FP&A software should fit how your models already work, then make them faster to change

Planning tools differ most in how you build a model, how data gets in, and who can change what. Test those three with your own model, not the vendor's.

Published 29 October 2026; vendor pages read 29 October 2026.

Choose FP&A software by testing three things with your own model: how a model is built and changed, how actuals and operational data get in, and how many people can work in a plan at once without breaking it. Products in this category range from spreadsheet add-ins that keep your existing workbooks to full modelling platforms with their own calculation engine, and the right one depends on who builds models in your team and how often the business changes shape.

This guide is for heads of FP&A, finance managers and CFOs at companies whose budget, rolling forecast and board pack live in linked spreadsheets. It makes no recommendation. The vendors are listed alphabetically with the same facts for each, taken from their own pages.

Who needs this, and when

The usual triggers: a forecast that takes more than a week to refresh, version confusion in emailed workbooks, department heads who cannot see their own budget against actuals, headcount plans that do not tie to payroll, or a board that wants scenarios faster than the team can build them. A second trigger is scale: more entities, more currencies, more departments than a workbook can hold without someone becoming its only maintainer.

If your actuals are not yet clean, fix the close first. A planning tool that loads unreconciled actuals makes faster wrong forecasts. The close management guide covers that step.

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Requirements checklist

FP&A: requirements

Must have: every product on your shortlist should do it. Depends on you: test it if your situation calls for it.

Must have

Scheduled loads of actuals from your ERP or accounting system, with a visible last-refreshed time.
Version control for budgets and forecasts, and a log of who changed which assumption.
Permissions by department or entity, so a budget owner sees only their own lines.
Export of models and data in a usable format, so you are not locked in to one tool.
Reports a finance analyst can build without the vendor's services team.

Depends on you

Headcount planning tied to your HR or payroll system.
Native Excel or Google Sheets workflows, if your team will keep modelling in spreadsheets.
Multi-currency and consolidation, if you plan across entities.
Operational data (CRM pipeline, usage, warehouse data) in the model, not only the general ledger.

Print this checklist to take into a demo.

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If your situation is this, look for that

If	Then
Your analysts live in Excel and will not leave	Look at tools that work inside or alongside spreadsheets, and test refresh and write-back on your own workbook.
The business changes structure often	Test how long it takes to add a department, a product line and a scenario to an existing model.
Headcount is your largest cost	Ask to see a hiring plan tied to payroll actuals and a variance by role.
You need consolidation as well as planning	Read the consolidation guide and ask whether one product does both or two products share data.
You have no dedicated FP&A team	Weigh implementation services and template models more heavily than modelling flexibility.

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What it costs: the components to ask about

Component	What to ask	Where to find it
Licence	Whether pricing is per user, per type of user (builder versus viewer), per module, or by company size.	Pricing page if published; otherwise the quote.
Implementation	Who builds the first models, how many hours are included, and what a change costs later.	Statement of work.
Integrations	Which connectors are included and which carry a fee, and who fixes them when a source system changes.	Integrations page and order form.
Internal time	How many hours your team will spend rebuilding models, and who maintains them after go-live.	Your own plan.
Renewal	Renewal price caps, user true-ups and notice periods.	Order form and master agreement.
Exit	Whether you can export model logic, not only data.	Terms and help centre.

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Implementation timeline

Weeks 1 to 2: scope. Pick the first use case (often the annual budget or the monthly forecast) and the data sources.
Weeks 2 to 6: connect and model. Load two years of actuals, rebuild the core model, agree the dimensions.
Weeks 6 to 10: test. Run one forecast cycle in both the old workbook and the new tool and reconcile the results.
Weeks 10 to 12: roll out. Train budget owners on their own views; switch the board pack.
After go-live: extend. Add headcount, scenarios and operational data one at a time.

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Questions to ask in a demo

Load our chart of accounts and one month of our actuals before the demo, and show the variance report.
Add a new cost centre and a new scenario while we watch. How long did that take?
Show me who changed a driver last week and what it changed downstream.
What happens to the model when our ERP adds a new account or entity?
Which parts of this would our analyst build, and which would your services team build?
Show the export of a model: what leaves with us if we cancel?

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Red flags in a contract

Viewer seats priced as builder seats. Ask for a separate price for read-only budget owners.
Connectors sold separately after the demo used them. Get each connector named on the order form.
No independent controls report. A planning tool holds payroll and board data; ask whether the vendor has a SOC report, part of the AICPA's SOC suite ¹.
Models you cannot export. If model logic stays behind on termination, your switching cost grows every year.
Board numbers outside the control environment. If you are or plan to be a public company, numbers that reach filings fall under internal control over financial reporting ²; agree with your auditor which outputs the tool will produce.

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The vendors, A to Z

These 11 vendors offer products for this job, going by their own sites. Each is listed in alphabetical order with the same fields, every one taken from the vendor's own pages or from the SEC on the date shown. Inclusion is not a recommendation, and a vendor whose pages we could not read is left out until we can; the method page explains how vendors are included.

Abacum

FP&A software for planning and reporting. Its integrations page lists ERPs, HR systems, CRMs and billing tools.

In its own words: The AI-native FP&A platform you can actually run (abacum.ai, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: Collaborative Planning; Financial Reporting; Data Management (abacum.ai)
Pricing: Not published on the pages we read (including abacum.ai home page), 29 October 2026. Ask for a quote.
Integrations it names: Acumatica; Exact Online; Odoo; SAP Business ByDesign; ADP; Ashby; Deel; Greenhouse (abacum.ai integrations)
Public company: No company named “Abacum” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Anaplan

A planning platform used for finance, sales and supply chain planning. The finance menu also lists consolidation and disclosure management.

In its own words: The scenario planning and analysis platform where AI, data, and planning converge to make the right decisions, right now. (anaplan.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: Financial Planning & Analysis; Revenue Planning; Headcount Expense Planning; Long-Range Planning; Financial Consolidation; Disclosure Management (anaplan.com)
Pricing: Not published on the pages we read, 29 October 2026. Ask for a quote.
Integrations it names: No integrations taken from the pages we read.
Public company: No company named “Anaplan” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Board

A planning platform that links financial and operational plans. Its pricing page directs buyers to sales.

In its own words: The Board Agentic Planning Platform brings business context, Continuous Planning, and governed agentic AI together to connect financial and operational planning. (board.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: No module list taken from the pages we read.
Pricing: Not published on the pages we read (including board.com pricing), 29 October 2026. Ask for a quote.
Integrations it names: No integrations taken from the pages we read.
Public company: No company named “Board” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Cube

FP&A software that connects source systems to spreadsheets and other tools. Its integrations page lists ERPs, CRMs and HR systems.

In its own words: Cube AI makes financial data decision-ready across every FP&A tool and workflow (cubesoftware.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: No module list taken from the pages we read.
Pricing: Not published on the pages we read (including cubesoftware.com pricing), 29 October 2026. Ask for a quote.
Integrations it names: NetSuite; Salesforce; Workday; Sage Intacct; Snowflake; ADP Workforce Now; QuickBooks; HubSpot; Dynamics 365 BC (cubesoftware.com integrations)
Public company: No company named “Cube” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Datarails

Finance software for planning, consolidation, reporting and close that works with existing Excel models. The integrations page names over thirty source systems.

In its own words: Datarails is the AI operating system for finance teams. (datarails.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: Consolidation; Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting; Financial reporting; Datarails Month-End Close; Datarails Cash (datarails.com)
Pricing: Not published on the pages we read (including datarails.com pricing), 29 October 2026. Ask for a quote.
Integrations it names: Oracle NetSuite; QuickBooks (Desktop, Online); Sage Intacct; Microsoft Business Central; Salesforce; Xero; HubSpot; Acumatica (datarails.com integrations)
Public company: No company named “Datarails” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Jedox

FP&A and performance management software with an Excel add-in. Pricing is quoted on request.

In its own words: Adaptable FP&A and performance management software (jedox.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: Excel Experience; Data Integration; Modeling (jedox.com)
Pricing: Quoted on request. The pricing page says Contact us for a personalized quote that aligns with your business requirements (jedox.com pricing, read 29 October 2026)
Integrations it names: No integrations taken from the pages we read.
Public company: No company named “Jedox” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Jirav

FP&A software for small and midsize companies and the accounting firms that serve them. Plans are published with a starting monthly price.

In its own words: Jirav is the financial planning and analysis solution for accounting firms and SMB (jirav.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: No module list taken from the pages we read.
Pricing: The pricing page states Starting at $50/mo (jirav.com pricing, read 29 October 2026)
Integrations it names: No integrations taken from the pages we read.
Public company: No company named “Jirav” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Pigment

A business planning platform for finance, sales and workforce plans. Its integrations page lists ERPs, HR systems, data warehouses and spreadsheets.

In its own words: Analyze, model, and plan with Pigment. (pigment.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: No module list taken from the pages we read.
Pricing: Not published on the pages we read, 29 October 2026. Ask for a quote.
Integrations it names: NetSuite; Sage Intacct; SAP; Salesforce; Workday; Snowflake; Databricks; Google BigQuery; Excel; Google Sheets (pigment.com integrations)
Public company: No company named “Pigment” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Planful

Financial performance management software for planning, reporting and consolidation. Connectors are grouped by ERP, HR, CRM, warehouse and BI.

In its own words: Financial Performance Management (planful.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: Finance; Accounting; Marketing; Human Resources; Sales (planful.com)
Pricing: Not published on the pages we read, 29 October 2026. Ask for a quote.
Integrations it names: No integrations taken from the pages we read.
Public company: No company named “Planful” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Vena

Planning, reporting and close software built around Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft tools. The menu lists FP&A, close, consolidation, reconciliation and tax provisioning.

In its own words: Connect financial and operational planning, decisioning and close with Vena’s platform, powered by cumulative business context, connected data and AI agents. (venasolutions.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: Financial Planning & Analysis; Budgeting & Forecasting; Financial Close Management; Financial Consolidation; Account Reconciliation; Tax Provisioning (venasolutions.com)
Pricing: Not published on the pages we read (including venasolutions.com pricing), 29 October 2026. Ask for a quote.
Integrations it names: Microsoft Business Central; Netsuite; Sage; Quickbooks; SAP; Salesforce; Workday; Snowflake (venasolutions.com integrations)
Public company: No company named “Vena” in the SEC's list of companies with tickers, read 29 October 2026. A listing elsewhere, or a parent company, is not checked here.

Workday

Enterprise finance, HR, payroll and planning applications on one platform. The finance menu lists accounting, close, revenue, spend and planning modules.

In its own words: Workday Financial Management gives you unparalleled insight and an innovative foundation for transactional efficiency and control. (workday.com, read 29 October 2026)
Lists on its site: Accounting Center; Close & Consolidate; Revenue Management; Spend Management; Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A); Payroll (workday.com)
Pricing: Not published on the pages we read, 29 October 2026. Ask for a quote.
Integrations it names: No integrations taken from the pages we read.
Public company: SEC registrant: Workday, Inc., ticker WDAY (EDGAR filings, CIK 1327811).

Side-by-side tables from this guide

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Sources

AICPA & CIMA, System and Organization Controls, SOC suite of services. aicpa-cima.com/resources/landing/system-and-organization-controls-soc-suite-of-services, read 29 October 2026.
SEC, Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, Release 33-8238. sec.gov/rule-release/33-8238, read 29 October 2026.

Spotted an error? Write to corrections@bestfinancesoftware.com; corrections are made on the page with a dated note. Vendor facts carry their own links above and on each vendor's page.