Planful vs Datarails

QuickBooks Online

Xero

QuickBooks Online is an all-in-one online business software designed to help manage business finances. The platform is built to scale businesses, unlocking insights and providing the functionality of a larger team, all on one integrated platform.

Datarails

Datarails is an FP&A solution that enables finance experts to conduct financial planning and analysis, budgeting, and forecasting. The platform automates data consolidation, reporting, and planning while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and financial models.

Xero is an award-winning online accounting software designed for small business owners and accountants, available on any computer or mobile device with an internet connection. Simplify business admin and get a range of financial insights to help you make better decisions for your business.

Cloud-based Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) software providing numerous tools to help with financial planning, modeling, and reporting.

Accounting

Accounting Integration

Accounts Receivable

Activity Dashboard

Ad hoc Reporting

Alerts/Notifications

Asset Lifecycle Management

Audit Trail

Bank Reconciliation

Budgeting/Forecasting

Cash Flow Management

Cash Management

Collaboration Tools

Consolidation/Roll-Up

Customizable Dashboard

Customizable Reports

Dashboard

Dashboard Creation

Data Connectors

Data Import/Export

Data Integration

Data Management

Data Visualization

Drag & Drop

Expense Tracking

Financial Analysis

Financial Consolidation & Close Management

Financial Management

Financial Reporting

Forecasting

General Ledger

Goal Setting/Tracking

Idea Management

Income & Balance Sheet

Journal Entry Processing

Key Performance Indicators

KPI Monitoring

Marketing Reports

Modeling & Simulation

Multi-Company

Multi-Currency

Multi-Department/Project

Multiple Data Sources

Multiple Projects

OLAP

Performance Management

Performance Metrics

Planning Tools

Predictive Analytics

Profit/Loss Statement

Project Accounting

Projections

Project Planning

Real-Time Analytics

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Reporting

Relational Display

Reporting/Analytics

Reporting & Statistics

Roadmapping

Sales Reports

Sales Trend Analysis

Scenario Planning

Scheduled/Automated Reports

Scorecards

Search/Filter

Self-Service Reporting

Single Sign On

Strategic Planning

Task Management

Version Control

Visual Analytics

Visual Discovery

"What If" Scenarios

Planful

Windows

Web-based

Spreadsheet Server

Custom

Licenciado en Sistemas de Información

It allows for detailed analysis in budgeting and scenario planning, thanks to Planful's advanced tools, which even enable integration with various ERP and CRM systems.

Creative Manager

Flexibility: Planful offers a wide range of customizable templates and models that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your business.

telec

It delivers Excel-like familiarity, real-time collaboration, and deep integrations with ERP and accounting systems

Self

Sometimes it requires a manual upload, and can be challenging for new users, and customization options are more limited.

Planful is a robust solution for mid-sized companies looking to optimize and automate their financial processes.

Atimes it Freeze and face problems with the updating time. if the app is close and have to reuse it mostly have to start fresh from start

Financial Manager

I used this software to simplify workflow, reporting, and budget updates.

Freelancer

I also love the way it can grow with me. With Planful I have improved my marketing objectives in a more professional way, giving better campaigns and with smarter strategies that help to manage better.

Marketing Manager

We lost data from the older ERP system at times and needed to upload the information manually during the early days of implementation.

Manager

Then I joined the user community, where I found lots of practical tips and real-life examples from other companies.

After that, I started building things myself using real examples from our own marketing campaigns.

Looking for an easy approach to all those financial tasks that you have to do and need it to be simple, streamlined, and efficient?

Bookkeeper

I mainly used Planful for planning and budgeting.

Shift Leader

Planful makes planning super smooth and accurate it’s making thing easy for the whole team, we can trust the process

Operations Director

I liked the feature of consolidation of financial data as this department is fully automated.

Director

Hard to ‘make macros’ or create recurring data searches

manager

There were a lot of things that had to be entered manually at first.

One of the things i like about it is how the software is build and setup.

I think it needs to be supplemented a little bit more when it comes to input.

I originally got into Host for budgeting and it has been great for that, but I have found it great for many other things.

owner

ease of use, team collaboration the overall monitoring and the way it’s together so good.

the cost was prohibitive for me, and can be for small businesses

Mechanical engineer

I can buy it easily and I would also advise people to buy it too.

IT Manager

I like the great accounting features and capabilities.

Owner

Getting started with Planful was really easy for me.

Senior Manger, Finance Systems and Analysis

Saving HC to finance and HR cubes requires many additional steps.

That has led to incorrectly saving data to other scenarios.

Chief Financial Officer

The integrators were oversold and never worked despite being paid for

Senior Consultant

We used Planful's Reporting and Consolidation functionality, and are current in the process of setting up Dynamic Reporting/Spotlight for the purposes of revamping an internal budgeting and forecasting  process.

Sr. Financial Analyst

With Planful, now that we're live and stable on the platform, it takes < 50% of my time, so I'm able to focus on other value-add activities:  process improvement and automation, personal skill development and growth, and future product enhancements.

what i like about planful is that the data is transmitted in real time.the application is easy to handle.reliable and accurate details and it has very good features.

VP of Finance and Technology

I have the ability to lock down budgets so they cannot be changed.  

That the licence was only three years long

Prepping the file to load this data takes ~1 hour/month when all other data load rules take < 5 minutes.  

Finance Manager

For me this software is a mid tier product in some ways so it seemed logical that they would realize companies may not have solid infrastructure to support fast and elaborate functions provided.

On the surface anything can be intimidating to a new user but we have a small team that has been able to manage this across many hospitals and types of users.

Sr. Financial Business Specialist

We've reduced the use of excel spreadsheets for budgeting/forecasting by using this tool.

In my opinion the best thing about the system is that once you perform the initial set up and get the hierarchies and data loads correct, it is super easy to use with minimal training required, whilst also being massively powerful and flexible.

We do not have a data warehouse which makes things difficult with connecting data.

consolidation module could be improved, tracking reconciliations etc

Never got any value out of it and they made me pay for 2 years…

It's simplified our budget and forecasting process and it keeps getting easier each year.

Analyst

Also gets noticeably better every few months.   If you need them, support is hard working, responsive, and thorough.

It is also very competitively priced, and the support staff and implementation consultants are excellent.

I like that most of this software is tight and reasonable in size.

Accounting Project Manager

It is easy to get information out, once the reports are built.

Administering the system is very smooth and adaptable.  

The support was not great when we first implemented the tool.

Budgeting and Forecasting

Training and Learning Curve

Financial Consolidation

Customer Support

Team Collaboration

Access and Navigation

Integrations

Bugs and Issues

Size and Limitations

Mid-size Business

Large Enterprises

Small Business

NetSuite

NetSuite is an AI-powered cloud-based business management suite. It helps organizations streamline their operations and gain real-time insights into their performance. The suite caters to a range of industries such as manufacturing, retail, and professional services.

Assistant Controller

Overall, Datarails wants what is best for their customers, but their lack of internal communication and turnover in their organization made the implementation experience drag on.

Senior Financial Analyst

The CSMs are highly responsive, and bugs are addressed promptly.

Financial Analyst

The customer support team is responsive and helpful, contributing to a positive user experience.

Datarails is a financial planning and analysis platform for Excel users. It automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Automating these manual processes paves the way for finance teams to spe

Planful vs Datarails Comparison (2026)

Planful

Datarails

Overview

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Pricing

User reviews

Key features

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Alternatives