PlanGuru Reviews

Overall: 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.

Overall: 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.

Overall: 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

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

Overall: 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.

Overall: 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.

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.

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.

Recommendations to other buyers: Solve the problem with the data import. Cash-flow isn't user-friendly.

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.

Pros: I like the product's flexibility. Most companies can handle the forecasting of a P&L fairly well using Excel. PlanGuru excels in that not only does it forecast the P&L well, but it also has the flexibility of computing the balance sheet and cash flow, using our calculation method. This enables us to perform "What if" analyses with various revenue numbers that will simultaneously create a P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow that all work together.

Cons: Nothing. I think this is a great product for the dollar.

Recommendations to other buyers: Be prepared. Have a clear idea of the supporting data and calculations in building your P&L and Balance Sheet. This will enable you to be most efficient in your implementation.

Overall: Overall, a good tool for the cost. There are some limitations and frustrations, but it is a definite improvement over strictly excel based models. Probably not a forever solution as out business grows, but is a good option for small companies.

Pros: Affordable Flexibility for planning different scenarios Payroll functionality Import function from QB

Cons: No Export to QB Need a bit of technical know-how to create the calculations and schedules On several instances my files have become corrupt or somehow had errors that required support assistance to get operational which took several days during the tight budget period Reporting functions are lack-luster. Would prefer an export to QB to use QB reporting functions for financials.

Overall: it is very easy to use, very flexible. it saves my time and it generate results fast for planning. the platform is easy for the eyes, help links are awesome. lots of videos, articles, webinars! awesome supports i.e. friendly and knowledgeable.

Pros: friendly flexible fast

Cons: they really need to have monthly for current year plus next 3 years many businesses are seasonal

Recommendations to other buyers: try it!!

Overall: 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.

Overall: We needed a budget and forecast tool more robust than QBO offered. PlanGuru has solved this need and has saved me time.

Pros: PlanGuru has an Excel analytics tool that allows you to pull budget, forecast, and actual information into excel. Once you build custom reports, you can easily make adjustments and resync information in seconds.

Cons: There are times I am navigating data in PlanGuru when the functionality I expect to be there is not. I am used to Excel so much that I need to slow down and learn the software. Again, this is why I love the ability to link the data to Excel for custom reporting.

Overall: It helps see our budget vs actual and trends year over year.

Pros: I like the different ways you can project out balances from prior years

Cons: I wish there was a better way to have separate company budgets/actual and then roll up to a consolidated budget/actual. I wish the price included as more users and it was online rather than on a machine so others can access as well.

Overall: Long time user. Overall excellent experience.

Pros: Ease of use was the most attractive feature.

Cons: We had to migrate away form quick books and not the system we use does not interface with GP.

Overall: 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.