When it comes to finding the right report writer or full CPM (Corporate Performance Management) solution for your Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP system, two popular options on the market are Solver and Jet Reports (with additional products from its parent company, Insight Software). Both Solver and Insight Software offer robust features for budgeting, forecasting, and reporting, but they have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. In this blog post, we will compare Solver and Jet Reports and highlight their G2 rankings, as well as the top 5 differences between the two solutions.
First, let's take a look at the G2 rankings for Solver and Jet Reports in the mid-market CPM solutions category. Solver currently has a G2 score of 4.5, with 162 reviews. Jet Reports is no longer rated, likely as a result of repositioning by it’s vendor, Insight Software. Both solutions are highly rated by partners and users in the Dynamics 365 Business Central community and are considered solid options for mid-market companies. You can find Solver's G2 ranking page
here. Now, let's dive into the top 6 differences between Solver and Jet Reports:
First, let's take a look at the G2 rankings for Solver and Jet Reports in the mid-market CPM solutions category. Solver currently has a G2 score of 4.5, with 162 reviews. Jet Reports is no longer rated, likely as a result of repositioning by it’s vendor, Insight Software. Both solutions are highly rated by partners and users in the Dynamics 365 Business Central community and are considered solid options for mid-market companies. You can find Solver's G2 ranking page
here. Now, let's dive into the top 6 differences between Solver and Jet Reports:
- Budgeting and forecasting capabilities: Solver offers a more robust budgeting and forecasting feature set compared to Jet Reports. Solver's solution includes budgeting, forecasting, and what-if analysis capabilities, while Jet Reports focuses primarily on reporting. It had a budgeting offering for a brief period but Insight Software later acquired more solid cloud planning solutions and these are now typically offered to Jet Reports customers as complimentary products.
- Integration with Dynamics 365 Business Central: Both solutions integrate with Dynamics 365 Business Central. Jet Reports connects its on-premise Excel add-in directly to the ERP system, while Solver dynamically transfers the data into its own Microsoft Azure Solver tenant. This means that Jet Reports provides real-time reporting but with the disadvantage of lower report performance, limitation to D365 BC data and it can slow down your D365 BC tenant when reports are being processed. Solver may require more integration configuration if you go beyond the pre-built GL, AR, AP and Sales integrations.
- Reporting capabilities: Jet Reports excels in reporting, offering a wide range of pre-built reports as well as the ability to create custom reports. Solver, on the other hand, offers more advanced reporting capabilities, such as a KPI module and data visualization directly integrated to Power BI dashboards.
- Deployment options: Jet Reports is only available as an Excel add-in, while Solver offers both cloud and Excel user experiences. This means that Solver may be a better option for companies with strict security or compliance requirements or large numbers of users.
- User interface: Solver has a more modern and user-friendly interface compared to Jet Reports Excel-only interface. Solver's solution is built on a modern web-based platform, while Jet Reports' Excel interface is more traditional and may be less intuitive for some users.
- Out-of-the-Box Templates: Both Solver and Jet Reports offer more than 100 ready-to-use templates. With Solver this also includes budgeting and forecasting input templates.
February 1, 2023