EPM software vs. planning in Power BI
Excel doesn’t scale, and an EPM suite can cost a fortune and take months to roll out. If your reporting already runs in Power BI, accoTOOL puts budgeting, forecasting and planning in the reports you already use, from $6.7 per user per month.
What is EPM software?
Enterprise performance management (EPM) software, also called corporate performance management (CPM) software, brings planning, budgeting, forecasting, financial consolidation and management reporting into one platform. Anaplan, Oracle EPM, OneStream and Jedox are well-known examples.
An EPM suite usually comes with its own data model, its own reporting layer and its own user interface. That is its strength when one platform has to run the whole office of the CFO. It is also why EPM projects are large: data has to be loaded into the suite, models built and maintained, and every contributor trained and licensed.
Many companies only need part of that. They already report in Power BI, and what they lack is a way to enter budgets and forecasts against the same data. For them the question is not which EPM suite to buy, but whether they need one at all.
Contributor count is the hidden cost driver
EPM licences are usually priced per user, and in budgeting every budget owner is a user. A company with 20 people in finance can easily have 200 cost-centre and department managers who enter or approve figures. That is where the licence bill grows.
Here is what that looks like for 200 budget owners. The EPM figure is an assumption for illustration, $100 per user per month; most vendors price by quote, so use your own offer. The accoTOOL figure is our published price list.
| Typical EPM suite | accoTOOL in Power BI | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence, 200 budget owners | $240,000 per year | $19,200 per year ($16,080 with a 12-month commitment) |
| Report viewers | Often licensed too | Free |
| Typical rollout | Months, with an implementation partner | Days on your existing Power BI report |
| Data models to maintain | Two: the EPM model and your Power BI model | One: your existing Power BI model |
| Where plan data is stored | In the EPM platform | In your own Azure SQL, Fabric or SQL Server database |
Assumptions: 200 writeback users for 12 months. EPM licence assumed at $100 per user per month, excluding implementation. accoTOOL at the 100+ user rate of $8 per user per month, or $6.7 with a 12-month commitment, for one product. Viewers who only read reports are free.
The licence is only part of the gap. With an EPM suite you keep two data models in step: the planning model in the suite and the reporting model in Power BI. With accoTOOL, plans are written to your own database and reported on the same model as actuals, so there is nothing to reconcile.
How planning in Power BI replaces the EPM workflow
accoTOOL is a set of three Power BI visuals, approved on Microsoft AppSource. They sit on your existing semantic model, so planners see actuals and plan values side by side and type straight into the report.
What you get
- accoPLANNING for budgeting, forecasting and scenario planning in a spreadsheet-like grid.
- accoMASTERDATA for maintaining hierarchies, cost centres and mappings with validation and approvals.
- accoCOMMENT for comments, approvals and the explanation behind each figure.
What stays the same
- Your Power BI reports, semantic model and security, including row-level security.
- Your database: entries are written to Azure SQL, Microsoft Fabric or on-premise SQL Server.
- Your users’ tool: managers plan in the report they already open every month.
One of Denmark’s largest pension funds moved property budgeting and reporting from spreadsheets into Power BI with accoPLANNING, without buying a separate planning platform.
When an EPM suite is the right choice
accoTOOL is not an EPM suite, and for some companies an EPM suite is the right answer. Choose one if:
- You need financial consolidation across many legal entities, with eliminations, intercompany matching and currency translation.
- Statutory or regulatory reporting has to come out of the same platform as planning.
- Your reporting is not in Power BI and you do not plan to move it there.
- You want one vendor to own planning, close and reporting end to end.
If your main need is faster budgeting, forecasting and reforecasting against data you already report on in Power BI, you may not need an EPM suite. Some teams also combine the two: consolidation stays in the EPM suite, and departmental budgeting moves into Power BI.
For a broader view of the market, see our comparison of FP&A software: 10 tools compared for 2026.
Questions to ask before you sign an EPM contract
- How many people will enter or approve figures, and does each one need a paid licence?
- Will we maintain a second data model next to Power BI, and who owns keeping them in step?
- How long until the first budget cycle runs in the new tool, including the implementation partner?
- Where is plan data stored, and can we report on it in Power BI without exporting?
- Which modules will we actually use in the first two years?
EPM software questions
What is EPM software?
Enterprise performance management (EPM) software, also called CPM software, supports planning, budgeting, forecasting, financial consolidation and reporting in one platform. Examples include Anaplan, Oracle EPM, OneStream and Jedox.
Is accoTOOL an EPM system?
No. accoTOOL covers the planning, budgeting, forecasting, master data and commenting parts of EPM inside Power BI. It does not do statutory consolidation or financial close.
What does EPM software cost?
Most EPM vendors price by quote, so costs vary widely with users, modules and implementation partner. Contributor count is usually the biggest driver, because every budget owner needs a licence.
How long does it take to implement accoTOOL?
The visuals install from Microsoft AppSource and work on your existing Power BI model, so a first planning grid on an existing report usually takes days, not months.
Can I use accoTOOL alongside an EPM suite?
Yes. Some teams keep consolidation in their EPM suite and move departmental budgeting, forecasting and commenting into Power BI with accoTOOL, writing to the same SQL database their reporting uses.
Plan in Power BI before you buy an EPM suite
Try accoPLANNING on your own report for 30 days, or compare plans on the pricing page.