What Are FP&A Software Users Saying on Reddit?

Financial Planning and analysis (FP&A) software helps companies manage their FP&A challenges by streamlining their data collection and reporting. However, which FP&A software is right for a company will depend on several factors, such as what tech stack they are invested in and individual requirements. With 15+ major FP&A software to choose from, where do you start?

The internet is full of resources comparing price, implementation and support, and functionality to help organizations narrow down what FP&A software may be best for them, but what are current and past FP&A software users saying about their experience with the top FP&A software in the market?

With that in mind, we dug deep into what users of top FP&A software are saying about their experiences on Reddit. In this article, we’ll review the number of negative, neutral, and positive comments on each of the five FP&A software solutions evaluated and will provide a summary of common themes.  

Reddit Comment Summary – Negative, Neutral, and Positive

	Negative	Neutral	Positive	Positive to Negative Ratio
Vena	31	11	17	0.55
Anaplan	30	21	18	0.6
Datarails	9	22	15	1.67
Prophix	3	10	2	0.67
Cube	2	8	3	1.5

Vena 

Vena’s FP&A software simplifies financial and operational reporting by automating data collection, updates, and distribution. Built to work within Excel, it lets companies focus more on analysis and less on gathering and compiling data. 

Vena connects to data source systems, pulling all data into one central database and automatically keeping templates up to date.

Vena Reddit Comment Analysis

	Negative	Neutral	Positive	Positive to Negative Ratio
Vena	31	11	17	0.55

Vena has nearly twice as many negative comments as positive ones. Let’s review some of the most common themes expressed in the comments.

Negative Comment Themes

1. Material implementation challenges.
2. High turnover of customer service reps and poor customer service.
3. Slow speed, especially with larger data sets.

Positive Comment Themes

1. Relatively inexpensive compared to more robust systems.
2. Reduced training is needed if proficient in Excel and other Microsoft tools.

Anaplan

Anaplan is a web-based FP&A platform that helps businesses with planning and modeling across different areas like finance, sales, marketing, supply chain, and workforce management. It provides tools for forecasting and scenario modeling, giving teams real-time data access and the ability to easily collaborate.

Anaplan Reddit Comment Analysis

	Negative	Neutral	Positive	Positive to Negative Ratio
Anaplan	30	21	18	0.6

Like Vena, Analplan has had nearly twice as many negative comments as positive ones. It’s also worthwhile noting that Anaplan had the most comments of the five FP&A software platforms reviewed. Let’ u’s review some of the most common themes pulled from the comments.

Negative Comment Themes

1. Costly at $100k a year, with incremental costs for further functionality.
2. It is two-decade-old software and is very slow with queries. 
3. Significant onboarding learning curve.

Positive Comment Themes

1. You can customize to fit your business and requirements.
2. Really flexible if you know what you’re doing 

Datarails

Datarails is an FP&A platform that helps finance teams simplify reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and scenario modeling. It works with Excel, letting teams keep using their existing spreadsheets and models while automating financial reporting and planning. 

With powerful data visualization tools and an easy-to-use Excel add-in, Datarails makes financial processes more accurate, efficient, and collaborative.

Datarails Reddit Comment Analysis

	Negative	Neutral	Positive	Positive to Negative Ratio
Datarails	9	22	15	1.67

Datarails has an impressive positive-to-negative Reddit comment ratio of 1.67. Below, we’ll review the common threads found in the Reddit comments.

Negative Comment Themes

• Negative sales experience with the Sales team

Positive Comment Themes

• It is super intuitive and easy to pick up if you’re familiar with Excel. 
• With Excel as its core, implementation was smooth.
• A mature system with a solid track record.
• You don’t need a large team to use and maintain.

Prophix

Prophix’s corporate performance management (CPM) software helps finance teams at mid-market companies streamline budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and consolidation. The software is available both in the cloud and on-premise.

Prophix Reddit Comment Analysis

	Negative	Neutral	Positive	Positive to Negative Ratio
Prophix	3	10	2	0.67

It’s important to note there wasn’t much Prophix discussion on Reddit and there weren’t many comments to evaluate.

Negative Comment Themes

• The software is pricey.

Positive Comment Themes

• It isn’t overly technical and doesn’t require substantial resources to manage.

Cube

Cube is an FP&A platform that gives teams real-time access to financial and operational data. It supports strategic planning, reporting, and analysis while working within a familiar spreadsheet environment. 

Cube Reddit Comment Analysis

	Negative	Neutral	Positive	Positive to Negative Ratio
Cube	2	8	3	1.5

Like Prophix, Cube Software didn’t have much discussion on Reddit, making it difficult to identify themes within the comments. 

Negative Comment Themes 

• With one negative comment, there were no negative themes to mention.

Positive Comment Themes

• Excel-based, intuitive, and would recommend.

Conclusion

Choosing an FP&A software will depend on each company’s individual requirements, and each software product is tailored to different types of companies and industries. It can be difficult to get objective advice when trying to get a handle on what FP&A software is best for you and your company.

With this in mind, we wanted to evaluate what individual users were saying about these five popular FP&A software platforms, specifically, the number of negative, neutral, and positive comments, as well as common themes within the comments. We hope you can use this analysis to help you make your FP&A software purchasing decision.