I’ve created a minimum business plan file that you can use as a starting point with Business Plan Pro so that you have an easier and quicker way to work through what I’m calling the minimum business plan for this class.

Step-by-step

1. You can use this link to purchase Business Plan Pro direct from Palo Alto Software. Or call the tollfree number at (800) 229-7526, or the local number at 541-683-6162, and ask for sales. Tell the salesperson you are using this for a class, and need academic pricing. There is no Macintosh version, but I use it on my Mac all the time, in Parallels.
2. Install Business Plan Pro. Notice the video tutorials, and the extensive help, and the technical support available for free by email or telephone. Please don’t ask me to do tech support for the software.
3. You can use this link to get the file. It’s also on the downloads page on this site. How you actually download depends on which browser you use. For example, in Internet Explorer you right-click the mouse and use the "save target as" option to download a file. Get the file downloaded and saved on yur disk.
4. Open this minimum business plan file from within Business Plan Pro.
5. VERY IMPORTANT: use the Save-As command to save the file with a different name. You don’t want to work with the original, because then you can never start over; and you’ll run the risk of having a classmate using the same name.
6. VERY IMPORTANT: Don’t use the tasks view to go step-by-step. Use the outline view, not the tasks view, to show your files.
7. VERY IMPORTANT: Use the plan setup to make sure you’re set for the standard plan: not the simple, and not the more detailed. If you don’t, then the wrong outline points show up.

Here’s what you should be looking at … maybe not exactly, depending on where you are, but it should look something like this, with instructions showing on the upper left, an action window in the lower left (for text or tables), and the outline in the right (you an click on the picture for a larger view).

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