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We are Palo Alto Software

Palo Alto Software is the leader in business planning software. We were founded in 1983 by well-known business planning expert Tim Berry, who authored the world's first business plan software. Our flagship product, the Windows-based Business Plan Pro, has outsold the combined competition for the last decade and counting.

LivePlan is the first online business plan software that was created by actual business planning experts. Backed by close to 30 years of experience in software and planning, no other online business plan solution comes close to the level of professionalism and expertise. Read more about Palo Alto Software.

About Tim Berry

Tim Berry is president and founder of Palo Alto Software, founder of Bplans.com, and a co-founder of Borland International. He taught Starting a Business at the University of Oregon from 1998 through 2009. He is author of books and software including Business Plan Pro, published by Palo Alto Software, and The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan, published by Entrepreneur Press. He has a Stanford MBA degree and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame.

tim berry

Management Team

How We Support Small Business

With our free websites, Bplans.com and Mplans.com, we actively support the small business community by providing a wealth of information and guidance. 

Bplans attracts more than a million visitors per month, offering free business planning articles, financial tools, sample business plans, and other important resources. A companion site for UK visitors is available at Bplans.co.uk. Mplans provides similar content and marketing planning resources.

Members of our leadership team, including company founder Tim Berry and CEO Sabrina Parsons, travel the country speaking about business planning and starting and running small businesses. We work closely with various local, regional, state, and national organizations to provide resources, software, and guidance to budding entrepreneurs. 

On July 1, 2009, Palo Alto Software held the Oregon Small Business Boost, giving away $3 million worth of software to any Oregonian who showed up at a giveaway location. Plans are underway for similar events in other states.

We also sponsor a number of academic business plan competitions each year, offering prize money to student entrepreneurs and acting as expert judges to determine winners of some of the most prestigious competitions in the country. 

For over 15 years, we've provided free software to Small Business Development Centers and SCORE offices throughout the United States. Using our software, counselors at these offices have helped hundreds of thousands of small business owners write the business plans that helped launch countless businesses. And with our academic software program, we put free software into the hands of college instructors, and provide low-cost planning software to students of business and business planning. We believe every business will benefit from a business plan, and encourage smart business planning and economic growth through these outreach efforts.