v1.5", "freepln7", "256k" etc. are NOT valid numbers and DO NOT invent a number as it will be rejected. Note: If you also intend to register Exl-Plan Free (which includes a copy of Free-Plan), download it from here and/or register it here - there is no need to separately register Free-Plan as you'll be given codes for both packages when you register Exl-Plan Free. Please don't send multiple messages!

If you wish to make a comment or get help, use this Contact Form.

Get Help with Financial Projections

	Exl-Plan - Integrated Multi- Year Financial Planner
	Requires: Excel 5, 7, 8, 95, 97, 2000, XP, 2003 or 2007 with Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista. Prices: Free to US$ 289.
	Details  Trial Downloads Buy + Use Now

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