LivePlan

Overview

LivePlan suits founders and established businesses that need a business plan tied to working financial forecasts, rather than a document that goes stale when assumptions change. Its connected projections and business-focused research are compelling; the requirement to work online and the one-active-company limit are meaningful constraints.

Founded in 2011 and based in Eugene, Oregon, LivePlan also serves advisors, educators, and SBA partners. It combines planning, performance tracking, idea assessment, and pitch creation in a single web service.

Key features

• Linked forecasts: Income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet projections update together when an assumption changes. That makes scenario analysis more useful for seeing how a decision affects the broader plan, rather than revising separate statements by hand.
• Idea validation and market research: AI-powered idea validation helps assess whether a business concept merits pursuit. Market research draws on more than 50 verified sources and can provide geography-specific insight, a useful pairing for early-stage planning.
• Presentations and examples: Users can generate a presentation from a plan, edit it in LivePlan, and export it to PDF or PowerPoint. More than 550 sample plans offer reference material when starting from a blank page.
• Accounting connections: QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations pull accounting data into forecasts and dashboards, helping businesses connect planning with their books.
• Security and support: LivePlan says data is encrypted in transit with HTTPS, backed up daily, and stored on AWS infrastructure with data centers that undergo regular SOC 2 audits. The company also says it submits a PCI SAQ A 3.2 self-assessment and can provide its certificate after an NDA. Listed support includes chat and weekday email support from 8 am to 4 pm PST.

Pricing

LivePlan is described as freemium, but it has no free plan and no free trial at the moment. Paid pricing starts at $15/mo (annual); the monthly plans shown are Standard: $20 a month and Premium: $40 a month, both billed monthly. Each lists one active company, five contributors, and unlimited guests. The single-company cap means neither plan is suited to managing multiple active businesses at once.

LivePlan Expert is a paid monthly add-on at $30 a month, with 30-minute video meetings; the separate Expert add-on listing specifies 30-minute one-on-one meetings and priority assistance at the same price. LivePlan advertises a 35-day money-back guarantee, which provides a refund window but is not a trial.

Platforms

LivePlan is web-based and requires an internet connection for all functions. There is no mobile app; phone and tablet access runs through a device’s browser. Although Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows are listed as platforms, browser-only mobile access and always-online use rule it out for offline planning.

Who it's for

LivePlan is best suited to startups validating an idea and building financial projections, or established companies tracking performance against a plan. Advisors, educators, and SBA partners are also among its intended audiences. Businesses that need offline access, a native mobile app, or several active company plans should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Connected statements make assumption changes easier to evaluate across cash flow, income, and balance-sheet projections.
• Pro: Research, sample plans, idea validation, and presentation exports support several stages of business planning in one service.
• Con: Always-online access and no mobile app make it a poor fit for offline work or an app-first mobile workflow.
• Con: One active company per plan limits users who need to work on multiple businesses at the same time.
• Con: There is no free plan or trial, so prospective users must rely on the 35-day money-back guarantee rather than trying the service before paying.

Alternatives

For broad financial planning options, compare the Financial Planning Software category; for forecasts specifically, see Financial Forecasting Software. Readers focused on model building can browse Financial Modeling Software, while business-plan-first shoppers can compare Business Plan Software. For scenario work, the Scenario Planning Software list may be more relevant.

myprosperity has a free Starter option and Android, iOS, and web access, so it may suit readers seeking a no-cost, multi-platform alternative. Betterment offers free access and web and mobile platforms, but its listed plans center on eligible balances and recurring deposits rather than LivePlan’s business-planning focus. Boldin has a free Basic tier, a free trial, and interactive financial-planning tools; choose it when those tools are a better match than business-plan creation. ProjectionLab offers a free tier with forecasting, financial planning, Monte Carlo simulations, historical backtesting, and flexible modeling, making it a fit for readers prioritizing those capabilities.

MyPlan provides a free web plan for net-worth tracking, goal projections, budgeting, document storage, and estate planning, so it better suits individual financial organization. MoneyGuide is a paid option with a free trial and a plan priced per advisor, which may suit readers comparing advisor-oriented software. Planswell is a free option with Android, iOS, and web access. PlanTechHub offers free access accounts and shared plans from other advisors, making it worth considering for that workflow.

Verdict

Choose LivePlan if you need a business plan that stays connected to financial forecasts, with research and presentation tools to support planning from idea through pitch. Its strongest case is the linked statements and business-specific planning toolkit; its biggest drawbacks are the lack of offline or native mobile use, no trial or free plan, and a one-active-company ceiling. For multiple businesses, offline work, or a free starting point, look elsewhere.