Product Description

Features:

• EasyPlan Wizard:The EasyPlan Wizard provides step-by-step guidance and asks you simple questions to guide you through the process of producing a complete business plan. Based on your answers, the EasyPlan Wizard selects the plan outline that is right for your business.
• Develop a Strategy:Business Plan Pro helps you identify keys to success and define your market. Expert guidance at every step provides the tools you need to make critical business decisions.
• Detailed Instructions and Examples:Every step includes in-depth instructions and multiple examples from real business plans.
• Wizard-driven Financials:Make sure your numbers work. Every financial table includes a built-in wizard to guide you through the process of creating solid business numbers.
• Row-by-Row Spreadsheet Help:You can't get stuck with the automatic row-by-row help system. It provides advice, information, and answers for every step of every spreadsheet. No template can give you that level of assistance.
• Tim Berry, the Wizard Behind the EasyPlan Wizard:Business planning expert Tim Berry is the author of Business Plan Pro. Use his experience to your advantage.
• 400+ Complete Sample Business Plans:Avoid writer's block with over 400 sample business plans. Use them for inspiration and research. Import sample plans directly into your own plan.
• 2 Business Books Included:Learn the fundamentals of business planning and marketing planning with the two books by Tim Berry, included with your software.
• Legal Tools & Business Reference Library:Get the ins and outs of small business legal issues and learn how to choose a legal structure for your business.

Features

• 2 expert business and marketing planning books included
• Software for professional and customizable business plans
• 400+ sample plans; instructions and examples at every step
• Easily exports to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF
• Built-in Plan Review ensures bullet-proof financials

Reviews (2)

Won't even install without manual hack
So, I wanted some software help in writing my very first ever business plan. This one came highly recommended from reviews here, and elsewhere. So I bought a copy.
Guess what? Won't install. Get "Error 1935". I click on 'Contact Us' from the installer. Tech Support? It's a toll call-- no 800 number. So I go to the web page. Track down an article on this problem. The Fix? About an hour's worth of manual labor on my part that *might* fix it-- Palo Alto Software would really like to hear from me if it works.
Not likely. This is being returned today.
1 star for putting a product on the floor that won't install, and then offering a fix that requires 21 manual steps, including a diagnostic boot in Windows XP.
I'll just write up my business plan in Word, thank you very much.

Perfect for me...
It has everything that I need, easy to understand it complicate and not complicate business plans (as I wish). Also one of the features I loved it is sample business plans they cover almost all kind of business. It is perfect... I strongly recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description

iWork '05 ... Read more

Features

• Integrated iLife media browser and photo masking
• Create, present, and publish work quickly and easily
• Cinema-quality slide presentations; streamlined, yet powerful word processing
• 40+ professionally designed templates with multiple page designs
• Freeform graphics canvas; easy-to-use text styles, charts, and tables

Reviews (17)

Great package for work and efficiency.
I bought this product about a month ago and iWork made my life more efficient with all the easy functionality and integration that Apple has created. It is fully integrated with .Mac and your on-going web\work sites. The main application I use is Keynote which is an easy to use presentation sofware that places all the needed functionality for a quick presentation. Keynote has a very easy to use interface and similar functions to Pages which makes the transition from app to app very easy. The only downside I thought was the ramp up time to understand and get use to the apps.
Recommend it for all Mac users new and veteran.

Don't Underestimate This Program.
A number of reviewers have commented upon how easy this program is and, I suppose, in one sense it is, especially if you stick to using the templates.However, as one who has had occasion to work with "Adobe Pagemaker," this program can do sophisticated page layout and, as such, there will be a learning curve for the inexperienced.

But, the User Manual is good and there are good books coming out, like one from Visual Start in July, that will help people learn.

It is wrong to think of this program as a word processor "in competition with" Word."MS Word" is a robust word processor; "Pages," as its name implies, is a page layout program.Having also worked with "MS Publisher," the real point of comparison and not "MS Word," "Pages" far exceeds "Publisher" in capabilities and yet for relatively simple layouts is as easy as "Publisher" to use.

I have not as yet put any real strain on the program, but at first blush, on my Powerbook G4 1.5, speed of operations is just fine.Yes, as a few reviewers have pointed out, some of the palettes could be more elegantly combined.One tends to get a clutter of open palettes.But, these are refinements that will be made in future editions, I am sure.

Bottom line: If you want to layout pages with a lot of the sophistication possible in the more expensive "Quark" and "PageMaker" programs; if you want to be able to export your documents to universal portable PDF file format and print out beautiful documents; if you want to pay, basically, only about $40 for these benefits ["Keynotes," the other half of iwork represents another $40], then buy "Pages."

And, if you are a novice with respect to not only page layout programs but also to very robust word programs like "Word," don't expect that everything will be simple.You will have to learn, but you will be rewarded relatively quickly.

I almost didn't buy it....
I thought, "I have MS Office for the Mac, why do I need iWork?" Was I wrong!

Okay fine I suppose I don't really NEED it. But it is a great program, and worth the price. The ability to export my work as a .pdf file is worth the price by itself. The Pages interface is much better, cleaner than Word. And the templates are suprisingly useful. I created a web page by costomizing a template and exporting it as HTML. I twas easy and quick and the result looked great. Most of the people I work with are PC users and because they were unfamiliar with pages the web Page looked fresh, not like a modified copy of someone elses work.

I use my Mac for research mostly and the ability to save documents as .pdf files is very valuable as they are searchable. With Tigers ability to search the text within a .pdf I can now save my work as a .pdf and later find everytime a particular work appears in the fines I've created. This has made cross-refrecing very easy and fast. I now use a program called Pyramid to create a "mind map" of my work and create links from the "map" to refrences in the .pdfs.

I don't use Keynote as much. I t more visially appealing than Powerpoint and pretty easy to use. The ability to use Quicktime movies in the presentation is helpful and the ability to export as a Powerpoint file is nice.

Great program if Microsoft can develop an imitation
Keynote and Pages, the two applications included in iWork, were flawless under the Panther operating system. The Keynote app has always suffered from its inability to share with PC users. Oh yeah, I know I can convert a Keynote file to Powerpoint, .swf, QuickTime, or PDF, but the problem is that, especially when converting to PowerPoint, Keynote loses all its buttery-rich goodness. It's a PowerPoint problem, I realize, but without a Keynote viewer, there's no way around it. Thus, Mac folks must rely on Microsoft for slide presentations if they don't want to lug around their Mac laptop.

Also, installing Tiger will mess up the purchased Keynote templates you have saved. Even reinstalling them won't help.

My humble advice is to wait a couple of years until Apple fixes the bugs in Tiger, then MAYBE think about using a Mac. Until then, I'm switching back from a Mac to a PC.

Big time winner!
iWork comes with two programs, Pages (a word processor) and Keynote (Apple's version of PowerPoint).Both of these programs are very simple to use and very effective.Without a doubt, there are better programs available, but their cost several hundred dollars more and for the average user don't provided more bank for the buck.

When I first turned on Pages I thought "How cheesey!"But as I got to using it I found my first impression was totally wrong.It's simple appearance is very deceptive.This is a word processing program that can do everything that is needed for ordinary personal documents and beyond.You have to be willing to explore the program to discover its gems, but once you learn were things are you will find it a very fast and easy to use.The real value of the program is its desk top publishing.The 40 some templates let you create profession grade newsletters, journals, resumes, invitations, marketing brochures, and many other kinds of documents.This is worth the price of the software alone.It seamlessly works with your iPhoto, iTunes and iMovies.This is one powerful piece of software.With it you can produce commercial grade color brochures or newsletters at an entry level price.

Keynote makes wonderful multimedia presentations, and like Pages is seamlessly integrated with iPhoto, iTunes and iMovies.If you are using graphics or want to import photos into your presentation, Keynote is significantly easier, quicker, and simpler to use that PowerPoint.You can't miss with this program.You can even save you presentation as a PowerPoint, Quicktime, or PDF file or post it on the internet for all to see with the easy of a single click.

I have used both Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and keep them on my hard drive but rarely use them.As my skill with Pages and Keynote has grown I have found them to be more than sufficient in producing quality documents from personal letters, teaching handouts, to professional grade overhead presentations.
For the cost, iWorks cannot be beat!And you will not be disappointed.

iWork `05 System Requirements
- Macintosh computer with a 500 mhz or faster Power PC G3, G4 or G5 (G4 for PowerBook); G4 or G5 recommended
- 128 MB of physical RAM (512MB recommended)
- 8 MB of video memory (32MB recommended)
- Mac OS X v10.3.6 or later
- QuickTime 6.5 or later ... Read more

Product Description

PowerPlugs: Ultimate Combo 15 is a sure-fire way for PowerPoint users to "bring that wow factor back to presentations" (Successful Meeting). This fabulous collection of PowerPoint enhencement tools is a wise investment. You get tremendous savings on CrystalGraphics' complete suite of 15 PowerPlugs for PowerPoint titles (there's a total of 25 volumes on 8 CDs)! included are- 1. PowerPlugs: Transitions I-VTV-style transitions with catchy sound effects! 2. PowerPlugs: Video Backgrounds Player and selected Content - Easily add full-screen still or moving backgrounds to PowerPoint presentations and overlay / play animated text and graphics! 3. PowerPlugs: ChartsPowerful charting plug-in with 2D & 3D models! 4. PowerPlugs: PicturesYour choice of any 100 professional presentations/ Web-quality images. Over 20,000 professional royalty free photos and images to pick from! 5. PowerPlugs: FlashReadyThe easy way to add Flash to PowerPoint! 6. PowerPlugs: Presentations to GoJump-start the creation of your presentations with professionally produced presentation shells. 7. PowerPlugs: Templates Favorites I,II & IIIOver 5,000 hand selected beautiful PowerPoint templates! 8. PowerPlugs: PhotoActive FX I& IIOne-click photo animation and textures! 9. PowerPlugs: SuperShapes I& IIExciting shape effects to highlight key points! 10. PowerPlugs: 3D Titles I& II3D title animations with high-energy intro music! 11. PowerPlugs: Music I& IIUpbeat background music! 12. PowerPlugs: Screensaver CreatorTurn presentations into screensavers! 13. PowerPlugs: Quotations45,000 famous quotes, from inspiration to humor! 14. PowerPlugs: Slides That Win!Tips and tricks from PowerPoint designers! 15. PowerPlugs: Headings I& IIArtistic slide headings for numerous topics! Special BONUS - FREE VersaPoint Communicator remote control! ... Read more

Features

• Energize Microsoft PowerPoint with cool Flash animations, 3D effects, charts, video backgrounds, templates & much more!
• PowerPlugs work right inside of PowerPoint and are incredibly easy to use!
• PowerPlugs "Ultimate Combo" includes essential tools to create more memorable presentations!
• PowerPlugs is extremely affordable - save over 60% on the Ultimate Combo 15 suite!
• One of the best investments in yourself is what others seeshow your audience what style you have!

Reviews (1)

Awesome Site for Microsoft Office Plugins!
I've been looking for ways to individualize my PowerPoint presentations because I want to give my audiences information in a creative and unique way. Well, I came across Crystal Graphics "PowerPlugs" products and felt like a kid in a candy store!They offer a ton of creative products that I can add to my presentations. I am so glad I found PowerPlugs! Looks like they've also got some cool products for Outlook, Excel and FrontPage.I've bookmarked Crystal Graphics site because I plan to visit it often to see what new products they come out with. ... Read more

Product Description

Nolo Quicken Legal Business Pro 2005.Quicken Legal Business Pro 2005 has the answers for 80% of the people who have business problems.System Requirements: Pentium 133 (Pentium II 300 recommended)Windows 98/Me/2000/XP32 MB RAM (64 MB RAM recommended)27 MB hard disk space (33 MB to install)Super VGA (800x600) with 256 colors (16-bit color recommended)2x CD-ROM drive14.4 Kbps modem required to access online features (56 Kbps or higher recommended)Any printer supported by Windows 98/Me/2000/XPMicrosoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higherAdobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or higher (v. 5.0.5 included on CD) ... Read more

Features

• Includes additional software offering over 500 office templates, a $79 value
• Instant access to a multitude of small business topics including taxes, deductions, employee issues, marketing gems, contracts, raising money, extending credit, selling your business
• Covers the rules and regulations of all 50 states
• More than 140 popular business forms and documents
• Web updates feature provides the latest in the law

Reviews (2)

The best software product for small business !
This is a great software product for small business owners. It has dozens of forms, sample letters, and worksheets to help with forming a business, hiring employees, borrowing and lending money, leasing space, etc. In addition to the forms, it includes the full text of five Nolo books: Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business, Tax Savvy for Small Business, Everyday Employment Law, Marketing Without Advertising, and Leasing Space for Your Small Business. The books alone make this an amazing deal.

Given Nolo's reputation for plain English self-help materials, this is a must-have for any business owner's computer. The peace of mind in being able to look up basic legal, human resources, and tax questions has made this an excellent purchase for me.

Not Very Useful
I thought I'd better warn people before the fake glowing reviews come in.

This is not very useful software.Quicken seems to be on a robbing spree.I order a lot of items on Amazon(and wasted a lot of money) but have never written a review.This software is garbarge, a library or your Secretary of state website, or IRS website will have all these forms.The software gives you NO freedom whatsoever and are nearly unpresentable.They are just TOO generic.This software gave me an empty feeling of loss.I wrote this review so nobody else would waste their hard earned money.
Real Small Business Owner ... Read more

Product Description

iSale is the perfect eBay helper utility for Mac users.

Experience selling on eBay in an entirely new way. Make your own auctions quickly and have fun at the same time. Edit your auctions as often as you want and let your creativity show - and, best of all, you can do all this offline at your own pace. iSale works with iPhoto, iSight, and iDisk to make navigating and updating your eBay account and auctions easier than ever before!

Features:

• User friendly, intuitive interface
• Edit auction layouts easily, change fonts, colors and layouts
• Use iSight to take pictures without a digital camera, just point iSight in the direction of your article and click
• Use iPhoto to easily upload auction photos
• Prepare your auction offline, then send to eBay with one click while online
• Displays the amount eBay would charge for your auction, then decide if you want to submit the auction
• Organize your auctions in "smart groups" and manage multiple auctions at a time
• Keep an overview of the current status of running and finished auctions
• Compatible with eBay USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Germany,France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium (French), Belgium (Dutch), Italy, Netherlands and Spain.

Product Description

Trying to make the Web work for your business? Plan your online success with Web Strategy Pro. Powerful decision tools help you plan the direction of your online business, whether it's content, commerce, or community driven.

Web Strategy Pro helps you develop a Web plan, written in your own words, with your own ideas and numbers. It provides complete flexibility to make the plan unique to your business.

It also includes complete sample plans to help you create a professional plan quickly!

It's Easy
Wizards walk you through the entire process and sample plans provide a great starting point to help quickly pull your Internet strategy together.

It's Helpful
Instructions and examples with Web links guide you through the process of developing the right website presence for your business.

It's Complete
Create your Web business strategy and communicate it to partners, investors, and others.

User-friendly Interface
Moving around your plan is easy with this simple, proven, easy-to-use framework.

Understand Costs and Benefits
Web Strategy Pro will help you estimate detailed website expenses, sales or other benefits, start-up costs, and break-even analysis.

Complete Tables for Full Analysis
Web Strategy Pro takes you step by step through a complete Web business analysis, including traffic forecast, sales, expenses, break-even, milestones ... all the tables you need.

... Read more

Reviews (4)

Don't Launch Without It
Web Strategy Pro is the answer to the question: "How do I leverage my site to accomplish my business goals?"This is a powerful resource!

It addresses all of the key issues that you need to consider to make sure your site is working for your business.And I am not just talking about an online store situation ... any site.

It has great help throughout, solid resources, and good instructions start to finish.You need to use this to appreciate how much you can learn from planning for your website.

The Key to a Successful Web Site
After using Marketing Plan Pro from the same company with a lot of success, I decided to try out their Web Strategy Pro product to help me plan and improve my company's web site.This product was very helpful in making sure that our web site is helping the company by making us money instead of losing money.It asks you questions about your site that you may not have even thought of.It makes you think about who you're trying to target, what you're trying to accomplish, and it helps you set your traffic and sales predictions and goals, which has led our site to a lot of success.

All in all, I had never heard of writing a web site plan, but I can't believe more people aren't doing it.It's improved our web efforts a ton, it was well worth the money.

Don't .com without it
What a great experience!This software leads you through the business side of making your web site work for you.It brings all the relevant information together to allow you to get your arms around how your site should fit into your overall business strategy.

The software was easy to use with great navigation ... I was impressed from start to finish.

I recommend Web Strategy Pro to anyone that has, or is thinking about, a web site.

A Plan That Makes A Difference
The web site had been up for almost two years.It was not doing what we expected.It was costing us money ... not generating goodwill or revenue.We needed help.

Web Strategy Pro took us through a process that enabled us to evaluate how we wanted the site to complement our business, define our goals, set realistic objectives for traffic and revenue, and document who was going to take on key tasks and establish dates for completion.Web Strategy Pro facilitated this planning and proved to be a great way to bring important information together and give us focus around what we expected from the site.

We are now making better use of our resources and making progress toward our goals.This is a tool for every web site.I recommend it without question. ... Read more

Product Description

ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups From the #1 selling contact and customer manager, ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups helps sales teams and corporate workgroups make contact, build relationships and get results. It helps teams gain greater customer insights by accessing, organizing and managing contact details; improve the bottom line with tools for forecasting, tracking and reporting on sales opportunities; increase team efficiency with centralized data, robust scalability, group scheduling and advanced security for up to 50 users; manage time more efficiently by tracking and completing calls, meetings and to-do items; and take important contact information along by working with Palm OS® and Pocket PC handhelds.Choosing ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups makes you a part of the Best Software family. Best Software has led the way in developing and supporting automated business management solutions. With a wide range of front office and back office solutions—including accounting, human resources, payroll, fixed asset management, contact management, customer relationship management and e-commerce—Best Software offers award-winning products and services that have revolutionized the way small and medium-sized companies do business. So you can rely on outstanding service and a commitment to providing your business with the technology it needs to succeed, today and into the future. ... Read more

Features

• Includes Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition
• Easy-to-use contact and customer-manager software
• Access, organize, and manage contact details
• Stay on top of schedule 24/7; share customer info securely
• Enhanced group scheduling; link to Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds

Reviews (1)

After all these years I thought this product would be better
I've been a user of ACT software going back to version 3.0. Being in software sales, over the years most software vendors have adopted more souped-up CRM solutions such as Salesforce.com or Siebel or the like, so I can imagine the interest in this product category has been lacking. STILL, the feature set of this product hasn't changed much in the ten or so years sinced I used the earlier version. In fact, this product has become more bloated and buggy than any commerical software product I have ever used. I've considered listing all the bugs but it would be too long. But I will say this, other than a weird bug that sometimes mis-categorizes contacts into groups I didn't intent them to be a part of, the other bugs tend to be obvious use-ability type things. Bugs that a half asleep QA tester should've found.

Having said that, the positives are these: First, ACT! is nothing if not a good contact manager and task manager - nothing more, nothing less. I like being able to group contacts into multiple groups, and do pro-active email marketing to the members of specific groups - that feature works really well inconjunction with MS Outlook. In fact integration with Outlook and my PocketPC Cell phone is really exceptionjal. Integration with Word is also very strong. So, its this integration strength that keeps me booting this product up each day. BUT, if I was to purchase a product in this category again, I'd buy Goldmine (it wasn't on the shelf when I bought ACT! - my impatience!). Part of the problem with this product may be that its been owned by a number of different companies over the years. Best Software now owns the IP - let's hope they will issue bug fixes and then truly innovate this product in future releases. ... Read more

Product Description

KEYNOTE ... Read more

Features

• Experiment with different typefaces to create the perfect text for your presentation
• Design razor-sharp text, beautiful charts & tables, and professional-quality layouts, all with just a few clicks
• Create high-quality visual effects like transitions between slides, element effects and more
• Intuitive slide navigator and simple thumbnail viewer for more precise controls and better slide organization
• Professional themes and images combined with must-haves like anti-aliased text, dynamic alignment guides and snap-rulers

Reviews (9)

New Turn Your Slide Presentations with Keynote
For most Mac users, slide presentations means Microsoft's Powerpoint. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, in 2003 decided there is the ÔMac WayÕ for presentations. In Steve Jobs words, ÒKeynote makes your presentation really count. Ó

Under the Keynote Hood

You can choose transition, style, direction and speed when you use KeynoteÕs Inspector. Creating object builds adds visual interest to your slide presentation. You can animate the elements on a single slide or in a group of slides.

One click and you alter the opacity of a graphic using the Slide Inspector. Click twice and you can set the playback parameters for a QuickTime movie. The Build window in the Inspector allows you to preview, add, and manipulate transitions within and between slides.

AppleÕs Keynote allows you to include sound for your presentation. AppleÕs KeynoteÕs sound formats you can use are MOV, Flash, MP3 and AIFF.Also, you can add files from iTunesÕ music library to your Keynote slide presentation. In addition, you can add a Quicktime movie to your slides.

Pro Reaction

Keynote has crisp, fresh graphics. KeynoteÕs ÔDrag and DropÕ and exporting to AppleÕs Quicklime both work well. You can import Microsoft PowerPoint or AppleWorksÕ presentations and create a custom theme base on those slides.

You can store your images in KeynoteÕs Image Library. KeynoteÕs Cube and Mosaic Large transitions are outstanding for updating your MicrosoftÕs PowerPoint. You receive a KeynoteÕs User Guide manual. No missing manual here.

Con Reaction

Keynote lacks prebuilt presentations. Also, Keynote has very little clip art to work with in presentations. Also, you have limited presentation themes to choose from in Keynote.

Keynote Cube and Mosaic Large and small transitions do not render well when exporting in MicrosoftÕs PowerPoint or AcrobatÕs PDF formats. Missing from KeynoteÕs User Guide is an index.

Final Notes

You can count on KeynoteÕs sharp appearance, ease of use, and great price. Keynote makeÔs it easy to create professional-looking presentations compatible with MicrosoftÕs PowerPoint. In addition, Keynote gives your presentations attractive slide-transition effects. I use AppleÕs KeynoteÕs software as a companion software for revising my MicrosoftÕs PowerPoint presentations.

Charts and clean presentations...
I work with plenty of powerpoint charts in my work with windows users...but when I need a great statistics chart, I turn to Keynote.I have plenty of control over the output and the results are stunning.

The export to powerpoint works terrific.However, if you build a presentation in Keynote, you may just consider exporting it into Quicktime so that the viewer can simply run through the presentation in pristine quality and enjoy all of the terrific transitions.

I hope to see more office apps like this from Apple in the future.

It knows what you need.
For years, PowerPoint has been the bain of my existence. My boss is obsessed with it. Every week it's another presentation in PowerPoint. Finally, an alternative. As usual, Apple takes the "point" out of a Microsoft product. It seems fair, all things considered.

The user interface for this program is fast and easy to learn. It even gives you several options of themes to use for those deadline crunches that we all run into from time to time. It includes the famous drag-and-drop functionality that we've come to expect.

Most importantly, you can save it out to PowerPoint for those less enlighted souls who still think that a Windows machine will help them keep up with the times.

Bill Palmer's Keynote Review
Despite its youth and inexperience, Keynote represents everything that's right about computing in the Mac universe, and easily explains why I use a Mac.

My full thoughts on Keynote are too long to post here, but if you would like to read all about it, just follow this link (cut and paste it into your browser if it's not clickable):

Bill Palmer's Keynote Review
[website]

Easy, Sharp, Intuitive, Apple
After being a slave to both Mc and PC versions of PPT, Keynote came along and threw off the bonds. As I own my own business and can use what I want, Keynote will replace PPT without hesitation.
Graphic acuity, more choices and freedoms to manipulate charts and graphs with ease.
No problem leaving MS PPT at the curb with the rest of the mutts.. ... Read more

Product Description

PowerPlugs: Charts helps you easily create television-quality charts, without the assistance of a graphic artist. It offers you a wide variety of unique 2D and 3D charting styles with a rich set of powerful editing toolsso you can get just the results you need directly from within Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel! PowerPlugs: Charts has over 100 pre-formatted 2D & 3D chart templates organized into 11 categories: Basic, Big Data Set, Corporate, Gradients, Letter Size Black and White, Letter Size Color, Models, Rendered, Surveys, Textured and Trend lines. PowerPlugs: Charts lets you choose over 31 chart types based on the following types of categories: Area, Bar, Bubble, Column, Histograms, Lines, Pies, Scatter, and Surface. Its unique Data Analyzer feature can automatically recommend the best type of chart to use for your data set. With PowerPlugs: Charts, you'll soon find it astonishingly easy to produce television-quality charts and graphs right from within PowerPoint and Excel! ... Read more

Features

• Creates gorgeous television-quality fully rendered 3D charts!
• Includes over 100 pre-formatted 2D & 3D chart templates to choose from!
• Robust and intuitive editing tools!
• Plugs in seamlessly to Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel!
• Complements Microsoft's built-in charting functions with a greater variety of styles!

Features

• Works with Avery, Paper Direct, and more; free paper included
• Easily create professional marketing material
• 1,800+ designs; 2.6 million images and photos; 1,000 fonts
• Create brochures, newsletters, flyers, letterhead, envelopes, and more
• Text-art feature; easy-to-use design tools; built-in address book

Reviews (13)

Not too bad (if bought used)
I purchased a "used" copy for about $9 since v20 is out and is almost $90.I'm not disappointed with it since it does just what I want it to do:Labels, Newsletter, envelopes.Things that were a challenge in Microsoft products like Word, etc.I was very pleased with it, but then I didn't spend a whole lot.I'll get v20 when I can get it for $9 but then maybe the current version at that time will have been improved enough to be worth it.

Access is "iffy"
I've owned previous versions of this product, and I enjoyed using them.I found switching CDs a little annoying though, and welcomed the idea of one disk, with most of the art stored online, without taking up space on my computer.

The art is wonderful; my real complaint with the program is the website access.All too often, I find myself in the middle of designing something when suddenly an object cannot download.There appears a blurb from the manufacturer telling you to try again later.Sometimes "later" is just a few moments later, other times it can be quite a while.Also, I find that the thumbnails are a little slow appearing, making scrolling through the art time consuming.I would give this product a much higher rating if it wasn't for this unreliability.I like the PrintShop, but I just bought Version 20 Deluxe, to be installed when I install my larger hard drive.I haven't installed it yet; I'm reading reviews here to see if anything else sounds more promising.

Experienced Print Shop user
I bought the print shop deluxe version 15 because I had been very pleased with its previous editions.Well not with this one. It installed only part of the program, I uninstalled the whole program and started installation again, but the program insists it is already installed. So here I sit with a new program that is useless.Have contacted Broderbund but have not had a reply.Have had the computer checked out and it is the program not the computer causing the problem.

Terrible Software - Does edit photos
This is terrible software.I gave it two stars because it does edit photos and I needed that feature, but, overall I am very sorry that I spent my money before looking at these reviews.

The interface is AWFUL!For example, if you want to add a rectangle you would think you would just click on a rectangle tool and draw it.Nope!Instead you click on "Insert Shape", then you get a dialog box of possible shapes.You have to select the shape you want and the color in this dialog box. Then you click OK.Now you have a rectangle that you can reshape.

The Wizards are OK, but the designs are very lame and unprofessional.The system creates some integrated letterhead and business cards, but you wouldn't want to use them.

I bought this ... figuring, ...how much worse can it be than Microsoft Publisher 2000?Afterall, this isn't rocket science.The answer was MUCH worse!

Is there an award for Worst Software Imaginable?
This is great if you want to send a note to your Aunt Helen. Anything more substantial and it is full of quirks and bugs. Huge Waste of Money----the programmers should be lined up and shown the door or preferably worse. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

I Am Disappointed
I just purchased Quicken Home and Small Business Legal Suite 2003.I am surprised that the software is no longer supported and that no updates are available.I am also surprised that there is not a residential lease document.There was a residential lease document in Quicken Business Lawyer 2000.

There are also far fewer legal forms available in the software than were available in earlier versions of the software.

Quicken Lawyer Bundle 2003
This is exactly what every small business person, good neighbor and informed consumer needs!! Excellent product, simply has everything we wanted and more...easy to use...very self-explanatory and has great on-screen guides.

No support?
I bought this software a few months ago but didn't get around installing it until today. When I tried to register the software I got the message that the software is no longer supported! I was asked to call an 800 number to get a discount on an upgrade. This is the first time I ever ran across a name-brand software package that discontinues support before the software is even one year old! While I may still use the software I found it appalling that the publisher of this software dares to force customers to pay for an "upgrade" immediately upon installation of software that they just purchased.

Support ended after just a year and a half????
I am an owner of Quicken Lawyer 2002 Personal Deluxe. I had to reinstall the software when my computer quit. I bought a new one and installed QLP2002. When I went to use the automatic web update of the software, I was informed that "This version is no longer supported, and Web Update is not available... we recommend that you upgrade... for only $29.99. It is an outrage that Nolo has revoked patches they had previously made available. The lack of any support is the reason I will NEVER purchase another Quicken Lawyer product.

No long-term support?
I am an owner of Quicken Lawyer 2002 Personal Deluxe, which according to Amazon is just ONE VERSION BACK from this one.When my computer went south last week, I bought a new one and installed QLP2002.When I went to use the automatic web update of the software, I was informed that "This version is no longer supported, and Web Update is not available... we recommend that you upgrade... for only $29.99."

While, yes, I'm sure that legal things do change, they do not change that much, and I find it reprehensible that Nolo has revoked patches they had previously made available.Imagine any other manufacturer doing that -- "sorry, Office 2000 is no longer supported, so you can't download the patches we previously made available to you.Either use Office 2000 with none of the bugs corrected, or pay $400 for Office 2003."Ridiculous.So, while I did like the software, the lack of any longer-term support is a real turn-off for me. ... Read more

Features

• Brand new in factory sealed retail jewel case. Fast shipping.

Reviews (10)

Somebody's Stuffing The Ballet Box
The last reviewer was correct in saying there's something fishy about the other reviews, especially those written by Burke Franklin. He gives all the products from JIAN 5 stars. Could it be because they published his book? (See "Business Blackbelt," by, you guessed it, Burke Franklin) As far as BizPlan 8 is concerned, it's okay if you happen to have a business that resembles their sample plans, but if you have a unique product or service, it's only marginally beneficial.

Novice - user from Phoenix
I am suspicious of most of the 8 users who wrote the reviews.I bought this product and it is not user friendly.It seems to be WORD, with categories for a business plan and types of business plans and a book on writing business plans. I am planning on returning it ASAP.When I looked at the written recommendations that were part of my decision to purchase this item, they are all written on one date and seem to be from one person!All of them with similar titles, ie, "software user from "city" and thecomments are all great.I think this might have been a promotion- GASP!Only one author of a review sounds like a real person and he rated it low.I too feel burned and will return this software and try another approach.

Ordered 50 units for Corporate Planning Managers - Internati
As Manager of Corporate Market Research for Hughes Aircraft, I've found that BizPlanBuilder is an invaluable resource, taking prodigious volumes of input from globally dispersed field marketers and crafting workable business plans in astonishingly short periods of time. BizPlanBuilder is a must for anyone working to coalesce the thinking of multinational business teams!

I buy BizPlanBuilder for my clients
I've purchased more than 115 copies of BizPlanBuilder over the years... and I give them to clients! That way I get a great plan we can quickly get funded.

We bought a building!
We used biz plan and bought a building.Our bankers said they don't normally see so much depth in a business plan.Our past financials weren't going to qualify us for the building but because we had a strong business plan and projections that did it.Most people don't realize this. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

While computers still can't come up with winning business ideas on theirown, they have become essential tools for turning ideas into profits. BusinessPlan Pro 2002 helps beginners and old hands alike devise professional-lookingplans that show banks and investors exactly what they want to see: profitabilityestimates, cash flow, market analysis, and more.

Installation is simple, andthe wizard-driven interface makes the process almost childishly easy, so theresults are even more impressive. Of course, some details aren't forkids--financial information can be imported from popular software like Quicken,the plan and its details can be posted online, and the advice offered forparticular business operations can be very precise.

Though a few may find itannoying, the software does expect a certain amount of Web and online savvy; oneof the four supplementary books it offers is only available on the Net, forexample. Still, even complete novices can create impressive plans--or find thattheir ideas might need some substantial tweaking in order to eke out a profit. Advanced users might find the sample plans interesting, but are more likely todrool over the thousands of possible reports, the error-checking tool, thefunding search, and the wealth of additional resources.

The days of justtalking banks out of money are over--now they want to see evidence of detailedthinking. Business Plan Pro 2002 makes the hard work easy and helps turn greatideas into reality. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Business Plan Professional Indeed!
Business plan pro indeed!

I started my business in 2002 and needed a business plan. I didn't know where to start. The bank said that an accountant needed to review the figures and projections.

Geez! I am in a service business and whereas an accountant may know the numbers, they didn't know the business. My accountant said that I should write the plan and let him go over it. Yeah..right! SO I searched the Internet and came across this software. Gosh, just $99.00 bucks to secure my future obtain a business loan and get started. Seemed a fair deal, so I ordered the software and some books as well on writing a business plan.

The books said it might take a couple of months to write a proper plan to present to investors and convince them. The software said it would produce a winning plan. Ok, time to get started. Ahh.. They had sample business plans that one could look at. Nice!

Well, I followed the instructions and got started. It took a couple of weeks of editing but at the end there it was. Nicely generated plan, indexed, pages numbered nicely double-spaced. A truly professional and legal looking plan which I proudly presented to my accountant.He said, this is a lot, it is even more that they need and you will have no problems with the bank. Needless to say I wanted to believe him.

Then the day came and I presented my plan to three separate banks and waited...and waited...and waited...Then the first bank called, apologetic. My plan was so comprehensive it took them more time than usual to go through but..it was approved! They would offer 50% financing. Then the second bank called.. Approved!They would offer 90% financing. The third bank called.. needed more time, they had NEVER seen such a comprehensive and well written business plan..needed another week to fully digest it. Then they called about two weeks later. They wanted my accountant and I to meet with the Manager. They wanted a few things explained.

This did not look good!

There were a few figures they could not understand how they were generated. My accountant explained that the numbers were generated in a computer program, Business Plan Pro and he had gone over it and it was using a different recording method to what they were accustomed. [ It was all accountant talk that I have summarized]. All smiles! APPROVED! 100% financing.

Needless to say, you know which bank I went with in the end!

Thanks business plan pro. I can truly say that this software was worth every penny and I heartily endorse it!

The best resource if you need to write a Business Plan
I needed to write a business plan, but didn't really want to, and didn't know where to start.Business Plan Pro was recommended to me, and was the best investment I've made in a long time.The software really helped me to understand what a business plan was all about and to get organized and get it done. It wasn't as hard as I thought!

Made my life easier!
I've been struggling with getting my new business off the ground, and then a friend recommended this software. I am not a business person and have no head for financials, but this software made me feel confident that what I was producing was a complete and professional plan. I haven't received the official word about my loan, but the officer who I met with was extremely impressed. I was too!

I didn't think it would be this easy!
I had no time left to write a business plan and little experience putting one together.On a suggestion from a friend I ordered the Business Plan Pro software and started it up.Imagine my relief when the software literally walked me through the entire process!!

I put together a basic plan, and wrote it over the span of 3 lunch hours. Easy to understand process, outstanding resource help, great customer service and a tech service department that didn't make me feel like I was asking stupid questions.

I would recommend this product to anyone who needs a helping hand in writing, but doesn't have the money to spend on an expensive consultant.

I didn't think it would be this easy!
I had no time left to write a business plan and little experience putting one together.On a suggestion from a friend I ordered the Business Plan Pro software and started it up.Imagine my relief when the software literally walked me through the entire process!!

I put together a basic plan, and wrote it over the span of 3 lunch hours. Easy to understand process, outstanding resource help, great customer service and a tech service department that didn't make me feel like I was asking stupid questions.

I would recommend this product to anyone who needs a helping hand in writing, but doesn't have the money to spend on an expensive consultant. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Smart Business Plan makes it easy to create and customize business and marketing plans. The program's Smart Wizard guides you through the process. The Financial Advisor feature can help you find the funding you need, with automated charts and graphs to create a professional presentation for prospective investors. Purchase also entitles you to a 6-month subscription to the SmartOnline.com Business Center. Please call 1-800-791-1000 to activateyour free subscription.

Other features include 15 sample business and marketing plans, covering every type of business: service, retail, wholesale, manufacturing, or any combination thereof. Financial Advisor provides extensive information on seeking funding, loan types, various methods for securing a loan, and tips on starting a new business. The Smart Wizard guides you through questions and analyzes your answers to automatically create financial and marketing tables. You can also easily create 3-D graphs for presenting your business and marketingplans. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not so great
I found the software was easy to use but not very informative!!!! ... Read more

Product Description

CrystalGraphics offers a huge selection of award-winning, easy-to-use, affordable still and animated shapes that enhance your PowerPoint presentations. SuperShapes is not a clipart package-- it's so much more! Now you can go way beyond the static 2D world of PowerPoint's AutoShapes. These professional quality shape effects will visually direct your audience's attention to your key points by pointing, surrounding, and underlining them. SuperShapes has a powerful software engine that lets you easily browse and select from a wide variety of pre-created shape effects. It also lets you edit the effects to your heart's content. For example, you can change colors, timing, and size, even proportions! PowerPlugs: SuperShapes volume 2 is the second of two volumes of artistically designed 3D shapes. There's a huge selection of still and animated directional arrows, banners, separators and text frames. Save money when you buy volumes I AND II of PowerPlugs: SuperShapes for PowerPoint! Or, get PowerPlugs: SuperShapes I & II and much more in PowerPlugs: Ultimate Combo 15! ... Read more

Features

• Over 140 still and animated effects per volume!
• Buttons, text frames, animated arrows and more!
• All shapes are antialiased!
• All shapes are customizable!
• Quick and easy to use!

Amazon.com Review

Looking to start a small business? Or do you already own one and want to educate yourself on navigating the legal waters surrounding your establishment or corporation? There's a maze of information and processes involved with small businesses and sometimes it seems that there's no way to view it all in laymen's terms. However, with some time and effort, Quicken Lawyer 2002 Business Deluxe can help you to learn about business plans, tax forms, promissory notes, security agreements, confidentiality agreements, and much more. Quicken Lawyer 2002 Business Deluxe will even help you with marketing, domain names, and hiring practices.

Quicken Lawyer 2002 Business Deluxe is primarily an electronic reference library with books on starting, running, and maintaining small businesses. These books are published by Nolo Press, a company whose primary goal is to assist anyone and everyone in understanding what they need to know about the legal arena. Quicken Lawyer 2002 Business Deluxe also contains many of the commonly used forms for small business owners.

The books contained in the program are:

• Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business, Sixth Edition by Fred Steingold
• Legal Forms for Starting & Running a Small Business, Second Edition by Fred Steingold
• The Employer's Legal Handbook, Fourth Edition by Fred Steingold
• Tax Savvy for Small Business, Fifth Edition by Frederick W. Daily, Attorney
• How to Write a Business Plan, Fifth Edition by Mike McKeever
• Marketing Without Advertising, Third Edition by Michael Phillips & Salli Rasberry
• Domain Names: How to Choose & Protect a Great Name for Your Web Site, Second Edition by Stephen Elias and Patricia Gima

Quicken Lawyer 2002 Business Deluxe is an upgrade from Nolo's Small Business Pro 4.0 and is not compatible with Quicken Business Lawyer or Quicken Family Lawyer. While a computer program cannot be a substitute for a law degree, Quicken Lawyer 2002 Business Deluxe could be a powerful tool for a small business owner who is looking for a broader understanding of the necessities and complexities of start-up, growth, and success. --Kendra Hayden ... Read more

Reviews (5)

It contains information, but is it software?
While sold as software, this is a hastily assembled conglomerate of information and some poor (in both content and formating) examples of documents. They have not even bothered to put any dialogs to help the user insert automatically trivial information (names, locations, dates,...) into the documents.

You may want to instead buy a copy of "How to Form Your Own Texas Corporation".The documents appear more complete, better laid out and you get a *book* to hold in your hands!

A good reference guide for typical legal problems.
Nolo offers great guides for specific legal issues related to personal and business use.This guide is a decent tool for users to call upon for typical small business issues.I must warn though, that not all legal questions and problems can be solved using self-help guides.Be realistic in your expectations of the software and it should serve you well.

Not as advertised, simply a watered-down online book
I was, unfortunately, very disappointed in the offerings of this product.I was under the impression that it would have a number of ready-made business forms I could customize for use in my business (contracts, amendments to the corporate charter, etc).That was not the case.This product is more of an online-book with very generic and watered-down information than anything else.If you were thinking of purchasing this product for their "forms," don't.

Lawyer In A Box!
This has been a savior. They should call it, "everything legal you need". I have used the forms for my own buisness (start-up) as well as utilized it at my job. I work for a fortune 500 company, and have been told by our legal department that I have saved them so much time, they rarely if at all have had to make any modifications to the subject matter. All-in-all, it's great if your just starting out, own a small business, or work for a multi-billion dollar corporation, and can't wait for your legal department to come throught on a deadline. Best purchase I've made in some time.

2002 Lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?
I own a copy of Quicken Lawyer 2002 Business Deluxe as well as Quicken Family Lawyer, and I was impressed with both!
Running a small business requires more and more legal forms and contracts every day.
Trouble is that your average attorney knows this, and charges accordingly.
Having compared some of the legal documents generated by my attorney and the same documents generated with these two software packages, I could swear (under oath) that my attorney must be using the same software!
Of course, there are some subtle differences, however, I found it to be considerably less expensive to have my attorney read and make modifications to the documents that I provide, than to have him generate them.
This software may not entirely replace your attorney, but it will come darn close.
I only give it four stars because it's not perfect and like anything else out there, it can be improved upon. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Perfect for small business and home design
Professional designers don't need to sweat this program. This software isn't a threat to you, the skills it took years to learn, or your innate abilities to be creative.

LogoCreator is geared more towards people who need what this software provides, and that is ordinary folks who would never, ever hire a pro to make a logo for their crafts booth, home business, small business or exciting new project idea. Such people need tools like this, and LogoCreator delivers a wonderful alternative.

I've even seen many "professional" logo design websites using LogoCreator's templates to provide interested parties with individual logos for $50 to $150 each (which is legal to do according to LogoCreator's license agreement).

All in all a nice alternative to those with a need to create and maintain their identity without paying overpriced designers who don't know your business as well as you.

You're joking right???
Well, I'm going to throw my design degree right out the window, cuz I should've bought this program and saved myself four years and thousands of dollars!

Does the world really need another logo with a #^%@$ shwoosh on it??? ... Read more