Overall Satisfaction with BlackLine
We are using Accounts, Tasks, and Matching. The product is being used globally for all legal entities and all ERP systems. Our company was created by a merger of two great companies, Clock Spring and NRI. We were on different ERP systems and needed a system-agnostic tool for balance sheet reconciliations and month-end close. Blackline provided us a way to coordinate month-end close, control balance sheet reconciliations, and status visibility for both.
- Status Visibility: we know the status of balance sheet recons and month-end close tasks at all times
- Workflow: clearly defined Roles and how processes step through the roles from Preparation to Reviewed
- Transaction Matching: a powerful tool that matches two data sources (i.e. bank file and general ledger/registers) and integrates with balance sheet recons
- Process Control Flexibility: Blackline can be implemented with full segregation of duties, none, or a mix.
- Need an option for Dark Theme
- Help Desk "Case" management is clunky
- Easy to use
- Control around Balance Sheet Reconciliations and Month-End Close Tasks
- Data Import
- Transaction matching for bank reconciliations (bank and ERP data sources)
- Balance Sheet Reconciliation templates
- System-based certifications (versus user certifications)
- Positive impact on our control structure. Prior to implementation, we had a "material weakness" rating on our financial close process by our external auditors. After we implemented Blackline, our process had improved where it was no longer a material weakness.
- Workload is better balanced for our Accountants. (Better Balance = Happy Accountant)
- Accountants are able to complete reconciliation faster than when completed in Excel because Blackline has tools that automate reconciliations through matching and effectively using reconciliation templates.
- Blackline helps Accounting Departments to easily scale for business needs (i.e. mergers, acquisitions)
- With Blackline's ability to define import templates and import data either through an SFTP site or the front-end, we didn't have incremental costs to integrate Blackline with our ERPs.
Excel is an extension of Accountants....we are comfortable with Excel and can adapt it for many activities such as balance sheet reconciliations and month-end close lists. For 20 years of my career, that's what the organizations I worked for used. So, when we were looking for a solution, we wanted something that was based in Excel. After we participated in a Blackline demonstration, we realized to be effective the platform didn't have to be Excel-based. We were confident all of Blackline's features (data importing, recon templates, matching, system certifications, etc.) could be more efficient, accurate, complete, and controllable than Excel or a solution where Excel is the tool's platform.
Do you think BlackLine delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with BlackLine's feature set?
Yes
Did BlackLine live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of BlackLine go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy BlackLine again?
Yes
BlackLine Support
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
We did not purchase additional support due to my (Sys Admin) systems and data skills. If we need support time for complex issues, we will purchase as needed. We have not needed to do so at this time.
Yes - The bug was around setting up "Teams" in Blackline. The Help Desk was able to replicate the problem and informed Blackline development dept. The Help Desk rep then informed me that it was a bug and they were already working on a patch. He gave me a date when the patch would be installed so I could then continue with my setup.
A couple of weeks ago, a Blackline Specialist, Teresa Platt, hosted a workshop for 1.5 hours/day for 3 days. The workshop was on Matching and was only for about 12 users/admins. The content was on-target and Teresa was a great facilitator/communicator. It was basically free consulting/training time! Teresa's mission was to help users/admins to better understand Matching.