Are you using the right MEC tool? Let's dive in....
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Welcome To Month End Closers!
Our new Format for Jobs, News, Resources and more.
We’re chatting about Financial Close Software, Ramp For Excel, Mental health in accounting and finance, A SLEW of new Remote Roles, and some fresh ways to make side income.
It’s hard to believe that most ERP systems and accounting software still don’t include this essential feature. But here we are…
First off, I’d like to welcome you to our new format for our Month-End Closers Newsletter. We’re going to be sharing news, deep dives, demos, PLUS the usual hand-curated jobs, resources and more.
I figured it’s only fitting to kick off this newsletter called, Month-End Closers, about month-end close software…
Beyond Excel, few tools have provided as much value to accounting operations as month-end close or financial close software. Those with experience understand the significant impact these tools can have on business operations. Whether dealing with the large size and scope of your business, the complexities of consolidating multiple entities, heavy transaction volumes causing reconciliation headaches, or managing headcount in a horizontally structured department, a robust financial close software becomes an essential pillar of your operation.
Investing in such software can materially transform your operations, reduce errors, and streamline audits—be they external, compliance-related, or otherwise.
I’d wager that most companies invest in financial close software 6-12 months after they realize they need it. The chaos inevitably catches up with them.
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Cr: (Chaos)
The MEC Sector:
The software solutions in this space are looking at a healthy growth rate over the remainder of the decade. The MEC software market is looking to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% (rounding is key). It’ll be very interesting to see how this corner of the market fills out.
The Who’s Who.
FloQast is the leader in this space—there’s no denying that. They recently raised a $100 million Series E round, valuing the business at a cool $1.6 billion. It’s such a simple business idea targeting a huge administrative pain point in the recurring accounting cycle. Built incredibly well, with a strong focus on UX and simplicity, it doesn’t feel invasive. A simple reference in already existing Excel working papers allows it to work effectively as your MEC management tool.
Is it worth it though? Probably not for the price tag for smaller businesses, but for horizontal teams with various moving pieces and tight close deadlines, its likely an essential tool in your accounting tech stack.
Pricing is usually in the 5-figure range, with the average deal size in the 25-40k range (depending on size/scope and add-ons (auto-reconciliation accounts as one example). In SaaS math, that’s 2-4k/month. 😉
What about the others?
BlackLine comes to mind, some would say the OG in the Close automation space dating back to 2001. Most buyers evaluating Floqast would be silly not to get a demo of Blackline. Based on my network and research, I think Floqast has won over customers primarily based on the UX and ease of use. Blackline plays well with larger scale enterprise customers, as it integrates HEAVILY with most (if not all of your recon accounts) and requires a longer implementation window, but once integrated, allows for true close automation.
Best of the Rest?
There are other players in the space (and more that I’m probably missing - feel free to DM me):
Numeric is quickly making a name for itself in the close automation space. It’s built with a clear focus on simplifying the month-end close process, with a clear focus on the user experience. The platform is designed to integrate smoothly with your existing ERP systems, offering a straightforward solution that doesn’t feel overly complicated or invasive. With real-time collaboration and automation features, Numeric.io transforms what’s typically a tedious, manual process into a streamlined and more efficient workflow.
For smaller businesses, the price might be a consideration, but (and I love this part), they have an essential offering that’s completely free. For larger teams dealing with complex consolidations, high transaction volumes, and tight close deadlines, Numeric is likely a key tool for your accounting tech stack. The software provides robust reconciliation automation, integrated flux analyses, and audit prep capabilities, making it a strong contender alongside the more established players in the market. While the pricing varies depending on the scope and add-ons, for many organizations, Numeric should be considered in the assessment/RFP process.
I’m looking forward to doing more deep dives into Numeric - I had an idea for smart subledgers years ago when I kept seeing the same problems with managing subledgers and it looks like Numeric is attempting to solve that problem.
Nominal is another player that touts a big AI game, and includes close automation as one of its core offerings. While it’s not the only thing it focuses on, I do appreciate that it’s a primary offering and wanted to include them in the list. The platform is built with a clean, intuitive user interface and dashboard that makes navigating the close process straightforward. But it’s the collaboration and task management tools that really set Nominal.so apart, allowing teams to work seamlessly together, even when juggling multiple tasks and deadlines. I haven’t personally used Nominal, but like what they’re building and excited to see this product continue to grow.
Nominal is also trying to tackle the problem children of our balance sheets through custom workflows and generative AI, including:
Lots of exciting features to continue to follow as AI becomes more involved in everything we leverage on a daily basis.
I’m really excited for Bean’s new close solution. It’s leveraging AI and pushing the boundaries on how we manage close. With Bean, you’re going to effectively have an AI agent assisting with all aspects of close. Closing entries, investigating reconciliation errors, and effectively communicating with the platform to get tasks done. This could be a game-changer when it comes to all aspects of getting close in a better place, in a more timely manner.
RecWise - I wanted to give Recwise a shoutout as they operate in the same nook as the others, are claiming to be more cost-effective and have some nice breadth when it comes to different industries. They’re based in Australia. I admittedly don’t know enough about them, but would love to learn more and get a demo from their team!
My DM’s are open.
Netgain Solutions - First off, thank you for creating an interactive demo (check it out here). I’m a huge fan of this and think all accounting software needs to adopt this approach - They use Storylane and it’s a fantastic alternative to getting a demo immediately.
This native solution automates reconciliation by utilizing the data already recorded in NetSuite, ie. no need for additional integrations. With its pre-defined templates for monthly, quarterly, and annual tasks, NetClose ensures that accounting procedures are well-documented and linked directly to task management, providing a seamless experience for operational accounting teams.
A slew of additional features including Flux analyses, control tracking and more.
The All-in-ones:
Fluence Technologies - An Anaplan Company , a ‘close-to-disclose’ product that does consolidations, close and reporting. They flag close as a core solution on their site, but there isn’t much info on the actual product itself. Given its an “all-in-one” tool, I didn’t group with it the others above. I do like how they have a ‘disclosure management solution’ - I remember how incredibly boring (but essential) that function was on the audit file side. Nice to see some audit readiness gaps being serviced on the client side as well.
OneStream Software feels the same to Fluence, where they say they do financial close automation transaction matching and more, but I’m not really seeing much on their site. They have AI though… From the images and info available, the product looks SAP-esque (IYKYK).
DOKKA is another player in the space, touting the traditional financial close automation, but also including pre-built workflow automations, auto-proposed AJE’s and more. I wasn’t able to find pricing on their site but it sounds like it’s not their only core product, as they have an AP Automation tool as well.
Vena Solutions is another solution in the market offering a robust platform that handles version control, drill-throughs, and quick-build reports. Vena automates critical financial close activities, including account reconciliations, variance reporting, and data consolidation, which helps organizations improve accuracy and efficiency in their financial reporting processes. Its central cloud database integrates with various source systems, ensuring that all financial data is up-to-date and accessible for accurate reporting and analysis. Similar to the above, it seems Vena doesn’t offer the Close solution, a la carte.
G-Accon - The simplicity of Accon is important here. With 80%+ of the market still using Quickbooks as their book of record, Accon has created a cost-effective solution to assist in closing the books and reporting, all in google sheets. Check them out if your considering a tool, and live in Google Sheets.
Auxilius - A member of their product team reached out to me informing me of Auxillius - They’re targeting a very specific corner of the market, Biopharma, touting next-level features to manage clinical trial forecasts, budgets and accruals. If you’ve ever been in this space on the operational accounting side, as well as financial reporting and FP&A, you know this is a refreshing product that can have a huge impact. Check them out in the link above.
Xenett - Finally, we have Xenett - an affordable close solution designed for bookkeepers managing clients. They’re new and very cost effective. Would love to get some user feedback (or a demo) but we’ll keep an eye on this one.
We'll be diving deeper into each one of these on Audit Friendly’s core site. If you have any additional solutions in this space that I didn’t mention, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Also, if you’re looking to decide between the above solutions, let us know how we can help.
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