Welcome to Smart Business Plan® 8.0

This fully interactive software includes stand-alone applications for writing business plans, marketing plans and a financial advisor.  Build a rock-solid business plan and learn how and where to obtain the dollars you need for your business.  Create a strategic and vital marketing plan with up-to-the-minute web based market research.

Smart Business Plan® consists of three main modules, “Business Plan”, “Marketing Plan”, and “Financial Advisor”.  This help file describes how to maximize the use of this powerful program, and how to customize the plans using the extensive capabilities of Lotus Word Pro®, Microsoft Word®, or Smart Plan Editor.

This help file also describes how to update Smart Business Plan® 8.0 through Smart Online, Inc.’s web site (http://www.smartonline.com).


Additional Resources

For additional help, please refer to the Lotus Word Pro® help file, the Microsoft Word® help file, or the Smart Plan Editor help file as appropriate.

Only registered owners of one or more Smart Online, Inc. software products are able to receive technical support.  If you have a technical support question, please have your product serial number ready.  We recommend you keep your product registration number in a secure place.  You will also find it in your Help menu in “About Smart Business Plan®.”

Technical support is available by fax, e-mail, the Internet or telephone.

TECH SUPPORT VIA FAX

Technical support via fax is available.  Send a fax to Smart Online, Inc. at 919-765-5020 with your name, fax and voice numbers, as well as your product serial number.  Include your e-mail address if you have one.  In most cases, Smart Online, Inc. will respond to fax inquiries within one business day.

TECH SUPPORT VIA E-MAIL and INTERNET

Technical support is also available via e-mail.  Send an e-mail message to our tech support using the address: techsupport@us.smartonline.com OR use the mail function in Smart Online, Inc.’s World Wide Web site, http://www.smartonline.com.

TECH SUPPORT VIA TELEPHONE

Telephone technical support is available between the hours of 9AM and 6PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding standard holidays. Please have your serial number ready as we are unable to offer technical support to callers without serial numbers.  For technical support via phone, dial 919-765-5015.


Business Plan

The Business Plan module has the option to create a plan in five different economic sectors as follows:

The following is a list of various Chapters and Sections in the Business Plan module (click on each chapter name to view list of sections):

Executive Summary	The Service
The Business	Operations
Market Analysis	Risks
Marketing	Finances
The Product	Conclusion
Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

The Business Plan module offers the option of writing a plan for a “New” or “Existing” business for five different business sectors.  Plus, each module offers sample plans for each economic sector.  The Business Plan module offers ten sample plans.

The Plan Composer is divided into three central areas.  The top right side of the screen is where your text/tables are typed/filled.  The heading in this area reflects which section of your plan with which the text/table refers.  The tabs indicate either “text” or “table” associated with the section of the plan.  The “table” tab will be disabled if there is no table associated with a particular section.

The bottom right area of the screen illustrates one of three options: instructions for the text area above, Example Text for that section or a Example Table .  The bottom left side of the screen is the table of contents for the plan.  The Business Plan uses a simple menu/tree control as its main navigation function.  This menu illustrates all chapters and sections of your plan.  Right mouse click over chapter or section names in this navigation control offers various functions, these functions are explained in detail in the How to Navigate Your Plan section of this Help file.

The icons on the far left are your command tools.  A “tool tip” with the description of its function will appear as the cursor is moved over each icon.

        Changing the view of the screen is as simple as clicking on one of these three view icons.

     Allows you to scroll through the sections of your plan one at a time.

     Allows you to scroll through those sections of your plan with a table.

  Once you have completed your Business Plan, (or just want to view what you have done so far), click on the Compile Plan icon to have you plan assembled and then displayed as a single document.

All command buttons in Plan Composer are also accessible from the menu bar.  For detailed information regarding the command buttons, please see the Program Operation chapter of this help file.

Once the “Compile Plan” option is selected, your plan is then sent to the Business Plan compiler. You can choose which word processor you would like to use based on what you have installed on your computer. A dialog box similar to the following will be displayed:

The following word processors are supported by Smart Business Plan® 8.0:

•	Microsoft Word® 97, and 2000,

•	Lotus Word Pro® 97, and Millennium,

•	The Smart Plan Editor that is included with the Smart Business Plan®

The word processor you choose is where the final editing and printing of your plan takes place. For more information on compiling your plan, please see Compiling Your Plan.


Executive Summary

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Introduction

   - Mission Statement

   - Key Considerations

   - Marketing Objectives

   - Expected Accomplishments

   - Required Capital


The Business

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Purpose Statement

   - Description of the Business

   - History of the Business

   - Founder of the Business

   - Management & Operations

   - Regulations & Licensing

   - Objectives


Market Analysis

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Market Research

   - Target Market

   - Competition

   - Customer Profile


Marketing

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Objectives

   - Unique Selling Benefit

   - Selling Tactics

   - Pricing

   - Channels of Distribution

   - Advertising

   - Promotions

   - Publicity and Public Relations


The Product

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Product Decisions

   - Production

   - Inventory

   - Quality Control


The Service

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Service Description

   - Related Products


Operations

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Operations Analysis

   - Location & Facilities

   - Technology/R&D

   - Sourcing

   - Labor

   - Cost Control


Risks

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Description of Risks

   - Contingency Plans


Finances

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Assumptions

   - Sources and Uses of Capital

   - Balance Sheet

   - Cash Flow Statement

   - Income Statement

   - Break Even Analysis

   - Ratio Analysis

   - Start-Up Costs


Conclusion

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Business Plan:

   - Justification for Loan/Investment/Etc.

   - Milestones/Implementation Timetable


Marketing Plan

The Marketing Plan Module has the option to create a plan in five different economic sectors :

The following is a list of the various Chapters and Sections in the Marketing Plan module  (click on each chapter name to view list of sections):

Introduction	General Marketing Strategy
The Business	Specific Marketing Strategy
Macroenvironmental Analysis	Specific Marketing Program(s)
Market Analysis	Risk Analysis and Planning
Issues and Opportunities	Implementation and Control
Goals
The Marketing Plan module offers the option of writing a plan for five different business sectors.  Plus, each module offers sample plans for each economic sector.  The Marketing Plan offers five sample plans.

The Plan Composer is divided into three central areas.  The top right side of the screen is where your text/tables are typed/filled.  The heading in this area reflects which section of your plan with which the text/table refers.  The tabs indicate either “text” or “table” associated with the section of the plan.   The “table” tab will be disabled if there is no table associated with a particular section.

The bottom right area of the screen illustrates one of three options: instructions for the text area above, Example Text for that section or a Example Table .  The bottom left side of the screen is the table of contents for the plan.  The Marketing Plan uses a simple menu/tree control as its main navigation function.  This menu illustrates all chapters and sections of your plan.  Right mouse click over chapter or section names in this navigation control offers various functions, these functions are explained in detail in the How to Navigate Your Plan section of this Help file.

The icons on the far left are your command tools.  A “tool tip” with the description of its function will appear as the cursor is moved over each icon.

        Changing the view of the screen is as simple as clicking on one of these three view icons.

     Allows you to scroll through the sections of your plan one at a time.

     Allows you to scroll through those sections of your plan with a table.

  Once you have completed your Marketing Plan, (or just want to view what you have done so far), click on the Compile Plan icon to have you plan assembled and then displayed as a document.

All command buttons in Plan Composer are also accessible from the menu bar. For detailed information regarding the command buttons, please see the Program Operation chapter of this help file.

Once the “Compile Plan” option is selected, your plan is then sent to the Business Plan compiler. You can choose which word processor you would like to use based upon what you have installed on your computer. A dialog box similar to the following will be displayed:

The following word processors are supported by Smart Business Plan® 8.0:

•	Microsoft Word® 97, and 2000,

•	Lotus Word Pro® 97, and Millennium,

•	The Smart Plan Editor that is included with the Smart Business Plan®

The word processor you choose is where the final editing and printing of your plan takes place.

For more information on compiling your plan, please see Compiling Your Plan.


Introduction

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Executive Summary

   - Mission

   - Objectives


The Business

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Business Background

   - Product/Service Description

   - Distribution

   - Marketing Personnel


Macroenvironmental Analysis

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Economic Analysis

   - Industry Analysis

   - Legal Analysis

   - Socio-Cultural Analysis

   - Technological Analysis


Market Analysis

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Market Definition

   - Market Segmentation

   - Customer Needs & Requirements

   - Competitors


Issues and Opportunities

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Strengths

   - Weaknesses

   - Opportunities

   - Threats

   - Resulting Issues


Goals

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Financial

   - Marketing


General Marketing Strategy

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Target Market

   - Positioning


Specific Marketing Strategy

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Product, Branding, Packaging Strategy

   - Pricing Strategy

   - Distribution Strategy

   - Personal Selling Strategy

   - Advertising Strategy

   - Direct Marketing Strategy

   - Sales Promotion Strategy

   - Publicity and Public Relations Strategy


Specific Marketing Program(s)

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Product, Branding, Packaging Programs

   - Pricing Programs

   - Distribution and Placement Programs

   - Personal Selling Programs

   - Advertising Programs

   - Direct Marketing Programs

   - Sales Promotion Programs

   - Publicity and Public Relations Programs


Risk Analysis and Planning

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Description of Risks

   - Contingency Plans

   - Research & Development

   - Marketing Research


Implementation and Control

The following is a list of Sections within this Chapter of the Marketing Plan:

   - Sales Forecast

   - Marketing Budget & Income Statement

   - Monitoring of Programs


Business Plan Wizard

By selecting “Wizard” on the Main Menu , Smart Business Plan® 8.0 starts a “Question and Answer” session that will interview you on your company.

This interactive application steps you though inputting all the financial and marketing information required to produce your Business Plan.  Once this section is complete, you will see the Plan Composer screen.  There you will find all the “Tables” and “Graphs” needed to complete your plan already made.  You can then continue with writing text for each section using extensive instructions and examples and customizing your plan prior to compiling and printing the final plan.


Go Online

With your purchase of Smart Business Plan® 8.0, you are entitled to one year of free updates on Smart Online, Inc.’s World Wide Web site (www.smartonline.com).  In addition to keeping you informed of updates and additions to the Smart Online, Inc. family of products, Smart Online™ is a resource for small businesses.  You can find information about conducting business in countries around the world, small business resources, business productivity tools, and links to the best web sites in many categories including news, weather, travel and stock.

You will need to have registered your product before you can update your software. If you have misplaced your product serial number, you can find it the “About” box in the “Help” menu bar.

To update your software, click the “Go Online” icon from the main menu screen.  This will connect you to the Smart Online, Inc. home page at www.smartonline.com.  Locate the “Update” link, select Smart Business Plan®, and follow the instructions.


Financial Advisor

The Financial Advisor is designed to ease the pressure of finding funding for your business.  An easy-to-use interface provides you with quick access to a library of suggestions that will help you get the money needed for your business.  Some of the topics are as follows: finding funding, private investors, traditional lenders, Small Business Administration (SBA), venture capitalists, steps to take before you apply for a loan, a state-by-state list of possible lenders, and much, much, more.


Starting the Business Plan / Marketing Plan Modules

To open or start a new plan select “Business Plan” or “Marketing Plan” from the Main Menu:

You will then see a menu with four choices.  You can “Start a new plan”, “Open the last plan“ you worked on, “Open a saved plan” or “Open a Sample plan”.


Opening a Sample Business Plan / Marketing Plan

Opening one of the many Sample Plans is as simple as left mouse clicking on the “Open Sample Plan” icon.  To access this selection by keyboard use the <TAB> key to cycle through the different options until the “Open Sample Plan” icon is selected, then depress the <ENTER> key to launch the selection.

If you are in the Marketing Plan module, you will see the following “Sample Selection Menu” where you can choose a sample plan for each economic sector:

If you are in the Business Plan module, you will see a similar “Sample Selection Menu”, but you will also have a choice to see a sample of either a “New” or “Existing” business for each sector.

Each selection has a unique sample plan for a business that fits that sector.  The Business Plan module offers ten sample plans and the Marketing Plan module offers five sample plans. All sample plans are available in Lotus Word Pro® format, Microsoft Word® format, and Smart Plan Editor format.

To access a plan, simply left mouse click on the sector icon you wish to see.  The desired sample plan may also be selected with the keyboard by using the <TAB> key to cycle through the different fields and using the <ENTER> key to launch the selection.

Once the desired type of sample plan is selected, you will see the following dialog box allowing you to select which word processor you would like to use:

You can then view the selected sample plan complete with “Tables” and “Graphs” as a single document.  These sample plan documents are examples of the compiled business plans or marketing plans, which will be generated by Smart Business Plan® 8.0.  The data used in the sample plans are the same as example “Text” and “Tables” used in Plan Composer for each sector.

You may edit, save and print the sample plans using the capabilities of the word processor of your choice, such as Lotus Word Pro® 97, and Millennium, Microsoft Word® 97, and 2000, or Smart Plan Editor.  With Microsoft Word® and Lotus Word Pro®, you have the option to save each sample plan document in other formats if you desire to open the document in another word processor application.

Note: If you are using Smart Plan Editor to view the sample business plans, the document will be divided into 3 different sections: Cover Page and Table of Contents, Portrait Pages, and Landscape Pages. Selecting “Print” from the “File” menu will print out the entire sample business plan as a single document. Please see the Smart Plan Editor help file for more information on these three sections.


Creating a New Business Plan / Marketing Plan

To create a new plan, simply left mouse click on the “Start a new plan” icon from the start menu.  To access this selection by keyboard use the <TAB> key to cycle through the different options until the “Start a new plan” icon is selected, then depress the <ENTER> key to launch the selection.

Once “Start a new plan” is selected, a short “Question and Answer” session (Plan Profile Interview) will start to determine the “Profile” of your plan.  This interactive session guides you through the basic information required to produce your plan.   The questions include the type of business sector (and if your business is "Existing” or “New" when Business Plan module is selected), the name of business, name of file and path for saving your Business Plan or Marketing Plan, the current year or first year of business, number of projected years, fiscal year ending month or starting month of the business, plan cover page information, and other questions for customizing tables within your plan.  The “Instruction” box on the bottom of screen includes instructions for answering each question.

Once this session is complete, a customized template for the selected type of business will be generated in Plan Composer.  You can then continue with writing your plan using extensive instructions and example text, tables and graphs to create an elaborate, custom-made plan.

Your answer to “Industry Type” (and the “Existing / New” selection in Business Plan module) in first set of question determines the way the plan will be structured and are considered as the foundation on which Smart Business Plan® 8.0 will build your plan.


Business Plan / Marketing Plan Composer

The Plan Composer is divided into three central areas.  The top right side of the screen is where your text/tables are typed/filled.  The heading in this area reflects which section of your plan with which the text/table refers.  The tabs indicate either “text” or “table” associated with the section of the plan.  The “table” tab will be disabled if there is no table associated with a particular section.

The bottom right area of the screen illustrates one of three options: instructions for the text area above, sample text for that section or a sample table.  The bottom left side of the screen is the table of contents for the plan.  The Business Plan/Marketing Plan uses a simple menu/tree control called Plan Navigator as its main navigation function; this menu illustrates all chapters and sections of your plan.  Right mouse click over chapter or section names in this navigation control offers various functions; these functions are explained in detail in the How to Navigate Your Plan section of this Help file.

The name of selected chapters and sections can be viewed in status bar of Plan Composer as you navigate through different chapters and sections of your plan.  If a section includes a table and/or graph, the table and graph icon will be visible in the status bar of the screen.

The icons on the far left are the command tools.  A “tool tip” with the description of its function will appear as the cursor is moved over each icon.

Changing the view of the screen is as simple as clicking on one of the three view icons.

  “View All” is the default view of the Plan Composer area.  Selection of this view option will allow you to view the Plan Navigator, Instructions/Examples window, and the workspace window at the same time.

  “Hide Navigator” hides the Plan Navigator on the left for a larger view of the Instructions/Examples of the selected section.

  “Expand Workspace” maximizes your workspace.

  Increases/decreases the “zoom” percentage of the workspace.

The above three views and zoom control can also be adjusted by selecting “View” from the menu bar.  “Zoom to 100%” is the default view while “Zoom To” offers different degrees of zoom.

     Allows you to scroll through the sections of your plan one at a time.

     Allows you to scroll through those sections of your plan with a table.

You may also select “Previous Section”, ”Next Section”, “Previous Table” and ”Next Table” from the “View” option on the menu bar to navigate through the sections.

To access the help file for various items within the Plan Composer, select one of the following options:

How to Navigate Your Plan

Using Examples and Instructions

Text Within Your Plan

Tables Within Your Plan

Creating/Editing Graphs

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Customizing Your Plan


How to Navigate Your Plan

The Plan Navigator is your table of contents for your plan.  You can click on any “+” or “-“ to expand or collapse the sections in each chapter.  Sections and chapters can be “moved up and down” by right mouse click on a section/chapter or by using the “Customize” option on the menu bar.

Sections and chapters can be renamed by double clicking on the section/chapter name.  Sections/chapters can also be added or deleted by right mouse click function over the selected section/chapter or through the “Customize” option located on the menu bar.

Note:  Selection of “Delete” section or chapter will permanently remove the selected section or chapter from your plan. A new section or chapter can always be added to your plan, but you will not be able to recover what you have deleted.   However, you will not be able to delete any section that contains a table. If you do not want to show a section in your plan, “Exclude” may be a better choice.  This option will exclude the selected section(s) from your compiled plan, but does not delete them.

To Exclude sections or to mark them as In Progress or Complete is as easy as a right mouse click over the chosen section and selecting the “Status” option, or using the “Customize” function from the menu bar.

     Allows you to scroll through the sections of your plan one at a time.  You may also select “Previous Section” or ”Next Section” from the “View” option on the menu bar to navigate through the sections.

     Allows you to scroll through those sections of your plan with a table.  You may also select “Previous Table” or ”Next Table” from the “View” option on the menu bar to navigate through the sections containing table(s).

  If a section include more than one table you will see the “Tables” icon when the table tab is selected.  Depressing this icon opens a menu showing list of tables in the selected section.  To view each table in the section, select the table name from the displayed menu.

To access the help file for other items within the Plan Composer , select one of the following options:

Using Examples and Instructions

Text Within Your Plan

Tables Within Your Plan

Creating/Editing Graphs

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Customizing Your Plan


Using Examples and Instructions

The “Instructions” and “Examples” area of the Plan Composer provides detailed help in completing the associated section.  Each set of “Instructions” and “Examples” are unique to each section of your plan based upon the selected economic sector when you first start a new plan (see Creating a New Business Plan / Marketing Plan section of this help file).

Three Radio Buttons along the top of the section help you toggle between “Instructions”, “Example Text” and “Example Tables”.  Selection can be made by mouse click on any of the radio buttons, or by selecting the desired option from the “View” menu bar.

The “Instructions” explain the purpose and how to write your text for the selected section.

The Example Text displayed in the Instructions/Example window is from the Business or Marketing Plan of a Sample Business for the selected section.  You can copy and paste from the “Example Text” into your plan text area by selecting “Edit” and the “Copy/Paste” option from the menu bar.  The selected “Example Text” can also be copied and pasted by right mouse click, and selecting the ”Copy” or “Paste” option.

The Business Plan module includes ten Sample Plans and the Marketing Plan module offers an additional five Sample Plans.  Each sample plan is associated with a particular business sector complete with tables and graphs.  To access the complete sample plans for each sector please refer to Opening a Sample  Business Plan / Marketing Plan section of this help file.

When you first start a new plan and select the business sector best suited for your business, Smart Business Plan® 8.0 associates a “Sample Plan” that most closely fit your business, and displays each section of that plan in the “Example Text” window of “Plan Composer” as you navigate through your working Business or Marketing Plan.

If there happens to be a “Table” associated with a section, the selection of Example Table radio button will display the related table of the Business or Marketing Plan of the Sample Business.  The cells in the displayed table are locked and you can not copy/paste the data into your plan template tables.

To view an Example Graph associated with an Example Table please refer to Creating/Editing Graphs section of this help file.

To access the help file for other items within the Plan Composer, select one of the following options:

How to Navigate Your Plan

Text Within Your Plan

Tables Within Your Plan

Creating/Editing Graphs

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Customizing Your Plan


Text within Your Plan

Writing your plan is as easy as clicking in the text area and starting to type.

The [image] in the upper right area will launch the program Word Processor module where you can make simple adjustments to font, layout, etc.  The Word Processor module can also be launched from the “Tools” menu.

When the Word Processor option is selected, the text entered in the text window of Plan Composer is automatically transferred to the Word Processor module.  By closing this module and returning back to Plan Composer, all edited and/or added text is automatically transferred to text window for the selected section of your plan.

By clicking  [image] or [image] you can work your way through the text portion in each section of your plan. You may also select “Previous Section” or ”Next Section” from the “View” option on the menu bar to navigate through the sections.

To Exclude sections or to mark them as In Progress or Complete is as easy as a right mouse click over the chosen section and selecting the “Status” option, or using the “Customize” function from the menu bar.

For further information please refer to How to Navigate Your Plan section of this help file.

Be sure to use the “Instructions” and “Examples” in the bottom right if you have any questions about a particular section.  They are specific to each section of your plan. The Example Text displayed in the Instructions/Example window is from the Business or Marketing Plan of a Sample Business for the selected section.  You can copy and paste from the “Example Text” into your plan text area by selecting “Edit” and the “Copy/Paste” option from the menu bar.  The selected “Example Text” can also be copied and pasted by right mouse click, and selecting the ”Copy” or “Paste” option.

The Business Plan module includes ten Sample Plans and the Marketing Plan module offers an additional five Sample Plans.  Each sample plan is associated with a particular business sector complete with tables and graphs.  To access the complete sample plans for each sector please refer to Opening a Sample  Business Plan / Marketing Plan section of this help file.

To access the help file for other items within the Plan Composer, select one of the following options:

How to Navigate Your Plan

Using Examples and Instructions

Tables Within Your Plan

Creating/Editing Graphs

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Customizing Your Plan


Tables within Your Plan

Filling your “Tables” is as easy as clicking on the “Table Tab” in the upper right corner of the Plan Composer screen.  The “Table Tab” will be disabled if there is no table associated with the particular section you are working on.

To view the list of tables within the Business Plan or Marketing Plan that you are working on, select “View” from the menu bar and the “List of Tables” option from the displayed menu.

     On the tool bar also allows you to scroll through those sections of your plan with a table.

  If a section includes more than one table you will see the “Tables” icon when the table tab is selected.  Clicking on this icon opens a menu showing the list of tables in the selected section.  To view each table in the section, select the table name from the displayed menu.

If there happens to be a graph associated with a particular table, a [image] will appear in the upper right corner.  Clicking on this icon (or selection from the “Tools” menu) launches the Graph Generator automatically.  For help on using the Graph Generator please refer to Creating/Editing Graphs section of this help file.

All table cells marked in “Blue” colored font are Unlocked Cells.  These cells are open for you to input your information.  If you used the wizard to create your business plan, these cells will already be completed.  Editing them is as simple as clicking on the cell and typing.

All table cells marked in “Black” colored font are Locked Cells.  These cells are locked since they contain a Formula , Smart Business Plan® 8.0 will fill them for you based upon the entered data in the Unlocked Cells.

All table cells that are marked in “Black” and are in “Italic” font are Locked Cells.   These cells are locked since they contain Link to other tables, Smart Business Plan® 8.0 will fill them for you based upon the entered data in other tables within the working plan.

Most tables in Business Plan and Marketing Plan include built-in “Links” and “Formulas” for your convenience.  These cells will automatically total and calculate the information you provide in the Unlocked Cells marked in “Blue” color font.  If you used the Wizard to create your business plan, these cells will already be completed.  Editing them is as simple as clicking on the cell and typing.

The [image] in the upper right area will launch the program Spreadsheet module where you can make additional formatting, etc.  Selecting “Tools” from the menu bar can also launch the Spreadsheet.   While in the Spreadsheet you can restore the table to it’s original format (Links and Cell Formats) by selecting “Restore Table” under “File” in the menu bar.  Be aware that this selection will erase all entered Data/Formulas for this particular table.

To find out which cell and table is linked to a particular cell in the table you are working on, click right mouse on the selected cell, and choose “View Cell Link”.  This function is also available from the menu bar by selecting “View” and then “View Cell Link” from the displayed menu.  You can then view the cell number, table number and table name from the message box.  If you wish to advance to the linked table, select “Go to” from the message box.

Cell “Links” and “Formulas” can also be viewed in the Formula Bar within the Spreadsheet module.

Smart Business Plan® 8.0 provides the ability for advanced users to unlock the table cells.  To unlock cells in the current table your are working on, select “Customize” and “Unlock Cells” from the menu bar (you can also unlock cells while working within the spreadsheet module).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Use of the unlocking cell function is not recommended since the “Links” and “Formulas” are no longer protected and vulnerable.  Erasing or altering “Links” and “Formulas” may have damaging consequences to the financial output of your plan.

The “Unlock Cell” function will only unlock the table of the section you are in temporarily.  When you change sections, the cells are then “Locked” again.

To hide (or unhide) rows or columns, select the rows or columns you want to hide (or unhide), right mouse click on the selected area, and choose an option from the displayed menu, OR on the “Edit” menu point to either Row or Column, and then click Hide (or Unhide).

To adjust the column width, select the column you want to adjust, right mouse click on the selected area, and choose “Column Width” from the displayed menu.  This function can also be accessed from the “Edit” menu.

Be sure to use the “Instructions” and “Example Table” in the bottom right if you have any questions about a particular table.  They are specific to each section of your plan. The Example Table displayed in the Instructions/Example window is from the Business or Marketing Plan of a Sample Business for the selected section.

The Business Plan module includes ten Sample Plans and the Marketing Plan module offers an additional five Sample Plans.  Each sample plan is associated with a particular business sector complete with tables and graphs.  To access the complete sample plans for each sector please refer to Opening a Sample Business Plan / Marketing Plan section of this help file.

To access the help file for other items within the Plan Composer, select one of the following options:

How to Navigate Your Plan

Using Examples and Instructions

Text Within Your Plan

Creating/Editing Graphs

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Customizing Your Plan


Creating/Editing Graphs

If there happens to be a graph associated with a particular table, a [image] will appear in the upper right corner.  Clicking on this icon (or selection from the “Tools” menu) launches the Graph Generator automatically.

Once the graph generator is launched you can then view the default graph generated by the program for the associated table.  To edit the graph click the right mouse any where on the graph and select an option from the displayed menu.

By selecting “Chart designer” you can change the type of chart, edit the axis, adjust the view, etc.

Choosing “Edit Chart Data” allows you to make any adjustments to the selected cells for generating the displayed graph.

If you hold down the “Ctrl” button on your keyboard while pressing the left mouse button, you can adjust the position of the graph to your desired view.

Once you have completed editing the graph select “Save” and then “Close” to return back to the section you where working on. You can always change the displayed graph with the default graph by selecting “Default Graph” button.

To view the sample graph associated with the sample table for the section you are working on, select the “Sample Graph” button.  To return back to the graph associated with the table are working on, select “My Graph” button.

All graphs associated with Business Plan and Marketing Plan tables use pre-defined cells for generating the graph.  If you prefer to use different cells than default values, select the desired cells prior to launching the Graph Generator. Once the graph generator is launched you can then edit the graph by right mouse click anywhere on the graph and selecting an option from the displayed menu.

For detailed information on editing the displayed graph, please refer to Graph Generator Help included in this help file.

To access the help file for other items within the Plan Composer , select one of the following options:

How to Navigate Your Plan

Using Examples and Instructions

Text Within Your Plan

Tables Within Your Plan

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Customizing Your Plan


Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Many of the variables, which determine the income (or future income), are subject to some type of likelihood rather than known certainty.  If the value of the total sales changes in a given period, so will the total income for the same period.  With Sensitivity Analysis you will determine, what are the exact amount of changes in the income, when one of the variables such as sales, variable costs (or its components), or fixed costs (or its components) are changed.

The Sensitivity Analysis table starts with the most probable or “tentative” values as a base, and then a series of “If - Then” questions.  It is usually done by changing one variable and keeping the rest constant.  This analysis can be used to test how sensitive the level of income is to variable changes, when you change one variable and keep the rest constant.

In some cases you may want to consider changes in more than one variable.  In such cases you will be performing Scenario Analysis rather than Sensitivity Analysis.  For instance if the total sales is decreased and the variable costs are also lowered (proportionate to the number of units sold), what will happen to the level of income?  Or if you change all the variables in a frame of a scenario, then what will be the level of income?

If you choose to use the table for Scenario Analysis, you may assign percentage changes to more than one or all of the variables.  This will enable you to compare the income values and other values to the “intended” values.

The “intended” data in this table is loaded from the Cash Flow and Income Statement.  The Operating Income is calculated by excluding the Taxes and Net Interest in the Total Costs.  The Net Interest is the difference between the Total Interest Paid and the Total Interest Earned.

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis is only available in the Business Plan Module.

To access the help file for other items within the Plan Composer , select one of the following options:

How to Navigate Your Plan

Using Examples and Instructions

Text Within Your Plan

Tables Within Your Plan

Creating/Editing Graphs

Customizing Your Plan


Customizing Your Plan

While working inside the Plan Composer , there are several ways to customize your plan.  By right mouse clicking on any one of the sections/chapters in the Plan Navigator , or by clicking on “Customize” in the Menu Bar, you can “add” or “delete” sections/chapters, move them up and down or rename them.  The Plan Navigator functions as your “Table of Contents” for your working plan.  Moving or altering sections and chapters changes their placement in the final output document.

Note:  Selection of “Delete” section or chapter will permanently remove the selected section or chapter from your plan. A new section or chapter can always be added to your plan, but you will not be able to recover what you have deleted.   If you do not want to show a section in your plan, “Exclude” may be a better choice.  This option will exclude the selected section(s) from your compiled plan, but does not delete them.

To Exclude sections or to mark them as In Progress or Complete is as easy as a right mouse click over the chosen section and selecting the “Status” option, or using the “Customize” function from the menu bar.

For detail information please refer to How to Navigate Your Plan section included in this help file.

The selection of the Compile Plan function while working in Plan Composer will assemble and compile all text, tables and graphs that you have worked on in Plan Composer as a single document and will send it to your word processor of choice (Lotus Word Pro®, Microsoft Word®, or Smart Plan Editor) complete with the table of contents and Cover Page , ready for printing.   While viewing your plan in your word processor, you can make additional adjustments to your final plan such as inserting additional tables, text, graph, logos, etc.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Any changes made to your plan within your word processor will not transfer back to Plan Composer.  For more information please refer to Compiling Your Plan section included in this help file.

To adjust some of the default values in Smart Business Plan® 8.0, select “File” and then “Preference” from the menu bar.  The following menu will be displayed:

All adjustments made in this menu will be saved while working in your current plan and each time you start the Smart Business Plan® 8.0.

To access the help file for other items within the Plan Composer , select one of the following options:

How to Navigate Your Plan

Using Examples and Instructions

Text Within Your Plan

Tables Within Your Plan

Creating/Editing Graphs

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis


Compiling Your Plan

  When you have completed your plan in Plan Composer or just wish to see a draft of entire plan or selected chapter(s), click on the Compile Plan icon or select “File” and then “Compile Plan” from the menu bar.  The following menu will be displayed:

You can now select to compile the entire plan or selected chapter(s) of your plan.  The table of contents and cover page will only be produced if the “All Chapters” option is selected.

Smart Business Plan® will then ask you what word processor you would like to use to view and edit your compiled plan. The following dialog box will be displayed:

If you have Microsoft Word® 97 or 2000, or Lotus Word Pro® 97 or Millennium, you may choose either one to view, edit and print your final compiled business or marketing plan document. If not, you may choose the Smart Plan Editor to edit and print your compiled plan. Based upon your selection Smart Business Plan® 8.0 will calculate, analyze and process the data for each section you have worked on in the Plan Composer.

The process of compiling the plan may take some time, depending upon the speed of your computer and the number of chapters selected.

Once this process is completed, you will be able to view your plan as a single document in your selected word processor, ready for printing.

Compiling Your Plan in Microsoft Word®

Compiling Your Plan in Lotus Word Pro®

Compiling Your Plan in Smart Plan Editor

Editing, Saving and Printing Your Compiled Plan


Compiling Your Plan in Microsoft Word®

You can compile your final business and marketing plan documents in Microsoft Word® 97 or 2000, if properly installed on your computer.  The final output is a professional-looking document complete with text, tables, charts, cover page, and table of contents.

The process of compiling plans in Microsoft Word® is through a unique process using a special macro included with the Smart Business Plan® 8.0.  If you have enabled macros in Microsoft Word®, the business plan will compile automatically and you will be presented with your final, professional copy of your business plan.  However, if you have disabled macros, you will see the following warning screen:

To compile your plan successfully, click on “Enable Macros”.  Selection of “Disable Macros” will not run the special macro included with the program, and you will not be able to compile your plan.

To enable or disable macros in Microsoft Word® 97, click on the “Tools” in the menu bar, then select “Options”.  Once the “Options” dialog box appears, select the tab labeled “General”.  You should see the following:

When the checkbox labeled “Macro virus protection” has a checkmark, macros are disabled and Smart Business Plan® will not be able to compile your business plan successfully.  When there is no checkmark, macros are enabled and your business plan will compile successfully.  Simply click in the checkbox to enable/disable macros as needed.

If you are using Microsoft Word® 2000, you may have to adjust the security setting.  If your security setting is set to “High”, no macros are allowed to run and Smart Business Plan® will not be able to compile your business plan successfully.

To change this, start Microsoft Word® 2000, and select the “Tools” menu. Select “Macros”, then select “Security.” You should see the following dialog box:

Check that your security level is set to “Medium” or “Low” and click on “OK”.  If you set your security level to “Medium” and compile your business plan again, you will see a dialog box similar to the following:

Click on “Enable Macros” and your business plan will be successfully compiled within Microsoft Word® 2000.  If you set your security level to “Low” and compile your business plan again, you should not see any warnings and your plan will be compiled automatically.

While viewing your plan in Microsoft Word®, you can make additional adjustments to your final plan such as inserting additional tables, text, graphs, logos, etc.  You can also save your plan in multiple formats compatible with variety of other word processors.  You can also save your final plan document in HTML format for publishing to an Intranet or the Internet. To save your plan document or save as other formats, select “File” and then “Save” or “Save As” from the file menu.

While viewing your compiled plan Microsoft Word®, you may notice a series of extra lines in your document.  These are just gridlines and will not affect the final output of your business plan. To deactivate the gridlines in Microsoft Word®, select the “Table” menu, and click on “Hide Gridlines.”

Printing your plan is as simple as left mouse clicking on “File” from the menu bar and selecting “Print”.  Your plan is already formatted with a “Cover Page”, “Table of Contents” and page numbers throughout.

You may print an entire document or part of a document to an installed printer.  You can print part of a document by specifying a list of pages that are not consecutive, for example, you can print pages 1-4, 7, 13-16, and 20.

In addition, you can print a document to a file, so you can print the document from a computer that does not have Microsoft Word® installed.

Please note that when you add or edit text of your final plan document in Microsoft Word®, the “Table of Contents” may not display the correct page numbers. To update the table of contents with correct page numbers, click right mouse button on the “Table of Contents”, and select the option labeled “Update Table of Contents”.  Your page numbers will now change to reflect the right pages.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Any changes made to your plan within Microsoft Word®, will not transfer back to the Plan Composer.

For more information, please refer to the Microsoft Word® help file.  For other related help topics, select one of the following options:

Compiling Your Plan

Compiling Your Plan in Lotus Word Pro®

Compiling Your Plan in Smart Plan Editor

Editing, Saving and Printing Your Compiled Plan


Compiling Your Plan in Lotus Word Pro®

You can compile your final business and marketing plan documents in Lotus Word Pro® 97 or Millennium, if properly installed on your computer.  The final output is a professional-looking document complete with text, tables, charts, cover page, and table of contents.

While viewing your plan in Lotus Word Pro® you can make additional adjustments to your final plan such as inserting additional tables, text, graphs, logos, etc.  You can also save your final plan document in HTML format for publishing to an Intranet or the Internet. To save your plan document or save as other formats, select “File” and then “Save” or “Save As” from the file menu.

Printing your plan is as simple as left mouse clicking on “File” from the menu bar and selecting “Print”.  Your plan is already formatted with a “Cover Page”, “Table of Contents” and page numbers throughout.

You may print an entire document or part of a document to an installed printer.  You can print part of a document by specifying a list of pages that are not consecutive, for example, you can print pages 1-4, 7, 13-16, and 20.

In addition, you can print a document to a file, so you can print the document from a computer that does not have Lotus Word Pro®, installed.

Please note that when you add or edit text of your final plan document in Lotus Word Pro®, the “Table of Contents” may not display the correct page numbers.  To update the table of contents with correct page numbers, click right mouse button on the “Table of Contents”, and select the option labeled “Update Table of Contents”.  Your page numbers will now change to reflect the right pages.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Any changes made to your plan within Lotus Word Pro® will not transfer back to the Plan Composer.

For more information, please refer to the Lotus Word Pro® help file.  For other related help topics, select one of the following options:

Compiling Your Plan

Compiling Your Plan in Microsoft Word®

Compiling Your Plan in Smart Plan Editor

Editing, Saving and Printing Your Compiled Plan


Compiling Your Plan in Smart Plan Editor

You can also compile your final business and marketing plan documents in stand alone word processor application included with Smart Business Plan® 8.0, called Smart Plan Editor.  The final output is a professional-looking document complete with text, tables, charts, cover page, and table of contents.  If you choose to use the Smart Plan Editor, your compiled document will be divided into three parts: Table of Contents and Cover Page, Portrait Pages, and Landscape Pages.  Selecting “Print” from the “File” menu will print out your entire document as a single document.  To read more about switching between the different sections, please see the Smart Editor Help File.

If your compiled business or marketing plan only has portrait pages:

You will see the following prompt:

If your compiled business or marketing plan includes both portrait and landscape pages:

You will see the following prompt:

Click on “OK”, and you can continue viewing, editing, and printing your completed plan.

To switch between the three different views, click on the appropriate Portrait, Landscape or Table of Contents buttons (if present):

  -  Switches to Portrait pages.

  -  Switches to Landscape pages.

  -  Switches to the Cover Page and Table of Contents.

If you chose to only compile a certain range of chapters, your final document will not include cover page and table of contents and “Table of Contents” icon will not be visible while viewing your plan.

To print out your business or marketing plan, simply click on the “File” menu and select “Print”, and all pages will be printed out automatically.

To save your plan, simply click on the “Save” button, or select “File” and then “Save”, you will be prompted to give a name to your plan document.  Compiled plan documents in Smart Plan Editor are given the extension .CPD and can only be opened from the Smart Plan Editor.

Please note that when you add or edit text of your final plan document in Smart Plan Editor, the Table of Contents page will not be updated automatically.  You must update the Table of Contents manually.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Any changes made to your plan within Smart Plan Editor will not transfer back to the Plan Composer.

For more information on Smart Plan Editor, please refer to the Smart Plan Editor help file.  For other related help topics, select one of the following options:

Compiling Your Plan

Compiling Your Plan in Microsoft Word®

Compiling Your Plan in Lotus Word Pro®

Editing, Saving and Printing Your Compiled Plan


Editing, Saving and Printing Your Compiled Plan

While viewing your plan in the selected word processor programs, you can make additional adjustments to your final plan such as inserting additional tables, text, graphs, logos, etc.

Using Lotus Word Pro® or Microsoft Word®

Lotus Word Pro® 97 or Millennium, and Microsoft Word® 97 or 2000 allow you to save your plan in multiple formats compatible with other word processor applications, including “HTML” format for publishing to an “Intranet” or the “Internet”.   To save your plan document or save as other formats, select “File” and then “Save” or “Save As” from the file menu.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Any changes made to your plan within your selected word processor will not transfer back to Plan Composer. If you are using Microsoft Word® to edit your business/marketing plan, you will not have an option to return to the Plan Composer. To return, exit Microsoft Word®, start Smart Business Plan® and open your last edited file.

Printing your plan is as simple as left mouse clicking on “File” from the menu bar and selecting “Print”. Your plan is already formatted with a “Cover Page”, “Table of Contents” and page numbers throughout.

You may print an entire document or part of a document to an installed printer. You can print part of a document by specifying a list of pages that are not consecutive, for example, you can print pages 1-4, 7, 13-16, and 20.

In addition, you can print a document to a file, so you can print the document from a computer that does not have Word Pro® or Microsoft Word® installed.

With Microsoft Word® or Lotus Word Pro®, you can print a document:

•	In reverse order

•	With crop marks

•	Without pictures

•	With comment notes

•	With unfilled click here blocks and their prompt text

•	On a preprinted form

•	As a booklet

For detailed information, please refer to the appropriate word processor help file.

Using Smart Plan Editor

Compiled plan documents in Smart Plan Editor are given the extension .CPD and can only be opened from the Smart Plan Editor.

When using Smart Plan Editor, your compiled document will be divided into three parts: Table of Contents and Cover Page, Portrait Pages, and Landscape Pages.

Use the following three icons within Smart Plan Editor to switch between the different sections of your document:

 Table of Contents - Lets you view your Table of Contents and Cover Page.

 Portrait Pages - Lets you view your portrait pages.

 Landscape Pages - Lets you view your landscape pages.

If you do not have any landscape pages within your document, the “Landscape” icon will not be visible.  If you chose to only compile a certain range of chapters, your final document will not include cover page and table of contents and “Table of Contents” icon will not be visible while viewing your plan.

To print out your business or marketing plan, simply click on the “File” menu and select “Print”, and all pages will be printed out automatically.

To save your plan, simply click on the “Save” button, or select “File” and then “Save”, you will be prompted to give a name to your plan document.  Compiled plan documents in Smart Plan Editor are given the extension .CPD and can only be opened from the Smart Plan Editor.

Please note that when you add or edit text of your final plan document in Smart Plan Editor, the Table of Contents page will not be updated automatically.  You must update the Table of Contents manually.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Any changes made to your plan within Smart Plan Editor will not transfer back to the Plan Composer.

For more information on Smart Plan Editor, please refer to the Smart Plan Editor help file.

For other related help topics, select one of the following options:

Compiling Your Plan

Compiling Your Plan in Microsoft Word®

Compiling Your Plan in Lotus Word Pro®

Compiling Your Plan in Smart Plan Editor


Creating a New Business Plan Using the Wizard

Creating a Business Plan can be done by one of two ways.  You can use the Business Plan module or you can select the Business Plan Wizard to assist you in creating a new plan through an Interactive question and answer session.  For more information on Business Plan module, see Creating a New Business Plan / Marketing Plan.

To start the Business Plan Wizard, simply select “Wizard” from the Main Menu:

The selection of Business Plan Wizard will launch a “Question and Answer” session to gather various information about your company to create a customized Business Plan.

As you answer the first four sets of questions, the “Wizard” will prepare a plan profile and will customize the remaining questions to fit your type of business.

The questions related to plan profile include the name of business, the current year or first year of business, cover page information, number of projected years, fiscal year ending month or starting month of the business, and number of Products or Services, Advertising Mediums, Market Segments and Target Markets.

All questions except for the "Industry Type" (and the "Existing / New" selection) in the first set of questions can be modified during the question and answer session.

Once the “Question and Answer” session is complete, Smart Business Plan® 8.0 will analyze and populate all the financial and market driven tables and will generate a customized Business Plan in “Plan Composer”.  You can then continue with writing your plan using extensive instructions and examples to create an elaborate, custom-made Business Plan.

All questions include specific instructions and examples to assist you in answering them.  To view the examples, select the “example” icon on the bottom of the screen or by selecting “View” and then “example” from the menu bar.

To access the help file for other items related to Business Plan Wizard, select one of the following options:

Question and Answer Sessions

Examples and Instructions

To access the help file for topics related to Plan Composer, select one of the following options:

How to Navigate Your Plan

Using Examples and Instructions

Text Within Your Plan

Tables Within Your Plan

Creating/Editing Graphs

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Customizing Your Plan

Editing, Saving and Printing Your Compiled Plan


Question and Answer Sessions

The selection of Business Plan Wizard will launch a “Question and Answer” session to gather various information about your company for creation of a customized Business Plan.

As you answer the first four sets of questions, the “Wizard” will prepare a plan profile and will customize the remaining questions to fit your type of business.

The questions related to plan profile include the name of business, the current year or first year of business, cover page information, number of projected years, fiscal year ending month or starting month of the business, and number of Products or Services, Advertising Mediums, Market Segments and Target Markets.  The way these first four sets of questions are answered determine the basis on which Smart Business Plan® 8.0 will build your plan.

All questions except for the "Industry Type" (and the "Existing / New" selection) in the first set of questions can be modified during the question and answer session.

The Wizard assumes that an “Existing” business has at least one full year of historical data, and the session will include questions related to data for the last year of business activities.  “New” businesses typically do not have a full year history of business activities, therefore historical data will not be part of the questions.

Determining whether your business is in the “Service”, “Manufacturing”, “Wholesale”, “Retail” or “Custom” (any combination of other four) in the first set of questions is very important since the structure of chapters and sections for each type of business sector is different.  If you are not sure what to choose or if your business is a combination of different sectors, “Custom” is the best option.  Once the “Question and Answer” session is completed and your plan is sent to Plan Composer, you may adjust all chapters and sections of your plan to fit your specific requirements.  For detailed information, please refer to Customizing Your Plan and How to Navigate Your Plan section of this help file.

To name(save) a “Question and Answer” session or open a previous session, select the “Browse” button from the first set of question.  The following menu will be displayed:

Type a file name for the new “Question and Answer” session, or open a previously saved (incomplete) session from the displayed menu.

NOTE:  The file names for completed sessions will not be available from the above menu.

Once a “Question and Answer” session is complete, Smart Business Plan® 8.0 will analyze and populate all the financial and market driven tables, and will generate a customized Business Plan in Plan Composer .  You can then continue with writing your plan using extensive instructions and examples to create an elaborate, custom-made Business Plan.  At that time, your answers are no longer inside the “Wizard”, but inside the “Plan Composer.

The Business Plan file name will be the same as the name specified during the “Question and Answer” session.  To open your business plan, select “Business Plan” from the Main Menu , and the “Open a Business Plan” option from the displayed menu:

For further information, please refer to Starting the Business Plan / Marketing Plan Modules section of this help file.

To advance through the questions click on the “Next” button located on the lower right side of each question screen.  The selection of  the “Back” button will display the previous question.  To navigate by the keyboard use the letter <N> and <B> while pressing the <ALT> key.  You may also navigate through the questions by selecting “View” and then “Next” or “Back” from the menu bar.

The “List of Questions” icon on the lower left side of each question screen will help you both manage and navigate through the “Wizard”.   When you select the “List of Questions” button (or by selecting it from “View” menu), the “List of Questions” dialogue window with two columns will display.  The left side shows the questions you have answered or advanced through.  The right side shows all the incomplete questions remaining in the session.  By clicking on an item on the left side and pressing “Go To”, you can navigate through the questions.

 and  [image]  in the bottom left hand corner of each question are the status indicator of each question.

 appears when a question is “in progress” (or not completed), and

 appears when a question is “completed”.

You may select these icons to change the status of each question.  As the status of each question is changed, the “List of Questions” dialogue window will update automatically.

The Wizard, by default, assumes that when you press “Next”, you have completed that question so it marks it as “completed” in the “List of Questions” dialogue window.  You may change this option by selecting “Preference” from the menu bar.

Once the “Question and Answer” session is complete, Smart Business Plan® 8.0 will analyze and populate all the financial and market driven tables and will generate a customized Business Plan in “Plan Composer”.  You can then continue writing your plan using extensive instructions and examples to create an elaborate, custom-made Business Plan.

To access the help file for other items related to Business Plan Wizard, select one of the following options:

Creating a New Business Plan Using the Wizard

Examples and Instructions

To access the help file for topics related to Plan Composer, select one of the following options:

How to Navigate Your Plan

Using Examples and Instructions

Text Within Your Plan

Tables Within Your Plan

Creating/Editing Graphs

Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Customizing Your Plan

Editing, Saving and Printing Your Compiled Plan


Examples and Instructions

The “Instructions” and “Examples” area for each question provides detailed help in completing the associated question.  Each set of “Instructions” and “Examples” are unique to each question in the session based upon the selected economic sector and the selection of the “Existing / New” option in first set of questions.

By selecting the [image] or [image] icon, you can toggle between “Example” and “Template” for each question.  You may also toggle between these two options by selecting “View” from the menu bar.

The “Instructions” explain the purpose and how to enter data for each set of questions. You can use these “Instructions”  as a guide to clarify what type of information each question is looking for.  All “Instructions” are unique to each question, based upon your selections in first set of questions in the session.


Starting Financial Advisor Module

To start Financial Advisor select “Financial Advisor” from the Main Menu:

Financial Advisor is divided into various chapters and sections. The information contained in this module is a resource for starting a business.  Financial Advisor shows you the techniques for starting a business, acquiring funding, loan types, and how and where to secure a loan.  It supplies extensive information on seeking financial funding and "troubleshooting" tips for starting a business.

With this module, you can find valuable information on the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating and franchising.  Also included are important facts and actual working material on cooperatives, including a step-by-step guide and sample cooperative forms.

An easy-to-use interface provides you with quick access to a library of suggestions and information.

The topics include in Financial Advisor are:

>>> FINANCING YOUR BUSINESS: WHERE TO FIND FUNDING

•	Private Investors

•	Traditional Lenders

•	Small Business Administration (SBA)

•	SBA: 7(a) Loan Guarantee Program

•	SBA: Other Programs

•	SBA: Who is Eligible

•	SBA: How to Apply

•	Venture Capitalists

>>> STEPS TO TAKE BEFORE YOU APPLY FOR A LOAN

•	Six Steps You Can Take to Help Ensure the Banker Approves Your Loan

•	Questions to Consider Before Meeting with a Lender/Investor

•	Seven Important Questions the Lender Will Ask

•	Before You Go to the Bank: Check Your Credit Rating

•	Start Your Document Preparation

•	Checklist of Documents You'll Need to Apply for a Loan

>>> FINDING FUNDING: LISTS OF POSSIBLE SOURCES

•	Members of the Small Business Administration's Certified Lenders Program (CLP) and the Preferred Lenders Program (PLP)

•	Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program Participants -- Alabama to Indiana

•	Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program Participants -- Kansas to New York

•	Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program Participants -- New York to Rhode Island

•	Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program Participants -- South Carolina to West Virginia

•	National Venture Capital Clubs

>>> ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

•	Additional Sources of Information

•	Small Business Administration Offices

•	Small Business Development Centers

For information regarding navigating the Financial Advisor, please refer to How to Navigate the Financial Advisor section included in this help file.


How to Navigate the Financial Advisor

>>> TO FIND A TOPIC IN FINANCIAL ADVISOR:

•	Click the Contents tab to browse through topics by category.  Click the Index tab to see a list of index entries: either type the word you're looking for or scroll through the list.  Click the Find tab to search for words or phrases that may be contained in a topic.

>>> TO COPY INFORMATION FROM A TOPIC IN FINACIAL ADVISOR:

•	In the topic window, click the Edit menu or the Options button, and then click Copy.  You can also use the right mouse button to click inside the topic or pop-up window.

•	In the document where you want the information to appear, click the place where you want to put the information.

•	On the Edit menu, click Paste.

>>> TO PRINT A TOPIC FROM FINANCIAL ADVISOR:

•	In the topic you want to print, click the Print button or the Options button, and then click Print Topic.  You can also use your right mouse button to click inside the topic window, and then click Print Topic.

>>> TO CHANGE THE FONT OR COLOR OF A TOPIC:

•	In the topic window, click Options.  You can also use the right mouse button to click inside the topic window.

•	To change the font size, point to Font, and then click Small, Normal, or Large.

•	To change the color, click Use System Colors.  When prompted to close, click Yes.  When you open the Financial Advisor again, the background color and text will match your system colors.

For more information Financial Advisor, please refer to Starting Financial Advisor Module section included in this help file.


Smart Online Products

Thank you for purchasing one of Smart Online’s business productivity tools. Smart Online, Inc. is dedicated to providing a wide range of business information and practical guidance, supported by solution-oriented productivity tools like Smart Business Plan® 8.0.

Please visit our small-business hub at http://www.smartonline.com and discover exciting new ways to use the Internet through a site that is specifically tailored for your business needs.

Small businesses and their employees want to collect, analyze, and act upon business information delivered in a concise, quick and ready-to-use format. Saving time and reducing complexity allows you to focus more on your core business issues.

Get the information you need when you want it, plus online business tools. Discover how Smart Online™ can help you save time and money, and help your business grow. Smart Online will put you in control of the Internet highway.


Sample Plans

An assembled plan document consisting of the chapters/sections/tables/graphs in a selected business sector.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Example Text

Text from a sample plan exhibited from the same active section/chapter.


Example Table

A table from a sample plan exhibited from the same active section/chapter.


Compile Plan

The process of assembling text, tables and graphs for selected chapter(s) into one single word processor document.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Example Text

Text from a sample plan exhibited from the same active section/chapter.


Example Table

A table from a sample plan exhibited from the same active section/chapter.


Compile Plan

The process of assembling text, tables and graphs for selected chapter(s) into one single word processor document.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Main Menu

The first screen where choice of various modules of Smart Business Plan Suite is presented.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Main Menu

The first screen where choice of various modules of Smart Business Plan Suite is presented.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Navigator

The tree control/menu located in the bottom left of the Plan Composer screen which serves as the table of contents and navigation menu for your plan.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Navigator

The tree control/menu located in the bottom left of the Plan Composer screen which serves as the table of contents and navigation menu for your plan.


Exclude

To prevent a chapter or section from printing.  This function does not delete the chapter or section.


In Progress

The status of a chapter or section not yet completed.


Complete

The status of a chapter or section completed.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Example Text

Text from a sample plan exhibited from the same active section/chapter.


Sample Plans

An assembled plan document consisting of the chapters/sections/tables/graphs in a selected business sector.


Example Table

A table from a sample plan exhibited from the same active section/chapter.


Example Graph

A graph from a sample plan exhibited from the same active section/chapter.


Word Processor

A separate module (tool) that provides additional features/functions for editing text.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Exclude

To prevent a chapter or section from printing.  This function does not delete the chapter or section.


In Progress

The status of a chapter or section not yet completed.


Complete

The status of a chapter or section completed.


Example Text

Text from a sample plan exhibited from the same active section/chapter.


Sample Plans

An assembled plan document consisting of the chapters/sections/tables/graphs in a selected business sector.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Graph Generator

A separate module (tool) where graphs are edited and customized.


Unlocked Cells

Cells that are unprotected and may be edited or altered.  Unlocked Cells in all tables are marked in "Blue" colored font, and are open for user data input.


Locked Cells

Cells that are protected and can not be edited or altered.  Locked Cells in all tables are marked in "Black" colored font, and contain formulas.  All table cells that are marked in "Black" and "Italic" font are also Locked Cells, and contain "Links" to other tables.  These cells will be filled automatically based upon the entered data in other tables.


Formula

An expression that can contain any combination of numbers, bookmarks that refer to numbers, fields resulting in numbers, and the available operators and functions. The expression can refer to values in a table and values returned by functions.


Link

The method to copy data from one cell (the source) to another cell (the destination).  When the data in the source cell is changed, the destination cell is updated automatically.


Wizard

An interactive question and answer module where financial and marketing data is collected, analyzed and processed for a Business Plan.


Spreadsheet

A separate module (tool) that provides additional features/functions for editing tables.


Formula Bar

A bar near the top of the window in the Spreadsheet, that displays constant value or formula used in the active cell.


Example Table

A table from a sample plan exhibited from the same active section/chapter.


Sample Plans

An assembled plan document consisting of the chapters/sections/tables/graphs in a selected business sector.


Graph Generator

A separate module (tool) where graphs are edited and customized.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Navigator

The tree control/menu located in the bottom left of the Plan Composer screen which serves as the table of contents and navigation menu for your plan.


Exclude

To prevent a chapter or section from printing.  This function does not delete the chapter or section.


In Progress

The status of a chapter or section not yet completed.


Complete

The status of a chapter or section completed.


Compile Plan

The process of assembling text, tables and graphs for selected chapter(s) into one single word processor document.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Cover Page

The first page of a plan which introduces the subject matter and usually provides author related information.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Compile Plan

The process of assembling text, tables and graphs for selected chapter(s) into one single word processor document.


Wizard

An interactive question and answer module where financial and marketing data is collected, analyzed and processed for a Business Plan.


Main Menu

The first screen where choice of various modules of Smart Business Plan Suite is presented.


Wizard

An interactive question and answer module where financial and marketing data is collected, analyzed and processed for a Business Plan.


Plan Composer

The main work area for Smart Business Plan Suite where text/tables are completed, examples/instructions are displayed and plan navigation is used.


Main Menu

The first screen where choice of various modules of Smart Business Plan Suite is presented.


Main Menu

The first screen where choice of various modules of Smart Business Plan Suite is presented.