Top 15 Forecasting Software Systems Reviewed (2025)

Forecasting software can become the single source of truth for supporting all day-to-day and strategic decision-making.

Check out our list below to find the best financial and sales forecasting tools with their key features, pros, cons, and user reviews.

Later, we’ll discuss types of forecasting software, how to implement it, and more.

Productive is an all-in-one platform for managing profitability, utilization, and financial forecasting in professional services organizations.

One of its main benefits is that it’s a subscription-based platform with out-of-the-box functionalities that don’t require a lengthy implementation to use.

However, its user-friendly interface doesn’t mean that Productive is a lightweight solution.

With Productive, you’ll get integrated resourcing, budgeting, billing, forecasting, project, management, and customizable reporting.

This blend of features for comprehensive business management make it a great option for companies of all sizes that want to be more mindful of their operations and planning.

Let’s explore Productive’s key features in more detail.

Starting with the Budgeting feature, with Productive you can set up your cost rates, billable rates, and bundle them into agency rate cards.

You can use this data to create proposals and send them to your clients, and also use it to build and later manage your project budgeting.

You can visualize your budget burn, revenue, and profitability in real time as teams track their billable hours.

Productive also offers Revenue Recognition. Revenue from fixed services can be spread across time, or recognized on a single date.

Productive includes integrated Billing, so you can create and send invoices from the platform or use native integrations with Xero and QuickBooks.

To get more accurate profitability insights, you can enable overhead calculations on your budgeting.

Productive calculates overhead by adding these costs on top of your employee cost rates, and spreading it across all projects when they track their time.

What this means is that you’ll be able to get insights into true profitability per project.

With Productive, you can also add external expenses, mark them for reimbursement, and check their payment status. Formalize your purchasing intent with Purchase Orders.

Productive’s Forecasting integrates the Resource Planning and Budgeting features.

You can forecast your employee utilization to check team workloads for upcoming periods of time.

This can help you make informed decisions on whether to hire more staff, reskill or upskill employees, or even if have enough capacity to take on new projects.

Productive also includes financial forecasting.

In your Budgeting and Profitability overviews, you can turn on forecasting to see your future financial performance based on your current resource scheduling.

If your budgets or profit margins are at risk, you can adjust your resource allocations and check your forecasts again.

With Productive’s Resource Planning, you can create a customizable resource planner.

This planner can be customized by using filters, changing your views (either people or projects focused), turning capacity indicators on and off, and adding various custom fields for more data.

Productive also includes integrated Time Off Management, so you can handle time off requests and approvals from the platform.

This is automatically reflected in your resource planner.

Productive also includes a Sales CRM module, which can be used to customize your sales pipeline and track your deal progress.

You can treat each deal like an individual task: assign responsible sales reps, leave comments, set deadlines and statuses, and more.

By setting probabilities of closing deals on each stage, you can forecast sales performance and potential sales revenue.

Other features include using tentative bookings to create resource schedules for potential projects, creating and sending proposals, and coverting your won deals into projects.

Finally, with Reporting, you can use more than 50+ pre-built templates to create reports, or build them from scratch.

Customization features include data grouping, filtering, various visualizations, and custom fields and formulas.

To share your reports, create custom dashboards and add widgets, or automate sending to Slack or email via Pulse.

Also see: Automations, Permission Builder, Docs, Productive AI

Productive offers various integrations with HR, accounting, and collaboration tools.

Integrations include Slack, Google Calendar, and Outlook for scheduling and updates; Xero and QuickBooks for accounting; BambooHR, Breathe, Humaans.io for HRM; Memtime for time tracking; and more.

You can also try out Productive with a 14-day free trial.

Vena is a financial analysis and platform that functions as an add-on to Excel, but some professionals find it underfeatured for their needs.

Key features:

Pros: For teams that want to work mainly in Excel, Vena can be a good option for streamlined modeling.

Cons: Some users find that platforms that function as standalones for improving business performance are a better investment overall, especially in the long term.

Source: Reddit

Planful is a fairly powerful platform for data consolidating and accurate forecasting, but some find its user interface rigid and outdated.

Key features:

Pros: Planful can be a powerful platform for managing financial resources, if you’re ready to put in the work to implement and learn it.

Cons: Some users comment that Planful is a “legacy platform”, which means it can feel clunky and unintuitive to use.

Source: Reddit

Anaplan is a flexible platform for handling operational plans, but it can be time-consuming and difficult to set up correctly.

Key features:

Pros: Because of how flexible Anaplan is, businesses can create custom models according to their specific needs.

Cons: If you want to get the most of out Anaplan, you’ll need to find a tried-and-tested implementation team and a dedicated team to maintain and manage the model.

We also covered Anaplan in our list of the top software for workforce planning.

Workday Adaptive Planning can be a great solution for a larger enterprise, but might not be worth it for smaller to mid-sized businesses.

Key features:

Pros: Users reviews state that Workday is a more mature product compared to something like Vena, and has overall good customer support.

Cons: Multiple users reviews find that Workday’s help center and official documentation could be more comprehensive and centralized.

Source: G2

Prophix is a good option for efficient reporting, but some frequently mentioned downsides include the loading speed of data, especially when importing it from other systems.

Key features:

Pros: Multiple user reviews praise Prophix for streamlining their financial reporting and helping them customize data.

Cons: If you’re looking for a system that can process large amounts of data in real time, Prophix might not be the best choice.

Source: Capterra

Learn more about Power BI and other solutions in our list of the best reporting software.

Datarails is a great option for teams that want to keep working in Excel, but need less extensive features than Vena.

Key features:

Pros: Datarails is a good option for Excel users that want to automate processes and visualize their financial peformance.

Cons: On the other hand, users state that Datarails is only as good as your initial Excel set-up, so you’ll still need to check your data numerous times for accuracy.

Source: G2

Cube is another spreadsheet-native solution for streamlining your financial management and forecasting process, but is not as powerful as some alternatives.

Key features:

Pros: Cube can be a great spreadsheet-friendly alternative for smaller to mid-sized companies.

Cons: As a relatively new software, users state that Cube is less powerful than some of its more expensive competitors.

Parallax can be a good Productive.io alternative for agencies and software development firms, but there are some performance issues and platform bugs.

Key features:

Pros: Parallax can be a good option for professional services companies, as it offers a solid range of features for supporting data-driven decisions.

Cons: Parallax doesn’t include a native CRM feature, so you’ll need to look elsewhere for sales management and sales forecasting.

Jirav is a reporting and financial modeling software for accounting firms and SMBs, but may have performance issues when handling large or custom datasets.

Key features:

Pros: Users enjoy that Jirav is dedicated to improving their solution with user experience enhancements and responsive customer support.

Cons: Some users report slow platform performance when the software is processing large amounts of data.

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a great CRM solution for managing your sales processes, but it can be expensive compared to other sales and marketing agency software.

Key features:

Pros: Salesforce Sales Cloud helps businesses manage funnels, customer information, and make informed decisions on their sales processes.

Cons: The platform can be overwhelming and expensive for small businesses. They might benefit more from implementing project management software with a CRM feature.

We also explored some other popular solutions for CRM for consulting firms.

Mosaic Tech, not to be confused with the capacity planning app Mosaic, is a strategic finance platform, with its main downside being some underdeveloped features.

Key features:

Pros: Customers usually praise Mosaic Tech for being user friendly and having a responsive customer support team.

Cons: Multiple user reviews state that some features are not 100% developed, and that there could be more built-in integrations.

Source: G2

Pigment is solid AI-powered business planning platform for sales planning, HR teams, finance teams, and more, but it doesn’t have significant features that make it stand out from similar software.

Key features:

Pros: Pigment offers some basic collaboration and task management features, as well as workflow automation for supporting client relationships.

Cons: Users state that Pigment is a young tool, so it lacks some advanced features compared to its closest competitors.

Source: Reddit

If you’re interested in client project management and collaboration tools, check out our list of the best professional services project management software.

Gong is a platform for customer relationship management and revenue intelligence, but it can be expensive compared to similar solutions.

Key features:

Pros: Gong is mainly focused on recording and analyzing customer interactions, and it can be valuable for managing and improving your sales process.

Cons: Certain users believe that there are other tools that do what Gong can, and are more affordable.

Source: Reddit

Check out Gong in the context of revenue operations software solutions.

Oracle Netsuite is an example of enterprise resource planning software solution with a blend of accounting and PSA features, but it has a steep learning curve.

Key features:

Pros: Netsuite includes multiple modules that can be integrated to tailor the solution to your company’s specific needs.

Cons: Users usually have issues with the implementation process and the available documentation and support. Additionally, Netsuite’s licenses can get expensive.

Source: G2

Learn more in our comparison of Netsuite and QuickBooks.

Forecasting software is a type of software solution that’s used to predict future outcomes based on historical data and market trends.

It can be used across a variety of organizations, from professional services providers to manufacturing and financial services.

Complex forecasting tools typically use statistical algorithms, machine learning models, or artificial intelligence to generate predictions.

These predictive models can include data on revenue, profitability, employee utilization, and more.

Forecasting software is mainly used to:

Financial forecasting software and budgeting software cover similar business operations, but they have a different main purpose.

Forecasting software focuses on predicting future trends by using historical trends and market data. It’s not focused on your current performance, as much as your future revenue, expenses, and cash flows.

On the other hand, project budget management software is mainly concerned with the various process connected to building and managing a project budget.

Project budgeting tools focus mainly on current trends and support easier oversight of budget burn and project progress.

Forecasting and budgeting software can be integrated, but they often come as separate solutions. Whether you need an all-in-one or specialized option depends on your industry and business type.

Resource management software is primarily concerned with the efficient allocation and utilization of an organization’s resources, such as personnel, equipment, and materials.

It ensures that the right resources are available at the right time to meet project or operational demands.

This usually includes both day-to-day and strategic, long-term capacity planning.

Forecasting and resource management software functionalities often intersect. To start, advanced resource management tools can forecast employee utilization to guide hiring and informed decision-making.

Additionally, forecasting in professional services organization often considers data such as employee scheduling (billable hours and cost rates) in order to calculate client profitability.

While financial forecasting software doesn’t need to provide integrated resource management, this can provide businesses with a more comprehensive view into their operations.

The essential features of forecasting tools include:

Advanced features include:

If you work in a mid-sized to larger agency business, the essential feature set should be enough.

For enterprise firms with complex data sets, software with advanced features is recommended.

According to RevOps Co-Op survey, only about 14% of business leaders used automated tools only for their forecasting, while 35% use manual processes (spreadsheets).

Additionally, only 22% strong agreed that they have the right data for forecast accuracy.

Forecasting software offers several benefits that can significantly enhance a company’s decision-making processes, such as:

Some forecasting and demand planning tools will be easier to implement than others.

Complex solutions, such as Workday or Anaplan, will usually require experienced consultants to ensure that everything is being set up correctly.

But while an implementation team can help streamline this process, it won’t work without significant investment of your own time.

This can also be a lengthy process. For businesses of around 200 people, it can take as much as 3-6 months to set up a more robust demand forecasting software solution.

On the other hand, with a solution like Productive, the process is usually simpler, since there’s less customization to do.

Productive also includes useful features for ensuring adoption across your teams.

For example, Productive’s Sandbox feature provides a test environment for onboarding employees and testing out new features without affecting your real data and workflows.

You can also sign up for a free 14-day trial to check it out.

So, the right software solution for your business depends on several factors:

If the answer to these questions is no, you might want to consider implementing a simpler software solution that provides budgeting and forecasting support.

For agencies especially, there are great agency management software systems with forecasting features that can be very helpful in tracking and managing your financial performance.

Once you’ve decided whether you need a streamlined or complex enterprise-level tool, you can consider factors such as user-friendliness and customer support.

Most data-heavy systems are not very user-friendly, unless you spend the time to make them so.

However, customer support can be a real differentiating factor, so spend some time researching user reviews, and make sure to evaluate the quality of customer support before committing to a solution.

Here’s a quick summary of some of the financial forecasting software solutions we’ve explored in this article:

With Productive, you’ll get the benefits of a streamlined user interface, but you’ll still get comprehensive support for your business needs.

Productive includes resource planning, budgeting, and forecasting to help you manage your agency’s profitability. All of this is combined with project management and collaboration features.

Book a demo with Productive today to learn more.

Akcelo, a brand experience agency that has worked with clients such as McDonalds, PepsiCo, and Netflix, needed a unified source of truth for their business operations.

Their requirements: the software should be reasonably priced and not too difficult to implement.

They tried out a variety of specialized solutions, from Jira and Smartsheet to WorkflowMax. While they worked well, they didn’t really address their main issue — siloed workflows.

With Productive, Akcelo was able to marry the functionalities of multiple disparate tools into one, which provided them with insights into future revenues, profitability, and overall project performance.

Learn more about Akcelo’s implementation process with Productive.

What types of businesses benefit most from forecasting software?

Forecasting software is beneficial for a wide range of businesses, particularly those with complex financial operations or variable demand patterns. Industries such as retail, manufacturing, professional services, and financial services can all get value from optimized resources, a more predictable cash flow, and better management of operational risks based on fluctuating market conditions and historical data trends.

Can forecasting software be integrated with other business systems?

Many forecasting software solutions offer integrations with 3rd party software. Some integrate natively with Excel spreadsheets and provide a more streamlined interface for financial forecasts. Other tools function more like data processing software, and can import complex data from other ERP, CRM, and accounting platforms. Productive’s Integrations include a variety of software, including Xero, QuickBooks, HubSpot, and various HRIS tools.

Is training required to use forecasting software?

Training is often required for more complex forecasting platforms. This can include a longer process of several months with teams of consultants. More streamlined options such as Productive can usually be learned more easily with the help of the customer support team, official documentation, and other video materials.

Can forecasting software help with project management?

Some forecasting solutions combine financial forecasting with project management features, while others are more concerned with data processing. Productive, for example, can be used to manage project progress and team collaboration, but also for resource planning, forecasting, and workload management.