The market is crowded. Every vendor promises agility, accuracy, and speed. But the right tool depends on your business needs — and the selection process you follow.
Here’s how to approach it 👇
✅ Start with your pain points. Are you trapped in Excel? Drowning in data silos? Spending weeks reconciling numbers? Your problems define your priorities.
✅ Match the solution to your stage of growth. Scale-ups may need flexibility and speed; mid-market organisations often need multi-entity consolidation, governance, and ERP/CRM integration.
The Excel Question: Different Vendor Philosophies
It’s likely that you are currently reliant on an excel based solution, so moving away from the spreadsheet becomes a key part of the decision. We’re looking at 4 different venfors in next week’s GrowCFO Tech showcase, each one has a different approach. My understanding of each vendor is:
- Planful: A full platform that replaces most Excel models while retaining a familiar spreadsheet-style interface.
- DriveTrain: Built for collaboration and scalability — designed as a true alternative to Excel-driven planning.
- Abacum: Bridges the gap, combining automation with the familiarity of spreadsheets.
- Datarails: Enhances Excel itself — integrating, consolidating, and controlling data without forcing teams off spreadsheets.
There’s no single right answer here, its down to what you want from the solution.
The AI Question: Different Uses of Intelligence
Once again, each vendor has approached AI differently. My research has shown that:
- Planful: Embeds AI into workflows (anomaly detection, automated insights).
- DriveTrain: Uses AI for scenario modelling and predictive planning at scale.
- Abacum: Automates repetitive reporting tasks using AI to free analyst time.
- Datarails: Applies AI to surface insights and trends directly inside Excel.
But this is an area thats changing fast. This summary might even be out of date by the time you read this!
How to Run a Structured Selection Process
There are many solutions to choose from besides the ones we’re showcasing. Each has its pros and cons, there are no poor solutions, but some will be a better fit for your needs than others. Working out which solution is right for you needs a structured approach, so follow this process:
- Define requirements: Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves.
- Build a shortlist: Focus only on vendors that fit your size, industry, and integration needs.
- Check independent reviews: Sites like G2, Gartner Peer Insights, or Capterra give an unfiltered view of customer satisfaction.
- Talk to existing users: Ask vendors to connect you with reference clients — ideally in your sector and of similar scale.
- See real use cases: Don’t accept generic demos. Test scenarios your team actually faces.
- Score objectively: Use a weighted scoring model agreed by finance, IT, and business stakeholders to avoid bias.
- Assess implementation & support: The best software can fail with the wrong partner — check the track record, ecosystem, and ongoing service.
My Own Experience
When I managed a budget transformation project for a package holiday provider, we made the mistake of having a preferred supplier in mind before the formal selection process.
We asked three vendors to demonstrate their solution against a very specific budgeting scenario tailored to our business. Only one vendor — not the preferred one — could actually solve the challenge.
The choice suddenly became very clear. That experience taught me the value of:
- Testing vendors with real-world scenarios, not generic demos
- Letting the process — and the evidence — guide the decision, not assumptions
- Staying open-minded, because the best solution isn’t always the one you expect
The GrowCFO Tech Showcase on 24th September will explore these four vendors side by side — helping CFOs and FP&A leaders see how different approaches to planning and forecasting, including using Excel and AI map to different business needs.
👉 If you’re weighing up whether to evolve Excel or replace it — and how to get real value from AI — this is the session for you.