Upgrade Information
Can I try it ?
You can download evaluation version of
Business Planner
in the
Download page. The evaluation version is active for a few days and doesn't allow printing.
Note: Business Planner newest version is
installed to a different folder than any previous
version and doesn't overwrite it. You can load a plan
that you did with a previous version and it will be
upgraded and copied to sub-folder Plans in the folder of
the software.
What is the Price ?
As a user of a previous version of the Business Planner you are entitled for a special upgrade price
that you can see above.
What's new in Business Planner
19
(2018)
Compressed Plan files (bpfx)
-
Plan files are
now saved to a new file format with .bpfx extension.
This file format is compressed to a much smaller
file size. It saves up to 90% of space and is useful
for backups and when transferring files to another
user or computer.
-
The compressed
plan file can include connected Excel files (see
below).
-
The software
can still load from, and save to, the format of the
previous versions - files with a bpf extension.
Connected Excel files
-
The compressed
plan files can include connected Excel files (if so
selected in the "Settings" screen, in a new "Files
and Backup" tab). If a plan file is sent to another
computer there is no need to send the Excel files
separately.
-
The location
of connected Excel files is now more flexible. If
the software cannot find a connected Excel file in
its original folder it will look for it in the
folder where the plan file is saved to. This is
useful when moving the plan to another computer with
different folders.
-
A color legend
was added to the list of connected Excel files, in
the Excel File Administrator screen. Excel files
that were found in their original folders appear in
black. Excel files that were not found at all appear
as red text. Excel files that were not found in the
original folder, but in the plan folder appear as
blue text.
-
The Loan Table
data can now be connected to an Excel file like all
other data screens.
-
If the
connected Excel file was changed after creating the
connection, the software will analyze the change,
e.g. If a sheet name was changed a warning will be
displayed, if a new sheet was inserted between
existing sheets it will not prevent the software to
load the correct sheet. (However, the software
cannot detect changes done in table structure such
as adding rows or columns between existing ones).
Report Generator – User Defined Reports
-
A report
generator was added and it is combined with the
graph generator (User Defined Graphs). The combined
generator allows the user to select sets of items
from the financial reports, and these sets can now
be used to create both graphs and reports.
-
The
report/graph generator can be accessed from the
Report Table, Graph Table, and from "User Defined
Reports" screen that was added to the Analysis menu.
Automatic Plans Backup
-
Plan files are
now being backed automatically to a backup folder
(under the software folder in Documents). The backup
is done for the current plan at work, every time
that the software is closed or before loading
another plan.
-
A new tab
"Files and Backup" was added to the Settings
(Preferences) screen and allows user to decide if
the automatic backup will be active, what will be
the backup folder, and what will be the maximum
space for the backups (old backups will be deleted
if the maximum space is exceeded).
Export Graphs
-
Graphs can now
be exported to Excel, with their data table, by
clicking the new "Export Graph to Excel" that was
added in each Graph screen.
-
Graphs can now
be easily copied and pasted to Word, or any other
application, by using the new "Copy Graph to
Clipboard" button that was added to each Graph
screen.
Actual vs. Plan Reports
-
Year-end
forecast columns were added to the Actual vs.Plan
P&L, Balance, and Op Cashflow screens.
-
The table
headers in the Actual vs. Plan screens were
reorganized and merged and are now much easier to
read and understand.
-
Descriptions
column in the main Actual vs. Plan screens can be
moved to a new position between the current month
data and the YTD data.
-
User Defined
Ratios are included also in Actual vs. Plan
Financial Ratios screen.
Main Screen Display
A new button with
the name "Settings" was added to the main screen.
Clicking on it opens the Settings screen in a new tab
called "Main Screen" that allows the user to decide what
data and items will be displayed on the background of
the main screen (e.g. the plan name, plan file, buttons,
etc.)
Reports Order
The Report Table
now enables the user to set the order by which the
selected reports will be created in a multiple report
document.
Dynamic Export to Excel
-
The Dynamic
Export to Excel screen now includes a feature
enabling the user to decide if the selected reports
will be generated each on a separate sheet (as it
was in previous versions) or in one continuous
single sheet, one below the other.
-
The user can
now set the order by which the selected reports will
be created in the Excel file (identical to the same
feature in Report Table).
-
Dynamic Export
to Excel was added to Tools menu in the Navigator
and also to the Right-Click popup menu in the main
Analysis screens (P&L, Cash Flow, Balance).
Percentage Analysis and Index Analysis
-
The Balance
and Operating Cashflow screens, in Analysis module,
now include the tabs that enable the user to display
Percentage Analysis and Index Analysis (similar to
the features in the Profit and Loss screen).
-
Percentage
Analysis in the Balance shows each item as
percentage of Total Assets. In the Operating
Cashflow it shows each item as percentage of Total
Cash In or Total Cash Out.
-
The Index
Analysis shows each item in each year as percentage
of its value in the first plan year.
Depreciation Report
A Depreciation
Report was added to the Investment Plan screen (in
Analysis module, Plan Details sub-menu) and it shows the
amount of depreciation for each investment in each of
the plan periods.
Financial Parameters Screen
-
The Financial
Parameters screen was reorganized and include tabs
for the main groups of items that are included in
this screen.
-
Several items
in this screen now enable the user to set VAT rate:
Intangible Assets, Other Income, Other Expenses.
Start New Year
The Start New Year
module was enhanced and improved to enable moving a
current plan to a new year plan more easily.
Import Actual Data
The user can now
decide to remove all the data in the Actual Data screens
(Profit and Loss, Balance) before the import is done.
This is useful when user wants to remove all actual data
that was entered manually, or in a previous import, to
items that are not target for the current import.
Setting Current Actual Month
The current actual
month can now be selected not only in the Actual P&L
screen, but also in the General Data screen (Periods
tab), Report Table, Dynamic Export to Excel screen, and
Rolling Forecast screen.
Other new features
-
The Scenario
report now includes the parameters that were set in
the Scenario screen to create this report.
-
The Direct
Cost, in Product Profit Centers and Market Profit
Centers analysis screens, is now detailed by
Material, Labor and Other costs.
-
When changing
a price in Sales Price screen a check will be done,
and if prices were entered in Sales Price tab for
the same product, a warning message will be
displayed for the user to check if these prices
should be changed too.
-
Note: Color
Code column was removed from Actual vs Plan reports,
because it was not clear what was its meaning, and
what data should it reflect (accordingly Color Code
settings were removed from Settings screen).
Technical Improvements
The new version
includes a few technical fixes and improvements, mainly
in the field of faster loading of some screens and
better adaptation to Windows 10 environment.
Features
added in version
18
(2015)
Expert Review
An Expert Review screen has been added to the Analysis
menu. This screen displays a quick assessment of the
business situation according to the plan results, based
on analyzing the profitability and liquidity as they are
reflected in the financial projections.
Unlike the other Analysis screens, the Expert Review
screen doesn't show a table of numbers but presents a
short description from a point of view of an expert who
is trying to summarize the main results of the plan in
just a few sentences. The screen includes also two
graphic indicators that display rates of selected
financial ratios.
Viewer Version
The new version is accompanied by a special Viewer
version that can be given to users who don't have the
software installed but want to review a plan that was
prepared by the software on another computer. The Viewer
version allows anyone to load plans and view the data
and analysis screens. But data entry is not possible. If
the loaded plan was prepared by a licensed version of
the software, the viewer will also allow the user to
print the reports and export them to Excel and word.
On-Line Help
This new feature is active in the financial projections
screens in Analysis menu: Profit and Loss, Operating
Cash flow, Cash flow Statement, Balance and Cash Based
Income Report. It enables you to see specific help for
each item in these screens by moving the mouse cursor
over the item. A small help window pops-up and displays
explanation for the specific item on which the mouse
cursor is positioned.
Direct Cost Details
In the Product Margin screen, in Analysis menu, the
direct cost for each product is now detailed by
Material, Labor and Other Costs, according to the
details in the Products and Cost table.
Comment Display
Most of the screens in the data and analysis sections
include the feature to add a comment to each line in the
screen. A line with comment is marked with a small green
marker in the description cell. In previous version user
had to right-click the cell and choose add/edit comment
from the pop-up menu in order to see the comment. In the
new version, when you move the mouse cursor over the
small green marker in the description cell, the comment
that you entered for this line will be automatically
displayed in a small window on the screen.
Production /
Purchasing Plan
The new Production / Purchasing Plan screen enables to
enter data concerning the production plan, quantity,
inventory and cost changes during the plan period. The
screen is organized in tabs, as follows:
-
Parameters - inventory parameters that are used to
calculate the inventory during the plan period
-
Production / Purchasing - the quantity or value of
the products that will be produced (or purchased,
depending on the business type) in each plan period
-
Product Cost Change - the increase or decrease which
is expected in the product cost during the plan
period.
Sales Plan - Products by Markets
The Sales Plan screen now includes a new feature that
enables the user to select which products are sold in
each market. This is useful because when you plan the
sales for a specific market you see only the relevant
products to that market and not all the products
(as appeared in previous versions). This is also
reflected in the appropriate analysis screens and
reports (e.g. Profit and Loss, Sales Analysis) where
only products that are sold in a market will appear.
Rolling Forecast - Details in Profit and Loss Forecast
The projected Profit and Loss report which is part of
the Rolling Forecast module includes now the details of
the main items (sales, operating expenses, etc.) similar
to the Analysis Profit and Loss and Actual Profit and
Loss screens.
Sum of a Selected Range
When a range of cells is selected in a data screen or an
analysis screen, the status bar at the bottom of the
main screen displays the Sum, Average and Count of the
numbers in the cells in the range, similar to MS-Excel.
In many cases, this is useful for understanding and
validation of the selected data that is entered or
displayed in the screens.
Plan Table - Recent Plans
The Plans Table that appears under File menu, is
reorganized and displays the plans that were recently
used in a more convenient and useful way (similar to
MS-Word recent documents screen).
Network Version
A network version is available now. It enables a group
of users to share plans on a network folder. For more
details please refer to our site or contact us.
Report Customization
The report customization screen was changed so that it
will now be clearer to users. The sample grid preview
was removed because it was confusing to some users. The
results of changes in setup parameters is shown on the
preview of the report after clicking the OK button, as
in previous versions.
Editing Functions
In this version we have added the most used editing
functions: cut, copy and paste, to the pop-up menu that
is displayed when you right click on a cell or a
selected range of cells in the Data screens. In Analysis
screens it is also included but only the copy function
is enabled as cut and paste is not permitted there.
Technical
Improvements
The new version includes a few technical fixes and
improvements, mainly in the field of faster loading of a
few screens and better adaptation to Windows 7 and
Windows 8 environment.
Features
added in version 2012
Strategy Module
A Strategy module was added to the
software and includes:
-
SWOT Analysis:
enables the user to list and evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats that are involved in the business
-
PEST Strategy:
enables the user to analyse external parameters that
influence the business: Political, Economic,
Social and Technological factors.
-
Porter Analysis:
allows to run Porter 5 Forces analysis that deals
with the competition, attractivity and profitability
of the market in which the business is active.
-
Balanced Scorecard: this
module is now part of the Strategy module and
enables to set goals and measure the plan and actual
performance according to the goals.
Grants
The new Grants screen enables to
enter the grants that the business is entitled for in
relation to various operating expenses that the business
has. In addition the Plant and Equipment screen has a
new added Grants column that enables to enter investment
grants as percentage of each investment item.
Actual Graphs
The Graphs table
includes now a new Actual group of pre-prepared graphs
that display various Actual vs. Plan data. The actual
data of the main financial reports is now also available
in the Graph Generator for user defined graphs.
Previous Profit and
Loss Details
The data
for items in the Previous Profit and Loss can now be
entered in details, e.g. revenues are detailed by
products and markets, expenses are detailed by
departments and expense items, etc. The details entered
for the previous Profit and Loss are included in the
analysis Profit and Loss report, in previous periods
columns, to help in comparing the detailed past values
of revenue and expense items to their values in the plan
periods. The details are also available in the Sales
Plan and Operating Expenses screens, to help planning
future values based on past values.
Plant and Equipment
Analysis Screen
The
Analysis menu, in Plan Details sub-menu, includes now
the Plant and Equipment screen. This screen includes the
investments as entered in Plant and Equipment data
screen, but all amounts are shown in the analysis
currency and a total line shows the total investments in
each period. unnecessary parameters are not included,
e.g. VAT, payment days etc.
Display Details as Table
In a number of screens
there are items that have details. These screens include
the Profit and Loss, Operating Cash Flow, Loan Analysis,
Sales Analysis and more. Displaying the details is done
in a tree structure, in which the details are displayed
below the line that contains the total value of the
details. This display may be convenient on-screen when
the details can be shown and hidden, but is not common
in financial reports where the detail lines are
displayed first and then the total line. A button was
added to these screens' toolbar and it enables to
display the details before the total line and not below
it.
Additional Changes
Excel
2007-2010 Interface
The software can now work with Excel
2007-2010 files (with .xlsx extension), import data from
these files and export data to them.
Change Percentage Base in Actual vs. Plan Profit and
Loss
When percentage columns are displayed
in the Actual vs. Plan Profit and Loss screen, user can
select what will be the base (100%) for the percentage
calculation of each row: the Revenues, the Total
Production or the Gross Profit values. The default base
is Revenues.
Variance Amount in Color Coding of
Actual vs. Plan
In Preferences screen, Functions tab, you can now change
not only the percentage value that serves as a limit
between orange and red color for negative variance
between Actual and Plan values, but also enter a minimum
value for showing the red color, so that lines which
have high percentage of negative variance but the amount
of variance is not significant will still be colored in
orange and not red.
Working Capital in Graphs
Working Capital report was added to
the User Defined Graphs definition screen and its items
can now be selected to be displayed in the graphs..
Start New Year - Use Existing Data
The option of using existing data
when running the Start New Year function, was enabled
and enhanced by adding a possibility to select if the
period types in the new year plan will be changed
according to the
period types of the existing data.
Operating Cash Flow - Breakdown of
Opening and Closing Bank Balance
Opening and closing Bank Balance in
Operating Cash Flow report includes now breakdown that
shows for all the periods what is the cash balance and
what is the bank and short term liabilities that
together build up the Bank Balance amounts.
Office 2010 User Interface
The Ribbon style menu
enables now the user interface of Office 2010.
Free
Cash Flow Valuation
The Free Cashflow
valuation screen was improved and allows to select the
residual method that will be displayed, out of the 3
available methods that the software calculates. It is
still possible to display the 3 methods together as it
was in previous versions.
Features
added in version 2011
Business Plan Writer
The Business Plan
Writer is a new module that allows you to write a
business plan document and to incorporate in it tables
and graphs, which are created by the software in the
Financial Planner module.
Writing the business
plan begins by building the Table of Contents that
includes text topics combined with tables and graphs.
The order and structure of the topics in the Table of
Contents are set by the user and can easily be edited
and changed.
Once the Table of
Contents is ready, you can write the contents of each
text section and then create the whole business plan.
The tables and graphs will be created and added
automatically in their designated sections. The created
business plan can be printed or exported to a Word or
PDF file. The values in the tables and graphs are the
up to date figures from the Financial Planner
Reporting Package
The Reporting Package
is a new module that allows you to prepare reports that
include text sections and incorporate tables and graphs
from the Financial Planner module. A typical report can
show Actual vs. Plan results. You can build the Table of
Contents of the report and then write the text sections.
When finished, you can create the report and the tables
from the Financial Planner will be added automatically.
The report can be printed or exported to a Word or PDF
file.
Color Codes in Actual vs.
Plan Reports
The main Actual vs.
Plan screens and reports include now a color code column
that shows the variance between plan and actual in
colors. When the actual results equal or better than the
plan values, the green color appears. When the actual
results are less than planned, a yellow color appears if
the variance is moderate (up to 3%), or a red color
appears to emphasize a significant variance.
User Interface
The User Interface of the software is
enhanced and uses Office 2010 Ribbon technology, which
makes it easier for the user to find all the functions
of the software in the same place. In Preferences
screen, Interface tab, the user can select:
- changing the main screen interface
to the old (Classic) menu and toolbar style similar to
previous versions of the software and Office 2003.
- different colors and styles for the
appearance of the software
Import Actual Data
The Import Actual Data module is simplified
and enhanced. The complex possibility to define
different import profiles and to import files with
inconsistent structure was removed. The new module can
import data file with specific structure (e.g. columns
for account codes, account description and for each
month).
The method of linking accounts (rows)
from the import file to the target rows, in the software
financial reports, was much enhanced and allows linking
ranges of accounts to a target row instead of linking
one row at a time.
The import definitions are now saved
with the plan file and that enables to import data not
just to the top level rows in the financial reports but
into the details rows as well.
The import process produces reports
that show which rows in the import data file are not
linked and could not be imported.
Product Profit Centers
You can
can allocate operating expenses to Products and analyze
the profit of each product as a Profit Center. This
feature is added to the existing Market Profit Centers
and enables to analyze the profitability of the business
segments from several points of view.
Personnel Cost Analysis
Personnel Cost analysis screen was
added to the Analysis menu under Plan Details group.
This screen shows the cost of salaries and the headcount
of employees in all the departments in one report.
Working Capital Analysis
Working Capital analysis screen was
added to the Analysis menu under Financial Analysis
group. This screen shows the current assets compared to
current liabilities of the business throughout the plan
periods and what are the Working Capital requirements of
the business.
Variable Expenses as % of
Direct Costs
Variable
expenses, in Operating Expenses, enable now to choose
that they will be calculated as percentage of a selected
product direct costs, in addition to the existing
options which include sales, sales by markets and sales
by products.
Activation of New
Investments
In Plant
and Equipment screen you can set the activation period
for each investment and depreciation will start from
this period and on. This is useful for investments that
are done during a few periods, and activated in the
completion period.
Profit and Loss -
Percentage and Index Analysis
The Profit and Loss report includes
now two additional tabs:
- % Analysis - shows the P&L
in percentages. Each amount is calculated as percentage
of the Revenues or the Total Production, according to
the selected Percentage base. This analysis shows the
structure and inner division of the P&L items and how
they develop through the plan periods.
- Index Analysis - shows the
base period values as 100 and each value in each period
is calculated in relation to it, e.g. if a revenue of
20,000 in first year is 100 then a revenue of 30,000 in
second year will be presented as 150. This analysis
enables to detect trends in each P&L item.
Linked Documents
The Documentation module includes now
a possibility to add a list of linked documents, e.g.
Word documents or Excel sheets, to each screen of the
software.
For example, if the user had a number
of Word documents with assumptions and data that relate
to the data in the Sales Plan screen he can open the
Documentation module, select the Linked Documents tab
and add all the related Word documents to the list. Next
time that the user will want to review a document that
relates to the Sales Plan he will just select it and
display it in the Documentation module rather then
searching for it in the hard disk.
Report Profiles
The Report table includes an
additional feature, the Report Profiles, that enables to
save and load pre-prepared lists of reports.
When the user marks some of the
reports in the Reports table he can click on the Report
Profiles button and save the selection of the reports to
a named profile. Next time that he will want to produce
the same list of reports he will be able to enter the
Report Profiles again and load the saved profile, this
will mark the required reports as it was when saving the
profile.
Password for Plan
You can
now enter a password for a plan (in General Data screen,
General Parameters tab there is a button for it). The
password will be asked when opening the plan. The
Password for the software (entered by pressing Password
button on Preferences screen) was improved too. A button
was added to change the password and new password is
asked twice.
Widths of Columns are
saved
If you
change width of columns in any data or analysis screen
it is saved and used next time the screen is loaded or a
report is created. This feature is very useful for
reports and presentation.
Product Components Term of Payments
The
product component tables include a new column for
payment days for each component.
Product Components Report
A Product
Components report can be created by clicking a button on
the Product and Cost screen toolbar.
Cursor movement after entering data
In
Preferences screen (in General tab) you can decide to
what direction the cursor will move when clicking Enter
after data entry in a cell. Like Excel, the cursor can
move right, down, left or up.
Copy and Paste of a Range
Like
Excel, when pasting a range of cells it can be done by
marking only the first cell in the target range, and not
the whole range as it was before.
Dynamic Link between
Documentation and Navigator
When an
screen that has documentation is selected in the
Navigator, it is opened with the Documentation screen. A
checkbox on the Documentation screen can be unchecked to
disable this link.
Sales by Units in Ratio Generator
The
Financial Ratio Generator enables now to choose also
lines from the Sales by units table to be used in user
defined ratios.
New
Year - copy Previous data from Rolling Forecast
The New
Year function can copy previous period data from the
Rolling Forecast screens.
Button to expand/collapse tree
A Button
was added to the toolbars of the Profit and Loss,
Operating Cash Flow and the Profit Centers screens. This
button enables to expand and collapse quickly the tree
structure of these screens.
Reports and Export to Excel enable Expanded Trees
A
parameter was added to the Reports Table and to the
Export to Excel screen that allows to select if the
Profit and Loss, the Operating Cash Flow and the Profit
Centers reports will be created expanded and show all
the details or collapsed and show only the main items
(as was in previous versions).
Enhanced Task Controlling
The Task List was enhanced and
includes now fields to enter who is responsible for each
task, when the work on the task should be started and
what is the estimated working days that are required for
the task.
These added features, together with
existing features that enable to enter the due date of
each task, to mark if it is completed and to present all
or only uncompleted tasks, makes the Task List a
powerful tool to control all the activities that are
concerned to the planning and controlling activities
with the softrware.
Actual vs. Plan
Percentage Analysis
The Actual vs. Plan enables
percentage analysis for the Accumulated column as well
as it was for the periodical columns.
Cash
Flow Statement of Previous Periods
The Cash
Flow Statement screen was added to the Previous Periods
screen. The data entered here is shown in the Cash Flow
Statement screen in the Analysis section and enables to
see the trends from previous periods to the plan
periods.
Details in Actual Markets and Products Profit Centers
The
actual data can be entered in details for Market Profit
Centers and Product Profit Centers. The Actual vs. Plan
is also detailed and comparison for each income and
expense item can be done.
Analysis items reorganized in groups
Analysis
items in menu and navigator are organized in 4 groups to
make it easier to understand the different analysis
tools.
Navigator rebuilt to emphasize main items
Main
items in the Navigator are emphasized by colors and
graphics. When user selects a main item in the Navigator
it is expanded and the other main items are closed. This
is an option that the user can change in the Preferences
screen, Navigator tab so that it will work as before.