SBA makes software available for businesses

Business planning just became easier with new software available for free use at U.S. Small Business Administration training and counseling centers.

According to an SBA announcement, Atlas Business Solutions Inc. of Fargo, N.D., designed the business-planning application, called Ultimate Business Planner. It guides the small-business entrepreneur step-by-step to create a business plan that can be presented to a lender, other financial backer, employees and managers.

"A good business plan is the heart and soul of every successful small business," said Hector V. Barreto, SBA administrator. "Therefore the SBA is committed to making available the tools to guide small businesses at start-up and sustain their growth."

ABS donated 1,000 CD-ROM copies of the software, valued at $100,000, to the SBA. "This generous donation from one small business to prospective small business owners demonstrates an innovative approach to promoting and assuring small business success," Barreto said.

The software has been loaded onto workstation computers at many of the agency's Business Information Centers, Women's Business Centers, Tribal Business Information Centers and Small Business Development Center offices around the country.

At locations where Ultimate Business Planner is unavailable, other small business planning software and a wide variety of reference and research materials are available.

Many of these sites also offer free counseling and free or minimal-cost training courses and workshops for small-business clients in areas that include business planning, marketing and sales, product expansion and exporting.