The Pain
A version-control nightmare across mismatched spreadsheets
A crappy Excel roll-up nobody could trust
Aligning disjointed spreadsheets was, in Michaelis's words, like fitting square pegs into round holes, a recurring nightmare at every budget cycle.
Every department used its own template
Non-standardized templates made consolidating a company-wide plan chaotic, with no common format across the business.
Board budgets that surprised the department heads
Approved budgets shown to the board sometimes contained changes the department heads never saw, undermining ownership and trust.
How Cube Fixes It
Excel-native, version-controlled, one plan for everyone
Michaelis evaluated options including Vena, but Cube's Excel-native interface, drill-down, and version control made it, in his words, a no-brainer.
Patented bi-directional connectivity
One authoritative budget, always.
Cube's patented bi-directional connectivity and version control let BlueWind track every change and keep a single, authoritative budget. Department heads and the board always reviewed the right version.
Excel-native, so the team felt at home from day one.
Trace to Truth
Drill into any line, see what drives the variance.
Cube is built on trace-to-transaction trust. Its drill-down let BlueWind examine line items and understand the factors behind budget variances, crucial when every decision affects device development.
Data-driven calls, not guesses.
Uniform templates
One template, one company-wide plan.
With every department on the same template, consolidating into a company-wide plan got simple. Department heads finally shared a common language and format for every financial process.
Better communication, fewer misunderstandings.
It's changed our business and allowed us to plan for the future and be much more conscious of our spending in a way that simply didn't exist before.
