Frequently Asked questions

Who are You?

www.Discount-Business-Plan.com was formed by a group of accountants, financiers and consultants in Europe and the United States to collect the business plans they had been involved in and then offer these to other business owners to help them in their businesses.

We actually started writing business plans 27 years ago working with banks and finance companies in the UK. Over the next 20 years we worked on both sides of the Atlantic writing plans for businesses ranging from one-man start-ups to large multi-nationals.

We now deal with around 15,000 enquiries a month and our services are regularly used by accountants, financiers and consultants to kick-start business planning assignments.

In 1997 we opened a web site and due to its success we now only operate through www.Discount-Business-Plan.com and other similar sites.

I'm Concerned About ordering over the internet - is it safe?

To be honest it's probably safer to order over the internet than order over the phone or give somebody your credit card (like in a restaurant). Before you order anything make sure the order pages address starts with https. Also look for the closed padlock symbol.

Are your Business plans written so that I just put my details in and then it is complete?

We would love to say yes, but the truth is that no two businesses are alike, and for us to construct a business plan that would suit every business in any industry would be impossible.

Our business plans represent the fastest and most competitively priced kick-start you could have. To most people writing a business plan is an unwelcome chore and some put it off indefinitely, we give you a fast start and enough information to make your business plan considerably easier to do.

Why isn't the Business plan automatically delivered?

As some are not ordered very often we hand-check each business plan to ensure that details are reasonably up-to-date.

We also may add to popular business plans as some of our clients kindly send us updated articles on certain industries. We also receive information from banks, market research companies and the general media and we try to add this information to the plans.

How can we trust you to provide the Business plan?

Our merchant account is with Paypal, they would not continue to provide merchant services to companies who commit fraud.

How is the business plan delivered?

1. You will receive an e-mail from Paypal with your order details.
2. You will receive your plan from businessplan(removespam)@(removespam)business-plans-4-you.com within the next 24 hours. Please add that e-mail address to your white list now.
3. Please ensure that you do not have any filters / blockers / deleters / automated spam filters on your e-mail that will stop our products getting to you.
4. If you do not receive your plan within 24 hours of ordering please check that our e-mail is not in your spam folder.

WE ALWAYS DELIVER WITHIN 24 HOURS WITHOUT FAIL - IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR ORDER WITHIN 24 HOURS THEN YOU NEED TO LET US KNOW AS WE WILL HAVE SENT IT TO YOU.

PAYPAL

We will deliver your plans to the address on your Paypal account!

1. Many customers expect the products to be sent to their main e-mail account but we will not know that address.
2. Please be aware that your Paypal e-mail address may be different, and many people do not even have access to their Paypal e-mail address anymore.
3. If you do not have access to your Paypal e-mail address then please EMAIL US and tell us which e-mail address you would like us to send the plan to.

Hotmail Users and other free services

We have experienced numerous problems in delivering business plans to Hotmail accounts - please e-mail us with an alternative e-mail address (if you have one) in order for us to send you the plan. We will deliver to hotmail users and the likelihood is that there will not be a problem but if you have another address we will send to both.

Notes on Delivery

1. Please be aware that our plans will be about 300Kb in size - make sure that you have enough space in your e-mail account to accept the plan.
2. Also make sure you do not have any filters / blockers / deleters on your e-mail - this is a particular problem for AOL account holders.
3. Make sure you can receive attachments. Many smaller ISPs strip attachments from incoming e-mails.
4. If you still haven't received an e-mail from us please check that your e-mail address you have given us is correct and is working - send a test e-mail to yourself.
   If you are in any doubt then EMAIL US - we have delivered 35,000 products on-line and we will be able to deliver to you!

Most digital products are now delivered via e-mail or auto-download - this way ensures that costs are greatly reduced and these savings are reflected in our low price of just $49.95.

What is in each business plan?

We provide over 20 Free Products representing the most comprehensive aid to business planning on the web.

In regard to the business plan itself, they are all set in a mythical city in a mythical state, the same for each business plan, and they are generally owned by John (or Jane!) Smith. Details, such as personal information, are kept to a minimum as these are the easiest for people to write.

We concentrate on suggesting marketing, product, sales and management ideas and setting out strategies that have worked in your industry.

If you would like details of the sectional summaries of any plan, please fill our contact us form making sure you include the name of the business plan.

How do I know which business plan is for me?

As we say every business plan is different and the personal and product information is the easiest part for most people to write. Therefore, whilst you might be concerned that the business plan is completely different to your business the truth is, they all are, but you will get value for money by just choosing the one that sounds nearest to your business, it will always contain enough information to provide you value.

Which plan should I buy if my business is between two business plans, do I have to buy them both?

We recommend that you choose one business plan only. If after using that you really think you could use more help, you can always come back and get the other one.

The key to remember is that we are kick-starting your process and you may find it easier than you think to write a business plan, once we have got your started.

Why no phone number?

Because we sell $49.95 business plans. We can only keep the price this low by keeping our overheads to a minimum. As our customers are from all over the globe our costs would spiral if we entered into conversation with the thousands of people who visit our site every day or the thousand a week that buy. We have also found it is actually more time consuming answering questions over the phone than via e-mail.

I am concerned about buying this product without being able to look at it first.

We used to provide short details but unfortunately it generated huge levels of queries. For example we would say “here is a plan for a start-up barber shop with three seats” and we would get e-mails saying “but I want a shop with four, will this plan work for me?”

We found by removing details our sales were not affected but our e-mail count reduced by 80%!

If you would like details of the sectional summaries of any plan, please fill our contact us form making sure you include the name of the plan.

Do the spreadsheets contain financial data?

We supply 5 sets of spreadsheets to cover all of your needs.

These are:

• Profit & Loss
• Cash Flow
• Balance Sheet
• Start up – including Break-Even & Personal Survival
• Business Plan – where your whole plan can be done on an excel spreadsheet

These excel spreadsheets are all easy-to-use and can be linked very quickly to give you all the financial information you need

We, ourselves, do not add financial data as it proved very unpopular with our customers. There were probably no examples where a customer could use the actual data, as all businesses are different, and we used to get a lot of e-mails saying how annoying it was to have to remove all the data before they could start putting their data in!

How do i open the spreadsheets?

If you have Microsoft Excel 2000 then this shouldn't be a problem. If you don't have the correct software version we can send you a compatible version. If you don't have a copy of Microsoft Excel then you can download a free viewer from the Microsoft web site:

http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/xlviewer.aspx

Microsoft update there site regularly so if the link is broken just type in Excel Viewer into your favourite search engine (Google).

How do i open Word Documents?

If you have Microsoft Word 2000 then this shouldn't be a problem. If you don't have a copy of Microsoft Word then you can download a free viewer from the Microsoft web site:

http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/wd97vwr32.aspx

Open Office

Alternatively there is a fantastic resource at OpenOffice.org. This is both an open-source application and project. It is free. The product is a multi-platform office productivity suite compatible with all major file formats such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

http://www.openoffice.org

What currency are the plans in?

They are all in $ as that is the symbol that 96% of our customers use. They are written in such a way that the symbol can be replaced immediately and the content of the plan will not be a problem with a new symbol.

I have a question that is not answered here

Just Contact Us...

We have hundreds of business plans, together with a stack of free gifts, on our Plans page.

Click here to find a plan for your business