7 Ways Teams Use Solver That Often Surprise Them
Most people come to Solver looking for better reporting, more structured forecasting, or a way to finally bring some order to budgeting. That expectation is fair. Solver does those things very well.
What tends to catch teams off guard is how the tool gets used once it is embedded in real working environments. Not in demos. Not in neat diagrams. In organisations where deadlines move, data arrives late, and decisions have consequences.
Again and again, we see the same moment. Someone realises Solver is doing something they did not expect a finance platform to do. Something genuinely useful. Something that changes how work happens.
Here are seven uses that consistently create that reaction.
1. Solver ends up acting as a cross-department planning layer
Most people assume Solver belongs to the finance team.
In practice, teams use it to bring together inputs from HR, operations, sales and project teams, each with their own drivers and constraints, all feeding into a shared planning model. Headcount plans connect to delivery capacity. Utilisation affects revenue assumptions. Project timelines influence cash flow.
The result is that finance stops chasing numbers and starts reviewing decisions.
This shows up strongly in construction environments where labour, materials and project sequencing matter. It shows up in professional services where utilisation and staffing drive performance. It shows up in healthcare and education where funding cycles and capacity planning shape outcomes.
Why this surprises people is simple. They expect a finance tool. What they encounter is a coordination mechanism that helps different teams plan in a shared language.
2. Solver replaces entire spreadsheet ecosystems, not just individual reports
Many organisations say they have a spreadsheet problem.
What they actually have is a network of spreadsheets that depend on each other in fragile ways. A budget file feeds a forecast. The forecast feeds a board pack. Adjustments live in side files. Knowledge lives in people’s heads.
Solver is often used to centralise those models while keeping Excel as the front-end people are comfortable with. Teams still open spreadsheets. They still work in rows and columns. But the logic, data structures and governance sit elsewhere.
This removes version control chaos without forcing a sudden change in how people work.
The surprise comes from the assumption that adopting Solver means abandoning Excel. It does not. It often makes Excel safer, more consistent and far less stressful to rely on.
3. Solver becomes a place to stress-test decisions before leadership ever sees them
One of the less obvious ways teams use Solver is as a rehearsal space.
They test questions that are hard to answer in meetings. What happens if volume drops eight percent but costs stay flat? What if hiring is delayed by a quarter? What breaks first if funding arrives late?
These scenarios are explored internally, with time to think and adjust. By the time numbers are shared with leadership, the rough edges have already been worked through.
This changes the tone of forecasting conversations. Less defensiveness. More discussion about trade-offs and options.
People are often surprised because they think forecasting is about prediction. In practice, it is about preparedness.
4. Solver is used to build capability, not just automate tasks
This one catches people off guard.
Because Solver embeds business logic, assumptions and workflows, teams use it to onboard new hires and reduce dependence on individuals who “know how the model works.” The system itself becomes a reference point for how the business operates financially.
New team members learn how revenue flows. Managers see how their decisions affect outcomes beyond their own area. Finance teams spend less time explaining and more time reviewing.
Over time, this builds shared understanding across the organisation.
The surprise here is that people expect software to speed things up, not to teach. Solver often ends up doing both.
5. Solver sits on top of ERP complexity instead of forcing change
Many organisations operate with fragmented systems. Different ERPs across entities. Legacy platforms following acquisitions. Migration plans that move slowly because the risk is high and the stakes are real.
Solver is frequently introduced as a way to create consistency without forcing immediate system change. Data is mapped, aligned and structured so reporting and planning can work across the group, even while underlying systems remain imperfect.
This is common in group structures, post-acquisition environments and regulated sectors where system change is sensitive.
People are surprised because they assume better reporting requires replacing systems. Often, it requires a layer that makes sense of what already exists.
6. Solver supports non-financial performance storytelling
When Solver is integrated with operational data and tools like Power BI, teams start using it for more than financial statements.
Service levels, project delivery, utilisation patterns and operational bottlenecks sit alongside financial outcomes. This allows finance teams to connect results to real activity, not just variances.
The conversation shifts. Instead of explaining numbers, finance helps explain what is happening in the business.
That change in role is noticeable. Finance becomes a narrator of performance rather than a distributor of reports.
People rarely expect a finance platform to support storytelling. That is often where the impact becomes visible.
7. Solver helps teams decide what work no longer needs to exist
One of the most valuable outcomes of structured planning and reporting is visibility over time.
When reports, models and metrics live in one environment, patterns emerge. Reports that are produced but never used. Processes that exist because they always have. Metrics that no longer inform decisions.
Teams use Solver to identify what can be simplified, reduced or stopped altogether.
This is where time is reclaimed. Not by doing more, but by letting go of work that no longer earns its place.
The surprise here is that people expect tools to add activity. The real benefit often comes from removal.
A final thought
Solver is usually introduced to solve reporting and forecasting problems. That is the practical starting point.
What teams discover is that it also reshapes how planning happens, how decisions are prepared, and how understanding is shared across the organisation.
Not through novelty. Through structure that supports real work.
And when that structure is in place, better decisions tend to follow.