Vena vs Planful

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Our analysts compared Vena vs Planful based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Accounting Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Vena Software Tool
Planful Software Tool

Product Basics

Vena is a cloud-based platform designed to streamline financial close and consolidation processes for businesses. It caters to mid-sized and large organizations, particularly those with complex account structures and diverse reporting requirements. Key benefits include centralized data management, automated workflows, and real-time reporting capabilities, which contribute to improved accuracy, efficiency, and transparency in financial operations. Popular features include its user-friendly interface, robust data reconciliation tools, and flexible reporting formats. User reviews highlight Vena's ability to significantly reduce manual tasks, improve collaboration between finance teams, and generate consolidated reports quickly. However, some users note the occasional occurrence of technical glitches and limited customization options. Pricing is based on a subscription model, with varying tiers depending on the number of users, functionality required, and data volume. Costs are typically in the range of $5,000 to $25,000 per year, billed annually.

Pros
  • Streamlines financial close and consolidation
  • Improves accuracy and efficiency
  • User-friendly interface
  • Robust data reconciliation tools
  • Flexible reporting formats
Cons
  • Occasional technical glitches
  • Limited customization options
  • Relatively high cost
  • Learning curve for new users
  • May not be suitable for small businesses
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Formerly Host Analytics, Planful is a financial planning and analysis cloud platform. It accelerates end-to-end FP&A. Suitable for midsize to large-scale businesses, it helps by centralizing data and managing financial and operational processes.

It helps users plan and manage reviews, approvals and submissions and generates workflow status reports to check the performance of every department. It helps analyze asset performance by using financial budgeting and forecasting techniques with its capital planning feature. It is a scalable solution that allows companies to check the effect of projects on the overall bottom line.
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$5,000 Annual
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$1,250 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Product Assistance

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Email
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Automation: Eliminate manual data entry and human errors to produce trustworthy budgets with prompt data collection and consolidation 
  • Cloud Usage: Access data and spreadsheets from practically any location anywhere with an internet connection with the cloud database. 
  • Permissions: Protect sensitive data and spreadsheets by only sharing them with significant users. 
  • Accuracy: Assign tasks, status alerts and reminders fast. Catch mistakes before they happen and dig deep into the numbers to find the source of their data. 
  • Integration: Combine sales, marketing, customer care and finance data from customer analytics, marketing automation, GL systems and more.  
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  • Conduct Ad hoc Analysis: Simplify complex ad hoc analysis by quickly creating financial and operational models while simultaneously checking the impact of these models on the bottom line. 
  • Close Books Faster: Decrease the time it takes to close books by automating data collection, aggregation and validation. Make data secure and compliant with standards and protocols.  
  • Improve Collaboration: Collaborate in a more efficient manner with current data and real-time insights. Get the power to make quick and accurate decisions with more confidence.  
  • Get Insights: Make well-informed decisions by gaining insights from across an organization to drive long-term value and growth. Automate manual processes to gain more time for strategic planning processes, analyzing and collaborating rather than worrying about spreadsheets.  
  • Automate Manual Processes: Save time and reduce errors by automating manual financial processes. Ensure that all financial processes are done with minimum manual effort and run more efficiently.  
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  • Budgeting, Planning & Forecasting: Ensure budgets are consistent across the board and simple to merge with any data source, Excel or otherwise. Utilize the drag-and-drop feature to seamlessly automate the budget processes while designating tasks to employees, keeping stakeholders in the loop with email notifications and monitoring workflows. 
  • Reporting & Data Analytics: Review live data from any department or business on any device with personalized dashboards. “What-If” modeling permits users to visualize results promptly and share them with stakeholders to make data-informed decisions. 
  • Regulatory Reporting & Compliance: Consolidate data and spreadsheets into one central, secure, cloud-based database in real time. Customize roles and permissions to define and enforce strict controls for all users.  
  • Revenue Performance Management: Evaluate customer data such as NPS scores, product usage metrics, customer acquisition and support costs in a single database. Improve customer satisfaction, zero-in on the right customers and bump up customer lifetime value with vital client KPIs. 
  • Technology Platform: Revert to previous spreadsheet versions effortlessly to study changes over time and dig deeper into the reasons behind reported numbers by drilling down to supporting details.  
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  • Modern Tools: Combine the need for structured and dynamic planning to empower organizations to make well-informed decisions in a quick and strategic manner.  
  • Financial Consolidation: Accelerate month-end closing cycles with financial consolidation. Enhance financial planning and reporting by leveraging data from a single source of truth. Get pre-built consolidation functionality for currency conversion and reporting, currency translation adjustment calculations and posting. Implement functional, administrative and setup changes without the need for IT experts. Boost teams’ agility when reacting to changes in organization, strategy, regulation and accounting protocol. Ensure trusted and consistent global reporting by automatically mapping financial data. Keep tabs from start to end on balances, and analyze financial data across consolidation activities.  
  • Structured Planning: Save time and reduce errors by automating labor-intensive financial planning activities. Avoid costly and disruptive customization fees, save time and reduce risk of error with predefined planning and reporting templates. Automate integration from any ERP, CRM or HCM. Create a single source of financial truth by automatically collecting, aggregating and validating financial data. Ensure consistency and accuracy by creating and modifying structured financial reports and elevating financial conversations. 
  • Dynamic Planning: Analyze, plan and make confident decisions with dynamic planning. Build custom-tailored financial models. Leverage customization across processes, functions and use cases. Configure planning experiences and give users the flexibility to plan for anything. Connect data sources from separate systems in one unified, cloud-based platform. Boost financial decision making with a single source of truth. Get insights and make course corrections with real-time data refreshing. Inculcate companywide collaboration culture by providing the right data at the right level to the right person.  
  • Integration: Automate data integration to reduce manual intervention and easily transform data with over 200 pre-built connectors. Adjust to automatic data processing with a growing integration platform. Check status and activity of deployed integrations from a centralized place. Ensure data integration process flows are repeatable, automated and secure, and provide audit trails required by internal and external auditors. Understand changes in data with multiple validation points across integration workflows. 
  • Reporting: Leverage reporting formats and delivery options to meet financial, management and ad hoc needs. Ensure data accuracy and transparency with self-service reporting and automated report distribution. Automate collection and aggregation of financial and business data into a single cloud-based platform. Ensure everyone is working with current and accurate information derived from a single source of truth. Boost financial IQ with self-service reporting capabilities. Create a more agile environment with impactful financial decision making. 
  • Annual Operating Plan: Build collaborative financial plans that align with business objectives. Turn annual plans into quarterly or monthly rolling forecasts, and check models for different scenarios to determine how to realign and adjust strategies.  
  • Workforce Planning: Plan accordingly for workforces by connecting HR, finance and operational data together. Create a headcount plan that can be adjusted to changing marketing requirements. Gain insight to build winning strategies and utilize employees as strategic assets. Boost financial IQ to understand and influence impacts on the financial health of workforce costs.  
  • Cash Flow Forecasting: Assess the impact of decisions by gaining complete control and visibility over finances. Reallocate cash by identifying trends and understanding levers. Mitigate cash flow risk by adjusting investment opportunities.  
  • Scenario Analysis: Analyze every option by planning across multiple case scenarios and assessing key drivers. Bring agility by optimizing current period results. Gain the flexibility to discover deeper insights across a broad range of models. Align executives and business partners with data-driven decisions. Check the impact of plan changes from every level with immediate results. 
  • Rolling Forecasts: Adjust to sudden changes, keep forecasts current and business agile with continually rolling planning periods. Automatically keep tabs on the impact of actuals on forecasted trends. Improve risk analysis by quickly identifying opportunities and risks as business landscapes evolve. Align rolling forecasts by collaborating across different departments. Gain real-time insights to redirect resources and priorities and align them with business objectives.  
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Product Ranking

#24

among all
Accounting Software

#116

among all
Accounting Software

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 304 reviews
Great User Sentiment 82 reviews
86%
of users recommend this product

Vena has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 304 user reviews from 6 recognized software review sites.

86%
of users recommend this product

Planful has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 82 user reviews from 2 recognized software review sites.

4.4 (13)
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4.6 (106)
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4.4 (13)
4.29 (41)
4.1 (19)
4.3 (41)
4.9 (9)
n/a
4.1 (144)
n/a

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Customer Support: Approximately 80% of users who mentioned customer support said the team was helpful and quick in troubleshooting issues.
Performability: Of the users who discussed this solution's performance, 67% stated it's easy to use, provides top-notch financial information and is SOX compliant.
Modules: Nearly 59% of users who addressed this platform's modules said they're easy to use and offer superb financial planning and analysis information in a timely fashion.
Integrations: Of the users who discussed this program's integrations, 80% of users said it seamlessly merges with Power BI, Netsuite and other ERP systems.
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Streamlined Financial Close: Planful helps automate routine tasks like data consolidation and report generation, which can significantly reduce the time it takes to close the books each month. This efficiency is often praised by users in fast-paced environments.
Improved Forecasting Accuracy: The platform's forecasting tools leverage historical data and predictive analytics to generate more accurate forecasts. Users appreciate this feature as it allows for better-informed decision-making and resource allocation.
Enhanced Collaboration: Planful provides a centralized platform for finance teams to collaborate on budgeting, forecasting, and reporting. This feature improves communication and transparency within the department, leading to more cohesive financial strategies.
Customizable Reporting: Users frequently highlight the ability to create custom reports tailored to their specific needs. This flexibility allows finance teams to analyze data from multiple angles and gain deeper insights into their financial performance.
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Limited Customization Options: While Vena offers some customization features, they might not be sufficient for highly specific needs or complex workflows.
Occasional Technical Glitches: Some users report experiencing occasional technical glitches and bugs, which can disrupt workflows and impact productivity.
Relatively High Cost: Vena's subscription fees can be expensive for small businesses or those with limited budgets.
Learning Curve for New Users: Although Vena has a user-friendly interface, it may require some time and training for new users to become fully proficient.
May Not Be Suitable for Small Businesses: Vena's features and functionalities might be overkill for small businesses with simple accounting needs.
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Steep Learning Curve: Many users find Planful's interface to be complex and unintuitive, requiring significant time investment to learn the system's intricacies. The abundance of features can be overwhelming for new users, leading to frustration and a slow adoption rate within organizations.
Customization Challenges: While Planful offers customization options, implementing them often requires advanced technical skills or reliance on the vendor's professional services, which can be costly. This limitation can hinder organizations with unique workflows or reporting needs from fully tailoring the software to their specific requirements.
Reporting Limitations: Some users report that generating specific or ad-hoc reports can be cumbersome in Planful. The system's pre-built reports may not always cater to every organization's needs, and creating custom reports may require technical expertise or additional support.
Performance Issues: A segment of users has mentioned experiencing slow loading times and occasional system lags, particularly when working with large datasets or complex reports. This can impact productivity and user satisfaction, especially for organizations with high data volumes or demanding reporting requirements.
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Reviews for Vena present a mixed bag, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses in comparison to similar products. Users praise its user-friendly interface, robust data reconciliation tools, and flexible reporting capabilities. One user remarked, "Vena feels like Excel, but with the power to handle our complex financial data without breaking a sweat." However, some users bemoan limited customization options, stating, "We wanted to tailor Vena to our specific workflows, but the customization tools felt restrictive." Additionally, occasional technical glitches and a relatively high cost compared to competitors like Adaptive Insights and Oracle Cloud EPM were points of concern. Despite these drawbacks, many users believe Vena's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. They appreciate the ease of use, improved accuracy, and streamlined financial processes it offers. One user noted, "Vena has helped us reduce our closing time by 50%, which frees up valuable time for analysis and strategic planning." Ultimately, Vena seems best suited for medium to large organizations with complex financial needs who prioritize ease of use and powerful functionalities. For smaller businesses or those with simpler requirements, alternative solutions might be a better fit.

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Planful has garnered a reputation for its robust financial reporting and analysis capabilities, particularly excelling in budgeting, forecasting, and consolidation. Users appreciate the software's ability to handle complex financial models and its flexibility in generating custom reports. The platform's intuitive interface and user-friendly design have also been praised, making it accessible to both finance professionals and non-financial users. However, some users have noted that the initial setup and implementation process can be time-consuming and may require significant support from Planful's team. Additionally, while Planful offers a wide range of features, some users have expressed a desire for more advanced functionality in areas such as workforce planning and project accounting. Compared to competitors like Adaptive Insights and Vena Solutions, Planful stands out for its comprehensive financial consolidation capabilities and its ability to handle large volumes of data. Its reporting and analytics tools are also considered to be more user-friendly and customizable. However, Adaptive Insights may be a better choice for organizations seeking a more cloud-based solution with stronger integrations with other business applications. Vena Solutions, on the other hand, may be more suitable for companies with complex financial modeling needs due to its Excel-based interface. Overall, Planful is best suited for mid-sized to large enterprises with complex financial reporting and analysis requirements. Its strengths lie in its budgeting, forecasting, consolidation, and reporting capabilities, making it an ideal choice for organizations looking to streamline their financial processes and gain deeper insights into their financial performance. However, companies with limited IT resources or those seeking a more cloud-based solution may want to consider alternative options.

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