AI Tools Every Finance Team Should Be Using in 2025

The AI Wave Has Hit Finance—And It’s a Game Changer

Did you know that over 65% of finance leaders now use AI tools weekly? Not for fun (okay, maybe a little), but to cut manual work, reduce errors, and gain strategic insights faster than ever.

And honestly, it’s about time.

As someone who has wrestled with Excel errors at midnight and tried to explain cash flow dips to a confused founder, I’m thrilled that AI is finally giving finance teams a leg up.

Whether you’re a CFO at a SaaS startup, a controller at a D2C brand, or a bookkeeper at an accounting firm, 2025 is the year to upgrade your finance stack.

Let’s explore the top AI tools transforming finance, their real-world use cases, and how to pick the right one for your team.

1. ChatGPT by OpenAI: Your On-Demand Analyst

ChatGPT is more than a chatbot. It’s like having a finance intern, analyst, and editor all rolled into one digital brain.

🌟 Use Cases:

• Explaining financial terms to non-finance stakeholders

• Writing policy docs, SOPs, or emails to vendors

• Drafting Excel formulas, even complex ones

• Summarizing financial performance in plain English

• Automating reports from CSV uploads (with ChatGPT Plus)

✅ Pros:

• Always available, lightning-fast responses

• Versatile across writing, coding, and analysis

• Integrates with tools like Zapier, Google Sheets, and Notion

❌ Cons:

• Doesn’t have live access to your books or systems

• Needs guardrails to prevent hallucinations or mistakes

💬 Example:

“I use ChatGPT to break down our P&L into non-jargon summaries for our founders and investors. It saves me at least 4 hours a week.” — CFO, SaaS Startup

2. Microsoft Copilot: AI Inside Excel (and Everything Else)

If your team lives in Excel, Outlook, or Teams, Microsoft Copilot is a no-brainer. It’s like Siri, but for spreadsheets.

🌟 Use Cases:

• Forecasting sales using historical Excel data

• Creating variance analysis charts with a prompt

• Turning raw numbers into bullet-point insights

• Auto-drafting emails to follow up on vendor payments

✅ Pros:

• Embedded directly into Microsoft 365 apps

• Super intuitive—no new software to learn

• Speeds up tasks finance teams already do

❌ Cons:

• Works best with clean, well-structured data

• Still evolving with some limitations in logic complexity

💡 Real-World Tip:

Try asking:

“Highlight budget variances over 10% and create a chart showing department-wise spend for Q2.”Copilot will generate it in seconds—no formulas required!

3. Datarails: Your FP&A Powerhouse (Built on Excel)

Datarails is perfect for FP&A teams who live in Excel but want automation, version control, and real-time reporting.

🌟 Use Cases:

• Monthly financial close automation

• Budgeting by cost center or department

• Dynamic dashboards for CFO and CEO reporting

• Scenario modeling: best, base, and worst cases

✅ Pros:

• Retains Excel interface; no steep learning curve

• Customizable dashboards and reports

• Great for audit trails and historical version tracking

❌ Cons:

• Higher price point for smaller teams

• Onboarding takes time to set up integrations

🧠 Why It Works:

Instead of ditching Excel, Datarails supercharges it. Finance teams don’t have to fight change—they just get smarter spreadsheets.

4. Fathom: Beautiful Dashboards, No Coding Required

If you want to turn your financials into stories, Fathom is your go-to tool.

🌟 Use Cases:

• Visual KPI tracking for clients or execs

• Group reporting across entities

• Presenting cash flow trends, margins, and benchmarks

• Comparing budget vs actual with elegant visuals

✅ Pros:

• User-friendly, even for non-finance teams

• Integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, and Excel

• Great for agencies, consultants, and SMEs

❌ Cons:

• Limited customization for deep forecasting

• Not built for complex financial modeling

🎨 Example:

One firm uses Fathom to send clients automated weekly financial scorecards, complete with traffic-light visuals and recommendations. Their client satisfaction? Up 40%.

5. Pigment: Modern Planning for Fast-Growth Companies

Pigment is a collaborative planning platform used by tech companies, marketplaces, and global teams.

🌟 Use Cases:

• Subscription revenue modeling

• Workforce planning by department/location

• Marketing ROI forecasting and attribution

• Multi-scenario simulation for strategic planning

✅ Pros:

• Slick interface and team collaboration

• Handles complexity without feeling overwhelming

• Real-time dashboards and assumptions updates

❌ Cons:

• Takes 3–6 weeks to implement properly

• Better suited to larger companies ($20M+ revenue)

💬 Expert POV:

“Pigment replaced our tangled Excel webs and gave us a single source of truth. Planning is now a shared conversation, not a solo spreadsheet sprint.”— Head of Finance, Fintech Scale-up

6. Tesorio: Cash Flow and AR, Simplified

Tesorio is the AI tool that pays for itself by unlocking cash trapped in receivables.

🌟 Use Cases:

• Automating dunning emails and collections

• Predicting AR cash inflows

• Modeling runway based on customer behavior

• Reducing DSO (Days Sales Outstanding)

✅ Pros:

• Recovers cash faster with minimal manual input

• Strong treasury and cash forecasting features

• Intuitive UI for AR teams

❌ Cons:

• Limited outside of AR and treasury management

• ROI depends on AR size and complexity

📈 Real Results:

Tesorio claims clients recover 30–40% of outstanding AR faster, on average. That’s huge for services, SaaS, and agencies with long billing cycles.

7. Planful: Enterprise-Grade FP&A in the Cloud

For larger businesses with multi-entity structures or global teams, Planful is a serious contender.

🌟 Use Cases:

• Intercompany consolidations

• Rolling forecasts with driver-based logic

• Budget vs actuals with department-level inputs

• Audit-ready monthly close workflows

✅ Pros:

• Built for scale, security, and speed

• Strong support and onboarding programs

• Deep integrations with ERPs and HR systems

❌ Cons:

• Overkill for small businesses

• Needs an FP&A lead or finance ops team to manage

8. Beginner’s AI Tool-kit for Finance Teams

If you’re just getting started, here’s your starter stack:

Need	Recommended Tool	Why It Works
Writing & Analysis	ChatGPT	Quick, smart, and versatile
Excel Superpowers	Microsoft Copilot	Automates reports and models
Dashboarding	Fathom	Visual, client-friendly output
Cash Flow Optimization	Tesorio	Saves time and improves liquidity
Budgeting/Forecasting	Datarails (SMBs)	Automation without leaving Excel
Scaling FP&A	Pigment / Planful	Powerful for fast-growing firms

How AI Is Reshaping the Finance Department

Let’s zoom out for a second.

The real shift AI brings to finance isn’t just faster reports. It’s about changing the role of finance from reactive to proactive.

Old Way vs New Way

Traditional Finance Tasks	AI-Powered Finance Tasks
Manual data entry	Automated syncing from ERP/CRM
Static monthly reports	Real-time dashboards & alerts
Budgeting once a year	Continuous forecasting
“What happened” analysis	Predictive insights & scenarios
Manual follow-ups on payments	AI-driven AR and dunning flows

Finance is no longer just a gatekeeper. It’s now a strategic driver of business agility and growth.

Final Thoughts: Finance Teams Who Embrace AI Will Lead in 2025

Whether you're a two-person finance team or a global FP&A department, AI can give you an edge.

• Want to reduce monthly close time? Try Datarails.

• Want better AR collections? Explore Tesorio.

• Want to train your junior analyst with an AI buddy? Start with ChatGPT.

• Already overwhelmed with planning chaos? Pigment or Planful can help you regain control.

👉 My advice? Start small. Pick one AI tool that solves your biggest current pain. Build confidence. Then scale your stack over time.

Because in 2025, you’re not being replaced by AI, but you might be replaced by someone using it. Want to make your finance team faster, smarter, and future-ready?At Celeste Business Advisors LLP, we help businesses across India, the USA, and Canada implement the right AI tools for forecasting, cash flow, and smarter decision-making.

💬 Let’s chat about how your finance stack can evolve—with the right mix of human insight and AI intelligence.📧 Reach out to us to schedule a free consultation.

👉 Already using an AI tool? We'd love to hear your experience drop a comment and let’s learn together. Celeste Business Advisors is proudly Fathom Certified, XERO Certified,

QBO Certified, and our team includes seasoned CPAs and CMAs to provide comprehensive financial guidance.

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