PlanHQ – Basecamp meets business planning

This looks interesting. It is a ‘living business plan’ service that helps you create a business plan (nice layout), collaborate with your team (comments, a nifty “confidence monitor” – thank goodness it didn’t use smileys…) and assessment of financial performance against goals. It’s all dressed in that attractive rounded-edges-and-pastel ‘web2.0’ look that Basecamp has ‘made its own’ (as Simon Cowell might say).

The problems with static business plans are clear: no sooner is it printed than it’s out of date; the milestones need to go into one application for tracking; the targets and financial model go elsewhere; further tools are used for discussions and developing strategy… In all, it’s a humongous effort simply to create the document and then link it to everyday business.

This software looks like a good attempt that will work well for small teams or those currently unencumbered with existing systems – provided you’re in the US of course… The system is US-oriented and (of course) there’s no thought of international options. I can’t imagine a UK business denominating their activities in US dollars just because the software looks neat 😉