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A few vendors not only provide Excel report design, but they provide a cloud web portal where end users can run the templates as web reports from any device and with no Excel add-ins needed. Other vendors have built proprietary report designers so users can design financial reports, but these never contain all the formatting capability of Excel. Plus, almost all finance department team members are very familiar with Excel already, so having a report writer built into Excel shortens the learning curve. This typically provides the best formatting and layout flexibility. In addition to the pre-built reports that leading vendors should provide out of the box, the report designer is where a trained user or consultant can build new templates such as Profit & Loss reports and Balance Sheets specific to the needs of the business.Ībout half of the CPM vendors offer add-ins to Microsoft Excel where templates are designed.
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Per definition, all good report writers have a “template designer” to create reusable, parameter-driven reports. While most vendors can probably showcase more than 100 features in their product (something which can make software selection a painful process), the main success criteria can be narrowed down to a few key areas. Here are some of the top features to look for to find the best financial reporting software
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When working through a software selection process to find the best financial reporting software for your organization, there are always some features that are more important than others. And, of course, the return on investment (ROI) needs to be positive. This means that the functionality must be right for your unique business and that it should support your industry-specific requirements. As a result, during a software selection process you’ll need to carefully choose the solution that is RIGHT for your business. There are numerous software vendors that now deliver independent reporting solutions, either stand-alone or as part of a CPM suite. As a result, an entire industry of cloud-based reporting solutions has sprung up to take companies’ reporting automation and month-end close processes to the next level. So, almost always, companies export some or many of their reports to Excel to finalize and assemble them there. Plus, since they are built into the ERP system, they can’t report on data in other data sources. While native ERP report writers are able to produce financial statements and sub-ledger reports, they are generally not great at formatting and advanced formulas. Since most organizations are either currently planning to or have recently moved their ERP systems to the cloud, cloud-based financial reporting solutions are now more popular than ever. Some also refer to this as Enterprise Performance Management (EPM). Part 2 focuses on feature sets within the best financial reporting software applications.įinancial reporting software that also offers consolidations and planning functionality belongs to a software category typically referred to as Corporate Performance Management (CPM).
#Best financial software apps series#
This article is part 2 of an 8-part series on evaluating the best CPM tools for your business.