Financial Close Software Comparison G2 Crowd Analysis of FloQast and BlackLine Reviews

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1 Financial Close Software Comparison

2 Introduction The close process is uniquely stressful for the accounting professionals that do the work. It takes the pressure of an inflexible deadline and adds the need for complete accuracy. Even worse, there is the risk of severe business consequences if either factor is missed. Closing the books is such a critical task that even non-accountants know the expression. The challenges of the close process are well understood by anyone who has done the work. Most organizations still rely on labor intensive tasks, that require input from many people in the organization. The result is tedious and time-consuming manual activities that easily introduce errors, tribal knowledge that is not documented and is lost if staff changes, and a lack of collaboration requiring frequent status meetings that take valuable time. Even worse, the pressure to get the close done in any given month makes it difficult to strategically plan for future needs including audits or critical business analysis. Innovative technology companies have identified an opportunity to address these pressing issues for accounting teams. A new category of tools has emerged: close management software. These solutions use cutting-edge technology to automate processes, streamline communication, and give up-todate status reports. With close management software, companies can close their books faster and more accurately. This report is written for accounting professionals who understand the problems that their manual close processes are creating and are considering an investment in technology. The goal is to help future buyers make more informed decisions. It uses data from G2 Crowd, the increasingly popular peer-to-peer review site, to compare experiences using two popular close management solutions, FloQast and BlackLine. This report includes both datadriven comparisons of satisfaction as well as direct customer feedback to investigate real life customer outcomes of companies that have implemented the solutions in their organizations. Why FloQast and BlackLine? G2 Crowd identified the following capabilities to be considered in the close management, also known as the financial close, category: Allow users to create checklists and individual tasks related to closing accounting books Track the financial close process so users can view progress and timelines Provide tools, such as reconciliation depositories or reconciliation management, that help users compare various sets of financial data Integrate with or import spreadsheets from other database or accounting software products G2 Crowd did include other vendors that offered some close management capabilities as a feature of their overall CPM solution, but only FloQast and BlackLine take a holistic approach to solving the challenges of the close by including both process collaboration and data automation capabilities. 2

3 FloQast and BlackLine do have many similarities. They both offer cloud-based solutions for ease of adoption, they both focus on automation and reporting to increase accuracy and efficiency of the close, and they both complement existing accounting systems, rather than replace existing investments. And both products have customers that have benefited tremendously from adopting close management software. However, there are significant differences on the underlying approach that both companies have taken, and those have a direct impact on customer experience. This report focuses on examining those. The Data Says: FloQast customers are more satisfied While both FloQast and BlackLine customers do report benefiting from their investments in close management software, when you look at the metrics on customer satisfaction there is a clear difference: FloQast customers report a measurably higher level of satisfaction. In the overall analysis of customer experience metrics, including all factors measured by G2 Crowd, FloQast earned a grade of 94% with an average of 4.7 out of a possible 5. This is markedly better than the grade assigned to BlackLine by their customers who gave a much lower 3.5 out of 5 - only 70%. 4.7 out of 5 stars 3.5 out of 5 stars 94 % 70 % Methodology G2 Crowd, the world s leading business solutions review platform, provides real-time and unbiased user reviews help business buyers objectively assess what is best for their business. G2 Crowd highlights the voice of the customer. Reviews are based on peer reviews and synthesized social data. The G2 Crowd review platform leverages more than 250,000 independent and authenticated user reviews. All information in this report is based on G2 Crowd reviews from dozens of verified FloQast and BlackLine users. Direct customer quotes have been edited slightly for readability and grammar. Information for this report was captured in September 2017 and is summarized in the following link: grid_report/documents/floqast-vsblackline-product-comparison-report This report also includes analysis of open-ended reviews by individual FloQast and BlackLine users, which can be viewed on the vendor-specific pages of the G2 Crowd website. Note that G2 Crowd is constantly adding new feedback so current data and reviews may be slightly different than what is presented here. 3

4 If we drill into different types of customers, we see that this trend holds for customers of all sizes. Even among very large companies with 1,000 or more employees, customers rank FloQast more highly. FloQast earns a score of 4.4 out of 5 stars compared to only 4.1 among BlackLine s large customers. 4.4 out of 5 stars 4.1 out of 5 stars 88 % 82 % Large Companies 4.7 out of 5 stars 1.8 out of 5 stars 98 % 36 % Mid-Size Companies The difference in overall ranking is particularly stark among mid-size customers, which G2 Crowd defines as having employees. Among these companies, FloQast is given a remarkable 4.9 out of 5 stars by their customers. This is a particularly problematic area for BlackLine which gets a failing grade of only 1.8 stars out of 5 among their smaller customers. To understand why FloQast customers are more satisfied, we will drill down into G2 Crowd information in 3 key areas of impact including: Quality of support and investment in customer success Ability to meet requirements both today and in the future Organizational fit and ease of use 4

5 FloQast delivers superior quality of support When an organization relies on a technology to deliver time-sensitive outcomes, it is vital to work with a vendor that has your back. Any solution is only as good as the individuals that you work with directly in support and account management. When there is an issue, you need a team that is responsive and fixes problems effectively and quickly. The numbers show that this is an area FloQast excels in. FloQast customers give them a near-perfect 98% grade in both the areas of Quality of Support and Ease of Doing Business With. This far exceeds BlackLine s customers who gave them a disappointing 62%. In their comments, FloQast customers consistently praised their direct contacts for their knowledge, quality, and responsiveness. When discussing level of quality, feedback from FloQast customers included both support and account managers, both of whom impact a customer experience directly. The FloQast team is very knowledgeable, attentive, and enjoyable to work with. - Joshua, Corporate Controller FusionStorm The team at FloQast is the best I ve ever worked with. They listen to their customers and strive to improve their software to make it the best it can be. - Angela, Director of Finance igrafx 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Quality of Support 98 % 62 % Our implementation was wonderful because all our customer care reps (and salespeople and product people and executives) from FloQast truly understand the operations of a corporate accounting department. - Lauren, Corporate Accounting and Finance Telesign 5

6 Customers say FloQast solves their needs - both now and in the future One of the most important metrics of product success is if it actually solves the problems it was purchased for. G2 Crowd data shows that FloQast excels at meeting this most basic criterion of success with a 91% grade for Meets Requirements, unlike BlackLine which achieved a grade of only 73%. 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Meets Requirements 91 % 73 % An analysis of the open-ended comments made by FloQast customers reveals that they were consistently meeting the goals of their close management investment. Many reported measurable improvements in key areas including accuracy, communication, and time to close. It is the nature of technology to change, and the solution that meets your needs today will likely need to evolve for your future needs. Change can be difficult for an organization, especially change around core processes that impact the way teams collaborate. Choosing a solution that meets business requirements both for now and for the future will deliver significant long-term advantages. Being able to keep all team members on task during close has led to reducing the number of days it take to close the books. This benefit is appreciated across the organization up to the CEO and BODs. - Jordan, Controller Buzz Points Our close has been much more efficient since we adopted FloQast. We have shaved days from our close process. - Brandt, Corporate Controller Grubhub Both our external auditors and executive team have commented that the completeness of the month-end close checklist, timing of reconciliations and standardization of templates were below minimum standards. FloQast solved these issues and more in the first month after implementation. - Anonymous FloQast User Technology Company 6

7 Again, FloQast customers reported remarkably high levels of confidence in the future with a perfect 100% score on criterion of Is the product headed in the right direction?. While the 80% that BlackLine s customers reported for the same metric is respectable, it pales in comparison. 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Is the product headed in the right direction? 100 % 80 % FloQast is a product designed and supported by a team with solid accounting background and knowledge. Many are CPAs and used to be accountants. They definitely speak the same language as their customers. Often time, I find their offering is one step ahead of our ask, which shows the thorough understanding they have about our needs and pain. - Lei, Accounting Manager Turn FloQast is always improving. There are always new updates and improvements made to the system. - Jason, Assistant Controller Barfly Ventures Drilling down on the comments allows us to understand the underlying reasons for this remarkable level of confidence in the future. FloQast customers consistently emphasized their innovation. FloQast is respected by customers as a vendor that can deliver needs and requirements before even being asked. 7

8 The FloQast solution given high marks for ease of use The best technology just works. It is easy to set up, administer, and learn. It doesn t require months of disruption to implement and weeks of training. Ease of use is often the most important aspect of customer satisfaction. If a product is complicated its impact is greatly diminished due to lack of adoption. It is impossible to meet needs if users struggle, and even more support is needed if the product is too complicated to figure out intuitively. FloQast customers gave very high marks, 95%, for Ease of Use. This compares to only 79% among BlackLine users. G2 Crowd reviews do not capture specific metrics on implementation time, but it should be noted that in the comments customers consistently measured their implementation of FloQast in a couple of weeks and sometimes less, while BlackLine customers were seen to complain about slow, difficult implementations. We looked at competitors but ultimately decided on going with FloQast. Several key things we considered were the ease of implementation, not having to change many processes, and being able to get the product live quickly. We were able to complete the implementation and go-live within a few weeks. - Michael, Accounting Manager Frontline Education 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Ease of Use 95 % 79 % I have used other software that offers the same thing, but FloQast surpasses these other products. It is user friendly and only took one 45 minute training and our accounting team was good to go. - Jonathan, Senior Accountant Viewpoint Really intuitive product and easy to use. Feels very natural and fits right into the close process. It is the perfect balance between function and usability. - Ben, Controller Vormetric FloQast customers used the comments to explain they felt the solution was very easy to use, particularly when compared to other solutions. Very importantly, customers emphasized that FloQast fits very well into their existing processes, so it was easy to get their teams to adopt. 8

9 The impact of ease of use covers a wide variety of areas. While the focus is often on the end users, the effort of implementation and administration should also be considered. FloQast customers also gave high marks in areas like Ease of Setup (93%). Even administration, often an area that is very complex even if end users have a good experience, is considered simple by FloQast customers. Users graded Ease of Admin at 90%. Super easy to use. Super easy to implement. Easy to make changes to existing close programs. And it is very easy to customize. - Anonymous FloQast User, Controller Furniture Company Embrace or Replace? FloQast and BlackLine have taken very different architectural approaches to building technology that solves close management challenges. FloQast has a goal of building solutions that work the way accounting teams already do. They look for ways to improve and evolve, not replace what is working. Their intention is to fit into existing processes, including embracing ubiquitous use of Excel, using teams own checklists, and leveraging existing cloud storage where financials and supporting documentation already reside. BlackLine s approach is focused on replacing the existing technologies and processes that are problematic. While this might be a good solution for a new accounting team, the result is a solution that is not familiar, and users can struggle to get started. BlackLine users highlighted issues that were a direct result of this approach, complaining about the rigidity of the system and the excessive time needed to realize value. Unlike other integrations I ve been through, FloQast was incredibly easy to set up. Especially with our ERP. It is very intuitive and so easy to use with minimal training. - Kristin, Reporting and Accounting Manager Vets First Choice Don t be intimidated by implementation. The FloQast team delivered what they promised regarding implementation. - Becky, Supervisor Rose, Snyder & Jacobs To learn more about FloQast s Excel and BlackLine s web forms approaches and how they compare, read the white paper on the subject at 9

10 Summary: FloQast is superior across all measures This G2 Crowd comparison indicates that FloQast customers give measurably higher marks both for overall satisfaction as well as key success criteria. Learn More Overall 94 % 70 % Quality of Support 98 % 62 % Meets Requirements 91 % 73 % Product is Headed in the Right Direction 100 % 80 % Ease of Use 95 % 79 % Customers consistently report that FloQast is an easy to use and easy to implement solution delivered by an experienced and responsive team that is committed to their success. As part of their G2 Crowd reviews, many FloQast customers gave specific recommendations for other accounting teams who are interested in learning more. A great place to start is with a FloQast demonstration. Customers recommend a direct experience to understand the specifics of how FloQast works and is able to deliver benefits to accounting teams. To see a demonstration of FloQast close management software, visit I could not imagine functioning without FloQast going forward. The implementation did not take a lot of time. The support team at FloQast is great to work with. Our new users commented on how easy it was to use, how easy it was to find what tasks were assigned to them and to know when the tasks were due. - Lianne, Accounting Manager Robert Half Definitely check out FloQast before looking into a more robust solution like BlackLine. Blackline is great, but has some features we didn t need and lacks the cloud-based feel. - Lauren, Corporate Accounting and Finance TeleSign Take note of what you like or don t like about FloQast and communicate this to the team. It is clear that they really listen to their customers and make enhancements to the platform based on customer feedback. - John, Controller Sumo Logic I recommend you do a demo. The interface is intuitive and very user friendly. - Joshua, Corporate Controller FusionStorm 10

11 About G2 Crowd About FloQast G2 Crowd, the world s leading business software review platform, leverages more than 200,000 user reviews to drive better purchasing decisions. Technology buyers, investors, and analysts use G2 Crowd to compare and select the best software based on peer reviews and synthesized social data. FloQast is a leading developer of close management software, created by accountants for accountants to close faster and more accurately. Working with accounting teams existing checklists and Excel, FloQast provides a single place to manage the month-end close and gives everyone visibility. FloQast customers on average close three days faster. The award-winning solution is trusted by hundreds of accounting departments, including those at Twilio, Nutanix, Zillow and The Golden State Warriors. Keeping our ratings unbiased is our top priority. We require the use of a LinkedIn account to validate a G2 Crowd user s identity and employer as well as verify all reviews manually. Only the opinion of real users and data from public sources factor into our ratings. To learn more, visit and join the conversation on All third party brands, product names, logos or trademarks referenced are the property of and are used to identify the products or services of their respective owners. G2 Crowd, Inc. data used with permission. Copyright FloQast All Rights Reserved.