Escaping Excel Hell - Solutions for Planning and Forecasting

Last week I mentioned I was going to attend a seminar about a cloud SaaS-based planning, budgeting and forecasting system yesterday. I can now report that this system provides an attractive exit from Excel hell for these purposes

There were a number of general points made:

1. For a start-up business, flexibility in design of the financial model is key. But as the business becomes established and grows, very soon having a rigid structure becomes more important. 
2. However forecasting needs and business structures tend to change, such as with re-organisations. The modeling system must be able to cope
3. Whilst Excel provides ultimate flexibility, its drawbacks are significant - difficult to use in a multi-user situation, easy to get formulae wrong, difficult to roll up a consolidation, and needing constant checking (to name a few)
4. Would you use Excel for an HR or CRM system? So why for one of the most important functions of a business, its financial planning?

Well until recently planning systems of any note were the preserve of the richer businesses. These systems typically require involvement of IT personnel to make changes. This means planning users are then not able to control the model themselves, and more importantly when. No wonder many prefer Excel, where the model is all under their control.

Whilst there have been a whole string of systems that leave control in the hands of the users, these have tended to come and go as technology has changed. The power of Excel has killed off many of them, despite Excel's shortfalls. Just one or two of other systems of note remain.

A good planning system will provide:

1. Automatic consolidation roll-up (of regions, departments, business units etc)
2. Multiple dimensions (customer, territory, etc) that is just impractical in spreadsheets
3. Formulae applied consistently, such as working out employee on-costs
4. Clear data input sheets that won't break Excel
5. Easier version control
6. What-if on multiple sceanrios, far quicker than using Excel
7. Overall a substantial reduction in cycle time and cost, where the analysts spend less of their time on administering the system and more on planning and review

The cloud opens up additional possibilities.:

• One system that can be accessed for input and review worldwide, wherever there is an internet connection
• Encryption of the data and/or definitions, so that the "picture" can be kept confidential (no need to email Excel around for review on unsecure email)
• Strong backup and recovery potential - often lacking when using Excel

This particular cloud SaaS software can be run in the cloud on a shared database, or on a dedicated database. The latter allows the user to decide when the version upgrades take place - something to avoid in the middle of an intense planning process. The software can also be installed on the user's own internet server if required.

With a 3-user system around £2500pa (or £1500 for 1 user) for the basic version, this entry point means the power of a full corporate-grade planning system is now available to even a reasonably small business. It can also cope with many more users than that, and payment only follows need.

Whilst it is not sold principally as a reporting tool, it does include actual vs budget reporting, including dashboards.With the correctly-structured database behind it, you can drill down not only into budget detail but also the transactions behind the actual numbers.

If you would like to talk about this and other planning / forecasting system solutions, do contact me by email at challisc @ camwells.co.uk or by phone on +44(0)1628 632914

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