Financial consolidation software is a critical tool for businesses with multiple entities or subsidiaries.
It streamlines the complex process of gathering financial data, eliminating errors, and providing a unified view of the organization's financial health.
This buyer's guide will help you compare different software options and select the best fit for your needs.
Joiin
Joiin is a cloud-based consolidated financial reporting solution. It was launched in 2018 from a team of UK-based software professionals who saw a need for a management reporting tool that didn’t sacrifice performance. It has become popular for those looking to consolidate on a budget.
Pros
- Joiin is impressive financial consolidation software with clear visuals.
- With the ability to add additional value through more extensive feature sets such as forecasting, business roadmaps, microforecasts and non-financial KPI tracking, Joiin empowers businesses to make informed decisions.
- With a cheaper price point, Joiin may be suitable for some smaller customers looking to create a basic consolidated report pack.
Cons
- While Joiin is designed to be user-friendly, the report editor can be clunky with limits on flexibility in what you can create.
- While Joiin offers a high degree of customisation, the scope of the product is somewhat limited. By comparison, Fathom has a forecast tool, analysis tools, and more advanced KPI tracking options.
Syft Analytics
Syft Analytics is an AI-first financial reporting platform, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Syft offers mass financial reports, and AI insights.
Pros
- Syft's cutting-edge AI and automation capabilities reduces the time and effort required for financial consolidation.
- Syft empowers businesses to make informed decisions through its reporting. When compared with Fathom, however, there are less customisation options. Fathom also has premium reporting features such as scenario planning.
- Syft can accommodate businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.
Cons
- While Syft is designed to be user-friendly, there are certain limitation on their reporting output.
- While Syft offers a high degree of customisation, there may be certain limitations for more complex requirements, such as their forecast builder.
- Pricing for Syft may vary depending on the specific features and number of users required, and support levels are tailored depending on your package.
Spotlight
Spotlight Reporting was designed by accountants in practice. This financial consolidation software can deliver reporting that improves customers’ decision-making.
Pros
- Spotlight is a great financial consolidations tool that can save time and effort.
- Spotlight does what it says on the box: reporting, and it does this well. With Spotlight, you have the ability to add external content to a report.
- Spotlight can accommodate businesses of various sizes and industries.
Cons
- While Spotlight is designed to be user-friendly, it can be a bit clunkier to use than Fathom.
- While Spotlight offers many strong features, their forecasting does not integrate with reporting, unlike with Fathom.
- The pricing model for Spotlight doesn’t offer much room for flexibility, which can be off-putting for businesses that need to scale with certain features at a pace appropriate for their firm.
Futrli
Futrli by Sage is a well-known reporting app in the Xero ecosystem. Headquartered in the UK, Furtli’s financial consolidation software offers smart financial predictions and reporting. While its primary focus is on forecasting and budgeting, its consolidation capabilities can be valuable for businesses seeking a comprehensive financial management solution.
Pros
- Futrli's combination of consolidation and forecasting features provides a comprehensive view of financial performance and future trends.
- Futrli can be useful for businesses working in the hospitality industry, with features such as 4-week reporting.
- Futrli can accommodate businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.
Cons
- While Futrli's consolidation features are useful, its primary focus is on forecasting and budgeting, which may limit its capabilities for complex consolidation scenarios.
- Users new to Futrli may need to invest time in learning the platform's features and functionalities, particularly the reporting editor which has limited customisation.
- Unlike Fathom’s straightforward consolidations, Futrli doesn’t give users the ability to do a “what-if” analysis at the consolidation group level.
Excel
Excel has long been a staple in financial analysis and reporting. Its familiarity and flexibility make it a popular choice for many businesses, even for complex financial consolidation tasks.
However, as businesses grow and financial needs become more sophisticated, its limitations can become apparent. There is little to no automation, and report outputs aren’t aesthetically pleasing.
Pros
- Most finance professionals are comfortable with Excel, and this familiarity reduces the need for a learning curve.
- Excel is very flexible, allowing users to tailor their consolidation processes to specific needs.
- Sophisticated functions and pivot tables can be used to perform complex calculations and analyses.
- Excel is often readily available within businesses, eliminating the need for additional software purchases.
Cons
- Many consolidation tasks, such as data collection, validation, and elimination of intercompany transactions, can be time-consuming and error-prone when performed manually in Excel.
- As the number of entities or data points increases, Excel can become cumbersome to manage and slow to perform calculations. It can also be hard to collaborate with colleagues.
- Without a dedicated consolidation system, it can be difficult to ensure data consistency, accuracy, and security across multiple Excel files.
- Tracking changes and maintaining a clear audit trail can be challenging in Excel, especially for complex consolidations.
Fathom
Fathom’s financial consolidation software is designed to help businesses eliminate time-consuming manual financial processes; removing the reliance on fiddly Excel spreadsheets in the process.
- Say goodbye to manual data entry and calculations. Fathom automatically pulls data from your accounting software, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in a matter of seconds.
- Fathom’s financial consolidation software is easy to use, and stays connected with your source accounting systems, so you have up-to-date financial information whenever you need it. No more waiting for manual updates.
- Easily consolidate up to 300 entities, across 97 currencies. Fathom handles complex consolidated reporting with ease.
- With Fathom, you’ll be transforming your data into actionable insights with stunning charts and graphs that simplify the complex for your audience. With such a visually appealing output, you can bring consolidated figures into both chart elements and tables.
- Share reports and insights with stakeholders seamlessly. Improve communication and decision-making.
- Fathom removes time consuming data consolidation, saving businesses valuable time to focus on tasks of higher value.
Learn more about financial consolidation software in our webinar: Save time and add value with consolidations.
Conclusion
Each of these six financial consolidation software solutions we have outlined has the potential to change your monthly consolidated financial reporting processes.
We hope that this article has been useful for you to select the right financial consolidation software for your business, by weighing up the pros and cons of each option detailed in this article.
If you choose Fathom, you’ll be embracing accuracy, speed and flexibility. You’ll also be able to gain valuable insights with ease, improve efficiencies, and make better-informed business decisions.
For more information, take a look at this consolidated financial report example for a better understanding of what Fathom may be able to produce on a regular basis for your business.
You can learn more about our consolidations feature here.
