Accounting software player Sage is giving entrepreneurs free business planning software as part of a special promotion to mark the launch of Bizstartup.ie.
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Sage Planning for Business software can help you successfully plan, launch and run your business by assisting you in identifying what you need to do to get started. With a business-plan template and worked examples, you will be able to identify key tasks – including how to manage your cash flow – and end up with a professional business plan. Sage Ireland managing director Liam Mullaney told Siliconrepublic.com that the software can prove invaluable to new business start-ups seeking to raise funding from investors or gain support from banks. “It is clear from the past year with all the job losses in the economy and the fact that Ireland is a nation of small businesses, it is logical that many of those who took redundancy would be interested in starting a business,” Mullaney said. “It’s a well-known fact that the best time to start a business is in a downturn.” He added that from talking to banks and various enterprise boards in the midst of a credit squeeze, what is paramount is the ability for would-be entrepreneurs to communicate with clarity their business case with credible financials. |
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“The local enterprise boards love this software and the reason they do is because the localisation for Ireland is quite sophisticated. For example, the business-planning software helps start-ups to explore what available grant options exist. This is the only true Irish business-planning software on the market that is free.”
In each of the ‘Planning for Business’ tasks, there are links to many useful articles on Irish support websites, such as those from the County & City Enterprise Boards, Enterprise Ireland, BASIS, CRO, the Central Statistics Office, Revenue and more.
The software also works seamlessly with other Sage software packages that the company has made available for free to start-up businesses, including TAS Books Basic and Quickpay.
“The more people who use this software the more enterprise boards and banks will become used to seeing information provided in this format. The banks, who need to be issuing credit to small businesses, will have a template based on facts and figures. They will be able to see the logic whereas often the reason why people are refused credit is because they don’t come across as auditable as the banks would like them to be,” Mullaney concluded.
By John Kennedy
Photo: Sage Ireland managing director Liam Mullaney
