I use Planful for consolidation of our company's financials during month-end close. It is very helpful and efficient in organizing a central place to load and extract data from. We also use it to budget for the up coming years and to track metrics such as headcount, safety and fixed assets.
Pros
Consolidating multiple entities
Running Reports
Ease of loading and extracting data
Cons
Live reports extraction from web
More user customizability in reports
Report maker
Likelihood to Recommend
Planful is well suited for companies with multiple entities as it is easy to quickly change from one to another. It also excels in terms of metrics and creating Excel reports from scratch...although some time could be saved by having the ability to extract live reports online to Excel.
VU
Verified User
Analyst in Finance and Accounting (Oil & Energy company, 51-200 employees)
We use [Planful (formerly Host Analytics)] to do our quarterly forecasting, budgeting and financial reporting. It is used across the whole organization. It has eliminated much of the time we previously spent consolidating Excel spreadsheets. It has saved our plant controllers, corporate controller and myself hours of time each month.
Pros
Many different fields to use for complex reporting - location, market, product line (in our case). Able to handle complex reporting
Budget/forecast templates are flexible and relatively easy to set up, easy to use. Our plant controllers have varying levels of technical acumen and Planful is very easy to use for all of them, particularly since it is based in Excel.
I recently became familiar with the Spotlight add-in. This has been a revelation for us. It makes reporting so much more easier due to it's flexibility. Our reporting can be quite complex and it is so much easier to do in an Excel environment.
Cons
On the capital expenditure templates, when i bring over information from a previous forecast, I wish it would not for these templates. Once those months are done, you really no longer need those capital expenditures in there. My controllers always forget that they are in there and they get calculated again.
On the payroll templates, I wish you could do a combination of salary increases by employee type or individually. It is currently one or the other for the entire organization.
Likelihood to Recommend
We have really only scratched the surface as to what Planful [(formerly Host Analytics)] can do for us, due to limited resources. However, we are adding dynamic planning and dashboards, so plan on really leveraging the value we can get out of it in 2021. I think the user interface is probably the biggest selling point for me. It is very easy to use for the average person.
Host Analytics is currently being used in a reporting role. The system also performs management reporting consolidation which is different than GAAP & IFRS. Templates enable the system to perform inter-company eliminations, inventory reclassifications and consolidation of results. Reports are built within the system as well as with an Excel add-in.
Reporting is currently limited to management reporting but will extend to IFRS and GAAP in the near future. Additionally the company will be adding the spotlight reporting feature and expanding the use of dashboards. Host Analytics will continue to gain an expansive roll as we take advantage of the reporting tools and modeling capabilities.
Pros
Retrieving data in both summary and detailed levels.
Simplistic report creation and data refresh.
Cons
Complex granular forecasting requires significant build out requiring phases of templates for processing.
Simple data extracts are exported in a protected view requiring an extra step to manipulate every time data is exported.
The quick tool for data retrieval doesn't allow highlighting data to get a sum. Data has to be exported to Excel to quickly sum. Reporting screen allows the users to highlight cells for sum values but the other tool is faster to use for detailed data pulls.
Likelihood to Recommend
Host Analytics is a great tool for reporting. It's the best EPM tool I have used for reporting. The system is also easy to manage with virtually no IT interaction. It's simple to understand how the data flows through reports, where it originates and where to look for troubleshooting.
VU
Verified User
Analyst in Finance and Accounting (Mining & Metals company, 1001-5000 employees)
At Acciona Energy we have leveraged Host Analytics to improve our budget and forecast processes tremendously. Streamlining our backend processes using Host Analytics has enabled the finance team to spend more time with decision makers and record a clearer picture of the drivers impacting our business and how to adjust to them. The reporting module has given us the flexibility to provide managers with better information on a more timely basis to better run the business.
Pros
The templates in Host Analytics used for budgeting and forecasting are structured so that budget owners can record information is a way that is meaningful to them. The ability to enter notes, sub-line detail and attached supporting documentation ensures that users can understand inputs months or years after the budget/forecast has been completed.
The best part about the reporting module is that it is owned by the finance team. When unusual or ad hoc requests come in, the tool allows finance personnel to quickly customize a report that is accurate and meets the needs of the end user. This eliminates the need to wait in an IT queue or perform complex manipulations in Excel.
The ability to easily create multiple scenarios and update forecasts with actual results provides multiple views of the future to be managed simultaneously and simplifies versioning.
The consolidation module simplifies the process of consolidating companies and provides strong workflow capabilities to ensure proper review.
Cons
On occasion the quarterly updates can be disruptive. While there is definitely a benefit to free upgrades and new functionality, they come regularly, sometimes when it isn't convenient for the business to make the necessary adjustments.
Likelihood to Recommend
Frequently companies are looking for very complex solutions, but they haven't thought through how to implement them at a detailed level prior to selecting a product. Host Analytics Cloud EPM Suite is, to some level, an out of the box ready to use product. It provides the flexibility to report financial and non-financial information and do so fairly simply. It also allows the user to change or add information to the system as the need arises or as the business gains a better understanding of what they want to create in terms of reporting and data capture. In most instances, having a tool that is easy to implement and provides the ability to evolve over time without the need to hire expensive consultants, is better than a highly customized tool that doesn't provide flexibility down the road. For me, Host Analytics is the tool that has provided that ability to evolve and grow over time.
