Planful Software Reviews

“Planful Review

Pros

I appreciate the capability to integrate other systems using third-party software. The browser-based reporting feature is visually appealing.

Cons

When it comes to saving HC to finance and HR cubes, there are many additional steps involved. My experience with Adaptive Insights was much more efficient in terms of saving data to the database. However, I encountered an issue with the model for our vendor spend in Spotlight, as it led to incorrectly saving data to other scenarios.

“helpful tool for data management

Pros

What I like about Planful is that it provides real-time data transmission. The application is easy to navigate and offers reliable and precise information with excellent functionalities.

Cons

Planful works very well for me, and I haven't encountered any complications with this application yet.

“Best Budgeting tool

Pros

The software is user-friendly. It allows me to lock down budgets to prevent changes and seamlessly incorporate real-time data from our ERP system for financial reporting. It has significantly reduced the time spent on annual budgeting, saving over 100 hours. The Excel-based interface makes it accessible and understandable for non-financial users. Additionally, it offers segmentation options for controlling access and includes workforce planning capabilities.

Cons

So far, I haven't encountered any issues with the software. However, I have only been using it for a short time.

“I was never able to go live with it

Pros

The product appears to be robust and capable, but the process of going live has been challenging.

Cons

Unfortunately, I was never able to go live with the software, and I didn't derive any value from it. To make matters worse, they made me pay for two years without delivering the expected results.

“In-depth P&Ls

Pros

Planful receives a feed from our accounting software every 5 minutes, ensuring we have the most up-to-date accounting information for accurate budget-to-actuals comparisons.

Cons

Learning to build reports can be time-consuming as the software is quite complex and not suitable for non-tech savvy individuals.

“Robust financial reporting software.

Pros

My favorite feature is the Workforce Planning module. Data loading and updates are fast, and there are numerous options for modeling and allocating compensation items. Training budget preparers is straightforward, and they can easily navigate the system. Reporting options are extensive, both within Planful and externally, and the platform experiences minimal downtime.

Cons

The training documentation could be expanded and enriched in certain areas to provide a more user-friendly administrative experience.

“Planful Overview Review

Pros

The software is extremely intuitive, and its syntax is similar to Excel.

Cons

In my opinion, the training provided is basic and outdated. Considering the efforts put into developing the product, they should invest more time in conducting live sessions to show users how to better utilize the product's great features.

“Planful great value for the money

Pros

The ease of reporting, creation, distribution, and the ability to schedule distributions to non-users are highly valuable.

Cons

The consolidation module could use some improvements, particularly in tracking reconciliations.

“Training review

Pros

Planful is exceptionally user-friendly, and it provides ample help resources. The search engine within the application is efficient, making navigation effortless.

Cons

I'm not fond of the fact that completing certification requires attending in-person classes. These classes are inconvenient for UK users and often don't provide much additional information beyond what is available in the written guides.

“Planful

Pros

The user interface is very intuitive, and the support is excellent. I enjoy the accessibility to create and analyze various reports effortlessly.

Cons

It would be beneficial to have more Excel-like features in the web software.

“Solid Choice

Pros

I appreciate the compact and reasonable size of most features in the software. Although initially intimidating for new users, our small team has been able to manage it across multiple hospitals and user types. With minimal IT support, we have put in the effort to make it valuable.

Cons

Dealing with processes and building infrastructure around raw data can be challenging. Since we don't have a data warehouse, connecting data becomes even more difficult. I consider this software to be a mid-tier product in some ways, so it would be logical for the developers to consider that not all companies have a solid infrastructure to support the fast and elaborate functions provided. Ideally, the system could be more comprehensive or help us establish a one-stop-shop solution.

“Planful: Modern FP&A Solution

Pros

Administering the system is seamless and adaptable. Our previous system required a significant amount of time for maintenance and troubleshooting. With Planful, after going live and achieving stability, it now takes less than 50% of my time. This allows me to focus on process improvement, automation, personal development, and future enhancements. Reporting is extremely user-friendly, both within the platform and with Spotlight, empowering users to create and administer their own reports.

Cons

Loading actual wage data by employee seems more complicated than necessary. Preparing the file for data loading takes approximately one hour per month, while other data load rules take less than five minutes. We also experienced issues in the past with workforce data input and locking between users. However, the extensive workforce UI redesign in 2020 has made it much easier for our team to use.

“Solid tool that will help you manage your budget with ease!

Pros

Planful encompasses all the necessary features in one tool, including workforce planning, budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and easy creation of management reports.

Cons

There are several enhancements that I plan to discuss with our customer success manager. However, I have no doubt that with Planful's release schedule, incorporating these items into our environment will be easy. If I had to choose one thing I like least about the software, it would be the suggestion that implementation partners fully understand our structure and the reports we need in the software. When we implemented years ago (which I'm sure has improved since then), there were features and items that weren't even discussed and were only discovered later.

“A great all round FP&A solution that is competitively priced

Pros

We utilized Planful's Reporting and Consolidation functionality and are currently implementing Dynamic Reporting/Spotlight to revamp our internal budgeting and forecasting process. The system is remarkably easy to use after the initial setup, with minimal training required. It offers impressive power and flexibility while maintaining competitive pricing. The support staff and implementation consultants are exceptional.

Cons

The main drawback of the solution is the lack of training materials available. Since it is a relatively new platform, there isn't a wide range of training resources for end users to learn the platform. This creates a greater dependency on the materials provided by Planful, and in my personal opinion, the training courses don't effectively bring a Planful user up to speed. Fortunately, Planful seems to be investing in a new Engage forum, which will undoubtedly assist new users of the system.

“Great FP&A Product

Pros

The Planful team listens to their customers and consistently improves the product. It's user-friendly, and there are abundant resources available, such as support chat, community forums, and training materials.

Cons

The support was lacking when we initially implemented the tool. However, they have made significant improvements and are now truly supportive of any questions I have.

“Review of Planful

Pros

We rely on this software for our monthly financial close process, consolidating financials, and publishing the monthly financial package to management and internal/external partners. The software is easy to navigate and expedites the consolidation of financial data for all entities each month.

Cons

Currently, there aren't any specific features of the software that I dislike. However, the Planful support portal and team haven't always been the most helpful when it comes to troubleshooting issues promptly.

“Less Inituitive than other systems but more modeling capabilities

Pros

The modeling and reporting capabilities in Host distinguish it from other systems. The ability to directly integrate reports with system data pulls is a valuable feature that simplifies workbook complexity.

Cons

The software has limitations in terms of scalability, which may pose challenges when scaling up. Additionally, it is not an intuitive system to learn, especially with the spotlight add-in, and it is not as "ad hoc" ready as some other systems like Hyperion.

“Host Analytics for Board Reporting

Pros

Aggregate data from various sources and create visual representations such as charts and graphs.

Cons

Integrating the software with an OLAP database can be time-consuming, and the setup UI could be improved.

“High Quality Financial Reporting Platform

Pros

The dynamic reports and drill-down capabilities in Planful are major advantages. It allows for precise financial information, and the inclusion of links to source documents enhances transparency in reporting. The Spotlight for Excel add-in facilitates the development of custom, refreshable reports. The forecasting and budgeting tools are also commendable.

Cons

Implementing new software for financial reporting always has a significant learning curve. However, there are several quirks in data loads and reporting cube processing that make things more challenging than they should be.

“Director of Financial Planning & Analysis

Pros

Planful centralizes our planning, budgeting, and forecasting efforts. It enables quick updates and the ability to create alternate scenarios by copying versions. The upload of transactional data promotes self-service research of budget variances by budget owners.

Cons

The core functionality of the software is not well-suited for efficient sales reporting.