Business Planning with Business Plan Writer

Version 1.1.4.SE Released

bevmeldrum — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:38:32 +0000

25th February saw the release of version 1.1.4.SE.

New Features

New ‘Social Impact’ Section in the business plan default structure
Improved formatting of business plan document
Updated Employers National Insurance Contributions “Primary Threshold” rates for 2008-2009

Please note that existing customers wishing to upgrade from older versions will only be able to get the new ‘Social Impact’ section if they overwrite their current content.

Bugs Fixed

Incorrect VAT threshold for 2007-2008 – Fixed

New Build Release – 1.1.3.SocialEnterprise

bevmeldrum — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:58:08 +0000

Yesterday a new build of Business Plan Writer was released.

This version (free to upgrade to from older versions of Business Plan Writer) simplifies the installation process making it easier to preserve your work if you are upgrading.

It also introduces the Government’s concept of a ‘Primary Threshold’ for each person (currently set at £5,225) – below which no National Insurance Contributions are payable. Thank you to Isaac Edwards for spotting that bug.

Please see the Version History posting for more details on the different versions of Business Plan Writer.

Version History

bevmeldrum — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:50:23 +0000

Each copy of the software should be identifiable from its version number. The version number is made up of four sets of characters separated by full stops (for example, 1.2.34.SocialEnterprise).

The position of each figure signifies a particular meaning:

1st set of characters =	Overall main edition of the software
2nd set of characters =	Major developments within each edition
3rd set of characters =	Minor developments within each edition (like ‘build number’)
4th set of characters =	Specifics not related to development such as branded versions, social enterprise or co-operative or social audit versions

The Tool Factory LLP will assign version numbers to each release of Business Plan Writer using the above methodology.

Current Version

Version 1.1.3.SocialEnterprise

Released 11-12-07

Bugs Fixed

Inconsistent elements in the upgrading process – Fixed

Version 1.1.2.Trial

Released 05-12-07

Bugs Fixed

Incorrect labelling of “Current Liabilities” in the Balance Sheet – Fixed
No allowance for Primary Threshold when calculating employer National Insurance Contributions – Fixed

Version 1.1.1.SocialEnterprise

Released 07-09-07

New Features

Drag ‘n Drop ability to pull text from elsewhere into the main textbox

Bugs Fixed

Multiple application installation in certain circumstances – Fixed
Incorrect presentation of some text boxes at lower screen resolutions – Fixed
Inconsistent display of version number – Fixed

Version 1.1.0.SocialEnterprise

Released 08-08-07

New Features

Ability to install as an upgrade while saving previous data
Augmented content of Help files
Improved content of sample business plans
Cut/Copy/Paste menu items
Right-click context menus

Bugs Fixed

View Business Plan screen – display of text without hard returns — Fixed
Intermittent malfunction of ‘Add’ button in table of contents – Fixed
Correct titling of screens – Fixed
Improved display of the .exe file, now called “BusinessPlanWriter.exe” and has an appropriate icon — Fixed
Flashing screens on start up – Fixed

Version 1.0.1.3

Released 06-06-07

New Features

BPW graphic on installer
Trial licensing lasting 60 days (branded as much as possible to The Tool Factory)

Bugs Fixed

Splash screen – erratic display of copyright data – fixed

Version 1.0.1.2

Released 30-03-07

New Features

Words Screen – improved functionality of Table of Contents (restore to default)
Improved Tool-Tip functionality
Improved Tab-order functionality
Improved Help Files
video tutorial (the ‘Word’ page)
Improved functionality of status bar

Bugs Fixed

Personnel Screen – slow refreshing of boxes in the summary grid – fixed
Products Screen – incorrect display of ‘Price including Mark up’ cell – fixed
Overheads Screens – slow refreshing of ‘Totals’ cells of summary grids – fixed
License Key Screen – showing behind splash screen – fixed

Version 1.0.1.1

Released 09-03-07

New Features

Tool Tips

Bugs Fixed

Words Screen – improved functionality of Table of Contents (undelete button)
Products Screen – improved management of product data
Words Screen – non-showing of Sample Business Plan #2 fixed

Version 1.0.1.0

Released 08-03-07

Features

Use the Mini-Plan to get started with 10 questions
Initial business plan structure can be altered to almost any format (max. 999 sections)
Enter name of social enterprise, authors etc in the User Settings dialogue box
Table of Contents with: add, edit, delete, move up & down, promote & demote functionality
Section-by-section display of help and three sample business plans
Allows user to decide whether the business is registered for VAT or not – if registered, produces VAT reports
Enter details of up to twenty products
View product-by-product reports showing cash, profit and VAT
Enter details of up to twenty products
Enter details of up to 81 overheads (including up to 25 personnel)
Enter details of pre-start up assets, capital spend and any loans needed
View financial reports: sales forecast, cash flow, profit & loss, balance sheet, VAT report
See how your business plan will look as a single document and then carry on creating
Export your business plan as a PDF file, edit it further in Microsoft Word, or even publish it as an HTML file

If you find any bugs in the software, apologies – please let us know what they are by emailing support@thetoolfactory.com so we can fix them.

About Business Plan Writer

bevmeldrum — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:51:20 +0000

This software was created for people involved in social enterprises to make better social enterprises.

From many years experience of supporting social enterprises as well as evidence-based research, we hold that:

Business plans play an important role for gaining future success

Social enterprises should be producing business plans

These business plans should be commercially sound as well as reflecting the social enterprises’ values

We know that creating a sound business plan involves a lot of spade-work and is hard work – so think of this software as a better spade to help you in your digging so you can either finish earlier or dig better – or both …

We want our software tool being used by as many people as possible and wish you well in your good work.

System requirements for Business Plan Writer

bevmeldrum — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:49:08 +0000

This version of Business Plan Writer has been compiled for running on the Microsoft Windows XP operating system.<

If you want to run it on an earlier version of Windows or on Vista then please contact support@thetoolfactory.com for instructions.

System Requirments

RAM	Minimum 192 MBRecommended 512 MB or higher
Processor	Pentium III compatible or higherMinimum 500 MHzRecommended 1 GHz or higher
Display	Minimum 800 x 600 256 colours or higherRecommended 1024 x 768 High Colour (16 bit) or higher
Prerequisite Software	Windows Installer 3.1Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Operating System	Windows XP ProfessionalWindows XP Home EditionWindows XP Tables EditionWindows XP Media Edition(Ask about other operating systems)

Installation

At the start of the installation process your computer will be scanned to see if it has Windows Installer 3.1 and Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 – if these aren’t found you will be asked you if you want them installed.

Choose ‘Yes’ because Business Plan Writer can’t install or run without them – they are fairly large packages and may take a few minutes to complete.

The installer will then start to install Business Plan Writer without further interruption – you will need to respond to a series of windows asking you to choose options or confirm choices.

You can then open Business Plan Writer by either double-clicking it on your desktop or selecting it in your ‘All Programs’ menu.

When starting for the first time the application will pause and ask you for the registration key that was emailed to you. Once you have entered this key correctly Business Plan Writer will open and be ready for you to use.

Getting Started – Exiting

bevmeldrum — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:47:36 +0000

Either choose ‘Exit’ on the ‘File’ menu or click the red ‘X’ on the top-right corner of the window in which Business Plan Writer is being displayed.

The act of closing the application triggers a save event and you will find your work safe and waiting for you when you open it up again.

Getting Started – Saving Your Work

bevmeldrum — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:46:54 +0000

There is no ‘Save’ button as merely by moving around from one section to another (or closing the software) triggers it to save your work.

However there may be occasions when you want to save your work manually and you can do this by using the save function in the ‘File’ menu.

Getting Started – User Settings

bevmeldrum — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:44:25 +0000

The ‘User Settings’ pop-up window, accessed via the ‘Tools menu is where you enter information like the name of your social enterprise or other Third Sector organisation, the title of the business plan, its author, whether the business will be registered for VAT etc.

Getting Started – View Business Plan

bevmeldrum — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:43:19 +0000

If you click the ‘View Business Plan’ button on the upper tool strip (or select ‘View Business Plan’ from the ‘Window’ menu) the software goes through the whole application looking for your work, it pulls it all together, carries out numerous tasks, adds various bits that need adding – and presents it all to you as a single document which you can print, save, email to another person, export to word processor and edit, or just abandon it and return to work on making your business plan even better.

To begin with, your ‘pulled-together’ business plan will be largely a blank document, but as you work on your business plan will build before your eyes, until bit by bit you will have created a masterpiece!

To make sure you are viewing the most up-to-date version of your business plan (if you have been making changes in the other sections) click on the ‘Refresh’ button and your business plan will be created anew.

Getting Started – the ‘Words’ Section

bevmeldrum — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:41:08 +0000

Business Plan Writer opens the ‘Words’ section by default, with its big text box in the middle where you can write your stuff.

The Table of Contents on the left-hand side can be changed, and by altering it you are actually altering the structure of your own business plan.

On first launching, Business Plan Writer displays its default business plan structure (which you should take as a starting point only for your own business plan), but before deleting sections it might be worth your while to move through the skeleton business plan section-by-section to see the corresponding explanatory notes and view what each of the three sample business plans have in them (you can copy and paste from their text box into your own text box and then edit to make it right for you).