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Finstack vs Speedbooks: honest comparison for SMEs (2026)
Two Dutch consolidation tools for SME groups — Finstack as a transaction-level platform with forecasting and working-capital insights, Speedbooks as a trial-balance tool with a fixed reporting structure for accounting-firm portfolios. Which fits which situation?
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Finstack: transaction-level consolidation + forecasting for SMEs 1-30 entities, from EUR 39/mo. Speedbooks: trial-balance tool for 1-3 entities with fixed reporting structure, from EUR 50/mo.
Finstack vs Speedbooks: honest comparison for SMEs
Two Dutch tools that you often see side by side in the SME market, but in reality designed for different audiences and use cases. This article lays out the differences — on data level, IC elimination, reporting flexibility, working-capital insights, pricing and onboarding time — and helps you decide which fits your group.
For SME CFOs and finance teams, the choice between Finstack and Speedbooks does not turn on features per se, but on how deep your consolidation needs to be and how flexible your reporting structure must become. Do you work in a small owner-managed group of 1-3 entities without serious intercompany volumes, and do your reporting needs primarily consist of a fixed structure exported to Excel within an accounting-firm workflow? Then Speedbooks is a logical choice: fast to set up, user-friendly and standardized. Do you have a group of 3-30 entities with serious IC volumes, a need for management reports per business unit or per investor template, and do you want working-capital insights and forecasting in the same environment as your consolidation? That calls for a tool at transaction level — and that is what Finstack is built for. The difference between transaction level and trial-balance level is not a detail: it determines whether you can drill from a group figure down to the underlying entry, whether you can reconcile IC differences per relationship, and whether you can produce a direct cash flow across all entities. For background: see the guide on transaction-level vs trial-balance consolidation.
TL;DR
Finstack is plug-and-play consolidation and forecasting software for SME groups of 1-30 entities, at transaction level: 1 day live, from EUR 39/month per entity, with flexible and multiple reporting structures, working-capital insights and 2-way Excel and Google Sheets integration. Speedbooks is a Dutch reporting tool at trial-balance level, primarily for accounting-firm portfolios and small owner-managed groups (1-3 entities): from EUR 50/month for the base setup, with a fixed reporting structure and output to Excel. For groups that need transaction-level detail and reporting flexibility: Finstack. For accounting-firm flow and simple groups doing standard reporting work: Speedbooks.
What is Speedbooks and who uses it?
Speedbooks is a Dutch reporting tool built for and adopted by the accounting and bookkeeping firm market. The platform pulls figures from primarily Dutch accounting packages (Exact, Twinfield, AFAS) at trial-balance level and delivers them to Excel in a broadly fixed reporting structure. The core proposition: quickly produce a standardized management report from a fixed template within accounting-firm workflows.
Trial-balance reporting for accounting-firm portfolios
Target group: Small SME groups (typically 1-3 entities), bookkeeping firms, accountants and owner-managed groups that want to get figures into a fixed reporting structure in Excel quickly. Strong Dutch market recognition; well-anchored within accounting-firm workflows.
Strengths: Figures from your accounting package (Exact, Twinfield, AFAS) pulled at trial-balance level and exported to Excel in a standardized structure — suitable for classic P&L and balance-sheet reporting within accounting-firm work. RGS mapping (Referentie Grootboekschema — the Dutch reference chart of accounts) from the bookkeeping system — although that mapping has limited added value in the SME market, because few SME businesses have actually set up RGS and the mapping only pays off within a fixed reporting structure. User-friendly interface that fits within accounting-firm workflows. Quick to set up for simple group structures with 1-2 holding layers. Low entry price. Free trial available.
Pricing: From around EUR 50/month for the base setup; higher as you add clients or client accounts within an accounting-firm portfolio. Free trial available.
Implementation: Live within 1 day — the same onboarding time as Finstack. Advanced functions such as FX conversion, sub-consolidation via intermediate holdings and equity-method accounting for minority interests are only available in the on-premise (offline) variant; the online version delivers the base reporting functions. Mapping of GL accounts from the accounting package to the Speedbooks reporting template requires a one-time setup.
Limitations compared with Finstack: Works at trial-balance level — no underlying transactions, no searchable drill-down from consolidation to the underlying entry. IC elimination only on GL-account totals; no intercompany reconciliation, no matching per relationship or per transaction. No group-level working-capital insights (cash flow, aging analysis, relationship view) — which removes the layer you use to actively manage cash flow. No forecasting module. No 2-way Excel or Google Sheets integration; output goes to Excel files in a fixed format, not as a live connection. Dashboards, slicing and filtering within the platform are limited — Finstack offers considerably more ways to search, filter and visualize data within the platform itself. The reporting structure is fixed on main lines — items like EBITDA or other management- and investor-typical groupings are not possible. No parallel reports at the same time (management vs annual accounts vs business unit). Platform focus is on annual-accounts work, not management reporting.
What is Finstack and who uses it?
Finstack is built on a specific conviction: an SME CFO of a group with 1-30 entities wants the consolidation problem solved at transaction level, with IC elimination per relationship and per transaction, working-capital insights and forecasting in the same environment. Finstack offers the best of both worlds: the functional depth of enterprise tools for SME-relevant consolidation functions, with the speed and pricing of an SME tool — plus flexible reporting structures that you can set up per business unit, per investor template or per cost center.
Transaction-level consolidation and forecasting for SME groups up to 30 entities
Target group: SME CFOs and finance teams of groups with 1-30 entities that want depth in their consolidation without an enterprise implementation or enterprise price point. PE portfolio companies, scaleups with investor reporting, and CFOs who want to run forecasting (rolling forecast, scenario planning, 13-week cash flow) alongside consolidation in the same tool. Including a dedicated partner dashboard for fractional, interim and freelance CFOs, advisors and other intermediaries who manage multiple clients.
Strengths: Transaction-level data straight from the ERP (Exact, AFAS, Twinfield, Yuki, Pennylane, eAccounting, Tripletex, Nmbrs, Xero, QuickBooks Online and Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC) — not only balances, but the underlying entries themselves. IC elimination per relationship and per transaction, reconciliation at transaction level so you can pinpoint exactly where IC differences originate, multi-tier holding support, FX conversion. Plus: group-level working-capital insights (direct cash flow across all entities, relationship view, aging analysis including partial payments), forecasting in the same environment, and 2-way Excel and Google Sheets integration so consolidation output stays automatically fresh in existing spreadsheet models. Flexible reporting structure: parallel reports at the same time per business unit, per investor template or per cost center — including custom items like EBITDA, EBITDA margin and a full direct or indirect cash flow statement. Dedicated partner dashboard for advisors, fractional CFOs and other intermediaries who manage multiple client environments at the same time.
Pricing: From EUR 39/month per entity. Transparent per-entity pricing that scales with group size. 14-day free trial available.
Implementation: Live within 1 day. Direct ERP connections are set up in 5 minutes, transaction data is read in from day one. No dedicated consultant or mapping cycle required — operable by the entire finance team.
Limitations compared with Speedbooks: No RGS mapping (the Dutch reference chart of accounts) from the bookkeeping system — relevant for accounting firms that have standardized RGS within their workflow. Not primarily designed as an accounting-firm tool with portfolio management for dozens of small client accounts. For pure trial-balance reporting for a 1-2 entity owner-managed group without IC volumes, Speedbooks is lighter.
Finstack vs Speedbooks: comparison table
Twenty variables that for SME CFOs are decisive when choosing between these two tools — from target group and pricing to consolidation level, reporting flexibility and working-capital insights.
Based on publicly available information and customer conversations. To actually determine how these tools fit your situation, we recommend running your own evaluation — both tools offer a free trial period, so test them both on your own scope.
When does Finstack fit better than Speedbooks?
For SME groups with 3+ entities or with serious IC volumes, three points are decisive in choosing Finstack over Speedbooks.
1. You want to set up management reporting flexibly — not within a fixed structure. Speedbooks delivers figures in a standardized reporting structure that fits within accounting-firm work from a fixed template. For management reporting where you want to add extra reporting lines like EBITDA, set up a full cash flow statement, or report per business unit, investor template or cost center, that fixed structure is precisely a limitation. Finstack offers parallel reports at the same time (management, statutory, per business unit), lets you set up reporting structures yourself — including EBITDA, EBITDA margin and a direct or indirect cash flow statement — and offers considerably more filtering and slicing within the platform. For PE portcos and scaleups with investor reporting, that is the decisive difference.
2. You need transaction-level detail — not only balances. The moment you want to drill from a consolidated figure down to the underlying entry, the moment IC differences need to be reconciled per relationship or per transaction, and the moment you want to see which counterparty still has which invoice outstanding across all entities, you reach the limits of trial-balance level. Speedbooks offers drill-down only per GL account per period — no searchable overview of entries or transactions. Finstack delivers full transaction detail from your ERP, elimination per relationship and per transaction, and searchable overviews across all entities. For background: see the guide on transaction-level vs trial-balance consolidation.
3. You want working-capital insights and forecasting in the same tool as your consolidation. Working-capital management — direct cash flow across all entities, aging analysis of receivables and payables including partial payments, relationship view at group level — requires transaction-level data that Speedbooks does not offer. The same goes for forecasting: rolling forecast, scenario planning and 13-week cash flow are missing in Speedbooks. For SME CFOs who don't want to run two or three separate tools alongside their consolidation, this is the decisive difference. For broader context: see the guide on consolidation for SME CFOs.
When does Speedbooks fit better than Finstack?
Speedbooks is the more logical choice for specific situations. Three scenarios in which Speedbooks fits better than Finstack — almost always within an accounting context or for simple group structures.
1. Your accounting firm has standardized Speedbooks within its workflow. For bookkeeping firms and accountants that manage a portfolio of dozens to hundreds of smaller clients, Speedbooks offers a workflow that fits exactly with standard reporting work from a standardized template, including RGS mapping from the bookkeeping system. Finstack is not primarily designed for that role — if your workflow revolves around accounting-firm portfolio management and your clients have standardized RGS, Speedbooks is the more logical choice.
2. You have a simple 1-3 entity setup without serious IC volumes. For an owner-managed group with a holding and one or two operating subsidiaries, without noteworthy intercompany transactions, transaction-level consolidation is overkill. Speedbooks delivers what you need — a group overview and P&L/balance reporting — for a lower price and with a lighter workflow. For groups that really stay small, Finstack's extra depth has limited payoff.
3. Your reporting need stays at standard P&L and balance level without management- or investor-typical items. For groups where figures primarily go to the accountant in a standardized structure — no items like EBITDA, no full cash flow statement, no separate reporting per business unit, no investor template — the fixed reporting structure of Speedbooks is not a limitation but precisely the point. Finstack delivers flexibility that you do not deploy in that scenario and therefore do not need to pay for.
Ask yourself three concrete questions when choosing: (1) Do you need transaction-level detail (drill-down from consolidation, IC elimination per relationship or per transaction), or does trial-balance level suffice for your reporting? (2) Must your reporting structure be flexible per business unit or investor template, or do you work within a fixed accounting template? (3) Do you need working-capital insights and/or forecasting in the same tool? Answers to these three questions almost always point to one of the two tools. Both tools offer a free trial period — test them both on your own scope.
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Three common mistakes when choosing between Finstack and Speedbooks
Assuming a standard reporting structure is also right for you
Speedbooks reports are ready quickly because the structure is fixed on main lines. That works perfectly for annual-accounts work and standard P&L/balance overviews. But the moment you want to show items like EBITDA, set up a full cash flow statement, report per business unit, fill a specific investor template, or drill per cost center, you run into the limits of the fixed main lines. What works: assess up front who the consumers of your reports are — only your accountant, or also investors, business-unit leads and the management team — and choose a tool that supports parallel reports at the same time without structural constraints.
Misjudging trial-balance vs transaction level
At the start, trial-balance figures often seem sufficient for the monthly group overview. Until the moment you need to investigate an IC difference of EUR 12,000, or an investor asks where exactly that receivable position of EUR 240,000 comes from. At trial-balance level you cannot answer that without email exchanges with entity controllers. What works: choose transaction level up front as soon as your IC volumes are serious or as soon as multiple stakeholders want to request detail — a drill-down per GL account per period (as in Speedbooks) is different from a searchable overview of all entries and transactions (as in Finstack). A later migration typically takes months.
Treating working-capital insights as an afterthought
For SME CFOs, working-capital management is not an extra function but daily work: cash flow across all entities, aging analysis of receivables and payables, relationship view at group level. Plus intercompany reconciliation: the moment IC flows don't add up, you want to be able to pinpoint exactly where the difference originates — not at year-end close. Speedbooks offers neither — it works at trial-balance level and provides no actionable working-capital layer or IC reconciliation. What works: choose a tool that delivers working-capital insights and IC reconciliation as standard in the same environment as the consolidation — that yields direct decision-useful information without extra tooling overhead.
Frequently asked questions
Can't find your question? Let us know
What is the main difference between Finstack and Speedbooks?
Finstack works at transaction level and consolidates 1-30 entities with IC elimination per relationship and per transaction, from EUR 39/month per entity. Speedbooks works at trial-balance level and consolidates smaller groups (typically 1-3 entities) into a fixed reporting structure in Excel, from EUR 50/month for the base setup. Finstack offers depth; Speedbooks offers simplicity for accounting-firm portfolios.
For which SME group does Finstack fit better than Speedbooks?
For SME groups that want transaction-level detail, want to set up their reporting structure flexibly per business unit or investor template — including EBITDA and a full cash flow statement — and need working-capital insights or forecasting in the same environment. Plus for groups where IC volumes are serious enough that elimination per relationship and per transaction matters — which Speedbooks does not offer.
For which SME group does Speedbooks fit better than Finstack?
For smaller groups of 1-3 entities without serious IC volumes and without the need for transaction-level detail or management-typical reporting items like EBITDA or a full cash flow statement. Plus for accounting firms and SME owners that align with a fixed reporting structure within their workflow, optionally with RGS mapping (the Dutch reference chart of accounts) from the bookkeeping system
Do Finstack and Speedbooks both offer forecasting?
Finstack delivers rolling forecast, scenario planning, budget cycle and 13-week cash flow as standard in the same environment as consolidation. Speedbooks is primarily a reporting tool and offers no forecasting module; for SME groups that want forecasting in the same tool as consolidation, Finstack is the more logical choice.
How do Finstack and Speedbooks differ on IC elimination?
Finstack offers IC elimination per relationship and per transaction, plus reconciliation at transaction level so you can pinpoint exactly where IC differences originate. Speedbooks works at trial-balance level: elimination happens on GL-account totals, not per relationship or per transaction. For groups with serious IC volumes, that difference is decisive.
What do Finstack and Speedbooks cost?
Finstack: from EUR 39/month per entity, transparent per-entity pricing, 14-day free trial. Speedbooks: from around EUR 50/month for the base setup, higher as you add clients or client accounts, free trial available. For a group of 4 entities you pay EUR 149/month with Finstack.
How quickly are Finstack and Speedbooks live?
Finstack connects directly to your ERP (Exact, AFAS, Twinfield, Yuki, Pennylane, Xero, QuickBooks Online and more) and is live within 1 day. Speedbooks is also live within 1 day — the same onboarding time. Advanced functions such as FX, sub-consolidation and minority-interest accounting are only available in the on-premise variant of Speedbooks; the online version delivers the base reporting functions.
CFO turned Founder - Finstack
Sources and provenance
- finstack.io — Consolidation — transaction-level consolidation, IC elimination per relationship and per transaction
- finstack.io — Reporting & insights — drill-down from consolidation, group-wide aging analysis
- finstack.io — Spreadsheet sync — 2-way Excel and Google Sheets integration
- finstack.io — Customers — SME groups and PE portcos using Finstack
- finstack.io — Pricing — pricing plans and trial
- Customer feedback from the NL SME and accounting sector — use and experience with Speedbooks in Dutch practice
- Comparison based on publicly available information and customer conversations
Last reviewed: 14 June 2026 · Next review: September 2026
Consolidated reporting and forecasting.
