Wdesk – an innovative app for progressive reporting
Pros
I like that I need only to push one button to update all the reports. It makes me sure that all the information is fresh and relevant. What is more, you can customize the view of Wdesk for better collaboration of your team. Moreover, I like that I can limit the visibility of some information for specific users. So am sure that confidential information will be available only for those people who have permission to see it.
Cons
I dislike that Wdesk proposes a little number of creative options. If you want to impress your team with a great design of graphics or tables, be ready that you will not be able to do this. There are basic designs, which are not bad, but still, they are not very creative. Also there are some limits in Excel formulas. From time to time the updates of reports are too slow. The last thing I do not like is that document editing is quite hard and takes too much time.
I have used this software for SEC reporting for seven years and highly recommend it.
Pros
What I like the most about wDesk is that it is user friendly and makes SEC reporting a breeze, without having to deal with EDGARizing. Creating a document is as easy as using a Microsoft Word, if not easier. I have started to use wDesk for regular Word processing and not just SEC reporting. The table creation and data linking is also very easy to use. Their Help section has very easy and clear instructions on how to do everything and if you need additional help, their Customer Service is always answered by an actual person in the States without any wait time.
Cons
Around due dates for Form 10-Q and 10-K filings, the website does run a little slow. This is not a big issue, but I always try do my filings earlier in the case that there are any website issuers. For example, if possible, instead of filing a Form 10-Q at 4:25p, I will begin filing at 4:10p just in case. Usually the delay is not longer than a few seconds, or a minute or two tops, but with the increase in usage of wDesk you want to make sure that your filing is processed and accepted by the SEC on time.
Wdesk user review
I have used Wdesk for almost 3 years and love the product and the customer service. The old process my company used was a Word document with Excel tables that was very cumbersome to turn over each quarter. Additionally, it was very difficult to maintain data integrity when one number was used in multiple locations.
With Wdesk, flipping a document is a simple process. I update the date page information, and every date in our document is updated. The linking feature in Wdesk has eliminated our concerns about data integrity when one number is used in multiple locations, and when a table is used in both the footnote and in the MD&A sections.
The customer service has been incredible since the first meeting with them. During the initial set-up process they were always available to help both over the phone and using a Webex meeting. At this point, I dont have many questions, but my customer service manager contacts me every quarter to see how things are going and she completes an Edgar review of every 10-Q and 10-K before I file! The professional services manager that handles our XBRL is also very attentive. We always have a meeting at the beginning of the quarter and one towards the end. You always know that they are there to help you!
Every year they have a TEC (The Exchange Community) conference. This in an incredible opportunity to learn about new products and to speak with Wdesk developers about what changes would help your company. Many of the new products and updates come from customer suggestions! They also have training classes during the conference to help you build skills required for various types SEC reporting. I attended one TEC conference and took advantage of their XBRL classes.
Pros
Very easy to use. Produces quality documents. Excellent customer service.
Workiva Financial Reporting SEC Filing software
We have used the Form 10-K, 10-Q, Def 14 A Proxy and Section 16 filing, Form 3 and 4 software for over a year. I want to hug it every day. It is cloud based and easy to learn as it acts and feels like Excel and Word but organizes everything in one place. I want to hug it every day.
Pros
Cloud based, easy to learn, I was able to get certified in 2016 after their Annual Conference, lots of sharing through the blogs, Easy to follow help instructions on areas you only use periodically, Customer Success Manager is awesome and responds quickly.
Cons
None that I can think of.
Can't imagine Financial Reporting without WDesk
WDesk is the most important tool we have during reporting season. Being able to have a large group working on the same document at the same time while avoiding issues like version control, number inconsistencies, files crashing has made our lives so much easier. WDesk continues to add new features and it is great to see that a lot of them come from real customer feedback. If you have an issue, they will find a solution.
Lastly, their customer service is amazing. I've had great experiences with our CSM, XBRL support and their 24-hour support.
Pros
LINKING!!! Having all my reporting documents in one place. the 24-hr support.
Cons
I wish I could add an approver to a certification after sending the letter out.
Fortune 500 Companies must invest in this software for successful financial reporting!
More efficiency in work day on a daily basis. I work for a very large and complex publically traded company and we would never be able to function as successfully as we do without this software.
Pros
The ease of use and customer service. All features are very intuitive and if you run into any issues you can call the cust service anytime and a person will always help you solve your problem.
Cons
Its expensive. I would love for every department in my company to start using it but they always hesitate because of the excessive cost. I think trial periods would be very beneficial.
Workiva the Wonderful
After multiple years of using Workiva and working with the Workiva staff, I continue to be more and more impressed with the quality of the tool and the responsiveness of the staff.
Pros
SEC filings (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, Proxy, S-4, correspondence, etc...) management reporting and any other large/complex document that needs to be prepared on a collaborative basis or will be rolled forward for future versions.
Cons
Some limitations to Excel formulas
Wdesk is the Best!
We have had such a wonderful experience with Workiva! From ease of use to great customer service, we know that we are in the best of hands. It is such a relief knowing that reporting and filing will be a seamless and stress free process. Keep up the great work!
Pros
Ease of use, especially XBRL tagging
Cons
Not a lot of art/creative options. Difficult/annoying to work with JPEGS, etc, because there aren't a lot of editing options.
LOVE Wdesk!!
I love Wdesk! The product and support are world class. It streamlined our financial reporting process, as well as our documentation process, when we implemented the binder module. LOVE it!
Pros
I love Wdesk and the binder module. Customer service is fantastic.
Save Your Money
Horrific
Pros
Nothing. It makes obtaining reasonable assurance more difficult than it needs to be.
Cons
This software is terribly painful to use as it is not intuitive. Testing of controls is extremely cumbersome as WDesk and Microsoft Office programs are not compatible. For example, the print area of an Excel file must be made before uploading into WDesk. If this is not done, a 5 tab Excel file will become a 40 page file in WDesk. Also, you cannot see the formulas in Excel in WDesk. It is very difficult to obtain any kind of assurance if you cannot check the accuracy of the supporting documentation you are being provided by the business. I would highly suggest that Workiva contract with a public accounting firm to get an idea of what is required in order to be compliant Sarbanes-Oxley, how external and internal auditors perform their test of controls, review workpapers and so-forth.
Another issue is the lack of a drag-and-drop feature. In order to put the supporting documentation to the appropriate control, documents must be added one at a time. The business cannot perform a mass upload and then drag and drop the supporting documentation to the applicable sample request. This wastes a massive amount of time for the tester and the business.
At my previous position, the internal auditors and the business used SharePoint for providing documentation and for testing, and it worked perfectly. I do not have experience with Blackline, but my colleagues say it is a much better program than WDesk.
Great Product!
I have used Wdesk for over two years and I continue to be a happy customer! The customer support teams for SEC filings, XBRL and SOX compliance are amazing. The 24/7 customer service people are also very friendly and willing to assist with whatever is needed. I am really satisfied with Wdesk and I continue to be impressed with the functionality, ease of use and increased productivity created by this product.
Pros
Ease of use and ability to file our SEC filings when we are ready and ability to make edits up to filing is amazing.
Cons
Sometimes refreshing data when updating is slow.
Implementation is a Breeze
I've used Wdesk for nearly 6 years at two different companies. Getting started on Wdesk is a breeze and the learning curve on using it is short. Their customer service is great and fast. Their professional service team makes XBRL a seamless process. I would recommend Wdesk to anyone for SEC reporting.
Pros
Ease of use, no more pencils down, great customer service.
Cons
Challenge to bring in new documents that don't need much editing or any links, just need to be filed with something. Formatting can be cumbersome for little benefit.
Excellent reporting and compliance solution
This application is surely recommended to those who have daily tasks and also great workload to handle.
Pros
I like the interface of the product because it’s quite unique and it helps me to build task list and also too much my data into various sections according to my need. Moreover, it has some task management functionalities that help me to build task list from the required data and documentation I always prefer this application because it’s helpful and also kind of my type.
Cons
It helps number of people to work in the form of a group with the good collaboration skills. It is giving the best services and let us face anything wrong.
Great for 10-Ks/10-Qs
Overall I feel like wdesk is truly the best software for Financial Reporting users. I have had experience with other softwares but have wdesk to be the most intuitive and easy to use.
Pros
The ease of linking in this software is very efficient. Once the document is set up - many pieces of the document can be update very quickly reducing the burden on prepares.
Cons
Initial set up is very cumbersome. It doesn't work Microsoft excel so everything has to be set up within the software which can get frustrating.
This software changed the way we do our financial reporting.
The sentiment around our company is that we hope to never have to use Microsoft Word to produce financial statements ever again.
Excellent tool that helps me making reports
Also this product is a huge initiative for team management and collaboration on different levels as well. Highly recommended tool
Pros
I would like to add in this product are its simple user interface is so much attractive and appealing that I can easily work on that without any hesitation. I am a satisfied user of Wdesk and completely happy with its all services.
Cons
I trust this product because it’s reliable in order to make my documents secure. I have nothing for cons it is going well.
BEST SEC software out there!!! Hands down!!!!
Better product, cost savings, increased efficiency.
Pros
The system is user friendly and the support is awesome. The Workiva team is always looking to make improvements based on actual feedback.
Cons
I have zero complaints - I actually insisted two companies that I started working for switched over to this software - which not only save time and made our product better - but it was less expensive than other company we were using.
Popular product for uploading all business data
Overall it is no less than a blessing that has brought much convenience to us. Linking data is now easier with this product because of its incredible features that are playing a significant role in my daily life.
Pros
I love the amazing templates which it offers. I would say this product has changed my life totally because now am capable enough to build task list from my data and also to create review, approval and revision tasks as well.
Cons
I failed to find even a single drawback in it as it comprises all essential features to satisfy almost all users needs. It makes me forget rest of other similar products.
Managing SOX nightmare, there are better options
Pros
The linking is great for version control. The certification process is easy to use and manage the outstanding certification. The groups allow an easy way to manage permissions except in the database.
Cons
There is no workflow that enables a control/narrative to flow through for updating and review that is not manual. RCTS that I used in 2003 had better functionality to flow control from one user to another, only allowing the user that had a role in the current status to update. This is a basic of all SOX tools I have seen except WDesk. I need to report where we are in the process and I can not do that with WDesk. It is very manual and many steps are duplicated throughout the system. Once you set up a user, they should be able to be selected in the role drop down, without having to reset them up in another section. Once a group is set up, it should be able to be utilized throughout the system without having to reset it up for a certification.
Good Product, Good Customer Support
We started using the Workiva platform for our SEC filings five years ago and have been happy with our decision. The software is easy to understand and use. In addition to the various built-in controls (e.g. linking which ensures that values are updated everywhere they appear), we are big believers in the use of check figures and have set them up everywhere possible in our Workiva workbooks. Overall, this software provides a nice balance between handling things ourselves and having the support of experts within easy reach. This has been especially helpful with the XBRL process, which is performed primarily by us, but with help from Workiva staff when we have a particular problem. The system also allows for last-minute tagging additions/changes, which are sometimes unavoidable. The Workiva product development team is interested in and responsive to customer feedback, which continues to make their applications better and better. We are always open to looking at other solutions for our reporting needs, especially to keep costs down, but so far this is the one that continues to impress us the most.
Excellent for Reporting and Auditing
Wdesk is a critical tool in reviewing, evaluating and consolidating controls as our company continues to merge to one unified company. Wdesk has simplified building an audit and provides quick and easy insight to areas we are changing that require updates. Making updates is easy.
Pros
Wdesk is easy to use, easy to update and pull reporting. You can also limit what each user has access/visibility to so confidential information doesn't have to be visible to all users.
Cons
I have not identified in my use to date.
Excellent software for the creation of financial reports.
Pros
Its interface is very familiar, it is easy to use, since it uses many functions of the Office 360 family, such as Word and Excel, it is very useful for users in the finance areas, since their simple tasks from the beginning foment a certain experience in several fields, what stands out is that in a financial document can be modified by more than two users at the same time without damaging its operation and, finally, the most important thing as an IT area manager is the support provided by Customer Service of the tool.
Cons
In my IT staff season, I could notice a total liking of the users so I do not generate any contra to choose this software, you can use it in your company without any inconvenience.
Excellent Reporting Tool!
Wdesk is a lifesaver when it comes to SEC reporting. The software makes managing the reporting process easy to track and manage.
Pros
The ease of use and comparability to Microsoft Office features.
Cons
The binder features and how they are missing valuable functionality.
Wdesk review
Overall, I am satisfied with Wdesk functionality, it is user friendly, the link is awesome, and great customer service. Someone is always there to help whenever we need immediate assistance.
Pros
User friendly, link functionality is awesome, can work anywhere due to its accessibility and great customer service.
Cons
It tends to be slow (for example, saving an edit or just trying to switch to another section) as we get closer to the filing deadline.
Wdesk- Business Solution for Your Needs
I've had great experiences with Workiva/Wdesk. They are always releasing new features to enhance the usability and are very open to receiving feedback. My customer service representative is extremely knowledgeable about the tool, best practices, and my company so that I get the best solution every time. The hotline is open 24 hours a day so even during crunch time, I know I can get assistance. The tool helps with SEC, regulatory, and internal reporting, as well as audit, presentations, data collection, you name it. If your company has data, Wdesk can help.
This program is really transparent, so it is easy to make an audit. You can check each change. I recommend using Wdesk as you have access to real-time reports any time you need. You can try a free version of the app to make sure it suits your company’s needs.