Limelight Software vs. Vena

Limelight is well suited for reporting, especially if you're GL is integrated with it. I've been able to create many different types of reports for a wide user base. It's easy to copy reports and change them based on different scenarios. Limelight has been great as a replacement for Excel for forecasting and budgeting. We have many users updating their individual forecasts, which then get consolidated. Previously, we would have to manually consolidated many Excel workbooks. Now this is done automatically by Limelight. Limelight struggles with processing speed if you create more complex reports/templates. I've asked how to speed up reports and most of the response is to make them less complex or have less people using the templates, neither of which work well for us as a solution. The help desk response use to be much better in the past. They have struggled in this area recently.

Incentivized

It’s great for achieving flexible outcomes amid ever-changing desires among its user base. We have not implemented AI into our finances quite yet, but this seems very promising for working more efficiently in analysis and narrative prep. It works great for constant real-time data and allows us to make decisions on the fly.

Incentivized

• Agile reporting
• Collaborative forecasting and budgeting
• Up to date reporting with GL integration

Incentivized

• The Admin function of Vena, being able to set up the users in the user categories and the different groups and assigning the groups and the task bindings, is particularly easy and very helpful because as we have so many different departments and disciplines in our organization, we do need to establish pretty specific user access so this process works really well for us.
• Running reports in Vena is fairly easy, and we do enjoy being able to just push a button and get some budget versus actuals.

Incentivized

• Complex template speed
• Customer service response - was good initially, but has become worse recently
• Formatting options in charts

Incentivized

• Create an bottom-line functionality.
• Have another license between power user and contributor that allows building reports that aren't ad hoc, but don't have all the admin rights of a power user.
• Have a session on best in class Workforce Planning prior to implementation.

Incentivized

Vena has become an integral part of finance and our daily process. Without it we would take longer to prepare results and decisions will be delayed. Vena has given the whole organization more visibility of results and budgets so that all departments participate more actively in managing their budgets rather than it being the sole responsibility of finance.

Incentivized

I would rate Vena's overall usability as an 8 out of 10. Vena offers a user-friendly interface, especially for those familiar with Excel, making it relatively easy to use. Most features are intuitive. However, some advanced functionalities may require more training or time to master, so it's not a perfect score. Overall, Vena provides a solid user experience that supports efficient financial planning.

Incentivized

Vena is seemingly always available. They plan maintenance windows well in advance and always off hours (typically over a weekend) and communicate clearly throughout maintenance about what will be affected. Over 5 years of using the product, I can only remember one time when the platform was unavailable (I believe due to an underlying server hosting issue from their provider), and they resolved the issue and had everything up and running again within 8 hours.

Incentivized

The performance is dependent on how much data and calculations are involved and how complex the security settings are. A simple template or report loads in seconds. A complex template or report can take a while. If there are many users with complex security settings, that will be a factor in the load time.

Incentivized

Their general support is pretty responsive (max 24 hours) but when you work directly through one of their CSMs then the response time can be much faster. If you purchase coaching hours then you can get things sorted out pretty quick. Over time you learn the software and need support less, but it's always helpful to have it ready when you need it

Incentivized

This is the best way to learn and buy-in. The in person effect gives students both a hands on approach but an instruction to be there to customize assistance and understanding. In person also builds greater buy in with your future team on creators. However if your audience is better at on line learning this is another good option.

Incentivized

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

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

Felt modern. Liked how it was similar to Excel. Liked the flexibility.

Incentivized

Prior to using Vena, I have worked with Excel-based budgeting and reporting processes, as well as other property management and financial reporting systems such as Yardi and Entrata. These tools provided access to financial data, but Vena has been more focused on streamlining budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis by centralizing information and improving collaboration.

Incentivized

Vena solutios is a software that provides robust tools that help different departments in their statistics and we can visualize a lot of promising and visually attractive data. Vena Solutions' level of scalability is high and sustainable over time thanks to the fabulous technical support that is ready to help us at all times

Incentivized

• Limelight has helped us increase the speed of our forecasting, budgeting, and reporting
• Limelight has helped us create models to look at many years in the future.

Incentivized

• Automated monthly financial statements saves us 3 hours a month.
• Moving reporting away from IT has begun to save hours of IT involvement, which will only grow as we shift more reports to Vena. This frees up IT to work on more important IT initiatives.
• Using budget templates saved hours of copy and paste time when gathering inputs from each department.

Incentivized