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Planful vs. SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Planful

    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
    Planful is a cloud-based enterprise performance management (EPM) suite. It includes financial applications for modeling, planning, consolidation, reporting and analytics.N/A

    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AThe SAP BPC software is designed to help users plan and achieve a faster, more accurate close. The SAP BPC software aims to help users spend more time growing their business and less time closing books. The vendor’s value proposition is that their software delivers planning, budgeting, forecasting, and financial consolidation capabilities in a single application. This, in turn, enables them to easily adjust plans and forecasts, speed up budget and closing cycles, and ensure compliance with…N/A
    Pricing
    PlanfulSAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    PlanfulSAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPricing is highly dependent on the complexity and scope of the implementation.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    PlanfulSAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Considered Both Products
    Planful
    Chose Planful
    nicer to look at, gives business partners ability to access, however, not smart enough to pull in new data for monthly reporting
    Incentivized
    Chose Planful
    BPC is great, but very expensive and has fewer controls built-in (meaning you can make mistakes easier).
    Incentivized
    Chose Planful
    Planful is much more dynamic and faster to update. Less error prone than these other platforms.
    Incentivized
    Chose Planful
    Not sure if this was specific to our specific BPC configuration, but here are a few major issues we had with that system that have since been resolved switching to Planful (formerly Host Analytics): It was painfully slow to load new data into the system (3+ hours for new GL …
    Incentivized
    SAP
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    97%
    Would buy again
    101 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    90 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    102 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    90%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    60 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    84%
    Implementation went as expected
    67 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    PlanfulSAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    6.1
    64 Ratings
    21% below category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports6.933 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards5.057 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates6.555 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    7.5
    104 Ratings
    3% below category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis8.4103 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities7.0104 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration7.197 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    7.4
    86 Ratings
    7% below category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web8.433 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF6.477 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning6.555 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.566 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    6.1
    51 Ratings
    19% below category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)5.040 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization6.42 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics6.044 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    8.9
    103 Ratings
    6% above category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.496 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model8.894 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.595 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control8.855 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)9.778 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    2.3
    42 Ratings
    105% below category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access2.540 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile2.230 Ratings00 Ratings
    Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
    Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    8.7
    156 Ratings
    8% above category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    7.8
    41 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Long-term financial planning8.7139 Ratings7.535 Ratings
    Financial budgeting9.0155 Ratings8.137 Ratings
    Forecasting9.0146 Ratings7.840 Ratings
    Scenario modeling7.8131 Ratings7.336 Ratings
    Management reporting9.0149 Ratings8.140 Ratings
    Consolidation and Close
    Comparison of Consolidation and Close features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    8.0
    118 Ratings
    3% above category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    7.3
    40 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Financial data consolidation9.3107 Ratings8.436 Ratings
    Journal entries and reports7.886 Ratings7.330 Ratings
    Multi-currency management7.470 Ratings6.928 Ratings
    Intercompany Eliminations7.773 Ratings6.930 Ratings
    Minority Ownership6.939 Ratings7.020 Ratings
    Local and consolidated reporting7.789 Ratings6.433 Ratings
    Detailed Audit Trails9.187 Ratings8.227 Ratings
    Financial Reporting and Compliance
    Comparison of Financial Reporting and Compliance features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    7.6
    152 Ratings
    7% below category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    7.3
    40 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Financial Statement Reporting8.8133 Ratings8.035 Ratings
    Management Reporting8.8143 Ratings7.240 Ratings
    Excel-based Reporting7.0141 Ratings7.539 Ratings
    Automated board and financial reporting6.5114 Ratings6.430 Ratings
    XBRL support for regulatory filing7.13 Ratings00 Ratings
    Analytics and Reporting
    Comparison of Analytics and Reporting features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    5.9
    104 Ratings
    24% below category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    5.6
    36 Ratings
    30% below category average
    Personalized dashboards5.191 Ratings5.024 Ratings
    Color-coded scorecards2.555 Ratings6.922 Ratings
    KPIs7.476 Ratings3.031 Ratings
    Cost and profitability analysis6.975 Ratings7.628 Ratings
    Key Performance Indicator setting6.963 Ratings4.024 Ratings
    Benchmarking with external data6.410 Ratings7.018 Ratings
    Integration
    Comparison of Integration features of Planful and SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Feature
    Planful
    8.9
    140 Ratings
    10% above category average
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    6.4
    39 Ratings
    23% below category average
    Flat file integration9.5105 Ratings6.935 Ratings
    Excel data integration7.8130 Ratings6.837 Ratings
    Direct links to 3rd-party data sources9.596 Ratings5.425 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    PlanfulSAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    IBM Planning Analytics
    Score8.5 out of 10
    IBM Planning Analytics
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
    Score7.2 out of 10
    Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
    Score7.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    PlanfulSAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.8
    (164 ratings)
    7.4
    (41 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.7
    (23 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.2
    (21 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    8.2
    (4 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (22 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.3
    (9 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    5.3
    (4 ratings)
    6.7
    (39 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    7.4
    (4 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    PlanfulSAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Planful
    Planful is initially easy to setup and if a company is already using a mid layer to transform and standardise GL data, management reports can be set up in days, not weeks or months. Budgeting template setup does get some getting used to but the training provided by Planful is sufficient to get going and learn along the way. Building custom reports is straightforward and the interface is user-friendly, therefore the accounting team can get going without the need for technical specialists getting involved. Budget and forecasting is flexible and drivers of revenue and cost can be created in Planful and customised by Unit or Geography.
    Read full review
    SAP
    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) overall is a good package and has helped improve our reporting a lot whilst also making it more efficient due to the reliability of data input / output. There are limitations like graphs being so limited in functionality and reports failing when too much data being processed however i would recommend to others.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Planful
    • It aggregates data from different sources well, allowing me to report on a wide variety of metrics that interrelate.
    • I can build detailed reports so that my monthly and weekly reporting is done more efficiently
    • I like the tools that I am using to create dedicated models for forecasting and budgeting purposes
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    • SAP BPC is real time data. You can send information into the system and see it reflected in your reports immediately. Other systems may require a manual push into a reporting system.
    • SAP BPC is a shared reporting tool, so multiple users can be working in a model/environment at the same time, real time. This is especially helpful if your workbooks incorporated multiple processes requiring multiple users to get into the same model.
    • SAP BPC is a powerful tool designed to help all facets of the company, from cash flow to capital expenditures to headcount management to financial planning to consolidation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Planful
    • Dashboarding could be more flexible and easier to use.
    • Dynamic Reporting has room for flexibility with nesting, dimension names showing up instead of “All,” and overall flexibility.
    • Make Analyze view in Spotlight more intuitive.
    • A high-level onboarding guide to understanding the different components of Planful, data flows, and tips & tricks.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    • SAP should focus on delivering one single product for planning, consolidation and budgeting needs rather than providing a large list of options to choose from.
    • The product is not very user-friendly compared to other cloud competitors. There is a heavy dependency on IT teams.
    • SAP BPC should come up a pure cloud option.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Planful
    Our new Comptroller understands the value of Planful, and we plan to utilize it further in the organization to enhance external reporting. Strangely enough, Planful had not previously been embraced by the former CFO, who argued that we were running two sets of books (of course, we were not). Fortunately, the before mentioned reconciliation of EBITDA to Net Income demonstrated that to the banks.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Planful
    The tool is extremely adaptable, and it enables very quick querying to give us opportunity to gain live insights into the business. Given its adaptability, we are also able to create scenario analyses very quickly in rapidly changing environments. The formatting also enables us to provide this information in a very consumable manner.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    Unlike other SAP traditional products, SAP BPC was meant to be simple and familiar to financial users
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Planful
    I only give a 9 rating rather than a 10 rating because it seems that every day around 2pm we see a slowdown in the use of Planful. I have requested our internal IT department verify that it is not an internal issue and have been assured it is the tool. We have not yet reached out to Planful to do extensive research to solve this issue.
    Read full review
    SAP
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Planful
    Again, the system is very reliable and, for the most part, runs very quick and smooth. When running larger queries, it does take some time, and during budgeting season our users experienced slower loading times, but nothing that raises concerns outside of normal network issues. Occasionally, as with any software we use, it will crash and you have to restart, but that does not happen very often.
    Read full review
    SAP
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Planful
    Sometimes we get great help when using Planful's support team and other times we don't. In particular, there is one person that often responds to our support tickets who is less than helpful, hence the reason for the 5 out of 10 rating. As a result, most of the time we reach out to our Planful consulting group as they provide faster and better support
    Read full review
    SAP
    We need a big support team with various skillset like BPC, ABAP, BW, HANA, FICO etc
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Planful
    My team has attended training offered several times before/during the Planful Perform conference. This training has been extremely useful and we always learn something we didn't know prior to the training. The trainers are always very knowledgeable and more than willing to help each and every user after the training with specific questions regarding their environment. Planful also offers training and certifications on their training hub. I have completed a couple of the certifications. The courses are easy to follow along with and very informative. Additionally, Planful schedules webinars pretty regularly. They'll email their customers and allow you to register to participate live. They also record these sessions so you can refer back to them at a later date or if you are unable to attend at the time the webinar is offered, you can register anyway and get access to the recording. Their training has improved year over year!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    SAP BPC training content and trainers are very good. The training is structured and provides a very good understanding of the product features and functionalities. I attended 6 separate training sessions of week-long or more. I had very good experience in all the sessions. The training is organized very well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Planful
    Planful provides a lot of online training support. There's so many options for training. Admin Learning Courses, User Learning Courses. Plus they have several webinars devoted to the tool and the new features they release. New Releases can be practiced in a Sandbox Environment prior to going live in Production
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    SAP Training contents are very good, informative and exhaustive.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Planful
    After going through the initial implementation with Host Analytics and a re-implementation with Cervello (due to an ERP change, not due to a poor initial implementation), I've learned that you really must rely on your internal staff to bear most of the implementation burden. Use the vendor or partners for ideas and best-practice suggestions, and some of the easy-but-time-consuming work. Since you will ultimately be using and maintaining the application, you should be able to do most of it yourself.
    Incentivized
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    SAP
    The implementation was carried out in two phases spread over a period of 4 years with 2 upgrades in between. We also had multiple upgrades to HANA.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Planful
    Prior to joining the company, we tried to implement Vena but were unsuccessful. There we're a few reasons it didn't work out, but a lot of it related to the implementation team they provided. In just the first week with Planful, we achieved more progress than we did in several months with Vena.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    With Hyperion we struggled as it didn’t have integrated planning and consolidation, whereas BPC does have it. BPC is easier for reporting as it is Excel-based. Also BPC has prepackaged business process flows that helped a lot. Hyperion on the other hand has a faster response time for user queries or report generation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Planful
    From our experience, Planful is only used in 2 overhead departments in our organization. We easily added another overhead department, but they decided against using Planful for their workforce and financial planning. Removing them from our environment was extremely easy.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Planful
    • Has allowed users to view a real-time P&L in a way they weren't able to do with Qlik.
    • Budget to Actual analysis has become much more streamlined and actionable
    • Long-range plan process has been significantly streamlined and a lot of time has been cut out of the process.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    • When originally implemented (as the predecessor product Outlooksoft) BPC took ASU from trying to budget and forecast for a 2B enterprise out of spreadsheets and into a far more consolidated tool. It has saved us considerable time over the years and paid for itself several times over.
    • BPC also allows us to present our budget in multiple different views to support management, board and departmental reporting.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Planful Screenshots

    Screenshot of the Planful Planform DashboardScreenshot of Planful for FinanceScreenshot of Planful for MarketingScreenshot of ReportsScreenshot of a Capacity Planning TemplateScreenshot of Integrations

    SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) Screenshots

    Screenshot of SAP BPC Home ScreenScreenshot of SAP BPC Web ClientScreenshot of SAP BPC DashboardScreenshot of SAP BPC Web Report