What is Vena?

Vena is a comprehensive planning software that integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and leverages Excel for its planning capabilities. It is designed to support a variety of financial processes including financial and business reporting, cash flow, workforce planning, capital expense, and revenue planning. With an embedded AI component, Vena provides flexible data modeling and enables what-if analysis, thus assisting organizations in managing their financial consolidation, account reconciliation, and tax provisioning. The tool also includes automated workflows, enterprise-level security, and scalability, making it suitable for enterprise use. Furthermore, Vena acts as a single source of truth for data, integrating with both cloud and on-premise applications, and supports the import of Excel and CSV files. It also allows users to build custom financial models and spreadsheets, offering preconfigured solutions tailored to specific industries, and is utilized by a diverse range of organizations, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Coca-Cola, and ATB Financial.

Vena's service extends the capabilities of the software by integrating Excel with the Vena Growth Engine, facilitating agile, business-wide planning. This service emphasizes the importance of not requiring users to abandon Excel, instead enhancing it with budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning features, and more. It continues to support financial consolidation and close processes, account reconciliation, and tax provisioning. Additionally, Vena service bolsters enterprise-level security, provides templates that can be locked and secured, and fosters collaboration and data control. It scales efficiently to meet the needs of cross-functional teams and maintains compatibility with various cloud and on-premise applications. The platform's ability to support custom financial models and spreadsheets, as well as the provision of industry-specific preconfigured solutions, ensures rapid deployment and adherence to best practices across multiple industries.

Delving into Vena's data management capabilities, Vena Solutions offers Data Model Standardization, a feature that ensures the standardization and contextualization of data models across the platform. This is achieved through Dimension Tagging and the use of Dimension Types, which provide standard definitions to help Vena interpret dimensions within various data models. This standardization is essential for leveraging Vena's pre-configured solutions and is compatible with advanced features such as Vena Functions and Vena Insights. Vena Insights employs Power BI and AI technology to deliver dynamic visuals and interactive reporting. With the introduction of the Foreign Exchange Conversion Function, Vena also handles currency conversion calculations. The adoption of Dimension Types allows for the standardization of existing data models, moving past the previous distinction between \"Standard Models\" and \"non-standard models,\" and ensuring that all models can now adopt standard practices.

Vena Plugins for Excel

Vena Excel Add-in Compatibility and Integration

Vena is an Excel add-in designed to enhance functionality within Microsoft Excel. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems and is accessible through the Office store. Vena's ability to connect to various systems, including ERP, CRM, GL, HRIS, and others, facilitates seamless integration and real-time data sharing, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of data management within Excel.

Data Management and Reporting Features

With Vena, users are empowered to create detailed reports and input data directly within Excel. The add-in supports reviewing submissions and conducting advanced data operations such as drill saves, drill down, drill transactions, and expanding roll-ups. This allows for comprehensive data analysis and reporting, making it easier for users to manage and interpret large volumes of data.

Workflow and Security

Vena enhances Excel's capabilities by embedding workflows that enable users to review and submit tasks efficiently. It caters to the need for security by providing view-only access to sensitive information through role-based security measures. This ensures that critical data is protected and only accessible to authorized personnel.

Collaboration and Discussion

The add-in also fosters collaboration by allowing the creation of threaded discussions around performance results with intersection comments. Users can collect detailed account information with line-item details and engage in meaningful discussions to address performance-related issues or insights.

Insert MDR Plugin

The Insert MDR plugin is a feature that adds a sidebar to Excel, assisting budget contributors in accessing additional content required to complete their budgets. This sidebar provides not only content but also tools for data input and analysis, aiding users in the budgeting process by allowing them to add or remove line-item details and save inputs back to Vena.

Common Use Cases

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  Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
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  Real-time Collaborative Budgeting and Forecasting
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  Secure Financial Reporting and Compliance Management
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  Advanced Data Analysis and Decision Support
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  Streamlined Cross-departmental Workflows

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Vena for Excel sometimes cause Excel to freeze?

Vena can cause Excel to freeze due to various reasons such as extremely complex nested formulas, custom refresh settings, or having more data than needed in the template.

How can I resolve slow loading times when using Vena?

To resolve slow loading times with Vena, ensure that unnecessary rows and columns are non-active, verify that your PC meets the minimum recommended RAM of 8GB (16GB preferable), and consider upgrading from a dual-core to a quad-core processor if possible.

What should I do if I'm experiencing connection issues with Vena?

If you're experiencing connection issues with Vena, check your internet connection, ensure you are connected to the SMU Network during installation, and consult the EIT Help Desk for further assistance.

How can I prevent Vena template issues?

To prevent Vena template issues, make sure the template is fully downloaded before opening it, save the template in an empty state when using Line Item Details, and close Excel and rerun the report without other spreadsheets open to fix some issues. Additionally, the Vena consulting team can review templates to suggest improvements.

How do I update the Vena Add-In for Excel?

The Vena Add-In for Excel updates automatically when a Vena file in Excel is closed. Updates can also be initiated on demand from the Start Menu.