Vena Solutions vs. Datarails
Vena Solutions and Datarails are two of the top tools on the market. They both offer great solutions with slightly differing pros and cons that are important to highlight.
The need for FP&A software has grown tremendously, as finance leaders seek SaaS solutions in order to help reduce the amount of manual processes in their daily work, as well as in long term budgeting and forecasting.
FP&A tools help improve many finance functions including consolidating financial statements, automating GL, creating budgets, cost management capabilities, forecasting, and what-if scenarios.
Finding the right solution can be difficult, as each tool offers slightly different functions, features, and of course prices, while each company has individual needs and details that they are looking for.
Features:
Features | Datarails | Vena |
|---|---|---|
Maintaining Use | Designated in house customer success manager and FP&A consultant. | Need dedicated system administrator to maintain Vena use. |
Excel Compatibility | Complete native Excel functionality. Internal financial models can be imported as well. | Excel interface but the platform is quite rigid when formatting specific sets of data. |
Power BI | Full Excel functionality with customized dashboards and no need to learn Power BI. | Need to learn Power BI. |
Integrations:
Features | Datarails | Vena |
|---|---|---|
Integration Drill down capabilities | Can use Datarails platform to drill down in real time to the granular level. | Limited drill down capabilities with certain integrations. |
Third Party BI Integrations | Integrates with over 200 software integrations from all aspects of the organization. | Integrates with big platforms such as Netsuite and Salesforce, and Quickbooks. |
Integrating Systems | CRM, ERP, HRIS and more. | CRM, ERP, HRIS and more. |
Functionalities:
Functionalities | Datarails | Vena |
|---|---|---|
Onboarding Engagement Time | 2 weeks for full implementation. | 8-12 weeks for full implementation. |
Available in | US, UK, Canada, and Europe. | Worldwide Audience. |
Audience | SMBs, Mid Market, and Commercial. | Focus on Medium and Large Enterprises. |
Pricing & plans:
Pricing and Plans | Datarails | Vena |
|---|---|---|
Price | Not disclosed | Starting at $30k per year+ implementation fee of approximately $30k= $60k altogether. |
Features and Functionality
For a cloud solution such as FP&A software, the combination of as many features as possible along with simplicity and usability is the key to a great product. In fact both companies do a great job of this.
Datarails and Vena Solutions have a host of functionalities that allow companies to accurately budget and forecast error free and in a time saving manner through automation and integration. Financial analytics, scenario modeling, and financial close management are just a few of the features that both Vena and Datarails provide as two of the best solutions on the market.
However, the main feature and functionality difference is not in a specific service that either provides, but rather in how they provide it. Datarails has a higher compatibility with Excel which means the ease of use, familiarity, and implementation time all outrank Vena Solutions and gives them the edge in this category.
Slight Winner: Datarails
Plans and Pricing
Both solutions offer different price and payment options, but Datarails beats out Vena Solutions in both categories. Datarails on average is less than half the price of Vena when calculated for the first year of payments.
Vena’s significantly higher price is due to the one time implementation fee calculated into the first year, but even with their cheaper long term option (3 years for approximately $120k), Datarails is still far less expensive.
Big Winner: Datarails
Built-In Solutions
Although Datarails has an easier-to-use platform that translates into faster implementation time because of its alignment with Excel, Vena Solutions provides more complex options of what can be done with its workflows. In addition to the time- saving workflows, report sharing, and version control that both solutions offer, Vena allows experts to dig a little deeper with reporting thanks to their innovative add ons such as Workforce Planning and Pre-Configured Solutions.
Slight Winner: Vena Solutions
Integrations
Both Datarails and Vena integrate with CRM, ERP, HRIS, or just about any system of choice. The big difference between the two companies lies in the number of data integrations from cloud applications and systems.
Vena Solutions and Datarails both cover the biggest and most important native connectors such as NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Salesforce and Intuit QuickBooks.
However, Datarails also integrates with over 70 big and small cloud applications from all types of software (HR, Accounting, Sales, Real Estate software, etc.) Google Analytics, Oracle, Xero, and Yardi are just a few of the differentiators.
Winner: Datarails
Summary
Datarails:
The price, flexibility, and ease of use is hard to beat. However, what most customers enjoy the most about Datarails is the fact that its compatibility with Excel is so exact that it’s as if nothing’s changed. The ROI from day one, with the very limited time spent on training employees, are huge pros with this choice.
Vena:
One of the most reliable FP&A software solutions founded over a decade ago, Vena’s compatibility with Excel and multitude of add-ons makes it a great choice for many financial teams. Catering to medium and large enterprises serves as an advantage for companies with large finance teams and huge amounts of data. The downsides, however, are the time it takes to implement (approx. 3-6 months), the price (more than 2x as expensive as Datarails), and greater rigidity.
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