Financial analysis is an essential aspect for any business that is looking to make sure that its finances are kept at a stable pace. It’s easy to get lost in the mountain of transactions and accounting-related entries, especially in a growing business.
According to CB Insights – 29% of startup businesses fail due to a lack of funds. Another 18% suffered because of cost issues.
Those rates can be threatening already to plenty of existing businesses. I’ve managed to go through and invest in multiple companies already in my lifetime, and I have had my fair share of experiencing financial troubles due to a lack of oversight.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the best financial analysis software that you can get your hands on, discussing their features, weaknesses, and pricing all in one.
What Is The Best Financial Analysis Software?
If you don’t have the time to go through everything, here are my top 3 picks:
   4.9 |   4.7 |   4.2 |
| Best overall. All-in-one platform with intuitive dashboards and features. Starts at $44/month. | Ease of use. Highly flexible and customizable tools for financial analysis. Starts at $50/month. | Most features. Long-standing platform for financial analysis with extensive software support |
| Try Fathom | Try Causal | Try Oracle Essbase |
1. Fathom – Top Pick
Financial Analysis Software For Medium-Sized Businesses [$44 / Month | $575 / Month]
The first financial analysis software on this list is Fathom, simply because it offers a lot in terms of being the middle-ground for ease of use, features, and pricing. Let’s go deeper into Fathom’s intuitive user interface.
For the platform’s central dashboard, you can easily see all the revenue and expenses data in one single space from multiple data sets that you have on hand. FathomHQ does a great job aggregating all the different feature results into one neat space where you can have an overview of whatever is happening with your finances.
The same concept of having an excellent user interface also applies to the other tools that Fathom brings to its users. It’s not hard for first-timers to get used to the entire platform as the layout is not confusing and can be very easy to learn.
For the features of the Fathom platform, let’s start with their KPI Explorer. This feature allows users to accurately measure their success and failures on different metrics, whether this is in cash flows, average sales, new customers, and many more.
These metrics are then displayed on a circle chart which is interactive and can easily be customized depending on what types of grouping you want.
Currently, there are three types of grouping:
- Perspective
- Result
- Importance
The example figure presented below, it’s currently using the Perspective Grouping, which shows the different KPIs in their respective areas such as liquidity, cash flows, and more.
If you measure by results, then the circle chart will change and split into two parts: on-track and off-track KPIs. You can mix around with these settings and display specific KPIs that you want to be displayed on the chart.
The next feature that Fathom provides is its Cash Flow analysis dashboard. From here, business owners can easily understand their financial pipelines and how their finances operate in-depth. These analyses can even go so far as to measure variables such as changes in assets and other expenses (e.g., taxes).
There is also additional info that users can click on if they are unsure what a particular variable means in the cash flow. This is a small but valuable option for users that are still not accustomed to financial analysis platforms.
Lastly, another highlighted feature of Fathom is its financial forecasting.
Fathom’s forecasting comes along with plenty of options to go around, such as balance sheets, profits, losses, and income drivers. It’s a detailed-oriented feature, and it can get overwhelming, but that’s not a bad thing at all, as the more details are included, the better it is to understand the forecasts.
Fathom also has a “scenarios” feature where businesses can use custom-made variables to affect their forecasts and simulate financial situations. If you want to see what your finances would be if a specific income driver is taken away, you could do just that.
These forecasting reports can be downloaded if you want to put them into storage for future offline use.
FathomHQ brings in a lot of powerful and easy-to-use features for financial analysis. If you are already using accounting software such as Quickbooks or Freshbooks, you would be at an advantage as the app integrates these two platforms.
Other features that Fathom brings are:
- Report Editor
- Access Control
- Scheduled Reports
- Commentary
- Report Templates
- Content Library
- Variance Reporting
- Bulk Edit
But even with these, there’s still plenty more that the platform offers with its financial analysis capabilities.
Pros And Cons Of Fathom
| Pros | Cons |
| Intuitive user interface | Lack of customization |
| Powerful analytics features | Has flexibility issues with some features |
| Convenient accounting platform integrations | Pricing can be a bit expensive |
| Great visualization of data |
Fathom Pricing Plan
Currently, Fathom has four existing pricing plans to offer for its users. They also provide 14 day free trial for new users that want to experience using the platform.
- Starter [$575 / Month] – Full features, unlimited users, and multi-channel support. Starter pack provides access to 1 company for financial analytics.
- Silver [$325 / Month] – Full features, unlimited users, and multi-channel support. Silver pack provides access to 10 companies for financial analytics.
- Gold [$225 / Month] – Full features, unlimited users, and multi-channel support. Gold pack provides access to 25 companies for financial analytics.
- Platinum [$44 / Month] – Full features, unlimited users, and multi-channel support. Platinum pack provides access to 50 companies for financial analytics.
2. Causal – Ease of Use
Financial Analysis Software Focused on Flexibility & Customization – Large Business [Free | $50 Per User / Month]
Causal is another financial analysis platform that provides users a much more flexible workplace when it comes to the features that it brings to the table. Causal is highly regarded as reinventing accounting spreadsheets as it brings along with it some unique features specifically tailored for business finance analytics.
First is the user interface of Causal. While it’s not as glamorous and graphically pleasing, it still offers a very easy-to-use and understandable design. New users can expect themselves to start experimenting with its features almost instantly while grasping the basics.
The platform is not hard to learn and can be familiar to anyone who has previously worked with spreadsheets.
The first feature that I want to highlight for Causal is its finance analytics tool. Users can start inputting variables, data, and formulas to create their very own data sets to manage.
This gives users the power to customize and craft their own financial analytics sheets fully. This tool also doubles as a forecasting solution.
The usual table for sheets in Causal is by their standard three-format rule, which is: Inputs, Calculations, and Outputs.
These three basic building blocks of the standard formula can accommodate almost any financial calculations that a user needs and each of these variables can also be worked on together with formulas and such.
A unique feature that Causal gives is the fact that it is a lot easier to use when it comes to creating formulas. No longer do users have to suffer from cell references and searching for ways to create one as Causal provides a much more convenient way to calculate data sets.
Causal also features its own graphing and data visualization tool. Users have the option to visualize their data on their respective datasheets. From here, users can also customize along with date specifications alongside many other things.
But what Causal’s data visualization stands out in its ability to do a presentation mode where users can opt to use this feature to quickly present the data they have on hand, whether for themselves or to others.
In presentation mode, the dashboard can still be customized depending on the variables you have that affect the graph you are presenting so it can be used in real-time by the user or other collaborators.
Causal also has built-in scenarios for users to play around with regarding their financial analytics. They can create and even compare “what-if” scenarios to real-world data to better forecast future economic outcomes.
When it comes to integrations, Causal can directly extract data in real-time from accounting systems, CRMs, and even other analytics tools to better consolidate and create integrated models.
Here are some integrations that Causal has with other platforms:
- QuickBooks
- Stripe
- Xero
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Netsuite
- Google Analytics
And many more.
Pros And Cons Of Causal
| Pros | Cons |
| Customization and flexibility | Data visualization can be better |
| Intuitive user interface | Some integrations need work |
| Convenient and powerful features | It has a slight learning curve |
| Premade templates are available |
Causal Pricing Plan
Causal’s pricing plan is a bit straightforward, with three separate packages being offered. They do offer a free version of the Pro package to academics and non-profit organizations, as well as a discount package for startups.
- Free [No Charge]: Causal’s free plan offers unlimited models and scenarios with 100 variables. They also offer Google Sheets Integration with this package.
- Pro [$50 Per User / Month]: Pro unlocks most features of Causal as unlimited variables, faster computation speeds, HTML embedding, and version histories are made available for users.
- Business [Quote]: Business offers premium data integrations, forecasts vs. actuals, white-glove implementations, 1-on-1 training with priority support, access controls, cohort modeling, and excel reports.
3. Oracle Essbase – Most Features
Financial Analysis Software For Large Businesses [Quotation Pricing]
Oracle Essbase is perhaps the most powerful financial analysis software on this list as it has been a core product in the industry for a long time already. It provides enough features to cover other responsibilities, not only limited to financial-related functions.
Recently, it had quite an overhaul with the new update called “Essbase 21c,” with new UI features and extensive changes on the overall platform.
It’s a fresh new look as compared to the outdated systems before, and it definitely helps roam around the many tools that the platform features.
Oracle Essbase’s one primary feature is that it can be accessed in various ways, whether through an intuitive web interface or through Microsoft Office. Users can easily create and share models on the go with established databases.
There is also a forecasting functionality for what-if situation modeling. This also includes pre-made templates with Essbase’s cube gallery, which has starter kits for users to enjoy when it comes to getting started with Essbase and how cube’s work.
Essbase also provides businesses, whether large or small, the ability to share data seamlessly without needing to keep multiple existing spreadsheets. At the same time, the platform offers a more manageable and convenient way for users to collaborate.
Some features allow Essbase users to create backups, migrate data, monitor, and even develop patches for existing data sets. Basically, the platform gives the user a lot of control and manageability tools.
One of Essbase’s most powerful features is its calculation tool, with a rich library filled with calculation functions and commands being made available for most analytical situations, not only specific to financial equations.
You can even create your own custom-defined functions and macros using Java, which can steepen the learning curve but is still a very powerful customization tool. When it comes to debugging, formula processing, and analyzing script performance, Essbase stands king.
There are still plenty of other powerful features that are unique to Oracle Essbase; here’s a list of a notable few:
- MDX Insert & Export
- Data Load & Dimension Build
- Aggregate Storage Calculation
- Shadow Applications
- Drill Through
- Cube Designer
- Scenario Management
- Query Engine
- Connections & Data Sources
- Automation & Developer Tools
Using Essbase as a financial analysis platform is an entirely intelligent decision to go through as it has all the necessary tools one needs and even more as being a financial analysis platform is only one of its unique capabilities.
Pros And Cons Of Oracle Essbase
| Pros | Cons |
| In-depth features and tools | Platform can often crash while in-use |
| Excel integration is top-notch | Existing performance issues |
| Powerful customization functions | It can be a considerable investment to make |
| Flexibility in design and reporting features | Navigation can be a challenge |
Oracle Essbase Pricing Plan
Oracle Essbase is primarily involved alongside the rest of Oracle Cloud, so it can be hard to get your hands on. The best course of action is to visit the Oracle set and get a quote. You can also go ahead and have access to a free trial version of Oracle Cloud to gain access to Essbase.
Burkhard Berger
Technically, Excel is made explicitly for financial analysis, and you typically won’t need this software as they are pretty complimentary, but if you want to have a faster, streamlined, and more convenient way of visualizing and reporting financial data. These external applications are the best choice to invest your resources in.
4. Jirav
Financial Analysis Software For Extensive Data Visualization [$250 / Month | $850 / Month]
Another on the list is Jirav, a financial analysis software specially made for financial modeling and data visualization. Jirav’s user interface is easily navigational and visually appealing to use.
There’s not a lot to complain about when it comes to the design of their platform. Jirav is great at data visualization and providing a simple platform for financial analysis.
The dashboards can be filled with valuable data that you can often find everything you need in just one space. Data management is easy, and the tools provided are top-notch when it comes to flexibility and simplicity.
Another feature of Jirav is their planning tool which can be customized to deal with any scenarios that you want, whether it be budgeting, forecasting, “what-if” situation, and many more. All of these can be done in the planning tool.
Each plan comes along with 3-way financials: Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow based on the financial drivers that you’ve provided within the plan.
You can create plans from scratch or clone from existing plans that you have as a great starting point for your new scenario. Each cloned plan is entirely independent of the original, so you can go ahead and explore different options.
Jirav comes along with powerful, easy-to-use features that make financial analysis all the easier. Here are two examples of convenient tools that users can take advantage of
- Picker Tool – which can quickly reference data points within any models that you have. These update automatically and can even be filtered for better use.
- Custom Tables – customized data sets where you can input any external business-related specifics that are not originally included in the software. These can represent different types of metrics ($, #, %) for users to play around with
Another addition to Jirav is that their integrations are great with existing accounting systems that you are currently using, such as Quickbooks, Xero, Freshbooks, Netsuite, and many more. You can even go ahead and integrate with CRMs or Workforce applications such as Pair Gusto.
Pros And Cons Of Jirav
| Pros | Cons |
| Convenient and simple tools to use | Requires a learning curve to fully use |
| Data visualization is top-notch | Oftentimes slow calculations |
| Constant updates and support | Dashboards need further customizable |
| Reporting tool is highly customizable | Can be a bit expensive |
Jirav Pricing Plan
Jirav currently has three different pricing packages, with the first package having an available 14-day free trial for new users to get acquainted with the platform. They also offer a demo for interested parties to go around the software.
- Starter [$250/Month]: Jirav’s starter plan provides users with short-range planning, budgeting and forecasting, workforce planning, budget vs. actuals, custom data modeling, reporting packages, executive summary, custom KPIs, visual dashboards, and many more.
- Pro [$850/Month]: Pro adds to the existing features of Starter with additional tools to boot such as mid-range planning, departmental budgeting, scenario analysis, team collaboration, customized plan sharing, advanced support, live training, and even a customer success manager to contact.
- Enterprise [Quotation]: Enterprise provides access to highly advanced features such as long-range planning, large-scale team collaboration, complex departmental structures, premium integrations with Oracle Netsuite, Quickbooks Desktop, and Sage Intact. Users are also provided with premium support. Additional options are also available to unlock advanced sales and booking, deferred revenues, and revenue recognition.
5. Cube Software
Financial Analysis Software For Large-Scale Financial Planning [$850 Per User / Month | $1850 Per User / Month]
Cube Software is a financial analysis software that proves its strengths in spreadsheets and financial planning features. The platform revolves around providing a much more convenient experience with existing spreadsheet platforms such as Excel.
However, let’s first focus on the platform itself and how it does with its user interface.
Cube Software is a pretty modern-looking application with plenty of easy-to-navigate features alongside its well-crafted dashboards and reporting features.
It’s not the prettiest or the most innovative, but it certainly can get a lot done for the tasks that most users would need.
Importing and exporting data from Cube can be a breeze with their Fetch Data mechanism that automatically provides entire data sets instantly, formatting included.
Users can enjoy multiple powerful customization functions, such as filters on scenarios and departments. You can even go ahead and examine variables with rows and columns.
Aside from this, Cube also has the DRILLDOWN and VALIDATE features which are highly convenient in making sure that everything makes sense in your data sets.
Drilldown allows users to see which numbers belong to what variables in an effortless manner with a simple click. All transaction details are readily available for users to examine in an instant.
The VALIDATE feature also provides a more straightforward pathway for examining errors in current datasets, such as misspellings. From here, users can also conveniently update their existing variables.
Cube Software also has an activity tracking feature for updates, changes, and revisions on work files. Users can easily see what changes happened and who made the changes in a detailed report on the version histories of files inside the platform.
Active control is also supported, with users being given the power to allow or deny revisions for better consistency and security on work files.
Pros And Cons Of Cube Software
| Pros | Cons |
| Google Sheets integration is seamless | Bulk upload of data could be improved |
| Customer service is top-notch | Can often be buggy |
| Convenient and easy to navigate | Can further be developed and improved |
| Highly customizable spreadsheets |
Cube Software Pricing Plan
Cube software currently has three different pricing packages to offer. They do offer a startup discount for companies that currently have fewer than 50 employees.
- Essential [$850/Month]: Essential currently opens up with most features of Cube Software with financial planning, reporting, operational data integration, dashboard reporting, templates, drilldowns, consolidations, level controls, encryption, and many more.
- Premium [$1,850/Month]: Premium provides new features alongside the existing features of Essential. Users can enjoy multi-cube, multicurrency, and custom integrations alongside premium ERPs.
- Enterprise [Quote]: Enterprise is a custom-quote package that offers all the Premium and Enterprise features alongside other custom features. This is best for picking the best deal for the software for large companies.
6. Jedox
Intranet Software For Medium – Large Business [Custom Quote]
Next up on the list is Jedox. It is a platform that also primarily deals with spreadsheeting but at the same time stands on its own with data visualization and reporting.
Jedox has an outstanding user interface that is clean and sleek to browse, especially on the main dashboards. The same can be said whenever a user wants to start creating new datasets or existing open reports. It’s convenient to use and easy to navigate around.
When it comes to financial planning and analysis, Jedox can reliably work with existing spreadsheet platforms such as Microsoft Excel with Jedox Excel Add-in. From here, users can work directly on Excel with the additional features that Jedox offers.
It’s entirely easy and convenient to use. What’s great about this is that Jedox offers you the option to either go with this route if transferring data isn’t too suitable for you or go ahead and directly work from their web interface from scratch or after data migration.
In this add-in, you can enjoy central planning, analysis, and performance management, as well as create automated forecasts, reporting, and financial profitability analysis.
Aside from this, Jedox also includes features on HR planning, making the platform ideal for large-scale businesses with many cost centers of employees. The platform can unify all these data in one single workspace to create an overview of what the entire organization’s cost looks like.
The platform also has excellent integration features with existing accounting software such as Google Sheets, MS Excel, Oracle, XML, and many more. The platform also has Jedox Integrator, which is a market-leading ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tool. With this, companies can easily fetch data from any source and manage the master data in Jedox.
Pros And Cons Of Jedox
| Pros | Cons |
| Powerful integration with MS Excel | Calculations can often be slow |
| Flexible gathering of data from sources | Platform can be buggy |
| Forecasting solutions are top-notch | Limited options for charts |
| Implementation is fast | Can take some time to learn |
Jedox Pricing Plan
Jedox currently has four different planning packages that require a custom quote to get the full details. They do offer a free demo on their site.
Burkhard Berger
As companies grow and databases continue to increase in load and complexity, financial analysis platforms often tend to start facing issues regardless of features or ease of use functionalities. It’s important to note that one of the best ways to find the right financial analysis software is to find a company that is accommodating to any issues that you come across.
7. Mosaic Tech
Financial Analysis Software For Intuitive User-Interface [Custom Quote]
Mosaic Tech is another financial analysis software that is also popular with its visual displays on charts, graphs, and overall reporting feature. Its user interface is also a sight to behold for users who want a more compact dashboard to visualize data.
One of the best features of Mosaic tech is that it can be very convenient to connect to other accounting software such as Freshbooks or Quickbooks. This can be done in just a few simple clicks through the platform.
Users can instantly dive into working around the platform with their accounting data already being integrated into the app.
Creating reports and analytics in Mosaic Tech is highly intuitive, with users being able to create visuals on specific variables in a few clicks. Suppose other financial analysis software in this list proves its capabilities in the strength of its features and ease of use. In that case, Mosaic Tech has simplicity and convenience as its main talking points.
In the main dashboard, users can go ahead and use pre-made templates that the platform provides to instantly make sense of the primary accounting data that they have. From there, you can further customize and edit existing variables to get what you need.
For users who are a lot more time-dependent, Mosaic Tech also has a performance alerts system set up that provides quick alerts on notable changes on critical metrics.
Another feature that Mosaic Tech has is its ability to share real-time insights across multiple users for better organizations actively. Administrators can also create control measures to make sure that the correct data is presented only to the right people.
Scenario Comparisons are also present within the platform in order for users to create stress tests on their financial data and take a more profound examination of possible scenario results.
Influencing the results is Mosaic Tech’s very own predictive reporting feature that has AI and ML to provide assistance to users in creating and maintaining forecasts. With this feature, users can save a lot more time in the planning phase of their projections and proceed directly to their results and analytics.
Pros And Cons Of Mosaic tech
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy integrations with CRMs, ERPs, and HRIS systems | Internal KPIs could do some more work |
| Customer support teams are helpful and accommodating to users | Export features are often lacking |
| Constant support and updates | Some features still need to be added |
| Models and data visualization is highly intuitive and in-depth | Platform can sometimes be overwhelming to new users starting out |
Mosaic Tech Pricing Plan
Mosaic Tech does not showcase its pricing packages, and users have to go to their website directly to get a custom quote on their platform.
8. Limelight
Financial Analysis Software For Workforce Planning [Custom Quote]
Lastly, Limelight is a financial analysis software that specializes in providing users the chance to visualize their data in a simplistic manner accurately. They do have a specific strength when it comes to workforce planning.
It is pretty easy to look around but not as visually appealing as others when it comes to its user interface. It does get the job done and can be pretty simplistic.
When it comes to workforce planning, Limelight gets a certain edge as it offers a specific dashboard just for this feature alone. Users can enjoy a much easier time in dealing with Payroll and HR systems as Limelight provides them automation in headcount management, resource capacity planning, and even workforce optimization.
The platform goes even deeper into what with their Sales Commissions feature.
Users can automate their sales performance by team or representatives. All the while accurately determining sales forecasts depending on existing actual data. From here, users can automate their sales commission calculations, projections, and report distributions.
As it is the platform’s core function, Limelight also doesn’t shy away from focusing on integrated planning, budgeting, and forecasting features.
Mixing both the elements of Microsoft Excel and the modern digital web, Limelight provides its user base a single unified workspace for consolidating financial and operational data.
This goes along with their tools on automation for expenses and revenue planning, financial forecasting, and cash flow reports.
Limelight also provides pre-made templates for different financial scenarios that companies might require for better convenience.
Pros And Cons Of Limelight
| Pros | Cons |
| The workforce tool is highly functional | No existing help center to go through |
| Account managers are receptive and welcoming to new users | Some essential features are missing for financial analysis |
| It does not take a lot of time to learn through the platform | The platform can frequently be slow, especially on increasing data loads |
| Flexibility in customization of budgeting and forecasting tools | Implementation still needs some work |
Limelight Pricing Plan
Limelight does not showcase their pricing packages, and you would need to go to their site and get a quote straight from their product representatives. They do offer discounts on the platform for non-profit organizations.
Conclusion
Financial Analysis software can be a bit of a rough edge to go around as there are a lot of overlapping features between each platform. At the same time, there are also unique quirks that each platform provides that have their own mix and feel to how financial analysis is done.
Some can have compelling features, while some are made for convenience and ease of use. With this in mind, I’ve picked an excellent middle-ground solution for most users with Fathom.
It has most of the crucial tools that a lot would need to do most of the financial analysis work while being convenient enough that even those just starting out with the platform won’t have much trouble navigating through the entire software.