Item: BlackLine
Rating: 9
Author: Christopher Boutros

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

BlackLine is used to monitor our close processes, account reconciliations, and task management. It is only used in our accounting department, but benefits the entire company by ensuring that the data is accurate. We used to manage the close process in Excel which yielded no accountability and did not assure us that the work was getting done accurately.

Pros and Cons

Easy to use UI.
BlackLine system training.
Automation.

Not all fields have an audit trail.
They didn't have an API that worked with Intacct when we initially onboarded them.

Return on Investment

SGA savings.

Alternatives Considered

Oracle Cloud EPM

Oracle Consolidations and Close has been evaluated, but it is significantly harder to get set up and easier to break.

Key Insights

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

Likelihood to Recommend

It really depends on the needs of the company, but any company that needs to monitor and automate their close process, my first choice is BlackLine.

Users and Roles

87 - Corporate Accounting, Technical Accounting, FP&A, Accounts payable, Accounts Receivables, Tax, and Consolidations

Support Headcount Required

1 - I recommend having experience closing the books, experience as a user or admin of Blackline, and taking the free online training in Blackline University

Business Processes Supported

Close Task Management
Reconciliation Automation
Automated Journal Entries

Future Planned Uses

We can use Blackline to automate cash reconciliations

I recommend BlackLine

Overall Satisfaction with BlackLine