As a startup founder, you probably tend to hope and aim for the best, but you should always be prepared for the worst to stay adaptable and resilient. This balanced mindset keeps your feet on the ground while allowing you to grow and scale boldly.
That's where scenario planning software can be helpful. It's a tool designed to help you simulate various business outcomes, assess risks and prepare strategies for future success.
Whether you're new to strategic planning or not, in this article, we'll guide you through the options available and help you choose the right tool to support you.
As you may know, scenario planning is a financial strategy used to prepare for future scenarios and reduce potential risks. It helps you anticipate different possible outcomes by analyzing how changes in key areas, like market conditions or business decisions, could impact your organization financially.
From our experience of working with startups, we know that rigid long-term plans often fail, especially in dynamic industries such as SaaS.
Here's what we've found to work for many SaaS companies instead: running small experiments and hypothesis-driven tests that allow quick learning and adaptation.
Similarly, scenario planning involves testing different outcomes and adjusting strategies based on what you learn from various scenarios.
Keep reading to discover the best financial forecasting software for you.
If you want to explore multiple scenarios or possible future outcomes but don't have strong finance experience, don't worry – you're in the right place.
Fuelfinance is an easy-to-use, cloud-based tool that helps small businesses and startups manage their finances. It gives you a clear picture of your financial situation, lets you track key metrics and helps you with accurate financial forecasting for startups – all of which are crucial for smart business growth.
Our scenario planning software with advanced automation makes routine tasks and keeping your metrics up-to-date effortless. We also have some free, practical templates for financial planning and management.
If you prefer to check these features out in action, schedule a demo.
Fuelfinance connects with popular financial tools like QuickBooks, Stripe, Gusto, Wise and others, making it simple to transfer data and simplify your financial management. Although not a direct QuickBooks alternative, Fuelfinance integrates with it to provide detailed financial reports using the data pulled from the software.
If you're just starting out and your business hasn't secured funding yet, check out our Bootstrap plan to get you going:
Once you've gone through the Bootstrap plan, you can upgrade to one of our other options based on your business needs:
Our pricing is always tailored specifically to your company size and needs, as we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach.
Ready to grow without worrying about your finances? Book a demo to get you started.
Users mention that Fuelfinance provides more support and helpful tutorials than other financial planning software tools and that our experts are always there to help in challenging situations with unlimited support and guidance.
Capterra: 5
G2: 4.9
Pigment is a scenario modeling software that helps teams with strategic planning by bringing together people, data and processes. It allows you to easily create reliable business plans, adjust to changes and plan for the future.
Pigment integrates with ERP and accounting tools such as Sage Intacct and NetSuite. It can also pull data from Snowflake and other data lakes.
Pigment doesn’t provide pricing on its website, but you can request a custom quote.
Since Pigment is primarily designed for mid-sized to large businesses, if you're a small business owner or startup founder, be sure to explore these Pigment competitors that might be a better fit.
Finance teams report that the platform provides lots of flexibility with a user-friendly interface that’s helpful for beginners while doing scenario modeling.
Capterra: N/A
G2: 4.6
Anaplan is a versatile platform for managing business performance, strategic planning and analysis. It's built for businesses of all sizes, particularly large ones, and can handle tasks like revenue planning, workforce planning and operating expense management.
If you want to dive deeper into the differences between the two similar tools we mentioned, check out this article on Pigment vs. Anaplan.
Anaplan integrates with various cloud systems like AWS S3, Google BigQuery and Microsoft Azure Blob and offers multiple API options for seamless connection with other financial tools.
Pricing is not listed on their website. For more information and customized pricing, you’ll need to contact customer support.
As Anaplan is built particularly for large enterprises, you might want to check out these Anaplan competitors if you run a smaller startup.
What users really like about this scenario planning software is the ability to upload and standardize data from multiple tools with only a few clicks.
Capterra: 4.3
G2: 4.6
Datarails is a good option for Excel users who want to improve their scenario planning while staying within the familiar spreadsheet environment. It provides user-friendly dashboards, helping you visualize large amounts of data clearly. Large companies use it for budgeting and financial analysis.
This tool has over 200 integrations, along with the Excel add-on. Some of their most popular ones are BambooHR, Oracle, NetSuite, HubSpot and QuickBooks.
Datarails doesn’t provide pricing details on its website. Instead, they offer personalized quotes based on your specific requirements and user count. You’ll need to submit a form on their site to get a quote.
Since it's designed for larger companies, consider exploring these Datarails competitors for a more budget-friendly option tailored for SMEs and startups.
Users mention that an advantage is the ability to collaborate within the platform. This makes it a good choice for those who need a lot of teamwork in their strategizing efforts.
Capterra: 4.8
G2: 4.7
Planful is a comprehensive financial management and business planning tool that can be used across different teams, including finance, accounting, sales and HR. It comes with built-in AI and ML capabilities to help you forecast and project scenarios more accurately.
Planful comes with over 1,400 pre-made connectors for popular tools like QuickBooks, Salesforce, Oracle, Netsuite and Sage Intacct, covering everything from accounting to business analytics.
Planful doesn’t provide pricing information online. To get a custom quote, you’ll need to reach out to their customer support team.
However, take a look at these Planful competitors to see whether there's a tool that suits you better.
Apart from praising this tool for its ease of use and flexibility, many users were positively surprised by the promptness of their customer support.
Capterra: 4.2
G2: 4.3
Vena Solutions is financial modeling software designed for large and mid-market companies. It works as an add-on to Excel, making it a good option for those who like Excel’s Microsoft Office interface.
But if you’re dissatisfied with this interface, you may want to check out Vena competitors.
Vena Solutions consolidates data from your existing systems into a centralized database, bringing all your financial and operational data together in one place. It also integrates with tools like Sage Intacct, Oracle, QuickBooks, NetSuite and many others.
Vena Solutions offers two plans with custom prices available upon request:
Users said that Vena helped them automate many procedures in Excel, but some of them wrote that the interface could be improved.
Capterra: 4.6
G2: 4.6
Cube is a financial planning tool that integrates with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. You can think of it as an enhanced add-on for Excel, similar to Datarails. If you want to dive deeper into the differences, check out this article on Datarails vs. Cube.
However, if you don’t want to use Excel or Google Sheets, don't worry; you can also use Cube independently. It can help you with financial planning and modeling and it also provides you with detailed analytics and financial reports.
You can connect Cube to almost any tool or software using SQL, REST and GraphQL APIs. It also has built-in integrations with data warehouses like Google BigQuery and Databricks, as well as BI tools like Tableau and Power BI and more.
Cube’s pricing is customized to your business, so you only pay for the features that match your specific FP&A needs, starting at $2,000 monthly.
The cost depends on factors like your company’s size, the complexity of your data integrations and reporting needs.
Users are pretty satisfied with Cube’s reporting and analytics, especially the drill-down function and quick data retrieval.
Capterra: 4.6
G2: 4.5
Prophix is a financial tool for FP&A, consolidation and closing. It’s known for its strong security features. It allows you to create custom dashboards from scratch, adding and adjusting tiles for various metrics as needed. The tool consolidates financial data (e.g., budgeting, planning, reporting and more) into a single source of truth.
Prophix integrates with many ERP, CRM and HRIS systems, such as Acumatica, Deltek, Ellucian and Sage. It comes with pre-built connectors, but you can use their API to integrate them with almost any tool you want.
Prophix doesn't publish pricing on its website, as all plans are tailored to each customer's needs.
Most people find this scenario planning software user-friendly and easy to use due to its color-coded, customizable dashboards.
Capterra: 4.6
G2: 4.4
This enterprise planning software enables your team to create budgets, forecasts and models quickly and accurately. It can be used across various teams, from finance to HR. The tool stands out for its collaboration features as it lets multiple users update the plans simultaneously without confusion.
Workday Integration Cloud offers access to over 600 pre-built integrations, along with technical support for all your connection requirements.
Workday does not list its prices publicly but offers three plans:
Users report that the tool is very easy to use. They’ve quickly adopted and implemented the solution, allowing for flexible multi-scenario modeling and unifying global reporting.
Capterra: 4.5
G2: 4.3
Drivetrain is a platform designed for financial strategic planning and decision-making. It helps teams create integrated plans, budgets and forecasts, track progress in real time and spot growth bottlenecks.
Drivetrain integrates with ERP and accounting solutions, CRM, HRIS and many more, such as QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Intacct, Salesforce, BambooHR and other tools.
Drivetrain doesn't show its pricing plans online. You need to reach out to their sales team to get your custom plan.
Users say that the platform offers great flexibility when it comes to creating new dashboards and reports.
Capterra: N/A
G2: 4.8
Here are four points to consider when looking for the best financial analysis software for planning and modeling:
Starting a business and building a strong financial model can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re not a finance expert. Let alone doing effective scenario planning without prior experience in finance.
That’s where scenario planning software like Fuelfinance comes in.
Designed specifically for small businesses and startups, our platform makes financial management simple and accessible, even for beginners.
With Fuelfinance, you can easily run scenario planning to evaluate how different decisions and events impact your finances. Our tool will ensure you make informed, cost-effective choices.
Plus, our financial models are customized to fit your current investment stage, giving you the resources you need to grow confidently.
Book a demo call today and take control of your financial planning.
Scenario planning software helps you simulate and analyze various potential future scenarios and “what-if” situations. It allows you to anticipate risks, explore opportunities and prepare for all potential outcomes.
First, determine a variable that you want to test. Common variables for scenario planning include revenue projections, costs, sales and metrics like CAC. Then, identify potential risks and future uncertainties, such as unexpected market changes or currency fluctuations and use scenario modeling software to create strategic plans for all possible outcomes.
There are many good tools out there, and choosing the right one depends on the complexity and number of scenarios, as well as the size of your business. Fuelfinance is one of the best tools for startups and small businesses as it allows you to compare multiple scenarios quickly and easily, even if you don't have any financial background.
You can do scenario planning in Excel using features like tables, scenarios and what-if analysis to model different outcomes based on the changing variables. By inputting key factors like costs, revenue and market conditions, you can use it to simulate best-case, worst-case and expected scenarios.
However, Excel doesn't provide additional insights such as real-time KPI monitoring or the difference between plan vs actual. That's why many companies use Excel add-ons or separate scenario planning software. Such solutions help you monitor your data in real time and can even send you alerts and notifications when something changes.
