Features

• Easily build a professional business plan, step by step
• Formats preferred by banks and investors; audio and video help
• 15,000+ industry profiles; 400+ marketing campaign case studies
• Import financial data from QuickBooks Pro
• Kiplinger's Business Attorney with 75+ essential legal documents

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

Reviews (3)

Superior in every way to Power Point
Harvard graphics allows complete versatility to design the graph or chart you want, not the type of chart has pre-designed for you. You have complete control over every aspect of every graph. The X-axis can be numerical or titled which cannot be done in PowerPoint. This is important when making line graphs. When compared to PowerPoint, this is a far easier program to master.

Superior in every way to Power Point
Harvard graphics allows complete versatility to design the graph or chart you want, not the type of chart has pre-designed for you. You have complete control over every aspect of every graph.The X-axis can be numerical or titled which cannot be done in PowerPoint. This is important when making line graphs.When compared to PowerPoint, this is a far easier program to master.

What Powerpoint dreams of being !!!
If you are frustrated by the lack of data charting capabilities in PowerPoint and Excel, this package is for you.In terms of data charting capabilities, this is the only package that surpasses the old Harvard Graphics for DOS that was King of the DOS World.It is far superior to the data charting capabilities in Freelance and 1-2-3 as well.I haven't used a recent verison of Corel Presentations so I can't comment on that. ... Read more

Features

• 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
• Works with Avery, Paper Direct, and more; free paper included

Reviews (1)

Just what I was looking for!
Harvard Graphic was exactly what I was looking for to present aschool presentation. It had most of the capibilities of"Powerpoint" without spending the money. Easy Directions, great color! For the presentation beginner, this is all you'll need. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Your IT systems and processes may be complicated, but visualizing them doesn't have to be. With Professional Edition, you assemble drawings using predrawn shapes called SmartShapes symbols, which snap together effortlessly to represent network equipment, business processes, and more. Build certain IT diagrams based on a model that keeps track of objects for you. When you revise a database, software, directory services, or data-flow diagramming shape in your model, all instances of the shape update automatically in your diagrams. Drop your IT diagrams into Microsoft Office documents and e-mail messages, or publish them in HTML or other formats on the corporate intranet or an Internet site. With deeper Microsoft integration and richer Internet support, the Visio 2000 platform gives you convenient options for communicating with team members and clients. Because of the open architecture of the Visio 2000 platform, virtually every aspect of Professional Edition can be customized. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great new feature, same old warts, but worth it
There are some compelling reasons to upgrade to Visio 2000 if you're using an earlier version of Professional. Here are some of my favorite features that I did not have in version 5.5 include the ability to quickly lay out deployment diagrams and create more precise drawings with the dynamic grid feature. It lets you distribute and align shapes on pre-defined grid templates (or ones of your own making). It also has automatic shape numbering, which I find very useful when I am creating a complex flow or process chart. I include a legend in the drawing that corresponds with the numbered shapes to further clarify that is happening.

Another feature that is plain wonderful is the page tabs, like in Excel and other applications. This is a vast improvement over the hard-to-find pages in earlier versions. The best feature, though, is the ability to use your arrow keys to "nudge" shapes in small increments. If you are doing web-enabled diagrams you can now embed URLs (links) in your shapes that can point to web pages, other documents, drawings or even another shape on your drawing. This is an incredibly handy feature even if you are not publishing your diagram to a web page because it allows you to create drawings that can be "drilled down" into, or point to entire documents for additional information. The possibilities here are endless.

Although I don't use it, a friend raves about the feature that allows you to model directory schemas, such as Active Directory, Novell's Directory Services (NDS; now called "eDirectory"), and LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). Since directory-enabled enterprises are based on one of these products or standards this feature alone might be reason enough to upgrade. Note that NDS modeling has long been a feature with a wizard that Visio provided for free before Microsoft acquired the product. This has now been integrated into the core product and the other directory types added.

This version can also be extensively customized without resorting to Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). ALthough the documentation that ships with Visio 2000 is lame Ralph Grabowski's excellent book, Learn Visio 2000 for the Advanced User, will show you how to fully customize Visio to meet your unique needs. This book is especially valuable if you use Visio all of the time because it will show you how to use a lot of features that you might not otherwise discover (or discover by trial and error), and how to configure Visio into a fine tool fitted to your needs instead of the generic implement it is out of the box.

Yes, Visio 2000 Professional is bloated, and yes, it still does strange things when you're editing a diagram within Microsoft Word. However, it is also incredibly powerful and easy to use. The learning curve for creating diagrams is shallow. I estimate that most people become 80% more productive even if they only use 20% of its capabilities. And the diagrams certainly add clarity to documentation. Despite the warts this version has some innovative features that make it an improvement over earlier versions. If you need the new features I cited above then the upgrade is worth it. ... Read more

Features

• Cross-platform compatibility between Mac & PC
• All new Classic, Refined & Designer font styles with extended font families
• International character set, including Euro symbol
• New FontManager that can view installed fonts in TrueType, Postscript & OpenType format
• Improved language support and smaller font file size

Reviews (1)

MacFonts 2
I am an amateur to the world of mac /computers in general, so with that being said... I have chosen, "Mac Fonts 2" for my first review!!! I found the installation to be a little confusing and very time consuming. I was hoping to be able to install all fonts at once, instead of clicking on each individual font. The good news however, is that the" Mac Fonts 2" has 1000 fonts to choose from and a great variety for whatever the occasion may be. The quick reference guide provided with this software indicates thatboth true type,and open type fonts are available; the open type format is designed to work cross platform on macs and pc's, however, you must have compatible software. I give this software a 3 for moose rating. ... Read more

Features

• Work with a number of industry-standard templates
• Match your cards to letterhead & envelopes
• Customize templates, insert logos and images
• Prints to any inkjet or laser printer
• Works with Avery and other standard business papers

Features

• Create, run and analyze all types of surveys
• Database of over 400 sample questions
• Permits Web, E-mail, LAN, disk-based and paper surveys
• Produce colorful 3-D bar graphs and tables with scores by question and topic
• Statistics include means, standard deviations, frequency distributions and demographic breakouts

Amazon.com Product Description

Business Plan Pro 2003 includes more than 400 sample plans and is an easy, fast, and efficient way to create a winning business plan. Great for both novice and expert entrepreneurs, the software includes a plan wizard, automated spreadsheets, hundreds of financing leads, $300 in partner discounts, and much more.

Business Plan Pro includes thousands of industry profiles to help you run your business's financial numbers. You can also include your own graphics, and automatically develop full-color, 3-D charts. Import data from QuickBooks, and Microsoft Word and Excel. Business Plan Pro 2003 offers everything you need to define your business, compare industry ratios, set schedules, create personnel and mini marketing plans, and find funding. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

I learned about my business as I wrote my plan
I just had to take the time to write a review of this software. Business Plan Pro is so easy to work with! Between the Hurdle book and the software's instructions and examples throughout it, I was amazed to finish an elaborate business plan from start to finish in one week!

I learned so much more about our company during this process and made many business decisions that I would have never learned until the mistakes were made. The print out was beautiful and it uses a format that everyone can understand (i.e., text, charts, tables). Thanks Palo Alto Software!

Why write a plan without it?
As I approached the task of writing a business plan for a new business venture I was getting involved in, I debated trying to write the plan just using Microsoft Office or using a software product. Boy am I glad I found Business Plan Pro. It's excellent instructions, examples, and wizard-driven process had me breezing through my plan quickly and easily. I could see my progress as I went along, and it took all my questions about what makes a good business plan away.

I'm so glad I chose this product instead of trying to do it all on my own. Don't make the mistake I almost made!

Couldn't pick a better software
Business Plan Pro 2003 walked me through a system that wrote my business plan for me. It took me 3 weeks to do my business plan and I can use the program over and over again in the future.

Not a magic bullet
My assessment of Business Plan Pro, after using it for several months is that, in summary, it is a tool, not a magic bullet. If you don't understand business, it could render you a fool. But if you've never written a business plan before and have no idea where to start, its great for showing you what goes into a business plan and helping you organize your thoughts.

A Business Plan Pro business plan is composed of text, tables and charts. The system has a book that gives you some guidance on what to discuss for each text section but it's not really much. The two books that my box included were: Hurdle - The Book on Business Planning, and the manual. Hurdle was just OK. Moreover, the software is a divided screen with panes that guide you with text describing what you should write and where you are, but they leave a lot to be desired. The sample business plan for my company, a small computer consulting firm, was a joke.

But if you don't know what a Balance Sheet or a Cash Flow are, you're just plain screwed. I had a SCORE counselor review 2 business plans that I wrote with this product and he just hated them. The numbers were all wrong and non-sensical and I didn't even know what the reports meant. Moreover the reports, which are automatically generated, include tons of stuff that is very high level and generic. For example, one line item is "Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received," which appears to be relevant in Canada and Europe and thus shouldn't be included here. Moreover, does that make sense in a business that is a service and doesn't have any employees? Also, there were many items that were there but had "0" values, such as "New Current Borrowing." The maker, Palo Alto Software, is selling a one-size fits all package. Beware!

I'm a programmer, not a businessman. And if you're not a businessman, this is the problem you'll have with this product. That's why I say its a tool, not a magic bullet. As my SCORE counselor said, "It won't magically produce a business plan for you."

Ready Proof that 'Better' is the Enemy of 'Good Enough'
I heartily agree with other reviewers that MS Word & Excel templates are plenty sufficent for the -- apparently unavoidable -- time-consuming business planning task.

Business Plan Pro's attempts at simplicity only make it obtuse. Rather than permitting business owners to focus on the priorities of their particular business, BPP users will find themselves answering off-topic questions and dealing with other near-useless distractions that add little to no value.

Moreover, what good are 400 samples if _they can't be imported for use as a template_?? Selling the software on the basis of making all these great 'samples' available (when they most definitely cannot be used directly) is a borderline scam in my opinion. ... Read more

Features

• New templates and Express Check Designer helps you design the perfect checks every time
• Print out informative business reports for your home or business
• Create personal and business-size checks, for printing or sending by email
• Schedule your bill payments for accurate, on-time payments of outstanding or upcoming invoices
• Simple one-pass check printing from Quicken, Quickbooks and Money

Amazon.com Product Description

Microsoft Office XP Professional Special Edition Upgrade includes the 2002 versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, andFrontPage.

New context-sensitive smart tags pop up with options you need--right whenyou need them. No digging through menus. Tasks that once required multiplesteps are just one click away with the new task pane. New and improved tools in Access allow you to build and manage lists and databases, or analyzeinformation from databases such as Microsoft SQL Server.

The new version of Outlook in Office XP Professional condenses all your personal and professional e-mail into one central location, even your Web-based e-mail accounts like Hotmail. With AutoRecover, your work is saved at regular intervals while you work. PowerPoint includes animation effects and custom slide transitions. An editable print preview assures that your printed slides anddocuments come out right the first time.

Microsoft Publisher 2002 provides professional page layout and text toolsto help you create compelling marketing materials for your business.FrontPage 2002 lets you create exactly the Web site you want withgraphics-rich, hyperlinked, sound-enabled Web pages. New tools andfeatures like automatic Web content, PowerPoint-like drawing capabilities,a streamlined user interface, and optional HTML and XML reformatting makethis a complete Web site creation and management tool. ... Read more

Reviews (109)

Great product!
Microsoft Office XP is a large improvement over Office 2000. Not only is the [slightly] new interface more refined, but the smarttags and more features are great. The difference between Office 2000 and XP is very similar to that of Office 97 and 2000; there are suttle changes that you do not notice until you actually need them. And when you need them, they are great to have! If you are upgrading to Office XP, then you should definately get the Special Edition (I have no idea why it is called that; it should just be called premium). I use Publisher and FrontPage almost everyday, as well as the normal Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access (basically, I utilize every part of Office XP). I highly prefer this product over Corel WordPerfect Office 2002, or any other competitors. I am aware, there has been some concern over the Product Activiation Wizard; frankly, I do not have a problem with it. As long as it does not disclose personal information (which it does not), I don't think it's a big deal. I think that it is a good way for Microsoft to keep people from installing multiple copies of their software. Don't get me wrong; I do not like Product Activation at all, but I think that people are overreacting about the privacy concerns of it. Another thing people might be concerned about is compatibility. As far as I know, the only products whose files cannot be opened in previous versions of the same product is Publisher; a new format for saving the file was introduced in Office XP and therefore it is not compatiable with Publisher 2000 or earlier. Other than that, I definately think that Office XP is the best office suite I have used!

Office
Well, actually I like Excel and hate Word. The other programs included I have little or no use for.
I use Excel all the time for engineering calculations, including writing VBA macros to automate things that I can't do easily in the cells. It's very useful, like having a calculator that remembers everything you've done, writes it down, but allows you to change inputs and recalculate everything automatically. Unfortunately, there is a bug in the help files, so I can't get Visual Basic help anymore. The IT guys at work fixed the regular help but never could get the macro help to work again. Very annoying.
Word is terrible compared to WordPerfect. What I used to be able to do with a couple of keystrokes, now takes minutes of navigation thru menus and dialog boxes. Outline formatting, numbered lists, etc. are especially frustrating in Word because nothing is obvious. You shouldn't have to get a college degree in word processing in order to learn to write a specification and get the formatting correct. One annoyance is that paragraph formatting is hidden in a selectable little space at the end of the paragraph, so if you try to delete the last few words by hitting shift-end and delete, you will delete numbering, formatting, etc. of that paragraph. Also, the thesaurus that came with WordPerfect was much better.
In general, Microsoft Office tries to be everything for every possible user, automates many tasks to do things that it thinks I want to do even though I don't, and makes it hard to figure out how to undo them.
I am using WordPerfect wherever possible and trying StarOffice.

Real problems with this one..
Installed the upgrade over Office 2000 on a well equipped XP Professional system. Liked it well enough but after an online update, File->Open began taking 20-30 sec per level to navigate to the file. Unfortunately, installing this package seems to put the 'better' file menus in and everything came to a crashing halt. Worse news is that it wouldn't uninstall nor reinstall/fix (something got corrupted). A Msoft A+ beat on it a long time then finally reinstalled XP (unfortunately an all too common occurance, for lots of reasons) and all was well until I installed Office XP again. The problem recurred but this time, a system restore cleaned it up. Still using Office 2000. Now using Office XP as a gold coaster. I've heard of this happening on other systems.. something in the networking maybe.. We're using a Linux server w/Samba drive. Works great with everything else..

If you want to write...
Microsoft Word on XP is the industry standard and next to Quark Express one of the most important tools of the trade.

Nothing comes close to Microsoft Word. MSWORD is as important as the invention of the pen and most importantly is compatible with nearly everything. Open up any written document. Save to any written document type. The import feature is almost flawless.

Thank goodness I get a university discount
When I saw the cost of this, my jaw dropped. I didn't think it would cost so much for Word, PowerPoint, FrontPage and Excel.

I went to the university bookstore at my school to see if I could get any kind of discount on it. Thank goodness Indiana University has a contract with Microsoft!

About the program now that I've complained about the cost enough...

WORD
This is the program I use the most because for being a word processing program, it is very versatile. I can write term papers and what not with it, but I can also credit news letters complete with graphics. I have also used it to create invoices with neat graphics.

FRONTPAGE
I know HTML (one of the languages webpage makers write webpages in), so I pretty much only use this program when I'm trying out something new, like frams. I have also used it to figure out HTML codes for colors, frames, and tables. I had a college instructor who used it to do her entire webpage and it looked pretty good.

EXCEL
I used Excel to keep track of the money I was spending on gas for 6 months, how many miles I was traveling, where I was traveling, and the cost of gas. I know it sounds like of nerdy, but it really helped me save some money on gas, knowing exactly where to stop when I was on a trip. I also has how many miles I was putting on my car in that 6 months (10,000+ miles), which explained the wear and tear.

POWERPOINT
I am just beginning to learn this. I didn't realize what a valuable program PowerPoint was until people in some of my college classes gave presentations with it. Man, my poster board presentation was nothing compared to theirs. It is actually a pretty easy program to learn, but the 'little extras' like the animation and extra graphics can take a bit of time.

OUTLOOK
I use this program to check my school e-mail because I have AOL at home. I like not having to go to the university's website, navigating my way to the mail page, signing it, and going through at least one more link, just to get to my e-mail. This program goes straight to my mailbox with no links, no navigating.

ACCESS
When I tried to use access to create a database of my CDs, I had a lot of problems. It is probably the only program in this software suite that I think is a total waste of disc space. I have had to use it before, but for me, I can just use Excel to make lists, it is much easier to use.

I am really glad that I have Microsoft Office. It has made school a lot easier. I can e-mail documents to my school account, download them, and know they will work with the school software. That saves me from having to reformat the assignment whenever I want to work on it at school. ... Read more