Top 15 Forecasting Software Systems Reviewed (2024)

Lucija Bakić

October 25, 2024

A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting tasks for a marketing and website project. The tasks are organized into categories like Planning and Design, with statuses such as "Doing" and "To do." Each task includes details like start and due dates, assignees, and priority levels, ranging from high to mid. The interface allows for task sorting, filtering, and group views.

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.

List of the Top Forecasting Software

  • Productive — best forecasting software for agency management needs
  • Vena Solutions — fairly streamlined option for spreadsheet-based planning
  • Planful — data integration, machine learning and AI capabilities
  • Anaplan — one of the more advanced budgeting and forecasting tools
  • Workday Adaptive Planning — another enterprise-level financial platform
  • Prophix — software that integrates Microsoft apps and PowerBI
  • Datarails — similar but more complex option than Vena Solutions
  • Cube — another solution for upgrading your spreadsheets
  • Parallax — decently robust Productive alternative for professional services
  • Jiravaccounting firms software for revenue predictability
  • Salesforceadvanced sales performance management platform
  • Mosaic Techanother platform for optimizing financial performance
  • PigmentFP&A platform with collaboration and sales forecasting tools
  • Gong.ioAI-powered revenue intelligence platform for customer-facing teams
  • Netsuite — professional services, accounting, and automation EPR from Oracle

1. Productive – Best Agency Forecasting Software

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.

The onboarding took a week or two, where we did a few training sessions and just kind of got going with it. The whole migration process was simple and the tool didn’t feel clunky at all. Productive is very intuitive and simple to get on top of.

Katya Vakulenko,
Founder and CEO of SOUP

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:

Budgeting and Billing

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.

A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting new budget insights. The data is grouped by company, showing revenue and margin for projects like ABC Company, Cupcake Project, and Website Redesign. A dropdown menu allows for further grouping and toggling options, such as displaying only totals.


Monitor your budgets over various periods of time

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

Cost Management

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.

Forecasting

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.

A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting billable and worked hours for team members across various departments, such as Development, Project Management, Leadership, and Design. The table shows individual performance, comparing billable hours to worked hours, with a final column displaying the billable-to-worked percentage.


Visualize and forecast utilization across different metrics

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.

Productive’s forecasting report is really helpful as well because it shows what our budget is, what our profit margin is likely to be, and what we need to do to keep a project healthy.

Jason Devoy,
Delivery Director at Joi Polloi

Resource Planning

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.


CUSTOMIZE YOUR RESOURCE PLANNING VIEW

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.

Sales CRM

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

A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting deals in various stages: Lead, Prospect, and Proposal. The Lead section shows a $2,800 deal for a website rebranding project. The Prospect section includes two deals: Coordination at $6,000 and Business Development at $10,000. The Proposal section displays two projects: Copywriting Services for $5,500 and Mobile App Development for $40,000. Each deal card shows the associated project, financial value, and percentage of completion.


Organize your sales processes to make better business decisions

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.

Reporting

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.

Additional Features:

  • Project Management: Use various project views to visualize your progress, from Kanban, Gantt, Workload, List, and more.
  • Task Management: Collaborate with team members, set to-dos, subtasks and dependencies, and invite clients to your workspace with the Client Portal.
  • Time Tracking: Manage your timesheets with various Time Tracking methods: built-in timer, manual entry, and automatic tracking.

Integrations

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.

Pricing

  • Plans start with the Essential plan at $9 per user per month, which includes essential features such as budgeting, project & task management, docs, time tracking, expense management, reporting, and time off management.
  • The Professional plan includes custom fields, recurring budgets, advanced reports, billable time approvals, and many more for $24 per user per month.
  • The Ultimate plan has everything that the Essential plan and Professional plan offer, along with the HubSpot integration, advanced forecasting, advanced custom fields, overhead calculations, and more for $32 per user per month.

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

Productive Forecasts Your Utilization and Finances

Switch from multiple tools and spreadsheets to an all-in-one solution for managing professional services workflows.

Book a demo

2. Vena – Excel-Based Forecast Software

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:

  • Microsoft 365 integration
  • Budgeting and forecasting
  • Workforce planning
  • What-if analysis
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting a profit and loss statement for 2020. The table breaks down EBIT, gross margin, revenue, direct revenue, miscellaneous income, and cost of goods sold across each month from January to December. It also includes total values and prior year trend graphs, along with projections for early 2021. The revenue categories are detailed, including product sales, service sales, and subscription sales.


SOurce: Vena

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.

I can’t say I’m a fan of Vena, Datarails, Aleph…or any other “planning” tool that is basically an excel plug in that costs the same (or more) as Mosaic but doesn’t offer nearly the same level of functionality, usability, and insight.

Source: Reddit

3. Planful – Robust Data Integration & Forecasting Tool

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

Key features:

  • 1400+ pre-built data connectors
  • Open access RESTful API
  • Planful Predict for forecasting
  • AI and ML capabilities
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting a balance sheet comparison between the actual and planned values for a consolidated company. The table highlights various asset categories, including cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, accounts receivable, inventory, and other current assets. The actual values, planned values, and variances are displayed, with total current assets showing a variance of over $54 million. Tabs and filters for different reports, such as cash flow and monthly financials, are visible at the top.


Source: planful

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.

Big con of planful is the consultant spend you’ll have to endure as the tool is quite old and clunky. Long implementation times too.

Source: Reddit

4. Anaplan – Complex Budget Forecasting Software

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

Key features:

  • Machine learning and AI capabilities
  • Multi-dimensional modelling
  • Integrations, ETL connectors, APIs
  • Customizable dashboards
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting cost variances and budget summaries. The dashboard displays variances in categories like salaries, travel, R&D, and marketing. A bar chart compares targets and plans for different expense categories, and additional sections show summaries of operating expenses and budget statuses for various cost centers.


source: anaplan

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.

5. Workday Adaptive Planning – Advanced Business Forecasting Software

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:

  • Financial planning
  • Workforce planning
  • Sales planning
  • Demand and supply planning
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting operational analysis, including a pie chart of operating expenses by cost center and a bar graph of profit and loss by quarter for 2020 and 2021. The pie chart shows a total of $32,144,972 across various departments, such as marketing, legal, and facilities. The bar graph compares quarterly profits year-over-year. Additional panels display balance sheet reports, income statements, and announcements. A mobile app interface shows features like schedule, time off, and expenses.


source: Workday Adaptive Planning

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.

The least helpful part of Workday Adaptive Planning would have to be the help system. I find it is a very complicated system or portal where only certain people are able to really get into it and do the trainings and forums.

Source: G2

6. Prophix – Another Integrations-Based Tool

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:

  • Process automation
  • Data connectors and APIs
  • AI and predictive forecasting
  • Integrations with Microsoft 365 and Power BI
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting a close management dashboard. The interface shows progress indicators for task completion, highlighting completed, pending, and overdue items. One section displays tasks at 0% and 1.9% completion. A task list below outlines account reconciliation details, including account names, balances, adjustments, and differences. Filters for account type and status are available for managing tasks.


source: PROPHIX

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.

Prophix would break a lot and fail pulling in data from the ERP. Refreshing the data would take up to 12 hours sometimes, making it very hard to make updates and see the impact quickly.

Source: Capterra

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

7. Datarails – More Robust Vena Alternative

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

Key features:

  • Data collection
  • Report sharing
  • Scenario analysis
  • AI-powered chat
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting a financials summary. The dashboard includes three charts: "YTD Revenue & COGS," comparing budgeted and actual total revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), and gross profit percentage; "Revenue vs. EBITDA," showing EBITDA and total revenue trends from March to December; and an "EBITDA Waterfall" chart, illustrating increases, decreases, and total contributions to margin and revenue. A gauge indicates year-to-date revenue of $31.7 million.


source: DATARAILS

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.

DataRails is much more intuitive and easier to pick up, probably because it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of Vena.

Source: G2

8. Cube – User-Friendly Spreadsheet Add-on

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

Key features:

  • Integrations with spreadsheet software
  • Standard and custom connectors
  • Custom dashboards and reports
  • Permission management
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting an annual planning budget for personnel and operational expenses. The table outlines budgeted amounts for categories such as salary, bonuses, payroll taxes, benefits, and training for the months of January to April 2024. Personnel expenses are summarized, with a total ranging from $5,067,401 to $5,467,380. Additional budget items include paid ads, promotional items, conferences, and sales commissions.


source: CUBE

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.

9. Parallax – Streamlined Forecasting and Budgeting Software

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:

  • Timesheets
  • CRM software integrations
  • Resource planning
  • Capacity forecasts
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting a resource allocation table for team members. The table shows roles like Product Manager, UX Architect, FE Engineer, and BE Engineer, along with their names. It displays the allocated hours for each role across several time periods, with figures like 10 hours for the Product Manager and 40 hours for other team members. The cells are color-coded to indicate different levels of resource allocation.


source: PARALLAX

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.

10. Jirav – Complex Revenue Forecasting Software

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:

  • Pre-designed templates
  • Budget vs actuals
  • Integrations with HRIS and accounting software
  • Cash flow forecasting
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting a scenario analysis report for Simba Corp for the year 2023. The report compares the 2023 budget with the best-case scenario for cash balance, change in cash, and key metrics such as customers, average deal size, LTV, website views, and leads. The report shows percentage increases and variances between the budget and best-case figures, with metrics like a 49.7% increase in cash change and a 61.4% rise in customer count. Sections for income statements, balance sheets, and other financial data are listed on the left.


source: JIRAV

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.

11. Salesforce – Advanced Sales Forecasting Software

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:

  • Sales analytics
  • Revenue intelligence
  • Sales forecasting
  • Performance management
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting a forecast by quarter. The bar chart shows forecasted revenue for Q1 through Q4 of CY2023, broken down by forecast categories such as Pipeline, Best Case, Most Likely, Commit, and Closed. Each bar is color-coded to represent these categories, with Q2 and Q3 showing the highest forecasted amounts. Tabs at the top allow switching between different forecast views, such as by opportunity type and representative performance.


source: SALESFORCE

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.

12. Mosaic Tech – Tool for Managing Financial Goals

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:

  • Financial reporting and analysis
  • Revenue planning
  • Financial models
  • Financial forecasts
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting an optimistic headcount model for Q1. The table shows employee details for the Engineering and Sales departments, including names, roles, employment type, location, managers, start dates, and salaries. The Engineering department has three Senior Engineers with salaries totaling $650,000, while the Sales department has a total salary forecast of $550,000. The interface includes options for filtering by status and grouping by department, with sections for pending approvals and historical data.


source: MOSAIC TECH

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.

More customized charts / tables would be a nice to have within Mosaic. While there is a breadth of different charts and tables, it would be nice to have the ability to customize these displays more quickly than it currently is within the tool.

Source: G2

13. Pigment – AI-Powered Sales and Budgeting Forecasts

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:

  • Predictive modeling
  • Dashboards and reports
  • Collaboration features
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting an executive summary dashboard. The summary includes key metrics such as $280M FY24 Revenue YTD, 34.6% QTR YoY Growth, $14M FY24 OPEX YTD, and a 45.2% FY24 Margin. Below, a chart compares revenue forecasts, targets, and actuals over the months of FY24, and an OPEX summary breaks down operational expenses by categories like Sales & Marketing, R&D, and Utilities. Filters for scenario, region, year, country, and department are visible at the top.


source: pigment

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.

I was familiar with Anaplan (was learning it to get certified, but never worked with it as part of my job). Anaplan vs Pigment, I think with Pigment it’s easier to build tables and models, however, it lacks some features Anaplan has.

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.

14. Gong.io – CRM and Sales Forecast Software

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

Key features:

  • Forecast accuracy
  • Sales engagement
  • Multi-language support
  • Wide variety of 3rd-party integrations
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting filtered call data. The interface shows a list of 30 calls filtered by specific criteria, such as company name and keywords mentioned. A search is saved under "Competitor Mentions," with options to receive notifications via email. A graph at the top visualizes call duration and mentions of "Machine Learning" over time, segmented by weeks. Each call entry includes details like company name, date, call host, and the percentage of the call focused on the selected topic.


source: gong.io

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.

They’re the most expensive tool of their kind and you can get the same call recording/transcript software bundled in with other software packages.

Source: Reddit

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

15. Netsuite – PSA and Accounting ERP

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:

  • Billing and tax management
  • Customer relationship management
  • Timesheets and time off managementd
  • Predictive forecasting
A screenshot of a project management forecasting software depicting key performance indicators (KPIs) for sales, expenses, total bank balance, and payables. Sales increased by 13.5%, expenses rose by 3.5%, total bank balance grew by 6.0%, and payables decreased by 3.5%. Below the KPIs, a table compares current and previous periods for sales, expenses, and revenue, showing percentage changes for each metric.


source: netsuite

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.

Poor availability of support and training is primarily reams of dry documentation — very difficult to search and find helpful content.recording/transcript software bundled in with other software packages.

Source: G2

Learn more in our comparison of Netsuite and QuickBooks.

What Is Forecasting Software?

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:

  • Get more predictable cashflows
  • Align capacity with demand
  • Manage resources efficiently
  • Improve decision-making processes

Financial Forecasting Software vs. Budgeting Software

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.

Financial Forecasting Software vs. Resource Management Software

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.

Key Features of Forecasting Tools

The essential features of forecasting tools include:

  • Financial forecasts: Predicting key business and capacity planning metrics such as utilization, revenue, profitability, and budget burn.
  • Consolidated data: Presenting comprehensive budgeting information that includes costs, expenses, and forecasting data.
  • Visualization and Reporting: This includes dashboards, charts, and sharing options to support quick decision-making.
  • Automation: Drag-and-drop interfaces, pre-built templates, and automated features and workflows for increased efficiency.

Advanced features include:

  • Data Integration: The ability to pull data from multiple sources, such as ERP systems, CRM software, and spreadsheets.
  • Predictive Analytics: Advanced algorithms, including machine learning and time series analysis, to provide an accurate forecast based on historical data.
  • Scenario Planning: This feature allows businesses to model different “what-if” scenarios by adjusting different business variables.

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.

Benefits of Using Forecasting and Budgeting Tools

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:

  • Increased control over business financial performance based on reliable data
  • Reduced financial and operational risks with more predictions on future trends
  • Increased efficiency with data collection and workflow automation
  • Better workload management, which can lead to increased employee satisfaction
  • Enhanced long-term strategic planning and demand forecasting

How to Implement Financial Forecasting Tools

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.

Productive Forecasts Your Utilization and Finances

Switch from multiple tools and spreadsheets to an all-in-one solution for managing professional services workflows.

Book a demo

How to Choose the Right Forecasting Software

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

  • Does your organization have 300+ employees?
  • Do you have resources to invest in lengthy implementation?
  • Do you have a tech-oriented team to maintain your solution?
  • Do you have senior management buy-in and support?

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.

Conclusion: Choosing the Best Forecasting Software

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

  • If you want to upgrade your Excel spreadsheets, consider Vena or Datarails
  • For robust forecasting in enterprise companies, there’s Anaplan or Workday
  • Alternatives to these tools include Jirav, Mosaic Tech, and Planful
  • For those interested in sales forecasting tools, there’s Salesforce and Gong
  • Productive is the best forecasting tool for professional service organizations.

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.

Productive’s Forecasting Software In Action

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.

The biggest game changer for us was being able to link scheduling with estimates and budgets. That was the big missing link that we had. We had scheduling in one tool, budgets in another, and our sales pipeline in a third tool.

Miles Scott,
Chief Operating Officer at Akcelo

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.

FAQ

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.

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Lucija Bakić

Content Specialist

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