For my IR folks out there (or deal teams that are hands on with investor reporting…), is there a piece of software you use to automate the consolidation of portfolio company stats (Revenue, EBITDA, Net Leverage, etc) - both internally and for LPs?
I have to imagine a better tool than excel. Wondering if folks have had good/bad experiences with certain platforms (a bonus if they’re relatively cheap). Question applies across all strategies - buyout, growth, venture. Thanks in advance!
Based on the most helpful WSO content, there are a few tools and ideas that could address your need for automating portfolio company reporting:
Standardized Financial Reporting Tools:
Audit Tracker Apps:
PE/Banking CRM Systems:
Third-Party Data Providers:
While Excel remains a common tool, these alternatives could provide more automation and efficiency. If cost is a concern, exploring integrations with existing accounting software or lightweight CRMs might be a good starting point.
Sources: What kind of tools / apps do you wish existed in the industry?, Sources and Uses: How to Find and Use Information in IBD (EBITDA example), PE recruiting technical questions (software specific), Real Estate Asset/Portfolio Management Tips and Tools, Real Estate Asset/Portfolio Management Tips and Tools
iLevel
iLevel and PowerBI
Chronograph
Chronograph(dot)pe, then Power BI
Full Disclosure: I work for Planr, so factor that in.
To your actual question - yes, there's definitely better than Excel for this. The iLevel/Chronograph answers above are solid options for the core consolidation piece.
Where we come at it differently:
Natural language interface - instead of building 15 different report views, you can just ask it what you need. Cuts down the "can you pull X for me" requests
Happy to give a candid comparison if you're still evaluating. DMs open.
Searching around for IR reporting alternatives because managing this in Excel becomes an absolute nightmare once you cross a handful of PortCos.
A lot of the niche PE tools are wildly expensive for what they actually do. We eventually moved the finance side away from manual spreadsheets and rolled out Unit4 across the board.
It's technically a full ERP, but it handles the multi-entity consolidation and LP reporting effortlessly. Pulling EBITDA, revenue, and net leverage for quarterly reports takes way less time now, and no one is breaking formulas anymore. Worth a look if you want a broader finance platform rather than just a quick point solution.
We looked into this recently. Chronograph seems to be winning out for mid-market right now, whereas iLEVEL is the legacy standard if you want deep LP integration (and have the budget). If you're earlier stage/VC, check out Standard Metrics.
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