About FinancialForce
Certinia (formerly FinancialForce) runs inside Salesforce as a native ERP, not a connected app. Billing, revenue recognition, project cost tracking, and general ledger all live in the same Salesforce org as your CRM data. For a professional services firm already on Salesforce, that means a project quote, delivery tracking, and client invoice are linked without any middleware or nightly sync. The billing engine handles milestone, time-and-materials, and fixed-fee contracts, and the revenue recognition module applies ASC 606 rules across multi-currency engagements. Project accountants get real-time cost-versus-budget views at the project and portfolio level. Global consolidation across entities is included, which makes it viable for mid-market services groups with subsidiaries. The fit is narrow. If your firm is not already on Salesforce, Certinia adds no value and considerable cost. The integration ecosystem outside Salesforce is thin — Zapier and Excel are the notable connectors, which is a real limitation compared to NetSuite or Sage Intacct. There is no published pricing; every deal requires a sales conversation, which makes it difficult to benchmark before committing time to an evaluation.
Best for
Services organizations using Salesforce wanting native financial management and project accounting
Key Features
- Native Salesforce ERP integration
- Automated services billing and invoicing
- Multi-currency revenue recognition
- Real-time project cost tracking
- Global financial consolidation
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Revenue recognition runs natively inside Salesforce, eliminating the reconciliation lag you get with bolt-on tools like Avalara or a separate GL
- Time-and-materials, milestone, and fixed-fee billing contracts are managed in the same record as the Salesforce opportunity and project
- ASC 606 multi-currency revenue recognition handles complex contract modifications without manual journal entries
- Real-time project cost tracking lets project managers see budget burn against actuals without waiting for month-end close
- Global financial consolidation across legal entities is built in, not an add-on module
- Because it lives in Salesforce, finance and sales teams share a single client record — no duplicate data entry between CRM and ERP
Cons
- No published pricing; you cannot evaluate cost without a sales call, which adds weeks to any shortlist process
- Useless outside Salesforce — if your firm moves off Salesforce or never adopted it, the entire platform becomes dead weight
- Integration ecosystem is thin: outside Salesforce clouds, the main connectors are Excel and Zapier, which is weak compared to NetSuite's partner network
- Implementation typically requires a Salesforce partner with Certinia certifications, adding consulting cost on top of license fees
- Product roadmap dependency is real — features that exist in mature ERPs may be months or years away if Certinia has not prioritized them
- Smaller user community means fewer independent resources, community-built templates, and third-party accountants who know the product
Ledger Brief Take
Built specifically for Salesforce-native services firms that need project accounting and revenue recognition without the friction of third-party integrations. While the services billing and project financials are genuinely sophisticated, the limited ecosystem means you're betting on Certinia's roadmap rather than leveraging a mature partner network.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions accountants ask about FinancialForce.
How much does Certinia cost?
Certinia does not publish pricing. All contracts are negotiated directly with their sales team. Budget conversations in the market suggest mid-market deployments start well above the entry price of competitors like Sage Intacct. Expect to add Salesforce licensing costs if your team is not already on the platform.
Does Certinia integrate with QuickBooks or Xero?
No direct integration exists. Certinia is itself the GL and billing system, not a layer on top of QuickBooks or Xero. If your firm uses QuickBooks or Xero and wants to keep it, Certinia is the wrong tool. It replaces those systems entirely and requires Salesforce as the platform.
How does Certinia compare to NetSuite for services firms?
NetSuite has a broader integration ecosystem, more third-party implementers, and published pricing tiers. Certinia wins on Salesforce-native depth — if your CRM data and project data already live in Salesforce, the unified record eliminates sync issues NetSuite users manage with connectors like Celigo or Boomi.
What size firm does Certinia fit?
Certinia targets mid-market professional services firms with 50 to several thousand employees that are already committed to Salesforce. It is too expensive and complex for small firms, and enterprise firms with complex manufacturing or distribution needs will find it underspecified outside of services workflows.
How does Certinia handle revenue recognition for ASC 606?
The revenue recognition engine applies ASC 606 rules at the contract level, including variable consideration and contract modifications. It handles multi-currency recognition and posts automatically to the GL on trigger events. This is one of the strongest features of the product and is notably more automated than Xero or QuickBooks equivalents.
Is Certinia data secure and where is it hosted?
Certinia runs entirely on the Salesforce infrastructure, which means it inherits Salesforce's data centers, SOC 2 certifications, and security controls. Data residency options follow Salesforce's available regions. If your firm already trusts Salesforce with CRM data, the security posture is consistent.