Overcome Planning and Management Obstacles —LivePlan Support Explained
Posted By
There are plenty of obstacles to overcome when running a business, and so much information is needed to make confident decisions. Maintaining profitability and healthy cash flow, developing accurate budgets and forecasts, anticipating customer demand—the list goes on and on. Monitoring financial metrics, reviewing your milestones and strategy, and exploring forecast scenarios are some of the key ways to help you overcome these and other similar challenges. The good news is these are all solutions within LivePlan.
LivePlan is designed to make business planning and management easier, with a fill-in-the-blank planning template, step-by-step financial planning, and robust reporting features. However, while LivePlan software is easy to use, there may be times when you feel stuck.
Luckily, you’re not alone and we’re here for you with three different levels of support.
What are your LivePlan support options?
Every business is different and every business owner requires different levels of support. So, LivePlan meets you where you are and offers options to get you answers to your most pressing questions. This includes:
- LivePlan Help Center: A library of support FAQs and documentation to help you navigate LivePlan
- Customer Advocacy Team: Call, email, or live chat with a LivePlan customer advocate
- LivePlan Forecasting Advisors: 1-on-1 financial forecasting and monthly reviews with a seasoned LivePlan Strategic Advisor
Let’s take a look at exactly what you can expect from each of these support options.
LivePlan Help Center — DIY user manual
In the midst of running your business, it is all too easy to lose track of what your tools can do. How do I connect to my accounting software, again? Is there a way to copy a financial forecast? How do I create financial scenarios? How do I print a monthly management report?
All very common and very good questions that can take valuable time out of your day. In these cases, you might want to look up an answer right away, which is where the Help Center comes in. This self-serve series of over 250 guides are organized to help you quickly get the help you need.
You can look through specific categories like “Creating Your Pitch” or “Preparing a Forecast,” check out answers to common questions from other LivePlan users, and even just search for what you’re looking for. These are not outdated user manuals from when LivePlan was first released—they’re thorough walkthroughs and answers to questions received directly from customers.
Anytime a new feature is released or several customers start reaching out with similar questions, you can expect a new post to appear in the Help Center.
Customer Advocates — Email, phone, and live chat support
Need some more tailored support in our software? Our Customer Advocacy Team (CATs) have your back.
CATs are vital members of our in-house team, working out of the same office as our development, product, marketing, and sales teams. We call them advocates for a reason — it’s more than customer support. With a college-degree requirement (accounting emphasis preferred), and extensive training, they are super-knowledgeable about LivePlan and how it interfaces with your accounting solution.
The questions and problems you work through with them even help improve LivePlan. They close the loop with our product team, sending feedback on what our customers need, find difficult or confusing in LivePlan, or any other feedback you have. Choose the method of contact that is most convenient for you — call, email, chat — it’s all available!
LivePlan Advisors — Become a more strategic business owner
If you’re struggling to develop a strategic roadmap for your business and need help setting realistic milestones and financial goals—you may want to team up with a LivePlan Advisor. A LivePlan Advisor is more than an accountant, they are LivePlan Certified partners who will help you:
- Create accurate financial forecasts
- Discover new growth opportunities and underlying issues
- Better understand the impact of business decisions
- Stay focused on and reach your goals
It’s not just a one-time meeting either. You’ll get monthly strategy sessions where your advisor will take you through LivePlan to chat through ideas, analyze your financial metrics, update your forecast and ultimately make more informed business decisions. In short, you’ll collaborate to create a living forecast and plan for your business with an advisor who has your back.
Don’t just take our word for it. You can learn how Kristen Fischer successfully took over the already established Analog Barbershop by relying on LivePlan and her LivePlan Advisor to explore long-term growth and refine day-to-day operations.
LivePlan support your way
Each of these options is available to help you get the most out of LivePlan on your terms. Need a reminder about how to access specific features or just want to explore new ways to leverage your subscription? You can do it yourself with the Help Center. If you need a bit more personalized help from a LivePlan software expert, reach out to the CAT team. If you want more of a white glove, one-on-one service to elevate your financial planning within LivePlan, it may be worth exploring the Advisory Program.
However you’d like to receive LivePlan support, there’s an option for you. That being said, we’re always looking for new ways to help strengthen your ability to manage your business with LivePlan. If you’re a current LivePlan user, please reach out to our team of customer advocates and let us know about your support experience and if you have any feedback.
