Best modern FP&A software: Runway vs Liveflow vs Datarails

In finance, the hard part isn’t actually the math.

It’s aligning cross-functional teams.

Most finance teams still lose up to 40% of their time to manual work — gathering actuals, cleaning spreadsheets, and hunting for version control — because their tools weren’t designed for the speed and messiness of modern planning.

This guide compares three different FP&A tools: Runway, Liveflow, and Datarails, to help you find the one that can help you plan better.

Each one solves the problem differently. And depending on your team, that difference matters.

What modern FP&A tools actually do

It’s easy to say they “replace spreadsheets.” Because they do. But the best platforms go further:

• They automate actuals, so your model updates as the business does.
• They make scenario planning real-time, so you don’t have to rebuild the file each time a plan changes.
• They help teams collaborate, not just coordinate.
• They expose assumptions and decisions, not just outputs.
• They make forecasting continuous, not quarterly.

Three tools, three philosophies

• Runway is best for high-growth, cross-functional teams. It’s designed for real-time planning and collaboration, with a modern, intuitive interface.
• Liveflow works well for small teams operating in Google Sheets. It offers lightweight syncing from accounting tools to spreadsheets.
• Datarails supports Excel-native teams of all sizes, with a focus on keeping everything in Excel while making it more connected.

Feature-by-feature comparison

1. Data integration

Runway connects with ERPs, CRMs, HRIS tools, and your data warehouse — with real-time updates that let you model directly from data sources. Forecasts update as actuals flow in.

Liveflow is focused on QuickBooks/Xero to Google Sheets syncing. It’s fast for small setups, but doesn’t scale across systems or departments.

Datarails supports flexible data integrations, and offers sync options as frequent as hourly. But it requires learning Datarails-specific formula syntax to link spreadsheets back to the cloud database.

2. Modeling and scenario planning

Runway gives you a clean, intuitive modeling environment that’s designed to be understood by finance, product, ops, and execs. Change a driver, and your entire model updates instantly. You can also create base, upside, and downside scenarios without rebuilding anything.

Liveflow relies on Sheets for modeling — fine for simple setups, but quickly fragile. Scenario planning means duplicating tabs.

Datarails lets you use existing Excel models — powerful for teams with complex logic, but maintenance becomes a real cost over time.

3. Reporting and Dashboards

Runway builds reporting into the core workflow. Dashboards update in real time. Reports are built for teams — not just finance.

Liveflow works well for spreadsheet-native reports. It integrates with Google Data Studio for visuals, but most reports live in raw Sheets.

Datarails offers native, drag-and-drop dashboards. It’s customizable, but often requires technical setup to get it right.

4. Collaboration and workflow

Runway is built for collaboration, with human-readable formulas (in plain English), role-based views, approval flows, full audit trails, and automated version history.

Liveflow offers basic comments, but collaboration still happens in Sheets and email.

Datarails supports versioning and permissions inside Excel, but workflow features feel bolted-on or secondary.

5. User experience

Runway is designed to feel like modern software. The learning curve is relatively gentle, even for non-finance users. Most teams are building live forecasts within weeks.

Liveflow is instantly usable for spreadsheet pros, but the interface becomes brittle as complexity grows.

Datarails feels familiar to Excel power users — but harder for the rest of the company to engage with.

Pros and tradeoffs

Runway

✅ Real-time forecasting

✅ Modern interface

✅ Designed for collaboration

✅ Fast setup

➖ Newer platform (not legacy enterprise)

➖ Works best with one or more model owners — people who understand the business, and can keep the model structured. It’s not plug-and-play, but doesn’t require consultants either.

Liveflow

✅ Familiar interface (Google Sheets)

✅ Low cost

➖ Limited modeling tools

➖ Doesn’t scale well for complex needs

Datarails

✅ Strong Excel compatibility

✅ Flexible integration options and sync schedules

➖ Requires learning a proprietary formula syntax

➖ Higher maintenance

➖ Slower decision loops for cross-functional collaboration

Who should use what

• If you’re a small team operating in Google Sheets, Liveflow is fast to set up and affordable.
• If you’re mid-sized and growing, and need modern workflows that can adapt to change, Runway is the best fit — even for moderately complex use cases.
• If you’re deeply embedded in Excel and prefer to stay there, Datarails is a solid option — especially for finance-led processes.

Why Runway is different

Most FP&A tools fall into two camps. They either make you work inside rigid templates built for a different business — or they let you build anything, and leave you on your own.

Runway does something else: it gives you a structured surface to plan, model, and report — but it adapts to the way your business actually works. Not the other way around.

• You don’t have to rebuild models every time leadership changes direction.
• You don’t have to teach the sales team how to read a spreadsheet.
• You don’t need to ask a consultant to update your headcount plan.

You make a change, and everything updates — assumptions, charts, runway. Instantly.

Real companies are already working this way

At Superhuman, the finance team used to spend days just prepping scenarios for leadership. Now, they’re modeling outcomes 50–100x faster — and spending more time analyzing decisions, not formatting decks.

At Rootly, board reporting used to take a full week. Now it takes 10 minutes. They don’t rebuild anything — they just pull up Runway. Instead of chasing stale numbers, they’re running live reviews with sales and ops, directly in the model.

If you're building a company where decisions are made fast (and made together), Runway is the platform that lets finance lead without slowing anyone down.

Book a demo to see it in action.