Founded in 2013, ProForecast provides a cloud-based forecasting, reporting and corporate performance management software (CPM). Relying on its true forecasting engine and unique architecture, ProForecast supports users of all sizes and capabilities, with its seamless solutions for financial planning and business analytics.
ProForecast’s advanced cloud-based functionality means that its users can access accurate and up-to-date reports which they require to make informed decisions that will enable them to successfully manage and grow their businesses.
With the ProForecast’s financial forecasting software, the users can integrate their revenue and expense planning from various accounting packages (cloud and/or on-premise based) and create unlimited forecasts. ProForecast allows users to easily stress test their business using a number of different scenarios with its integrated scenario planning, What-If and Monte Carlo analysis tools.
ProForecast perceives the importance of unique business models in such software, thus the team of ProForecast make sure that its software actually matches customer needs. Hence, it includes multiple business models to fit many different sectors, and constantly work with its users to develop new cost and revenue models.
Moreover, to gain the full benefits of cloud-based software ProForecast integrated an AI engine that helps users to correct errors and simplifies financial forecasting. The firm is now establishing a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Sunderland University to create an advanced artificial intelligence tool to supplement the technology already in the software to benefit its customers even further.
A Desire to Resolve Difficulties
Steven KB Katirai, CEO of ProForecast, has established and ran many retail and manufacturing companies before working with numerous start-up companies where he focused on developing sophisticated financial models. This gave him a deep insight into the difficulties of business forecasting, budgeting and planning, and creating the desire to build a quicker and easier way to so.
This led to the creation of ProForecast, an application that drills down into the fundamental business drivers, to create forecasts with a depth and accuracy not possible in the many lightweight cash flow and forecasting apps now available.
ProForecast’s business rules are robust and tested with inbuilt micro and macro “What-If” capabilities. This with the detailed templates enables sophisticated models to be built quickly without errors and in a way that can be easily shared. This is a complete departure from the current trend of lightweight applications.
Beyond Conventional
The wide-ranging nature of businesses and different business models has led ProForecast to develop a business model built on agile principles so that new models and templates can be developed and added in the minimum of time. The company has a continuous development programme based upon two-week sprints. Clearly not every development is developed and implemented in two-weeks but it certainly leads to more rapid deployments than conventional development methods.
Cloud-based applications are by their nature much more difficult to develop than desktop applications and the team of ProForecast feels proud of this application as it has a depth of features rarely seen in a cloud-based application. With connectors for Sage 50, 200 and Intact, ProForecast has been awarded the coveted Sage Platinum Developer Status and a Sage Certified Solution having been independently tested by Quilitest, one of the world’s largest independent software testing companies. The firm has also introduced connectors for Xero & Quickbooks along with a further 40 accounting packages.
Adaptable, Accurate and Flexible
Excel has been the traditional budgeting and forecasting tool for a number of years, but, as many studies have proven, the majority of excel models contain fundamental flaws, therefore compounding the difficulty that companies have in achieving their goals. Businesses then attempt to build-in the necessary flexibility and sophisticated scenario planning into an already flawed model which creates a recipe for disaster.
Additionally, many traditional business forecasting tools are fundamentally reliant on past performance as a guide to future performance, ProForecast offers an alternative approach to such forecasting by offering a strategic business planning and financial forecasting model focussed on the fundamental business drivers and dynamics, with the ability to run multiple scenarios at the same time rather than relying on single track historical time series forecasting.
ProForecast has taken the complexity of real-life forecasting and built it into an easy to use cloud-based application which enables companies to build sophisticated strategic plans, quickly, accurately and inexpensively. Plans that can be shared without damaging the formulas in it, and in which the logic and assumptions can be easily tested and replicated, as well as creating adaptable, accurate and flexible scenario planning.
Future Endeavour
According to ProForecast, the forecasting & budgeting industry is really leading at the forefront of financial technology. The future for the industry is bright, with such strong year-on-year growth, this industry will continue to innovate and disrupt the financial and strategic departments in most businesses. In the future, it definitely can be observed that the automation and even more pressure for the financial departments to move to the cloud and incorporate big data to business planning.
ProForecast has already started its journey to stay ahead. Its cloud-based software is a secure option, with diverse access levels for teams of varied abilities that can be accessed from anywhere. ProForecast is working in partnership with leading technology experts to continue to develop its AI system, to facilitate its users with cloud computing. Introducing such systems and integrating them with big data will bring the users another level of business insight. Additionally, automation is currently at the forefront of the development and ProForecast is working to introduce even more integrations to its software, so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of the strategic planning