#1 most frequent
United States of America
65.9%2,435 installations of 3,696
What is BlackLine?
BlackLine's cloud-based financial operations management platform unifyies data and processes, automating repetitive tasks and enhancing accountability. BlackLine solutions for financial close, accounts receivable, and intercompany accounting support large enterprises and midsize companies.
Categories & Use Cases
Media
1 / 4
Top Performing Features
Customizable Workflows
The ability to adapt the software to complete tasks in a particular order according to business needs.
Category average: 8.6
Journal entries and reports
Ability to enter journal entry adjustments and produce reports showing all journal entries for a specific period.
Category average: 8.3
Detailed Audit Trails
Tracing changes to data and processes that were run.
Category average: 8.9
Areas for Improvement
Financial data consolidation
Consolidating data from several entities into a single statement using US GAAP, IFRS or other standards.
Category average: 7.7
Multi-currency management
Ability to handle foreign currency conversions during consolidation.
Category average: 6.7
Who Buys & Uses BlackLine
#1 most frequent
Manufacturing
25.6%947 installations of 3,696
“Blackline helps our company in a number of processes, predominantly in the BS Recs space, but also in the Intercompany area.”
#2 most frequent
Finance and Insurance
12.9%477 installations of 3,696
“It has made it easier to match off items between our ledger system and our data sources. It created a seamless flow for our match sets and made the end-to-end reconciliation process much easier.”
#3 most frequent
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
12.5%461 installations of 3,696
“Visibility”
#2 most frequent
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
6.5%242 installations of 3,696
#3 most frequent
Canada
4.3%158 installations of 3,696
Pros
- Streamlining and centralizing financial close processes
- Robust reporting for visibility and account certifications
- Automation of data loading, reconciliation, and journal approvals
Cons
- User interface and experience, including navigation and workflow consistency
- Limitations in dashboard reporting and customization options
- Constraints within the reporting module for financial analysis
Blackline 26.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use Blackline for Account Reconciliation, Matching, FRA/Variance, Reporting, and Task Management. Blackline provides a standardized solution for Reconciliation Globally, with a full audit trail of all imports to the modules. Reporting across all modules. The Product allows Chubb to monitor alignment with the Global Policy. The FRA module has replaced manual Excel modules, allowing a consolidated view of the Balance Sheet by applying rules to identify exposure.
Pros
- Audit Trail.
- Standardization of Reconciliation Templates across the company.
- Drill down between Modules.
- API connectors.
Cons
- The Reporting Module does not provide any FRA reports. Variance reporting is Limited.
- FRA, To trace from GL balances imported to the Variance module can be difficult, as you need to map the GL balances to the level in the Var Module. This is a manual offline process. Would be good to have reporting that provides the link.
- Matching Module - Intransit, when scheduling, you cannot pull all the unmatched transactions; only the current period.
- Match Sets: if you have a chance to a live match set (e.g., filter at DS), you can't update the Match Set; you have to rebuild. It would be good to be able to amend and not rebuild.
Return on Investment
- Process standardization.
- Audit trail for all changes to the system.
- API for reporting.
Alternatives Considered
Accurat
Other Software Used
Oracle PeopleSoft ERP, Alteryx Intelligence Suite
BlackLine the one stop shop for Month End Close and Automated GL Recs
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use BlackLine mainly for tracking of key processes through the use of tasks and automating and centralizing our GL reconciliation process. Prior to BlackLine we were decentralized, lacked visibility and completeness of our GL Recs, along with not having the appropriate backups to an extremely manual process that lived within excel spreadsheets.
Pros
- Loading of Data in an automated Fashion
- The Matching Engine once setup properly is outstanding and adds a ton of value
- The reporting capability of the tool is outstanding and very efficient
- I love that the system does automated status notifications at the discretion of the users inputs
Cons
- Wish they had rolled out high frequency recs previously.
- When we setup BlackLine, we had to find work arounds to export the daily Fed Rec Items.
- Wish it wasn't so darn expensive and more native AI already live and running
Return on Investment
- Teams have gained back hundreds of hours per year
- The Month End Close Process is much smoother as everyone knows what they need to do and are able to save down all the items in one place
- Tasks is also helpful as we attach the backup to the activity and is easier to review and evidence the approval of the item.
Alternatives Considered
FloQast
Other Software Used
Microsoft Excel
Firzens Masterpiece.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
As a company, we do use Blackline's various modules. From reconciliations to transaction matching, etc. My focus is on Smart Close, and at the moment, I am training on Studio360. We have already automated over 30 processes with Smart Close and look forward to doing even more with Studio 360. I'm very keen to see what the actual percentage of automations is gonna be.
Pros
- Automation of manual processes.
- First time data accuracy.
- Controllership.
Cons
- Simplification of some of the user menus.
- Better filtering.
- Me as an system admin would like to see better way of switching roles.
Return on Investment
- First time accuracy.
- Easy to spot errors of other users as admin.
- Removal of manual tasks.
Blackline Beyond.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Blackline helps our company in a number of processes, predominantly in the BS Recs space, but also in the Intercompany area. Currently, our company is deploying the Transaction Matching solution for the BS Reconciliation module, and the ATR teams are involved in that project.
Pros
- Partnership
- Solution Provider.
- Technology pioneer.
Cons
- Showcase the AI usage in MJE area.
- Innovate in the controls space.
Return on Investment
- Workload decrease.
- Transparency in the data.
- Control
Alternatives Considered
Coreflux
Other Software Used
Appian, Microsoft Power BI
BlackLine Review
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
I take data from BlackLine based on econciliations completed by our offshore team in India. I take them onto excel to track if they are late or not and get a reason from the team so I can send out a weekly report. This helps ensure that the team stays on top of their tasks and certify in BL
Pros
- Good navigation around the application
- Easy to take excel files from reports
Cons
- Sometimes difficult to certify recons
Return on Investment
- Increased effectiveness of visibility
