Financial Edge vs. Tableau Desktop

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Financial Edge
Score 6.0 out of 10
N/A
N/AN/A
Tableau Desktop
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Tableau Desktop is a data visualization product from Tableau. It connects to a variety of data sources for combining disparate data sources without coding. It provides tools for discovering patterns and insights, data calculations, forecasts, and statistical summaries and visual storytelling.
$70
per month
Pricing
Financial EdgeTableau Desktop
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Tableau Creator
$70.00
Per User / Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Financial EdgeTableau Desktop
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAll pricing plans are billed annually.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Financial EdgeTableau Desktop
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Financial EdgeTableau Desktop
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
1.0
4 Ratings
153% below category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Pay calculation1.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management1.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management1.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
1.0
7 Ratings
150% below category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
API for custom integration1.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Plug-ins1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
1.0
9 Ratings
155% below category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Single sign-on capability1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions1.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
1.0
9 Ratings
153% below category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Dashboards1.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports1.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports1.09 Ratings00 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
1.0
10 Ratings
152% below category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Accounts payable1.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Accounts receivable1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Cash management1.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Bank reconciliation1.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Expense management1.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Time tracking1.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Fixed asset management1.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-currency support1.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-division support1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Regulations compliance1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Electronic tax filing1.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Self-service portal1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Global Financial Support1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers1.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting1.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Localizations1.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations1.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Configurable Accounting1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Standardized Processes1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
1.0
3 Ratings
150% below category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Inventory tracking1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic reordering1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Location management1.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing module1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
1.0
2 Ratings
152% below category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Pricing1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Order entry1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Credit card processing1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost of goods sold1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Orchestration1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Order exception Resolution1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.5
166 Ratings
4% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings8.3138 Ratings
Customizable dashboards00 Ratings9.0165 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings8.3144 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
9.0
163 Ratings
10% above category average
Drill-down analysis00 Ratings9.2158 Ratings
Formatting capabilities00 Ratings9.0161 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings8.4121 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings9.3156 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.8
157 Ratings
5% above category average
Publish to Web00 Ratings9.3148 Ratings
Publish to PDF00 Ratings8.4148 Ratings
Report Versioning00 Ratings8.7115 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings9.2122 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings8.572 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.6
155 Ratings
6% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings8.9153 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings8.8148 Ratings
Predictive Analytics00 Ratings8.7125 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.7
141 Ratings
1% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings8.8138 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings8.4118 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings8.7128 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings8.976 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.4
134 Ratings
5% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings8.6123 Ratings
Mobile Application00 Ratings8.396 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings8.7116 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Financial Edge
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.7
63 Ratings
9% above category average
REST API00 Ratings8.655 Ratings
Javascript API00 Ratings8.350 Ratings
iFrames00 Ratings8.948 Ratings
Java API00 Ratings8.945 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings8.552 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings8.845 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Financial EdgeTableau Desktop
Small Businesses
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Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.1 out of 10
BrightGauge
BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Reveal
Reveal
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.1 out of 10
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Score 9.7 out of 10
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User Ratings
Financial EdgeTableau Desktop
Likelihood to Recommend
1.1
(10 ratings)
8.8
(193 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(39 ratings)
Usability
2.0
(1 ratings)
8.6
(63 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(10 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
6.1
(9 ratings)
Support Rating
1.0
(1 ratings)
6.9
(56 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.4
(4 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(34 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.1
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(3 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Financial EdgeTableau Desktop
Likelihood to Recommend
Blackbaud
  • Financial Edge is well suited for traditional day to day accounting, accounts payable, and related needs.
  • Financial Edge dashboard does not provide a snapshot view of data that I have found are available through other platforms (like QBO).
Read full review
Tableau
Tableau Desktop is one the finest tool available in the market with such a wide range of capabilities in its suite that makes it easy to generate insights. Further, if optimally designed, then its reports are fairly simple to understand, yet capable enough to make changes at the required levels. One can create a variety of visualizations as required by the business or the clients. The data pipelines in the backend are very robust. The tableau desktop also provides options to develop the reports in developer mode, which is one of the finest features to embed and execute even the most complex possible logic. It's easier to operate, simple to navigate, and fluent to understand by the users.
Read full review
Pros
Blackbaud
  • Financial edge is able to be customized in a way that fits our organization.
  • Financial edge is able to provide reports to our end-users on budget versus actual account balances.
  • Financial edge is able to handle a large volume of transactions with ease, having built-in capabilities for batching and balancing.
Read full review
Tableau
  • An excellent tool for data visualization, it presents information in an appealing visual format—an exceptional platform for storing and analyzing data in any size organization.
  • Through interactive parameters, it enables real-time interaction with the user and is easy to learn and get support from the community.
Read full review
Cons
Blackbaud
  • Customer service blames the customer, and never offers solutions other than "wait it out." I've always been told it's my computer, even though everyone else at my work has the same issues.
  • Website is constantly "under maintenance" and it somehow never gets better.
  • The Database View is outdated and glitchy. Honestly get rid of it.
  • The Crystal Report is the only way to handle monthly recurring statements, and Financial Edge does not offer support for it anymore. Good luck figuring that out on your own.
Read full review
Tableau
  • Formatting the data to work correctly in graphical presentations can be time consuming
  • Daily data extracts can run slowly depending on how much data is required and the source of the data
  • The desktop version is required for advanced functionality, editing on [the] Tableau server allows only limited features
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Blackbaud
No answers on this topic
Tableau
Our use of Tableau Desktop is still fairly low, and will continue over time. The only real concern is around cost of the licenses, and I have mentioned this to Tableau and fully expect the development of more sensible models for our industry. This will remove any impediment to expansion of our use.
Read full review
Usability
Blackbaud
It's user friendly, when it wants to be.
Read full review
Tableau
Tableau Desktop has proven to be a lifesaver in many situations. Once we've completed the initial setup, it's simple to use. It has all of the features we need to quickly and efficiently synthesize our data. Tableau Desktop has advanced capabilities to improve our company's data structure and enable self-service for our employees.
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Reliability and Availability
Blackbaud
No answers on this topic
Tableau
When used as a stand-alone tool, Tableau Desktop has unlimited uptime, which is always nice. When used in conjunction with Tableau Server, this tool has as much uptime as your server admins are willing to give it. All in all, I've never had an issue with Tableau's availability.
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Performance
Blackbaud
No answers on this topic
Tableau
Tableau Desktop's performance is solid. You can really dig into a large dataset in the form of a spreadsheet, and it exhibits similarly good performance when accessing a moderately sized Oracle database. I noticed that with Tableau Desktop 9.3, the performance using a spreadsheet started to slow around 75K rows by about 60 columns. This was easily remedied by creating an extract and pushing it to Tableau Server, where performance went to lightning fast
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Support Rating
Blackbaud
I would give this a zero if I could. Here's the deal. Once you request a chat with a representative, they immediately respond. So responsiveness: 10/10. However, they have a tendency to (always) tell you that whatever problem you're experiencing is your problem, not theirs. They offer no solutions and never take responsibility for their website malfunctioning
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Tableau
I have never really used support much, to be honest. I think the support is not as user-friendly to search and use it. I did have an encounter with them once and it required a bit of going back and forth for licensing before reaching a resolution. They did solve my issue though
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In-Person Training
Blackbaud
No answers on this topic
Tableau
It is admittedly hard to train a group of people with disparate levels of ability coming in, but the software is so easy to use that this is not a huge problem; anyone who can follow simple instructions can catch up pretty quickly.
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Online Training
Blackbaud
No answers on this topic
Tableau
The training for new users are quite good because it covers topic wise training and the best part was that it also had video tutorials which are very helpful
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Implementation Rating
Blackbaud
No answers on this topic
Tableau
Again, training is the key and the company provides a lot of example videos that will help users discover use cases that will greatly assist their creation of original visualizations. As with any new software tool, productivity will decline for a period. In the case of Tableau, the decline period is short and the later gains are well worth it.
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Alternatives Considered
Blackbaud
Financial Edge is more economical than GuideStar, and more focused on the financial successes than simply the management of funds and general data.
Read full review
Tableau
If we do not have legacy tools which have already been set up, I would switch the visualization method to open source software via PyCharm, Atom, and Visual Studio IDE. These IDEs cannot directly help you to visualize the data but you can use many python packages to do so through these IDEs.
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Scalability
Blackbaud
No answers on this topic
Tableau
Tableau Desktop's scaleability is really limited to the scale of your back-end data systems. If you want to pull down an extract and work quickly in-memory, in my application it scaled to a few tens of millions of rows using the in-memory engine. But it's really only limited by your back-end data store if you have or are willing to invest in an optimized SQL store or purpose-built query engine like Veritca or Netezza or something similar.
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Return on Investment
Blackbaud
  • Like any enterprise software, there are costs/investments ahead of return. It isn't something you would implement without support.
  • During the significant financial downturn, we were able to use FE to forecast trends and make budget adjustments easily. It transformed communication about forecasting and cuts with assurance.
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Tableau
  • Tableau was acquired years ago, and has provided good value with the content created.
  • Ongoing maintenance costs for the platform, both to maintain desktop and server licensing has made the continuing value questionable when compared to other offerings in the marketplace.
  • Users have largely been satisfied with the content, but not with the overall performance. This is due to a combination of factors including the performance of the Tableau engines as well as development deficiencies.
Read full review
ScreenShots