LivePlan Review 2024

If you’re an entrepreneur, one of the most important parts of starting a business is writing a business plan; however, you may need a step-by-step process to help lead your small business to success. That’s where LivePlan comes in.

Created by Palo Alto Software, LivePlan is a cloud-based business plan software that walks you through the entire planning process. With video tutorials and examples at each section, it helps you write a solid business plan in half the time.

Read our LivePlan review to discover the pricing and features that set the tool apart, compare customer reviews, and more. By the end, you’ll know if it is the best business planning software for you.

What Is LivePlan?

LivePlan is a business planning and financial forecasting tool powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The platform boasts an array of helpful tools that enable business owners to create business plans, craft investment-ready statements, and make financial projections for their business growth — all in one easy-to-use platform. 

LivePlan At a Glance

Jump Ahead:

• Pros and Cons
• LivePlan Pricing
• Standout Features
• Customer Reviews
• LivePlan Alternatives

Pros & Cons of LivePlan

Pros of LivePlan

• You don’t need prior experience with professional business planning because the LivePlan software is designed for startups and entrepreneurs who don’t have the time or budget for collegiate-style planning.
• According to many positive online LivePlan reviews, customers are incredibly satisfied with the business plan software.
• LivePlan’s user-friendly website makes it easy to focus and build presentation-ready plans. Also because it’s cloud-based, you can trust LivePlan to keep your data safe and 100% accessible.
• LivePlan provides elegant and fully-customizable template themes you can brand so your business plan looks amazing in presentations with investors, potential partners, lending institutions, etc.
• LivePlan allows you to easily import financial data from other platforms like QuickBooks and Xero…a big time-saver that gives you the peace of mind everything is importing correctly.
• With an annual subscription to LivePlan, you get access to tons of legal forms, fantastic educational e-books, and even an employee handbook template. Their system is set up so the more LivePlan features you add, the less it costs, which is awesome.
• LivePlan sports a great suite of collaboration tools for you and your small business team members. For example, LivePlan locks any section a team member is working on to prevent two users from editing the same section at the same time.

Cons of LivePlan

• You have to be connected to the Internet to use LivePlan. Cloud-based computing does still have its downsides.
• While you can develop more than one business plan using LivePlan, there is no way to copy an existing plan.

LivePlan Pricing

It would be tough for LivePlan pricing to get any more straightforward, and you don’t have to worry about any hidden fees. Here are the following LivePlan pricing packages that entrepreneurs and small businesses can choose from:

• Standard Monthly Subscription: Pay as you go for $15/month for first 3 months, then $20/month after
• Premium Monthly Subscription: Pay as you go for $30/month for first 3 months, then $40/month after
• Purchase a Standard annual subscription for $12/month 
• Purchase a Premium annual subscription for $24/month 

You can save 40% if you choose an annual plan. Go with whichever package you feel most comfortable with. Either way, you have 35 days to try the business planning software and explore everything it’s capable of.

With every pricing package, you’ll gain access to a variety of LivePlan features, such as over 500 sample business plans, automatic financials, and more.

LivePlan’s Standout Features

LivePlan sets itself apart with several key offerings:

Step-By-Step Instructions

Especially valuable for first-time business owners, LivePlan’s step-by-step instructions help guide users through the business and financial planning process. This hands-on service ensures all statements are tailored to the business’s specific needs and ready for fundraising efforts through support and guidance at every step of the way. 

AI-Powered LivePlan Assistant

LivePlan’s AI-powered assistant helps to clear roadblocks, enhance the planning process, and expedite tasks. The AI writing tool helps improve writing by adjusting for tone, grammar, and spelling. Additionally, the AI-generated suggestions help users create better financial forecasts. 

550+ Sample Business Plan Templates

With more than 550 sample business plans, LivePlan offers users ample inspiration from other businesses. These industry-specific samples aren’t customizable, but do provide a foundation for new business owners to create their own personalized business plan. 

Financial Projections Software

With LivePlan, users can create full financial forecasts — including balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and cash flow forecasts — without complicated spreadsheets. Plus, the platform’s AI assistant can help business owners conduct the most effective analysis possible through forecast suggestions and financial analysis tools. 

Intuitive Performance Dashboard

LivePlan offers performance dashboards that automatically compare projections to accounting data. Users are able to review more than 20 charts, graphs, and metrics to assess their company’s financial performance and compare that to financial projections.  

Growth Planning

For businesses seeking alternatives to a traditional business plan, LivePlan offers support for entrepreneurs opting to take a growth planning approach. The process includes four stages: plan, forecast, review, and refine. This data-driven process allows business owners to craft a business plan in just 30 minutes, generate feedback, and refine their business strategies. 

35-Day, Money-Back Guarantee

Unlike some competitors that offer short-term satisfaction guarantees, LivePlan offers subscription customers a 100%, 35-day, money-back guarantee. This allows business owners to explore the platform risk-free in order to determine if it’s the right fit for their business. 

Industry Research

The LivePlan platform includes tools to conduct industry research, allowing business owners to make more educated decisions for their company. Through the platform, users gain access to data on industry risks, current conditions, trends, benchmarks, financial insights, and more.  

Cloud Access

With cloud access, users can access the LivePlan platform from any location or device. This allows business owners to have access to their professional business plan no matter where they are.

Multilingual Plans

With LivePlan, users can write and share their business plan in multiple languages including Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, and German. Plus, users can display their company’s financials in the currency of their choosing.

LivePlan Reviews

What LivePlan review would be complete without customer testimonials?

LivePlan boasts a high rating on ShopperApproved, earning 4.8 stars out of five with more than 1,000 five-star reviews on the site. Many customers praised the company’s accessible pricing and quick customer support team in the event of questions or troubleshooting issues. The company responds to most positive reviews, but doesn’t appear to address negative reviews on the ShopperApproved website. 

Here are some verified reviews from ShopperApproved by people who used LivePlan for their businesses:

“Great experience using LivePlan to create a business plan. I loved the automated tools, which made it seamless to auto-populate and ensure accuracy. My favorite feature was the navigation guide, which mapped out all the elements of a living business plan: financials, goals, milestones, and charts. The second feature was functionality; the export and printing features were seamless. LivePlan is already thinking about more product tools that can help business owners and leaders toggle between operational and financial forecasts and snapshots. I highly recommend the tool.”

“It was difficult to use and understand. Perhaps [on-demand] training videos would help[.]”

“LivePlan is a fantastic resource for small business owners and consultants assisting them to develop their business plans. LivePlan software has helped many clients put together professional business plans and international[ly] export plans to help them actualize their entrepreneurial dreams!”

“[L]ove the way everything is customized so that all you have to basically do is insert information. However, I wish it was [a] little easier to add custom charts or copy other business plan formats. Customer service is great and the response time is quick.”

LivePlan also features several verified customer reviews on its website. Here are a couple more examples:

“LivePlan has reinvented business planning. It’s the only tool that helps entrepreneurs track their progress with a unique dashboard specifically designed for small business.”

“I needed to write a business plan for my investors. I was going nuts trying to create charts and properly format them. Then a friend recommended LivePlan! The financials were so easy to use and I liked knowing the calculations were all correct.”

“I didn’t only get value for the money paid but also got the best customer service experience as well. And of course, I’m sticking to LivePlan forever.”

LivePlan Alternatives

Before settling on a business planning software, it’s important to consider competitors to ensure you’ve found the right provider for your business. Upmetrics, Bizplan, and Enloop are three popular business plan software solutions — each offering a unique set of features and capabilities. Here’s how each of these competitors stacks up against LivePlan. 

Upmetrics vs. LivePlan

Upmetrics offers AI-powered business planning, financial planning and forecasting, and pitch deck creation software. The platform is slightly less expensive than LivePlan with pricing starting at $7 per month (billed annually). 

Overall, Upmetrics offers more robust features for financial and business strategy than LivePlan. However, Upmetrics’ AI-features are limited for subscribers of the company’s low-cost plan. LivePlan also offers more hands-on support, making it potentially more suitable to new business owners. 

Bizplan vs. LivePlan

Bizplan is business planning software offered by Startups.com. Bizplan offers fewer tech-driven features than LivePlan as well as an overall smaller feature set. However, the Bizplan platform includes a fully guided plan builder, financial statement templates, and access to the company’s online fundraising platform: Fundable. Bizplan is more expensive than LivePlan with plans starting at $20.75 per month (billed annually). 

Enloop vs. LivePlan

Enloop is business planning software that offers basic features for planning and financial performance assessment. While Enloop lacks many of the tech features offered by LivePlan, it may be a suitable platform for non-technical users. 

Enloop offers a seven-day free trial rather than a money-back guarantee like LivePlan. This allows customers to test the platform before committing to a subscription. On the Enloop platform, users can create up to three business plans for the cost of their subscription. Any additional business plans incur a $9.95 charge per document. 

Is LivePlan Right For Your Startup?

LivePlan’s business planning software boasts extensive features for both creating a business plan and conducting effective financial forecasting. But, how do you know if LivePlan is the best business plan software for your business? 

It’s particularly well-suited for:

• Business owners who prefer hands-on assistance 
• Entrepreneurs who require only one business plan 
• Businesses with small teams 

However, it may not be the best fit if:

• You’re looking for a platform that accommodates many contributors
• You’re looking for only basic, non-technical business planning 

The bottom line? LivePlan is a great choice for businesses looking to create a business plan and assess their financial performance over time. The platform boasts extensive features for industry research, financial analysis, and investor-ready business planning. Plus, startup founders seeking hands-on, personalized support will appreciate the excellent customer service offered by the platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should You Use LivePlan?