See where standard cost and actual cost part company
Planir consolidates every plant and distribution entity and holds standard cost, variance and inventory in the same model, so group COGS and the plant that moved it are two views of one set of numbers rather than two reconciliations.
What manufacturing finance teams are dealing with
Three patterns that show up in nearly every multi-plant group we talk to.
Variance is explained after the quarter, not during it
Material, labour and overhead variances are pulled into a spreadsheet once the ledger closes. By the time a plant sees why its cost per unit moved, the quarter it moved in is already reported and the explanation is archaeology rather than control.
Transfer pricing makes the plant view disagree with the group
Goods move between manufacturing and distribution entities at a transfer price, so plant margin and group margin tell different stories. Reconciling them is a manual exercise that somebody redoes from scratch every cycle.
Inventory is valued in three places and agreed in none
Each entity values inventory on its own basis in its own ledger, the group needs a single basis, and the adjustment between them is a journal that depends on one person remembering the working.
What Planir does for a manufacturing group
Plant detail and the group position in one model, with transfer pricing handled on the way up.
Standard cost and variance in one model
Material, labour and overhead variance is calculated by plant, product line and period from the ledger data each entity already produces, rather than from a monthly extract. Because the standard, the actual and the bridge between them live in the same model, a variance can be opened up to the driver that caused it instead of being described in a commentary box.
See budgeting and planningPlant-level P&L that rolls into the group
Every plant and distribution entity reports on its own terms and consolidates into one governed group model, with multi-currency translation on the basis your auditors expect. Sub-group views let you look at manufacturing on its own, or the whole group, without maintaining a second set of numbers for each.
See multi-entity consolidationTransfer pricing that eliminates on consolidation
Intercompany sales between your own entities are matched on both sides from live data and eliminated each cycle, so unrealised profit in inventory does not survive into the group numbers. The plant keeps reporting at transfer price and the group sees cost, without anyone posting the bridge by hand.
See how eliminations workBoard and lender reporting that regenerates
Cost bridges, plant performance and the covenant metrics your lenders ask for are built once and refreshed each cycle. Planir reads from and writes back to Excel, Word and PowerPoint, so a board pack stays linked to the model rather than being rebuilt from a fresh export every time.
See board reporting“The weekly cash meeting used to be about whether the numbers were right. Now it’s about what we do with them. Our CEO opens the dashboard himself before the meeting, and that tells you everything.”
The challenge
Group cash flow was forecast six months ahead at daily granularity in a shared workbook that finance teams in five countries maintained by hand, at roughly 114 hours a month across three preparers and two reviewers.
What changed
Committed payables flow in from SAP Business One purchase orders with supplier payment terms applied from the supplier master, receipts are modelled by project and milestone, and bank transactions are matched to projects by rule rather than tagged by hand.
The result
Group cash flow effort fell from roughly 114 hours a month to about 35, freeing half a finance role across five countries, and the weekly forecast now holds within 5% on the four-week view.
Explore other use cases
Planir is built for the planning and reporting cycles that funded, governed, and multi-entity businesses actually run.
Multi-entity consolidation
Consolidated financials across every entity, every accounting system, and every currency, with intercompany eliminations applied for you.
See multi-entity consolidationInvestor reporting
The financial section of every monthly and quarterly investor update, generated from your live data.
See investor reportingBoard reporting
The financial foundation of every board pack, with variance analysis by dimension and forward projections your board can interrogate.
See board reportingBudgeting and planning
Driver-based 3-way budgets and forecasts built from your live data, with every assumption documented and reviewable.
See budgeting and planningPre-transaction preparation
Investor-grade 3-way projections with documented assumptions, ready for fundraising, M&A, and due diligence.
See pre-transaction preparationPlanir for Manufacturing FAQs
Can Planir track cost variance by plant and product line?
Do we need to replace our ERP?
How does Planir handle transfer pricing between our own entities?
Can we plan capacity and volume in the same model?
Can Planir consolidate plants on different ERPs and currencies?
What does implementation involve?
See your plants and your group COGS in one model
Bring your entity list and a recent set of figures, and leave with a consolidated group view and a cost variance built from your own data.