Vena Reviews

Pros

I like how this tool is reliable for financial planning,budgeting and forecasting.It's simple to prepare custom financial reports reports with Vena.This tool is reliable with bank account reconciliation.

Cons

I lack anything that I can complain since this tool meets all my needs and expectations.

Pros

There is a lot to like about Vena. We have created several customized reports for our organization and plan to use Vena for our monthly variance analysis and annual budget process. The ability to create dynamic reports and manage our budgets/forecasts in one system while allowing end-user comments will save our team a ton of time and effort. The software is powerful, and the implementation team has been able to come up with solutions to all of our requests. The end-user interface is intuitive and easy to use, even for those users who don't typically work with excel.

Cons

The reports and templates can take up to 1-2 minutes to open, which can be frustrating when you want to pull a number or send a report quickly. The GL data load also takes 20-25 minutes to refresh. So if we post entries to our GL and want to capture them in our Vena reports, we have to manually kick off a refresh and wait 25 minutes to run the new reports. Just a couple of minor inconveniences for an overall great product.

Pros

it's ability to consolidate data and create comparisons over historical periods.

Cons

Automatically updating information to reflect re-time postings in accounts- without conflict with other reports being run

Pros

Vena has delivered huge value for us in a flexible package that can grow with our business effectively and efficiently. Vena let us keep our existing financial system and our customer Excel quoting apps. And built a reporting system on the back of Excel which everyone already knows. The road to value was fairly straightforward for us.

Cons

Vena is a toolbox of powerful opportunities. It is not an out-of-the-box accounting system. So you have to know exactly what you want out of Vena before deploying it. But this is true of any data warehouse. Knowing how data is to be extracted and presented requires upfront commitment and execution. Time spent in the planning phase will pay off 10X in the execution phase.

Pros

- Flexibility of the tool to build your own universe of workflows and reports- Excel-based- Sense of community created by the Vena marketing team

Cons

- Rocky integration with our accounting system (needed external help)

Alternatives Considered

Datarails and Anaplan

Pros

The features that were the most impactful for our implementation of Vena was was the automation as well as the audit control capabilities. We are now able to focus more time on value add analysis as opposed to manually putting reports together each time.

Cons

Building custom templates that are complex take a lot of time. There are nuances to build reports that can make the experience frustrating if the report breaks or is mapped incorrectly.

Pros

If you know Excel - you'll be able to master Vena! The ease of use is amazing and the possibilities are endless in how you use this tool.

Cons

There are very few cons with this tool. I would say that the implementation is intense but that's by design. No one wants to be implementing the tool as they go!!

Pros

I like the most about the drill down function in Vena. It allows you to view information on the transactional level.

Cons

I did not like Vena's task flow builder because it feel clunky. Additionally, the email settings need improvement because we are sending 50+ emails to each executive for the annual budget for review.

Pros

It is very easy to create any type of report you like in a very logical way and is flexible to changes in data which are easily implemented and understandable for non-tech users

Cons

initial implementation was time-consuming and took many hours to setup hierarchy and validate data

Pros

Vena provides a comprehensive range of financial planning tools, such as forecasting, scenario analysis, reporting, and budgeting. Users successfully aggregate and analyze financial data thanks to its all-encompassing approach to financial management.

Cons

Initial setup and configuration of Vena require technical expertise or assistance from the Vena team. Implementation requires time and effort, depending on how complicated the organization's financial operations are.

Pros

Honestly, if you have used other planning software, I can not really say there is much.

Cons

• No web interface that shows your financials. All financials must be displayed through reports that you build through Excel. Yes, you can pull intersection data and get a dump, but that is cumbersome.
• Loading headcount takes up to an hour to load since it needs to be customized.
• Mapping a report takes too long. You must map not just columns and rows, but the “page”, or global like dimensions. Vena should be smart enough to know this without the user, it is not.
• Mapping a report takes way too much space. You can not nest a query within a cell.
• Hard running a report with two global assumptions. You have to create another intersection mapping.
• Hard to audit a complicated report, hence you are incentivized not to, therefore what is the point?
• Reports and input sheets can exist on the same report sheet. Though useful at times, it is easy to override data and can get confusing. Though you sometimes have to do it for modeling purposes.
• The software learning curve peaks too early. I understand having a simple software, but not at the expense of functionality.
• Writing intricate code to help automate financial planning is not practical. There is only a primitive editor, and no result box that guides you. Our consultants told us do not even try because they seldom touch it. Specifically, it is extremely hard to validate what is occurring.
• Building a three-statement model is a disaster. Imagine building a balance sheet, but not being able to pull a number from the

Pros

Flexibility to set up whatever process we are working on the way it needs to be set up for our business requirements. Continual improvements being done on the Vena add-in and browser administration interface. Formatting Excel templates and reports exactly as needed. Ability to pull in data from all data versions for any reporting or template. Ability to save non-financial data to use in reporting or calculations. Ability to control user input as needed to better quality data. Prompt customer service responses. Great implementation team. Administrative control over data visible to individual users. Workflows to show status for process steps and email notifications when a workflow step is ready for input or review. Once learned, allows for creation of new processes to collect or report data.

Cons

Having to download each Excel file, but once downloaded, it's easy to select the data we want to see.

Pros

Vana is a software that allows to carry out tasks either financial or accounting in a customized way by means of calculation sheets and templates very similar to the established Excel tool, except that in this opportunity offers a greater number of options that conform to the specific requirements required by the current administrative systems of the enterprises. With this program, automated reports can be made enabling the preparation of managerial plans, with a high level of protection that will enable you to function without fear of filtering such data. It adapts very well to different industries and enables archives to be imported and exported quickly

Cons

The monthly cost of the tool is very high relative to other similar ones, but of course, it should be remembered that it is a tool targeted at medium and large businesses, so that the price for large organizations can be manageable.

Pros

Our Financial Planning and Analysis team picked Vena from many other tools. The reason for zeroing on this tool, is, it is an excel based tool. We have been doing all this work in excel since years.
We have standardized the process and have fixed excel templates. However excel has certain limitations like version control, access control, audit trail etc.
With Vena we overcame the limitations of excel while retaining the power, flexibility and ease of use of excel. We have many desperate IT systems some by choice and some by compulsion due to various acquisitions. We import the data from all these systems into vena database. Data is automatically consolidated and aggregated per our requirements for use in advanced management reports as well as ad hoc reports in vena. Vena offers workflow and approval management by project, department etc. Further one can drill up, drill down, slice and dice the data using vena. Variance analysis is a piece of cake in this tool. Vena customer service is good too.

Cons

There is a learning curve like any other tool. There is no drag and drop from a selection of columns, fields etc. However once you learn the tool, reporting becomes easier.

Pros

Vena is extremely scalable which has been very helpful as we have doubled the number of stores we have. Also, we were able to streamline our reporting that use to take several days into just a few hours.

Cons

The templates can be overly complicated if they are not set up well.

Alternatives Considered

Oracle Hyperion Planning

Pros

It's user-friendly interface is a standout feature. It is thoughtfully designed, making it easy for users of all levels of expertise to navigate and utilize the platform effectively.It offers an impressive array of tools and functionalities that cater to various financial needs. The budgeting and planning capabilities are incredibly powerful, allowing one to create detailed and accurate forecasts. Another noteworthy aspect of Vena is its ability to foster collaboration within teams. The platform allows multiple users to work simultaneously on the same project, eliminating the need for back-and-forth emails or spreadsheet versioning headaches.The centralized data storage ensures that everyone has access to the most up-to-date information, promoting transparency and efficiency within the organization.

Cons

Vena is primarily designed for financial professionals, and users without a strong background in finance may find it slightly challenging.Also while Vena's interface is user-friendly overall, some of the more advanced features may require a learning curve, especially for users who are not familiar with complex financial management concepts. Also while Vena offers a mobile app, its functionality is more limited compared to the web version.

Pros

Vena does a great job with alternative hierarchies, rollups, visual displays are well laid out

Cons

The drilldown functionality does not seem to support visually displaying where the hyperlinks exist and so you need to try several intersections to see where drillable cells reside. Not sure if a config issue though.

Pros

Vena has greatly decreased our monthly-close time and made journal entries, financial reporting, and reconciliations much more efficient and easy to complete.

Cons

There is a learning curve and it can take time to set up reports/etc. on the front end.

Pros

The thing I like about Vena is it's innovative accounting solution that streamlines all of the accounting processes, from close management to account reconciliation, financial consolidations, and more. The best feature of Vena is its close management capabilities.

Cons

Its powerful features make it a powerful tool for businesses of any size, but it lacks in financial consolidation capabilities.

Pros

Vena is a plug in for Excel, so the basic functionality for excel is all there. You don't need to learn a new software.

Cons

Integration can be improved. Sometimes integrations are complicated. It is not user friendly for Mac users.

Pros

The ease of use of Vena by using Excel format.

Cons

Mapping budget input can be cumbersome but we understand why it has to be done a certain way.

Pros

what I like the most is that it has known capabilities and its monthly training for beginners is much less than others, but it is a functional and fast tool, it also has many templates

Cons

I do not feel that the tool is difficult, or that it is not organizationally functional

Pros

It allows my team to report click of a button and spend time analyzing rather than preparing.

Cons

relying on the integration team to meet our timelines.

Alternatives Considered

Workday Adaptive Planning

Reasons for Switching to Vena

I liked how vena layered on top of excel.

Pros

Vena has great ways to connect and link your business' data, allowing you to logically build out reports and views of whatever statements your business will require.

Cons

Sometimes the structure of Excel can create challenges or delays because it is possible to overload the abilities of the Excel but the comfort of a system everyone is already familiar with outweighs the challenges.

Pros

What fascinates us most about this instrument is that Vena allows us to complete checklists/end-of-month checks. Each of the to-do's can be easily found on a single board/screen.

Cons

Since we have used this product, we have not found a single flaw because the product we use is unique to our organization. As monthly reports now have the ability to provide department managers within a minute of the books closing