Sage Intacct vs IBM Planning Analytics

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Our analysts compared Sage Intacct vs IBM Planning Analytics based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Accounting Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

IBM Planning Analytics Software Tool

Product Basics

Sage Intacct is a cloud-based accounting software designed for growing businesses with complex needs. It centralizes financial data, automates tasks, and offers real-time insights, streamlining financial operations. Ideal for mid-sized organizations with multi-entity structures and diverse accounting requirements, Intacct scales with your growth and seamlessly integrates with other business systems. Users praise its intuitive interface, customizable dashboards, and robust reporting capabilities. Automation features like purchase order approvals and multi-currency transactions save time and reduce errors. Additionally, Intacct's strong security and compliance features provide peace of mind. While pricing varies based on individual needs and usage, Intacct typically falls within the mid-range for enterprise-level accounting software. Costs are subscription-based, with monthly or annual payment options. Compared to similar products, Intacct users highlight its scalability, flexibility, and user-friendliness as key differentiators.

To learn more about Sage, visit our Sage company page.

Pros
  • Cloud-based & scalable
  • Automates tasks & saves time
  • Real-time insights & reporting
  • Flexible & customizable
  • Strong security & compliance
Cons
  • Higher cost than basic software
  • Steeper learning curve
  • Limited mobile functionality
  • Customization can be complex
  • Fewer integrations than some competitors
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IBM Planning Analytics is a multidimensional in-memory database for analytics and planning. Part of the IBM Analytics Suite and powered by TM1, it provides forecasting, budgeting and reporting at an enterprise scale through data compression. With all data connected to a central hub, it enables collaborative planning with workflow approvals and review protocols in place. Enterprises perform OLAP analysis faster through in-memory technology.

Integrating with Microsoft Excel, it gives businesses the ease and familiarity of working with spreadsheets with the power of an enterprise database. With automated time-series modeling, it enables self-service predictive analysis. The vendor offers a 30-day free trial.
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$10,000 Annually
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$825 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Product Assistance

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Product Insights

  • Data Analysis: Offers robust reporting tools. It enables users to track metrics across various locations and provides easy-to-view custom reports and dashboards. 
  • Visibility: The program’s visualization tools are customizable so that users can adjust what they see based on individualized needs. Visualization methods include graphs, charts and tables. This feature can alleviate the amount of time that employees spend combing through data to gain actionable insights. 
  • Process Control: Gives users control over a wide variety of tasks associated with financial management. It provides visualization of cash flow, automates processes based on user-inputted requirements and lets users develop their own configurable dashboards. 
  • Integration: Offers integration with platforms such as Salesforce and Avalara to increase the usability of the program. Pre-built connections are available through the Sage Intacct Marketplace, and custom connections can also be deployed to further personalize the solution. 
  • Accessibility: Available for deployment both in-cloud and on-premise. These diverse installation methods make the program accessible to a variety of users and companies that have different needs. 
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  • Maximize ROI: Save time for analysis of trends, business performance and results by creating project plans faster. Reallocate budget and resources by leveraging deep insights into business performance and market trends. Collaborate with others on a single, unified platform with total transparency and visibility into business data, available for all plans. 
  • Boost Sales: Win more business opportunities – boost annual sales quotas and deal sizes through end-to-end sales workflows. Grow revenue and reduce time to insight with robust sales analytics. Track campaigns for performance monitoring in real time and deep dive into data for buying behavior and customer churn analysis. 
  • Financial Planning and Analysis: Optimize the business’ performance through valuable financial insights. Ensure the business is on track by creating and managing plans, budgets and forecasts. Simplifies the budgeting process through real-time calculations with automatic application of business rules. 
  • Optimize Supply Chain: Create more accurate demand forecasts, get a clearer view of the resources and budget required to fulfill projected demand and update production plans accordingly. View historical data and drill down into summaries for deep-dive analysis and add visuals to spot key KPI trends. 
  • Workforce Planning: Increase the workforce’s efficiency by acquiring and retaining skilled employees at the right time. Effectively manage staff schedules, task assignment and performance tracking through workforce analytics and HR planning tools. 
  • Deploy Anywhere: Access the same data from everywhere with the flexibility to deploy on-premise, in the cloud or as a combination of both. 
  • Scalable: Build and change plans flexibly in real time to match business requirements. Scales with increasing data volumes, number of users and planning models, without impacting existing workflows and performance. 
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  • General Ledger: Contains pre-built dimensions such as customer, location, department, warehouse and class. It also allows users to add their own dimensions. Required dimension values can be inputted so that certain values are mandatory for entries to post to designated accounts. 
  • Accounts Payable: This feature lets users set spending limits and define workflows and approvals. Users can easily view AP liabilities as well as check and bill register reports in real time. Users can automate ACH, check and credit card payments through the Vendor Payment Services function, which is built on the American Express Global Commercial Services infrastructure. 
  • Accounts Receivable: The program enables customers to generate recurring invoices and to attach customer information to transactions. It integrates with other business processes to centralize sales orders, quotes and invoices. Configurable dashboards and other visualizations are included in this function and allow users to look at data points such as deferred revenue and customer aging. 
  • Purchasing: Allows users to analyze costs and monitor budget vs. actual information through dashboards and reporting tools. These dashboards are role-based for security and ease of access and also contain budget performance information, price break monitoring and purchase quote functionality. The feature gives users more control over the entirety of the procure-to-pay process. 
  • Order Management: Users can leverage point-and-click functionality to set up individualized workflows and pricing requirements in the order management system. The program can be easily connected to Salesforce CRM, which allows users to share order status and pricing data across a business and reduce duplicate data entry. The solution includes sales tax and regulatory compliance through integration with Avalara. Order fulfillment rates, inventory quantities and sales data can be viewed in real time through this feature. 
  • Cash Management: Includes a live view of funds and cash flows through all associated credit cards, savings accounts and checking accounts. The management of cash across multiple locations is also supported. The system enables the application of payments to accounts that aren’t associated with an invoice and the recording of POS payments that aren’t connected to a specific customer. 
  • Reporting and Dashboards: This program can track both financial and operational data such as SaaS metrics, machine availability, etc. The system also has the ability to discover trends, drill down to source transactions and look at roll-up figures for multiple locations or entities. The solution includes more than 150 financial reports along with the ability to develop customized reports based on business needs. 
  • Digital Board Book: Produces metrics such as Annual or Monthly Recurring Revenue (ARR or MRR), churn, Committed Monthly Recurring Revenue (CMRR), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). This analysis is conducted in real time using transactional data obtained from Sage Intacct and Salesforce. 
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  • Architecture: Leverage a three-tier client-server architecture that includes a database, application server and front end, with data stored centrally in the OLAP server. 
    • TM1: Employs an efficient data compression algorithm to enable faster planning and analytics. Create business models by combining multiple data sources with manual input for effective decision-making. 
  • Workspace: Create and access all plans and forecasts through its web-based interface. Grant role-based access to team members down to cell-level granularity. Collaborate on plans through chats and cell comments in the workspace. 
    • Data Visualizations: Choose from a rich library of visualizations to apply that includes bullet charts, waterfall charts, treemaps, word clouds and more. Input data intuitively to specific slots through drag-and-drop actions, and customize fonts and styles for personalized branding. 
    • Books and Views: Access related data in the form of web sheets, scorecards, videos and embedded web pages from a single interface. Leverage defined selections of a data cube — views — for analysis and data exploration, and export as an Excel worksheet. 
  • Performance Tracking: Compare targets with actual results, and with actual performance over time. Quickly find the desired metrics and create visually compelling scorecards such as impact diagrams, strategy maps and custom diagrams. Add existing scorecards to books and analyze data over different periods, metrics and dimensions. 
  • Data Modeling: Autonomously build a financial model by converting business requirements into cubes, dimensions, hierarchies and calculations. Transform and load data easily into a financial model, without the need to code. 
  • Sandbox Environments: Work in a sandbox to manipulate data as needed in real time without impacting actual data. Compare different scenarios and test assumptions to see the impact of potential decisions. 
  • Microsoft Excel Integration: Go beyond what spreadsheets can do – perform multi-dimensional analysis and big data exploration within the Excel interface, retaining its full functionality and formatting. Find answers to business questions by creating reports from Cognos TM1 through interactive drag-and-drop actions. 
  • AI-Based Automation: Speed up planning cycles and get more reliable results. Create plans, forecasts and budgets through automated model creation, natural language processing and cognitive analytics. 
  • On-Demand Module: Generate dynamic dashboards from existing Excel spreadsheets through autonomous data exploration. Move from annual planning to rolling forecasts based on real-time information by identifying variances in plans caused by external data. 
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Product Ranking

#9

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Accounting Software

#335

among all
Accounting Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Sage Intacct
IBM Planning Analytics
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Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Banking And Cash Management Budget And Expense Management Financial Statements And Revenue Management General Ledger And Chart Of Accounts Integration And Extensibility Inventory Management Journal Entries Mobile Support Multi-company Accounting And Asset Management Platform Capabilities Project Accounting Reporting And Analytics Tax Management 96 77 91 92 100 100 96 100 100 30 96 79 100 96 100 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 2342 reviews
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86%
of users recommend this product

Sage Intacct has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 2342 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

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5.0 (20)
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4.3 (1018)
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4.5 (79)
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4.3 (937)
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Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Sage Intacct and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Inventory Management and Reporting and Analytics.

Inventory Management Award
Reporting and Analytics Award

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Intuitive User Interface: Precisely 65% of users stated it has an intuitive and user-friendly interface with a manageable learning curve.
Configurable: Approximately 90% of users conveyed that the product is customizable to fit their organization's needs.
Competent Performance: The quality, scalability and overall performance are favorable to 94% of users.
An Assortment of Features: According to 54% of users, the product has a wide range of features including accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliation, time tracking, 1099 forms and more.
Ideal Integrations: Merges with various third-party systems such as Salesforce, Nexonia, Expensify, Bill.com and more, as stated by 94% of users.
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Flexible Modeling: Users praise the software's ability to handle complex planning scenarios with ease, such as building detailed driver-based models for budgeting and forecasting.
Improved Collaboration: The platform facilitates better communication and data sharing among teams, streamlining the budgeting and forecasting process.
Powerful Reporting and Analytics: Users appreciate the robust reporting features, allowing them to generate insightful reports and dashboards for data visualization and analysis.
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Dawdling Customer Support: Of the users who discussed customer support, roughly 64% said it was lagging in resources and took a long time to get in touch with them.
Lagging Search Tool: Approximately 45% of users said the search and reporting tools aren't as effective as some of the software's other idiosyncrasies.
High Cost: Subscription-based pricing, often exceeding the budgets of smaller businesses or those with simpler accounting needs.
Steep Learning Curve: Feature-rich interface can feel overwhelming for beginners, requiring initial training and time investment.
Limited Mobile Functionality: Mobile app lacks access to many core features, hindering on-the-go workflow for some users.
Customization Complexity: Advanced customization options often require technical expertise or paid consultations.
Integration Gaps: While offering major integrations, it may lack connections to specific niche software used by some businesses.
No Built-in Payroll: Requires integrating a separate payroll solution, adding complexity and additional costs.
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Steep Learning Curve: Users have reported that IBM Planning Analytics can be difficult to learn, especially for those without prior experience with similar tools. Its interface and terminology can feel overwhelming initially.
Limited Reporting Capabilities: Some users have expressed frustration with the reporting functionality within Planning Analytics, finding it less intuitive and flexible compared to dedicated reporting tools. They desire more advanced formatting and customization options for presenting financial data.
Performance Issues: Users have occasionally encountered performance issues, particularly when dealing with large datasets or complex calculations. This can slow down budgeting and forecasting processes, impacting overall productivity.
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Sage Intacct user reviews paint a picture of a powerful, customizable accounting software ideal for mid-sized, growing businesses. Users praise its real-time reporting, cloud-based accessibility, and ability to handle complex financial structures. Compared to competitors, Intacct shines in scalability and customization, effortlessly adapting to multi-entity operations and unique accounting needs. This agility is crucial for dynamic businesses operating in diverse markets. However, its strengths come with caveats. Intacct's feature-rich nature can be daunting for beginners, requiring dedicated training and technical know-how. Additionally, its subscription-based pricing can be prohibitive for smaller companies or those with simpler accounting requirements. The limited mobile functionality and lack of built-in payroll are also shortcomings some users find frustrating. Overall, Sage Intacct earns its positive reviews by empowering businesses with robust functionalities and seamless scalability. However, its complexity and premium cost may leave smaller players or those needing basic accounting solutions searching for a more accessible, budget-friendly alternative.

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User reviews from the past year suggest IBM Planning Analytics is a powerful tool for businesses seeking to streamline their financial planning and analysis processes. Users praise its robust features, particularly its budgeting, forecasting, and reporting capabilities. One standout feature is its ability to handle complex "what-if" scenarios, allowing businesses to model different outcomes based on various factors, which is crucial for making informed decisions in a volatile market. However, users also point out some drawbacks. The learning curve can be steep, especially for those unfamiliar with similar software. Some users find the interface less intuitive than competitors like Anaplan or Cube, and the pricing can be a significant investment for smaller businesses. Despite these weaknesses, users generally agree that IBM Planning Analytics offers a comprehensive solution for businesses needing advanced planning and analysis capabilities. Its ability to integrate with other IBM products and handle large datasets makes it particularly well-suited for larger enterprises with complex financial operations.

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