automate your business plan software

• Best Business Plan Software

10 Best Business Plan Software In 2024

Updated: May 3, 2024, 5:15pm

Writing a business plan not only helps you stay on track as you start a new business but it can also help you secure funding. You can create one from scratch with a simple template, but business plan software often has features to make it easier, more nuanced and overall better. It could even make the difference between bringing investors on board and going it alone. So, Forbes Advisor found the best business plan software that has the features you need at an affordable price.

• Best Project Management Software
• Best Construction Project Management Software
• Best Project Portfolio Management Software
• Best Gantt Chart Software
• Best Task Management Software
• Best Kanban Software

The Best Business Plan Software of 2024

Forbes advisor ratings, methodology, how to choose a business plan software, benefits of business plan software, frequently asked questions (faqs), next up in business.

Featured Partners

From $8 monthly per user

Zoom, LinkedIn, Adobe, Salesforce and more

On monday.com's Website

Yes, for one user and two editors

$7 per user per month

Google Drive, Slack, Tableau, Miro, Zapier and more

On Smartsheet's Website

Yes, for unlimited members

$7 per month

Slack, Microsoft Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, Timely, Google Drive and more

On ClickUp's Website

• Wrike: Best overall
• Smartsheet: Best for goal management
• LivePlan: Best for financial forecasting
• Aha!: Best for roadmapping
• Bizplan: Best for beginners
• IdeaBuddy: Best for ideation
• iPlanner: Best for no-frills business planning
• Enloop: Best for automatic business plan creation
• AchieveIt: Best for consultant groups
• Business Sorter: Best for teams

Best Overall

Starting price

Free; $9.80 per user

Team messaging

Roadmapping

Wrike is a project management (PM) tool that works well as business plan software because it gives you tools to help you gather and compare your data. Wrike makes it easy to start your business plan with its collaboration tools, business plan templates , drag-and-drop interface and goal management features. Another benefit of using Wrike to build your plan is that you see your ideas and goals from multiple views: Gantt chart, calendar or board views.

There are a few reasons why it’s a good idea to use Wrike for your business plan. First, you can map out exactly what your business goals are in a project, invite teammates to collaborate and message business partners to discuss everything. Plus, you can export your data when you’re ready to put all the details into a presentation to hand over to potential investors.

Wrike offers a free plan that’s good for putting your vision down in task and project form, but you may want to upgrade to a paid plan to invite collaborators, get custom workflows and add more views and automations. Paid plan pricing ranges from $9.80 per user, per month, to $24.80 per user, per month, both billed annually.

Learn more: Read our full Wrike review .

Who should use it:

Wrike makes it easy for any new business owner to create a business plan and collaborate with others on the financial and operational goals. Plus, it provides value after you finalize your business plan because it’s a good pick for a PM tool.

• Roadmapping ability
• Multiple views (Gantt, calendar and board)
• Business plan templates included
• Goal management via projects and tasks
• Free plan available
• Affordable plans
• No pitching tools
• No financial tools

Best for Goal Management

$7 per user, per month

(billed annually)

(added cost)

Using PM software like Smartsheet is a good idea for starting a business plan because it includes all the tools you need to collaborate and plan across multiple teams or stakeholders. It’s especially good for real-time goal management. Get your ideas in place, go over market and competitive research from other teammates and finalize everything together.

Smartsheet won’t help you write your business plan, but it does give you a place to compile all the data and then you can use one of its free business plan templates. As you figure out your milestones, you can invite an unlimited number of viewers to see how it’s going. The only downsides are that Smartsheet doesn’t have a native messaging app (you’ll have to use an integration), only commenting allowed and there’s no free plan.

Paid plans from Smartsheet cost $7 per user, per month, or $25 per user, per month (billed annually for both). The low-priced Pro plan limits you to 10 editors, but the Business plan allows unlimited editors (but it also has a three-user minimum).

Learn more: Read our full Smartsheet review .

Smartsheet lets you make changes in real time, so it’s a good option for those who are just starting to piece together a plan and looking for a way to manage ideas and goals before finalizing a business plan.

• Discounts for nonprofits available
• Automations on every plan
• Popular integrations allowed on low-tier plan
• 30-day free trial
• No free plan
• Only 10 viewers allowed on low-tier plan
• Three-user minimum on Business plan

Best for Financial Forecasting

$15 per month

One of the strongest cases for using LivePlan to create your business plan is its financial forecasting. It isn’t just a single feature, rather it’s a tool that lets you turn your balance sheet and cash flow statements into charts, graphs and what-if situations to help you show possible investors the best- and worst-case scenarios for your business.

There are two plans available: Standard or Premium (there is no free plan). The low-priced plan, which costs $15 per month (billed annually), doesn’t limit your contributors or guests and includes instructions to help you complete a business plan. It even includes the financial forecasting features and more than 500 sample plans to get you started.

The Premium plan costs $30 per month (billed annually), but it’s full-featured. You get a milestone planner and industry benchmark data, which can save you research time. Another timesaver: At this plan level, you can integrate QuickBooks or Xero to add your financial data seamlessly.

LivePlan is business plan software that includes prompts and accounting software integrations, making it great for new business owners that want easy financial forecasting.

• Unlimited guests and contributors
• Export finished business plan as PowerPoint presentation
• Includes step-by-step instructions with prompts
• 35-day money-back guarantee
• No free trial

Best for Roadmapping

$59 per user, per month

Every business plan starts with strategy and Aha! makes it easier to map out what you plan to do to get from point A to point Z. Aha! is primarily roadmapping software that product teams use to plan features, products or bug fixes. Any business in any industry can use it to shape ideas and strategy into plans and milestones.

Much like product development, business plans have phases and Aha! is ideal for the first few phases of business planning. Although you won’t find a scorecard feature with Aha! Roadmaps, you can score and prioritize your business vision and goals. Finally, you can present your plan to viewers (stakeholders) before you create your official business plan and secure funding.

There are three plans from which you can choose: Premium at $59 per user, per month; Enterprise at $99 per user, per month; and Enterprise+ at $149 per user, per month, all billed annually. The only reasons to upgrade to either Enterprise plan is if you want to add on automation, development tools and custom worksheets and tables.

Aha! Roadmaps is a great tool to help you strategize and get your ideas for your business in one place. You can use the presentation feature to share your business’s roadmap on your way to creating your finalized business plan.

• User-friendly interface
• Ability to score and prioritize ideas
• Share roadmaps with others
• Expensive for business plan creation
• Has a bit of a learning curve

Best for Beginners

$20.75 per month

Bizplan is specifically for business plan creation. It offers a guided walkthrough of each section you need for a complete business plan to use for funding or pitching to partners. Plug in the information, from your mission and goals to financial forecasts, and Bizplan will do the math and create the visual charts you need to get your point across.

Bizplan is very easy to use because it includes prompts and questions that take away the manual effort of figuring out what you need, so you can simply focus on providing the answers. When you’re satisfied you included all the data needed, you can invite stakeholders and consultants to look it over and add comments for approval or change requests. A unique feature of Bizplan is it gives you access to Fundable, a crowdfunding platform, on which you can share your business plan to try to generate funding.

Monthly pricing costs $29, but you can opt for annual pricing that averages to $20.75 per month. If you expect to need business plan software for much longer than a year, there’s a lifetime access option for $349 flat. All plans come with all features and access, including business courses, business planning tools and a route to investors.

If it’s your first time creating a business plan, Bizplan is a great choice to help guide you through all the sections you need to include in your plan for potential investors and partners.

• Monthly, annual and lifetime plans
• Unlimited business plans
• Unlimited collaborators
• Step-by-step instructions
• Modular, drag-and-drop interface
• Online business courses
• Access to Fundable
• Financial forecasting
• No roadmapping tools
• Lack of customization
• Only integrates with Xero

Best for Ideation

Free; $6 per month

IdeaBuddy is a basic business plan tool that lets you start for free, which is great for beginners who aren’t quite ready to create a plan. The idea plan feature is great because it lets you lay out your business plan on one page, giving you an overview. There are built-in sticky notes for brainstorming and custom templates to start you off with a bit of a guide (or just create your own).

Another great feature of IdeaBuddy is the whiteboard, which lets you drag and drop various elements, draw on it and collaborate with others to come up with your perfect business idea. That feature is locked behind the highest tier, so you’ll have to pay $22 per month (billed annually) to use it. However, that plan also gives you up to 10 collaborators and 10 ideas.

Other plans are more limiting: The free plan is for a solopreneur who has a single idea to work on and the Dreamer plan is $6 per month while the Founder plan is $12 per month, both billed annually. The Dreamer plan is also limited to one idea, but you get one collaborator while the Founder plan gives you up to three ideas and three collaborators. Plus, you’ll get access to the paid plans to export and share your plan with viewers.

IdeaBuddy is just what it sounds like: It’s best for ideation. You can create a full-fledged business plan, but this program is best suited for the very beginning stages of business creation.

• Free forever plan
• Affordable paid plans
• Monthly and annual billing options
• Easy to use
• Export to Word, Excel or as PDF
• Flexible whiteboard feature
• May be too basic for some users
• Doesn’t offer much guidance

Best for No-Frills Business Planning

$55 for one year

Business plan software doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective, and iPlanner certainly fits that bill. It’s been around since 2007 and it doesn’t appear to have updated its look or functions. The browser-based business planning software gives you a place to build out your business model and a business plan.

There are two different software options from iPlanner: Strategy Designer and Startup Framework. The Strategy Designer costs $59 for three plans, but it’s a one-time fee for the year. Choose it if you want a more condensed and no-frills kind of business plan. You can export it to Word or as a PDF.

The iPlanner Startup Framework is $55 per year, which gives you one plan to create. It’s similar to the Designer version, but you can create a business model, separate financials and build a team with various roles (view only, project owner or consultant).

iPlanner is best for those who have created a business plan before and don’t need hand-holding or fancy features.

• Business modeling option
• Samples on site for demoing
• Export to Word or as PDF
• No free plan or trial
• Not a lot of guidance
• Outdated interface

Best for Automatic Business Plan Creation

$11 per month

Enloop is a unique business plan app that generates a business plan for you based on information you provide. You can edit the text Enloop writes for you to make it more specific or change numbers in your financial forecasts as you see fit. Enloop offers a scorecard that updates as you change things, finish sections and make your business plan overall better.

Then Enloop compares your financial forecasts to industry standards, so you don’t have to do the research. The software shows you up to 16 ratios, such as sales, inventory and payables and then shows you what the average is for your industry as it compares to your financials. Enloop then gives you either a pass or fail so that you can modify your plan before you put anything into play.

Although Enloop doesn’t offer a free plan, there is a free trial for one week so you can see if it’s right for you. The Detailed plan costs $11 per month while the Performance plan is $24 per month, both billed annually. The biggest difference between the two plans is how many financial ratios Enloop analyzes: The Detailed plan only gets three ratios and Performance plan gets 16.

Enloop is best for those who have some experience creating business plans, not necessarily for those who are starting from scratch as there are no brainstorming or strategizing tools included. Use Enloop to create business plans quickly.

• Three business plans for each tier
• Generates a business plan automatically
• Compares your financials to industry standards
• Seven-day free trial available
• Scorecards indicate odds of success
• No messaging team members through app
• Not meant for strategizing

Best for Consultant Groups

$80 per, user per month

Not everyone wants to go it alone when creating business plans and consultants are often hired for industry expertise and business plan creation. AchieveIt offers generous plans that won’t limit the number of plans and projects you can create, so you can work on multiple business plans at one time.

Specifically, AchieveIt is planning software meant for medium to large teams to work on projects simultaneously. For business planning, it’s a great option for those strategizing and analyzing a variety of data points with multiple people—all of AchieveIt’s plans have a minimum requirement of 20 users.

Plans are pricey, especially when you consider the user minimum. Core, the lowest-priced plan, costs $80 per user, per month, and Plus is $90 per user, per month, both billed annually. So, it’s going to cost $1,600 per month, at least, which puts this software out of reach for most small businesses.

AchieveIt is a good choice for large businesses that need planning software and for business plan purposes, it makes most sense for established consultant groups.

• Unlimited plans and projects
• Collaboration tools
• Goal management
• 20-user minimum
• Pricier than most competitors
• Integrations at added cost

Best for Teams

Business sorter.

$10 per month

When you’re ready to craft your business plan, it can help immensely to have business planning software like Business Sorter. The cloud-based app makes it easy for you to start a plan and kicks off your business planning with a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). Then, you can follow a guide to build your plan with each section divided by areas. After which, you can choose cards to help steer you toward the right objectives and goals for your business.

You won’t find roadmapping tools in Business Sorter, but the card system keeps you on track (and even gives you goals you may not have considered). As you prioritize goals, you’ll find steps you need to take that guide you to completing your business plan. Every plan allows multiple users, so you can collaborate on what takes precedence.

Plans start at $10 per month, billed annually, and allows you to have three users on board. For 10 users, the Medium plan costs $30 per month, billed annually, and if you need 30 users, the Large Team plan will run you $80 per month, billed annually. It’s one of the most affordable business planning apps for teams.

Although Business Sorter doesn’t offer a messaging tool, it’s still one of the best options for teams. You don’t have to pay per person, but you can add multiple people to the account to work on creating business plans.

• Easy-to-use business plan templates
• Free trial available
• Card system helps guide your goal setting
• Create up to 40 business plans
• Plans limit user count
• No messaging in app
• Very limited integrations

Forbes Advisor carefully considered a variety of software to choose the right business planning apps for this ranking. We compared features, ease of use, costs and collaboration. We ranked each company based on these factors using a 5-star rating system. The highest possible score is 5 out of 5 stars.

Here are the details of the factors we considered:

• Features: We looked at general and unique features of each app and gave more credit to software that provides better functionality for business planning.
• Cost: Regardless of your business size, cost is an important factor to consider when you’re adding new software to your tech stack. We awarded a higher score to those that offer free trials, free plans and affordable options.
• Ease of use: Programs that have a steep learning curve aren’t likely to be adopted by you or your team, so we chose software that’s user-friendly. Drag-and-drop interfaces or guidance through features and tools are helpful for any team.
• Customer reviews: An important factor for any software is how the general public views the program. We considered other ratings and studied the pros and cons listed by other users of the software to help us with our ranking.

Technically, you don’t need business plan software, but using it can make the entire experience easier and you’ll have better odds of creating a solid plan. You don’t even have to choose software made specifically for business planning—project management software is great for roadmapping and goal management. Aside from looking for software that includes financial forecasting, you’ll want collaboration tools, a user-friendly interface, affordable plans and ways to brainstorm or roadmap for your business idea.

One of the most important sections of any business plan is the financials. If you haven’t already done the research and calculations, look for a business plan app that automatically calculates these numbers for you.

Collaboration is also key if you’re working with a partner, team or consultants. At the very least, look for software that lets you invite viewers to see the work you’re doing, but the best business plan software lets users leave comments or work on a plan in real time simultaneously.

Ease of use is nearly as important as pricing. You’ll need software you and your team will use without spending too much downtime learning how to use it. It also makes no sense to choose a cost-prohibitive tool for creating a business plan—most of the software Forbes Advisor suggests is appropriate for small business budgets.

Finally, depending on the stage you’re in of business planning, you may want a tool that offers features that make it easy for you to create a roadmap for your business. If you’re in the early stages, these tools can help with brainstorming, prioritizing goals and managing your goals before you finalize your actual business plan.

Most business plan software helps guide you through the creation of a business plan with prompts, suggestions or tips. So, using business plan software is especially helpful for new business owners who don’t know all the sections to include to increase the odds of getting funding or luring a partner to join your operation.

Business plan software can also automate some processes, such as calculations of financials or comparisons of those finances with industry standards. Some business planning apps give you whiteboards or editable cards you can use for brainstorming. Other features may include scorecards to let you know if you’re on the right track or roadmapping tools to give you an overview of your business plan.

The biggest benefit of business plan software is that it helps you organize and prioritize all of your goals so you can more easily analyze and then compile the data you need to create your business plan. After that, you can create your plan from scratch or if you’re using business planning software made specifically for crafting plans, you can piece it all together and then export it as a PDF or to Microsoft Word.

Which business plan software is the best?

Forbes Advisor suggests Wrike, Smartsheet or LivePlan to help you write your business plan. Depending on the stage you’re in of business planning, one tool or another may be better for you.

How do I create my own business plan?

There are several steps you should follow to create a good business plan, but there are different types of plans you can create. Every business plan starts with a strong executive summary and includes your business goals and financial forecasting. Follow a guide on how to create a business plan to ensure you include all the sections needed.

What are the different types of business plans?

There are many types of business plans you can create and the one that makes the most sense for you depends on your situation. A standard business plan is meant for when you need to present to investors or a bank for financial help. A lean plan doesn’t include all the summaries and background information a standard plan does, so it’s more suitable for established business owners. There are also one-page business plans that are more like pitches. You may also run across operational, tactical, strategic and contingency business plans. We created a simple business plan template that you can use to get started when launching a side gig or small business.

Is business plan software secure?

As  with most types of software, the best business plan software programs offer many levels of security. When choosing this type of software, you want to look for security features that include multifactor authentication (MFA), intrusion detection, the monitoring of user activities, documentation that shows frequent security updates and patches, data encryption and privacy protection.

• Top Asana Alternatives
• Best Scheduling Apps
• monday.com Review: Features, Pros & Cons
• Asana Review: Features, Pricing & More
• Trello Review: Features, Pricing & More
• Monday Vs. Clickup

Amy Nichol Smith spent more than 20 years working as a journalist for TV and newspapers before transitioning to software and hardware product reviews for consumers and small businesses. She has been featured in publications such as L.A. Times, Tom's Guide, Investopedia and various newspapers across the U.S.

Create Your Business Plan in Minutes

Type your business idea below.

What Our Users Say

Zakariya A.

How it Works

Questionnaire

Respond to a series of targeted questions about your business goals and objectives.

AI Business Plan Generator

The engine analyzes your responses and generates a business plan tailored to your vision.

SBA Approved Business Plan

Receive a detailed, tailored business plan that aligns with your requirements. Ready for funding.

WHO BENEFITS FROM Plannit?

Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Analyze your ventures through extensive business plans aligned with your vision and goals.

Business Owners

Back your business with a solid plan that aligns with your vision and goals. Perfect for startups and small businesses.

Educational Institutions

Develop your business understanding and vocabulary by analyzing your business idea and creating a plan.

Startups Accelerators

Work alongside your founders as they build their plan to ensure they have a solid roadmap for growth and scalability.

Try Plannit AI For Free

Funding ready business plan, executive summary, company overview.

Problem Statement

Business Description

Mission Statement

Business Model

Products and Services

Additional Features

Revenue Model

Market Analysis

Target Market

Market Size and Segments

Unique Value Proposition

Risks and Mitigations

Identified Risks

Mitigation Strategies

Financial Overview

Income Statement

Marketing and Sales Plan

Focus On Your Vision

Language support.

Key Features & Benefits

Ai editing companion.

Modify and regenerate sections of your business plan using premade or custom prompts. Our AI will help you refine your plan to perfection.

Multi-User Collaboration

Invite team members with easy sharing to collaborate on your business plan in real-time. Communicate and make changes together. Collaborate with your partners in real-time as you perfect your plan.

Education Center

Immerse yourself in a rich library of articles, tools, templates, webinars and resources for continuous business and professional growth. Learn all about the key aspects of starting, running and growing a business.

Powered by Chat GPT

Our algorithms are powered the latest in AI technology to ensure the most accurate and relevant output. We use OpenAI's GPT 4 and 3.5 engines for the perfect blend of accuracy and speed.

Business Resources

We recommend a variety of useful tools and resurces that help sustain your growth. We only recommend the best in the business. Filter your needs and equip yourself with the best tools.

Your plan in your language. We offer a choice of over 150 worldwide languages to ensure the best fit for your business plan.

Financial Projections

Take an additional questionnaire about your financial trajectory and get a detailed financial projection + 3 year income statement for your business.

Tools and Templates

Plannit's comprehensive suite that accompany business planning. From pitch decks to financial models, we have you covered.

Plan Export

Download your business plan in an editable .docx format. Fully edit & share your plan with investors, partners, and stakeholders.

Privacy & Security

Rest assured, your privacy is our top priority, and we're committed to keeping your information safe and confidential.

PLANNIT BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Initiate with Your Business Concept: Lay the Groundwork: Start by introducing your business idea into Plannit AI's Business Plan Generator. This first step is crucial, as it sets the tone for a tailored, insightful business plan that truly resonates with your vision. Capture the Essence: Our platform is designed to grasp the nuances of your concept, ensuring that the generated plan accurately reflects the core and potential of your business.
• Navigate Through the AI-Guided Questionnaire: Tailored Interactive Experience: Plannit AI’s AI-guided questionnaire is your interactive guide through the planning process. It meticulously gathers information about your business's objectives, strategies, and market positioning, ensuring a comprehensive and reflective plan. Intelligent Feedback and Suggestions: As you progress through the questionnaire, benefit from smart prompts and suggestions, ensuring that your plan is not just detailed but also strategically sound and aligned with industry standards.
• Generate Your Plan with Advanced AI: Intuitive Plan Creation: With the questionnaire complete, Plannit AI's advanced algorithms intelligently analyze your responses. They then craft a detailed, customizable, and strategically aligned business plan, providing you with a structured, coherent, and actionable format. Benefit from AI-Powered Insights: Plannit AI offers AI-driven insights and suggestions, ensuring your plan is not just a document but a strategic tool equipped with tailored AI prompts and an in-app plan editor. Get inspired by browsing through our sample business plans, a collection of successful strategies across various industries.
• Finalize Your Plan with Confidence: Dynamic Adaptation and Refinement: Plannit AI recognizes that a business plan is a living document. Our platform allows for continuous adaptation and refinement, ensuring your strategy remains agile, relevant, and aligned with your evolving business goals. Professional Presentation and Sharing: Once your plan meets your standards, utilize Plannit AI's export features to present your plan professionally. Choose between various formats for exporting your business plan, ready to impress stakeholders, attract investors, or guide your team. Review and Adapt: Ensure your business plan is a living document, ready to evolve with your growing business. Plannit AI's dynamic platform allows you to adapt your strategy as new opportunities or challenges arise.
• Roadmap for Success: At its core, a business plan acts as a strategic guide, providing detailed steps on how your business will achieve its objectives. It helps you navigate the startup phase, manage growth effectively, and tackle unforeseen challenges with a well-thought-out strategy.
• Securing Funding: For startups and businesses looking to expand, a business plan is crucial for securing loans or attracting investors. It demonstrates to potential financial backers that your business has a clear vision, a solid strategy for profitability, and a plan for delivering returns on their investment.
• Informed Decision-Making: A well-prepared business plan offers valuable insights into your market, competition, and potential challenges. This information is vital for making informed decisions, from day-to-day operations to long-term strategic shifts.
• Market Analysis and Strategy: It allows you to conduct an in-depth analysis of your target market, understand customer needs, and position your product or service effectively. The marketing strategy outlined in your business plan helps in identifying the best channels and tactics to reach your audience and achieve market penetration.
• Financial Planning: One of the most critical components of a business plan is the financial forecast. It outlines your funding requirements, expected revenue, profit margins, and cash flow projections. This section is essential for budgeting, financial management, and ensuring the financial viability of your business.
• Goal Setting and Performance Measurement: A business plan sets clear, measurable goals and objectives. It provides a framework for monitoring performance, measuring success, and making necessary adjustments to stay on track.
• Aspiring Entrepreneurs: If you're at the idea stage, looking to transform your vision into a viable business, Plannit AI offers the tools and guidance to bring your concept to life. Our platform helps you articulate your business idea, define your target market, and develop a solid plan to turn your dream into reality.
• Students and Educators: For students delving into the intricacies of business planning and educators teaching the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, Plannit AI serves as an invaluable resource. It provides a practical, hands-on tool for learning and teaching how to create detailed business plans, analyze markets, and understand financials in a real-world context.
• Startup Founders: In the dynamic startup environment, Plannit AI is the ideal partner for founders looking to pivot quickly, secure funding, or understand their competitive landscape. With our AI-driven insights and market analysis tools, startups can make informed decisions and adapt their strategies to thrive in competitive markets.
• Small Business Owners: For small business owners seeking to optimize their operations, expand their customer base, or explore new markets, Plannit AI offers targeted solutions. Our platform simplifies the planning process, enabling owners to focus on growth while managing the day-to-day challenges of running their business.
• Consultants and Freelancers: Consultants and freelancers specializing in business development, strategic planning, or financial advising will find Plannit AI a powerful addition to their toolkit. It allows them to provide clients with comprehensive, data-driven business plans and strategies, enhancing the value of their services.
• Non-Profit Organizations: Leaders of non-profit organizations can leverage Plannit AI to plan initiatives, secure funding, and manage resources more efficiently. Our platform helps non-profits articulate their mission, set achievable goals, and measure their impact, ensuring they can make a difference in their communities.
• Innovators and Inventors: Individuals looking to commercialize innovative products or technologies can use Plannit AI to navigate the complexities of bringing new ideas to market. From patent strategies to go-to-market plans, our platform covers all bases, ensuring innovators can focus on what they do best.
• Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) and Government Agencies: Government and SBA backed entities can greatly benefit from integrating Plannit AI into their services, enhancing their ability to support a larger number of clients more efficiently. By facilitating quicker, more in-depth business plan development, these organizations can spend more time assisting with plan execution and less time on creation, ultimately serving their communities more effectively.
• Anyone with a Business Idea: Ultimately, Plannit AI is for anyone with a business idea, regardless of industry, experience, or stage of business development. Our mission is to democratize business planning, making it accessible, understandable, and actionable for everyone.
• Interactive Questionnaire and ChatGPT Integration: Plannit AI transforms the business planning process into an engaging conversation. Through our advanced ChatGPT integration, we offer a questionnaire that dynamically adapts to your responses, ensuring your plan is personalized, comprehensive, and aligned with your business goals.
• Dynamic Planning Environment: Unlike static templates provided by many, Plannit AI introduces a living platform that grows with your business. It features real-time updates, strategic insights, and a feedback mechanism that keeps your business plan current and actionable.
• Extensive Educational Resources: Our Education Center is packed with articles, guides, and sample plans to bolster your planning process. It's designed to arm you with the knowledge to navigate the complexities of your industry confidently.
• Enhanced Collaboration and Customization: Recognizing the collaborative essence of business planning, Plannit AI supports team efforts with multi-user editing, annotations, and feedback features, ensuring a comprehensive approach to your strategy.
• Customer Success Stories: Our users' achievements are a testament to Plannit AI's effectiveness. These success stories illustrate how diverse businesses have utilized our platform for strategic planning and growth.
• Tailored Business Plan Creation: Our platform stands out with its tailored approach, featuring customizable templates that directly cater to your business type and industry, making plan creation straightforward and relevant.
• Content Generation:: ChatGPT helps draft various sections of a business plan, from executive summaries to marketing strategies, by providing structured and coherent text based on the prompts given.
• Strategic Insights: It can offer suggestions on business strategies by analyzing trends and providing examples from a wide range of industries.
• Financial Planning: While it can't replace professional financial advice, ChatGPT can guide the structure of financial projections and statements, helping you consider important financial aspects of your plan.

Take The First Step Towards Success

Home > Business > Business Startup

• 5 Best Business Plan Software and Tools in 2023 for Your Small Business

Data as of 3 /13/23 . Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

We are committed to sharing unbiased reviews. Some of the links on our site are from our partners who compensate us. Read our editorial guidelines and advertising disclosure .

A business plan can do a lot for your business. It can help you secure investors or other funding. It can give your company direction. It can keep your finances healthy. But, if we’re being honest, it can also be a pain to write.

Luckily, you don’t have to start from scratch or go it alone. Business plan software and services can help you craft a professional business plan, like our top choice LivePlan , which provides templates, guidance, and more.

You’ve got quite a few choices for business plan help, so we’re here to help you narrow things down. Let’s talk about the best business plan tools out there.

• LivePlan : Best overall
• BizPlanBuilder : Most user-friendly
• Wise Business Plans : Best professional service
• Business Sorter : Best for internal plans
• GoSmallBiz.com : Most extra features
• Honorable mentions

Business plan software 101

The takeaway, business plan software faq, compare the best business plan software.

By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

LivePlan: Best overall business plan software

Data as of 3 /13/23 . Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *With annual billing

LivePlan has been our favorite business plan software for a while now, despite the stiff competition.

There’s a lot to like about LivePlan. It has pretty much all the features you could want from your business plan software. LivePlan gives you step-by-step instructions for writing your plan, helps you create financial reports, lets you compare your business’s actual financials to your plan’s goals, and much more. And if you ever need inspiration, it includes hundreds of sample business plans that can guide your writing.

LivePlan software pricing

But the best part? You get all that (and more) at a very competitive price. (You can choose from annual, six-month, or monthly billing.) While LivePlan isn’t quite the cheapest business plan builder out there, it’s not too far off either. And if comes with a 60-day money back guarantee. So there’s no risk in trying LivePlan out for yourself.

With a great balance of features and cost, LivePlan offers the best business plan solution for most businesses.

BizPlanBuilder: Most user-friendly

Need something easy to use? BizPlanBuilder fits the bill.

BizPlanBuilder doesn’t have a flashy, modern user interface―but it does have a very clear, intuitive one. You’ll be able to see your plan’s overall structure at a glance, so you can quickly navigate from your title page to your market trend section to that paragraph on your core values. And as you write, you’ll use a text editor that looks a whole lot like the word processing programs you’re already familiar with.

BizPlanBuilder software pricing

Data effective 3/13/23. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.

BizPlanBuilder also offers lots of helpful guidance for actually writing your plan. It gives you pre-written text, in which you just have to fill in relevant details. It offers explanations for what information you need to include in each section of your plan and way. It even gives you helpful tips from experts, so you’ll have all the information you need to plan like a pro.

So if you want planning software with almost no learning curve, you’ll like BizPlanBuilder.

Wise Business Plans: Best professional service

• Custom quote

Unlike all the other companies on this list, Wise Business Plans doesn’t offer software. Instead, it offers professional business plan writing services―meaning someone does all the hard work for you.

Now, you might think that sounds expensive―and you’re probably right (you have to request a custom quote for your plan). But there’s a lot to be said for expertise, and Wise Business Plans has plenty of that. Your business plan will get written by an experienced writer (with an MBA, no less). They’ll get information from you, do their own research, and then write your plan. You get one free revision, and you can always pay for more.  

Wise Business Plans service pricing

Your end result will be a polished, entirely original business plan. (You can even get printed copies.) And best of all, you won’t have to spend your precious time working on the plan yourself. Wise Business Plans takes care of all the hard parts, and makes your business look good while doing it. Sounds like a service worth paying for, right?

Put simply, if you want the most professional business plan possible, we recommend using Wise Business Plans’s writing service.

Business Sorter: Best for internal plans

Many businesses need plans to show to people outside the company (to get financing, for example). But what if you just need a plan for internal use? In that case, we suggest Business Sorter.

Business Sorter uses a unique card-based method to help you craft the perfect business plan. (You can watch a demo video to see how it works.) You’ll plan some of the usual things, like finances and marketing. But Business Sorter also lets you make plans for specific teams and team members. It also emphasizes more internal matters, like operations, that might get overlooked in a business plan for outsiders.

Business Sorter software pricing

After you’ve made your business plan, Business Sorter also helps you stay accountable to it. You can create tasks, give them deadlines, and assign them to team members―giving you basic project management tools to make sure your business plans become business actions. (Oh, and did we mention that Business Sorter has the lowest starting prices of any software on this list?)

It all adds up to a business plan software that works great for internal planning.

GoSmallBiz: Most extra features

Want to get way more than just business planning software? Then you probably want GoSmallBiz.

See, GoSmallBiz offers business plan software as part of its service―but it’s just one part of a much bigger whole. You also get everything from discounts on legal services to a website builder to a CRM (customer relationship manager) to business document templates. And more. In other words, you get just about everything you need to get your startup off the ground.

GoSmallBiz software pricing

Don’t worry though―you still get all the business planning help you need. GoSmallBiz gives you business plan templates, step-by-step instructions, and the ability to create financial projections. And if you get stuck, GoSmallBiz will put you in touch with experts who can offer advice.

If you want business planning and much, much more, give GoSmallBiz a try.

• PlanGuru : Best financial forecasting
• EnLoop : Cheapest tool for startups

We recommend the software above for most business planning needs. Some businesses, though, might be interested in these more specialized planning software.

Honorable mention software pricing

PlanGuru: Best financial forecasting features

PlanGuru is pretty pricey compared to our other picks, but you might find its forecasting features worth paying for. It has more forecasting methods than other software (over 20) plus it lets you forecast up to 10 years.

EnLoop: Cheapest tool for startups

EnLoop doesn’t have our favorite features or interface, but it does have really, really low pricing plus a seven-day free trial. It's the most affordable software for startup business planning and still provides all the essential features like financial analysis, team collaboration, charting, and more.

Data as of 3 /13/23 . Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. * With annual billing

Several of our previous favorite planning software, including BusinessPlanPro and StratPad, seem to have gone out of business.

A business plan is a written, living document that tells the story of your business and what you plan to do with it. It serves as the source of truth for you—the business owner—as well as potential partners, employees, and investors, but it also serves as a roadmap of what you want your business to be.

Why you need a business plan

While some small-business owners don’t see the point of creating a formal business plan, it can have some concrete benefits for your business. For example, one 2016 study found that business owners with written plans are more successful than those that don’t. 1

Still too vague? Then let’s get specific.

If you ever seek business funding (from, say, banks, angel investors , or venture capitalists ), you’ll have to prove that your business deserves the money you want. A formal business plan―complete with financial data and projections―gives you a professional document you can use to make your case. (In fact, most potential investors will expect you to have a business plan ready.)

Even if you’re not seeking funding right now, a business plan can help your business. A formal plan can guide your business’s direction and decision making. It can keep your business accountable (by, for example, seeing if your business meets the financial projections you included). And a formal plan offers a great way to make sure your team stays on the same page.

What to include in your business plan

Not all business plans are created equal. To make a really useful business plan, you’ll want to include a number of elements:

• Basic information about your business
• Your products/services
• Market and industry analysis
• What makes your business competitive
• Strategies and upcoming plans
• Your team (and your team’s background)
• Current financial status
• Financial and market projections
• Executive summary

Of course, you can include more or fewer elements―whatever makes sense for your business. Just make sure your business plan is comprehensive (but not overwhelming).

How business plan software can help

With so many elements to include, business plan creation can take a while. Business plan software tries to speed things up.

Most business plan software will include prompts for each section. In some cases, you can just fill in your business’s specific information, and the software will write the text for you. In other cases, the software will give you specific guidance and examples, helping you write the text yourself.

Plus, business plan software can help you stay organized. You’ll usually get intuitive menus that let you quickly flip through sections. So rather than endlessly scrolling through a long document in a word processor, you can quickly find your way around your plan. Some software even lets you drag and drop sections to reorganize your plan.

Sounds way easier than just staring at a blank page and trying to start from scratch, right?

Choosing business plan software

To find the right business plan builder for your business, you’ll want to compare features. For example, would you rather write your own text, getting prompts and advice from your software? Or would you rather go with a fill-in-the-blank method?

Likewise, think about the elements you need. If your plan will have a heavy focus on finances, you’ll want to choose business plan software with robust financial projection features. If you care more about market and competitor analysis, look for software that can help with that research.

You may also want to find business plan software that integrates with your business accounting software . Some plan builders will import data from Xero, QuickBooks, etc. to quickly generate your financial data and projections.

And of course, you’ll want to compare prices. After all, you always want to end up with software that fits your business budget.

The right business plan software can make your life easier. With LivePlan ’s wide breadth of features and online learning tools, you can’t go wrong. Plus, BizPlanBuilder 's one-time pricing makes it easy to invest while Business Sorter has a low starting cost. And if you're business is looking to grow, GoSmallBiz and Wise Business Plans will scale with you.

But of course, different companies have different needs. So shop around until you find the software that’s best for you and your business.

Now that you've got a business plan, take a look at our checklist for starting a small business.  It can help you make sure you have everything else you need to get your startup off to a good start!

Related content

• 7 Steps to Build a Successful Project Management Sales Plan
• Best Project Management Software and Tools in 2023
• 4 Cost Management Techniques for Small Businesses

Creating a business plan can take anywhere from a couple hours to several weeks. Your timeline will depend on things like the elements you choose to include, whether you use software or hire a writing service, and how much research goes into your plan.

That said, much of the business plan software out there brags that it can help you create a fairly detailed plan in a few hours. So if you’re going the software route, that can help you set your expectations.

If you want to get the most out of your business plan, you should update it on a regular basis―at least annually. That way, you can continually refer to it to inform your company’s strategies and direction.  

At the very least, you should update your business plan before you start looking for a new round of funding (whether that’s with investors or lenders).

Thanks to business plan software, you can easily write your own business plan rather than pay someone to do it for you. And in most cases, software will cost you less than a professional business plan service.

There are some times you might want to go with a service though. If time is tight, you might find that it’s worth the cost of a service. Or if you’ve got big investor meetings on the horizon, you might want the expertise and polish that a professional service can offer.

Ultimately, you’ll have to decide for yourself whether business plan software or a business plan service will work better for your company.

Methodology

We ranked business plan software and tools based on features, pricing and plans, and connections to project management and other services. The value of each plan and service, along with what it offers, was a big consideration in our rankings, and we looked to see if what was offered was useful to small businesses or just extra. The final thing we looked at was the ease of use of the software to see if it's too complex for small businesses.

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

Sources 1. Harvard Business Review, “ Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed .” Accessed March 13, 2023.

5202 W Douglas Corrigan Way Salt Lake City, UT 84116

Accounting & Payroll

Point of Sale

Payment Processing

Inventory Management

Human Resources

Other Services

Best Small Business Loans

Best Inventory Management Software

Best Small Business Accounting Software

Best Payroll Software

Best Mobile Credit Card Readers

Best POS Systems

Best Tax Software

Stay updated on the latest products and services anytime anywhere.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use  and  Privacy Policy .

Disclaimer: The information featured in this article is based on our best estimates of pricing, package details, contract stipulations, and service available at the time of writing. All information is subject to change. Pricing will vary based on various factors, including, but not limited to, the customer’s location, package chosen, added features and equipment, the purchaser’s credit score, etc. For the most accurate information, please ask your customer service representative. Clarify all fees and contract details before signing a contract or finalizing your purchase.

Our mission is to help consumers make informed purchase decisions. While we strive to keep our reviews as unbiased as possible, we do receive affiliate compensation through some of our links. This can affect which services appear on our site and where we rank them. Our affiliate compensation allows us to maintain an ad-free website and provide a free service to our readers. For more information, please see our  Privacy Policy Page . |

© Business.org 2024 All Rights Reserved.

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

• Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

• Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

• Google Tag Manager
• Infographics
• Daily Infographics
• Popular Templates
• Accessibility
• Graphic Design
• Graphs and Charts
• Data Visualization
• Human Resources
• Beginner Guides

Blog Business 8 Best Business Plan Software for 2024

8 Best Business Plan Software for 2024

Written by: Krystle Wong Jan 01, 2024

Gone are the days of staring at blank pages and struggling to structure a business plan effectively. With user-friendly interfaces and a wide range of business plan templates catering to various industries, creating business plans that are polished, professional and data-driven can now be done in a fraction of the time.

For startups, business plan software guides them through the crucial early stages with comprehensive business plan templates and financial modeling tools. Established businesses on the other hand benefit from the software’s collaborative features, enabling seamless teamwork as they pivot, innovate and pursue new growth opportunities.

In this article, let’s delve into exploring the seven best business plan software for 2024. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur with a groundbreaking idea or a seasoned business owner ready to elevate your enterprise to new heights, these software solutions have all you need to create a solid business plan.

Click to jump ahead:

What is a business plan software?

• 7 Best business plan software for 2024

Factors to consider when choosing a business plan software

7 steps to create your own business plan, business plan software faq, key takeaway.

A Business plan software is a specialized digital tool designed to assist entrepreneurs, startups and established businesses in creating, organizing and presenting comprehensive business plans. 

Business plan software significantly reduces the time and effort required to create a comprehensive business plan . The availability of business plan templates, financial modeling tools and automated features streamlines the process of business planning and eliminates the need for starting from scratch.

Some advanced business planning software even integrates market research capabilities. This feature provides users with access to market trends, industry benchmarks and relevant data. Access to such data helps users make informed decisions and demonstrate a thorough understanding of their target market.

8 Best business plan software for 2024 

1. venngage.

Venngage specializes in transforming traditional business plans into captivating visual stories. Visuals can communicate complex information effectively, ensuring your ideas stand out and resonate with your audience.

When it comes to business planning, conveying your ideas with impact is just as important as the content itself. In this digital age, visual storytelling has emerged as a powerful way to captivate audiences and leave a lasting impression. That’s where Venngage steps in.

With a rich library of templates, Venngage offers a variety of themes and styles to suit different industries and business types. Customize your business plans with our user-friendly drag-and-drop tools by adding your brand elements, customizing colors, fonts and visuals to make your business plan truly unique. Check out our library of sample business plans to get started today.

However, while Venngage excels in visual storytelling, it might not be the go-to tool for in-depth financial forecasts and analysis. Users seeking extensive financial modeling might want to complement Venngage with a comprehensive business planning tool.

Pricing options:

Create your first 5 designs with Venngage for free and upgrade to a premium or business plan for $10/month per user and $24/month per user respectively to enjoy premium features. For larger teams who need extra support, controls and security, the enterprise plan starts from $499/month for 10+ seats.

Can I collaborate with team members using this business plan software?

Yes, absolutely! Venngage offers collaborative features that allow you to work seamlessly with multiple team members when creating business plans. You can invite team members to join your Venngage account and they can contribute to the design process in real time. 

Can I export my business plan to different file formats?

Upgrade to a premium or business plan on Venngage to export your professional business plan to different file formats. After designing your business plan, you can choose to export it as a high-quality PDF document, which is ideal for sharing and printing. Additionally, Venngage allows you to export your business plan as an image file (PNG or JPG), making it easy to use in presentations or on your website. 

Is this business plan software suitable for startups or established businesses? 

Venngage is great for entrepreneurs and businesses looking to enhance their business plans with visually engaging infographics and visual assets.

Instead of sharing a lengthy, 50-page document that may bore your audience and fail to effectively convey your message — present your business plan with infographics. Here’s how you can create a business plan infographic that will wow your readers and showcase your business at its best. 

2. LivePlan

Source: Screenshot from LivePlan

In the realm of business planning software, LivePlan stands out as a reliable and user-friendly tool. With a focus on seamless financial forecasting and budgeting capabilities, LivePlan streamlines the planning process, helping businesses transform their visions into reality.

The software’s financial forecasting tools provide users with the ability to project revenue, expenses and cash flow accurately. This financial insight is invaluable for making informed decisions and setting realistic goals.

For hassle-free data integration, the business plan software offers seamless integration with accounting software . This feature allows users to import financial data effortlessly, saving time and reducing manual data entry.

While LivePlan excels in financial planning and user-friendliness, some users may find the customization options for design and layout to be limited. For businesses seeking highly tailored visual aesthetics, LivePlan’s template-based approach might be less ideal.

The standard plan is available at $20/month for monthly billing and $15/month for annual billing. For businesses seeking extensive financial tools to support their operations and growth, the Premium plan costs $20 for the first month and $40/month (monthly billing) or $30/month (annual billing) for subsequent months.

LivePlan facilitates seamless collaboration among users within your account, allowing multiple individuals to work on the same plan concurrently. To prevent conflicting edits, LivePlan restricts access to specific sections, allowing only one user to edit at a time while others observe the locked section.

You can export your business plan by using the print to PDF feature. This generates your plan content in a standard file format compatible with Adobe Reader and other free reader programs. Alternatively, you can export your plan to Microsoft Word (2007 or later).

A great tool for small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs looking for easy-to-use software with solid financial planning tools.

3. Upmetrics

Upmetrics is an AI-powered business planning software that helps businesses of all sizes and industries write their business plan.

With Upmetrics AI Assistant, you can write your plan faster, get answers to any business-related queries, and prepare financial forecasts in no time. 

Besides, the subscription includes access to 400+ sample business plans, various informative guides, and video tutorials to keep your business plan writing process on track. 

Additionally, it has collaborative features, so that everyone on the team can share their insights. Not just that, the software provides you with an AI pitch deck generator, so you can make a stellar pitch.

As an AI business plan builder , Upmetrics is suitable for entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses to write their plans at any stage. Although it has various cover page designs and immense customization options, it might still lack visual appeal. 

Pricing plan options 

• Starter plan – $7 monthly 
• Premium plan – $14 monthly 

Yes, you can collaborate with your team members while using Upmetrics. It offers collaboration tools that allow you to work effortlessly with your team on the business plan. You can invite team members to collaborate, assign tasks, and track the progress together. 

You can download your business plan as a PDF or directly as a document in Word. Besides, you can share the business plan directly to any email, and they will get the viewer access to the plan. 

Upmetrics is a versatile business planning software suitable for startups and established businesses. But its financial planning features, step-by-step guidance, and AI Assistant make it more useful for startups writing business plans for the first time.

4. BizPlan by Startups.com

Source: Screenshot from BizPlan

If you’re a startup aiming to raise investments, BizPlan is the one for you. As a universal professional business plan builder, BizPlan offers the added advantage of seamless integration with all the tools within the Startups.com network.

Designed with startups in mind, BizPlan’s step-by-step approach allows you to break down the entire scope of work into manageable steps and the built-in Progress Tracker tool keeps you on track towards success.

Once you subscribe, BizPlan opens the door to utilizing all the tools offered by Startups.com, making it a one-stop shop for your entrepreneurial needs. Whether it’s lifetime access to the service, connectivity to Findable to attract financial investments, a wealth of online educational programs or the ability to connect multiple owners to a single account, BizPlan delivers comprehensive support.

While the business plan software offers an array of benefits, it’s essential to consider the possible downsides. The absence of a free version and a mobile app, along with a lack of industry-specific templates for business plans may be worth considering before making your decision

Pricing plan options:

• Monthly plan ($29 per month)
• Annual plan ($20.75 per month or $249/year)
• Lifetime access (one-time fee of $349)

Bizplan encourages collaboration with partners, team members, advisors and subject matter experts by allowing threaded comments throughout the entire plan. It provides control over who can access sensitive financial data and enables convenient cloud-based access from anywhere.

Bizplan provides multiple options for sharing your business plan with others. You can generate an online version of your plan, which can be set as private by default or made publicly accessible through a unique shareable URL. Additionally, Bizplan offers the option to create a custom-branded PDF of your business plan. 

BizPlan is great for entrepreneurs and small businesses who value a vast collection of resources and need support in financial analysis.

Source: Screenshot from Enloop

Enloop emerges as one of the best business plan tools for startups, catering to entrepreneurs who crave a streamlined planning process. With the ability to automatically generate basic text for each section of your plan, Enloop saves time and effort in crafting your business vision.

A highlight of the business plan tool is its automatic generation of financial projections, offering accurate insights based on your entered data. This powerful feature empowers entrepreneurs to make informed decisions and project future outcomes with confidence.

For those with a penchant for strategic thinking, Enloop’s “what-if” scenario analysis becomes an invaluable tool. It allows users to explore various business strategies and assess their potential impact on plan outcomes, enabling sound decision-making.

Enloop doesn’t stop at generating numbers; it goes a step further by providing a business plan grading system. This insightful feature assesses plan quality, giving users valuable feedback to refine and enhance their business plans.

However, it’s essential to consider the software’s limitations as customization and design options are relatively limited. Additionally, the basic version of Enloop might not meet the needs of all users, as it lacks certain advanced features. 

• Seven day free trial (no credit card required)
• Detailed plan ($19.95/month or $11/month when billed annually)
• Performance plan ($39.95/month or $24/month when billed annually)

Enloop’s online business plan writing app lets you invite and collaborate with anyone on your business plans using the ‘Invite & Share’ feature.

Enloop allows you to download your business plan in PDF format whenever you’re ready. The plans remain accessible in your paid account, encouraging regular updates to keep track of your business’s health and have an up-to-date plan ready for financing needs.

Suitable for entrepreneurs seeking a tool that simplifies financial forecasting and scenario analysis.

6. PlanGuru

Source: Screenshot from PlanGuru

PlanGuru’s standout feature lies in its ability to forecast all three financial statements – income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement so that users can make data-driven decisions.

Creating detailed analyses becomes a breeze with PlanGuru’s general ledger import utilities, allowing seamless historical data import. The software facilitates budget vs actual reporting and enables building rolling forecasts with just a few clicks each month.

Unlimited budgeting flexibility is another advantage offered by the business plan builder. Users can craft simple high-level small business budgets or delve into intricate multi-department operating budgets with ease.

With scenario analysis capabilities, PlanGuru empowers users to interpret the financial impact of specific events accurately. This feature enables making critical investments and strategic decisions with confidence, knowing thorough due diligence has been performed.

Given its sophisticated features, PlanGuru may be more suitable for financial professionals and analysts looking for in-depth financial analysis and budgeting tools. Users not familiar with financial modeling may face a steeper learning curve when utilizing Enloop’s robust capabilities.

• Single entity ($99/month or $75/month when billed annually)
• Multi-department consolidations ($299/month or $225/month when billed annually)

You can add up to 3 users with the multi-department consolidation plan. Additionally, all plans allow you to add on $29/month (billed monthly) or $25/month (billed annually) for each extra user.

What other apps does PlanGuru integrate with?

The cloud-based platform is also accessible as a Windows-based desktop version, giving you the freedom to choose the format that suits you best. Additionally, PlanGuru seamlessly integrates with MS Excel, QuickBooks Online and Xero, providing further flexibility and convenience in using the software.

The cloud-based version is suitable for SMBs or nonprofits budgeting for a single entity while the multi-department consolidations plan is for companies with multiple departments needing consolidated budgets.

7. Business Sorter

Source: Screenshot from Business Sorter

With Business Sorter’s card sort system, crafting the foundation of your plan becomes a breeze. Featuring 273 cards covering various business situations, the business plan generator offers flexibility, allowing users to customize their plan by adding their cards or modifying existing ones, tailoring the plan to their specific needs.

The platform also provides the convenience of viewing your plan on any device, including smartphones, which not many business plan apps have. Additionally, guidance is at hand with Business Sorter as the software provides valuable tips and advice for every key step, empowering users to implement their business strategy with confidence.

While Business Sorter excels in its interactive features, it may not offer as extensive financial analysis tools as other business plan software. For businesses requiring advanced financial modeling capabilities, Business Sorter might not fully meet their requirements.

• For small teams with up to 3 users ($10/month or $80/year)
• For medium teams with up to 10 users ($30/month or $240/year)
• For large teams with up to 30 users ($80/month or $640/year)
• For enterprises with unlimited users (custom pricing)

Your business plan can be edited by only one user at a time. When a user opens a plan, it automatically locks to prevent any data loss and remains locked until the user finishes their work and exits the plan.

You can print each business plan directly from the plan summaries on your dashboard. 

Suitable for both entrepreneurs and businesses looking for an interactive and visually appealing planning approach.

9. AchieveIt

Source: Screenshot from AchieveIt

AchieveIt stands as a versatile software for business plans, designed to simplify the planning process for businesses of all sizes and planning methods. With AchieveIt, you can easily build plans, ensuring alignment and engagement among your employees and optimizing plans for seamless execution.

Regardless of your preferred planning method, AchieveIt empowers you to construct plans effortlessly, providing a flexible solution for any planning use case. The software ensures your plans are well-aligned with your organization’s objectives, engaging all team members for successful plan execution.

The business plan tool provides robust tracking and reporting features, allowing businesses to monitor the progress of their plans and measure performance against set goals. Users can create customized dashboards to visualize key performance metrics, making it easier to identify trends and insights.

That said, In comparison to most business plan software, AchieveIt’s pricing might be relatively higher with its extensive features. On top of that, for users new to strategic planning software, AchieveIt may present a learning curve during the initial adoption phase.

The business plan software packages for AchieveIt varies based on factors like organization size, required functionality and the number of users. AchieveIt being an enterprise-level software offers custom pricing to cater to the specific needs of each business. For accurate pricing details, it’s best to contact their sales or customer support team.

AchieveIt allows team members, stakeholders and advisors to have shared access to the platform, providing them with visibility into the latest updates and progress on the plans. Users can assign tasks to team members and track their progress within the platform. 

Can AchieveIt integrate with existing systems?

AchieveIt’s Data Integration API lets you import key metric data from existing systems, saving time and reducing errors by eliminating the need for data entry in multiple places.

AchieveIt is best suited for medium to large-sized businesses and organizations that require a comprehensive and collaborative strategic planning platform. It caters to teams and enterprises seeking to improve their planning processes, track performance and drive organizational alignment to achieve business objectives effectively.

No idea what your business plan should look like? Check out these business plan examples for inspiration. 

When searching for the best business planning software, you may be wondering — what features should I look for in business plan software? You want to make sure it meets your specific requirements and streamlines the planning process effectively. Here are the top six factors to consider:

Ease of use

The software should have a user-friendly interface that simplifies the process of creating a business plan. Look for intuitive navigation, clear instruction and a layout that makes it easy to input and organize your information.

Features and business plan templates

Check the range of features and business plan templates the software offers. Look for a diverse selection of business plan templates catering to various industries and business types. The software should provide essential sections like executive summaries, market analysis, financial projections and more.

Financial modeling tools

Your business plan software should allow you to input financial data and generate accurate and comprehensive financial projections. These business plan creation tools are vital for assessing the financial viability of your business.

Collaboration and sharing

If you’ll be working with a team or seeking feedback from others, consider software that enables real-time collaboration and easy sharing. The ability to work together seamlessly can enhance productivity and improve the quality of your business plan.

Built for fast-moving teams that need to be on the same page, Venngage’s real-time collaboration enables you to polish your design with your team in real time, leave comments on each other’s work,and save your designs in one shared folder. With your  Venngage Business  account, you can easily invite and manage your team members to collaborate on a design, all in real time.

Security and data protection

Since a business plan contains sensitive information, prioritize software that prioritizes security. Ensure that the software uses encryption and data protection measures to keep your data safe from unauthorized access.

Exporting and sharing options

Check the software’s export options. You’ll likely want to share your business plan with others, so ensure it can be exported in popular formats like PDF or PowerPoint.

Are you an entrepreneur starting a new business or expanding your existing business? This guide on how to create a small business plan might come in handy for you. 

Creating business plans can be a crucial step in setting your entrepreneurial vision on the right track. To help you through the process, here are 7 steps to guide you in crafting a comprehensive business plan:

Step 1: Executive summary

Start with an attention-grabbing executive summary. This section provides an overview of your business. In your executive summary, make sure to highlight your mission, goals, products or services, target market and the unique value you offer. Keep it concise, yet compelling.

Step 2: Company description

Give a detailed description of your company. Explain your business’s history, its legal structure (e.g. sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation) and the reasons why your business will succeed in the market.

Step 3: Market analysis

Conduct thorough market research to understand your industry, target market and competition. Identify your ideal customers, their needs and preferences. Analyze your competitors and highlight your competitive advantages.

Step 4: Products and Services

Describe your products or services in depth. Explain their features, benefits and how they meet the needs of your target customers. Emphasize what sets your offerings apart from the competition.

Step 5: Marketing and sales strategy

Outline your marketing and sales strategies to reach your target audience. Explain your promotional activities, pricing strategies, distribution channels and sales tactics. Detail how you plan to acquire and retain customers.

Step 6: Financial projections

Project your financial performance over the next three to five years. Include estimated revenue, expenses and cash flow. Detail your startup costs and funding requirements if applicable. Be realistic and supported by market research.

Step 7: Implementation plan

Create a detailed roadmap for executing your business plan. Set specific goals and milestones. Break down tasks and assign responsibilities. Include timelines and a plan for measuring progress.

A great tip here is to start with a well-structured outline. This guide on how to create a business plan outline will help you in creating your blueprint to easily identify your business’ resource needs, including finances, personnel and equipment. 

Is my business data safe with business plan software?

Most reputable business plan software providers prioritize data security and employ encryption and other measures to keep your business data safe from unauthorized access.

What are the benefits of using business planning tools?

Business planning tools offer time efficiency, professional presentation, error reduction, collaborative features and accessibility, making it easier to create a comprehensive business plan that impresses investors and stakeholders.

Do I need any specific skills or expertise to use business plan software?

No, many business plan software solutions are designed to be user-friendly, requiring no specific skills or expertise. They often come with templates and step-by-step guidance to assist you through the planning process.

In the dynamic landscape of 2024, businesses are on the lookout for innovative tools to stay ahead of the curve and drive their growth. These 7 business plan software picks for 2024 offer a wide range of features, from user-friendly interfaces and real-time collaboration to sophisticated financial analysis tools and customizable dashboards.

Whether you’re looking for user-friendly platform business planning tools that aligns with your business planning processes or a business plan writing software that allows you to tailor the business plan according to your industry, goals and unique requirements — I’m quite certain I’ve got them all covered. 

The value of these business plan software options lies not only in their efficiency but also in their ability to save time and reduce errors. By integrating with existing systems through Data Integration APIs, users can seamlessly import key metric data, eliminating redundant data entry and streamlining the process.

If you’re still unsure about which is the right business plan software for your business, you can always take advantage of free trials or video tutorials and demos offered by software providers. Testing the platform firsthand will give you a practical understanding of its usability and suitability for your business.

Discover popular designs

Infographic maker

Brochure maker

White paper online

Newsletter creator

Flyer maker

Timeline maker

Letterhead maker

Mind map maker

Ebook maker

How to automate your business for growth: Actionable tips

Is your daily workload overwhelming? You’re not alone. Our research indicates that 68% of employees report feeling overloaded with tasks. You can’t be everywhere at once, nor should you be.

But here’s the good news: business automation helps you conquer this uphill battle.

By understanding how to automate your business, you can:

• Increase efficiency.
• Drive productivity.
• Ignite growth.
• Enjoy cost savings. 

This post walks you through the benefits of automation and provides a practical guide on how to automate your business effectively. 

Let’s get started.

What is business automation?

Before learning how to automate your business, let’s grasp the basics of business automation. 

Business automation, also known as business process automation (BPA), is the use of technology to execute recurring tasks or business processes where you can replace manual effort.

Business automation lets you:

• Save costs.
• Remove inefficiencies.
• Improve accuracy and speed.

You can implement automation in areas such as:

• Invoicing and billing.
• Customer support.
• Data entry.
• Inventory management.
• Marketing efforts.

Why is business automation important?

Business automation is crucial because it:

• Increases efficiency.
• Reduces costs.
• Enhances scalability.
• Minimizes human error to improve accuracy.
• Offers insights for better decision-making.

Business automation solutions also elevate customer service by ensuring faster, more reliable interactions with existing and potential customers. 

As a result, automation initiatives are key drivers for growth and sustainability.

Let’s look at the main benefits of automation before covering the steps outlining how to automate your business.

For the jobs humans can do but don’t want to.

Benefits of business automation.

By replacing manual processes with automation software tools, businesses reap considerable benefits across the board.

Save time and money

Business automation simplifies repetitive tasks to free up your team’s time for higher-value activities.

Automation processes don’t just save time. They also reduce operational costs for a stronger bottom line. The best part is that you can reinvest the time and money you save into growing your business — something particularly important for small businesses .

Improve resource management

With automation, you allocate your resources more efficiently, which reduces waste and improves utilization. Automated systems can handle increased workloads without the need for proportional increases in personnel or infrastructure. As a result, you ensure optimal resource management and cut down on labor costs.

Boost productivity

Once you figure out how to automate your current business processes, you’ll empower your team to accomplish more in less time.

By eliminating tedious tasks, your team members can focus on the strategic, creative, and problem-solving aspects of their jobs. This leads to increased productivity and job satisfaction.

Increase process efficiency

Automation enhances process efficiency by reducing error rates and redundancies. It simplifies your workflows and provides a clear overview of your business processes. This makes it easier to identify and handle bottlenecks.

Ensure compliance

You can program automation technologies to follow regulatory standards so that you ensure compliance at all times.

This reduces the risk of manual errors and protects your business from potential legal consequences. With automation software, you’re prepared for any hiccups that might arise around rules and regulations.

Optimize customer experience

Business automation dramatically improves your customer experience . From providing faster response times to consistent, personalized experiences, automation ensures your customers enjoy a seamless and satisfying journey with your brand.

Now that you reviewed the benefits of automation, let’s look at how to automate your business.

Save hard costs and real time with automation.

How to automate your business for growth.

Embracing automation is a step toward achieving scalable business growth. These ten strategies show you how to automate your business and propel your operations forward.

1. Automate repetitive tasks

Use automation software to handle tedious, repetitive tasks. This frees up valuable time for your team to focus on strategic, growth-focused activities.

2. Set up automated follow-ups and notifications

Automation ensures timely follow-ups and notifications, which enhances customer engagement and improves your relationship management.

This also boosts customer retention and strengthens your brand’s reputation.

3. Track and report expenses accurately

Automate expense tracking and reporting for accuracy and efficiency. This simplifies financial management and improves budgeting accuracy.

4. Centralize sales data to increase visibility

A centralized sales data system offers a holistic view of your sales pipeline. Seeing all your processes from a bird’s eye view fuels growth. It provides valuable insights into your sales process to help drive your strategic decisions.

5. Streamline email marketing campaigns

Automation tools simplify and personalize your email marketing, leading to improved customer engagement and higher conversion rates.

See an example of Method’s Email Campaigns app below.

6. Implement a lead scoring system

Use automated lead scoring to prioritize leads based on their potential value. This lets your sales team focus on your highest-value prospects.

7. Consider AI and machine learning tools

AI and machine learning provide a wide range of predictive insights and data analysis at scale. While they get expensive, these tools help you improve your decision-making and competitive advantage.

8. Let customers self-serve with online portals

Self-service portals let your customers independently:

• Manage their accounts.
• Track orders.
• Request and access support options. 

A portal reduces your customer service workload and enhances customer satisfaction through added convenience.

See an example of Method’s portals here:

9. Track all customer information

When you use a CRM system to track all your customer interactions, you get a complete view of your business’ customer journey. This informs personalized marketing tactics and customer service strategies for happier customers and a healthier cash flow.

10. Use CRM that integrates with your accounting software

Choose a CRM system that integrates with your accounting software for seamless data flow. In doing so, you reduce manual data entry and the potential for errors.

Now that you know how to automate your business for growth, it’s time to explore the best tool for the job.

Automate your way to stress-free days with Method

Method is more than just a customer relationship management (CRM) tool — it’s a complete solution that simplifies your business processes to make your workday more manageable.

When you take advantage of Method’s two-way sync with QuickBooks or Xero, you: 

• Create a seamless data flow between your CRM and accounting software.
• Reduce manual data entry for improved accuracy. 

Check out Method in action below.

Never worry about missing an important date or forgetting to follow up on a client query again. Method automates follow-ups and notifications to ensure that you maintain strong client relationships without the stress that comes with it.

Method also empowers your customers with self-service online portals. As a result, you improve their experience with your business while you reduce your support workload.

Automate your recurring processes with Method and free up time to focus on what truly matters — growing your business.

Business automation FAQs

What is the purpose of automation.

Automation enhances efficiency by replacing manual tasks with technology. This results in operations that are: 

• Faster. 
• More accurate. 
• Cost-effective. 

What are the various phases in an automation testing life cycle?

The automation testing life cycle includes six key phases: 

• Defining the scope of your test automation. 
• Selecting one or more automation tools. 
• Creating a test plan and execution strategy. 
• Preparing the test environment.
• Developing and conducting test cases. 
• Analyzing results and producing test reports. 

From there, you can apply your learnings and deploy successful workflow automation. 

What is the data-driven framework?

The data-driven framework is a method used in automated testing. It takes data from files and uses it in test scripts. This makes it easier to test various scenarios in one go, like for automation. 

In a nutshell, the data-driven framework is a practical way to check, test, and validate software with various data sets.

Is automating processes expensive?

Automating processes, especially for complex tasks, is a bit costly at first. However, the long-term benefits of workflow automation are substantial. It: 

• Simplifies operations. 
• Reduces labor costs. 
• Increases efficiency. 

So, while there may be a large upfront cost when automating business processes, you actually save money in the long run.

See how Method helps you let go of the reins and still sleep at night!

Image credit: gpointstudio via Freepik

Streamline your business with Method

Start your free trial — no credit card, no contract.

App comparison

Add up to 4 apps below to see how they compare. You can also use the "Compare" buttons while browsing.

Learn why GetApp is free

Business Plan Software

GetApp offers objective, independent research and verified user reviews. We may earn a referral fee when you visit a vendor through our links.  Learn more

71 software options

Third-Party Integrations ( 34 )

Access Controls/Permissions ( 23 )

"What If" Scenarios ( 14 )

Activity Dashboard ( 45 )

Integrated with

QuickBooks Online ( 6 )

Microsoft 365 ( 4 )

QuickBooks Online Advanced ( 2 )

Microsoft Outlook ( 8 )

Google Calendar ( 6 )

Pricing model

Free ( 29 )

Open Source ( 2 )

Free Trial ( 44 )

One Time License ( 4 )

Subscription ( 57 )

Devices supported

iPad ( 11 )

Android ( 13 )

Linux ( 17 )

Web-based ( 70 )

iPhone ( 12 )

Windows ( 31 )

Organization types

Small Business ( 66 )

Non Profit ( 20 )

Large Enterprises ( 47 )

Public Administrations ( 16 )

Freelancers ( 30 )

Mid Size Business ( 56 )

User rating

Personalize your search

Any industry

Any business size

Project & Issue Tracking Software - See why we're #1!

Read more about Jira

An online work execution platform for any size organization.

Read more about Smartsheet

Accounting software for small business

Read more about Xero

Manage your projects from start to finish with Wrike

Read more about Wrike

Aha! is the world's #1 product development software.

Read more about Aha!

Productboard

Customer-driven product management system

Read more about Productboard

Cloud-based content marketing platform

Read more about Kajabi

Business planning & performance management software

Read more about LivePlan

STRATWs ONE

Cloud-based business performance management software

Read more about STRATWs ONE

Business Base

Business management software for strategic planning

Read more about Business Base

ClearPoint Strategy

The world’s first integrated Strategic Plan reporting system

Read more about ClearPoint Strategy

Automated strategic planning for smarter decisions, faster

Read more about ProAI

Business plan software with AI assistance.

Read more about Upmetrics

All-in-one business planning tool, powered by AI

Read more about IdeaBuddy

ESM+Strategy

Strategic Planning and Balanced Scorecard Software

Read more about ESM+Strategy

Read more about Intecplan

Measure Value

Read more about Valutico

Planning and Execution Software to help you Achieve more

Read more about AchieveIt

Business planning platform for finance

Read more about Causal

The All-In-One Knowledge Management Platform

Read more about Klyck

Simplest website builder for freelancers and solopreneurs.

Read more about Workee

Business & financial planning software for SMEs

Read more about Modeliks

Cloud-based product roadmap solution for teams.

Read more about Vistaly

Cloud-based platform for strategic planning.

Read more about Maus

Cloud-based strategic business planning solution

Read more about Rhythm

page 1 of 3

Related categories

Select your country

United States (English)

56 Top Gallant Road Stamford, CT 06902 USA

Registered office

Calle Álava 121 08018 Barcelona, Spain

For vendors

Our company

© 2010-2024 GetApp. All Rights Reserved. GetApp® is a registered trademark of Nubera eBusiness S.L. Nubera eBusiness uses its own and third-party cookies. By using the website you are accepting the use of these cookies. To get more information about our cookies click here .

Automation with Zapier

Automation inspiration

How to automate your business: A guide from Zapier

What's your business's most valuable resource? Your product? Your customer list? Those are important, but we'd say it's your employees.

They bring their talent and insight to the table every day and put in effort to make the business succeed. And their most valuable resources are their time and attention. Why waste those on busywork when you can automate your business and free your employees to focus on what's important?

Busywork hides in unexpected places. The software, apps, and digital tools you use to run your business come with bloated inboxes and notification overload. Most employees interact with dozens of apps every week, and often that comes with new forms of busywork as they have to shuttle information between different apps. 

Automation is a clear solution, taking repetitive tasks and seamlessly running them in the background.

This type of automation refers to a piece of software or code that responds to a trigger from one program by executing an action in another. Put simply, "When this happens, do that ." You spend some time setting up the rules to govern these actions, and from then on, they run each time without you having to think about it.

This frees your team to focus on more engaging, productive work, but it can be a challenge to know where to begin the process. 

Here, we're going to walk you through how to add automation to your business using Zapier, a software automation platform.

Table of contents

Decide where to add automation to your business.

Understand what apps are being used and how they talk to each other. Any place where a person acts as a bridge between software platforms is a great candidate for automation. There's no reason to have staff run interference for these apps: Let them communicate with each other directly.

Look at the ways people and departments communicate. Are there departments that need to communicate frequently or often access information from the same sources? Automation can make it easier to share and transfer knowledge. 

Identify opportunities for innovation. Identify areas you want to see growth and creativity and encourage the teams working on those projects to create new and exciting tools with automation. You can use automation to synthesize and analyze information, spark ideas, or create entirely new tools when your existing apps are falling short of their potential.

A few places we recommend evaluating as you get started with automation:

Tailor your automation approach based on team needs

Once you have an idea of your goals and a sense of where automation will be the most helpful to your business, you can begin to create specific workflows for your teams. Every department has distinct needs and challenges and may use the same apps in completely different ways. Here are some ideas to help you adapt or develop Zaps to serve the specific needs of each team and execute them effectively.

Accounting and bookkeeping

Track and report expenses accurately.

Receiving payments from clients, tracking team expenditures on company cards or bank accounts, and recording service provider fees are all easy to link directly into your software with Zaps—no need to wait for manual input. Once your information is quickly and accurately consolidated, another Zap can export that data to spreadsheets for easy reporting, giving you real-time data on your company's financials and eliminating the human labor from repetitive tasks such as batched expense reports.

Add new Expensify reports to a Google Sheets spreadsheet

Generate receipts in QuickBooks Online for new Stripe payments

Add new paid Shopify orders to Microsoft Excel rows

Improve your invoicing and eCommerce software

Add new quickbooks online invoices to google sheets spreadsheet rows, import new clients into accounting software, save new hubspot form submissions to google sheets rows.

Add new Google Sheets spreadsheet rows to FreshBooks as new clients

Send new form submissions in HubSpot to Google Sheets and create new clients in Freshbooks

Make lead ads work for you, add new leads in facebook lead ads to salesforce essentials.

Add or update ActiveCampaign contacts with new Facebook Lead Ads leads

Create contacts on Zoho CRM from new leads from Facebook Lead Ads

Streamline your social media marketing

Share your new instagram posts to your facebook page.

Send new YouTube videos in a channel to a Facebook Page

Effective email marketing

Add new eventbrite attendees to a mailchimp list.

Add new PayPal customers to ActiveCampaign as contacts

Support online and in-person events

Add new eventbrite events to facebook pages as posts, create linkedin company updates for new events in eventbrite.

Create event purchases in Facebook for new ticket purchases in Splash

Add new Eventable subscribers to a Mailchimp list

Human Resources

A growing company means a busy HR team. With hiring, training, signing documents, and benefits management moving online, HR will find automation especially beneficial.

Organize your recruitment

Add new zoho recruit interviews as events on google calendar.

Create Workable Candidates from a Typeform Job Application Form

Send a Confirmation Email to New Workable Applicants

Onboard efficiently and securely

Request dropbox sign signatures with new google sheets rows.

Send Dropbox Sign signature requests from your Wufoo form

Automate your business's vacation requests

Send a slack message to a private channel from new google sheets rows.

Update rows in Google Sheets when new messages post in private Slack channels

Update google sheets rows with new, specific messages in slack channels.

Send emails via Gmail when Google Sheets rows are updated

Reporting and analytics, standardize forms to get better data, create or update customers in customer.io from formkeep submissions.

Create leads on Close for new submissions on FormKeep

Format FormKeep responses and send data through Webhooks by Zapier

Make yourself a database

Create airtable records from new google forms responses.

Add new Facebook Lead Ads respondents to your MySQL database

Add new SQL Server rows to a Google Sheets spreadsheet

Automate your basic analysis

Save typeform form entries to a mysql database, add new keap max classic invoices as rows to a postgresql table.

IT and tech support

Support your site security, turn new wordpress users into lastpass team members.

Create Okta users for new Namely employees

Send SMS using Twilio for new Intruder issues

Run a weekly Intruder security scan

Communicate and respond to requests

While an IT team can build automation into their technical work in many ways, they'll also find that it's helpful to automate the systems that support that work. This is an area where the collaborative tools mentioned earlier can be especially beneficial, as IT's workflow often involves responding to requests from other teams.

Save new attachments from labeled emails in Gmail to Google Drive

Add files to Dropbox from new labeled messages on Gmail

Customer support and client success

Create zendesk tickets from new squarespace form responses.

Get Slack notifications for new Help Scout conversations

Send Help Scout stats weekly via Gmail

Empower your teams to implement the automation they need.

Ultimately, automation works best when it is driven by the needs of the people using it. Your staff will understand where the pain points are and what they spend the most time doing, and they'll have a vision for where things can grow and improve. Involving them in the automation process from the ground up will help the automation serve the needs of your business most effectively.

Automation software has made it possible for anyone to set up sophisticated workflows, not just those with computer science degrees. Instead of expensive programmers creating top-down systems, automation can now be executed directly by the people who will be using it. This capacity for personalization makes this type of automation nimble and responsive to your team's specific needs. Let your team experiment.

Automation can be utilized across departments but also at each level: company-wide, within teams, and by individuals in their personal workflow management. Individuals can access Zapier's Learning Center and blog for inspiration on what automations to set up and guides for how to execute them. The more thoroughly your teams understand how they can use this tool, the better, more actionable suggestions they will be able to make for larger-scale automation initiatives.

While automation might seem like a technological tool, it's actually about the people using it. When human creativity is freed from mindless and repetitive busywork, your company will suddenly have a lot more energy for innovation, collaboration, and growth.

The possibilities for implementing automation in the workplace can be overwhelming, but focusing on empowering and unburdening your workforce will steer your efforts to where they will make the most dramatic impact. What can your employees create now that their busywork is taken care of? What can they imagine with a clear inbox and access to organized data? Your company has the space to grow and flourish as your workflows seamlessly run themselves.

Related reading:

Get productivity tips delivered straight to your inbox

We’ll email you 1-3 times per week—and never share your information.

Wren is an NYC-based writer and photographer. She completed her BFA in Film Production at NYU and MFA in Photography at Concordia University and has worked in independent fashion retail management in Montreal and New York.

• Small business

Related articles

4 ways to automate Thinkific with Zapier

How to make the job search less of a full-time job

How to make the job search less of a...

4 ways to use the Zapier Vimeo integration

4 Constant Contact automation ideas

Improve your productivity automatically. Use Zapier to get your apps working together.

10 Best Business Plan Software and Tools in 2024

Do you know what’s common between a global IT firm and a small food truck business?

Like any other business on the planet Earth, they both require a  solid business plan  to make their business a runaway success.

Business plan. No entrepreneur is a stranger to this term, but do they all consider it seriously? Not sure.

Results? Spending a lot of time, money, and resources on the wrong marketing strategies, missing several growth opportunities, and of course, facing tough times raising funds. 

No one wants to be in this situation! 

That’s where a perfect business plan software can help you out. These tools make drafting an investment-ready business a breeze.

So how exactly can these business planning tools help?

Simply put,  business plan software  can help you create a winning business plan, develop marketing strategies, and predict your financial future—ultimately helping your business grow.

Now, how to choose a tool that will suit your business’s requirements and your budget too? The answer is right here.

In this article, we’ve narrowed down our search for the best business plan software to the 10 best paid and free software considering factors like—pricing, features, performance, and credibility. 

So you can easily pick the one that best suits your requirements.

All sorted? Shall we begin? Let’s roll.

Best Paid and Free Business Plan Software and Tools

Jump to section, 1. upmetrics.

Upmetrics  is a top business and financial planning software helping entrepreneurs and small business owners start and grow their businesses.

Its 200+ fully customizable sample business plans, video tutorials, well-written documentation, and go-to guides make writing a business plan a lot easier for someone new to business plan writing.

The best part about Upmetrics is—it’s affordable, reliable, and best for beginners. 

In fact, the creators of Upmetrics believe that creating a business plan requires no special qualifications, nor a degree in finance to draw financial projections.  

And the tool they’ve created speaks volumes of their words—making it a go-to solution for budding entrepreneurs. 

Let’s have a look at the features you get with Upmetrics—the #1 business plan software: 

• 400+ fully customizable business plan templates to get started.
• Easy-to-use business plan builder with drag and drop tools.
• Financial forecasting tool to plan and manage your cash flow with ease.
• Easy to share or collaborate with the team in real time.
• Pitch deck creator to create perfect pitches and impress investors.
• Createactionable business strategies using various business model canvases.
• Easily customize and edit cover pages.
• Real-time updates and cloud storage, eliminating the risk of data loss.
• Business resources, video tutorials, and guides to help get started.
• Intuitive, seamless, and responsive user interface.

The Upmetrics subscription starts at $7/month (billed annually) with one workspace; it also provides a free demo and a 15-day money-back guarantee —so no risk at all!

Create winning Business Plans with ultimate

AI Business Plan Generator

Plans starting from $7/month

What People Say About Us

2. Liveplan

LivePlan  is one of the best and most renowned business planning, budgeting, and performance-tracking software for startups and small business owners.

Whether you are a startup looking to attract potential investors or an established organization that needs help creating a forecast of your business’s financial future—LivePlan can help.

LivePlan simplifies the process of creating a professional business plan with its instruction manuals, tutorials, and expert guidance, whereas its automated financials built-in with formulas ensure precise financial forecasting.

LivePlan provides a wide range of features which may include:

• Business plan templates
• Budgeting and expense tracking
• Online learning tools & resources
• Collaborative planning
• Pitch deck creator
• Dashboard and reporting
• Integrated document storage

Though LivePlan has been in the market for a long time now, it isn’t suitable for short-term business planning. That’s why we recommend exploring some LivePlan alternatives.

LivePlan’s subscription model consists of two plans: standard and premium. The standard plan costs $20/month, whereas the premium plan costs $40/month. However, they do not have any free trial or demo as a part of their pricing plan.

What I didn't like about LivePlan?

Here are the average user ratings, comparing the experiences on Liveplan and Upmetrics.

Compare Liveplan with Others

Liveplan vs. Enloop: Which is Best for Your Business?

IdeaBuddy vs. Liveplan: Which is Best for Your Business?

Bizplan vs. Liveplan: Which is Best for Your Business?

Enloop  is an advanced business planning and financial forecasting tool helping business owners maximize the potential of their business venture.

Unlike Upmetrics and LivePlan—Enloop is designed for individuals with prior financial knowledge and business planning experience.

Understanding all of its functionalities is tough, but it has a lot to offer once you figure out its basic functionalities. Still, it’s not the most intuitive and user-friendly application in this space, so it may take a while to get used to it.

If you’re not a beginner and are willing to invest some time understanding and learning its functionalities—it’s well worth it. But, if you’re not, you may consider looking for a few other business plan software.

Enloop provides a wide range of advanced financial tools and business planning features, which may include:

• Business plan creation
• Automated financial forecasts
• Collaboration and sharing
• Funding and investor tools
• Exporting and integrations
• Auto-generated financial reports
• Automated text writing

Enloop’s monthly subscription plans range between $19.95 and $39.95, depending on your plan and functionalities. It also has a 7-day free trial with no credit card details required.

What I didn't like about Enloop?

Here are the average user ratings, comparing the experiences on Enloop and Upmetrics.

4. IdeaBuddy

Ideabuddy  is an innovative business plan software helping new-age entrepreneurs turn their ideas into successful business plans.

Customizable templates, industry-based guides, and streamlined idea and business plan creation make it one of the most user-friendly applications on the list.

It is designed on a principle where users can develop, test, and launch their business idea—all in one place. While it’s great for idea creation, it may lack several comprehensive business planning features.

Financial forecasting is vital to a business plan, but IdeaBuddy may not provide all the necessary financial tools for accurate projections.

So if your business is in the idea stage—choosing IdeaBuddy could be a fair call, but if you plan to build a comprehensive business plan, you need another tool.

IdeaBuddy provides a wide range of features, which may include:

• Modern business plan with a click
• Export your plan and financials
• Mobile-friendly platform
• Customizable templates and industry-based guides
• Test to score your idea
• Step-by-step business guide
• Brainstorm ideas with your team

IdeaBuddy’s subscription model consists of four plans: free, dreamer, founder, and team pro.

Depending on the plan specifications and features, these plans may cost between $15 to $40 a month. You can also save up to 60% on annual memberships.

What I didn't like about IdeaBuddy?

Here are the average user ratings, comparing the experiences on IdeaBuddy and Upmetrics.

Planful  is a business planning and financial performance management cloud software. It provides a structured framework for industry-wide businesses to develop, track, and execute their plans.

The tool specializes in financial performance management with advanced features like—financial close management, reporting, and consolidation.

While the tool has numerous advanced features and functionalities—they all come with a high price tag as it’s mainly designed for medium and large-scale enterprises.

Let’s have a look at the extensive financial tools and features you may get with a planful subscription:

• Budgeting and forecasting
• Financial consolidation
• Scenario modeling
• Reporting and analytics
• Financial close management
• Data integration and connectivity
• Responsive web and mobile apps

Planful has no structured pricing model on their website; users may contact their sales team for a custom quotation.

What I didn't like about Planful?

6. iPlanner

iPlanner  is an enterprise business plan software that has been helping entrepreneurs develop their business plans since 2007. It is suitable for businesses looking to secure funding, better understand and manage risks, or communicate the company’s business model and strategy to the team.

Though the business plan software has been around for over a decade now, it didn’t seem to cope with the technological advancements, so it may not provide the most intuitive and visually appealing user interface.

But if you are searching for an affordable business planning and performance tracking tool with KPIs, analytics, and reporting features, iPlanner can be a good investment.

Here’s an overview of the key features of iPlanner—business plan software:

• Financial forecasting
• Secure and accessible
• Data security and backup
• How to articles and guides

iPlanner’s subscription model consists of two plans: professional and corporate. Professional subscriptions start at $24 for a 3-month subscription with one project, while corporate subscriptions start at $59 for a 6-month subscription with 12 projects

What I didn't like about iPlanner?

7. PlanGuru

PlanGuru  is a business planning software that helps entrepreneurs make better decisions, increase profits, and accomplish their business goals through strategic business planning and accurate forecasting.

Budgeting & financial analytics, rolling forecast, and strategic planning are three critical components of PlanGuru’s feature list.

PlanGuru specializes in forecasting financial statements, scenario analysis, budgeting, and gaining insights through reporting tools.

It offers many advanced financial forecasting features but is quite expensive— making it unsuitable for startups with limited investment capital.

PlanGuru provides a wide range of financial tools and business planning features to create business plans, which may include:

• Business valuation tool
• 20+ standard forecast methods
• Budget/forecast for up to 10 years
• Archive budget feature
• Standard report export to PDF, Excel, and Word
• Custom report builder for Excel
• Online dashboard, scorecard, and reporting tools

PlanGuru has two different pricing plans; one for businesses and nonprofits and another for business advisors. Depending on the plan specifications and features, these plans may cost between $99 and $299/month.

What I didn't like about PlanGuru?

8. The Business Plan Shop

The Business Plan Shop  is a business & financial planning and analysis platform for small and medium-sized business owners and financial advisors.

Its business plan templates make writing a business plan relatively easier for beginners. Despite its many features, the business plan software specializes in financial analysis, forecasting, and KPI tracking.

It surely has a few advanced features but can be expensive for startups and small businesses.

This business plan software provides a wide range of features, which may include:

• Financial forecasting software
• Sync accounting data
• Drag and drop templates and editor
• Integration with financial data
• Faster than Microsoft Word

The Business Plan Shop has two different pricing plans; one for businesses and CFOs and another for advisors. The business & CFO plan costs $25.50 per month, and the Advisor plan costs $94.20 per month.

What I didn't like about The Business Plan Shop?

Bizplan  is a comprehensive business plan software helping startups, entrepreneurs, and small business owners create business plans with direct access to planning experts. 

Financial tools help create detailed financial projections and financial and cash flow statements in no time, so entrepreneurs can spend more time growing and scaling their businesses.

The platform also has a fundraising tool to help startups connect with potential investors—which has already helped raise over $500 million for startups.

It has all the features to create a basic business plan but may lack industry-specific guidance or assistance.

Let’s have a look at the wide range of features that come with a Bizplan subscription:

• Financial modeling
• Integration and export
• Reporting and presentation
• Progress tracking
• Step-by-step guidance

Bizplan’s pricing plans start at $29/month, whereas the lifetime access costs $349. You may check their pricing page for more information.

What I didn't like about Bizplan?

Here are the average user ratings, comparing the experiences on Bizplan and Upmetrics.

Brixx  is a financial forecast software for cash flow, budgeting, and financial planning. Apart from helping users create a basic business plan, the platform also helps them with financial modeling, scenario planning, and goal tracking.

Its interactive charts and graphs can help you clearly present your financial data and cash flow statements for enhanced reader understanding.

Integrating Brixx and other accounting software automates the syncing of your actuals and forecasts, giving you a head start using Brixx.

The tool primarily focuses on financial projections and forecasting, so there are only a few features for other parts of the business plan.

Let’s have a look at the wide range of features that come with a Brixx subscription:

• 1-10 year financial forecasts
• Professional charts and reports
• Automated tax forecasts
• Quick-start templates
• Share plans in real-time
• Business Resources
• 3-way forecasting

Brixx has four packages in its subscription model: Foundation, Essentials, Professional, and Enterprise. The pricing for these packages may range from $0 to $66 per month.

What I didn't like about Brixx?

How to Choose the Right Business Plan Software?

All the business plan tools on our list are credible and can help you create a winning business plan. However, it’s critical to understand each tool specializes in certain aspects of business planning.

Let’s understand which factors to consider while choosing the right tool to help you create a professional business plan:

The most obvious factor. Ask yourself how much you can afford to spend on a business plan maker.

A free or low-cost tool may provide only some necessary functionalities to create a detailed plan. So, figure out your budget and shortlist the tools that you can afford to invest in.

2. Your specific requirements

The next step. Learn your specific requirement. For instance, if your business is in the idea stage, you may not require a tool with advanced financial features like—PlanGuru; Ideabuddy may work.

Both tools cater to specific audiences; if you are not sure, you may go with Upmetrics. It has pricing plans suitable for all business sizes.

3. Business plan templates

Custom designing a business plan can be tedious, so make sure the business plan software you choose has industry-specific templates to help you get started.

4. AI assistance

Artificial Intelligence has revolutionalized the way people get their things done. Make sure you select a platform that also provides AI assistance while creating a business plan.

With tools like ChatGPT and  AI business plan generator,  you can draft a business plan in a breeze.

5. Charts and graphs

Let’s face it, no one likes to read long paragraphs. The tool you choose must be able to turn your financial data and balance sheets into appealing and easy-to-understand charts and graphics.

6. Financial projections

Most critical section of a business plan. Understand your requirement regarding financial projections and the level of features the tool provides.

For instance, a large-scale organization may require a tool that can easily do business financials for ten or more years.

7. Contribution and sharing features

Make sure the tool you choose must provide the contribution and sharing features so that you can work with multiple team members.

8. Convenience and user-friendliness

A no-brainer. Ensure the software you choose has a user-friendly user interface and a manageable learning curve to understand all the working features.

9. Integrations

Some of the best business plan software integrates with accounting software. This feature can be handy while transferring financial details into your business plan.

10. Step-by-step guides

These user guides and tutorials can help you easily outline and prepare the first draft of your business plan, so make sure you consider this as one of the factors while selecting a tool.

11. Support

You are new to business planning software and may need help using some of its features. A responsive support team can help you get back on the right track.

Think of these factors as a checklist while researching the right business plan software. Once you have checked off all the boxes, you will have the right business plan software by your side.

Pros and Cons of Using Business Plan Software

Undoubtedly, business plan software can be a worth-it investment for your business, but it surely has a few disadvantages too. Let’s get to that:

• Time Saving: business plan software can be a big time-saving investment.
• Step-by-step guidance: These guides make it easier to get started for beginners.
• Accurate reporting: Good business plan software guarantee the accountability and accuracy of the reports generated.
• Customizations: Business plan tools also offer options to personalize your reports.
• Generic templates: These planning tools often provide generic templates that may not suit your requirements.
• Limited flexibility: In terms of formatting, content, design, and layout.
• Learning curve: Using these tools requires a learning curve to navigate the software.

There have to be a few disadvantages, but they are negligible when you look at the positive side of having a business plan software onboard.

And this section leads us to our conclusion!

That was the article for today with some of the best business plan software. Now over to you. Revisit the top business planning software on the list, do your research, and select the one that best suits your requirements.

Got any more burning questions in mind? The FAQ section starts right after we wrap this article up, feel free to explore. Happy business planning! 

Other Business Plan Software Alternatives

• Best 8 Liveplan alternatives
• Top Bizplan alternatives & competitors
• 8 Growthink alternatives
• Best Ideabuddy Alternatives
• Best Enloop Alternatives

Say No to Expensive Business Planning Software!

Get Affordable and Feature-Packed Business Planning with Upmetrics

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best business plan software for startups.

We’ve already mentioned the best business plan software in the blog post earlier; you may choose one amongst those depending on your specific needs.

However, Upmetrics can be a go-to business planning software for startups as it only costs $9 per month to get started—which is worth it against the value you get.

Which tool is used as a one-page business plan?

There are many business plan software providing features to create one-page business plans like—Upmetrics and Ideabuddy. You can use Upmetrics’ canvas modeling feature to develop actionable and entrepreneur-focused one-page business plans.

Can I write a business plan myself?

Of course, you can. It’s easier than ever to write a business plan with the emerging use of tools like ChatGPT. Though you can write a business plan, you need assistance making it presentable for your investors.

And business plan software providers like Upmetrics can help you do that. With 200+ sample business plans, you can easily write the first draft of your business plan.

What is the best way to write a business plan?

There cannot be a standard answer to this question. There are various business planning processes, and all of them might not work for you. Still, considering the time-saving approach, using an industry-specific template and editing it as per your requirements can be an easy way to write a business plan.

Using ChatGPT for business plan writing can also be one of the best ways to write a business plan. As mentioned, there can’t be a specific answer to this question; find a way that best suits your needs.

Is there any free business plan software available?

It’s really challenging to find the perfect business plan software, that too, for free. IdeaBuddy from our list has a free plan, but it comes with very limited features, not so helpful for creating a business plan.

Business plan software like Upmetrics, Bizplan, and LivePlan also have free trials, so you may try their features before purchasing. Furthermore, you can get a 30% off on an Upmetrics subscription if you are a nonprofit or student.

How much does business plan software typically cost?

The cost of a business plan software can widely depend on the level of features and functionalities they provide. Still, the monthly subscription of a business plan tool can range anywhere between $5 to $300.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

Power Automate

Automate and optimize business processes

Orchestrate

AI authoring

AI insights

AI processing

AI generation

Desktop automation

Bot deployment with AI

Attended and unattended RPA

Automation in the cloud

Customized building

API connectors

Better together

Transparency into work

Prebuilt templates

Opportunity identification

Confident deployment

Reliable automation

Admin at scale

Systems of record, work, and collaboration

Powerful governance made easier, sap procurement solution template, streamlined approval processes, interoperation with microsoft 365, innovative document automation, data-driven business automation, achieve high roi with low code and ai, recognized by top industry analysts.

Power Automate pricing

Power automate premium, power automate process.

Get expert help from Power Automate partners

Real stories, real impact.

Explore news, training, and support

Get the latest updates from the blog 

Watch Microsoft Build on demand

Power Automate Process Mining add-on

Get updates from the blog

Easily build low-code automation

Explore Power Automate demos and tours

Explore learning paths and modules

Read business process–automation articles

Get support for your business

Submit an idea

Join the Power Automate Community

Connect and collaborate

Unleash your creative potential

Connect with peers in user groups

 what do i need to use power automate.

 To use Power Automate, all you need is a web browser and an email address.

Which devices and browsers can I use with Power Automate?

Power Automate can be used on a large variety of devices and browsers. For the best results on a mobile device, use the Power Automate mobile app for iOS, Android, and Windows. For browsers, use the most up-to-date version compatible with your operating system: Microsoft Edge, Safari, Chrome, or Firefox. The Power Automate for desktop app is also available for the Windows 10 and 11 operating systems.

Is Power Automate available on premises?

No, Power Automate is a cloud service. However, you can securely connect to your own on-premises services through its on-premises data gateway.

How many services can Power Automate connect to?

More than 1,000 prebuilt, certified connectors are available for Power Automate, including popular services like Dynamics 365, SAP, and Salesforce. You can also build a custom connector to any cloud application and have it certified for sharing broadly with the Power Automate community. To extend to a non-API service, use RPA to connect to systems.

What are templates?

Templates are prebuilt flows for popular and common scenarios. To use one, you just need to have access to the services in the template and to input any required settings.

Can I share the flows I create?

Yes. You can add co-workers or groups in your organization as owners so they can edit and manage the flows. Or, for flows that can be run manually, you can grant other people or groups in your organization permission to run them.

How many flows can I have?

The number depends on the type of license you hold. Power Automate offers a great deal of flexibility in licensing and pricing to cover a broad range of use cases. Contact your administrator for details regarding your current license, or see pricing details.

Take the next step

Start using Power Automate for free

Contact Sales

Request we contact you

[ 1 ] Microsoft research, September 2023.

[ 2 ] The Total Economic Impact™ of Microsoft Power Platform Premium Capabilities, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Microsoft, August 2022. Data reflects the three-year ROI and net present value (NPV) of adopting Power Platform premium capabilities for a composite organization.

[ 3 ] Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms, Oleksandr Matvitskyy, Kimihiko Iijima, Mike West, Kyle Davis, Akash Jain, Paul Vincent, 17 October 2023.

[ 4 ] Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Robotic Process Automation, Saikat Ray, Arthur Villa, Melanie Alexander, Andy Wang, Mukul Saha, Sachin Joshi, 2 August 2023. Gartner is a registered trademark and service mark and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

[ 5 ] Requires access to the Microsoft 365 admin center with global administrator or billing administrator roles .

Follow Power Platform

• Chat with sales
• Contact sales

Available M-F 6 AM to 3 PM PT.

Workflow Automation Explained & 13 Best Workflow Software for 2024

Updated: April 10, 2024

Published: July 27, 2022

Manual data entry might be one of the most tedious and inefficient tasks in the corporate world. Not only does it put you to sleep, but it also wastes precious time and resources, slashing your productivity to bits.

According to Zapier , 94% of workers perform time-consuming, repetitive tasks. Fortunately, there’s technology that can automate these mind-numbing tasks, eliminating human error and letting you focus on the work that actually matters — workflow automation.

Workflow Automation

Workflow automation is the process of using rule-based logic to launch a series of tasks that run on their own without any human intervention. After you establish the rules and logic, automated workflows can send emails, set up reminders, schedule tasks, trigger drip campaigns, and more — all without anyone in your team touching a single button.

By leveraging self-operating processes that run manual tasks, workflow automation can help your business save time and money, diminish errors, and boost productivity.

Table of Contents

How does workflow automation work, workflow automation examples.

• Best Workflow Automation Software

Workflow automation typically relies on a series of if/then statements to trigger another task. It then branches off depending on the action that was taken by a lead, employee, or another stakeholder.

Let’s walk through an example workflow for turning a form submission into a deal opportunity.

• A website visitor submits a form.
• The action automatically enrolls the visitor in a drip campaign. It creates a new deal and sets the status to "New."
• The first email of the drip campaign is sent to the lead, requesting to schedule a meeting.
• The lead clicks through to the meeting scheduler and creates an appointment.
• A thank you email is sent to the lead, confirming the date and time.
• The CRM creates a new task and assigns it to a sales rep.
• The sales rep then reaches out personally, ending the automated workflow.

Here’s what a workflow can look like from start to finish.

Almost every department in your business can benefit from workflow automation. Whether it’s marketing, human resources, or finance, the technology can help you work smarter, not harder.

Below, we’ll cover some of the most popular workflow automation examples.

• Subscribing a user to a drip campaign when they download a resource from your website.
• Placing each lead at a different stage of the pipeline when they take a certain action.
• Creating a new ticket in the system when someone reaches out through social media or email.
• Deleting duplicates once they have been detected or merging two properties if they’re the same.
• Removing candidates from the database if they’ve been inactive for a period of time.
• Taking an expense approval process from start to finish.

Workflow automation can be used in virtually any team and in any business scenario. While it’s mostly related to marketing and sales, it can also be used in customer service, operations, human resources, and finance.

Marketing Workflow Automation

Image Source

Some of the most repetitive tasks in marketing, such as sending emails and posting social media updates, can be automated with workflow automation. With marketing automation software , you can schedule your entire social media calendar and set up workflows that nurture certain types of prospects with email offers.

Automated workflows in marketing include:

• Subscribing a user to a drip campaign when they download a resource from your website
• Welcoming a user to your company after they purchase a product
• Reminding a user to check out after they’ve added various items to their cart
• Scheduling social media posts across multiple platforms
• Distributing marketing tasks across team members

Additional Reading

• Beginner’s Guide to Marketing Automation
• Marketing Automation Benefits
• B2C Marketing Automation
• Email Marketing Workflows

Sales Workflow Automation

Sales workflow automation streamlines tedious lead and prospect management tasks, so that reps can focus on selling, not entering data. Aside from taking leads automatically through the pipeline based on their actions, an automated sales workflow can enroll prospects in drip campaigns and update deal stages as the deal moves forward.

Automated tasks in sales include:

• Placing each lead at a different stage of the pipeline when they take a certain action
• Moving a lead out of the pipeline if they’ve stopped responding to emails
• Sending an introduction email from a sales rep to a lead after they download an ebook
• Updating the deal stage once the lead has scheduled an appointment or meeting
• Creating tasks for sales reps once a lead has scheduled a meeting

• Beginner’s Guide to Sales Automation
• Sales Automation Stats
• Sales Force Automation
• CRM Automation

Customer Service Workflow Automation

Workflow automation is incredibly useful in customer service. Aside from launching surveys, workflow automation can take care of tickets, cases, and common questions by sending a series of emails or creating tasks.

Automated tasks in customer service include:

• Creating a new ticket in the system when someone reaches out through social media or email
• Onboarding customers with a series of helpful emails
• Sending NPS® surveys and enrolling them into different email campaigns depending on their rating
• Assigning tickets a priority label depending on the tone of the message or email
• Resolving and archiving tickets once a resolution has been reached
• Beginner’s Guide to Customer Service Automation
• Customer Relationship Automation
• Customer Service Software Tools
• AI Chatbots Tools

Operations Workflow Automation

Operations is the lifeblood of any organization, and it, too, can be automated to reduce instances of manual data entry.

Automated tasks in operations include:

• Deleting duplicates once they have been detected or merging two properties if they’re the same
• Managing team permissions for new team members
• Establishing priorities for different businesses processes
• Automatically compiling reports at the end of every quarter
• Creating tasks in third-party tools such as Asana, Slack, or Zoom
• Guide to Business Process Automation
• Ultimate Guide to Operations Hub

Human Resources Workflow Automation

Instead of having to manually enter all your new hires’ personal information — like addresses, social security numbers, and other employee information into payroll, expense, and insurance systems — HR automation software can do it for you in minutes.

Automated tasks in human resources include:

• Removing candidates from the database if they’ve been inactive for a period of time
• Sending emails to candidates that haven’t made it to the final round
• Filtering candidates with certain keywords in their job history
• Sending W2s to current employees
• Collecting employees’ feedback after they’ve been at the company for a period of time

Finance Workflow Automation

By allowing you to build forms, design workflows, and track processes, finance process automation software can streamline all of your travel requests, reimbursements, and budget approvals.

Automated tasks in finance include:

• Taking an expense approval process from start to finish
• Managing vendor and contract approvals
• Assigning priorities to ACH and wire requests
• Managing travel expense requests depending on location and activity
• Approving budgets based on a predetermined set of parameters

Now that you know everything about using automated workflows, let’s take a look at the top tools you can use.

Best Workflow Automation Software in 2024

1. hubspot : best all-in-one workflow automation software.

HubSpot’s marketing, sales, service, and operations software operates on a single platform, making it one of the best choices for all-in-one workflow automation. Everything is linked together, allowing you to align all of your teams’ processes and reducing friction from task to task.

You can easily hand leads from marketing to sales, connect a service ticket with an existing contact record, and clean up customer data — all in one user-friendly platform. And you can connect HubSpot CRM with over 50 different workflows integrations available within the HubSpot App Marketplace.

Best for : HubSpot is highly recommended for growing businesses that have yet to try workflow automation and for enterprise businesses with established processes. You can begin with a Starter subscription, then upgrade as you require more functionalities. Especially recommended for marketing, sales, service, and operations departments.

Pricing for Marketing Hub: Free; $50/month (Starter); $890/month (Professional); $3,200/month (Enterprise)

Pricing for Sales Hub: Free; $50/month (Starter); $500/month (Professional); $1,200/month (Enterprise)

Pricing for Service Hub: Free; $50/month (Starter); $400/month (Professional); $1,200/month (Enterprise)

Pricing for Operations Hub: Free; $50/month (Starter); $800/month (Professional)

2. Sender : Best Email Marketing Automation Software

Craft, deliver, and analyze your automated campaigns with Sender. With its drag-and-drop email builder and premade design templates, you'll create professional-looking emails and set up triggered automation workflows for your campaigns.

Save your abandoned carts with cart recovery emails, greet your new customers or subscribers with automated welcome emails, send feedback emails after purchase, and much more.

Target your audience with smart segmentation, personalize your message, and deliver it at the perfect moment.   Sender offers various lead generation features, such as exit-intent or spin-to-win popups. Also, you can track your campaigns’ performance with detailed analytics and a heatmap. 

Best for : Small-to-medium businesses, ecommerce stores. Sender’s very human-friendly whether you’re a pro or a beginner.

Pricing : Free forever plan; $10/month (Standard); $35/month (Professional)

3. Jotform : Best Workflow Automation with Form Building

Jotform presents a cutting-edge online software solution, allowing users to craft professional forms enriched with automated approval workflows. By embracing the Jotform Approvals feature, your organization can create custom workflows, design multi-step approval processes, schedule reminder emails, generate insightful reports, and more.

With an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, an array of useful widgets, and seamless integration with over 150 apps, Jotform equips your organization to construct formidable automation workflows. You have the capability to request approvals from groups, delegate team members to specific workflows, and effortlessly transfer data to other essential applications. Streamline your operations with Jotform Approvals, optimizing efficiency and reclaiming valuable time for more critical tasks.

Best for : Jotform caters to diverse users seeking to streamline their workflows effectively. This includes businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions, freelancers, government agencies, and more.

Pricing : Jotform offers a versatile pricing structure , including free and paid plans starting at $34 per month. For tailored Enterprise plans, please get in touch with the Jotform Enterprise sales team .

4. Bardeen.ai : Best AI Workflow Automation Software

With Bardeen.ai, you can streamline your workflow with AI, whether you need to keep your CRM clean and updated, personalize outreach campaigns, or synchronize data across various tools your internal team uses.

Bardeen allows users to automate their workflow with just a few lines of text. Getting started is easy with thousands of ready-to-use automation templates to choose from. Connect your workflow and apps using Bardeen.ai's integrations .

Best for : Small-to-medium businesses, sales teams, marketing teams, and operations teams.

Pricing : Free forever plan; Professional plan starts at $10/month .

5. Feathery : Best Form & Document Workflow Automation

Feathery is the most powerful tool for building workflows centered around forms and documents. Create any design in Feathery’s Figma-like editor, define no-code custom logic like calculation, and connect any system or document to your workflow. Generate or fill PDFs, spreadsheets, text documents, and more directly from your form submissions.

You can build collaboration and approval workflows, and bulk invite groups of users to fill out and legally e-sign your forms. You can also build authentication flows to verify your users via SMS one-time passcode, email magic link, government ID, password, and more.

Feathery offers hundreds of native integrations and can connect your workflows to any system, whether it’s a custom API, paper document, or in-house database. Feathery is SOC2, GDPR & HIPAA compliant. Automate your manual processes today with Feathery.

Best for : Feathery caters to organizations with workflows centered around forms, documents, and other systems of record (such as CRMs or ERPs). Feathery is also great for use cases requiring a high degree of customizability around the form design, logic (calculations and custom API connections), and integrations. This especially includes insurance , lending , fintech , healthcare , education , services, logistics, government, and more.

Pricing : Free; $49/month (Basic); $99/month (Plus) . To learn more about enterprise, book time with the Feathery sales team .

6. Nintex : Best Enterprise Workflow Automation Software

By offering a multitude of workflow automation tools — like process mapping, advanced workflows, and process intelligence — your business is able to map out each of your processes, execute them, and monitor their performance.

Best for : Nintex is highly recommended for enterprise businesses with established processes. It’s a robust software that pairs a user-friendly workflow design tool with powerful integrations that will connect every single one of your apps. Especially recommended for IT, law, HR, and finance departments.

Pricing : $910/month (Standard); $1,400/month (Enterprise)

7. ClickUp : Best Work Management Automation Software

Work management is one way to improve your team’s productivity. Automate and manage repetitive tasks with ClickUp’s workflow management tool. ClickUp's all-in-one work management tool comes with robust automation. Develop a smooth workflow while working with external apps with ClickUp’s Automations . 

Save some time doing manual processes and automate regular repetitive tasks. All you have to do is decide which actions occur when a specific automation is triggered, start a process with any trigger, and set the exact conditions for automation to trigger. A ClickUp Automation can be as simple as status changes, changing assignees, and applying tags. You can also create your own custom Automation to help optimize any process or task in your organization.

Best for: ClickUp is made for everyone from freelancers to remote workers and business owners. Choose from a library of 50+ Automations to create your business workflow. You can also create a custom Automation to further streamline your workflow.

Pricing: Free Forever plan; $5/month per member (Unlimited); $12/per month per member (Business); $19/month per member (Business Plus)

8. Kissflow : Best Beginner-Friendly Workflow Automation Software

Trusted by over 10,000 companies, including Domino’s, Michelin, and Pepsi, Kissflow offers an all-in-one workflow automation software that lets your business create workflows that automate tasks in your human resources, sales, finance, administration, marketing, and purchase departments.

With over 50 pre-installed business process management apps — such as expensing and sales orders, conditions and triggers, and reporting dashboards for your workflows — Kissflow can streamline almost all your business processes.

Best for : Kissflow is highly recommended for small companies that are just now starting to try workflow automation. The tool’s simplicity and user friendliness will make it easier to begin automating processes. Especially recommended for procurement, HR, and finance departments.

Pricing : $200/month (Basic); $495/month (Advanced); $1,900/month (Fully Loaded)

9. Integrify : Best Everyday Administration Workflow Automation Software

Integrify is a workflow automation software that lets you build workflows in a drag-and-drop builder and run parallel or sequential flows. By being able to collaborate on tasks and requests, test your processes, and set up reminders, you can easily streamline your business processes and automate manual tasks.

Integrify also offers workflow examples and a user knowledge base, a rest-based open API that allows you to integrate with external databases, and the ability to import and export data from Excel and even PDFs.

Best for : Integrify is highly recommended for small-to-medium businesses that are looking to automate everyday tasks. Its drag-and-drop “Process Builder” makes it simple and easy to take a process from start to completion. Especially recommended for administration departments.

Pricing : Pricing available upon request

10. Zapier : Best Workflow Automation Software for Connecting Apps

With the ability to connect to and share data with over 1,000 web apps, like Facebook, QuickBooks, and Google Drive, Zapier can automate almost any type of business process. All you have to do is build a workflow in their editor, pick the apps you want to include in your workflow, and design it.

For example, if you want to be able to save all your attachments in Dropbox, you can design a workflow that automatically copies any attachment from your Gmail inbox to Dropbox and then sends you a Slack message about the download.

Best for : Zapier is highly recommended for freelancers and small-to-medium businesses that use a wide variety of tools that aren’t talking with each other. For instance, if you’re using MailChimp to send emails and Typeform to collect leads, you could connect those two tools using Zapier. Especially recommended for marketing and service departments.

Pricing : Free; $19.99/month (Starter); $49/month (Professional)

11. SureTriggers : Best Workflow Automation Software for Productivity

SureTriggers is an advanced workflow automation solution that aims to simplify your business processes and optimize your workflows. You can use SureTriggers to automate repetitive operations, reduce manual errors, and increase team productivity. It comes with a WordPress plugin that connects well with all the themes and plugins installed on your WordPress website. 

Additionally, SureTriggers includes a number of strong capabilities to strengthen your workflow automation efforts. By utilizing conditional logic, you may build complex workflows that adapt to your company's demands. Furthermore, you can set up alerts and notifications to keep your team informed and on track, as well as use analytics and reporting to obtain useful insights into the performance of your workflow.

Best for : Businesses of all sizes that want to improve productivity, automate tedious procedures, and streamline operations should use SureTriggers. It might be useful for anyone looking for a workflow automation application that manages business processes effectively and simply.

Pricing : Free; SureTriggers will be introducing premium plans for added benefits and features soon. The pricing for these plans will be $99/year (Pro); $199/year (Agency).

12. Cflow : Highly Versatile No Code Workflow Automation Software

Cflow is a no-code cloud BPM software that orchestrates key business processes by creating automated workflow apps with a visual workflow builder and form designer. Pre-built workflow apps automate repetitive tasks in HR and Admin, IT operations, Finance and Accounting, Procurement, Sales and Marketing, and other areas, so that you can shift the focus to productivity and growth of the business. 

The versatile automation platform allows users without a Cflow user license to approve a request using a secure link. The digital document manager puts an end to paper-based forms. With email notifications and approval features in Cflow, you can breeze through task approvals.  

Best for : Cflow is the go-to workflow automation platform for small and medium businesses. We are seeing increased traction among large enterprises as well. All approval-based tasks in key business functions can be effectively automated with Cflow.

Pricing : $7/month/user (Happy); $11/month/user (Joy); $16/month/user (Bliss)

13. Flokzu : Best Project Management Workflow Automation Software

Without writing any code, Flokzu allows you to create tasks, deadlines, business rules, and notifications. Their software also sends pending tasks to each of your project’s assignees’ inboxes, and as each stage of a workflow is complete, it’ll automatically assign each new task to a user or role.

Additionally, Flozku offers a reporting dashboard that displays your business processes’

performance and metrics, like the amount of currently delayed tasks there are, tasks assigned to each user and role, tasks completed, and the time each task took, which will give you the necessary data to refine and optimize your future workflows.

Best for : Flokzu is highly recommended for individual teams that want to optimize their time management and task workflow. A key feature of this tool is that users will receive pending tasks in their inbox, making it an excellent project management tool. Recommended for any team.

Workflow Automation Will Help You Grow Better

Workflow automation is critical for businesses that want to scale and grow without letting anything fall through the cracks. By letting technology complete manual tasks, you can effectively grow your business without any growing pains.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

How to Build a Marketing Technology (Martech) Stack That'll Grow With You

How Healthcare Businesses are Using Automation

How Financial Services Businesses are Using Automation

The 22 Best Marketing Automation Tools Available to You

Email Automation: How to Set Up Automated Workflows [Data]

9 Marketing Automation Best Practices

20 Effective Ways to Automate and Grow Your Business

Future of Automation: 9 Predictions to Look Out For in 2022

9 Marketing Automation Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make

The 19 Best Autoresponder Software in 2023 (Plus Free Autoresponders)

Get Started with HubSpot's Marketing Software for Free

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

11 Best Business Process Automation (BPA) Software

Last Updated on February 29, 2024 by Owen McGab Enaohwo

Start your free 14-day trial of SweetProcess No credit card needed. Cancel anytime. Click Here To Try it for Free.

According to data by Statista, the size of the business process automation (BPA) market globally stood at $12.7 billion in 2021. Further research shows it’s projected to reach $41.8 billion by 2033. This expected growth is fueled by organizations adopting BPA software to streamline operations and boost productivity in the rapidly evolving landscape of modern business.

Gone are the days of settling for rigid, one-size-fits-all solutions. In this era, businesses have transformed into dynamic ecosystems, each with unique workflows and processes. Just as every enterprise has distinct objectives and challenges, there’s no one-size-fits-all BPA software. You have to find one that aligns best with your specific requirements. In this article, you’ll discover the 11 best BPA software options that resonate with your organization.

Streamline your business operations with the right tools. Try SweetProcess! Start the 14-day SweetProcess free trial today. No credit card is required!

Table of Contents

What is business process automation (bpa), 11 top business process automation software and tools, 1) sweetprocess, 2) microsoft power automate, 4) process street, 5) processmaker, 7) bizagi modeler, 9) laserfiche, 10) nintex workflow cloud, 11) integrify, 7 core features of a business process automation platform, benefits of business process automation software, bpa vs. rpa vs. bpm, business process automation software use cases and examples, automate your business process efficiently using sweetprocess.

Business process automation (BPA) uses technology and software solutions to streamline and automate various organizational tasks, processes, and workflows. Instead of using manual processes, BPA aims to replace manual, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks using technology.

Through BPA, companies can reduce errors, cut costs, and free up human resources for more strategic activities. Organizations that use these tools can manage complex processes, which helps them improve their digital processes.

Integrating these software tools into the business helps companies:

• Boost everyday operations.
• Improve efficiency for better customer engagement.
• Improve decision-making.
• Eliminate recurring manual-based processes.

There is a wide array of business process automation software and tools, each with its unique features. To get the best results, you must select the best option by looking at how they work, the pricing, pros and cons, and features. Let’s examine 11 solutions to help you make an informed decision.

SweetProcess is a business process automation software that your business can use whether you need to manage a team or you’re hiring your first employee. This tool provides the systemization you need to scale and grow your small business.

It allows you to master processes. If your organization wants to improve its processes, SweetProcess allows you to collaborate, craft, and refine processes. With this software, you can upload the company knowledge into a centralized platform that all employees can access.

SweetProcess is easy to use thanks to the visually appealing structure and multiple features.

Key Features

Here are the key features you get from SweetProcess.

How to Document Your Business Process From Scratch on SweetProcess

To document your business process on SweetProcess, here are the key steps:

• Click on the “Processes” tab on the main menu.

On the next page, you can include all the details you need to add about the specific business process to help with automation. At this stage, you can also include images, videos, and tags to cover all aspects of the business process.

How to Manage Your Business Process on SweetProcess

Once you have your business process on SweetProcess, you can manage it using the available features.

• You first need to identify the key processes that need documentation.
• Create step-by-step workflows, clearly outlining each task’s purpose and required actions.
• You can also assign responsible team members, set deadlines, and encourage collaboration by involving team members in refining procedures.

With its user-friendly platform, SweetProcess simplifies business process management , enhancing productivity.

How to Create a Process From Procedures on SweetProcess

To create a process from your procedures, log in to your account, select “Procedures,” and then tap “Create Procedure.”

Include a procedure title on the next tab.

Add more information about the procedure.

After editing, add steps and information about your process.

How to Automatically Generate Process Maps From Existing Processes on SweetProcess

To achieve proper business process analysis , you need a tool to generate process maps. These process maps can be flowcharts, data flow diagrams, or value stream mapping.

Here’s how to use SweetProcess to achieve this:

• Select the process you want to edit.

How to Assign a Process to Individual Employees on SweetProcess

Assigning a process as a task allows you to track the work and ensure it is done according to the process. You can assign a process to an individual employee or all team members. Here’s how to assign the process to an individual:

• Select the process you want to assign on the main “Process” tab.
• After adding the team member names, you can assign roles and include a due date and task name.

How to Assign a Process to Teams on SweetProcess

Alternatively, you can assign the process to collaborative teams. Follow the same steps above. However, when it’s time to add team members, you can assign the process to multiple people by typing each teammate’s name.

Once assigned, the teammates will get a notification about the new task. SweetProcess also sends a reminder email and notification when the task is due, overdue, or marked complete.

One of the business leaders who has used SweetProcess to assign processes to its employees effectively is Sarah Brenner, the director of quality assurance at Belvidere Community Unit School District 100 . She turned to SweetProcess to help streamline the company’s overall operations.

Although the company was already documenting its processes, most were on Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Individual employees also held these documents; therefore, most team members could not access them. Additionally, this caused problems at the company because all the documents were disorganized and hard to find.

Due to this, the organization had compliance issues. This led Sarah to SweetProcess, making documenting business processes easier. After the company started using this business process automation software, it could now assign tasks to all teams, making collaboration much easier.

SweetProcess has also come in handy for Dr. Jeremy Weisz, the co-founder of Rise25 . He organized the company’s workflow using this business process documentation tool .

The company connects businesses and their clients using content marketing strategies. To achieve this, Jeremy and his team designed the documentation system and stored it on Google Docs to make operations easier. However, this was not effective during task assignments. Team members had to consult Jeremy anytime they needed to perform tasks.

This slowed down the company’s operations because the company lacked proper process automation tools. Because of this, Jeremy had to look for an alternative business software, which led him to SweetProcess. Since the company started using this platform, they can now properly document all the processes. Additionally, all employees can access company information.

How to Monitor the Process Activity on SweetProcess

When you create a process, you can get updates about the document to help you monitor activity. SweetProcess has features that send notifications when there’s an edit, approval, or comment on the process.

Once you open your Process document, a bell icon allows you to receive notifications about any activity.

You can unsubscribe anytime from the process document by clicking the bell icon.

• SweetProcss offers a 14-day free trial period for all users. You can use it to determine whether the tool is a good fit.
• There’s a single, transparent pricing plan.
• This business automation software integrates with more than 1,000 apps. This means it can work with existing business systems.
• SweetProcess has little to no learning curve. You can start using it immediately after creating an account.
• New users can access multiple training materials, including a live demo.

SweetProcess has one pricing plan for all users at $99/month, which covers up to 20 active members. To add additional members, you’ll pay $5/month for each person. Remember that you can add as many team members as you want.

The advantage of using this tool is that you’ll only get billed for the active members. Once an employee becomes inactive, you will receive a prorated credit to your account.

If you want to save money, you can opt for the annual plan, which costs $82.50 per month, billed yearly, allowing you to save up to 16.67%. Furthermore, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee if you don’t get any measurable improvement in your business. As a new user, you can use the 14-day free trial to learn how the BPA software works before paying for the services.

Looking for the best business process automation software? Get SweetProcess today. Start the 14-day SweetProcess free trial today. No credit card is required !

This BPA software allows you to take care of the important tasks in the business and automate the rest. You can streamline the business processes and repetitive tasks to reduce operational costs and increase efficiency.

The platform empowers companies to securely automate their operations at scale using low-code and AI technologies. In addition, it’s equipped with multiple connectors, allowing users to integrate with existing applications and systems easily.

Core Features

• Cloud flows
• Robotic process automation
• Business process flows
• Process mining
• Task mining
• Multiple templates
• Low-code drag-and-drop tools
• Microsoft Power Automate is highly responsive, making it extremely easy to use.
• This BPA software supports flow between multiple apps. Therefore, it will work seamlessly between several apps.
• Power Automate is flexible and can be used to automate various workflows.
• This software simplifies development by allowing users to use its low-code visual interface to create workflows faster.
• Users must buy extra licenses and software purchases or get plans from other vendors, which can be frustrating.
• Microsoft Power Automate does not have proper guides and training modules compared to other tools.
• This software can only be used within the MS Office environment.
• The company lacks sufficient documentation and support, making it difficult for users to troubleshoot problems and find solutions.

Microsoft Process Automate has two pricing plans: Power Automate Premium at $15 per user per month and Power Automate Process at $150 per bot per month. Additionally, users can pay for add-ons such as Hosted RPA at $215 per bot per month, AI Builder at $500 per unit, and Process Mining at $5,000 per tenant per month.

Flokzu is a cloud-based business process automation software that helps businesses create a seamless workflow. It allows companies to automate repetitive tasks, measure the performance of their processes, and optimize the business.

This BPA software integrates well with your workspace, making it easy for information to flow from platform to platform. Users don’t have to use parallel spreadsheets because Flozku allows managing all processes from one place.

• Custom reports
• Dynamic visibility
• Multiple integrations
• Email notifications
• Issue monitor
• Sandbox functionality
• You can use the sandbox functionality to test processes before launching them.
• It integrates with multiple systems, making it easier to adopt for your company.
• The Flokzu team offers exceptional support to users when there’s an issue with the platform.
• This BPA tool is 100% cloud-based; therefore, users don’t need to add complex configurations.
• The platform does not have connectors to some critical business systems, making integrating hard.
• There are a few features that are not customizable yet.
• Users have complained of the inability to extract data from tables.
• Flozku does not offer intuitive and comprehensive reporting capabilities; therefore, users must find alternate ways to analyze their workflows.

Flokzu has plans that scale with company needs. You can pay for the Scale plan at $18 per user, Premium at $23 monthly, or request a custom quote for the Enterprise plans. Additionally, Flozku offers a free 14-day trial period for new users.

The other business automation software is Process Street . This tool makes process management simple by automating procedures and managing checklists. Additionally, it has multiple features that you can use to monitor ongoing workflows, collaborate with team members, or edit company documents.

Process Street has templates for your team to use and is highly visual. Furthermore, you can integrate it with existing data sets and forms.

• Single sign-on
• Data encryption
• Documented team knowledge
• Integration with over 1,000 apps
• Multi-tiered permission
• Visual and audio files
• Create procedure documents in seconds
• Automated tasks with scheduled workflows
• Process Street is easy to use; therefore, users don’t require any technical expertise.
• All users receive email and mobile app notifications to keep track of all company tasks.
• You can use the available Process Street templates to customize your documents.
• Process Street integrates with over 1,000 business apps, making it easy to adopt into your existing company systems.
• Organizations must pay for the premium plan to get more features, which might be too costly for small businesses.
• Users find it difficult to assign templates to members and set permissions on subfolders without affecting the main folder.
• Some of the advanced features on Process Street can be confusing and take some extra work to understand.
• The Process Street checklists are not formatted efficiently for printing.

To use Process Street, you can choose from the three pricing plans: Startup, Pro, and Enterprise. For the Startup option, you’ll pay $100 per month; the Pro plan goes for $415 per month, and the Enterprise plan costs $1,660. Additionally, Process Street offers a free 14-day trial period.

Another business process automation software to consider is ProcessMaker . If you struggle with manual tasks, inefficient communication, and errors in your company workflows, you can use ProcessMaker’s AI-powered BPA software to streamline critical processes.

ProcessMaker focuses on hyper-automation to help businesses achieve high levels of efficiency. Furthermore, it integrates with existing infrastructure to simplify complex business processes.

• Low-code BPA
• Process designer
• Form builder
• Social collaboration tools
• Customizable dashboards
• The ProcessMaker support team is quite supportive. All the requests are implemented quickly.
• It’s easy to use and integrates fast with other apps.
• This software is an ideal approval workflow software because it saves users the stress of printing documents such as memos and taking them around the office.
• Users find it easy to create forms and templates using ProcessMaker.
• The ProcessMaker is quite sensitive to external services, especially if there’s a failure.
• The software is ideal for medium-sized companies. Based on its design, user management becomes complex in large environments.
• ProcessMaker does not have version control of the BPM processes.
• To build moderately complex processes, users need some PHP programming knowledge.

ProcessMaker offers tiered pricing; therefore, you can choose from the different plans. The Platform plan costs $1,475 per month for unlimited users. Alternatively, you can get the Pro or Enterprise+ plans with more features. However, you have to get a custom quote for these two options.

Appian helps companies design, automate, and optimize their business processes. It combines enterprise low code and full-stack automation to help companies improve customer experience and deliver business applications.

This BPA software is used in different sectors, including financial services, public sector, insurance, and life sciences. Users can develop custom apps on any device when the design is complete. In addition, it comes with pre-built connectors that can be integrated with other apps.

• Visual modeling
• Drag-and-drop interfaces
• Platform user management
• Notifications
• Users find Appian easy to use for automating processes.
• The robust tool has better powerful UI capabilities, performance monitoring, and debugging capabilities.
• Setting up integrations with third-party systems, prebuilt standard layouts, and other UI components is easy.
• Appian is continuously delivering new features and capabilities to improve the platform.
• Some users find the frequent updates annoying and disruptive to their work.
• Appian has some issues, such as the complexity of some of the process models.
• According to users, Appian cannot handle enormous amounts of data.
• The Appian pricing plan might be too costly for small and medium enterprises looking for business process automation tools.

To use Appian, you can consider the four pricing options. They offer a free Appian community edition plan that covers up to 15 users. However, if you have more team members, about 100, you can pay $75 per user per month for the Featured plan. You can also access the Platform and Unlimited options.

Bizagi Modeler is an intuitive process modeling tool businesses use to automate their workflows. This intuitive business process mapping software allows companies to document and create their information in a central cloud repository. It also comes in handy if you need to identify process improvement opportunities to boost organizational efficiency.

This platform can integrate seamlessly with your existing enterprise assets and systems.

• Business Collaboration
• Process Xchange
• Expert community
• The support team is quite reliable when users need assistance.
• With Bizagi, users can digitize data and maintain the workflow.
• This software is quite easy to use, even if you don’t have any IT experience.
• Bizagi offers technologies such as machine learning and cloud service, which is quite a progressive milestone.
• Bizagi Modeler does not support all databases. Some users prefer to have Postgres or MySQL support.
• The process documentation modeler service is not an enterprise-ready product. It has some issues forcing users to switch to another vendor.
• Some users find that the file type options for exporting are limiting.
• The platform does not have an immediate correction during the process modeling stage; you must save the work to validate the errors.

Bizagi offers consumption-based pricing, which is based on your usage. To get the exact pricing for your company, you have to contact the support team for a custom quote.

Pipefy designs and automates business workflows in minutes. This BPA software uses low-code workflow to optimize, track, and control the entire process of your business. You can use it for different company departments, from IT and HR to finance and procurement.

Apart from creating processes, this automation software provides reports on every step. The all-in-one solution makes it possible to integrate workflows across your app ecosystem.

• Approval flows
• 360-degree feedback
• Integrated workflows
• Pipefy is customizable; therefore, you can personalize reports and dashboards according to your company’s needs.
• Thanks to API access, you can integrate with other apps, making it easy to streamline your company processes.
• The software is easy to use, even if you are new to the platform.
• Users find the customer support team unresponsive.
• Pipefy is expensive per user.
• The built-in reporting features don’t allow users to report on the connected database records.

The Starter is free and ideal for freelancers, startups, and students. The Business option costs $23 per user per month and is best for mid-market teams. Opting for the Enterprise option will cost you $38 per user per month, ideal for companies that manage complex business processes. For the Unlimited plan, contact Pipefy to get a custom quote.

The other alternative business process automation software is Laserfiche. This automation tool enables teams to work efficiently by managing mission-critical processes in your organization. It has easy-to-use reports to measure the success of your business process success. However, it can be difficult to master.

You can use this BPA software to evaluate employee workloads using the dashboards. Laserfiche keeps the company moving by ensuring all tasks are done on time.

• Workflow automation
• Workflow mapping
• Real-time updates
• Laserfiche has a useful search function that allows users to search by the document title or other fields.
• It has tons of memory and storage capacity, making adding your company information easy.
• Laserfiche is always innovating. Because of this, users get frequent app updates, which is quite helpful.
• Sometimes, the Laserfiche system lags and has issues importing large or several documents.
• This BPA software has a learning curve. It takes a while to adapt to.
• Some users don’t like the pricing of the add-ons; they are quite pricey.
• The business process automation software does not always save changes automatically.

Laserfiche does not provide pricing information on its site. You have to contact the support team for custom pricing.

Nintex is a business process management software you can use to automate, manage, and optimize all processes without code. You can quickly connect to enterprise systems, process apps, and build digital workflows. This BPA software offers free workflow templates for different departments.

It’s cloud-based, easy to use, and highly visual, making it ideal for companies looking to accelerate digital transformation.

• Document automation
• Business process mapping and management
• Intelligent forms and mobile apps
• Process analytics
• Nintex Workflow has a wide range of features and tools that you can use to create complex workflows.
• It’s low code, no code, so you can build processes or workflows with little or no programming expertise.
• Users can create their workflows using Sharepoint.
• Nintex is quite visual; you can streamline and configure your processes for the entire team to understand.
• The system appears outdated in some areas compared to other cloud-based process automation tools.
• Nintex can be quite costly for users; therefore, small businesses need a huge budget.
• Multiple account managers have called some users several times for the same problem due to team disorganization.
• Overall, the architecture is complicated, which slows down the performance.

To sign up for Nintex Workflow Cloud, choose the Pro, Premium, and Custom plans. The Pro option costs $25,000 per year, while the Premium plan goes for $50,000 per year. Alternatively, you can contact the company for a customized quote for the Custom option.

Integrify allows businesses to automate any process quickly without code. This is a go-to tool if you want to make your organization more efficient and productive . Integrify can support any department and industry, making it ideal for most companies.

Thanks to its features, you can use Integrify with your current business systems. It integrates efficiently through APIs.

• Process builder
• Form designer
• Reporting features
• Customer service portal
• The customer support team is highly responsive and attentive to user issues.
• Integrify is easy to use and creates workflows quickly, making it ideal for most users.
• This business process automation software can handle various requirements, workflows, and different types of users.
• Users can easily track the progress of their tasks, making process automation much easier.
• The system is not always intuitive; therefore, it can be challenging for people who are not tech-savvy.
• Users say that the reporting function is not flexible.
• Integrify has a learning curve. It takes several hours to understand how it works.
• The visual flow charts on Integrify could use some improvement.

Integrify has a flexible subscription-based pricing structure. Their plans include the Standard Cloud option, Enhanced Cloud, and Self-Managed. Contact the customer support team to get a quote to sign up for these plans.

A process automation platform comes in handy to improve productivity and organizational efficiency. However, you need to choose the right one to enjoy the benefits of your BPA software. So, what should you look out for? Here are the core features that a business process automation platform should have.

Workflow Automation

Workflow automation should be at the heart of your BPA platform. You need an automation platform that helps you reduce manual processes and enhance efficiency. A robust BPA platform allows you to create, modify, and automate business process to match your organization’s needs.

This feature provides a seamless flow of tasks, data, and information across different departments. For instance, if you are a retail company, you can automate the order fulfillment process. Once the order is placed, the BPA tool checks inventory, assigns the order to a warehouse employee, generates a packing slip, and sends a confirmation email.

Data Security

As you find the right business process automation software solution, you should consider data security. In this digital age, there’s an increase in identity fraud; therefore, you need a tool that offers strong data encryption, both during transmission and storage.

In addition, it should also have access controls in place to ensure that sensitive data is only accessible to authorized personnel. For example, if you are in the medical sector, the system should only allow authorized medical staff to access specific patient records.

Access Control

You also need a BPA platform that has access control features. This allows you to manage and define user permissions. With this in place, employees have appropriate access to the information and functionalities they need to perform their roles effectively. Additionally, you can restrict who can view, edit, or approve specific processes or data.

Notifications and Alerts

You need a platform with notifications and alerts to keep all team members and stakeholders in the loop. These alerts inform everyone about the status of workflows, tasks, and critical events.

An ideal BPA platform should support customizable notifications through various channels such as email, SMS, or in-platform notifications. These alerts help keep everyone involved in a process up-to-date and can trigger actions such as responses to customer queries.

Integration

Your business might have some existing systems that guide operations. To avoid duplication and the use of multiple tools, pick a BPA software with integration capabilities. The platform should be able to connect with other departmental and company software systems, databases, and applications.

This enables the exchange of data and information across different platforms, streamlining processes that might involve multiple systems.

If you run a manufacturing company, you might need analytics reports at every production stage to identify bottlenecks and optimize operations. A platform with analytics features will help you automate this process. Check whether the dashboards and reporting functionalities allow you to monitor performance and identify improvement areas.

This data-driven approach is important for business process optimization . You can use the data to make informed decisions about the company.

Compliance With Regulations

Compliance with industry regulations and standards is critical for businesses. Your choice of a BPA platform should support compliance efforts by enabling the automation of processes that adhere to regulatory requirements. It should also offer audit trails, documentation, and controls that help demonstrate adherence to relevant regulations.

Once you adopt business process automation software for your business, you can expect some benefits. Here are the key ones:

Speeds up Document Review and Approval

When you use manual processes, it can get time-consuming. However, business process automation tools can automate the entire document review and approval process. This reduces the time it takes to circulate documents among team members and stakeholders to obtain necessary approvals.

For instance, if you need to create and approve marketing materials, instead of manually sending drafts via email and waiting for each team member’s input, you can use automation software to streamline the process and get feedback faster.

Increases Transparency

Most BPA tools centralize all the documents. Thanks to this real-time visibility, all team members can see the status of various tasks and processes. This transparency enables better decision-making, accountability, and collaboration among team members.

Therefore, if you are working on a project, the software can help you track tasks and see who is responsible for what.

Monitor Document Progress

If your company constantly has bottlenecks and issues with project management, you need BPA software to monitor progress. Instead of making back-and-forth calls to your team and sending email follow-ups, which could take a week or more to get feedback, you can use automation software to ease the process.

Business process automation software monitors the progress of documents and tasks, providing insights into bottlenecks and potential delays. You can see when tasks are due and their completion status.

Reduces Manual Processes and Human Errors

According to a survey, about 70% of workers say the biggest opportunity of automation is in cutting down the time spent on manual, repetitive work. This kind of manual work leads to more errors.

Automating repetitive and manual tasks will help you avoid this problem because you are not relying solely on human input. When you have fewer manual interventions, you can increase accuracy and consistency.

Improves Workflows

A workflow automation tool can optimize workflows by ensuring tasks are completed in the correct sequence and that handoffs between departments are smooth.

For instance, you can use this software with your customer support team to handle customer inquiries. The software categorizes incoming queries, assigns them to appropriate agents, and tracks the resolution process. This ensures that customer issues are addressed efficiently, and no requests are missed.

Understanding the differences between BPA, RPA, and BPM is crucial when discussing business process automation. Here’s a breakdown of each term and how they relate to each other:

This refers to the broader concept of automating business processes using technology. It encompasses a range of techniques and tools to streamline and optimize workflows. BPA can include robotic process automation (RPA) as a subset.

Examples of BPA tools include SweetProcess, Microsoft Power Automate, and Process Street.

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a form of business process automation technology that uses software robots (bots) or artificial intelligence (AI) to automate repetitive tasks performed by humans.

RPA is particularly useful for automating tasks that involve interacting with multiple software applications. It enables organizations to perform high-volume processes and prioritize more complex tasks. 

This automation speeds up the digital transformation efforts of any company. Examples of such tools include UiPath, Blue Prism, and Automation Anywhere.

Business process management (BPM) is a comprehensive approach to managing and optimizing an organization’s processes. It involves designing, modeling, executing, monitoring, and improving processes to enhance efficiency. BPM can incorporate automation, but it also encompasses process analysis and improvement. Examples of such tools include Appian, Pega, and IBM Business Process Manager.

To better understand how business process automation tools work, here are some compelling software use cases.

Employee Onboarding

Hiring and onboarding new employees can be time-consuming. Managers and human resource departments spend a lot of time processing employment paperwork, organizing training sessions, and compiling employee information.

When these tasks are handled manually, it can lead to inconsistencies, errors, and inefficiency. However, with BPA software, you can streamline the employee onboarding process , ensuring new hires have a smooth transition into the organization. It automates tasks like form filling, document collection, training assignments, and IT setup.

Automating the employee onboarding process ensures that all the tasks are implemented smoothly.

Purchase Order

If your company makes daily sales, purchase orders are repetitive. They also require a lot of paperwork, from when the order is created and sent to the supplier to packing for dispatch.

Failing to automate this business process could lead to errors in the purchase order, delayed order approvals, or even delivery errors.

However, when you adopt BPA software, you can optimize the procurement process. This tool will automate approvals and tracking of purchase orders, leading to better cost control, improved accountability, and reduced delays.

Workflow Management

Business process automation software enables the design, execution, and monitoring of workflows. This ensures that tasks are completed in a predefined sequence and approvals are obtained efficiently.

For instance, a marketing automation agency can use workflow automation software to manage campaign approvals. The software orchestrates the manual process, routing content drafts to creative, legal, and management teams. Automated notifications are sent to each team member at each step, ensuring the campaign progresses smoothly.

Process Mapping

Process mapping involves visually representing a business process to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement. Automation software can aid in creating and analyzing process maps.

The software creates a flowchart highlighting each step, decision point, and handoff. An organization can optimize the process for faster approvals by identifying delays and redundant steps.

Your business needs BPA software that simplifies complex processes into clear step-by-step instructions, ensuring tasks are executed efficiently. When it comes to efficiently automating your business processes, SweetProcess emerges as an exceptional solution that can drive your organization to new heights of productivity.

With its comprehensive suite of features, SweetProcess stands out as a must-have business process automation tool. SweetProcess empowers you to achieve these goals in a competitive business landscape by providing a user-friendly platform with an intuitive interface, collaborative capabilities, and robust process tracking.

Embrace SweetProcess and unlock the full potential of your business. Start the 14-day SweetProcess free trial today. No credit card is required!

Related Posts:

Get Your Free Systemization Checklist

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

What is business process management?

Business process management (BPM) refers to your company’s efforts to analyze, accelerate, and optimize processes, often by using workflow automation to streamline manual processes.

Unlock the benefits of BPM

Before you begin building a BPM strategy, it’s important to understand why efficient business processes are important, the different types of business processes, who’s responsible for them within your company, and which problems BPM can help you address.

Get to know your business processes

A business process is a series of repeatable tasks that’s done in sequence to achieve a routine objective. Business processes can take minutes or weeks and include activities as simple as employee vacation requests or as complicated as supply-chain logistics. Efficient, effective processes will help improve employee productivity, customer engagement, and every other facet of your business. Inefficient, dysfunctional processes create frustrated employees, unnecessary costs, dissatisfied customers, and ultimately, lost revenue.

Business processes can be divided into three main categories:

• Operational processes cover the core business and specific value streams like customer orders, account creation, and manufacturing optimization.
• Management processes include things like corporate governance, budgets, and HR workflows.
• Supporting processes underpin larger processes in areas like accounting, recruitment, and technical support.

By automating all types of business processes, you can improve efficiency, reduce risk, and keep your business more strategically focused.

Build your BPM team

Employees who are responsible for any business process are called business process owners. Because they manage a process from end to end, they understand how it affects and is affected by the processes that come before and after it. Giving ownership of discrete business processes to key employees who work with other departments can foster more understanding and lead to better BPM across your organization.

For example, a successful BPM team in a large company could include all these roles:

• Business process champion. A champion understands far-reaching benefits and communicates the value of BPM to the organization.
• Process owner. A person or team with business challenges to meet, workflows to streamline, or opportunities to seize can provide key perspective and input—critical to user buy-in and BPM success.
• Business process director. A director leads organization-wide BPM efforts.
• Business process consultant. A consultant uses technical skills and understanding of BPM to advise a business process director.
• Project manager. A project manager helps build and implement the project plan and manages team communications, milestones, deliverables, and deadlines.
• Business analyst. An analyst pinpoints necessary process improvements.
• Solution architect. A solution architect provides technical support, particularly when it comes to interoperability with existing line-of-business applications.
• Influencers. Often leaders among their peers, influencers adopt early and champion new ideas, practices, and tools, and they help refine business process improvements and advocate for change.
• BPM support group. This group comprises key IT professionals, corporate planning officers, and other leadership who help institutionalize BPM standards, methods, governance, and technology.

Don’t live with lost opportunities

Traditionally, business leadership has owned BPM; they are business processes, after all. But with the advent of highly sophisticated business process management software , IT is now playing a greater role. You might find a productive balance between your technology and business requirements if you let IT deploy a self-serve, low-code workflow automation platform that business employees can use to streamline processes and solve the issues they best understand.

Automate, automate, automate

Automation is the heart of BPM. With the technology now available, successful businesses must find every opportunity to automate repetitive, time-consuming, manual processes. With workflow automation, you can streamline business processes such as data entry, social media updates, inventory, reports, and more. You can free your employees from repetitive and routine processes, increase productivity, lower costs, and reduce human error.

Create a citizen development culture

You can also optimize some business processes by building mobile apps that help your employees stay more connected and efficient, transform how they get work done, and generate real-time business insights. With the right app development platform, engineers, IT specialists, and ordinary business users can build a citizen development culture and create their own low-code business solutions—without having to rely on or wait for business leadership and professional developers.

Make the most of every opportunity

You don’t have to live with inefficient manual processes, extra costs, and lost opportunities. With the right people in the right roles, a solid understanding of your processes, and good automation tools, your business can use BPM to:

• Mitigate cumbersome online checkout processes that discourage customers and cost sales.
• Automate manual processes that take too long, cost too much, and frustrate employees.
• Eliminate obstacles in financial processes that delay payments.
• Reduce duplication that wastes resources.
• Shorten or standardize lengthy or erratic processes that affect deadlines.
• Streamline inefficient client onboarding that undermines relationships.

Build a business process management strategy

If your business struggles with operational, management, and support processes that are cumbersome, redundant, too long, too slow, or too costly, creating a comprehensive BPM strategy can help. The following best practices will help you launch a BPM initiative and evaluate your success:

• Get support from management. This is critical if you need resources to support your business process improvement plans.
• Analyze and map the specific process. Use flow charts, mind mapping, or process-mining software to find bottlenecks, duplicated effort, and unnecessary delays . Get feedback from the people who are most involved with the process to understand what you can improve—buy-in for change starts with them.
• Redesign the process. Solicit stakeholder input and be sure that everyone understands the value in streamlining the process. Include your lessons learned from mind mapping and analysis. Consider an impact analysis for critical or complex workflows.
• Gather resources and implement change. Collect the resources that you need to build an effective BPM platform, such as project management software, workflow automation tools, and real-time dashboards. Pick resources that align with the business value that you want to create and manage the change with specific deliverables and timelines. By first rolling out a small pilot, you can work out bugs, build enthusiasm for improved practices, and drive adoption.
• Track and optimize. Monitor how your new processes work by checking in with stakeholders. Be prepared to add refinements as necessary.

Create BPM value

If you follow the best practices above, build a solid BPM team, and understand how you can improve processes to create more value, business process management can yield tangible benefits, including:

• Increased productivity. More efficient processes create more efficient employees, and you can evaluate performance metrics by using workplace analytics software.
• Faster time to benefit. Improving your IT processes can affect how quickly software applications are developed and deployed in your business.
• Improved quality. In addition to accelerating development, improvements in testing can quickly resolve any performance or security issues, enhancing your product or service quality.
• Increased customer satisfaction. Fixing your business’s customer service processes can help win customers and drive loyalty.
• Improved employee work experiences. Efficient business processes are the foundation of satisfaction in the workplace, improving morale and potentially reducing turnover.

Start optimizing your business processes now

Every business strives to do things better, faster, and smarter. Combining a comprehensive BPM strategy with the right workflow automation software can help your business deliver on these goals.

Microsoft Power Automate is an easy-to-use workflow optimization solution that can empower your employees to streamline everyday inefficiencies for a companywide impact.

Contact Sales

Chat with sales.

Available Monday to Friday

8 AM to 5 PM Central Time.

Request we contact you

Power Automate contact sales widget

Chat with a Microsoft sales specialist for answers to your Power Automate questions.

• Digital transformation

To help companies large and small get more out of their business processes, this comprehensive guide to BPM explains what it is, its benefits, the challenges it poses and best practices for using it effectively. You'll also find examples of business process automation and process improvement projects, an overview of the latest BPM tools and insight on what the future of BPM might look like. Throughout the guide, there are hyperlinks to related articles that cover these topics in more depth, so be sure to click on them for additional expert advice. The links also connect readers to detailed definitions of important concepts in BPM, such as business process mapping, Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) and workflow management.

• 12 top business process management tools for 2024

BPMS is becoming a business transformation engine as vendors infuse their tools with powerful AI and hyperautomation capabilities. Read our review of today's top BPM offerings.

• Dan Morris, Wendan Consulting

Business process management software, also known as a business process management suite, helps companies design, model, execute, automate and improve the activities and tasks that make up a business process.

BPMS , also known as a business process management suite, uses hyperautomation tools to develop new application systems and business models. These tools use annotated process and workflow models, along with rules and descriptive information, to automate complex tasks and workflows.

BPMS tools typically use the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) method for modeling a business process from end to end. This standard gives BPMS tools the ability to orchestrate software from diverse vendors across different processes, making BPMS a core tool in digital transformation initiatives.

Embedded AI and usability

This is the third year I've reviewed BPMS tools for TechTarget. In preparing for this overview, a few major differences from last year became clear. The first is that the vendors have been hard at work modifying and improving their offerings with AI capabilities . Indeed, AI technologies, including game-changing generative AI tools, are now embedded in all the offerings to one degree or another. How AI capabilities are embedded does vary and is a point you will want to focus on. Secondly, many BPMS vendors talk about supporting continuous improvement as a benefit of using their products.

This article is part of

What is business process management? A guide to BPM

• Which also includes:
• How AI is radically changing business process management
• 10 trends shaping the future of BPM in 2024

Because each vendor has taken a somewhat unique approach to products, the UX and interfacing capabilities should also be carefully reviewed against your organization's needs and expectations. History has shown that usability is as important as the BPM capabilities themselves. There is a world of difference between having a tool that is able to do something and being able to effectively and efficiently use that tool -- even with normal training and experience.

Technology is only half the picture

Another point to note: Buying discussions with BPMS vendors tend to be centered on technology. While needed, this point of view looks at only half the picture. Any discussion needs to include a business perspective -- what the BPMS tool will allow the business to do, why that will be important, and the real business benefit that can be expected. Also, the purchase of BPMS is a long-term, strategic investment, so the system's potential ability to support ongoing business and digital transformation must be considered.

Complicating matters in any BPMS product review is the fact that offerings are really groups of individual products that work together. Some of these products are part of the software written by the vendor and other products are partner products integrated into the product mix. In addition, the placement of a BPM capability in the products will differ between vendors, as will nomenclature and descriptions. So, make certain all selection team members gain a common understanding with the vendor. Of course, this may have licensing implications, which also need to be considered when evaluating what the tool can provide.

This year's overview includes 12 vendors: AgilePoint, Appian, Bizagi, IGrafx, Kissflow, Microsoft, Newgen, Nintex K2, Oracle, Pegasystems, Progress Software and Trisotech.

How the 2024 venders were selected

Today, there are dozens of BPMS vendors and products. The inclusion of vendors on the lists you will find on the internet varies, depending on the source of the list. This list of BPMS vendors was selected based on my personal experience, product stability and capabilities.

Two more pointers before we dive in: While vendor claims of immediate use are often true, the reality is most tools are intuitive to use only for simple work. That's not the case for complex projects. To improve the chances of success, it is suggested that organizations form a BPM/BPMS center of excellence: This concentrates BPM expertise and helps people gain the understanding and skills needed to deliver consistently accepted solutions.

The BPMS environment that any company creates through a mix of products will be complex and will require significant training for members of the BPMS Center of Excellence, for citizen developers and for the BPMS professionals who will use the selected BPMS tools. A week or two of vendor training is not adequate -- nor is self-training from videos. I typically advise clients to purchase additional mentoring support from the vendors to help the team get past the learning curve, especially for projects that are difficult.

12 top BPM tools

The following reviews look at each of the 12 BPMS vendors' capabilities. These are high level reviews that look at key points and capabilities. They are meant to help readers select a list of vendors to look at in greater detail.

Note: The terms BPM, BPMS and iBPM are used interchangeably as the definitions of all terms seem to be blurring. For example, all of the reviewed products are really at the iBPMS level -- all have embedded AI and machine learning, and all products support a business process management approach.

1. Microsoft

Microsoft Power Automate is a comprehensive BPMS offering comprised of solid, user-friendly products for use on the web and in local business operating environments. The groupings of products provide a flexible technology environment. An advantage of Microsoft is that almost every company already has some of its products and thus existing relationships.

For companies that have a plan on how they will get started in BPMS use, Microsoft's BPM offering allows them to begin with modeling individual processes and expand to enterprise process modeling , then on to identifying capabilities, leading ultimately to application generation. The Microsoft BPMS product library thus allows both citizen developers and BPM professionals to build business models and tie them to Word, Excel and PowerPoint-based information to help augment them for low-code application generation.

The capabilities in Microsoft's various BPMS products are designed to work together to produce a wide variety of design options and outcomes. For example, with Microsoft Power Automate, BPM teams can use workflow automation and robotic process automation (RPA) to generate applications within Microsoft Azure's cloud-based infrastructure. This enables project teams to use AI and simulation to build workflows that drive efficient business redesign with low-code application generation. The capabilities of these products combined with AI and big data analytics transform the product group into an intelligent BPMS (iBPMS) offering.

These capabilities, along with digital process automation , enable BPMS project teams to create streamlined automated workflows for both processes and repetitive tasks. In addition, Power Automate empowers teams to create a variety of forms used for information collection and application generation. The use of forms is an integral part of the application definition process. BPMS teams create custom forms to collect the information needed to define, design and generate the applications needed for their project.

Although the number of Microsoft products that can be combined to extend BPMS capabilities is extensive and somewhat overwhelming, this product inventory allows customers to customize their deliverables and confidently take on both business and digital transformation. Some of these extension products include the following:

• Azure Cognitive Search.
• Web Application Firewall.
• Power Pages .
• Visual Studio Code.

2. Pegasystems (Pega)

Pegasystems was one of the first BPMS tools. It is built around a mature rules library and offers a time-tested set of BPMS products that are both flexible and highly expandable. Today Pega offers a suite of proven low-code BPMS products that have had time to evolve and gain stability. A result of this evolution, the system is designed to be changed fast and easily, using AI-based decision and execution capabilities to enhance operational activity and design workflows . AI and RPA-based workflow automation capabilities can combine with low-code development and application generation to support the rapid delivery of both complex process automation and the automation of repetitive tasks.

Pega provides customizable forms for application development. In addition, it offers Frameworks, a tool to customize applications for financial services, communications, insurance and healthcare. These frameworks offer prebuilt data models, workflows, business rules and UI templates to provide a starting point to automatically produce programs through the vendor's Build for Change platform.

Thus, Pega's s technical environment provides the flexibility to deliver a continuous improvement and business transformation capability to both citizen developers and technology professionals on BPMS project teams. This helps control change throughout the development of the new business model. Templates allow BPMS teams to start faster and work through the development cycle with greater accuracy. AI-based workflow products let companies scan and scale process improvement efforts , from modeling and analysis to process redesign, application generation, deployment and operation. Pega's emphasis on training and support services is helpful.

Pega's process modeling capabilities are mature and strong. Modeling capabilities include simulation to drive quality and allow for iteration, while AI resolves issues with performance and RPA chatbots streamline the work. As business modeling is the heart of both BPM and business transformation, the product's ability to create flexible business models and support ongoing model change is critical. In addition, process simulation capabilities allow BPMS teams to consider and test new operational ideas and bring the best ones to maturity.

Pega's Customer Decision Hub uses machine learning, predictive models and NLP to predict and prescribe customer needs in real time. Data management is also supported to make certain the right information is available at the right place and time. The Pega GenAI tool can be used to suggest workflow design changes and improve appropriate data models. The result is that BPM teams have the ability to build quickly and improve the outcome through rapid iteration. Because Pega's AI is always on, it can track activity and help anticipate upcoming needs.

Even the best products will fail to provide repeatable success without outstanding vendor support and ongoing assistance -- especially when business needs, automation and transformation are constantly changing the fundamental concepts and capabilities of the operation. This is where Pega's flexible support services become active in helping clients succeed.

Appian's suite of products continues to make the vendor a major player in the BPMS community. Incorporating AI and RPA capabilities, Appian offers flexible process definition and design and low-code application generation through a combination of cloud and local capabilities. The system's drag-and-drop approach to define activity, execution sequence, execution outcomes, solution deliverables and intuitive model building is easy to use and helps companies move to a mixed team of citizen developers and automation experts.

Appian offers a wide range of user-friendly capabilities for both small and large organizations. The platform supports AI and RPA capabilities to deliver process automation, mobile application services, flexible interface development, data management, social collaboration, end user reporting, intelligent analytics, case management, alerts and document management. Simulation modeling and AI provide advanced performance analytics to streamline and optimize solutions. Rules-based low-code applications can vary from simple to complex and are highly scalable. AI process monitoring helps find ways to improve the work and workflow. Security and privacy capabilities are also built into all applications.

BPM frameworks and templates are available to drive the rapid development of business models. Changes to the process can be recommended through Process Modeler -- the vendor's AI-based analysis of a process to enable scalable, end-to-end workflow automation using AI, RPA or simple low-code generation. Appian's SAIL design systems and AI Copilot provide the ability to build forms to define processes and produce applications.

Bizagi's BPM suite is a proven, intuitive-to-use low-code, cloud-based product. As with all vendor BPMS products, Bizagi's BPM offering comprises several individually focused products. In general, the suite provides collaborative process modeling and low-code application generation that allows diagrams to be published in multiple formats -- PDF, Word, Excel or SharePoint, as well as modes imported from Visio, IBM Blueworks, XPDL and BPMN. In addition, Bizagi offers simulation and process mining to help optimize solutions. Business and application model reviews are supported in a co-developer environment in the vendor's Process Modeler and Studio products.

Business models are created through a drag-and-drop technique for placing BPMN shapes onto a Lucid chart canvas to create detailed future-state process models depicting all activity in the order that activities should be executed.

For AI and cognitive services, Bizagi uses its own generative AI product. This provides conversational analytics, allowing users to ask questions about their data for advanced analytics and improved decision-making.

To facilitate interaction with users, Bizagi has created an AI product called Ada. Ada is an AI assistant that uses generative AI and conversational analytics to help clients interact with their data. Through its natural language capabilities, Bizagi's Ada can make action item recommendations, simulating human cognitive capabilities to solve problems without human intervention.

The product's powerful forms collect information and direct action. Applications are integrated using intelligent business rules that orchestrate the data, company staff and RPA bots, assuring compliance with government regulations and company rules.

In addition, Bizagi uses generative AI to ensure security, reliability and improved governance.

As with other BPMS products, training is critical. While many BPMS vendors focus on ease of use to downplay training, Bizagi makes it clear that education is key to successful use of the tool, stating that the results achieved are dependent on the amount of time and work the learner is prepared to commit to the course. This concern is refreshing as, in my experience, too many efforts get into trouble because developers are not adequately trained.

5. Trisotech

Trisotech is actively involved in the organizations that promote BPMN and other BPM standards, and its products are based on these vendor-independent standards. The groups include the Business Process Management Initiative , OpenAPI and OData. Trisotech's involvement gives it an inside track on the interpretation of BPMS standards and their use by BPMS vendors in creating their products.

The Trisotech Digital Automation Suite offers easy-to-use, low-code BPMS tools. Its Workflow Modeler features industry standard drag-and-drop BPMN model diagrams, tables and interface capabilities.

Using Trisotech's drag-and-drop modeling approach and rules engine, BPMS teams can build comprehensive process models annotated with application generation symbols to guide application definition. Business process simulation is available to analyze the efficiency of the workflow in the current or new business design. While this requires the entry of additional information on time, cost, resource needs, control rules and priorities to guide the simulation, the simplification of work and workflows normally offsets investments in this area.

Custom-built forms are used to capture a variety of information that the BPMS team needs to define the capabilities of generated applications. This jump-starts the production of applications.

Generative AI, coupled with other machine learning tools and RPA, augment Trisotech's advanced decision management capabilities, enabling BPMS teams to integrate potential changes into the business redesign product mix and simulate the operation to preview the impact of changes. Through iterative development, project teams can determine how to optimize the new process.

With a history in business decision-making, Trisotech has evolved into a top-level BPMS vendor. New business solutions can be designed, built and deployed quickly using the Trisotech Digital Automation Suite. This suite allows BPMS teams to orchestrate as many RPA bots from any RPA provider as needed. The bots are integrated with low-code applications through various microservices, AI and machine learning capabilities to deliver a final new application and business operation. Security related capabilities are also associated with the different Trisotech products.

6. AgilePoint

AgilePoint NX is a cloud-based BPMS product group that runs on a .NET platform. The products are model driven and enable end-to-end process automation. The NX BPMS platform delivers the ability to sustain digital flexibility and operational excellence through low-code application generation and AI-based services. Running on the Windows Azure platform, AgilePoint BPMS provides drag-and-drop process modeling through application definition, simulation and generation.

Designed to work with other vendors' legacy and modern product offerings, AgilePoint BPMS is able to link to products from different vendors to offer an extensive hyperautomation product grouping.

Through a customized architecture, AgilePoint's BPMS platform creates codeless applications, in addition to low-code ones. This gives companies flexibility and the speed to adapt quickly. AgilePoint uses its low-code application development option to build and modify applications in real time, while using its codeless capabilities to simulate the change and then generate the applications and interface users need to improve their workflows.

Its AI and simulation capabilities enable BPMS teams to identify design, rule and flow issues with any process change they make. RPA-based capabilities offer the BPMS teams another application generation option for its processes that are heavily rules-based with repetitive task execution. In addition, AgilePoint EForm Builder provides a form-based application definition and generation capability.

AI, process management with machine learning, and three application generation options provide extreme flexibility. The functionality supports customized solutions and, if appropriate, uses REST APIs, to interact with other internally generated or external applications. This provides data access flexibility.

The flexibility and ease of use is well suited to mixed BPMS teams of citizen developers, BPMS professionals, legacy application developers and business users.

Oracle's BPM Suite is a mature set of products that have evolved over time to include both AI and RPA capabilities. The suite offers a comprehensive grouping of products that support both intelligent and adaptive business processes, automated workflow services and collaborative case management application generation.

The suite offers a range of flexible features, including support for collaboration, low-code application generation, simulation and real-time analytics. Drag-and-drop process modeling uses BPMN standard technical symbols -- the foundation for generating low-code applications. The product enables both citizen and digital developers to design and simulate processes.

Oracle BPM Suite offers in-flight process modeling, real-time performance measurement with predictive analytics, business-friendly rules management, rapid change modeling, decision management, process management and performance reporting. In addition, team members can assess their business designs, take advantage of secure mobile process integration and optimize processes through simulation and bottleneck analysis.

Oracle Application Express provides a complete operational design environment for producing the business models and rules used in low-code application definition. Modeling and simulation, human tasks, workflow, activity monitoring and collaboration are built using WebCenter.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure includes a generative AI capability to support innovation and iteration. This enables BPMS teams to check designs for work and workflow optimizations, while providing guidance on improvements. Oracle's prebuilt forms help streamline analysis and deployment of the final product. RPA support enables teams to produce a variety of bots to process work, ensure rule compliance, streamline repetitive activity, and find and fix errors. The AI-enhanced RPA component can also monitor its own activity and recommend ways to improve the process and the bots. Data mining is supported by a comprehensive set of algorithms for such tasks as regression testing, anomaly detection, efficiency analysis, process optimization and predictive analysis.

IGrafx's Process360 Live is a cloud and on-premises intelligent BPMS platform that has provided support to companies in all industries for many years. It combines process discovery with process mining, process analysis and design, and process management to define work and workflow. AI and RPA aid in application generation. In addition, IGrafx uses customizable forms to obtain a variety of information used for defining the capabilities and flow of the application systems that are generated in its applications.

The product caters to both citizen developers and BPMS technical developers. Using the product's data mining, simulation, predictive analytics and AI-based automation capabilities, BPMS teams can analyze work and workflow, discover issues, test out changes and optimize processes to deliver improved performance. These services set up IGrafx customers to move from localized small improvements to a continuous improvement approach for enterprise business operations.

To fulfill the aim of BPMS to get the right information to the right place and the right people at the right time in a decision process, IGrafx uses AI-driven process analysis to identify change and iterate new ideas and, through simulation capability, to produce a new process and workflow design. The modules in Process360 Live also have embedded security to control access, reporting and data privacy, and to ensure compliance with company rules.

AI capabilities include intelligent process mining, simulation, data analytics, performance analytics and predictive analytics to provide real-time operational intelligence reporting.

9. Kissflow

Kissflow is an easy-to-use, stable and scalable BPMS offering that provides both low-code and no-code application generation capabilities to help BPMS teams streamline processes and build solutions faster. Through process analysis, rules definition, simulation and management, along with RPA and generative AI tools, BPMS teams can find and eliminate redundant processes, streamline work and workflows, and leverage automation wherever possible.

Kissflow continues to evolve its AI capabilities. New capabilities address the automatic generation of information from user-entered forms, allowing the Kissflow BPMS to create entire workflow processes. The low-code and AI capabilities, along with the drag-and-drop modeling, enable citizen developers and BPM technical experts to choose between using either visual models, natural language processing or application generation. The product helps BPMS team members and business management teams collaborate by providing easy access to information.

These capabilities are expanded with the Kissflow Form Builder function. In addition to supporting the use of standard forms, Form Builder allows BPMS teams to access prebuilt and custom forms to jump-start the business operation redesign. These forms ask specific questions about the process, the workflow, data use and rules. Answers define the process and workflow along with other data and rules information. In reality, the form becomes a no-code application. From this organized set of activities, developers can utilize AI-powered features to recommend a process and the applications to support it.

Using real-time analytics and performance monitoring to feed simulation capabilities, process models can be analyzed for performance and flexibility with Kissflow's AI providing suggestions to the process developers. Where appropriate, the BPMS team can decide whether low-code generation, form-based AI-defined applications, RPA-based application bots or custom Java software application development will be used to build its project. The team determines how to include Kissflow's advanced reporting capabilities with AI monitoring into the process and its applications. The team can also look at formalized work assignment and determine what analytics will be used to provide process execution and performance-related information.

10. Progress Software

Progress Software is a low-code BPMS firm focused on streamlining corporate client operations to lower operations costs, while increasing automation, flexibility and reliability. The company's Process Artificial Neural Network (PANN) product, which is built on neural network technology , is touted as revolutionizing BPMS.

Benefits of the PANN technology include the ability to develop advanced low-code software, handle big and super big data, enable fast performance, process unindexed data, provide data protection and offer extreme flexibility, with access to all the data on the internet and high application reliability.

While this technology is fascinating and is something all readers should gain an understanding of before seriously considering it, it is a very different approach to BPMS. As with any new technology, the introduction of PANN in BPMS tools can be expected to be a rough road, as digital developers learn to train it and optimize how it works.

In addition to PANN technology, Progress Software also offers RPA chatbots, predictive analytics and low-code application definition using point-and-click, as well as other machine learning capabilities to generate, deploy, run, scale and manage applications.

Using the vendor's generative AI capabilities, BPMS teams can build directly into the content authoring interface. In addition, a no-code data integration platform enables Progress Software clients to aggregate customer information from critical business systems to gain a holistic view across platforms. This capability will enable the creation of personalized digital experiences with speed and precision. Progress software also uses generative AI and enhanced data connectivity to save time and improve system outcomes. With these capabilities, BPMS teams can now interface applications quickly by building custom data drivers for any data source or API within days.

Progress Software's BPMS tool set also includes Semaphore, an AI technology that provides semantic AI capabilities for RPA tools. This allows RPA tools to handle a broader range of use cases and deliver added value derived from enterprise information to improve business outcomes.

The Progress OpenEdge BPM Simulation product is designed to discover potential design flaws, inefficiencies, bottlenecks and other issues. The simulation results can drive predictive analytic modeling to increase solution value and business benefit.

Newgen is a proven low-code BPMS product that provides low-code process automation, content services, customer engagement, AI and data science capabilities. Its NewgenOne platform provides support for scalable, comprehensive application development with enterprise-grade security, scalability, governance and compliance.

Through generative AI support, BPMS teams can build machine learning, deep learning and graphical models. The product combines AI with RPA, business rules and process automation, empowering BPMS teams to insert intelligence into applications and processes. Customizable forms are used to define what information will be collected to support application design.

Newgen WebProcess is another Newgen BPMS tool for designing and building web-based application support using features such as process models, capability maps and flowcharts.

Using Newgen's RPA capability, NewgenOne RPA, BPMS teams can address repetitive, rules-managed, end-to-end process automation. Then, if appropriate, they can expand the new process with built-in AI and process intelligence to transform workflows and eliminate redundancy and error. The result is a hybrid workforce of RPA bots, AI and people orchestrating user journeys. This allows the process designers to use RPA for repetitive tasks; people for decision-based, more complex tasks; and low-code applications and AI to control flow and provide operational consistency, performance monitoring and improved analysis. Newgen tools also support interfacing with legacy applications, other vendor supplied third-party applications, and other generated applications.

Newgen's RPA control center allows companies to monitor bot use, issues, errors and overall technical health. It also helps clone bots and manage confidential credentials through a vault for bot management.

To drive optimization of new and old processes, Newgen offers advanced simulation capabilities with the ability to pull data from both models and Excel to import flow and other information that sheds light on inefficiencies and bottlenecks. Using the ongoing integrated process mining in NewgenOne, BPMS teams drive both performance management and predictive analysis.

12. Nintex K2

The Nintex K2 blackpearl product is a low-code BPMS platform made up of a comprehensive bundle of products that allows companies to automate complex processes. Using a drag-and-drop approach to solution design and development, blackpearl allows citizen developers and BPMS professionals to collaborate on all phases of process design and redesign, process simulation, AI-based design optimization and application generation.

The drag-and-drop capability is provided through the Nintex K2 Process Manager, a cloud-based process modeler. RPA application generation is provided through Nintex RPA and a comprehensive rule library. Together, these products let BPMS development teams choose either a low-code or RPA solution. Using the Nintex K2 ability to integrate with both internal and external applications, the new process design can tie to legacy applications for capability reuse. When appropriate, BPMS teams can also mix low-code with RPA to support complex processes. AI analysis and process analytics can be added to the solution design to look for ways to improve efficiency and optimize activity.

Using the Nintex K2 Cloud and the K2 Five products, BPMS teams can deal with both structured and unstructured data, allowing solutions to use both native and cloud-based capabilities. A variety of analytics tools allow the BPMS teams to track the performance of their applications and new business models while they are being built and after completion. This performance evaluation capability also supports the testing of new ideas as the BPMS teams optimize the solution and its capabilities.

AI capabilities are built into a variety of platform features to help optimize the results of a variety of capabilities, including complex decision-making.

SmartObjects is another process design capability option provided through forms generation. Using these forms can increase the speed of the project and in some cases the quality of the outcome.

Analytics capabilities support a wide range of performance analytics and allow managers and BPMS teams to define and manage changes to the business and applications as they drive to continuing improvement and optimization.

Daniel Morris is an independent consultant specializing in business process management. He has co-authored six books and over 100 articles on business transformation.

Top business process management certifications

Trends shaping the future of BPM

BPO vs BPM: What is the difference?

Related Resources

• How do we build trust in the digital world Video –Okta
• Enable Deep Visibility for Applications, Users, and Devices With FortiGate ... –Fortinet, Inc.
• ITSM Problem Management: What Are Your Pain Points? –ServiceNow
• Time to rekindle the Digital Transformation drive –TechTarget ComputerWeekly.com

Dig Deeper on Digital transformation

robotic process automation (RPA)

hyperautomation

business process management software (BPMS)

Is it better to be 'first' or 'smart' in cloud? Compare the two strategies to determine which will help achieve your ...

Consistency and standardization are critical to a successful AWS tagging strategy. Consider these best practices to organize and ...

Serverless computing continues to grow in popularity to build modern applications. Evaluate the risks and rewards, as well as ...

Mobile payments provide customers with a fast and secure way to pay without cash or physical cards. Managing these systems can be...

Mobile payment systems can vary in terms of their fees, setup process and functionality. Organizations must know how to choose ...

To succeed with enterprises, pricing for Copilot+ PC will have to come down for high-volume sales and business software will need...

A main focus of the Dell Technologies World 2024 conference was AI and how it impacts infrastructure environments. Dell ...

In this Q&A, Dell's Matt Baker lays out how its AI Factory is designed for faster AI adoption, why there are so many chatbots and...

An incredible amount of research must go into data center site selection. If the location does not fit company demands, the data ...

Dell Technologies World 2024 showcased hardware advancements to support AI and served as a launch for Apex AIOps, a rebranded ...

The best ESG and sustainability certification, workshop or course is the one that is right for you. Here are seven that work for ...

With so many carbon accounting software choices, buying teams may be overwhelmed. Start with this simplified guide to the ...

• Start free trial

Shopify Flow

Automate everything and get back to business.

Create custom workflows, get more from your existing apps, and watch business boom.

Create custom ecommerce automations with no-code building blocks

Tailored solutions. limitless potential..

From simple operations to multi-step workflows that connect with your apps, Flow gives you the flexibility to automate repetitive tasks, so you can focus on your business.

Inventory management

Fraud prevention, loyalty and retention, fulfillment management, plug-and-play templates, at the ready.

To help your businesses run more efficiently, we’ve created pre-built, no-code templates that can help you quickly start automating some of the most common time-consuming tasks you face.

Scheduled to fit your life

You no longer need an event to occur to run a workflow—with scheduled automations you choose when to pull data and run reports, opening up a whole new realm of possibilities within Flow.

Always on, so you don’t have to be

Flow handles all the strains and pressures of huge sales like Black Friday Cyber Monday, while also taking care of those easily forgotten manual tasks, so you can focus on more important things.

The biggest limitation of Flow is your imagination, and the things I’ve been able to automate have been game-changers for our operations.

Jacob Lambert

Landyachtz Skateboards

Frequently asked questions

What is ecommerce automation.

Ecommerce automation is software built to convert tasks, processes, or campaigns within your business to automations that intelligently execute exactly when needed. It’s how businesses can do more with what they have.

Why do I need ecommerce automation?

The problem is simple: as a business scales, the demands, complexity, and repetition add up. Systems that used to work become increasingly inefficient and break down. In response, companies turn to time-consuming workarounds—time that could be spent on what’s important is sacrificed for time spent on what’s urgent, even when that’s just pushing buttons. Or companies turn to new hires. Unfortunately, people don’t scale. But that doesn’t undercut the value of people—if anything, it reinforces it. People, especially their ability to focus on key activities, not tasks that a workflow could do, are your most powerful resource.

What are some workflow automation examples?

Ecommerce automations can take a host of different forms like tagging customers for segmentation and marketing, hiding products and initiating reorders for low or out-of-stock items, or tracking and halting high-risk orders. With each workflow, the goal is the same: to let merchants build the workflow that their business needs to scale.

Here are some of the most popular examples :

• Inventory management: Unpublish out-of-stock products and send a Slack message or email to your marketing team so they can pause advertising
• Fraud prevention: Send an email to review an order over $5000, before fulfillment as that is atypical for the store
• Product reviews: Automatically create a customer support ticket and send a slack message when a negative review is posted
• Loyalty: Award loyalty points and send a thank you SMS after a customer makes their second purchase

How does workflow automation work on Flow?

Flow is based on a simple, no-code “trigger, condition, and action” format . Basically, a “trigger” is an event that Flow looks out for and which sets an automation in motion, a “condition” must then be met, and the “action” is the task that is completed when the condition is met.

Here’s what that might look like for a workflow that automatically adds a customer to your loyalty program:

• Trigger: An order is placed.
• Condition: The order total must be $500 or more.
• Action: The customer is tagged as a VIP in the system.

How do I start automating ecommerce workflows?

It’s so easy. Start by downloading Flow in our app store. Then either start using one (or many) of our pre-built templates designed to automate dozens of the common tasks businesses need to automate. Or start creating your own workflows to solve the unique problems your business faces, using our no-code “trigger, condition, and actions” workflow creator.

Is Flow available in any languages other than English?

Currently the Flow platform is only available in English.

Get Flow today and start building the custom automations your business needs to grow

• Credit cards
• View all credit cards
• Banking guide
• Loans guide
• Insurance guide
• Personal finance
• View all personal finance
• Small business
• Small business guide
• View all taxes

You’re our first priority. Every time.

We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are objective, independent, straightforward — and free.

So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. Here is a list of our partners .

28 Best Marketing Tools for Small Businesses

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money .

Marketing tools can help small businesses maximize their marketing efforts to reach customers, build their brand and drive sales. These tools — including online marketing services , digital platforms and apps — can provide automated features to improve efficiency, plus analytics and reporting to monitor your return on investment. Here’s a look at some of the best marketing tools.

Email marketing tools

Email marketing can be a cost-effective way for a small business to promote its brand, develop relationships with new customers and increase sales. Software can simplify the process through features such as email templates, A/B testing options, lead capture forms for your website, and reports. There are a lot of email marketing software platforms to choose from, but here are our top picks:

Mailchimp: Our pick for best overall email marketing software, Mailchimp ’s paid plans offer templates, testing, landing pages, forms and reports as well as access to creative design tools and 24/7 support. Paid plans start at $13 per month, and there’s a free option with limited features.

Constant Contact: If you’re looking for a free trial, Constant Contact has one of the best — 60 days with no credit card information required. In addition to solid email features, it can help with social media marketing. Plans start at $12 per month.

Campaigner: For businesses that want a more advanced platform, Campaigner offers features such as a full code editor, conversion tracking, a Facebook audience builder and a getting started video tutorial. Plans start at $59 per month with a free 30-day trial.

Content marketing tools

Well-written, engaging content is key to a successful marketing campaign. These tools, which use artificial intelligence, can help you write content for blogs, newsletters, videos and social media posts to get the attention of your audience:

Simplified: Simplified offers free features such as a content rewriter tool, a company bio generator and an AI writing assistant, plus additional paid features that can help you create content for your website, blog and social media.

Grammarly Business: Grammarly can help you write mistake-free content for your website, social media, documents, messages and emails. The free plan offers basic features. Sentence rewrites, word choice options and other advanced features are available in the business version at $15 per month per person.

SMS marketing tools

Short Message Service, or SMS, marketing is a way for small businesses to share product information, promotions and upcoming events with their customers via text message. SMS marketing software can automate the process with design tools, website forms and other features. Here are our top picks:

SimpleTexting: Unlimited contacts and keywords, a graphic generator tool and template options are just some of the features that make SimpleTexting our top SMS marketing tool. Plans start at $29 per month with a free 14-day trial.

SlickText: For small businesses that want to use SMS for promotions, SlickText stands out for engagement features such as contests, surveys, promo codes, coupons and loyalty reward options. Plans start at $29 per month with a 14-day free trial available.

TextMagic: If a pay-as-you-go plan is better for your marketing budget , TextMagic lets you skip the monthly subscription fee and purchase prepaid credits that can be used when you want. Pricing starts at 4 cents per outgoing text, and a 30-day free trial is offered.

Website analytics tools

Understanding the behavior of visitors to your website allows you to optimize your content and reach your marketing goals of retaining customers, attracting new customers and increasing sales. The best analytics tools can help you look at key metrics such as page views and conversion rates and even offer details about competitors:

Google Analytics: Google Analytics offers free analytics and optimization tools to help you monitor the activity on your website. This includes acquisition, engagement and monetization reporting.

Lucky Orange: Lucky Orange is an optimization tool that provides analytics, but it also includes heat maps of user behavior, session recordings, surveys and visitor profiles at every plan level, including the free version. Paid plans start at $18 per month.

Semrush: For businesses looking for features such as competitor analysis and keyword research, Semrush offers them along with advertising and social media tools. Plans start at $119.95 monthly, and a free account is also available with limited features.

Customer relationship management , or CRM, tools do more than just store your contact database. The best CRM software can help you organize your contacts and collect information on potential customers interested in your products and services. Some software also has features that can help you manage a sales team.

Zoho CRM: Our top CRM pick offers features to help you collect and sort data, schedule tasks, manage sales pipelines and generate reports. Plans start at $20 per user per month, and a free version with full features is available for teams of three or fewer.

Salesforce CRM: This is a platform that can grow with your small business and includes features such as lead management, automatic data syncs and customizable reports. Plans start at $25 per user per month, and free trials are available at most plan levels.

Freshsales by Freshworks: For small businesses working on a tight budget, Freshsales’ Growth plan is free and allows for up to three CRM users. It includes solid features, such as personalized messages, contact scoring and sales management tools. Paid plans start at $18 per user per month with a 21-day free trial.

Digital marketing tools

When you’re using digital marketing methods to promote your small business and brand, software can help you automate your efforts and also track your return on investment.

Constant Contact: In addition to email marketing tools, Constant Contact also has features to assist you with social media marketing, digital ads and engagement reporting. Plans start at $12 per month.

Hubspot: After purchasing a plan, you'll have access to email marketing tools, a landing page builder and an online form builder along with features that help you track performance. Marketing Hub plans start at $50 per month.

Keap: For businesses that want dedicated support, Keap offers customer-success managers at all plan levels to help you meet your digital marketing goals. Plans start at $189 per month.

Social media marketing tools

When you're using multiple social media platforms to engage customers, reach new audiences and generate brand awareness, digital tools can make the management of your efforts easier through features such as automated scheduling, calendars and channel boosting.

Buffer: For businesses on a tight budget with three or fewer social channels, Buffer’s free plan may be the right fit for you. Post scheduling, calendar view, Instagram tagging, Twitter hashtag suggestions and Facebook page mentions are some notable features. Paid plans start at $6 per month per channel.

Zoho Social: If you’re managing one brand on 10 or fewer social media channels, Zoho Social offers multichannel publishing, content scheduling, an image editor, a publishing calendar, user tagging and summary reports. Plans start at $15 per month, and there’s a free version for one user.

Hootsuite: If you want an app with few limits and advanced features, check out Hootsuite. Notable features include unlimited posts, unlimited scheduling, a social content calendar, recommended publishing times, content curation tools, post boosting and analytics. Plans start at $99 per month, and a 30-day free trial is offered.

» MORE: Best business credit cards for online advertising

Design tools

Design tools can make it easier to create visually appealing graphics and videos for your marketing efforts. The best tools offer templates, image libraries and photo editing.

Canva Business: With built-in tools like a drag-and-drop editor, customizable templates, AI-powered design tools and free photos and graphics, Canva is a top pick. A free plan is available, and paid options start at $12.99 per month per person.

Adobe Lightroom: If you’re taking photos of your product or team to share on your website, social platforms or other marketing materials, Adobe Lightroom offers editing tools, tutorials and cloud storage. Plans start at $9.99 per month.

Direct mail marketing tools

While not as popular as digital marketing, sending postcards, flyers, catalogs and other types of direct mail marketing materials through the U.S. Postal Service to a customer's physical mailbox can help your business stand out from competitors. Here are some tools that can help you do it:

USPS: The Every Door Direct Mail, or EDDM, tool can help you plan your mailing of postcards, menus and flyers. It offers filtering options and the ability to map routes and select delivery addresses — plus, postage discounts are available for most businesses.

Mailchimp: With an address finder and direct mail campaign automation, Mailchimp can help you send postcards to promote events, announce deals and provide other information to customers and potential buyers. Cost per card (with postage) ranges from $1.03 to 79 cents, based on quantity.

Click2Mail: If you want more than postcards for your direct-mailing efforts, Click2Mail offers flyers, letters, notecards, booklets and brochures, plus tools that can help automate the printing and mailing process. Price varies depending on mailing.

Project management tools

Project management software can help you manage your marketing projects from start to finish. The best ones help you break marketing projects into manageable tasks with assigned deadlines and offer customizable dashboards to track progress.

Jira: For businesses with small teams of 10 users or fewer, Jira’s free plan offers unlimited project boards and customizable workflows, plus reporting and insights. Paid plans start at $7.75 per user per month.

Monday: Designed for marketing and creative work, paid Monday Work Management plans offer unlimited dashboards and items to track tasks, projects, customers and any other information you want. Paid plans start at $8 per user per month, and a free version supports two users and limited items.

Asana: If you want to track more than marketing projects, Asana can help you manage a variety of different projects with list, board, calendar and timeline views. Plans start at $13.49 per user per month, with a free option available with basic features.

» MORE: Free or low-cost ways to advertise your business

On a similar note...

Discover & Compare the Best Software to Grow Business in the USA

Top Trending

Software Categories

We would love to hear your feedback!

Tell Us About Your Experience with Any Software You're Using Currently.

Compare software that will best fit your business

With our comparison tool, Techjockey provides a head-to-head comparison of enterprise software when you select and compare up to four products in same category

Subscribe to our newsletter

Be the first to get latest offers and news on our products directly in your inbox.

Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter !

We Provide, What Businesses Need to Thrive: The Ultimate Software Marketplace

Running your own business is no walk in the park, isn't it? The hurdles and hassles can sometimes feel overwhelming. We at Techjockey.com ensure that your journey to finding the perfect software is nothing short of smooth sailing. The platform revolutionizes tech discovery and exploration, simplifying the process for both startups and established businesses.

Techjockey has spread its wings with thousands of verified software listings spanning HRMS, Accounting, CRM, Project Management, Billing & Invoicing, Marketing Automation, Video Editing Software, Video Conferencing Software and 450+ other categories.

We provide personalized, data-driven guidance to help you uncover the ideal software tailored to your business needs. Our platform equips businesses with detailed product insights and insightful feedback from customers, fostering confident decision-making. You can access over 1 million verified reviews from your peers for informed choices.

Say goodbye to endless online searches and effortlessly compare pricing and features of leading software options in just a few minutes. Additionally, explore our vast library of articles and other resources for expert advice on software discovery and evaluation.

So, leave the stress behind and walk with us towards finding the right software solutions that match your needs. After all, your success is our utmost priority.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What information can I get about products on Techjockey?

Every software listed on techjockey includes details like important features, platform compatibility, deployment type, use cases, pricing plans, popular alternatives, and other product specifications. You also get the option of comparing the product with similar software.

How we verify software vendors on techjockey?

We, at techjockey, follow stringent quality check guidelines to create a list of the best vendors in any software category. These vendors are evaluated for their product quality, industry-specific features, ease of deployment, and price competitiveness.

Why compare software on Techjockey?

You can choose from 15k plus software for your business by comparing their features, pricing, and more. Product comparisons include customer reviews, detailed product insights, and industry-specific suggestions to help you make the right buying decision.

• Product guide

Made for complex projects or everyday tasks

⚡ plan and organize tasks.

From short projects, to large cross-functional programs, Jira helps break big ideas down into achievable steps. Organize work, create milestones, map dependencies and more.

Align work to goals

Link work to goals so everyone can see how their work contributes to company objectives and stay aligned to what’s important.

Track work your way

Visualize work with lists, boards, backlogs, and more. Make workflows for any process and integrate with tools you love.

Optimize with insights

Get visibility into project progress, understand risks, and surface insights from real-time data to help you improve team performance.

Bring every team together under one roof

Everything in one place

Tailor it for your team.

Meets teams where they work

“ Before, our team saw Atlassian as individual tools...Now, [features & integrations] like Jira macros & Smart Links have really been pivotal in collaboration, productivity, & discoverability. ”

Senior Technical Program Manager, Roblox

30 years serving entrepreneurs                          714-544-0248

Focusing on Business Excellence

Author of SBA Publication MP-32: "How to Write a Business Plan"

You can order Automate Your Business Plan software and download it now! For more information about downloading and/or ordering all of our books and software, please visit our Ordering Information page .

Our Recommendations

• Best Small Business Loans for 2024
• Businessloans.com Review
• Biz2Credit Review
• SBG Funding Review
• Rapid Finance Review
• 26 Great Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs
• Startup Costs: How Much Cash Will You Need?
• How to Get a Bank Loan for Your Small Business
• Articles of Incorporation: What New Business Owners Should Know
• How to Choose the Best Legal Structure for Your Business

Small Business Resources

• Business Ideas
• Business Plans
• Startup Basics
• Startup Funding
• Franchising
• Success Stories
• Entrepreneurs
• The Best Credit Card Processors of 2024
• Clover Credit Card Processing Review
• Merchant One Review
• Stax Review
• How to Conduct a Market Analysis for Your Business
• Local Marketing Strategies for Success
• Tips for Hiring a Marketing Company
• Benefits of CRM Systems
• 10 Employee Recruitment Strategies for Success
• Sales & Marketing
• Social Media
• Best Business Phone Systems of 2024
• The Best PEOs of 2024
• RingCentral Review
• Nextiva Review
• Ooma Review
• Guide to Developing a Training Program for New Employees
• How Does 401(k) Matching Work for Employers?
• Why You Need to Create a Fantastic Workplace Culture
• 16 Cool Job Perks That Keep Employees Happy
• 7 Project Management Styles
• Women in Business
• Personal Growth
• Best Accounting Software and Invoice Generators of 2024
• Best Payroll Services for 2024
• Best POS Systems for 2024
• Best CRM Software of 2024
• Best Call Centers and Answering Services for Busineses for 2024
• Salesforce vs. HubSpot: Which CRM Is Right for Your Business?
• Rippling vs Gusto: An In-Depth Comparison
• RingCentral vs. Ooma Comparison
• Choosing a Business Phone System: A Buyer’s Guide
• Equipment Leasing: A Guide for Business Owners
• HR Solutions
• Financial Solutions
• Marketing Solutions
• Security Solutions
• Retail Solutions
• SMB Solutions

11 Benefits of CRM Systems

CRM software can provide a wealth of benefits for your small business, from customer retention to increased productivity.

Table of Contents

Customer relationship management (CRM) software has become a near-vital tool for businesses of all sizes. CRM software can provide several benefits to any business, from organizing contacts to automating key tasks. It can also be a centralized, organized hub that enables consistent communication both with customers and within the organization. This is especially important as more organizations shift to remote work.

The CRM software market was worth more than $58 billion in 2022 and is currently one of the fastest-growing industries, projected to grow at a rate of 13.9% from 2023 to 2030, driven by consumer demand for better customer service, automated engagement and more nuanced customer experiences.

What is a CRM?

A CRM system is a type of software that helps businesses manage, track and organize their relationships with customers. CRM stands for “customer relationship management.” The CRM system can help you store customer data, such as user behavior, the amount of time a customer has been with your business, purchase records and notes on sales interactions. You can then use this information to optimize your sales and marketing processes and improve customer service across your organization.

“CRM … is a group of tools, technology and techniques used to help sales and marketing professionals understand their customers better,” said Bryan Philips, head of marketing at In Motion Marketing.

CRM software features track the behavior and actions of your current or potential customers through your business’s website, social media or email marketing campaigns and then guides the customer through the sales or buying funnel by sending a triggered email or alerting a sales representative of the customer’s interest.

CRM benefits for small businesses

A CRM solution can be used in various ways and provide numerous benefits to your business. In general, these benefits all involve nurturing leads and supporting customers as they enter and move through your sales and marketing funnels . Specifically, CRM systems can achieve the following to do so.

1. Better customer service

Modern CRM software has many functions, but the software was created to improve business-customer relationships and that’s still its main benefit. A CRM manages all of your contacts and gathers important customer information ― like demographics, purchase records and previous messages across all channels ― and makes it accessible easily to anyone in your company who needs it. This ensures that your employees have all they need to know about the customer at their fingertips and can provide a better customer experience, which tends to boost customer satisfaction.

2. Increased sales

A CRM tool can help you streamline your sales process, build a sales pipeline, automate key tasks and analyze all of your sales data in one centralized place, potentially increasing sales and productivity. A CRM helps you establish a step-by-step sales process that your employees can rely on every time and that you can tweak easily as issues arise.

3. Improved customer retention

Once you’ve procured and converted leads, it’s vital that you put in the work to retain them as customers and promote customer loyalty. High customer turnover can have many negative effects for your business, like diminished revenue or disrupted cash flow, so use your CRM and the information it provides about your customers to encourage repeat business. The CRM will provide sentiment analysis, automated ticketing, customer support automation and user behavior tracking to help you determine problems and quickly address them with your customers.

4. Detailed analytics

It’s one thing to have plenty of data about your customers, but you need to know what it means and how to use it. CRM software typically has built-in analytic capabilities to contextualize data, breaking it down into actionable items and easily understood metrics. Metrics, such as click-through rates, bounce rates and demographic information allow you to judge the success of a marketing campaign and optimize accordingly.  

5. Higher productivity and efficiency

CRM software uses marketing automation technology, which expedites menial tasks like drip campaigns and frees up your employees’ time to focus on work only humans can handle, like creating content. It can also ensure that no tasks slip through the cracks, such as all-important emails are always sent to the right people. Additionally, a CRM can show you a dashboard of how your business processes are working and where your workflows could improve . [Related article: How Workplace Automation Software Can Help Your Business ]

6. Centralized database of information

Another thing CRM software does best is providing a centralized database with all information on your customers, making it easily accessible to anyone in your company who needs it. This makes it easy for a sales representative to see what products a certain customer is interested in, for example. If the customer has previously interacted with the company, the CRM will include records of that interaction, which can inform future marketing efforts and sales pitches. This saves your employees the time of digging through old files and records, and it makes for a better and more productive experience for the customer.

7. Managed communications with prospective leads

Lead nurturing can be an arduous and complicated process, with many steps and opportunities to communicate. A CRM automatically manages the process, sending your employees alerts when they should reach out to the prospect and tracking every interaction, from emails to phone calls.

“One great advantage of [CRM] is that you can see your customer’s journey holistically,” said Michael Miller, CEO of VPN Online. “With every phase in the design and every email you sent out reviewed, you can quickly figure out the next move to make. It’s like seeing it from the top view and you can easily create a decision on what to do next.”

8. Improved customer segmentation

A list of hundreds of contacts can be unwieldy and overwhelming. For example, how do you know which customers want to see your email about your new in-store product? A CRM will segment your contact lists automatically based on your criteria, making it easy to find the ones you want to contact at any given time. You can sort contacts by location, gender, age, buyer stage and more.

“Automation actually allows the marketer to have a more meaningful understanding of the customer and have more valuable interaction when they do interact because of it,” Philips said. “The important part to understand about automation is that we don’t want to write a general email to our customers. Instead, we want to send emails reflecting customers’ preferences, interests and values by segmenting them into groups using the data gleaned within the CRM.” [Related article: Why Demographics Are Important in Marketing ]

9. Automated sales reports

Your team can collect and organize data about prospective and current customers easily using the CRM software’s dashboard and reporting features, which allow employees to automate and manage their pipelines and processes. The CRM can also help your team members evaluate their performance, track their quotas and goals and check their progress on each of their projects at a glance.

10. More accurate sales forecasting

With any business operation, you need to be able to review your past performance and strategically plan for the future. Using the automated sales reports in CRM software, you can identify key trends and get an idea of what to expect from your future sales cycle performance while adjusting your goals and metrics to suit those projections. [Related article: 7 Ways to Improve Your Sales ]

11. Streamlined internal communications

Aside from facilitating communication between your business and your customers, a CRM can make it easier for your employees to communicate with each other. A CRM makes it easy to see how other employees are speaking with a potential customer, which helps your team maintain a unified brand voice. It also allows team members to send each other notes or alerts, tag each other on projects and send messages and emails, all within one system. [Related article: Workplace Conflicts? 5 Tips to Improve Communication ]

What companies can benefit from CRM systems?

Because CRM software provides such a breadth of benefits, many types of businesses and teams can benefit from it.

“Not all customers are created equal, so the value of a CRM is that it helps you keep the right customers and deploy your precious marketing dollars towards the customers that will return the highest value over their customer lifetime,” said Mike Catania, CEO and co-founder of Locaris. “It is challenging for small businesses to identify and acquire customers, so bucketing them into optimal and suboptimal segments through CRM is inordinately valuable.”

Businesses of all sizes, from solo freelancers to enterprise-level corporations, can use CRM technology effectively. After all, the key functions of a CRM are organization, centralized task management, marketing automation and communication, which are important to every business’ success.

Of course, some businesses stand to gain more from the use of a CRM than others:

Businesses with a dedicated sales team

If you have a sales team, a CRM is vital to help you manage your contacts and your customer relations. A CRM can even help you improve and grow your sales processes by using customer information, showing you key trends and areas where you can improve your strategies and automating menial tasks for your sales representatives.

Businesses with a marketing team

CRM and marketing go hand in hand. CRM data can help your marketing team identify, capture, nurture and convert leads; track customer-salesperson interactions; monitor drip campaigns within the sales cycle and more. All of this can create a smoother and more consistent customer experience.

Businesses seeking to increase efficiency

Because CRMs automate processes like contact organization and communication, the software can significantly speed up daily processes and tasks for your entire team. A CRM can also reduce errors and ensure that all communications go out to the right people at the right time. 

CRM software can take your customer service to the next level

A CRM software is an indispensable tool for a business’ sales, marketing and customer support teams. By building detailed profiles of leads and customers and tracking all your team’s communications with them, you can better serve your existing customers, acquire new ones and refine marketing campaigns to reach your target audience effectively. If you want to better organize your communications and pull back the veil on key insights surrounding your leads and customers, consider implementing a CRM system for your business.

Tejas Vemparala also contributed to this article. 

Building Better Businesses

Insights on business strategy and culture, right to your inbox. Part of the business.com network.