Software Writes the Words. Nobody Has Taught It Your Rent.
Business plan software and AI tools can produce a readable plan in an afternoon. For some owners that is exactly enough, and a professional business plan writer would be money wasted. For others it produces a document that reads well and fails at the bank, because the one thing software cannot do is know your costs. Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA sells business plan templates and writes custom plans, so he has no reason to push you either way. Here is how to tell which you need.
Last Updated: 10/25/2026 · Reviewed by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Software or a template is enough when the plan is for you, for a landlord, or for a small loan where the lender already trusts your history, and when you can build and defend the financial model yourself. Hire a writer when the plan is going to a lender or investor who will test the projections, when the loan depends on numbers that have not happened yet, or when you cannot explain where every number in the model came from. The words were never the hard part. The model is.
Where a Template or an AI Draft Is the Right Call
The structure
Every decent tool and template puts the sections in the right order, executive summary first. Structure is a solved problem. You do not need to pay a writer for it.
The first draft of the narrative
Company description, products and services, a generic market section. AI writes these quickly and the result is fine as a starting point you then make specific.
Plans nobody is underwriting
A plan for your own clarity, for a landlord who wants to see a document, for a partner, or for a small loan where your three years of tax returns already carry the payment. Nobody is going to test the projections, so the projections do not have to survive a test.
If this is you, Dr. Paul's industry business plan templates are a Word plan and an Excel model you fill in yourself. That is the honest recommendation when a writer is not needed.
Where the Draft Fails at the Bank
It does not know your costs
Software fills the projections with industry averages or with whatever you type. It cannot call your landlord, read your equipment quote, or know your county's minimum wage. The lender will. A plan whose labor line is an average and not your payroll gets caught on the first question.
It cannot build to a target
A lender wants to see cash available for debt service of roughly 1.25 times the loan payment. Software does not know your loan payment, so it cannot work backward to the revenue and margin that produce the coverage. It produces a number and hopes.
It cannot sit in the meeting
When the lender asks where the year-two revenue figure came from, the tool is not on the call. A writer who built the model can answer, and can revise the model in hours when the lender asks for a different loan structure.
It does not know the program
An SBA 7(a) working capital loan, a 504 building loan and an investor pitch want three different documents. Software writes one generic plan. A writer builds for the reader.
Template, AI or Writer: Pick by Who Is Reading
| Who reads the plan | What they will test | Right tool |
|---|---|---|
| You, a partner, a landlord | Nothing. They want to see that a document exists. | Template or AI draft |
| A lender, business has 3+ years of returns that cover the payment | The summary and the use of funds. Projections are secondary to history. | Template if you can build the model. Writer if the lender wants full projections. |
| A lender, startup or under 2 years | Every projected number, the assumptions page, debt coverage | Writer. This is where the model decides the loan. |
| An investor | Market size, unit economics, use of funds, your assumptions | Writer, and often a consultant first to settle the numbers. |
| A lender who already declined your AI or template plan | Whatever they flagged, plus everything they did not bother to flag | Editing and review before a rewrite |
A professional business plan writer is not a better typist than the software. He is the person who knows your rent, builds the model to the lender's number, and answers the phone when the lender calls. If that is what your plan needs, Dr. Paul publishes his prices so you can see the cost before the first call. See plans and prices. If it is not, buy the template and keep the difference.
Software, AI and Template Questions
Can I use AI to write my business plan for a bank loan?
You can use it for the first draft of the narrative. You should not use it for the financial projections on a loan where repayment depends on them. AI fills the model with averages or with whatever you type, cannot build to your lender's coverage ratio, and cannot explain the numbers when the lender asks. For a startup or a young business going to an SBA lender, that is where the plan is decided.
Is a business plan template good enough?
For a plan nobody is underwriting, yes. For an established business with strong tax returns and a lender who wants a short plan, usually yes if you can fill in the Excel model and defend it. For a startup loan, an acquisition or an investor, the template gets you the structure and you still need someone to build the model from your real costs. Dr. Paul sells templates for the first case and writes plans for the second.
What does a professional business plan writer do that software does not?
Builds the financial model from your actual costs and pricing rather than averages, works backward from the lender's required debt coverage to the revenue the plan has to prove, matches the plan to the specific loan program or investor, and answers the lender's questions after delivery. The writing is the smallest part of the job.
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Dr. Paul Borosky holds a DBA from National University and an MBA with a focus in Finance from Webster University. For 14+ years he has helped 1,000+ owners turn ideas into funded businesses, supporting $100M+ in funded projects. He is the founder of Quality Business Plan, creator of the Organize-Plan-Grow™ Strategy, author of more than 25 business books, and publisher of over 1,000 business videos on YouTube. He writes every plan personally, builds every financial model himself, and answers his own phone.
Need the Model Built, Not Just the Words?
Dr. Paul builds every model himself from your numbers and delivers in 7 days or less. If a template is all you need, he sells those too. Either way, the prices are published.
See Plans and PricesGeneral statements about business plan software and AI tools describe common capabilities at the time of publishing and are not a review of any specific product. Your lender's requirements govern what your plan must contain.