Palo Alto Software
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersEugene, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
Palo Alto Software firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Palo Alto Software
- Legal name
- Palo Alto Software, Inc.
- Website
- https://paloalto.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Palo Alto Software is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Eugene
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Palo Alto Software business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- LivePlan SaaS Subscriptions: Cloud-based subscription service for business planning and financial management. Offers monthly and annual billing with tiered pricing.
- Academic Licensing: Discounted educational pricing for students and educators with half off first month subscription.
- Nonprofit Discounts: Discounted pricing for qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.
- Affiliate Commissions: Competitive per-sale commissions for affiliates promoting LivePlan and other products through their websites, newsletters, and podcasts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard subscription with full feature access |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual subscription with discounted rate |
| Subscription | Monthly | Academic discount for students and educators |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Palo Alto Software product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Palo Alto Software develops and sells LivePlan, a cloud-based SaaS platform that helps entrepreneurs and small businesses create business plans, build financial forecasts (income statement, cash flow, balance sheet), research markets, generate pitch decks, and track monthly performance against plans. The company also operates Bplans.com, a free resource hub with sample plans and articles, and publishes books on lean planning methodology.
Product overview
Palo Alto Software offers a portfolio centered on its flagship SaaS product LivePlan, a cloud-based business planning and financial management platform. LivePlan provides AI-powered features including business plan building, financial forecasting, market research, pitch deck creation, and performance tracking. The company also operates Bplans.com as a free resource hub with sample plans and expert content, and has published books on lean planning methodology. The company previously offered desktop software products (Business Plan Pro, Marketing Plan Pro) and team email tools (Outpost, Email Center Pro), which have been retired.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- LivePlan: The world's most popular business plan software - a SaaS solution for lean business planning, strategic financial forecasting, and performance tracking for small business management.
- Bplans.com
Quantifiable outcome
- Companies that plan and track against their plan grow 30% faster than those that don't
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Palo Alto Software
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Palo Alto Software technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability7 records
Feature7 records
Palo Alto Software partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
22 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- QuickBookscoreQuickBooks integration allowing direct data feeds between LivePlan and QuickBooks Online, enabling automatic synchronization of financial data for forecasting and plan vs actual tracking.
- XerocoreXero accounting software integration with LivePlan providing direct feed and automatic financial data synchronization for real-time performance tracking.
- SCOREmajorPalo Alto Software donates free software to SCORE offices around the country as part of mission to support small businesses and entrepreneurs.
- SBDC (Small Business Development Centers)majorDonates free software to SBDC offices nationwide. Sabrina Parsons has trained SBDC consultants for over 10 years at ASBDC annual conferences on Lean Business Planning and LivePlan Method.
- ASBDC (American Small Business Development Centers)majorStrategic partnership with ASBDC for delivering LivePlan training to small business consultants. Sabrina Parsons has trained SBDC consultants at annual conferences for over 10 years.
- Princeton UniversityminorUniversity entrepreneurship network supporting business plan competitions and student entrepreneurship initiatives.
- UC BerkeleyminorPartnership with UC Berkeley entrepreneurship program for business plan competitions and student support.
- MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)minorMIT $100K competition involvement and entrepreneurship program support.
- Rice UniversityminorRice Business Plan Competition partnership supporting student entrepreneurship.
- University of Notre DameminorMcCloskey Business Plan Competition partnership at Mendoza College of Business.
- University of OregonminorTim Berry taught BA410 'Starting a Business' for 11 years. Active participation in New Venture Championship and local entrepreneurship programs.
- RAIN (Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network)minorWillamette Valley Regional Accelerator Innovation Network supporting local entrepreneurs in Eugene and Pacific Northwest.
- Oregon Entrepreneurs NetworkminorLocal entrepreneurship network supporting Oregon entrepreneurs and startup ecosystem.
- Willamette Angels ConferenceminorAngel investment conference sponsorship supporting regional startup funding ecosystem.
- Bend Venture ConferenceminorVenture conference sponsorship supporting Oregon startup ecosystem and investment.
- Lane Community CollegeminorLocal community college partnership supporting workforce development and entrepreneurship education.
- Technology Association of OregonminorTechnology industry association supporting Pacific Northwest tech ecosystem growth and innovation.
- America's SBDCmajorNational SBDC network partnership helping small businesses access LivePlan for business planning and growth.
- Feather River CollegeminorAcademic partnership using LivePlan and 'Start, Run & Grow Your Business' curriculum for student entrepreneurship education.
- Jacksonville UniversityminorUniversity using LivePlan for business planning coursework with instructor collaboration features.
- Missouri State University SBTDCminorSmall Business Technology and Development Center using LivePlan for client advisory services.
- AICPA (American Institute of CPAs)majorSabrina Parsons serves as judge and mentor for AICPA Accelerator and regularly teaches at AICPA events on financial strategy and planning.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Palo Alto Software competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Enloop: Automated business plan generation SaaS aimed at small businesses and lenders. Overlaps with LivePlan on AI-assisted plan writing and financial forecasting for SMB loan and investor packages.
- PlanGuru: SaaS budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning software for SMBs and nonprofits with QuickBooks/Xero integrations. Competes head-to-head with LivePlan on financial forecasting, scenario modeling, and plan vs. actuals.
- BizPlanBuilder: Long-standing packaged business plan software targeted at entrepreneurs and small businesses, with similar templates, financial worksheets, and investor-ready outputs. Directly competes with LivePlan in the SMB business-plan-authoring category.
- Spotlight Reporting: Reporting, forecasting, and dashboards designed for accountants and bookkeepers using cloud accounting platforms. Targets the same accountant advisory segment as LivePlan with overlapping dashboard and forecast use cases.
- Fathom: Financial analysis and reporting platform for accountants and SMBs, built on top of Xero/QuickBooks. Closely parallels LivePlan's accounting-integrated dashboard and KPI/performance-tracking story for advisory practices.
Broad incumbents
- Xero: Global cloud accounting platform with deep LivePlan integration and its own app marketplace. Comparable SMB customer base, overlapping forecasting and reporting capabilities, and a distribution partner for LivePlan.
- QuickBooks: Dominant SMB accounting platform and LivePlan's most important integration partner. Offers broad bookkeeping, reporting, and increasingly native planning features; a major competitive incumbent and distribution channel simultaneously.
- Sage: Global SMB accounting, payroll, and financial management software vendor. Competes with LivePlan indirectly via Sage's broader financial planning and reporting modules inside its accounting ecosystem.
Emerging players
- Mosaic: Strategic finance and financial planning platform for growing companies, with scenario modeling and reporting on top of accounting data. Targets a slightly larger SMB/mid-market cohort but overlaps in financial planning, forecasting, and performance tracking.
- LiveFlow: Modern FP&A and cash-flow forecasting SaaS connecting to QuickBooks and Xero for SMBs and accountants. Adjacent to LivePlan with stronger real-time data sync, but narrower scope (forecasting, no full business-plan module).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Palo Alto Software social profiles
Digital presencePalo Alto Software compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Palo Alto Software financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Palo Alto Software leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Palo Alto Software subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Palo Alto Software funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Palo Alto Software M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Palo Alto Software
What does Palo Alto Software do?
Palo Alto Software develops and sells LivePlan, a cloud-based SaaS platform that helps entrepreneurs and small businesses create business plans, build financial forecasts (income statement, cash flow, balance sheet), research markets, generate pitch decks, and track monthly performance against plans. The company also operates Bplans.com, a free resource hub with sample plans and articles, and publishes books on lean planning methodology.
Is Palo Alto Software a public or private company?
Palo Alto Software is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Palo Alto Software founded?
Palo Alto Software was founded in 1988. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Palo Alto Software based?
Palo Alto Software is headquartered in Eugene, United States, in the North America region.
How does Palo Alto Software make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. LivePlan SaaS Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are academic Licensing, nonprofit Discounts and affiliate Commissions.
Who are Palo Alto Software's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Enloop, PlanGuru, BizPlanBuilder, Spotlight Reporting and Fathom. Broad incumbents are Xero, QuickBooks and Sage. Emerging players are Mosaic and LiveFlow.
Does Palo Alto Software have an API?
No public API is recorded for Palo Alto Software.