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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Catalyst, by EBM Software

    Score7.8 out of 10
    N/ACatalyst from EBM Software in Minneapolis is a cloud-based business performance application suite, designed to provide an environment and workflow for understanding business profitability.N/A

    Vena

    Score8.8 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    Vena Solutions provides a financial process automation solution to automate Corporate Performance Management, accounting and budgeting, Regulatory & Compliance, and other finance-related processes. It is scaled for medium to large-sized organizations.N/A
    Pricing
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareVena
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Professional
    N/A
    Complete
    N/A
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareVena
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalOptional
    Additional DetailsFlexible and tiered pricing structures available - monthly, 1-3-5- contracts, and moreThe Professional Plan is the most flexible way to get started quickly and can be added onto as a company grows. The plan includes: Vena Platform, Customer Success Manager, Standard Support and Customer Portal. Complete Plan includes everything in Professional, plus: Vena Insights, Premium Support, Sandbox Environment, and Expert Managed Services. For a limited time, new customers who use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (Online) as their primary ERP can get a free year of Vena and 40% off implementation costs. Vena also offers special pricing for not for profit organizations. To learn more, speak to an expert.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareVena
    Considered Both Products
    EBM Software
    No answer on this topic
    Vena Solutions
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Would buy again
    226 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    200 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    230 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    91%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    148 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    84%
    Implementation went as expected
    158 Answers
    Features
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareVena
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    7.1
    2 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Vena
    7.2
    112 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Customizable dashboards7.12 Ratings7.6100 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates7.12 Ratings7.5108 Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings6.571 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    7.7
    2 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Vena
    7.6
    202 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Drill-down analysis7.12 Ratings8.3196 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.02 Ratings8.4194 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.02 Ratings8.4171 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings5.470 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    8.0
    2 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Vena
    8.3
    159 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Publish to PDF7.92 Ratings9.0115 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.01 Ratings8.5120 Ratings
    Publish to Web00 Ratings7.783 Ratings
    Report Versioning00 Ratings8.1134 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    7.7
    1 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Vena
    7.7
    104 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.01 Ratings8.094 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization7.01 Ratings7.577 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics8.01 Ratings7.383 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings8.129 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    8.0
    2 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Vena
    8.3
    196 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.02 Ratings9.1184 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model8.02 Ratings7.9183 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.02 Ratings8.3186 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings8.550 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings7.9142 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    8.0
    2 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Vena
    7.3
    102 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access8.02 Ratings7.799 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.02 Ratings7.087 Ratings
    Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
    Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    8.0
    2 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Vena
    8.1
    242 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Long-term financial planning7.01 Ratings8.1218 Ratings
    Financial budgeting8.01 Ratings8.3233 Ratings
    Forecasting8.01 Ratings7.2224 Ratings
    Scenario modeling8.01 Ratings7.6203 Ratings
    Management reporting8.92 Ratings9.1230 Ratings
    Consolidation and Close
    Comparison of Consolidation and Close features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    7.2
    1 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Vena
    7.6
    211 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Financial data consolidation9.01 Ratings9.0182 Ratings
    Journal entries and reports8.01 Ratings7.4133 Ratings
    Multi-currency management6.01 Ratings6.3128 Ratings
    Intercompany Eliminations5.01 Ratings7.9126 Ratings
    Minority Ownership7.01 Ratings6.689 Ratings
    Local and consolidated reporting8.01 Ratings8.0160 Ratings
    Detailed Audit Trails00 Ratings8.2186 Ratings
    Financial Reporting and Compliance
    Comparison of Financial Reporting and Compliance features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    8.0
    1 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Vena
    8.0
    231 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Financial Statement Reporting8.01 Ratings8.4206 Ratings
    Management Reporting9.01 Ratings8.4216 Ratings
    Excel-based Reporting7.01 Ratings9.1225 Ratings
    Automated board and financial reporting8.01 Ratings7.6168 Ratings
    XBRL support for regulatory filing00 Ratings6.565 Ratings
    Analytics and Reporting
    Comparison of Analytics and Reporting features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    7.2
    2 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Vena
    7.5
    178 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Personalized dashboards7.12 Ratings8.4151 Ratings
    Color-coded scorecards6.01 Ratings8.6115 Ratings
    KPIs7.01 Ratings6.2131 Ratings
    Cost and profitability analysis8.01 Ratings7.7142 Ratings
    Key Performance Indicator setting8.01 Ratings7.2128 Ratings
    Benchmarking with external data7.01 Ratings6.8100 Ratings
    Integration
    Comparison of Integration features of Catalyst, by EBM Software and Vena
    Feature
    Catalyst, by EBM Software
    7.4
    2 Ratings
    12% below category average
    Vena
    8.7
    227 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Flat file integration8.01 Ratings8.4185 Ratings
    Excel data integration7.12 Ratings9.1211 Ratings
    Direct links to 3rd-party data sources7.12 Ratings8.8169 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareVena
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    IBM Planning Analytics
    Score8.8 out of 10
    IBM Planning Analytics
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
    Score10 out of 10
    Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
    Score10 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareVena
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.9
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (246 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.4
    (20 ratings)
    Usability
    8.8
    (2 ratings)
    8.4
    (31 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (7 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (7 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.8
    (2 ratings)
    8.6
    (100 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.7
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.5
    (7 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (4 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (4 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Catalyst, by EBM SoftwareVena
    Likelihood to Recommend
    EBM Software
    [Catalyst, by EBM Software] is well suited to track invoices from vendors to get them paid on time to avoid late fees. [Catalyst, by EBM Software] is less appropriate when paying vendor because that is not a function they currently have. If the system was an all in one system that could track and pay your invoices it would be an amazing software.
    Incentivized
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    Vena Solutions
    Whether you have processes you are looking to make more efficient or starting from scratch, Vena is a great tool to handle both. When we started with Vena all of reporting was either very manual or frankly nonexistent. Vena was pivotal in bringing us from zero to 10 in a short time. it helped us streamline the process of gathering data to the end reporting
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    EBM Software
    • The GUI is easy to navigate on the iPad mini, which we use for charting.
    • The options are simple so there is very little room for mistakes.
    • Charting is easy and the setup allows for necessary fields that must be completed so charting stays uniform.
    Incentivized
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    Vena Solutions
    • What i like best about Vena is that it is very seamless Excel integration.
    • Vena fosters collabs across teams, helping multiple members to work together on financial planning in real-time enhancing overall efficiency.
    • We now also can automate manual processes like budgeting, consolidation of data and reporting saves my valuable time and also reducing the risk of errors.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    EBM Software
    • The browser closes unexpectedly at times when refreshing the page and you get logged out
    • The incorrect vendor is chosen by Catalyst a few times
    • The Catalyst file is occasionally not placed on time in the folder
    Incentivized
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    Vena Solutions
    • It could improve the ease of implementation; it could take a long for an inexperienced IT team.
    • From the ERP system perspective, it can be linked easily, but it has room for improvement when you make core changes and require a Vena specialist again.
    • Some administrators can get confused while working on Excel implementation; it has complicated technical requirements.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Vena Solutions
    Vena has been a huge win for us as an organization, as it vastly improved our budgeting process by removing manual consolidation that was incredibly time consuming, and it allows us to see a multi-year view of our organizational budget across all of our funding sources. We've seen Vena's platform grow over the years and we've not yet fully adopted some of them so it feels like there's still potential to get even more value out of the platform.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    EBM Software
    Well.... when it works... it's good. When it doesn't it is very frustrating for our staff.
    Incentivized
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    Vena Solutions
    Vena allows any solution to be built the way you need it to work, and there are many different ways of going about what you need it to do. It may require time to build, test, and rebuild and retest, before the best solution to what you are trying to accomplish is reached. It is best for those who are Excel proficient because Vena utilizes and enhances the usage of existing Excel functions. For those who are not Excel proficient, the journey may be more challenging, however, with help of EMS, you can get your planning and reporting to a dynamic state.
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    Reliability and Availability
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Vena Solutions
    Contact with Vena Solutions technical support is quick and experts in the field always respond. It is not necessary to go through a large form to explain the problems and then answer more questions to receive a direct answer, we simply send a message indicating the specific problem and they are immediately there to actively help us
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Vena Solutions
    Vena Solutions pages load quickly and only a few times does it get a bit slow, only when there are many integrations and the reports are long. But in general it is always fast and honestly I am very satisfied with the speed in the generation of statistical reports and the pages
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    EBM Software
    The support for Catalyst is great and they are usually within the 48 hour response time. There could be a little quicker upload time for invoices that are submitted. They usually show up until the next day on the system and sometimes gives us a stress on time. Overall, the support is quite good
    Incentivized
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    Vena Solutions
    They are very quick to respond when you submit a ticket and typically fix issues quickly as well. I only didn't give this a 10 because there is still an open issue with our Salesforce connection that we've been waiting on now for a few months.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Vena Solutions
    Our initial in person training was a little rough b/c I felt like our trainer wanted to focus on maximizing Vena rather than understanding what we were needing for our organization. He was very responsive and added insights, but could have worked to understand our needs a little better.
    Incentivized
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    Online Training
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Vena Solutions
    The training was structured as a group training to learn the basics of creating a data model and mapping a template. While we had nearly 10 participants, I was the only actual implementer so we probably didn't actually need the training and could have just learned the initial skills from the implementation consultant. Two years later, when we hired a new team member, they completed several modules in Vena Academy (a self paced learning course) which allowed them to get up to speed on the basics with just a bit of supplemental guidance from me as our existing admin.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Vena Solutions
    The Vena consultant had great knowledge of both the Vena solution and Excel and Excel functions. He was able to help suggest ways to build our templates that met our requirements using Excel functions we had not previously considered using. And we have been able to use the Excel information he provided in other ways outside of Vena. He was very patient and flexible as we learned the Vena tool and created templates
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    Alternatives Considered
    EBM Software
    [Catalyst, by EBM Software] is a very easy system to use and is very user friendly. It gives you different ways of researching an invoice and not just one. Catalyst also helps to allow us to research an invoice within seconds and eliminates a lengthy and confusing process. It is a great software for first time users to learn quickly and efficiently.
    Incentivized
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    Vena Solutions
    Vena Solutions stands out due to its familiar Excel-based interface, making it easy for our team to adopt without extensive training. Compared to alternatives like Anaplan and Oracle Hyperion, Vena's strong customer support and efficient automation have significantly reduced our budgeting cycle time. We chose Vena for its seamless integration with our existing systems and substantial time-saving benefits, ultimately enhancing our decision-making process.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    EBM Software
    No answers on this topic
    Vena Solutions
    We onboarded the entire company in a very short time frame to complete the full company budget cycle the first year out of the gate. Now we are looking to add more data and the ETL tool makes it easy to backload data into the cube as if was always there. Vena has been very scalable for our needs.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    EBM Software
    • Catalyst is better than pencil and paper data analysis. But the app can be very frustrating when it's not working the way it did last week.
    • The GUI is very simple. Sometimes too simple, like there is no way to go back in and edit SOAP note options.
    • New feature roll-outs are mandatory. I understand that no one would opt in to being the guinea pig, but it would be nice if you weren't the first user to try it.
    • The integration with billing software has streamlined the billing notes and saved us money over having two separate systems.
    Incentivized
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    Vena Solutions
    • Eliminated the necessity to manually combine multiple Excel budget worksheets into one file in order to compile an org-wide budget
    • Allows end-users to be self-sufficient by having the ability to drill into transaction-level detail and conduct ad-hoc analyses
    • Created more bandwidth in the FP&A team to spend more time on more meaningful analysis
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Vena Screenshots

    Screenshot of Operation Expenses - Predictive AnalysisScreenshot of Allocations DashboardScreenshot of Vena Add InScreenshot of Power BI DashboardScreenshot of Operational Expenses - Drill through analysisScreenshot of Process Status Dashboard