How to Grow Your Business with Advanced Budgeting and Forecasting Software
This article will describe how organizations leverage planning software to increase efficiency.
Strategy, accuracy and automation are essential features in Corporate Performance Management (CPM) software that can make a world of difference for organizations’ budgeting process. When it comes to planning—strategy, budgeting, forecasting—organizations can ensure strategic alignment, maximum visibility and streamlined processes with the right solutions. Additionally, organizations can get the most value from modern planning software if it is user-friendly, safeguards against typical budgeting and forecasting mistakes, and allows for automatic assignments, workflows and approvals. This blog post will describe the benefits of using planning software. Let’s review three typical planning processes and their potential benefits provided by the right CPM software:
Annual Budgeting
Modern CPM and planning software can carry most of the burden through automating classic bottom-up budget processes. CPM software can automate data integration, saving employees from having to manually load data into Excel. Additionally, through workflows, budgets can be automatically submitted for approval, including a notification to the proper users. These features come in handy as an organization’s process grows and more people become involved in the budgeting cycle. The right CPM solution will allow for additional budget contributors while maintaining control and oversight. Not to mention, automation will save work hours normally dedicated to creating and reviewing the budget, thus saving money. Unlike with processes that depend on manual input, modern CPM software allows for easy continuation of a process, even with personnel changes. Finally, advanced financial reporting and analysis capabilities will help improve overall budgeting accuracy.
Sales Planning
The majority of sales planning still lives in Excel spreadsheets for Sales Forecasts. Furthermore, the mixture of CRM and Sales data makes it very difficult to provide updated forecasts quickly. Luckily, technology can streamline the reforecasting process, providing updated projections as conditions change. Having software that can quickly adapt to changes in the economy and can create multiple budget/forecast scenarios will also ensure organizations are operating with dependable, accurate sales targets.
Workforce Planning
In addition to financial processes like budgets and sales targets, modern CPM software can make a significant impact in operational planning as well. Modern CPM software will allow organizations to incorporate their strategies and goals into planning software, thus ensuring organizational alignment. In addition to planning, the right CPM solution will also allow immediate insight into the progress of budgeting processes. Through the ability to plan your organization’s workforce ahead of time, align it with budgeting goals and sales targets, planning software has become an indispensable solution for many growing organizations.
CPM solutions contain many features and facets for organizations to manage. From dashboards and reports that allow users to gain insight from the past, to planning and forecasting modules that enable them to gauge the future, more organizations are depending on modern CPM software to make management decisions. For organizations struggling to implement their business strategy, investing in a modern CPM solution is a must. The additional benefits of accuracy, automation and other time and money-saving features will make such an investment worth it.
It is recommended to review software products like Solver’s BI360 and compare CPM solutions on review sites like G2 to see which solution is the best fit for your organization. If you are struggling to find a CPM tool that fits all of your needs, Solver and its global partner channel have CPM professionals that can get your company started.
