PlanGuru Reviews

Solid product, Feature-Rich, Intuitive Design, Great value for small- to medium-sized businesses.

Comments: I am attempting to build budgets for my clients using the PlanGuru software installed on the remote cloud desktop. Overall, the product has met my expectations. I have used several similar large/deluxe budgeting tools built for Fortune 500 companies that cost 10 times as much (or more), and this is a very good "abridged" budgeting software for small businesses that is still very feature-rich. The support I have received from the technical team has been very good; they have been very responsive to my requests. The cloud desktop experience was a little bit more laggy than I expected. I LOVE the Excel add-in. It is a very powerful tool. However, I thought the installation of the add-in was a little more complicated than it should be, especially based on the cost of the cloud subscription. There is room for PlanGuru to improve a few things, but I will be using for future clients, and I highly recommend this product for small- to medium-sized businesses.

Pros:

Very intuitive design. Most features/functions are just a right-click away. If you don't understand exactly what you are looking at, the tutorial videos are GREAT, and they have links to the relevant videos built right into the program where you need them. Excel Add-in is a very powerful tool. A real selling-point for PlanGuru. If you know how to use a pivot table, you will love this tool. Consolidations. If you have multiple departments, or groups of departments, consolidations is a must-have. Excel Links. If the myriad of PlanGuru projection methods aren't good enough, just suck in whatever data you want from Excel to the budgeting tool.

Cons:

It would be great if this product was built as a web/browser-based product, rather than a local client install. Then the users could also save on the cost of the remote cloud desktop, and installation/connectivity should be easier. There should really be a "mass-refresh" button/method in the Excel add-in that would refresh every tab at once. A "mass-consolidation" button in the PlanGuru application would be nice, too. I wish there was a "help forum" where users could assist one another and help troubleshoot issues. Support is responsive, and the videos are great. But support can't answer you as fast as a forum search would, and the videos don't cover everything. Chances are SOMEONE has had the same question in the past.

Plan Guru for financial consultants

Comments: I've been able to help my clients create future plans and look at many what if scenarios and their affect on the balance sheet without having to worry about whether my formulas are correct in excel.

Pros:

The flexibility of the application for creating multiple forecasts and budgets using a variety of assumptions and KPI's. the use of excel to integrate and add additional flexibility to the program. The subschedules allow multiple ways to forecast revenue and track other expenses. the integration of the balance sheet and ability to see affect the forecast has on the balance sheet items.

Cons:

Some lack of flexibility in reporting. Lack of ability to print reports from analytics.

Plan Guru review

Comments: Overall our experience with Plan Guru has been pretty good. The price point was extremely appealing and is what pulled us to the software. For the most part the software runs without any major issues. I think our one issue we had may have been specific to just our company. I can honestly say that working with their customer support was pretty easy as well. All communication was handled through email.

Pros:

One of the pros to this software is the price point at which features are standard. I worked with our CFO to pick out the software. We review different suites of software and found that Plan Guru offered the most for the price.

Cons:

We have had some issues where we setup multiple user accounts and they share some of the same files. I think they may have some glitches in the software as everyone had the same access but certain individuals were not able to create copies or new documents from the same exact file.

Great value in cash flow planning

Comments: Overall a great cash flow program for the price. it has many features that programs 10 times the price do not have.

Pros:

Plan Guru is a straightforward application for generating cash flow statements. I have used the product since 2003, and have watched it evolve from a simple tool to a more sophisticated application. The company has been receptive to user requests such as increasing the size of database fields to allow larger numbers, adding supplementary schedules, and direct cash flow projections. Some of the debt amortization wizards are very handy, providing current portion of LTD in addition to amortizing loan balances and interest charges. They have also included some valuation and ratio analysis work papers that are very handy. This is a small company (at least it operates as one) where you can actually talk to a real live person. All in all, it is a very good application for the price.

Cons:

The application occasionally will show some instability, but this has been vastly improved over earlier versions. There are recovery routines so most of the data is not lost. The crashes seem mostly due to print driver compatabilities. The developers are pretty good at fixing these issues. Large, complicated formulas may run into size limits when calculating dollar outcomes. When this occurs, I have created interim formulas in a workbook to get to the final formula. It's nice that the application has supplementary schedules for the P&L. However there are no such supporting schedules for the balance sheet. Much of the work I do is in the balance sheet. It would nice to have a supporting schedule that would clean up the balance sheet presentation. The learning curve can be a little steep for the novice user. The application was developed by CPAs for CPAs, although this application is valuable for private companies.

PlanGuru Forecasting Software is the Best

Comments: I use PlanGuru to build business forecasts for my clients so that I can provide great service, especially to growth oriented clients who hold themselves accountable to their goals. I have used PlanGuru results (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, Valuations) to support my clients with their banking relationships and for providing investors with forecasts that support business models for startups and going concerns too.

Pros:

PlanGuru provides upfront training on how to utilize the software using case studies so a new user can learn, practice and see the results of the case studies. This is critical to the user because it allows a new user the opportunity to learn from mistakes in a case study, as well as the opportunity to try different modeling techniques. I learned the importance of thinking through assumptions, KPIs and all drivers that impact forecasting of details on the P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow statements in case studies. I continued to learn every time I used PlanGuru. I also used the output many times in serving my clients. Each and every time I need support of any kind, PlanGuru always got back to me in 24 hours or less and stayed glued to me until my question or issue was completed resolved to my satisfaction. I always had service with a smile via email or on a one on one phone call.

Cons:

I was annoyed when I learned that my software was shut down remotely when PlanGuru adopted an annual license fee after several years of no fees, unless you opted in for an upgrade to a new version. I got over it as I realize that the software and the customer service and support are superb.

PlanGuru is great.

Pros:

PlanGuru is a wonderful tool that makes it extremely easy for small businesses to budget projects as well as determine how well the projects are doing. PlanGuru is extremely easy to use and integrate with software like Quickbooks. The customization of everything on plan Guru is immense and extremely flexible. Overall, PlanGuru is easy to use and wonderful to have.

Cons:

PlanGuru lacks a couple of integrations that I would like to see implemented in the future.

Good program for the price

Pros:

Ease of use. As a first time user learning curve was quick

Cons:

Frequently of upgrades. More would be nice

Great Forecasting Software!

Comments: The cash-flow forecasting is key to our company, along with the forecasting and budgeting abilities for original forecast, revised and actual, along with the reporting capabilities.

Pros:

The ease of use, cash-flow forecasting and variety of reports.

Cons:

Can be a little tricky to start, but support can get you through the bumps.

A great budgeting tool!

Comments: An outstanding sales and support team. CSR was outstanding in answering my questions when I was working on importing data and the webinars he did, one public and one that was 1-1 with me really helped me to decide to recommend buying PlanGuru to my GM.

Pros:

PlanGuru is an outstandingly good budgeting tool for small businesses. The features provided with the license cost are worth far beyond the charge and equal to solutions charged at 10-15 times the price by competitors. It allows for multiple departments to roll up into a consolidated overall budget.

Cons:

The learning curve is pretty steep. The online tutorials aren't quite up to the detail level I was looking for. They're good, but I just needed more details on certain aspects.

Waste of time and money

Comments: Disappointing. From start to finish I am sorely regretful for making this purchase.

Pros:

Easy of installation and accessibility.

Cons:

Does not offer greater functionality than existing programs. Does not perform as well as I was led to believe. I requested termination and refund of purchase price but was ignored then told it was my shortcomings for not appreciating the program.

Good product but far from the ideal Forecasting software

Comments: Plan Guru is an excellent product, specially considering that there are no products out there with this many features at this price level. If you want to have the best products you will have to pay tens of thousands every year, ie. Budget Maestro. However I think PG has some room for improvement, such as 1.- More flexibility in the automatization for the recording of Historical and actual values. Not even copy and paste is possible.
2.- Make it more friendly. PG can only be mastered by someone with a strong background in Finance
3.- Expand reporting capabilities and allow to export reports to excel with up the 36 months instead of only 12 mo.
4.- Develop a Mac version or a web version
5.- Develop Inventory module and allow for supporting schedule on the Balance sheet
6.- Flexibility in putting some values ( ie. interest expense) in the balance sheet for capitalization purposes

Pros:

-Once you have all the numbers, projections are very fast and exact. -Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash flow integration -Links to excel files

Cons:

- The link process is very long and tedious - No possibility of using formulas in the actual and historical data - Need an inventory module - Need Supporting schedule for the Balance sheet

Budgeting Software Every Business Owner Should Own

Comments: I own a manufacturing business and produce an annual budget and a multi-year projection. I am not a CPA nor am I trained as a bookkeeper. When I needed to replace my old budgeting software I was particularly concerned whether it was appropriate for someone who isn't a pro. I wasn't disappointed: once purchased I was up and running within the hour. Anytime I've had a question that I couldn't answer through the help screens or online tutorials I've been able to discuss my problem with tech support! This is huge for me. I've also taken some of the online courses called PlanGuru University, which were invaluable.
I wish my CPA used this software.

Pros:

1) Functionality. 2) Easy to use. 3) Great help screens. 4) Terrific tutorials. 5) Fantastic customer support.

Cons:

I'd like to track 5 years historical data to project a budget analysis.

PlanGuru

Comments: Overall great experience and is highly recommended based on our needs, which is a company under $10M in revenue with less than 50 employees.

Pros:

PlanGuru makes it easy to build a complete budget and forecast, compare budget to actuals, keep an eye on cash and track KPI's. When getting started and familiar with the software, PG has a very responsive and knowledgable support team. Lastly, for those in management that just want to look at the KPI's they can log into Analytics.

Cons:

The one challenge we had as a business was having to move outside of PG during a period of time when cash flow was being managed weekly. PG is limited to monthly.

A Basic Forecasting and Planning Tool

Comments: - It's certainly not a system that motivates me to get off excel. I don't use it very much and will probably cancel my subscription.

Pros:

- it has the ability to pull in actuals from Quickbooks online - there are some workarounds for managing revenue recognition

Cons:

- it is not cloud based - and so requires you to download the tool, but doesn't work unless you're connected to the internet (so even though I have it downloaded, I can't access it when I'm on a flight, and I travel frequently) - very cumbersome to set up access with different Classes (from quickbooks). The Quickbooks budgeting tool is easier to use for this purpose - very cumbersome to set up any sort of scenario analysis - much easier to just create an excel workbook - has no flexibility for FX management. I have a number of expenses in CAD, and revenues in USD, and I don't have the flexibility to see the impact of FX. Nor do I have the ability to work with multiple currencies. - they provide little to no support to get set up - unless one pays for their consulting service, which was a little bit helpful. - the videos on the website are very basic

Value Offering

Comments: Challenging to get up to speed on using the software. Customer support is lacking. Bugs in software required me to upgrade - which feels like it lacks integrity.

Pros:

Low cost. Full financials with balance sheet, cash flow, owners equity. Extra supporting schedules.

Cons:

Limited forecasting years. Difficult to make 3 year forecast. Minimal customer support. I would like to customize reporting templates from PlanGuru, so I don't have to reformat each time.

Easy Starting

Pros:

A very good starting package. Not overly complicated yet quite sophisticated with options that can accommodate large enterprises.

Cons:

A bit on the slow side when you start putting together multiple divisions or consolidated corporations. Would like to plan on a monthly basis and report on a Qrtly. That can be done, but probably only by using the Advance Reporting Package which adds a little more complexity and time to the process.

PlanGuru - Software for small business

Pros:

PlanGuru is good software. One of its key advantages is you can import all your data from any accounting system, and it is really user-friendly software. Support was really helpful at the beginning, and it made my experience with PlanGuru better. It's good software for the price. It was one of the cheapest when I bought it.

Cons:

My version of PlanGuru still has some bugs. When I import my data, the software notes the import date in the right account. It seems it doesn't recognize the information. Between each import, the description of some accounts are changed, so I have always to re-link the account or manually enter some accounts. I think using only a description as common information for the import is inefficient. People should use the account number.

Great product. A must have for all forward thinking companies.

Pros:

It is easy to use. It is the only product in the market that I am aware of that focuses on the balance sheet and in particular cash.

Cons:

Reporting features could be enhanced. Would like to be able to hide accounts that are no longer in use. When reporting condense some categories while expanding others.

Great software

Comments: Overall I have great experience with Plan Guru and will recommend to other users.

Pros:

Ease to use, similar to excel format, good layout

Cons:

Not flexible on data assumptions on each year, not probably formulated on depreciation calculation

I can still remember what I used to do!

Comments: Professional and great customer support. When I have had a question they respond quickly. The software itself is very stable. I have never lost a clients data

Pros:

I was using it within 15 minutes of installation. Used to have all of these excel templates and would worry about deleting or inadvertently altering a calculation. I can now concentrate on what our end goal is and don't worry about the mathematical accuracy and the presentation.

Cons:

I rarely say this NONE! Apparently being completely pleased is not enough of a word count so I had to add this sentence.

PlanGuru - Great Idea but leaves you lacking

Comments: Overall, I like the concept PlanGuru is trying to bring with this software; however, they don't provide great customer support (unless you want to pay for it). Any efficiencies I gained with the budgeting process were lost immediately during the first budget to actual comparison I ran. Will not be continuing my subscription.

Pros:

Great program for budgeting and setting up a budget

Cons:

Integration with QBs desktop is chunky and slow. It takes me longer to run a budget to actual comparison with PlanGuru than it did when I ran a similar comparison outside of PlanGuru. Costumer support is lacking...basic level help is available but in-depth help comes at a cost, which seems ridiculous for the price you pay for the software. Training was a waist of time. No structure just someone droning on about the features. Online videos are out of date and don't match new updates.

Great tool in making financial decision!

Pros:

Business need to know if the financial condition of the company is sufficient before engaging to a business or project. With PlanGuru you can forecast your financial status at a given period. This will help to make sure that the project you are planning to work will be completed.

Cons:

PlanGuru is a subscription based in consideration with number of users. Make sure to get the plan suitable for the company to maximize your savings.

PlanGuru for Growing Companies

Comments: Great experience and customer support. Highly recommend PlanGuru University.

Pros:

Software was very user friendly. Was able to hit ground running with budgets and forecasting models in first week.

Cons:

Wish there was shareable dashboard for clients.

Good planning tool

Pros:

Very flexible - you can be as detailed as you want to with this tool

Cons:

Can be somewhat difficult to set up because of its flexibility

Great product for planning & budgeting

Comments: Very good product if you regularly work with budgets, forecasts, modeling

Pros:

Must still use spreadsheets to a certain extent but PlanGuru simplifies building forecast models

Cons:

Report generator is not as flexible or fast as I would like