Microsoft FRx Forecaster

Forecaster Delivers Lightning Fast Budgeting

This is truly one of the best new products that CloudRise has seen. Forecaster is a web-based budgeting and planning application that enables you and your financial management teams to take control of the budget process, including the planning, collaboration, management and the mechanics of the budget.

Get rid of all of those manual Excel spreadsheets that never rollup accurately. By extending the use of FRx to include a budget database, you have a single source of budget data that, no matter how complex, can be consolidated by a click and is refreshed with actual numbers whenever you like. Armed with Forecaster, you can use the Web to:

• Collaborate with managers in the next office or around the world.
• Compare budgets to actuals in real time.
• Consolidate budgets instantaneously including all levels and what if's.
• Gain control over expenses by integrating your budget information with your financials.

Forecaster enables you to automate operational expense, personnel, capital and revenue planning, so you can roll out plans in less time, with unprecedented accuracy. Managers can participate directly in the budgeting process from anywhere over the Internet, your corporate intranet or LAN. And, Forecaster's spreadsheet-like approach to budgeting is intuitive and easy-to-learn, so your staff will be inputting data and producing budgets with minimal training.

Designed by CPA’s, Forecaster revolutionizes the way you prepare and consolidate budgets. Once setup, the rollups are automatic and instantaneous using your FRx mapping. The mechanics of budgeting are finally automated giving you a much better tool for analysis and for performing real-time adjustments. Imagine being able to answer your executive team’s questions within minutes of what would happen to our bottom line if we adjust commissions, decrease Worker’s Comp rates, or deferred raises.

Using the FRx ExpressLink functionality, the budget numbers including statistical data are loaded into your General Ledger. From the Workflow screen you can notify managers via email that you are rejecting or approving their budget. Instructional notes can be included and all input and changes are immediate and visible to everyone authorized to view them. Different templates for different user types can be set up only allowing access to approved items.

The Return on Investment for a company with even a small number of departmental managers is significant and is estimated to be more than 30% reduction in budget formulation costs. and after the first year setup, budgets can be formulated and sent out in a matter of a few days instead of the usual two to three months. For additional information about Forecaster’s functionality, click here.

Our financial experts here at CloudRise would love to show you how Forecaster can benefit your organization. Click here to schedule a no-cost analysis of your existing budgeting process and a personalized demonstration of Forecaster’s value.