Free business planning tablet apps available on Android™ and iPad

Australian business owners can develop business, marketing and emergency plans using a suite of free tablet apps developed by the team at business.gov.au.

Following the success of the business planning iPad apps launched in September 2012, the free apps have been made available for Android™ tablet users.

The iPad apps are proving to be a popular resource for business and have been downloaded over 30,000 times since launched.

The apps, MyBizPlan, MarketMyBiz and MyBizShield, are based on business.gov.au’s popular business planning templates and guides which have been downloaded more than one million times.

The planning process is one of the most valuable activities a business owner can undertake. Good plans provide a roadmap for success, provide a sense of control over the future and are essential to attract funding.

Many businesses find the planning process daunting and are unsure of where to start. These apps were developed with the help of business experts and provide templates and handy prompts to guide businesses through the process.

Businesses are increasingly using mobile technologies like tablets and smart phones to improve the way they operate. By making the planning templates available in a tablet app format, it is easier for businesses to create, update, share and store their plans online.

Having your plan right there on your tablet device means you can refer to your planning information really quickly anywhere. It’s not sitting in a filing cabinet somewhere collecting dust, or hidden in the depths of your computer’s filing system.

Two YouTube videos  have also been developed to help raise awareness of the importance of business planning.

These videos provide a humorous, and slightly exaggerated, tale of how planning has helped a lemonade business and an ice-cream business to grow and succeed. Behind the humour are important messages that business owners can identify with about how planning is an essential ingredient to business success.

To download the free planning apps, visit www.business.gov.au/businessapps

(Apple, the Apple logo, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google Inc.)