Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)Unit4 Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)FP&A and Finance Managers
Author: Oliver Sullivin April 21, 2026 7 min read

Want to make better business decisions but struggle to access reliable data in Excel spreadsheets?

A team reviewing printed financial reports and charts during a collaborative planning meeting in a modern office.

In an ever-changing and volatile world, organizations need clearer insights into past and future performance. The desire for financial transformation through digital technology is rising as organizations seek better ways to understand how they are doing, where they are going, and what they should do to get there. With rising inflation, global conflict, energy costs, interest rates, supply chain disruption, and the challenge of retaining top talent, agility is essential. Finance leaders need their teams focused on value-adding activities such as forecasting, reporting, and insights, not wrestling with data.

Excel spreadsheets will always have a place in day-to-day analysis. They remain a familiar, flexible tool, and 38% of organizations in 2025 still report that everyone uses spreadsheets (Dresner 2025 Research Insight 'To Limit Spreadsheet Proliferation, Target Value-Add Scenarios'), a figure that has barely shifted in recent years. This “stickiness” shows that spreadsheets aren’t going anywhere. But as planning scales and more people get involved, spreadsheets introduce challenges that become difficult to manage without a dedicated system.

Cloud-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis), and HCM (Human Capital Management) solutions offer a more reliable, scalable way to ensure the data behind major decisions is always up-to-date, governed, and trusted as a single source of truth.

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The problem with data in Excel spreadsheets

As finance leaders strive to make better business decisions, access to reliable data is essential. But with Excel spreadsheets, it can be a challenge. They weren’t designed for multiple users making numerous updates and changes, so when more than one person is involved, issues quickly arise: multiple versions of the truth, siloed data, and human errors such as broken formulas.

It’s also incredibly time-consuming for finance teams to manually input and update data, often across multiple versions of the same file, leaving little time for value-adding analysis. This makes accuracy questionable and shifts conversations away from insights and toward debating whose version of the data is correct.

Despite years of effort to reduce spreadsheet proliferation, usage continues to grow. This doesn’t mean spreadsheets should be eradicated; far from it. They remain a powerful tool for quick, ad‑hoc analysis. The issue arises when they become mission-critical without the governance, consistency, and scalability that modern FP&A platforms provide. Unconstrained spreadsheet growth creates data governance risks and dilutes efforts to introduce more advanced analytics, BI, and AI-driven insights.

Planning and forecasting in Excel can lead to confusion, frustration, and distrust, not because spreadsheets are inherently flawed, but because they were never designed to support enterprise-wide collaboration, real-time updates, or complex scenario modelling at scale.

This is why many finance leaders are embarking on a digital transformation journey and switching to cloud-based ERP and FP&A solutions: not to eliminate spreadsheets, but to reduce risk and ensure they play a supporting role rather than become the backbone of critical planning processes.

The benefits of cloud-based ERP and FP&A solutions

A dedicated planning and analysis tool can significantly free up finance teams’ time for more value-adding activity. A unified FP&A software platform “conservatively saves 2.5 hours every month in employee time on average” (BPM Partners – The Road to FP&A Excellence). With cloud-based software, finance teams can access comprehensive, real-time data on a single platform without the hassle of multiple spreadsheets and intensive manual data gathering.

A modern FP&A platform doesn’t fight spreadsheet use; it absorbs the risk that spreadsheets create when planning becomes complex. By centralizing data, applying governance, and providing a single source of truth, FP&A solutions allow teams to continue using spreadsheets where appropriate, while ensuring that core planning, forecasting, and reporting remain consistent and controlled.

These platforms also increase agility, enabling businesses to react quickly to changing conditions or capitalize on emerging opportunities. Dashboards, reporting capabilities, and scenario modelling tools allow organizations to act with speed and accuracy. And because cloud-based solutions scale easily, they support growth without adding complexity.

AI-powered analytical capabilities help users quickly identify issues or opportunities they might otherwise miss. Cloud-based systems also improve collaboration across departments. For example, when marketing requests additional resources, finance can instantly view historical spending patterns and allocate budgets with confidence. This creates an efficient workflow and greater agility across the organization.

How to make the switch to cloud-based ERP and FP&A solutions

Moving to cloud-based solutions can appear daunting, but with a clear understanding of your data requirements, budget, implementation timeline, and business needs, the transition becomes far easier.

Start by identifying what data you need from your spreadsheets, what formats it needs to be in, and where it should reside. Then begin researching suitable ERP and FP&A solutions that offer comprehensive tools to automate business processes and support scalable planning.

Click to read FP&A product brochure 2026

Choosing the right solutions for your business

Cloud-based ERP and FP&A systems offer more flexibility and scalability than traditional on-premises software. They are ideal for businesses that need to rapidly scale up or down as demand changes or new opportunities arise.

They also allow businesses to access accurate, real-time data from anywhere. No more waiting hours or days for answers; decisions can be made quickly, enabling organizations to act on new opportunities before competitors can react.

Cloud-based FP&A systems also help organizations strike the right balance: spreadsheets remain available for ad‑hoc analysis, but the critical work, modelling, forecasting, scenario planning, and cross-functional collaboration, happens in a governed environment that scales.

These solutions also include powerful tools for managing inventory, analyzing customer behavior, tracking sales performance, forecasting budgets, running simulations, and planning future investments. Built-in security protocols ensure that data remains safe and compliant.

And because these systems are housed in the cloud, users don’t have to worry about maintaining or updating expensive hardware; they can focus on making better business decisions faster.

How Unit4 can help your organization

With Unit4’s comprehensive cloud-based ERP, HCM, and FP&A software for people-centric organizations, you can adapt and optimize how your people work to help you manage complexity and focus on the things that matter.

Unit4 FP&A is designed to be the place where spreadsheet-driven work becomes governed, consistent, and scalable, giving finance teams the freedom to use spreadsheets where appropriate without letting them create chaos as planning grows. We help absorb the risk of spreadsheets when they become mission critical to organizations – reducing the chaos spreadsheets can create when planning scales.

Unit4’s next-generation smart ERP software solutions are built with businesses like yours in mind. With us, you can Experience Real Purpose with an adaptable solution that’s right for your business, now and in the future.

To discover more, book a demo and see what our solutions can do for your organization.

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