SkyStem's ART Reviews

“Easy and quick for month tracking

Pros

The system is easy to use, quick and simple. Tracking month to month is simple and I know it will be great when audit time rolls around.

Cons

The only thing I would mention is that there are too many lines that blend together when looking at discrepancies. Sometimes it makes it hard to find where you actually need to enter things.

“organized with instant team status view

Pros

I love how organized everything is and the ability to see in an instant where our team stands during our close each month. It is a much better tracking tool for showing auditors who prepares a reconciliation and who signs off on it compared to just using Excel alone. I also really like being able to navigate between periods easily without any hassle.

Cons

There are a few too many options in the reconciliation for variances. I would prefer one section where you could drop down and pick what the reconciliation difference was instead of hunting through options. I also find it tricky to add attachments in the task preparer section.

“Great experience!!

Pros

My experience with Skystem was genuinely great. The customer service was excellent and I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for something similar.

Cons

I honestly have no cons to report. Everything works the way it should.

“helps keep accounts balanced for year end

Pros

The system helps us keep our accounts balanced and on track for our end of year goals. It has been such a wonderful tool to have in our arsenal.

Cons

My least favorite thing is importing data for a new month and trying to open that new month. I have run into issues before when there are new accounts that need to be uploaded to a profile.

“simple product

Pros

I really appreciate how simple the product is. Nothing feels overly complicated or loaded with features we do not need. The interface moves quick and is easy to get around.

Cons

I am more familiar with Blackline and I have to say reporting capabilities in Blackline is better than what Skystem offers. There also seems to be a delay sometimes after I approve an account reconciliation before the dashboards actually update to reflect that.

“Paperless with easy document drop

Pros

Going paperless with reconciliations has been a game changer especially now being able to attach documents just by dropping the file in instead of going through multiple steps.

Cons

Well I am not a big fan of how the recons are laid out. They could be separated better to make things clearer. I also do not like not being able to edit entries once they are done which means I have to close everything out and redo it with updated information. I would also prefer that accounts with no balance changes did not go directly into the prepared status automatically.

“slight learning curve

Pros

It is genuinely easy to use. There was only a slight learning curve at the beginning so it never felt difficult or frustrating to figure out.

Cons

I have not found anything I do not like at this point. It is somewhat different from what I was used to before, but not so much that it made the process difficult.

“Overview ensures access understanding

Pros

I really liked the overview of the software and how it made sure you understood that just because you see something does not mean you automatically have access. The overview on the updated platform was particularly helpful.

Cons

Wish that you could rewind some parts of the webinar to review them or speed ahead through the parts that are not applicable to my specific area on the platform.

“reconciliation schedule tracks progress

Pros

It sets up a reconciliation schedule that tracks your status which really helps you manage your progress and stay on top of things.

Cons

Since we already do reconciliation in Excel I feel like this is just duplicate work for us because we are so busy. Excel can actually have better detail and we have to pay a lot just to use Skystem on top of that.

“Easy and quick for month tracking

Pros

The system is easy to use, quick and simple. Tracking month to month is simple and I know it will be great when audit time rolls around.

Cons

The only thing I would mention is that there are too many lines that blend together when looking at discrepancies. Sometimes it makes it hard to find where you actually need to enter things.

“organized with instant team status view

Pros

I love how organized everything is and the ability to see in an instant where our team stands during our close each month. It is a much better tracking tool for showing auditors who prepares a reconciliation and who signs off on it compared to just using Excel alone. I also really like being able to navigate between periods easily without any hassle.

Cons

There are a few too many options in the reconciliation for variances. I would prefer one section where you could drop down and pick what the reconciliation difference was instead of hunting through options. I also find it tricky to add attachments in the task preparer section.

“Great experience!!

Pros

My experience with Skystem was genuinely great. The customer service was excellent and I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for something similar.

Cons

I honestly have no cons to report. Everything works the way it should.

“helps keep accounts balanced for year end

Pros

The system helps us keep our accounts balanced and on track for our end of year goals. It has been such a wonderful tool to have in our arsenal.

Cons

My least favorite thing is importing data for a new month and trying to open that new month. I have run into issues before when there are new accounts that need to be uploaded to a profile.

“simple product

Pros

I really appreciate how simple the product is. Nothing feels overly complicated or loaded with features we do not need. The interface moves quick and is easy to get around.

Cons

I am more familiar with Blackline and I have to say reporting capabilities in Blackline is better than what Skystem offers. There also seems to be a delay sometimes after I approve an account reconciliation before the dashboards actually update to reflect that.

“Paperless with easy document drop

Pros

Going paperless with reconciliations has been a game changer especially now being able to attach documents just by dropping the file in instead of going through multiple steps.

Cons

Well I am not a big fan of how the recons are laid out. They could be separated better to make things clearer. I also do not like not being able to edit entries once they are done which means I have to close everything out and redo it with updated information. I would also prefer that accounts with no balance changes did not go directly into the prepared status automatically.

“slight learning curve

Pros

It is genuinely easy to use. There was only a slight learning curve at the beginning so it never felt difficult or frustrating to figure out.

Cons

I have not found anything I do not like at this point. It is somewhat different from what I was used to before, but not so much that it made the process difficult.

“Overview ensures access understanding

Pros

I really liked the overview of the software and how it made sure you understood that just because you see something does not mean you automatically have access. The overview on the updated platform was particularly helpful.

Cons

Wish that you could rewind some parts of the webinar to review them or speed ahead through the parts that are not applicable to my specific area on the platform.

“reconciliation schedule tracks progress

Pros

It sets up a reconciliation schedule that tracks your status which really helps you manage your progress and stay on top of things.

Cons

Since we already do reconciliation in Excel I feel like this is just duplicate work for us because we are so busy. Excel can actually have better detail and we have to pay a lot just to use Skystem on top of that.

“Easy and quick for month tracking

Pros

The system is easy to use, quick and simple. Tracking month to month is simple and I know it will be great when audit time rolls around.

Cons

The only thing I would mention is that there are too many lines that blend together when looking at discrepancies. Sometimes it makes it hard to find where you actually need to enter things.

“organized with instant team status view

Pros

I love how organized everything is and the ability to see in an instant where our team stands during our close each month. It is a much better tracking tool for showing auditors who prepares a reconciliation and who signs off on it compared to just using Excel alone. I also really like being able to navigate between periods easily without any hassle.

Cons

There are a few too many options in the reconciliation for variances. I would prefer one section where you could drop down and pick what the reconciliation difference was instead of hunting through options. I also find it tricky to add attachments in the task preparer section.