QuickBooks Pro vs IBM Planning Analytics

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Our analysts compared QuickBooks Pro vs IBM Planning Analytics based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Accounting Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

QuickBooks Pro Software Tool
IBM Planning Analytics Software Tool

Product Basics

QuickBooks Pro is a program designed to efficiently execute bookkeeping processes such as invoicing, cost tracking, receipt scanning and more while offering users a third eye on their finances by displaying the most current information in comprehensive dashboards and reports.

Inventory and sales tax tracking, accounts payable management and bill management are some of its quintessential features.
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IBM Planning Analytics is a multidimensional in-memory database for analytics and planning. Part of the IBM Analytics Suite and powered by TM1, it provides forecasting, budgeting and reporting at an enterprise scale through data compression. With all data connected to a central hub, it enables collaborative planning with workflow approvals and review protocols in place. Enterprises perform OLAP analysis faster through in-memory technology.

Integrating with Microsoft Excel, it gives businesses the ease and familiarity of working with spreadsheets with the power of an enterprise database. With automated time-series modeling, it enables self-service predictive analysis. The vendor offers a 30-day free trial.
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$45 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
$825 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Product Assistance

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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Initiate Payment Reminders: Notify patrons of invoice payment deadlines so users can receive payments sooner with automatic payment reminders. 
  • Attach Purchase Orders: Attach purchase order numbers to invoice emails so clients can swiftly locate and pay them on time without losing them in a sea of emails, thus initiating prompt payments. 
  • Bind Several Invoices to One Email: Amalgamate several invoices into one email, saving time on sending numerous emails and preventing bottlenecks in their customer payment processing. 
  • Detailed Customer Reports: Conceal specific columns in customer reports to analyze straightforward client totals to find the appropriate information in less time. 
  • Ease of Use: Obtain a plethora of features after hitting the F1 key. Features include improved help content, a search engine and access to certified financial experts via messaging and call back options to ensure users always have a helping hand if obstacles arise. 
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  • Maximize ROI: Save time for analysis of trends, business performance and results by creating project plans faster. Reallocate budget and resources by leveraging deep insights into business performance and market trends. Collaborate with others on a single, unified platform with total transparency and visibility into business data, available for all plans. 
  • Boost Sales: Win more business opportunities – boost annual sales quotas and deal sizes through end-to-end sales workflows. Grow revenue and reduce time to insight with robust sales analytics. Track campaigns for performance monitoring in real time and deep dive into data for buying behavior and customer churn analysis. 
  • Financial Planning and Analysis: Optimize the business’ performance through valuable financial insights. Ensure the business is on track by creating and managing plans, budgets and forecasts. Simplifies the budgeting process through real-time calculations with automatic application of business rules. 
  • Optimize Supply Chain: Create more accurate demand forecasts, get a clearer view of the resources and budget required to fulfill projected demand and update production plans accordingly. View historical data and drill down into summaries for deep-dive analysis and add visuals to spot key KPI trends. 
  • Workforce Planning: Increase the workforce’s efficiency by acquiring and retaining skilled employees at the right time. Effectively manage staff schedules, task assignment and performance tracking through workforce analytics and HR planning tools. 
  • Deploy Anywhere: Access the same data from everywhere with the flexibility to deploy on-premise, in the cloud or as a combination of both. 
  • Scalable: Build and change plans flexibly in real time to match business requirements. Scales with increasing data volumes, number of users and planning models, without impacting existing workflows and performance. 
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  • Inventory Management: Trace products, prices of goods and receive alerts when their inventory is running low with the inventory management accessory. This tool also enables effortless inventory adjustments to chronicle loss, theft and reduction. Users can draft purchase orders to stay in the loop of ordered goods. 
  • Monitor Sales Tax:  Determine which clients and merchandise are taxable and promptly document sales tax throughout the month with the sales tax apparatus. Users may leverage this tool to produce sales tax liability sheets to have an accurate snapshot of how much they owe. 
  • Personalized Invoices: Formulate sophisticated invoices and estimates to bill services, products and billable time and expenses with the invoicing component. This accessory also enables users to approve payments directly from invoices and deliver reminders to patrons about outstanding fees. 
  • Upkeep Bills: Trace bills and purchases in one system with the bill and accounts payable management tool. Users can upkeep cash flow, swiftly respond to unpaid bills and automatically receive early pay discounts. 
  • Monitor Profits and Expenditures: Link banks and credit cards to instantly export transactions with the income and expense tracking module. Users may also arrange their expenditures and profits by a particular customer, vendor or employee center. 
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  • Architecture: Leverage a three-tier client-server architecture that includes a database, application server and front end, with data stored centrally in the OLAP server. 
    • TM1: Employs an efficient data compression algorithm to enable faster planning and analytics. Create business models by combining multiple data sources with manual input for effective decision-making. 
  • Workspace: Create and access all plans and forecasts through its web-based interface. Grant role-based access to team members down to cell-level granularity. Collaborate on plans through chats and cell comments in the workspace. 
    • Data Visualizations: Choose from a rich library of visualizations to apply that includes bullet charts, waterfall charts, treemaps, word clouds and more. Input data intuitively to specific slots through drag-and-drop actions, and customize fonts and styles for personalized branding. 
    • Books and Views: Access related data in the form of web sheets, scorecards, videos and embedded web pages from a single interface. Leverage defined selections of a data cube — views — for analysis and data exploration, and export as an Excel worksheet. 
  • Performance Tracking: Compare targets with actual results, and with actual performance over time. Quickly find the desired metrics and create visually compelling scorecards such as impact diagrams, strategy maps and custom diagrams. Add existing scorecards to books and analyze data over different periods, metrics and dimensions. 
  • Data Modeling: Autonomously build a financial model by converting business requirements into cubes, dimensions, hierarchies and calculations. Transform and load data easily into a financial model, without the need to code. 
  • Sandbox Environments: Work in a sandbox to manipulate data as needed in real time without impacting actual data. Compare different scenarios and test assumptions to see the impact of potential decisions. 
  • Microsoft Excel Integration: Go beyond what spreadsheets can do – perform multi-dimensional analysis and big data exploration within the Excel interface, retaining its full functionality and formatting. Find answers to business questions by creating reports from Cognos TM1 through interactive drag-and-drop actions. 
  • AI-Based Automation: Speed up planning cycles and get more reliable results. Create plans, forecasts and budgets through automated model creation, natural language processing and cognitive analytics. 
  • On-Demand Module: Generate dynamic dashboards from existing Excel spreadsheets through autonomous data exploration. Move from annual planning to rolling forecasts based on real-time information by identifying variances in plans caused by external data. 
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Product Ranking

#15

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#335

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Accounting Software

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 4867 reviews
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86%
of users recommend this product

QuickBooks Pro has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 4867 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

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4.6 (11)
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4.3 (1495)
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4.34 (1503)
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4.3 (1217)
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4.2 (641)
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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Interface: Approximately 58% of users who addressed this platform's interface said it's user friendly and easy to learn.
Performance: Of the users who discussed this solution's performance, 63% said it's easy to navigate, reliable, keeps everything organized and is useful for various industries.
Modules: Roughly 72% of users who mentioned this program's features said it has a simple payroll module, its invoices make businesses look more professional and seamlessly reconciles bank accounts.
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Flexible Modeling: Users praise the software's ability to handle complex planning scenarios with ease, such as building detailed driver-based models for budgeting and forecasting.
Improved Collaboration: The platform facilitates better communication and data sharing among teams, streamlining the budgeting and forecasting process.
Powerful Reporting and Analytics: Users appreciate the robust reporting features, allowing them to generate insightful reports and dashboards for data visualization and analysis.
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Implementation: Of the users who addressed this software's implementation process, 41% said it was difficult and lengthy.
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Steep Learning Curve: Users have reported that IBM Planning Analytics can be difficult to learn, especially for those without prior experience with similar tools. Its interface and terminology can feel overwhelming initially.
Limited Reporting Capabilities: Some users have expressed frustration with the reporting functionality within Planning Analytics, finding it less intuitive and flexible compared to dedicated reporting tools. They desire more advanced formatting and customization options for presenting financial data.
Performance Issues: Users have occasionally encountered performance issues, particularly when dealing with large datasets or complex calculations. This can slow down budgeting and forecasting processes, impacting overall productivity.
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QuickBooks Pro is an effective bookkeeping ERP with a user-friendly interface and is simple to learn. Users swoon over this product's features - such as inventory management, sales tax, invoicing, bill management and more — that provide balance and income sheets, execute double-sided accounting, reconcile bank accounts and are qualified for small businesses. The performance is exceptional because it's reliable, easy to navigate, arranges everything in an orderly fashion and is suitable for numerous industries. Negatively, some users find that the implementation process is challenging and lengthy. Overall, the majority see this program as a handy asset.

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User reviews from the past year suggest IBM Planning Analytics is a powerful tool for businesses seeking to streamline their financial planning and analysis processes. Users praise its robust features, particularly its budgeting, forecasting, and reporting capabilities. One standout feature is its ability to handle complex "what-if" scenarios, allowing businesses to model different outcomes based on various factors, which is crucial for making informed decisions in a volatile market. However, users also point out some drawbacks. The learning curve can be steep, especially for those unfamiliar with similar software. Some users find the interface less intuitive than competitors like Anaplan or Cube, and the pricing can be a significant investment for smaller businesses. Despite these weaknesses, users generally agree that IBM Planning Analytics offers a comprehensive solution for businesses needing advanced planning and analysis capabilities. Its ability to integrate with other IBM products and handle large datasets makes it particularly well-suited for larger enterprises with complex financial operations.

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