Year in review 2024 at Phocas, the feel-good data company

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The highlight of 2024? Working closely with customers and helping them improve efficiencies and accelerate growth through the adoption of business planning and analytics solutions.

One of our strategic anchors is deep customer intimacy, meaning we make sure we understand each customer’s challenges, so we deliver them the best solution for their needs. Customers loved connecting with the Phocas team to get hands on training through the Phocas User Group (PUG) training series this year. A 6-part series on budgets and forecasts aimed at introducing people to the software as well as providing tips for people already using it attracted 1195 registrants. We are thrilled to see this turn out and it reinforces the demand for enhanced budgeting and forecasting and that customers are looking for as much guidance as possible.

Phocas customer success teams worked with many customers to add new databases for deeper analysis. And many of our Analytics customers broadened their reliance on Phocas adding Financial Statements or Budgets and Forecasts, or both. We’re excited to see more companies consolidating their processes on a single platform that integrates critical data. Ultimately customers are trying to connect planning and people to better understand sales and operational and financial performance. This is the first step towards driving change.

108 new product features added

Our product and technology teams in Christchurch delivered new features released in the software.

Flexible Variance mode in Analytics provides a richer exploration of variances, as you can determine what's driving the variance by selecting two different periods as well as adding calculated columns to further customize your analysis of variance
Allocations tab in Budgets & Forecasts gives flexibility to allocate costs to suit all business needs
The one-click budgeting feature in Financial Statements enables the creation of a budget template instantly
It’s easier to calculate rules in Rebates with the addition of quarterly and monthly options

We won’t go on listing all the 108 new features but make sure you check out the new documentation about them all.

AI-powered queries and visualizations were rolled out to all Analytics customers this year making it even easier to use Phocas. Customers with no experience with analytics feel confident to 'Ask Phocas AI.’ Users type in questions relating to their company’s products, customers and sales in their natural language and what comes back are answers with the added benefit of revealing the breadcrumbs of how Phocas got to that result.

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Great recognition from customers in reviews and surveys

We are incredibly grateful for customers’ continued support, including those who review us on platforms like G2 and Capterra. This year many of our Financial Planning and Analytics customers also took part in ‘BARC The Planning Survey 24’, the largest review of planning software by users in the world. It was the first time Phocas participated in the planning option over business intelligence, and we were pleased with how Phocas was rated. We are one of the first solutions to build financial planning tools on a BI platform which customers appreciate as they benefit from data connection between all parts of their business, from analytics and budgets to financial and management reporting.

One manager described the experience: “Everyone can prepare and see their budgets, and then their actuals are imported every night so they always know where they are within their budgets.”

Another customer, a CEO of a horticulture company, noted, “The ease of drilling into the numbers and the way they flow from Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet right down to product, customer, or supplier level,” makes a real difference.

Win-win partnerships

Our relationships and collaboration with resellers, referral partners, ERP vendors and buying and industry groups are critical to getting Phocas solutions into the verticals industries we serve. Including building materials, industrial products, food and beverage producers, automotive, plumbing and HVACR, electrical and retail companies.

Enthusiasm and recommendation for Phocas travels fast in these customer circles and working with other companies who “live” in the make, move sell world means customers benefit through ongoing support and product innovation provided by experts that gather best practices and know their challenges. This year, our partner team attended over 50 events worldwide, connecting with customers and partners in settings both large (Epicor Insights) and more intimate (Affiliated Distributors).

Phocas people grounded by strong culture

Phocas measures its culture through the Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) tri-annually. This year, we were honored to sustain our constructive culture rating, especially following a major shift to a global structure. This result, measured right after the change, offered an authentic reflection of how our team feels and the positive impact of recent changes.

We’re also preparing to submit documentation to recertify as a B Corp. A couple of highlights from this process include achieving a zero gender pay gap based on the average total remuneration for our global workforce. This means that on average across Phocas, the percentage difference between total compensation for men and women (salary + any commissions or bonuses, depending on the role) is zero. We didn't set targets or quotas to get to zero, instead we achieved it by focusing on learning and development, career opportunities, hiring practices and flexible working. We also reduced our carbon emissions by 51.6% YOY for the data platform from 28.995 metric tons in FY23 compared to 14.032 metric tons.

Wherever this year has taken you, we hope you’ve learned much, gained more value from your data, and found time for fun with family, friends and colleagues.

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