What are DataRails users saying about the software?

DataRails Review by Craig Morrow

My experience with DataRails has been first class. I have assisted with a seamless integration for Budgeting purposes and have now rolled out the solution for month end reporting. In both scenario's I have been able to reduce the time required for completion by around 40%. I particularly like the approach of having the Customer Success Manager driving the implementation and having the single point of contact through the customer journey.

Pros

The ease in which the product was to learn and become and expert in. The functionality within the solution is exactly what any FP&A professional should be looking for in a solution. The implementation was extremely efficient as you start to build out real life business processes from the outset which mean you get a return on investment from day 1.

Cons

When deciding to partner with DataRails I was fully aware that they are at the beginning of solution development journey. However, DataRails are always keen to receive feedback on possible suggestions for improvement and are continuously developing and releasing improved functionality.

Best investment for our finance team

With this platform finance brings in data from many sources in little time. This responsivity and accessibility has been essential to the identification of key drivers that used to be produced in 5 times the amount of time. Information is available on a global scale instantly so we can standardize analyses. A great investment if you’re looking to improve processes

Pros

Finance is pleased with the ease of use and accessibility of data

Cons

Would be happy if there were more frequent updates

DataRails used as an FP&A solution

Prior to DataRails our FP&A was run exclusively through maintaining numerous excel files which resulted in a much longer monthly close process. Through DataRails, we were able to automate the generation of our allocation based segment/product P&Ls, and monthly variance reporting to Budget/prior forecast. DataRails also reduced the probability of human error.

Pros

The overall flexibility of the platform. DataRails was able to create exactly what I wanted using our existing data structure and financial models. DataRails was able to replicate all of the benefits of other more well known Planning Solutions at a much lower investment cost - both financial and human capital.

Cons

Certain aspects of our monthly forecasting process require more manual intervention than other more mature planning applications.

VIN Product Assessment

The customer support and response is excellent

Pros

Easy to navigate and set-up the dashboards

Cons

It doesn't work well with Quickbook Desktop. It requires a lot of manual processes. It does not automatically integrate with the QB desktop version. It's too cumbersome.

Product that exceeds expectations

In one word - "unbelievable" - I expected the software would be good, but once the software was up and running it exceeded expectations. The product drove down the manual time consuming data collection from 4 business days to a couple of hours. This was essential during the pandemic as more frequent turns of the forecast was required and without this software we would not have managed. The company used the product for other use cases we did not envision when we made the initial purchase.

Pros

Value for money, ease of use and accuracy. Because the program is excel based it did not take long for the team to master. Created an efficient process and removed the manual work from the department by automating the vast amounts of data in a matter of minutes. As the work load grew the product became more valuable to the company.

Cons

One difficulty was when a Microsoft patch was released it caused some issues with a formula, but the support desk was able to help correct when we brought it to their attention.

Best financial tool out there, dependable and accurate

DataRails has substantially improved the accuracy of our budgeting and forecasting. I love the ease of it, how accessible it makes our numbers, and how simple it is to follow real-time statuses. With DataRails we know our figures are accurate and up to date, which is precisely what we need from the numbers we base important decisions on.

Pros

-There are many ways to manipulate and look at your data -Drill downs are amazing. Can look at the smallest of variables. -Can work on both Excel and their Insights feature depending on what I want -Easy to use -Easy to connect with our ERP system

Cons

Sometimes it was buggy when logging out. Other than that I can't think of any other notable cons, it really is a great system.

CPM of choice

DataRails is used on a daily basis by my finance team as we perform analyses and drive insights. We chose to implement this cloud financial and analysis platform since we desperately needed a consolidation planning tool where we could continue using disparate spreadsheets and at the same time control our processes easier and better. DataRails gives us exactly this in addition to flexibility in reporting financial results.

Pros

1-We started using their Insights feature instead of our BI. Really useful. 2-Made data collection easy and organized 3-Constant access to up-to-date numbers

Cons

would be nice if it had the option of drag and drop for inputs

Fantastic Product! Highly Recommend!

Terrific experience! I highly recommend DataRails! The product is amazing, the support is industry best, and the responsiveness to customer preferences is incredible!

Pros

Drill down features in both data and graphs/charts. The integration with diverse software packages is also super convenient.

Cons

Really robust product. DataRails has a learning curve, but once the approach is learned its super intuitive.

Gives me the flexibility to make updates more frequently

Great customer support starting during the demonstration phase and going throughout implementation and use. I choose DataRails because it gave me enough flexibility to present whatever data I wanted in the format I wanted. The customer support also helped to make it easy to upload data and start creating my dashboard.

Pros

Great customer support, they do a lot of the work so I can just feed data and get the information I need in the format I want.

Cons

Sometimes the software is cumbersome. Support always helps with any issues I have but I wish it was user friendly enough that I could do more without assistance. I am still learning and do more every month on my own.

Best in Customer Success!

Visualization and insights are great, but can be confusing to set up without any support

Pros

It can be confusing to manage and update new data mappers (for users not very familiar with Data), but the support I've received and the willingness of my CSM, [SENSITIVE CONTENT], truly makes Datarails shine over other competitors. His willingness and availability is extremely helpful to our organization

Cons

Small bug issues, little features to develop more (like exporting data to a ppt or new excel)

Holding Company in the Real Estate Industry

Overall, DataRails has been great for our business. We are moving from using manual spreadsheets for financial reporting into automating this process in order to save time and look forward for trends, instead of always looking back in time at our data. It has been smooth and will be an easy transition for us. Above all else, [SENSITIVE CONTENT] has been super helpful. [SENSITIVE CONTENT] is simply the best. In addition, the Dashboard views are something that will be a great value add as we continue to introduce our portfolio companies to this software, as we are trying to sophisticate some of these businesses and force our business leaders to be continually on top of their financials, business, operations, and more.

Pros

My favorite part about this software is how easy it is to understand the logic that is going on behind the scenes. We are a holding company of 18 different operating companies using DataRails to automate our financial reporting process, as well as house all of our financial data in one system. Knowing how it works behind the scenes in critical and using the backend mapping is easy in order to make changes, fix errors, etc.... It makes it pretty easy to understand for the average user.

Cons

There is always room for improvement, like with anything. I think the biggest challenge for our company is not having all our accounting systems integrated into the system due to some industry specific accounting softwares not being able to integrate into DR. I think one thing that would be great would be more training videos or education in order to not rely on the customer success manager as much, just to improve efficiency and time.

Product is best in the business

It’s an easy tool to use and train on. Very adaptable, can look at our data in many different and useful ways with the Insights feature. Integrates with our ERP flawlessly. Can make changes in real time so decision makers always know exactly what’s happening and base the organizational direction on fresh data. Model building is straightforward, visualizations are enlightening, integrations are easy.

Pros

Using DataRails I can visualize data that I previously didn't have access to, this is by far the biggest pro-you can tap into data you've always had but previously couldn't work with. Other than that it's really easy to use, implementation is not lengthy, great customer service.

Cons

Occasionally freezes but I figure that happens with any sort of system

CPM tool of choice, excellent value

In my organization we use DataRails’ cloud financial and analysis platform for budgeting and forecasting all of our financial metrics. Each department continues to rely on Excel as usual for budgets, and then using DataRails Finance sees real-time updates and compares budgets with actuals. Useful for a variety of processes including workforce management, income statement analysis, forecasting, reporting, etc.

Pros

Seamless integration with Excel User friendly interface Has streamlined our budgeting process

Cons

Occasionally there are glitches in our templates

A lifesaver

Having a dedicated Customer Success Manager has been wonderful.

Pros

This product has allowed me to maintain my existing excel worksheets while speeding the closing process and allowing me to focus on variance analysis as opposed to simply on reporting

Cons

I would like to see waterfall charts as part of the graphic offered

Solves problems for us!

We use it a lot for data verification using the compare feature, do monitor data changes when we are changing our financial models. We use it to compare versions of our financial reporting decks and spreadsheets, and we use it for collaboration in collecting and prepareing (ETL) with data files for exporting from one system and into another.

Pros

The way the features are now integrated with Excel, the more "active" way it organizes files tags and compares versions.

Cons

I originally had a little trouble with the interface from excel (widget popups) but they replaced this with simple right-clicks and tighter integration with Excel and windows explorer that has not only eliminated the problems, but made it easier to use.

Smartest FPA solution

Great solution for planning across a distributed organization. Can handle multiple systems and locations with ease. It’s flexible, easy to use, and allows for planning at a granular level to improve budgeting and forecasting. Staff is always nice and easy to work with. Integrates well with other systems.

Pros

Allows for the reduction of errors, improves reporting, more time for analysis

Cons

Takes a little bit of getting used to but what system doesn’t

Great product, high ROI

The solution provided a high ROI for both compliance/SOX teams and the end users. As for the end users this is a fully transparent solution, the on boarding was smooth and fast.

Pros

Before implementing DataRails, we had no idea what is going on with our spreadsheets across our organization. Today, we have a clear overview of our EUC operations across the organization including real time alerts on any suspicious activity. Our finance users are happy with the benefits the application delivered to their day to day work.

Cons

As a SaaS solution, DataRails release a weekly versions which sometime require our teams to learn these changes on the go.

A great tool for financial planning

Wow. Such a great tool to bring logic from Excel to the web. I love it. It's also nice having tables from different files accessible from their cloud to other files - very useful when working with financial models that are composed from several files.

Pros

Easy Publish To Web makes is easy to make complex excel files accessible for C-level executives. Realtime sync with SharePoint Scenario analysis over the web with custom Inputs

Cons

Mapping tables for later use could be more friendly Have the add-in in Excel online so other users don't need to install the add-in.

Awesome tool for a great price

We've integrated DataRails within our finance department and it's just been great. For departments that rely heavily on Excel, this product is a must. All our information is in one place, it's accurate and reliable, and it boosts our confidence in the conclusions we draw from them. Really great, dependable tool.

Pros

DataRails improves the accuracy and accountability of so many processes such as reporting and budgeting. It saves my department hundreds of hours of previously unnecessarily wasted time. Amazing tool!

Cons

The platform doesn't integrate with Excel 2007 which is a bummer.

Excelent product

Datarails helped us to make better decisions. Our experience is excellent.

Pros

The product is very easy to use. The implementation process was very good, first understanding the company needs, and then using the relevant tools of the product. Very good implementation and support team.

Cons

Some features were missing but already developed recently.

Love this useful, insightful product

DataRails is really great for automating unnecessary work. Using the system has improved my work significantly since now I don't have to waste time on copying and pasting info in order to make sense of it. This used to take up so much time, and now it takes up no time at all.

Pros

-Insights feature is really useful -No more wasting time on something that can be automated -work better

Cons

-Can't think of anything atm it's a platform I love using and it does that job well

Capacity routing management in Teva

manage complicated excel templates with 16 sites in one database, by giving managerial dashboards to reflect the utilizations and UnOB per each product. production line or site levels.

Pros

Version management from several locations on the globe, when end user works in same excel template. dashboards and visually interface for users. privileges management is easy to manage

Cons

Some time the badge does not appears correctly on my computer and I cannot save into Datarails.

Helps track changes in Excel files

The software is still in the process of implementation and improvements

Pros

The software is very good. Changes between versions can be easily identified. Displays the activity in the software. Customer Support is excellent.

Cons

The tree view and viewchanges in conected files.

Finally addressing spreadsheet EUC

It's a solution that all financial services need but don't have. We were trying to work with our internal controls, but it was proving to be too manually intensive and costly with upkeep and designated staff. Understanding what is happening/happened to all our spreadsheet data at any given time is so useful.

Pros

Spreadsheets are inherently unstructured, and DataRails structured all my organizational data to allow for complete governance and compliance.

Cons

Have been a customer for a year and don't have any yet.

DataRails is friendly and very easy to use

I have had good experiences with DataRails.

Pros

I like the ease of budgeting and maintaining my departments spending- I like the dig down functions

Cons

I haven't found anything yet. I find the system user friendly and easy to use.