What are the challenges your business is facing right now when it comes to financial planning and analysis?

Maybe your month close is taking too long, you don’t have the right tools to help you accurately track expenses or forecast future revenue, or you don’t have a clear understanding of your financial data.

Whether your problems include these or other obstacles, Datarails is the FP&A solution you’ve been waiting for.

Today, we’re going to tell you how Datarails financial planning and analysis software works. From its data visualization abilities to FP&A Genius (AI-powered chat) or how it revs up your sales commission system, we’ll break down Datarails’ features and show you how they can help your business based on where you need it. 

What is Datarails FP&A Solution?

Datarails FP&A solution is a new stride in financial planning and analysis, merging powerful analytics with an intuitive user interface. It leverages the capabilities of Excel, catering to the intrinsic understanding and widespread usage of this platform among financial professionals. 

However, unlike traditional Excel-only models, Datarails boosts accuracy and efficiency by adding a layer of: 

  • Automation
  • Collaboration
  • Comprehensive data tracking

And did we mention it lets you integrate with the most prolific accounting software, ERPs, and CRMs? That way, all your data can be consolidated without needing multiple solutions. Don’t miss the rest of this article because we’ll tell you more about these specific integrations in a moment.

Who Is It For?

Datarails was built for finance teams, but these finance teams can come from any type of organization you can think of.

Some of the businesses we work with include:

Within these (and other industries), our solutions help finance teams with a number of tasks:

How Datarails’ FP&A Solution Helps Different Roles

Next, let’s look at some of the specific roles within these organizations and how Datarails makes their jobs easier and more efficient.

For CFOs and Finance Executives

Unify financial data and outcomes, streamline budgeting and forecasting, and ensure compliance with Datarails’ robust reporting features. CFOs and their teams can delve into historical trends, perform variance analyses, and comprehensively view the company’s financial health in real time.

For Financial Analysts

Datarails provides analysts with powerful tools for complex financial report and scenario modeling. Its dynamic reports can be easily shared, and the built-in version control ensures the numbers are not only correct but have lineage. Rather than just reporting your data, Datarails effectively analyzes it, meaning you can then get the actionable insights you need to help your business thrive.

For Sales and Operational Teams

Want to improve collaboration between finance and operational teams? Sales figures and other operational data can be assimilated for real-time analysis, empowering these teams to make data-driven decisions.

One of our favorite ways to allow these teams to collaborate is with the use of Storyboards to “turn your data into a compelling narrative.” With this FP&A solution, generative AI spots trends, offers insights, and lets you confidently share your presentations with your management team and board. 

Datarails’ FP&A Solution: Key Features

Let’s explore the fundamental features of Datarails’ financial planning and analysis solution and how they cater to your professional and departmental needs.

Automation

Efficiency is everything, and Datarails automates much of the data entry and report generation, freeing up time for more in-depth analysis. With data syncing across multiple sources and AI capabilities (including AI-powered chat), the scenario planning and analysis software lets you focus on strategy, not manual labor.

Collaboration

Storyboards is just one way Datarails promotes collaborations. It also serves as a central hub where team members can work simultaneously on the same dataset, share insights, and maintain a cohesive narrative.

 

Scalability

Datarails grows with your business, handling vast datasets and accommodating a growing user base. Its cloud-based infrastructure ensures performance scales seamlessly with your needs.

Version Control

Maintaining a single source of truth is critical. Datarails’ version management tracks every amendment, no matter how small, providing a clear audit trail and simplifying updates and reviews.

Report Customization

Customized reports are a keystroke away. Whether you need P&L statements or ad-hoc reports for a presentation, Datarails’ reporting functions are unparalleled in their flexibility and scope.

Datarails advanced Excel drill down capabilities

Advanced Features

In the quest for financial prowess, advanced features can be the differentiator. Datarails offers all the tools you need to push beyond fundamental analysis.

Sensitivity Analysis

Evaluate the impact of various scenarios on your financials without the need for complex modeling.

Dynamic Forecasting

Predict future trends with confidence, utilizing real-time data and machine learning algorithms to generate dynamic forecasts that reflect the fluid nature of business environments.

Custom Calculations

Tailor calculations to reflect industry-specific formulas or unique business requirements, streamlining your financial analytics process.

External Data Integration

Bridge the gap between internal financial data and external market indicators, such as exchange rates, commodities pricing, and interest rates, to place your analysis in a global context.

Integrations

Datarails thrives on being the backbone of your financial tech stack, integrating with over 200 other platforms, from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.

Here are just some of the most popular integrations Datarails supports:

  • Oracle
  • SAP Business One
  • Salesforce
  • Dynamics 365
  • QuickBooks
  • Tableau
  • Square
  • Power BI
  • HubSpot
  • SharePoint
  • Xero

Different Dashboards

Your status quo relies on the pulse check provided by different dashboards, and Datarails doesn’t disappoint. Users can craft and view dashboards tailored to their specific needs.

Executive Dashboards

High-level overviews with KPIs, cash flow summaries, and other metrics vital to strategic decision-makers.

Departmental Dashboards

Finance, sales, and HR teams can have dashboards constructed around role-specific needs and metrics, fostering focused strategies and objectives.

Custom Dashboards

For nuanced analyses, users have the freedom to create their dashboards, pulling data elements from multiple sources for a tailored approach. We’ve made it as straightforward as possible to use our customizable built-in visualization capabilities or integrate with other BI tools so you can make sure Datarails’ FP&A solution works for you how you need it to.

Different Reports

In finance, the story is often told through multiple reports, and DataRails ensures these narratives are both accurate and accessible.

Periodic Financial Statements

Datarails’ reports allow for seamless generation of financial statements per your company’s reporting cycles, including:

Ad-Hoc Reports

Need insights on the go? Short notice from the upper echelon? Ad-hoc reports simplify the process, helping teams quickly address emerging trends or anomalies. Datarails’ intelligent report builder makes creating and distributing tailored, on-demand reports easy without any coding or additional IT support.

Compliance Reports

Beyond standard financial reporting, Datarails aids in compliance reporting, ensuring regulatory obligations are met effortlessly.

Real-World Applications and Use Cases

Datarails isn’t just a theoretical overhaul. In truth, it’s a practical, implementable solution for many of today’s business challenges. Let’s delve into some real-world applications to demonstrate how they refine financial decision-making..

Streamlined Forecasting

By replacing outdated forecasting processes with Datarails’ dynamic forecasting, businesses can seriously boost forecast accuracy, leading to better strategic planning and resource allocation.

Granular Profitability Analysis

Running a fast-growing start-up? Datarails allows for a detailed profitability analysis down to the unit level, helping form pricing strategies and identify underperforming product lines.

Rapid Scenario Planning

Upon a merger, companies can utilize Datarails for rapid scenario planning, evaluating the impact of various merger integration strategies, and aligning teams towards the most viable paths.

Getting Started with Datarails’ FP&A Solution

Integration of a tool like Datarails isn’t just a task for your IT team! Rather, it’s a strategic move—one that demands careful planning, stakeholder buy-in, and structured change management. 

Follow these steps to maximize your investment and ensure a smooth transition.

Step 1: Identify Pain Points and Objectives

Pinpoint the specific areas within your financial processes where Datarails can offer the most significant improvements. Whether it’s reducing reporting cycle times or enhancing risk management, aligning the software’s capabilities with your objectives is a critical first step.

Step 2: Build a Cross-Functional Implementation Team

Involve stakeholders from all departments impacted by the FP&A transformation. What’s great about such an inclusive approach is that it fosters understanding and collaboration and ensures the solution meets diverse user requirements.

Step 3: Data Cleaning and Readiness

Invest in data readiness, cleaning, and normalization. Datarails is only as good as the data it handles, and prepping your information for migration is critical to the implementation process.

Step 4: Training and Change Management

New FP&A solutions will often require new skills. Design and execute a comprehensive training program to acquaint users with Datarails’ features. Simultaneously, manage the change process, addressing resistance and ensuring a smooth culture shift towards data-driven decision-making. Of course, we’re always here to help with this and other implementation tasks!

Step 5: Continuous Improvement

Adoption is just the beginning. Organizations that foster a culture of continuous improvement tend to thrive. In this case, that means taking advantage of all Datarails offers and extracting maximum value from it. 

Conclusion: Try Datarails’ FP&A Solution Today

We’ve shown you an insider’s view of how our FP&A solution works, but now it’s time to see how it can work for you.

To do that, book a demo now and unleash the power of Datarails on your data. We’re confident we can help you improve your processes, reduce cycle times, enhance risk management, and drive better decision-making! Start today. 

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