FP&A Software Comparison: Find the Right Solution for Your Financial Planning
Overview
The financial planning and analysis (FP&A) landscape has evolved. Organizations have access to more data than ever, and they need powerful FP&A solutions to analyze financial data, develop budgets and projections, and make game-changing decisions that impact their bottom line. To extract value in real time, businesses need a solution that handles today’s needs and has the flexibility and scalability to meet tomorrow’s requirements.
Our FP&A software comparison chart below examines top FP&A software options recommended by industry experts and used by businesses globally. Use this comparison to find the right solution for your organization.
| Vendor | About | Interface | Consulting Efforts | Business User Control | Speed of implementation | Price | Special Features | Storage | Deployment | *G2 Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acterys | A SaaS platform for enterprise-grade xP&A transformation, planning, forecasting, and budgeting with Power BI and Excel. | Web application, Power BI, Excel | Low | High | within days | Automated Models for NetSuite, Xero, Stripe, QuickBooks, hubSpot, Kyriba Deputy, etc. | Standard (Azure) SQL | Cloud, Hybrid, Onpremise | 8.6 | |
| Workday Adaptive Planning | A cloud-based financial planning and analysis software that helps organizations to plan, forecast, and report on financial and operational data. | Web | High | Medium | Months | Cloud | 7.49 | |||
| Anaplan | A cloud-based platform that offers a range of planning and performance management solutions, including financial planning and analysis. | Web application, Excel | Very high | Limited | Months | $1000+ per user | Cloud | 8.16 | ||
| Board | A could-based intelligent Planning Platform that integrates strategy, finance, and operations, enabling full control of performance across the organization. | Web application, Excel | Very high | Limited | Months | Proprietary | 7.75 | |||
| IBM Planning Analytics | A cloud-based platform that enables organizations to create detailed financial plans, conduct scenario analysis, and monitor performance. | Web application, Excel | High | Medium | Months | $200+ | Cloud, Onpremise | 7.34 | ||
| Jedox | A cloud-based enterprise Performance Management software which is used for planning, analytics and reporting in finance and other areas such as sales, human resources and procurement. | Web application, Excel | Medium | High | Weeks | $200+ | Proprietary database format | Cloud, Onpremise | 7.61 | |
| OneStream | An enterprise market-leading intelligent CPM platform that aligns and simplifies financial consolidation, planning, reporting, analytics, and financial data quality for sophisticated organizations. | Web application, Excel | High | Medium | Month | $1000+ | SQL Server | Cloud, Onpremise | 7.45 | |
| Oracle Hyperion | A suite of enterprise performance management (EPM) applications that includes tools for financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting. | Web application | Months | Cloud | 6.75 | |||||
| Planful | A cloud-based planning, budgeting, and forecasting tool that provides comprehensive financial analysis and reporting capabilities. | Web application | High | Medium | Months | Cloud | 7.89 | |||
| SAP SAC | A business planning and consolidation tool that provides budgeting, forecasting, and reporting capabilities. | Web | High | Limited | Months | Entirely focused on SAP customers | Cloud | |||
Acterys: The Future of FP&A Is Here
Acterys ranks No. 1 on G2’s list of top corporate performance management (CPM) solutions and has become the go-to solution for more than 700 companies worldwide. Acterys empowers companies to transform traditional planning and analytics and act with confidence and predictability when planning for the future.
Acterys offers a full range of intelligent data modeling, planning, and forecasting tools — all accessible through a single platform that can run on the cloud or on-premises.
Why Acterys Stands Out As the Top FP&A Software Solution
Centralized Data Model
Integrate information from all your financial and non-financial sources into a unified data model for planning and analytics.
Consistent Analysis Across Your Organization
Build resilient, reusable data models for uniformity throughout your reporting and analytical processes.
Ironclad Security
Ensure data integrity with granular access control and industry-standard compliance — SOC 2, MFA and more.
Write-Back Enabled Planning
Access eight Power BI financial report templates to offer extensive planning capabilities and direct editing within your reports.
Autonomous FP&A
Leverage autonomous planning with advanced AI algorithms and real-time data analysis for improved decision-making.
Easily Embed BI and Analytics in Your App
Deliver stunning interactive reports in your app with the Power BI Embedded service.preparedness, predictability, plan creation, plan logic, prescriptive actions, etc.
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Award-Winning Solutions
Customers, independent analysts and industry experts recommend Acterys for driving xP&A transformation. We deliver unparalleled speed, accuracy and flexibility to global planning and analytics teams.
Choosing the Right FP&A Software: Key Considerations
When evaluating FP&A software for your organization, you must answer several critical questions and consider factors that align with your business’s specific needs and how you intend to utilize it.
Business Needs Assessment
- What financial data needs to be tracked, analyzed, and reported?
- Who needs to access and use the software?
- What are the most critical features and capabilities required to support the finance department’s workflow?
- What are the long-term objectives of the finance department, and how can the software align with these objectives?
Budget Considerations
Budget is a crucial consideration when choosing among FP&A tools. The cost can vary widely from tool to tool, and it is essential to determine the organization’s budget.
Some software solutions offer basic packages with limited features, while others provide more comprehensive options at a higher price. The cost also depends on the number of users and the level of support required.
Keep in mind that the total cost of ownership goes beyond the initial purchase price. Additional costs may be associated with implementation, customization, training, and ongoing support. Consider the software’s long-term benefits and cost savings before deciding solely based on the price tag. Explore pricing options and negotiate with the vendor for the best deal possible.
Strike a balance between the features and benefits your organization requires and the budget allocated for the software solution.
Integration with Existing Systems
Many businesses already have various systems in place, such as ERP, CRM, HR, and payroll software. This makes it mandatory for businesses that the FP&A software can integrate seamlessly with these systems to avoid any disruptions in business processes.
The integration of FP&A software with existing systems allows for a streamlined flow of data between different departments and reduces the risk of errors caused by manual data entry. It also enables real-time data updates and provides a centralized location for financial information, making it easier to access and analyze.
When evaluating different FP&A tools options, businesses should consider the ease of integration with their existing systems. They should look for software that offers flexible integration options such as APIs, connectors, or pre-built integrations with common enterprise systems.
Additionally, it is important to ensure that the FP&A solution can handle the data formats and types that use the existing system. The software should also be able to handle large volumes of data without any performance issues.
User Feedback and Reviews
Review feedback from users with experience with the software in similar industries and business sizes while deciding on FP&A solutions. This feedback can be found on various platforms, including the software provider’s website, third-party review sites, and social media platforms.
Checking out reviews and feedback from users provides valuable insights into the software’s strengths and weaknesses, ease of use, and effectiveness in addressing business needs. Reviews can also highlight any common issues or complaints that users have experienced, such as poor customer support, inadequate reporting capabilities, or difficulties with implementation.
Ultimately, user feedback and reviews can provide valuable insights and help decide when choosing an FP&A solution. It is important to carefully consider and weigh all feedback and reviews before making a final call.
Top 10 FP&A Solutions for Enhanced Financial Analysis and Insights
Acterys is an award-winning FP&A tool that simplifies financial data consolidation, reporting, planning and analytics for businesses of all sizes. The solution offers business users best-practice templates for all performance management aspects, easily customizable in familiar environments like Microsoft Excel and Power BI.
This FP&A solution typically guarantees significant cost savings, as multiple CPM solutions — for example, separate applications for data analytics, consolidation and planning — can be combined into a single platform based on Microsoft’s world-class technology architecture.
Features
- Seamless integration with popular ERP, CRM and accounting systems such as Xero, QuickBooks, Stripe, NetSuite, Dynamics, HubSpot and more.
- Eight custom Power BI visuals and high-performance, simultaneous write-back and planning capabilities for unlimited users.
- Plug-and-play best-practice templates for CapEx, cash-flow forecasting, demand planning, HR planning, S&OP and more, dramatically reducing your build and cycle times by 80%.
- Planning flexibility supporting top-down and bottom-up approaches, including absolute, relative, add and fill.
- Integration with AI tools like ChatGPT to instantly get insights into your financial plans and reports.
- Audit trails, granular read and write, user functional and data access rights for unparalleled governance and security.
- Dedicated Excel add-in to provide enterprise-level FP&A capabilities without leaving the comforts of spreadsheets.
Benefits
- Allows users to get started in minutes with one-click integration to any source or by using pre-configured apps for specific ERP/accounting systems.
- Provides a flexible data modeling environment to create and manage data models.
- Autonomous planning by combining advanced AI algorithms and real-time data analysis for improved business decision-making.
- Requires no additional installations or maintenance and is available instantly for use.
- Provides real-time collaboration and data sharing across the organization.
- Offers automated financial consolidation, reporting and planning capabilities.
- Delivers stunning interactive reports in Power BI.
- Supports mobile access via Power BI.
Workday Adaptive Planning empowers businesses to streamline their financial processes and make data-driven decisions with a wide range of features, including real-time collaboration, scenario planning and robust analytics.
Features
- Collaborative planning in real-time on a single cloud-based platform.
- Adaptive Insights for Excel allows users to access the software directly in Excel.
- Scenario planning and analysis for simulations of different business scenarios.
- Flexible modeling capabilities, including driver-based modeling.
- Advanced analytics and reporting.
- Integration with various data sources, including CRM and ERP systems.
- Built-in financial intelligence with preconfigured templates.
Benefits
- Offers user-friendly interface and easy-to-use navigation for non-technical users.
- Delivers comprehensive financial planning and analysis capabilities, including scenario planning and forecasting.
- Provides access to real-time financial and operational data to inform strategic decision-making.
- Integrates with various business systems for seamless data management and reporting.
- Offers advanced analytics and reporting features to track KPIs and other critical metrics.
- Comes with a mobile app for on-the-go access to financial data and reporting.
- Provides secure data management and role-based access control to protect sensitive financial information.
Anaplan is a cloud-based enterprise performance management platform that provides businesses with a flexible and scalable solution for planning, budgeting, forecasting and modeling. The platform leverages advanced analytics and modeling capabilities to improve financial and operational performance.
Features
- Hyperblock technology for real-time calculations across multiple dimensions.
- Connected planning capabilities to link processes across departments and functions.
- Predictive modeling and simulation for scenario analysis and forecasting.
- Anaplan App Hub for pre-built planning models and apps.
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities for predictive analytics and automation.
- Anaplan Community for collaboration, networking and knowledge-sharing with other Anaplan users and experts.
Benefits
- Connects financial, sales, supply chain and workforce planning for comprehensive insights.
- Allows for dynamic modeling of large and complex data sets.
- Offers ability to quickly adapt to changing requirements and deploy solutions.
- Comes with a marketplace of pre-built apps and models.
- Provides users with the skills and knowledge to maximize the value of the Anaplan platform.
- Protects sensitive data and ensures compliance with industry standards and regulations.
- Offers advanced AI and machine learning capabilities that automate routine tasks and identify trends.
Board is best known for streamlining financial processes and providing insights into business operations through data integration, financial modeling and reporting tools. With Board, users can create custom dashboards and reports, forecast scenarios and perform advanced analytics to optimize business performance.
Features
- Advanced data discovery capabilities for fast and accurate insights.
- Comprehensive data modeling and forecasting.
- No coding required for creating custom applications, reports and workflows.
- Drag-and-drop interface for easy data modeling and visualization.
- Interactive dashboards, scorecards and KPIs for real-time performance monitoring.
- Automated reporting and analysis for improved efficiency and accuracy.
- Predictive analytics and AI-powered forecasting for accurate predictions and simulations.
Benefits
- Provides one unified platform for BI, planning and predictive analytics.
- Offers advanced financial modeling capabilities for accurate forecasting and scenario planning.
- Comes with powerful data integration and management features for centralized data access and analysis.
- Enables comprehensive security and governance controls to ensure data accuracy and compliance.
- Offers the ability to handle big data with high performance and scalability.
- Provides a user-friendly interface with self-service analytics for business users to explore data and gain insights independently.
IBM Planning Analytics is an enterprise-level FP&A solution that helps organizations streamline financial planning, budgeting and forecasting processes. Its powerful analytics and reporting capabilities enable businesses to make data-driven decisions to achieve their goals and optimize performance.
Features
- Multidimensional modeling engine for flexible data modeling and analysis.
- Integration with Watson Analytics for AI-powered insights.
- Predictive forecasting capabilities using time-series analysis.
- Workflow automation and collaboration tools for better teamwork and communication.
- Integration with Excel, allowing for seamless data import/export and familiar spreadsheet functionality.
- Cloud-based deployment options for increased flexibility and scalability.
Benefits
- Offers multidimensional modeling and calculation engine for complex analysis and scenario planning.
- Offers advanced reporting and visualization capabilities to create interactive dashboards and reports.
- Enables collaboration among teams with role-based access controls and shared workflows.
- Incorporates data from other enterprise software systems, including ERP and CRM.
- Offers predictive analytics and machine learning capabilities to identify trends, patterns and anomalies in data.
Jedox is a performance management software providing integrated planning, budgeting and forecasting solutions. With its powerful analytics and reporting capabilities, Jedox helps businesses optimize their financial processes and drive better decision-making.
Features
- Integrated extract, transform, load (ETL) and online analytical processing (OLAP) engine.
- In-memory data storage for real-time analytics and planning.
- Excel-based interface for ease of use and familiarity.
- Workflow automation and version control for collaboration and audit trail purposes.
- Cloud or on-premise deployment options to suit various business needs.
Benefits
- Offers multidimensional data modeling and analytics capabilities.
- Integrates with various data sources and other business systems.
- Comes with collaborative planning and reporting features that enable real-time sharing and editing of data.
- Offers flexible deployment options, including on-premise, cloud-based and hybrid solutions.
- Offers workflow automation and approval processes for improved efficiency and accuracy.
- Comes with a mobile app for access to data and reports on the go.
OneStream is a unified CPM software that simplifies businesses’ financial planning, consolidation and reporting processes.
Features
- Intelligent finance processes powered by machine learning and predictive analytics.
- Advanced account reconciliations with built-in workflow, collaboration and certification.
- Powerful modeling capabilities with support for complex multidimensional hierarchies and scenarios.
- Extensible with over 50 pre-built solutions and connectors for third-party systems.
- Secure cloud-based or on-premise deployment options with enterprise-grade scalability and performance.
Benefits
- Comes with the XF Marketplace, providing pre-built solutions, templates and extensions to extend the platform’s capabilities.
- Offers guided workflow and audit trail capabilities to ensure accuracy and compliance.
- Offers a flexible deployment model with options for cloud, on-premise or hybrid deployments.
- Eliminates the need for complex data integration processes through a single source of financial data.
Oracle Hyperion is a comprehensive enterprise performance management software suite that enables organizations to plan, execute and monitor their business operations easily.
Features
- Advanced modeling and analysis capabilities for complex financial scenarios.
- Data visualization and reporting capabilities for creating customized dashboards and reports.
- Centralized platform for managing financial data, ensuring data accuracy.
- Real-time insights and analytics for faster decision-making.
- Cloud-based deployment options for increased flexibility and cost savings.
Benefits
- Automates and streamlines financial processes.
- Provides accurate and timely reporting.
- Delivers powerful analytics and data visualization capabilities to identify trends, patterns and opportunities.
- Scales easily, accommodating businesses of all sizes.
- Improves financial processes as an indispensable tool.
Planful (formerly known as Host Analytics) is a cloud-based FP&A solution with a comprehensive suite of financial management tools. This solution enables users to create custom budgets, forecasts and reports and collaborate with team members in real time to optimize business performance.
Features
- AI-powered analytics for more accurate financial reporting and planning.
- Ability to handle complex financial data modeling and consolidation across multiple sources.
- Collaborative workflows with user-based access controls and audit trails for added security.
- Integration with other business systems, such as ERP and CRM, for seamless data sharing and reporting.
- Customizable dashboards and reports with real-time data visualizations and KPI tracking.
- Scenario planning and what-if analysis to test different assumptions and outcomes.
Benefits
- Offers advanced analytics and reporting capabilities.
- Comes with collaborative features that enable teams to work together more effectively.
- Offers automated workflows and approval processes to streamline financial processes.
- Provides comprehensive data security measures to protect sensitive financial information.
- Comes with an easy-to-use interface that requires minimal training for users.
- Offers cloud-based deployment that allows for anytime, anywhere access to financial data.
- Integrates with other business systems to streamline data management and analysis.
SAP SAC is a cloud-based business intelligence platform with advanced analytics and planning tools for businesses of all sizes. It provides end-to-end analytics solutions, leveraging data modeling and visualization capabilities to enable data-driven decision-making and seamless team collaboration.
Features
- Automated data preparation with machine learning algorithms.
- Built-in analytics and data visualization capabilities for real-time insights.
- Integration with various data sources, including on-premise and cloud-based systems.
- Collaborative planning and reporting functionalities for cross-functional teams.
- Mobile accessibility for remote data access and collaboration.
- Embedded predictive analytics and machine learning capabilities to enable predictive forecasting and scenario planning
Benefits
- Integrates with SAP and non-SAP data sources, allowing for a unified view of the organization’s data
- Offers machine learning capabilities, including predictive forecasting and smart insights.
- Comes with a mobile app and web-based access, providing access to real-time data and analytics.
- Gives users the ability to create and share interactive visualizations and dashboards.
- Offers advanced planning and budgeting features, including driver-based modeling and built-in financial intelligence.
- Provides a high level of data security and governance, with role-based access controls and data encryption.
Frequently Asked Questions
Financial planning and analysis software streamlines businesses’ financial planning, budgeting, forecasting and reporting processes. The software collects data from various sources, analyzes it and provides insights into a company’s financial performance, providing decision-makers with accurate and up-to-date information. FP&A software typically includes real-time collaboration, scenario planning and data visualization to help organizations achieve their financial goals.
FP&A software streamlines financial processes, helps with budgeting and forecasting, improves data accuracy and provides valuable insights into business operations. FP&A software also allows for collaborative planning across departments and stakeholders, enables scenario modeling and analysis and supports decision-making based on real-time data.
By automating many financial tasks and providing a centralized platform for data analysis and reporting, FP&A software can help businesses improve their financial performance and achieve their goals more efficiently.
Important features to consider include budgeting and forecasting capabilities, financial reporting and analysis, data integration with other business systems, scenario planning and collaboration tools. Also consider factors such as ease of use, customer support and pricing.
The cost of FP&A software can vary widely, depending on the vendor, the organization’s size and the features included. Some vendors offer a subscription-based pricing model, while others charge a one-time license fee. Some vendors offer customized pricing based on your needs and requirements. It’s best to research vendors to determine the best fit for your organization’s budget and needs.
Yes, most modern FP&A solutions integrate with existing accounting and ERP systems. Integration can be done through APIs, data importing/exporting or direct integration with the software’s built-in tools. The result is seamless data transfer and analysis, reducing the need for manual data entry and improving the accuracy of financial reporting. Your FP&A software comparison process should include an assessment of integration capabilities.
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