What LivePlan does

LivePlan, operated by Palo Alto Software, Inc. (headquartered in Eugene, Oregon), is a cloud-based SaaS business planning platform that serves small business owners, startups, and a broad ecosystem of advisors, lenders, educators, and accountants. The product centers on a Business Plan Builder augmented by AI-assisted writing (LivePlan Assistant), an interconnected three-statement financial model (income statement, cash flow, balance sheet) with scenario planning, an AI Plan Review, an AI-powered Market Research feature, an Idea Canvas for pre-launch validation, a Pitch Deck Creator, and a Plan vs Actual performance dashboard that ingests data from QuickBooks and Xero. Pricing is delivered through two self-serve subscription tiers (Standard and Premium), an annual billing option with a 35-day money-back guarantee, plus paid LivePlan Expert 1:1 sessions and Professional Services for hands-on plan writing.

The company follows a product-led growth model supported by a content-marketing distribution engine built around the Bplans.com sister site, a sample business plan library, webinars, and an affiliate/referral program. Premium-tier differentiation is anchored by a data partnership with VerticalIQ that supplies bank-grade industry benchmarks covering approximately 97% of GDP/industries, layered with AI-driven market research synthesized from 50+ verified sources. LivePlan reports having served over 1 million entrepreneurs, maintains 4.8/5 ratings across Google, G2, ShopperApproved, and Trust Radius, and operates as a privately held, apparently bootstrapped business with no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, or parent company.

Name

LivePlan

Legal name

Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Website

https://liveplan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

LivePlan is a cloud-based SaaS business planning platform, operated by Palo Alto Software in Eugene, Oregon, that helps small business owners and advisors build plans, financial forecasts, pitch decks, and market research via AI-assisted tools and QuickBooks/Xero integrations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Eugene

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription (Standard & Premium): Monthly or annual subscription model with two tiers. Standard tier includes core planning features; Premium adds market research, industry benchmarks, and accounting integrations. Annual subscriptions offer savings vs monthly.
2. LivePlan Expert Service: Paid support service providing up to four 1:1 video sessions per month with priority support. Additional paid tier above standard subscription.
3. Professional Services: Full business plan writing, financial forecast creation, and plan review services delivered by professional business plan writers. Customized to specific scope and requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

LivePlan is a cloud-based SaaS business planning platform that helps small business owners and entrepreneurs write professional business plans, build interconnected three-statement financial forecasts, validate business ideas, run AI-powered market research against industry benchmarks, generate investor-ready pitch decks, and track actual performance against plan via QuickBooks and Xero integrations. It is sold in two subscription tiers (Standard and Premium), with paid add-on services including Professional Services for hands-on plan writing and the LivePlan Expert 1:1 video advisory service.

Product overview

LivePlan is a cloud-based business planning software platform offered in two subscription tiers: Standard and Premium. The platform centers on the Business Plan Builder with integrated AI assistance (LivePlan Assistant) for writing professional business plans. Financial management is handled through the Financial Forecasts & Scenarios feature with interconnected three-statement modeling. Premium tier adds Market Research (AI-powered deep research from verified sources), Industry Data benchmarks from VerticalIQ, and accounting integrations with QuickBooks and Xero for Plan vs Actual tracking. Additional AI-powered features include Idea Canvas for concept validation, Pitch Deck for investor presentations, AI Plan Review (Beta) for plan quality assessment, and Plan Reference Files (Beta) for document context. The platform includes human support options ranging from free onboarding to paid LivePlan Expert 1:1 sessions and Professional Services for hands-on plan writing assistance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LivePlan Business Planning Platform
• LivePlan Professional Services
• LivePlan Expert

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies that plan and track against their plan grow 30% faster than those that don't
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability8 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• QuickBookscoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration allowing users to connect QuickBooks Online account to LivePlan. Enables import of actual accounting data for plan vs actual tracking, automated Monthly Review analysis, and building forecast scenarios from real accounting data.
• XerocoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration allowing users to connect Xero account to LivePlan. Enables import of actual accounting data for plan vs actual tracking, automated Monthly Review analysis, and building forecast scenarios from real accounting data.
• VerticalIQcoreTechnology or IntegrationIndustry data provider supplying bank-grade industry benchmarks covering approximately 97% of GDP/industries. Provides profit metrics, cash metrics, productivity metrics, and spending benchmarks for realistic financial projections.
• 50+ Verified Research SourcescoreTechnology or IntegrationMarket research pulls from 50+ verified real-world sources specific to user's geography and industry. Includes publicly available data for TAM, SAM, SOM calculations, demographics, firmographics, and competitive analysis.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Upmetrics: AI-powered business plan and financial forecasting SaaS for SMBs. Closest direct competitor to LivePlan, with overlapping plan builder, forecasting, and pitch deck features; explicitly named in LivePlan's comparison pages.
• Venturekit: AI business plan generator targeting entrepreneurs and small businesses. Overlaps directly with LivePlan on AI-generated plans and is named in LivePlan's comparison pages as a competitor.
• Bizplan: Business planning software aimed at startups seeking funding, offering step-by-step plan builders and investor-focused features. Directly comparable to LivePlan's funding-oriented SMB use case.
• Enloop: Automated business plan writing SaaS that generates financial forecasts and narrative plans. Competes in the same SMB business planning category as LivePlan with similar self-serve motion.
• PlanGuru: Financial forecasting, budgeting, and reporting software for SMBs and nonprofits. Overlaps with LivePlan's three-statement modeling and scenario planning capabilities.
• LiveFlow: Financial planning and reporting SaaS built on top of QuickBooks and Xero, with cash flow forecasting and scenario modeling. Competes with LivePlan on QuickBooks-native financial planning for SMBs.
• Float: Cash flow forecasting and budgeting SaaS for SMBs and finance teams. Overlaps with LivePlan's financial forecasting, scenarios, and cash-low-point indicators.
• Fathom: Financial analysis and reporting tool that pulls data from accounting platforms (QuickBooks, Xero) to produce management reports and forecasts. Adjacent competitor serving accountants and advisors — a key LivePlan segment.

Broad incumbents

• Intuit QuickBooks: Dominant SMB accounting platform with growing native forecasting, reporting, and now AI-assisted planning features. Key integration partner for LivePlan and the most significant broad incumbent that could disintermediate LivePlan's premium tier.
• Sage: Established accounting, payroll, and financial management software provider for SMBs. Competes indirectly via native planning and forecasting capabilities within its broader ERP-style stack.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/liveplan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LivePlan