Planful
by Planful · FP&A & Budgeting
Cloud FP&A platform for budgeting, forecasting, close, consolidation, and reporting.
Updated August 2026 · By the ERP Research Editorial Team · Independent and vendor-neutral.
- Works with
NetSuite
SAP
Oracle
Workday
Sage Intacct
Acumatica
Microsoft Dynamics 365QuickBooks+2 more- Deployment
- Cloud
- Company size
- SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise
- Pricing
- Quote-based
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, United States
Overview
Planful (formerly Host Analytics) is a cloud-based Financial Performance Management platform used by finance, accounting, and cross-functional teams to budget, forecast, close the books, consolidate multi-entity financials, and report. The platform is organized around structured and dynamic planning, financial close and consolidation, reporting and dashboards, and workforce, sales, marketing, IT, and operations planning modules, all built on a shared calculation engine so plans, actuals, and forecasts stay connected in one system.
Planful AI is embedded across the platform as a set of purpose-built assistants: Analyst answers ad-hoc finance questions in plain language and explains the drivers behind a number; Planner generates baseline forecasts and models what-if scenarios from historical data; Help provides in-app, step-by-step guidance; and Signals and Projections apply machine learning to flag anomalies/risk and generate forecast projections. Planful states these assistants run on its own patented calculation engine augmented by OpenAI for language understanding, that customer data is not used to train external models, and that AI interactions stay within the customer environment.
The company reports more than 1,500 customers and 500+ employees, with its headquarters in San Francisco and additional offices in Hyderabad (India), London (UK), and Toronto (Canada). It integrates with ERP, CRM, HRIS, and data-warehouse systems through thousands of pre-built connectors and RESTful APIs, and extends into Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint via its Spotlight add-in.
Screenshots & demo
Demo video from the vendor's YouTube channel. Screenshots sourced from Planful.
Features & capabilities
Budgeting, Planning & Forecasting
Driver-based budgeting, rolling forecasts, and scenario modeling for FP&A teams.
- Pre-built templates for budgeting, planning, and forecasting
- Driver-based and cash flow forecasting
- Rolling forecasts for continuous planning
- Scenario and what-if modeling
- Familiar Excel-like syntax and formulas
- AI-generated baseline projections (Planful AI Planner/Projections)
Financial Close & Consolidation
Multi-entity close, consolidation, and account reconciliation for accounting teams.
- Journal entries and automated account reconciliations
- Multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation with groups and sub-consolidations
- Automated FX translation, NCI, and equity pickup
- Intercompany eliminations
- Multiple reporting books: GAAP, IFRS, statutory, management, and tax
- System-driven controls and audit trails
Reporting & Analytics
Real-time, self-service reporting and dashboards built on the same planning data.
- Real-time, self-service reporting with drill-through
- Ad-hoc analysis and variance reporting
- Interactive dashboards and KPI tracking
- Spotlight for Microsoft 365: refresh Excel, Word, and PowerPoint reports from Planful data
- Layered legal, regional, and management reporting views
Workforce, Sales & Operational Planning
Extends planning beyond core finance into HR, sales, marketing, IT, and operations.
- Workforce planning integrated with HRIS, recruitment, and payroll systems
- Headcount tracking through the employee lifecycle and compensation modeling
- Sales commission, territory, and SaaS cohort/revenue planning
- Marketing performance management tying budgets and campaigns to outcomes
- IT spend and project planning
- SIOP (Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning)
Planful AI
Purpose-built AI assistants embedded across the planning, close, and reporting cycle.
- Analyst: conversational Q&A over your Planful data with explainable narratives
- Planner: generates baseline forecasts and models scenarios from historical data
- Help: in-app, step-by-step guidance and task assistance
- Signals: continuously scans data to flag anomalies and risk by GL combination
- Projections: machine-learning-based budget and forecast projections
- Runs on Planful proprietary calculation engine, augmented by OpenAI for language understanding; customer data is not used to train external models
Integrations & Platform
Connects Planful to the rest of the business systems.
- Thousands of pre-built connectors for ERP, CRM, HRIS, and cloud storage systems
- RESTful APIs and traditional SFTP-based automation
- Low-code, point-and-click data import, validation, and transformation
- Bi-directional data flows: pull data in, push results to BI tools and reports
- No published limits on data volume or number of connected sources
Common use cases
- Automating month-end close and multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation across complex org structures
- Building driver-based budgets and rolling forecasts with Excel-like syntax instead of spreadsheets
- Workforce planning that connects Finance and HR headcount, hiring, and compensation data
- Sales commission, territory, and SaaS cohort/revenue planning for sales operations
- Marketing performance management that ties campaign budgets to business outcomes
- IT spend and project planning aligned with the company financial plan
- Running a SIOP (Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning) process on shared financial data
Strengths & considerations
Strengths
- Planning, close/consolidation, reporting, and workforce/sales/marketing/IT planning run on one shared calculation engine rather than separate point solutions
- Planful AI ships as multiple purpose-built assistants (Analyst, Planner, Help, Signals, Projections) embedded directly in workflows rather than a single generic chatbot
- Vendor states AI outputs link back to source data through its patented calculation engine and that customer data is never used to train external AI models
- Thousands of pre-built connectors plus RESTful APIs and SFTP for low-code integration with ERP, CRM, HRIS, and data-warehouse systems
- Spotlight add-in extends live Planful data into Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
ERP integrations
CRM data feeds sales commission and revenue planning
Cloud data-warehouse source for bringing data into Planful
Pricing
Planful does not publish pricing. All calls to action lead to a demo request rather than self-serve signup; pricing is quoted per customer based on modules and scale. Get an independent shortlist with pricing guidance below.
Technical & security
- Hosting
- Cloud-based SaaS
- Compliance
- SOC, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA
About the vendor
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, United States
- Employees
- 500+
Alternatives to Planful in FP&A & Budgeting
Planful — frequently asked questions
What is Planful and who is it for?
Planful is a cloud-based Financial Performance Management platform used mainly by finance and accounting teams for budgeting, forecasting, financial close, consolidation, and reporting. It also extends planning to HR (workforce), sales, marketing, IT, and operations teams on the same platform.
Does Planful integrate with existing ERP systems?
Yes. Planful integrates with ERP systems including SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Acumatica, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and QuickBooks through pre-built connectors, RESTful APIs, and SFTP, so financial data can flow into the platform without manual transfers.
Does Planful AI use customer data to train external models?
No, according to Planful. The vendor states customer data is never used to train external AI models and stays isolated within the customer environment. Planful AI runs on Planful's own proprietary calculation engine and models, with OpenAI used only to support language understanding.
What financial reporting standards does Planful support?
Planful can produce multiple reporting books from the same consolidated data, including GAAP, IFRS, statutory, management, and tax reports, with drill-down traceability back to source transactions.
How is Planful priced?
Planful does not publish pricing. It is sold as an enterprise subscription quoted per customer, and every pricing inquiry routes through a sales demo rather than a self-serve checkout.
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