ClearCost IT Financial Management

Overview

ClearCost IT Financial Management is a paid IT financial management platform for organisations that need to plan technology costs and explain them across finance, IT and business teams. It is best suited to leaders managing complex services and investments across cloud and on-premises environments. Its breadth of planning, cost allocation and stakeholder communication is compelling, but custom pricing makes it harder to assess before engaging the vendor.

Key features

ITFM Foundation brings analysis, planning and forecasting together across labour, vendors, assets, cloud and projects. Budgeting automates planning and variance analysis, while scenario planning lets teams consider different cost assumptions. This is a strong fit for organisations seeking a connected IT cost-management process; it is more than most teams need if they only want a simple expense tracker.

ClearCost combines financial and operational data into a unified view of IT costs, intended to reveal insights and savings opportunities. Cost allocation, showback and chargeback help teams assign spending and explain consumption. The Bill of IT presents costs and usage in terms business stakeholders can understand, which is useful when IT leaders need to make service spending legible outside their department.

Benchmarking compares service costs using market data across industry, company size, geography and complexity. Advanced Analytics adds predictive variance analysis, tailored KPIs and metrics, and a service-catalogue view. These capabilities can help teams put costs in context and monitor measures relevant to their organisation, though the breadth will matter most to buyers with established financial and operational data to analyse.

Data integration connects, transforms, cleanses and associates information from disparate sources, with automated ETL for on-premises and cloud data. Named systems include SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, TechnologyOne, Workday, Microsoft Dynamics, Power BI, Cognos, Tableau, ServiceNow, BMC, AWS and Azure; the integration brochure also names Google Cloud. This range is a practical advantage for organisations with data spread across finance, BI, IT service and cloud systems. ClearCost also offers ITFM specialists to help with data organisation, modelling and validation, including in-house or onsite support, so implementation can extend beyond software.

Pricing

ClearCost IT Financial Management is paid, with custom pricing. Contact ClearCost or book a demo for pricing. No lower-priced tier is described, so buyers should clarify the cost and scope of the platform and any expert support before committing.

Platforms

ClearCost supports technology investments across on-premises and cloud environments. Its data integration covers sources in both settings, but the platform’s access-device options are not described.

Who it's for

ClearCost is aimed at technology, finance and business leaders in organisations that need to manage and communicate the value of IT investments. Its planning, allocation and Bill of IT capabilities suit teams responsible for explaining service costs and consumption to stakeholders. The maker describes use across private enterprise, public-sector and government organisations globally. Its data work and specialist support may suit larger, complex environments better than teams seeking a lightweight self-service budgeting tool.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Planning, budgeting, forecasting, scenario analysis and variance analysis sit within a broad ITFM offering, helping teams bring cost management into one process.
• Pros: Cost allocation, showback, chargeback and the Bill of IT help connect spending to consumption and communicate it in business terms.
• Pros: Integrations span finance, BI, ITSM and cloud data sources, with support from ITFM experts for data preparation and validation.
• Cons: Custom pricing requires a vendor conversation before buyers can assess affordability.
• Cons: Data preparation and modelling are meaningful parts of the offering, so organisations looking for a simple, low-overhead budgeting tool may find its scope excessive.

Alternatives

Choose Planview AdaptiveWork if Android or iOS access matters; its listed platforms also include API and web, and pricing is available by contacting an account executive. Serviceware Performance is another paid option, with a free trial and API, self-hosted and web platforms. Consider Flexera One IT Asset Management if a free plan is important; it is also paid and offers self-hosted and web platforms, with pricing by demo. ISG Inform provides web access and requires contacting ISG for full platform access. KP-One is a paid web-based alternative. MagicOrange is a paid alternative with API and web platforms. Omnia Financial Management offers self-hosted and web platforms. Upland ComSci is a paid web-based alternative.

See the broader IT Financial Management Software category to compare more options.

Verdict

ClearCost is a strong candidate for organisations that need to connect IT cost planning with allocation, operational data and clear communication to business stakeholders. Its broad integrations and ITFM specialist support are persuasive when data preparation is part of the challenge. Look elsewhere if you need a transparent price before contacting a vendor or a simpler tool with less implementation scope.