Every time teams revisit the forecast, the same chaos unfolds:
Marketing sends in a campaign plan, but it’s last week’s version. Sales updates the pipeline, but forgets to loop in Finance. Ops adjusts headcount quietly — but no one updates the model.
So Finance ends up stitching it all together in a spreadsheet that’s 17 tabs deep, full of hidden formulas and manual patches, and already a version behind.
This isn’t forecasting. It’s reconciling chaos.
This isn’t a spreadsheet problem
It’s a visibility problem.
Most companies still treat the forecast as a one-off artifact — something finance updates periodically, and everyone else contributes to in pieces.
But a modern forecast should be a dynamic model that reflects real-time inputs, evolving realities, and operational decisions — as they happen.
It breaks down when:
- Sales builds forecasts in Salesforce
- Marketing tracks spend in a separate Google Sheet
- Ops manages hiring in their own headcount tracker
- And finance has to manually translate it all into a consolidated model
When that happens, you end up with teams that work in silos — with no real-time understanding of the business, and no way to move fast.
What it feels like when forecasting actually works
In an ideal world, you don’t forecast in isolation and sync later. You forecast collaboratively — in a single, shared model that every team works from.
- When Sales updates pipeline, Finance sees it instantly.
- When Marketing adjusts ad spend, it rolls up into cash flow in real time.
- When Ops pushes out a hire, Runway shows the downstream effect on runway.
You don’t wait for quarter-end to find out what changed. You review forecasts weekly — and adjust continuously.
No more chasing updates, no manual reconciliation. Just a clear, shared view of how the business is doing, and where it’s heading.
The right FP&A tool can transform your forecasting process
Every finance team has its own way of thinking: some prefer structure, some want flexibility, while others just want something they’ll actually use.
There are plenty of tools that support modern FP&A. But the experience — how it feels to plan, build, and collaborate — varies more than most realize:
Workday Adaptive Planning
Offers real-time collaboration, Slack integrations, and a structured planning environment — especially useful if you’re already on Workday.
But it comes with overhead. The interface has a learning curve, and implementation often requires dedicated training. For fast-moving teams, the setup phase can feel long — even when the eventual system works well.
Anaplan
Known for its modeling power — great for companies with highly complex, multi-layered processes.
But the learning curve is steep. The proprietary formula language is spreadsheet-adjacent, but not quite the same. Teams that are used to Excel or Sheets may need extra time to adapt. In most cases, unlocking the full potential means bringing in Anaplan specialists or external support.
Planful
Feature-rich and approachable. Helpful templates and a clean UI make it feel modern. Centralization works well for orgs trying to scale.
But customization can be tricky. Teams with unusual models or fast-changing structures sometimes find themselves working around constraints. Customization is possible, but takes time and effort.
Runway: built for the way teams actually budget & forecast
We built Runway for finance teams who want to move fast, manage complexity, and stay in sync — without losing control.
That means:
- A modeling engine built for clarity. Runway uses human-readable formulas — no need to learn proprietary syntax, or hide logic behind black boxes.
- Real-time actuals. Connect to 750+ source systems — ERPs, CRMs, HRIS — and pull in actuals automatically. Forecasts update in real time, without copy-paste or custom ETL work.
- Forecasting designed for decisions. Connect operational inputs directly to financial outcomes. Build dynamic models, test assumptions, and run scenarios with just a few clicks.
- Built-in variance analysis. View budget vs actuals side by side across any line item — revenue, headcount, spend, cash. Spot deviations early, and course-correct before quarter-end.
- Structured collaboration. Invite stakeholders, assign permissions, and track changes in real time. When Marketing updates campaign spend, or Sales revises pipeline targets, Finance sees it immediately.
- Customizable dashboards for every team. Finance gets the full picture; department heads see only what’s relevant to them. Team members can adjust assumptions through a visual interface, and instantly see how the business responds.
But Runway works best when there’s a clear finance model owner — someone who understands the business well enough to set up key drivers and assumptions, and keep the model structured as the company grows.
What happens when finance leads with confidence
When Finance has a model that updates in real time, you don’t need to wait for month-end to know what’s changing.
- Forecast cycles shrink from months to weeks
- Forecasts get more accurate
- Variance reviews surface real insight
- Teams align faster on what to adjust, and why
Finance stops managing spreadsheets, and starts managing the business.
What implementation looks like
Runway doesn’t need months of onboarding. Here’s how most teams get started:
Step 1: Set up and sync
- Connect all your systems (ERP, CRM, HRIS)
- Import historical actuals
- Build your model. Customize drivers to match how your business works
- Invite teams, assign roles, and set review cadences
Step 2: Run your first forecast review
- Teams update their inputs directly
- Finance reviews changes and assumptions
- Everyone sees how updates affect cash, runway, and revenue
Step 3: Lock in your new operating rhythm
- Set up weekly forecast reviews
- Create clear forecast vs actual dashboards
- Make better decisions together
Forecast with clarity
Traditional forecasting is reactive, fragmented, and slow. It tells you what might happen — after it’s already too late to act.
But it can be more than that.
Runway helps you build a rhythm that’s continuous, collaborative, and grounded in real numbers.
So finance can do more than keep score. It can help the whole company see what’s coming — and act accordingly.
Book a demo to see what Runway can do for you.