Do you think it’s hard to write a business plan that includes financial statements? Well, it may not be easy to write a one, but it is a whole lot easier if you use business planning software.

Business planning software is a great template that guides you through every step of writing a plan for your business. For the executive summary, company background, products and services description, industry analysis, marketing plan, operating plan, management, goals, and strategies sections of a business plan, this kind of software explains what each section is about and provides examples for you to read before you even start to write your official plan. The explanations and examples help make it less intimidating.

Sometimes the scariest part of planning is preparing your financial projections, often just called “financials.” They are scary for two reasons: first, they are complicated and unfamiliar to most people, and second, they are going to tell you the truth about whether the idea for your business plan will work. You need to know if you can realistically make money.

Business planning software will help you save time and frustration when preparing a financial projection for your business. Mainly, you will need to prepare thorough and complete list of your expected sources of income and expenses. Typically, planning software will ask you a series of “questions and answers” that automatically populate and prepare your balance sheet and cash flow projection.

The profit and loss projection will pull information from the income and expense projection and your estimated cost of goods sold, operating expenses, amortization, depreciation, interest expense, and taxes. The profit and loss statement is important because it will show if your business will be profitable and when.

The balance sheet will pull information from your business’s assets, liabilities, and equity. The balance sheet basically answers two questions: what does your business own and what does your business owe? It measures the expected equity in your business by subtracting its liabilities from its assets.

The cash plan will pull information from your expected payments, bad debt, distributions, and use of credit. The cash plan will show if you have enough liquid assets, i.e. cash, to pay your bills.

Even though it’s still hard work to write a business plan, business planning software makes it a lot easier. It can guide you through the written part of your plan, as well as help you prepare a comprehensive financial projection, including the profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash plan.