In this article:
Once you've created your first company in LivePlan, you're free to work on your business plan, forecast and pitch in any order you like. This guide will show you the different sections of the LivePlan app and what each one does so that you can find your way around more quickly.
The Sidebar
Everything starts with the sidebar that runs along the left side of your LivePlan window. Click on any section to access that section:
The Guide section
The Guide is a structured path that leads you through the essential stages of crafting your business plan, from defining your business opportunity to forecasting your financial needs. Whether working solo or with a team, the Guide provides a quick snapshot of where you are in the planning process.
To learn more about using the Guide, check out this article: LivePlan Guide & Progress Indicators
The Pitch section
Here's where you can build a Pitch or a quick, one-page picture of your business idea. See how some additional menu items are along the top of the screen? Just click on those to access them:
To start building your Pitch, check out this article: Preparing your Pitch.
The Plan section
In the Plan section, you'll do several things:
- Tackle the written parts of your business plan
- Customize your plan's outline
- Download and print your plan
- View any comments your collaborators have left on your plan
- Create and edit plan Milestones
To get started with your plan, see Writing your plan.
The Forecast section
The Forecast section is all about numbers - you'll enter your forecast data here. See the individual pages you can access along the top of this section? Click on them to navigate to the various parts of your forecast.
To get started with your numbers, check out this page: Preparing a forecast.
The Industry Data section
In this section, you can compare the forecast you've built against actual financial data for your industry to ensure that your plan is realistic.
Once you've completed your forecast, check out Using LivePlan's Industry Data.
This feature is available to LivePlan Premium users. To learn more about LivePlan Premium, please click here.
The Dashboard section
The Dashboard will help you greatly once your business is up and running. At that point, you'll be able to import your actual accounting numbers into LivePlan, and compare them against your business plan forecast. This data helps you see how your business is performing against your plan, and make adjustments as you go to keep your business healthy.
Our automated Monthly Review feature is there to help you contextualize what you numbers, while offering helpful insights and suggestions.
When your business is operating, check out Using the LivePlan Dashboard.
This feature is available to LivePlan Premium users. To learn more about LivePlan Premium, please click here.
The Options section
In this section, you can update all the settings of your company, including
- Changing the company name and add notes
- Define your role & company description in LivePlan
- Changing the start date of the forecast
- Changing the forecast length and years of monthly detail
- Changing the currency symbol
- Adjusting the settings for multi-month charges
- Changing the plan language
- Manage existing contributors & guests
Plans can change as you work through them. You can update these settings at any time, as many times as you need.