An affordable, customizable and effective CPM Tool!
Updated September 23, 2015
An affordable, customizable and effective CPM Tool!
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
P11
Modules Used
- Consolidations
- Financial Reporting
- Financial Analysis
- Budgeting
- Detailed Planning
Overall Satisfaction with Prophix
We utilize Prophix for all of our financial reporting and budgeting needs. The financial reporting module within our ERP is clunky and hard to work with - Prophix's cube based reporting system allows for me to create dynamic reporting that fits both my team's needs, and the needs of my organization. We run 100% of our budget through Prophix, from the sales planning, personnel planning and expense planning. Prophix allows for direct interaction with our managers, and is able to aggregate and report on budget information in real time as we make updates.
From a reporting standpoint, we use Prophix for our summarized sales and financial reporting. We perform our consolidation in Prophix, and distribute our financial packets in both excel and .pdf format directly from the software.
In 5 years with Prophix at two different companies I haven't found a report that I couldn't program, or an item that I couldn't budget.
Pros
- Prophix is 100% controlled by the accounting department, the only time we need IT involvement is when we need to setup a new data source to bring into Prophix, or when we need to upgrade versions. All of the reporting, data maintenance and data manipulation are completed by Accounting.
- Prophix's cube based system emulates a pivot table, and allows for easy and straightforward report creation. The use of dynamic members and named sets allows for us to roll forward months in one step for all reports, and change underlying hierarchies without having to update reports.
- Prophix's ad-hoc reporting functionality allows for quick access to our financial data, and can be tailored to whatever quick reporting needs to be created.
- Prophix's process manager allows for mass manipulation of data, which is very handy when moving data from one model to another.
- Prophix is based on Microsoft platform functionality, so my users can become proficient relatively quickly.
- Prophix takes customer feedback seriously with their customer feedback portal. I am able to go online and submit specific areas for improvement - if enough other users agree with the request, Prophix will build the request into future updates. This is in stark contrast to our ERP, which sends us a listing of 500 potential improvements that we get to vote on.
- Prophix has a built-in Microsoft interface, so we can distribute our financial statements into excel, word or powerpoint. We can also distribute in .pdf format or can post directly to sharepoint.
Cons
- When it comes to crunching big data (many millions of combinations), Prophix's performance isn't as strong as the BI tools that I have used before (IBM Cognos and QlikView). I find that we will utilize those tools for crunching big data.
- There are some Excel functions that would be handy to have as part of the report writer that aren't currently included in the software (some have been already addressed).
- It is unfortunate that a couple of features are only accessible by our administrative users (financial consolidation and model manager) - it would be nice if our advanced user class could access those functions.
- We were 9 months live with a new ERP and were struggling to get timely and effective reports out of the ERP when I was hired, I had Prophix installed within a month, and we were able to run a full budget through the software within 1-2 months.
- We are able to create customized reporting that can be distributed with one mouse click. That significantly reduces the time it takes to distribute our financial statements.
- We use Prophix for our detailed sales budgeting, where we need to budget by market, by product and by customer all on a monthly level. Prophix aids in the aggregation of that data, and allows for quick reporting as the budget is entered.
- Prophix has an affordable price tag for implementation, and the annual maintenance is very affordable. Once we bought the software, we get all upgrades for free, and if we need service help, we are not charged per call.
I brought Prophix to Spacesaver from my former employer, where I was part of the selection team, and led implementation. There were two main factors in our decision:
- Prophix was significantly cheaper than TM1 in all ways, the cost for each user license, cost of implementation, and overall software costs
- Prophix doesn't rely on an IT department to program reports within the system. That is a significant benefit to keep control in accounting, and to reduce the burden on other departments.
Prophix Feature Ratings
Using Prophix
6 - We have chosen to keep our Prophix users in Finance. We distribute monthly financial statements to over 30 users, but those users do not have licenses.
2 - Our Controller and Financial Reporting Manager perform all of the required support for Prophix. We have periodic support from IT for upgrades, but all of the reporting and data is performed by our finance team.
- We use Prophix for all our financial reporting needs.
- We utilize Prophix for our Budgeting and Forecast modeling.
- We utilize Prophix for our Sales Budgeting, Analysis and Reporting.
- Prophix's Standard toolkit of features is sufficient for our needs (Reporting/Budgeting/Consolidation/Forecasting/Analysis).
- We would like to use Prophix for KPI reporting and dashboarding in the future - this has not been a priority for our Finance organization.
Using Prophix
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Prophix's Ad Hoc analysis makes it very easy to slice and dice your financial information without creating a report. If you have an analysis that you like, it is quite easy to turn that into a report that can be distributed.
- Prophix has just upgraded its consolidation model, the old model could be touchy. It has satisfied our needs, but we are looking forward to the new model.
Yes, but I don't use it
Prophix Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
Yes - Prophix has a feedback forum for users to report not only issues/bugs, but solutions for improvement. They place a priority on bug fixes, and often fix in their next release.
Evaluating Prophix and Competitors
Yes - Our ERP had a very rudimentary reporting module that was significantly holding us back (it took 40 hours to create the first P/L in our ERP, after Prophix we were able to do the same in less than an hour). We used Excel to budget and forecast, which was full of risk and inefficiency - now we use a defined budgeting/forecasting model in Prophix which is more scalable and has less risk of error.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
I implemented and used Prophix at a former employer, and I was able to implement very quickly and efficiently. I was willing to stake my early reputation at my new employer on a successful Prophix implementation.
If I had to do it all again, I would select Prophix again. Since I brought the software with me from a former employer, I underestimated the amount of work it would take to implement. If I were to do it all over, I would have purchased more professional service hours upfront to program out our consolidation at the beginning.
Prophix Implementation
- Vendor implemented
- Implemented in-house
Change management was a minor issue with the implementation - Prophix exposed some significant underlying issues with our initial ERP setup (GL Accounts/Departments). These needed to be fixed at the tail end of the implementation. I anticipated that these issues would surface, and they were handled smoothly.
- We were unable to program our consolidation as part of the initial implementation. This was partially due to the timing of the implementation (we needed to budget immediately), and partially due to some complications with translating our existing model. Prophix allowed us to formalize our consolidation, and we have a much improved process now.
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