You’ve made the smart choice to sign on with Workday Adaptive Insights, which, among other things, automates consolidations and data integrations from other systems. And you’ll be in good company, as nearly 3,000 organizations in more than 85 countries use the system for budgeting, forecasting, and reporting. But do YOU know how to use Adaptive Insights? Read on for that and more.
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Why is Workday Adaptive Insights So Popular?
For one, the web-based system (now Workday Adaptive Planning) works for companies of all sizes. So, it’s got you covered right there. Because the system comes to you over the Web in what’s called a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, it’s not necessary to buy new software or hardware. Adaptive Insights is also widely used because its interface is comparable to Excel, which many users are familiar with. This takes some of the bite out of training.
What Do Reviews Say?
Ah, yes, you want to hear from the proverbial horse’s mouth. We don’t blame you. Here are a couple of assessments from actual users as posted by Software Advice:
- “We are going into our third budget cycle using Adaptive and it has made our process much more efficient. Prior to using Adaptive we played budget ping pong, bouncing spreadsheets back and forth, and then once we landed on a final version the Finance team consolidated the numbers.”
- “I will always recommend Adaptive to FP&A professionals. Once you use it and truly understand it, I’m sure you will do the same. There is little wonder why they are a leader in the SaaS space.
- “We plan at a very granular level, and Adaptive’s formulas and overall approach to modeling has made this tool a pleasure to work with. Like any new tool, it took our team a little bit of time if getting used to it, but this is simply a tool we can’t live without now. In addition to the feature set, the customer support is outstanding. Very responsive to questions and highly knowledgeable on a variety of topics.”
How Does One Use Such a System?
Particularly nowadays, companies need to be agile. They need the ability to pivot when situations change. The problem is that planning the traditional way is too cumbersome and plodding. Workday Adaptive Insights is not only powerful and fast, but easy to use – and from anywhere. Just make sure you enlist the help of a consultant to help you make the most of your investment.
Specifically, you can use the system for:
- Revenue management. Using integrated financial and sales planning, you can accurately forecast revenue.
- Workforce management. The system allows you to plan and analyze your headcount with agility and be confident in your decisions.
- Capital management. Through robust planning and analysis, your organization can drive stronger capital management.
- Expense management. On demand, you’re able to simplify expense management and identify leading cost drivers.
- Profitability analysis. With Workday Adaptive Insights, you have the capability to not only improve strategic decisions, but to plan and analyze your profitability.
- Integrate profit and loss statements. You can do this through balance sheets and cash flow projections.
- Speed your financial close. You can do this through consolidation, validation, and reporting.
Now that you know how to use Adaptive Insights, and more, you can go about enjoying the system’s core functionalities that include reporting, budgeting, and forecasting, dashboards, and financial modeling. You know that while the standalone tool can be bought and deployed with any ERP system, it’s best to go through a consultant such as Mercer, which has the datasets you need to better inform your business decisions.
