Software Alternatives & Startups

Pilot VS Liveplan

Compare Pilot VS Liveplan and see what are their differences

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Pilot logo Pilot

Focus on your business, knowing that our expert bookkeepers, aided by software superpowers, are taking care of your books.

Liveplan logo Liveplan

LivePlan helps entrepreneurs and small-to-medium size business owners build dynamic business plans and track performance against their goals.
  • Pilot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-28
  • Liveplan Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-28

LivePlan simplifies business planning, budgeting, forecasting, and performance tracking for small businesses and startups. Set business goals, compare performance to industry benchmarks, and see all your key numbers in an easy-to-use dashboard so you know exactly what's going on in your business. Less than $20/month.

Pilot

Website
pilot.com
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
2016 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Jeff Arnold
Employees
100 - 249

Liveplan

$ Details
paid $10 / Monthly (2 Users, 1 Active Company, All Features)
Platforms
Browser Web Google Chrome Firefox Safari Internet Explorer Edge
Release Date
2010 April

Pilot features and specs

  • Comprehensive Bookkeeping
    Pilot offers comprehensive bookkeeping services managed by a team of experts, making it suitable for businesses that require accurate and up-to-date financial records.
  • Scalability
    The service can scale with your business as it grows, offering a flexible solution for startups and expanding companies alike.
  • Tax Services
    Pilot also provides tax preparation and advisory services, which helps to streamline financial management and tax compliance.
  • Integration with Tools
    Pilot integrates seamlessly with a variety of business tools like QuickBooks, Gusto, Stripe, and more, ensuring a unified financial ecosystem.
  • Dedicated Support
    Each client has a dedicated account manager for personalized support, ensuring specialized attention to each business’s financial needs.

Possible disadvantages of Pilot

  • Cost
    Pilot's services can be pricey, particularly for smaller businesses or startups operating on tight budgets.
  • Complexity of Setup
    Initial setup can be complicated and may require significant time and effort to fully integrate Pilot with existing business systems.
  • Limited Customization
    The services may not offer the level of customization some businesses require, as they follow standardized procedures.
  • Dependence on Third-Party Software
    Pilot relies heavily on connecting with third-party software, which might be limiting or problematic if you use niche or specialized tools.
  • Potential Over-Reliance
    Businesses might become overly reliant on Pilot's services, potentially neglecting internal financial expertise and controls.

Liveplan features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    LivePlan provides an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface that simplifies the process of creating business plans, even for beginners.
  • Step-by-Step Guidance
    The platform offers step-by-step instructions and examples at each stage of the business plan, making the planning process more manageable.
  • Financial Forecasting
    LivePlan includes powerful financial tools that allow users to create detailed financial forecasts, including profit and loss statements, cash flow forecasts, and balance sheets.
  • Collaboration Features
    The software supports collaboration, enabling multiple users to work on a business plan simultaneously, which is useful for teams.
  • Customizable Templates
    LivePlan offers a variety of customizable templates that cater to different industries and business types, making it easy to create a professional-looking business plan.
  • Integration with Accounting Software
    LivePlan integrates seamlessly with popular accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero, allowing for efficient data import and synchronization.
  • Educational Resources
    The platform provides an array of educational resources, including webinars, tutorials, and articles, to help users better understand business planning.

Possible disadvantages of Liveplan

  • Subscription Cost
    LivePlan requires a subscription, which may be considered costly for startups or small businesses with limited budgets.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly design, some users may find there is a learning curve, especially when utilizing advanced financial features.
  • Limited Design Customization
    While the templates are customizable, the design options are somewhat limited compared to other business planning software, which might be a drawback for users wanting a more unique presentation.
  • Internet Dependency
    Being a cloud-based service, LivePlan requires a reliable internet connection for use, which could be a limitation for users in areas with poor internet connectivity.
  • Potential Clutter
    Given the ample features and tools available, some users may feel overwhelmed or find the interface cluttered when accessing all functionalities.

Analysis of Pilot

Overall verdict

  • Pilot is generally considered a good choice for startups and growing businesses that need reliable financial services without the overhead of building an in-house finance team. Their focus on transparency, use of advanced technology, and startup-friendly approach make them a suitable partner for many young companies.

Why this product is good

  • Pilot (pilot.com) is a financial services firm that specializes in providing bookkeeping, tax, and CFO services primarily for startups and small businesses. Their services are appreciated for being tech-enabled, efficient, and tailored to the specific needs of fast-growing companies. By leveraging technology to automate routine tasks, Pilot aims to provide more accurate and timely financial data. This approach helps businesses make informed decisions based on up-to-date financial insights.

Recommended for

  • Startups looking to outsource their bookkeeping and financial needs.
  • Small to medium-sized businesses in need of CFO services.
  • Tech-savvy companies that value data-driven insights and automated solutions.
  • Businesses seeking to streamline their financial operations without the complexities of traditional accounting firms.

Analysis of Liveplan

Overall verdict

  • Liveplan is generally well-regarded as an effective and user-friendly business planning tool. It is praised for its comprehensive templates, ease of use, and robust financial planning capabilities. Users appreciate the professional look it gives to business plans and the clarity it brings to financial forecasting.

Why this product is good

  • Liveplan is considered a strong tool for business planning and financial forecasting. It provides users with a structured approach to creating business plans, featuring a wide array of templates and step-by-step guides. It also offers advanced financial tools that allow for detailed financial projections, budgeting, and forecasting. The platform's collaborative features enable teams to work together effectively, and its integration with accounting software like QuickBooks adds value for financial tracking.

Recommended for

    Liveplan is recommended for entrepreneurs, small business owners, business consultants, and startups who need a reliable and structured tool for creating detailed business plans and financial forecasts. It's particularly useful for users who require collaborations, integrations with existing accounting systems, and step-by-step guidance in the planning process.

Pilot videos

No Pilot videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Liveplan videos

Small Business Success with LivePlan

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Intro to the LivePlan Pitch Tab
  • Review - Getting Started in LivePlan
  • Review - LivePlan, Online Business Planning Software Overview
  • Review - LivePlan Training Session: Writing Your Business Plan
  • Review - 4:22 NOW PLAYING WATCH LATER ADD TO QUEUE 2 Minute Tech Tip Best Way to Create A Business Plan Write A Business Plan Success Using LivePlan

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Pilot and Liveplan)
Accounting
100 100%
0% 0
Business Planning
0 0%
100% 100
Bookkeeping
100 100%
0% 0
Business Plan
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Pilot and Liveplan

Pilot Reviews

  1. Gulab Singh
    · Founder at Warriors Defence Academy ·
    it is a good accounting software

    Smart Accounting for Growing Business is a user-friendly and efficient accounting solution designed to streamline financial management for expanding businesses. It offers features like automated bookkeeping, expense tracking, invoicing, and real-time financial insights.

Liveplan Reviews

The Top 7 Business Planning Software Tools for Startups
Business Plan Pro is a product of Palo Alto Software, the same company that makes LivePlan. This option is ideal for entrepreneurs who don’t want a fully cloud-based product like LivePlan, or for customers who prefer a one-time charge to a monthly subscription:
Use these 5 best business planning software to launch your business ideas
LivePlan also syncs with QuickBooks, plus you need not hassle with formulas. It creates financial tables, charts and reports automatically, and you can export your final plan to Word or PDF, or export your pitch to PowerPoint for a beautiful slideshow presentation.
The Best Business Plan Software of 2018
For any but the simplest of proposals, it's an iterative process. So, you need to highlight the parts to come back to (after your accountant responds, for example). Or, the software should at least save data in some kind of draft status. However, across all of these apps, some forms insist you must enter something in a field before it will save everything on the page, which...
Source: au.pcmag.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Pilot should be more popular than Liveplan. It has been mentiond 9 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Pilot mentions (9)

  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (October 2024)
    Pilot.com | San Francisco | Senior Software Engineers, Staff Software Engineers, Engineering Managers | https://pilot.com | Hybrid/SF & Remote Pilot runs your business’s financial back office so you don’t have to: our aim is to provide our customers with the same superpowers as large companies with full finance teams — superpowers that include having a deep understanding of financial health of the business, the... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2024)
    * Senior Software Engineer, Infrastructure ( All of our teams have unique charters to collectively build the software, services and systems that enable Pilot to deliver a high-quality experience, profitably, at scale. From the Banking Universe — teams that ingest, normalize, transform, and categorize customer financial data to the Business Universe — teams that ingest our customer revenue and expense information... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (December 2023)
    Pilot (https://pilot.com/) | Full-time | Onsite (SF) | Sr Software Engineer (Backend or Full-Stack) Pilot is a Series-C funded, 7-year-old successful startup that partners with other companies to run their financial back office. We let small businesses focus on what they do best -- running their business -- and offload to us the financial back office. We build software that makes this possible: software that... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Curious about fractional hiring. Have you done it? Why/why not?
    Curious to get this groups thoughts on fractional hiring. I’ve seen companies like Shiny or Pilot pilot that offer fractional c-suite folks, and I’m curious if anyone here has considered using any of these services - or what stopped you from pursuing a fractional hire? Source: over 3 years ago
  • Do you believe billionaires are inherently bad, why or why not?
    They should use it to create even more net positives for society (Like the founders of Pilot did, see here). Most of them at the moment find that helping other 'potential future billionaires' is a pretty good way of doing this (This is what a VC fund is generally, or Angel investors, very different dynamics to zero-sum investors). But I don't think you'll find any that just sit there with it. Besides - the whole... Source: over 3 years ago
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Liveplan mentions (1)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Pilot and Liveplan, you can also consider the following products

Bench.co - Confidence in your numbers without doing the math.

Bizplan - Modern business planning for startups

Leap the Pond - AcctTwo is focused on delivering the future of finance and accounting to our customers.

IdeaBuddy - Innovative business planning software

Papaya Global - Papaya integrates your entire global workforce and payroll management onto a single global platform connecting you to a network of verified local vendors

Upmetrics - Plan, Launch, and Grow your Business