Planful vs Oracle EPM

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Our analysts compared Planful vs Oracle EPM based on data from our 400+ point analysis of EPM Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Formerly Host Analytics, Planful is a financial planning and analysis cloud platform. It accelerates end-to-end FP&A. Suitable for midsize to large-scale businesses, it helps by centralizing data and managing financial and operational processes.

It helps users plan and manage reviews, approvals and submissions and generates workflow status reports to check the performance of every department. It helps analyze asset performance by using financial budgeting and forecasting techniques with its capital planning feature. It is a scalable solution that allows companies to check the effect of projects on the overall bottom line.
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Oracle EPM is a comprehensive cloud-based suite of applications designed to automate and streamline core enterprise performance management processes. It caters to organizations of all sizes, particularly those seeking to gain deeper insights into financial data, improve budgeting and forecasting accuracy, and optimize operational efficiency. Key benefits include enhanced financial reporting, centralized data management, improved collaboration, and real-time visibility into performance metrics. Popular features include a user-friendly interface, advanced analytics capabilities, and integration with other Oracle Cloud applications. User reviews highlight the platform's scalability, robust functionality, and strong customer support. However, some users note the complexity of the software and the need for specialized training. Pricing varies based on the specific modules and deployment options chosen. On-premise implementations typically involve upfront licensing fees, while cloud-based subscriptions offer pay-as-you-go models.

Pros
  • Scalable
  • Robust functionality
  • User-friendly interface
  • Advanced analytics
  • Strong customer support
Cons
  • Complex software
  • Requires specialized training
  • High cost
  • Limited customization options
  • Integration challenges
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Product Insights

  • Conduct Ad hoc Analysis: Simplify complex ad hoc analysis by quickly creating financial and operational models while simultaneously checking the impact of these models on the bottom line. 
  • Close Books Faster: Decrease the time it takes to close books by automating data collection, aggregation and validation. Make data secure and compliant with standards and protocols.  
  • Improve Collaboration: Collaborate in a more efficient manner with current data and real-time insights. Get the power to make quick and accurate decisions with more confidence.  
  • Get Insights: Make well-informed decisions by gaining insights from across an organization to drive long-term value and growth. Automate manual processes to gain more time for strategic planning processes, analyzing and collaborating rather than worrying about spreadsheets.  
  • Automate Manual Processes: Save time and reduce errors by automating manual financial processes. Ensure that all financial processes are done with minimum manual effort and run more efficiently.  
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  • Enhanced financial reporting accuracy and transparency: Get a clear, accurate picture of your financial health with automated reporting tools and real-time data insights.
  • Improved budgeting and forecasting capabilities: Make better-informed decisions by leveraging data-driven forecasts, scenario planning, and collaborative budgeting tools.
  • Streamlined financial consolidation processes: Simplify and accelerate your financial close with automated consolidation workflows, centralized data management, and real-time reporting.
  • Increased operational efficiency and cost savings: Optimize resource allocation, identify cost reduction opportunities, and improve overall operational efficiency.
  • Enhanced collaboration and communication across departments: Break down silos and foster collaboration with a unified platform for sharing financial data, insights, and goals.
  • Real-time visibility into performance metrics and trends: Gain constant insights into key performance indicators and track progress towards strategic objectives.
  • Enhanced decision-making capabilities: Make data-driven decisions with access to actionable insights, real-time data visualizations, and predictive analytics.
  • Reduced risk of financial errors and fraud: Improve financial controls, strengthen compliance, and minimize the risk of financial errors and fraud.
  • Improved compliance with regulatory requirements: Efficiently comply with complex financial regulations with automated compliance tools and pre-built reports.
  • Scalability to accommodate future growth: Adapt to your evolving business needs with a flexible platform that can scale to accommodate future growth.
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  • Modern Tools: Combine the need for structured and dynamic planning to empower organizations to make well-informed decisions in a quick and strategic manner.  
  • Financial Consolidation: Accelerate month-end closing cycles with financial consolidation. Enhance financial planning and reporting by leveraging data from a single source of truth. Get pre-built consolidation functionality for currency conversion and reporting, currency translation adjustment calculations and posting. Implement functional, administrative and setup changes without the need for IT experts. Boost teams’ agility when reacting to changes in organization, strategy, regulation and accounting protocol. Ensure trusted and consistent global reporting by automatically mapping financial data. Keep tabs from start to end on balances, and analyze financial data across consolidation activities.  
  • Structured Planning: Save time and reduce errors by automating labor-intensive financial planning activities. Avoid costly and disruptive customization fees, save time and reduce risk of error with predefined planning and reporting templates. Automate integration from any ERP, CRM or HCM. Create a single source of financial truth by automatically collecting, aggregating and validating financial data. Ensure consistency and accuracy by creating and modifying structured financial reports and elevating financial conversations. 
  • Dynamic Planning: Analyze, plan and make confident decisions with dynamic planning. Build custom-tailored financial models. Leverage customization across processes, functions and use cases. Configure planning experiences and give users the flexibility to plan for anything. Connect data sources from separate systems in one unified, cloud-based platform. Boost financial decision making with a single source of truth. Get insights and make course corrections with real-time data refreshing. Inculcate companywide collaboration culture by providing the right data at the right level to the right person.  
  • Integration: Automate data integration to reduce manual intervention and easily transform data with over 200 pre-built connectors. Adjust to automatic data processing with a growing integration platform. Check status and activity of deployed integrations from a centralized place. Ensure data integration process flows are repeatable, automated and secure, and provide audit trails required by internal and external auditors. Understand changes in data with multiple validation points across integration workflows. 
  • Reporting: Leverage reporting formats and delivery options to meet financial, management and ad hoc needs. Ensure data accuracy and transparency with self-service reporting and automated report distribution. Automate collection and aggregation of financial and business data into a single cloud-based platform. Ensure everyone is working with current and accurate information derived from a single source of truth. Boost financial IQ with self-service reporting capabilities. Create a more agile environment with impactful financial decision making. 
  • Annual Operating Plan: Build collaborative financial plans that align with business objectives. Turn annual plans into quarterly or monthly rolling forecasts, and check models for different scenarios to determine how to realign and adjust strategies.  
  • Workforce Planning: Plan accordingly for workforces by connecting HR, finance and operational data together. Create a headcount plan that can be adjusted to changing marketing requirements. Gain insight to build winning strategies and utilize employees as strategic assets. Boost financial IQ to understand and influence impacts on the financial health of workforce costs.  
  • Cash Flow Forecasting: Assess the impact of decisions by gaining complete control and visibility over finances. Reallocate cash by identifying trends and understanding levers. Mitigate cash flow risk by adjusting investment opportunities.  
  • Scenario Analysis: Analyze every option by planning across multiple case scenarios and assessing key drivers. Bring agility by optimizing current period results. Gain the flexibility to discover deeper insights across a broad range of models. Align executives and business partners with data-driven decisions. Check the impact of plan changes from every level with immediate results. 
  • Rolling Forecasts: Adjust to sudden changes, keep forecasts current and business agile with continually rolling planning periods. Automatically keep tabs on the impact of actuals on forecasted trends. Improve risk analysis by quickly identifying opportunities and risks as business landscapes evolve. Align rolling forecasts by collaborating across different departments. Gain real-time insights to redirect resources and priorities and align them with business objectives.  
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  • Planning: Use dashboards to get insights into performance and predictive strategizing to understand how to drive the business ahead. Connect various aspects of the organization and understand how every decision impacts profitability. Verify assumptions and minimize risks with free-form modeling at scale. Structure multiple scenarios and implement accounting intelligence. 
    • Monte Carlo Simulations: Check the possibility of plots and make well-informed decisions. Automate asset-related expenses and plan efficiently for intangible assets. Review capital expenses and check impacts on cash flow, balance sheets, income statements and more. Track project performance with detailed metrics and minimize decision latency with real-time strategy and execution details. 
    • Integrated Business Planning And Execution: Establish a connection between finance, planning, execution and operation. Apply data science and machine learning to improve decision-making and speed up data analysis. 
  • Profitability and Cost Management: Invest in the right resources by analyzing which customers, products and other factors are boosting profit. Make better IT decisions by gaining insights into IT expenditure and shared services. See where money is allocated by providing shared-services prices to different departments. 
    • Automatic Price Recording: Model regulatory value by calculating and automatically recording price for overhead rate justification, jurisdiction profitability, negotiations and more. Create and maintain profitability and price structure without scripts or coding, but with point and click actions. Quickly transform assumptions and allocation methods without re-building layouts or relying on IT services. 
    • Optimization: Optimize profitability by modeling changes like adding new customers and products, changing delivery positions and more. Analyze and understand which drivers and methods affect the bottom line. Keep an eye on allocation details with money and profitability maps. 
    • Security: Make sure that only authorized people have access to data with cloud-based applications. Add new dimensions and segments as the company grows. Merge monetary data with metrics and business drivers while running step-by-step validation reports. 
    • Accessibility: Ensure accessibility with a mobile workforce and configure dashboards to analyze the most current data. Identify gaps and what is helping the bottom line with pre-built graphs and KPIs. Perform variance analysis and optimize profitability. 
  • Financial Consolidation and Close: Automatically calculate cash flow, balance sheets and reduce customization needs. Implement a pre-configured consolidation model to meet global requirements like IFRS and GAAP. Simplify complex consolidation and boost the precision of information by re-classifying, adjusting and eliminating data for accuracy and speed. Track KPIs by creating calculations for organization-specific requirements. 
    • Automate Consolidations: Minimize manual work by automating consolidations in the background. Add details to reports with a narrative commentary. Ensure transparency and compliance by enforcing segregation of duties, calculation and user-activity logging. Keep track of what changes have been made and by whom. 
  • Account Reconciliation: Automate and meet compliance requirements of high-volume transactional reconciliations. Match details of millions of transactions in minutes with an automatic engine. Speed up the matching process by confirming or declining auto-suggested matches. Develop flexible matching rules for a single or group of transactions. 
    • Automate Reconciliations: Simplify reconciliations by defining data sources and attributes for unlimited items. Save time by automatically creating journal entries. Increase accuracy by automating repetitive reconciliations like zero balance and low risk. Identify outliers that might be potentially slowing down the financial close. 
    • Compliance: Get global auditability and ensure compliance is being met with reconciliations logged in the application. Create separate profiles for each account with variances without any custom code. Control the entire process and keep the team on the same page with built-in workflows. Get the flexibility to meet specific business requirements with a pre-built format. Make intercompany reconciliations automatic and enhance close cycle effectiveness with operational and compliance dashboards. 
  • Tax Reporting: Directly access records from general ledgers and use the most current data to calculate correct tax provisions. Comply with GAAP and IFRS requirements. Minimize manual processes by directly importing tax-return details from the software. Add country-by-country data from the consolidation system. Analyze tax data from pre-built KPIs on the dashboard. Incorporate reporting details and collaborate with users around the world on local files. 
    • Provision Automation: Automate processes like research and development, tax position, compliance, provision. Develop and maintain a calendar for important tax processes like audit management and tax compliance. Evaluate price associated with transportation, handling and insurance to implement the most cost-effective shipping option. 
  • Native Reporting: Access data directly from Oracle and non-Oracle sources like spreadsheets or applications. Create a consistent and controlled process by making use of existing reports. Send a single report by combining statements and data with textual narrative. Provide authors with accurate data and add multiple writers to documents. Reuse common content by using previous reports and ensure centralized maintenance of dates, data and text. 
    • Tracking and Sharing Reports: Track report statuses on mobiles and the web. Develop reports with complete audit trails and insight into transformations. Collaborate on content and create conversational threads to carry into the entire review circle. Share reports with stakeholders at any point of development. Produce briefing books and financial record books that can be accessed via mobile, web or desktop interface. 
  • Enterprise Data Management: Establish connections between Oracle and non-Oracle applications using adapters. Import lists and save time spent validating data entry. Cross-check viewpoints to boost the quality of applications within the organization. Sign requests with shopping cart interfaces. Implement custom application validations to keep track of notes during requests. 
    • Tagging and Communication Threads: Make changes to existing items and submit new items with a single click. Tag participants and send real-time email notifications with @ references. Use communication threads to keep track of activities. Ensure security with detailed, permission-based access to applications. Compare and understand differences with a side-by-side layout. 
    • Drag and Drop: Make transformations to viewpoints within and across applications with drag and drop or fill out the details using an automated workflow. Download viewpoints to desktop files and reload to conduct mass updates. Script automated integrations with REST APIs. Boost transparency by configuring data access for external auditors. 
  • Enterprise Resource Planning: Use datasets to predict, detect and act on uncertain and unpredictable situations. Speed up overall response time by uncovering significant deviations and revealing otherwise hidden information and bias. Eliminate manual processes with automation and invest more time understanding the data instead of entering it. 
    • AI Digital Assistants: Simplify and boost common and repetitive tasks with AI-powered digital assistants. Clear approvals faster by customizing tasks and over budget notifications. Identify trends and launch models accordingly. Keep track of results in real time and refine the approach as the business progresses. 
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Product Ranking

#9

among all
EPM Software

#18

among all
EPM Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Reports and Dashboards
Sales Planning
Capital Expenditure Planning
Cash Management
Project Planning
Capital Expenditure Planning
Cash Management
Financial Consolidation and Reconciliation
Integration and Extensibility
Planning, Budgeting,and Forecasting

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Planful
Oracle EPM
+ Add Product + Add Product
Capital Expenditure Planning Cash Management Financial Consolidation And Reconciliation Planning, Budgeting,and Forecasting Platform Capabilities Profitability Modelling And Analysis Project Planning Reports And Dashboards Revenue Planning Sales Planning Workforce Planning 96 96 85 80 72 94 95 100 94 100 86 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 82 reviews
we're gathering data
86%
of users recommend this product

Planful has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 82 user reviews from 2 recognized software review sites.

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4.29 (41)
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4.3 (41)
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Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Planful and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Sales Planning.

Sales Planning Award

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Oracle EPM and concluded it deserves the award for the Best Overall EPM Software available today and earns best-in-class honors for Capital Expenditure Planning, Cash Management, Financial Consolidation and Reconciliation, Planning, Budgeting,and Forecasting, Platform Capabilities, Project Planning, Sales Planning, Workforce Planning and Integration and Extensibility.

Analysts' Pick Award
Capital Expenditure Planning Award
Cash Management Award
Financial Consolidation and Reconciliation Award
Planning, Budgeting,and Forecasting Award
Platform Capabilities Award
Project Planning Award
Sales Planning Award
Workforce Planning Award
Integration and Extensibility Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Streamlined Financial Close: Planful helps automate routine tasks like data consolidation and report generation, which can significantly reduce the time it takes to close the books each month. This efficiency is often praised by users in fast-paced environments.
Improved Forecasting Accuracy: The platform's forecasting tools leverage historical data and predictive analytics to generate more accurate forecasts. Users appreciate this feature as it allows for better-informed decision-making and resource allocation.
Enhanced Collaboration: Planful provides a centralized platform for finance teams to collaborate on budgeting, forecasting, and reporting. This feature improves communication and transparency within the department, leading to more cohesive financial strategies.
Customizable Reporting: Users frequently highlight the ability to create custom reports tailored to their specific needs. This flexibility allows finance teams to analyze data from multiple angles and gain deeper insights into their financial performance.
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Streamlined processes: Users appreciate how EPM automates manual tasks and provides real-time insights, improving efficiency and accuracy.
Enhanced collaboration: Users value EPM's ability to facilitate seamless collaboration across departments, leading to better decision-making.
Increased visibility: Users find EPM's consolidated view of financial data across the organization invaluable for better planning and forecasting.
Improved compliance: Users appreciate how EPM helps them comply with complex financial regulations and standards.
Scalability and flexibility: Users are satisfied with EPM's ability to adapt to their changing needs and grow with their business.
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Steep Learning Curve: Many users find Planful's interface to be complex and unintuitive, requiring significant time investment to learn the system's intricacies. The abundance of features can be overwhelming for new users, leading to frustration and a slow adoption rate within organizations.
Customization Challenges: While Planful offers customization options, implementing them often requires advanced technical skills or reliance on the vendor's professional services, which can be costly. This limitation can hinder organizations with unique workflows or reporting needs from fully tailoring the software to their specific requirements.
Reporting Limitations: Some users report that generating specific or ad-hoc reports can be cumbersome in Planful. The system's pre-built reports may not always cater to every organization's needs, and creating custom reports may require technical expertise or additional support.
Performance Issues: A segment of users has mentioned experiencing slow loading times and occasional system lags, particularly when working with large datasets or complex reports. This can impact productivity and user satisfaction, especially for organizations with high data volumes or demanding reporting requirements.
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Complexity: Users find the initial setup and configuration of EPM to be complex and time-consuming.
Cost: EPM can be expensive, especially for smaller businesses, due to licensing fees and implementation costs.
Learning curve: EPM has a steep learning curve, requiring users to invest time and resources in training.
Limited customization: While EPM offers some customization options, it may not be flexible enough for all businesses.
Integration challenges: Integrating EPM with other systems can be complex and require additional resources.
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Planful has garnered a reputation for its robust financial reporting and analysis capabilities, particularly excelling in budgeting, forecasting, and consolidation. Users appreciate the software's ability to handle complex financial models and its flexibility in generating custom reports. The platform's intuitive interface and user-friendly design have also been praised, making it accessible to both finance professionals and non-financial users. However, some users have noted that the initial setup and implementation process can be time-consuming and may require significant support from Planful's team. Additionally, while Planful offers a wide range of features, some users have expressed a desire for more advanced functionality in areas such as workforce planning and project accounting. Compared to competitors like Adaptive Insights and Vena Solutions, Planful stands out for its comprehensive financial consolidation capabilities and its ability to handle large volumes of data. Its reporting and analytics tools are also considered to be more user-friendly and customizable. However, Adaptive Insights may be a better choice for organizations seeking a more cloud-based solution with stronger integrations with other business applications. Vena Solutions, on the other hand, may be more suitable for companies with complex financial modeling needs due to its Excel-based interface. Overall, Planful is best suited for mid-sized to large enterprises with complex financial reporting and analysis requirements. Its strengths lie in its budgeting, forecasting, consolidation, and reporting capabilities, making it an ideal choice for organizations looking to streamline their financial processes and gain deeper insights into their financial performance. However, companies with limited IT resources or those seeking a more cloud-based solution may want to consider alternative options.

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User reviews for Oracle EPM paint a mixed picture, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses. Many users praise its ability to automate tasks, streamline processes, and provide real-time insights, leading to improved efficiency and accuracy. They also value its ability to facilitate collaboration across departments and its centralized view of financial data, which fosters better decision-making. One user commented, "EPM has completely transformed our financial close process, reducing our closing time by 50%." Others appreciate how EPM helps them comply with complex regulations, with one user stating, "EPM has saved us countless hours and resources by automating our compliance reporting." However, some users find EPM's initial setup and configuration to be challenging and time-consuming. The cost can also be a barrier for smaller businesses. Additionally, the steep learning curve requires users to invest significant time and resources in training. Some users also expressed frustration with EPM's limited customization options and the challenges they faced integrating it with other systems. One user noted, "While EPM offers a lot of features, it can be inflexible at times and doesn't always meet our specific needs." Another user commented, "Integrating EPM with our existing ERP system was a major headache." When comparing EPM to similar products like SAP BPC and Anaplan, users often highlight EPM's comprehensive feature set, robust security measures, and seamless integration with other Oracle applications as its main differentiating factors. However, some users find SAP BPC to be more user-friendly and Anaplan to be more agile and adaptable. Ultimately, the best choice for individual users and businesses depends on their specific needs and priorities.

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