FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Claros — free FP&A forecasting software for solo finance analysts.
Is Claros free?
Yes — Claros is completely free to use. There is no subscription, no trial period, and no account required. Just upload your data and start forecasting.
What accounting systems does Claros work with?
Claros works with any system that exports to CSV or Excel. This includes QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, Sage, Intacct, FreshBooks, and any generic general ledger or ERP export. If your system can produce a spreadsheet with date, amount, and account columns, Claros can process it.
How long does it take to build a forecast in Claros?
Under 10 minutes from raw data to a board-ready Excel export. Upload your actuals file, map the date, amount, and dimension columns, review the monthly summary, set your forecast methods, and export. Most users complete their first forecast in 5–8 minutes.
What forecasting methods does Claros support?
Claros supports Last Month (repeats the most recent actual), Rolling Average (averages the last N months), Linear Trend (projects the slope of recent actuals), and Remaining Plan (fills forecast months to hit an annual plan target). You can set a global default and override individual line items.
Does Claros replace Excel?
No — Claros exports to Excel. The goal is to eliminate the manual formula work that makes Excel-based forecasting slow and fragile. You upload your GL export, Claros handles the aggregation and forecasting logic, and you get a formatted .xlsx file with actuals, plan, forecast, and conditional variance formatting — ready to drop into a board deck.
What is plan vs. actuals variance analysis?
Plan vs. actuals variance compares what you budgeted (the plan) against what actually happened (actuals) and what you now expect for the rest of the year (forecast). Claros calculates variance automatically — both in dollar terms and as a percentage — and formats it with color coding so favorable and unfavorable variances are immediately visible.
Who is Claros for?
Claros is built for the solo FP&A analyst at a 50–500 person company — the single finance person responsible for forecasting, variance analysis, and board reporting without a dedicated FP&A platform. If you're living in a homegrown Excel model and spending too much time reformatting outputs before they can go to the CFO, Claros is for you.
Does Claros store my financial data?
No. Claros runs entirely in your browser. Your financial data is never uploaded to a server — all processing happens locally on your machine. When you close the browser tab, the data is gone.
How is Claros different from Jirav, Mosaic, or Datarails?
Enterprise FP&A platforms like Jirav, Mosaic, and Datarails are designed for finance teams of 5 or more, require weeks of implementation, sales calls, and annual contracts starting at $12,000+. Claros is free, takes 10 minutes, requires no account, and is designed specifically for the solo analyst who needs a board-ready forecast without the overhead of an enterprise tool.
Can I try Claros with sample data before uploading my own files?
Yes. Click 'Try with sample data' on the home page to open the forecast workspace pre-loaded with a realistic B2B SaaS dataset — software subscriptions, professional services, salaries, cloud infrastructure, and G&A — with nine months of actuals ready to forecast.