dbt Labs retires the spreadsheets

With Sarah Riley, Head of Finance & Strategy at dbt Labs (ex-Zoom, ex-Okta) · dbt Labs

With , · dbt Labs

"The ability to scenario plan and provide insights quickly to the executive team is something we value highly. And, Pigment has been tremendous in empowering us to do so."

Sarah Riley
Head of Finance & Strategy at dbt Labs (ex-Zoom, ex-Okta)
Sarah Riley
Head of Finance & Strategy at dbt Labs (ex-Zoom, ex-Okta)
Number of employees
101-1,000
Used by
Finance team
Headquarters
Philadelphia, US
Industry
Technology
Use cases
  • P&L Reporting
  • OPEX Planning
  • Headcount Planning
Implementation time
Integrations with

At a glance

  • The dbt Labs team overcame scalability and data accuracy issues by transitioning from Google Sheets to Pigment.
  • They needed a flexible solution that could scale effectively with a fast-changing business in a fast-changing macro environment.
  • They chose Pigment, impressed by its integration and scenario analysis capabilities.

Founded in 2016, dbt Labs is a tech company based in Philadelphia and the creator of dbt (data build tool), an open-source tool that enables data analysts and engineers to manage data in their warehouses more efficiently and collaboratively. 

“I’ve done several EPM implementations over the last decade of my career, and every time we’ve had a solution that wasn’t nimble enough to meet the business needs. That’s what pushed us to Pigment. Being a data transformation company, our ethos of bringing data together really aligns to what Pigment does.”

 Sarah Riley, Head of Finance & Strategy, dbt Labs  

Retiring the spreadsheet

Before Pigment, the finance team were being held back by their use of spreadsheets.

"We were doing everything on Google Sheets, and the difficulty in managing the data flow, it fell out of being current/accurate really quickly, it was really manual, and with the pace of growth the team was experiencing, it wasn’t going to scale for our financial planning needs."

 Sarah Riley, Head of Finance & Strategy, dbt Labs  

Why Pigment?

dbt Labs needed an effective solution that would not only accommodate their growing needs but also streamline their operations, particularly in workforce planning. Pigment stood out for the following reasons:

  • Scalability: Being a growing business, dbt Labs required a tool that could grow along with it. Pigment provided a solution that removed the limitations they were experiencing with Google Sheets.
  • Real-time data: One of the standout offerings of Pigment was the ability to track the progress of different teams in real-time, ensuring interventions could be made where required.
  • Data accuracy: The complexities of managing multiple spreadsheets often give rise to errors. Pigment eliminated this risk with an all-in-one, automated platform.
  • Scenario planning: dbt Labs needed the ability to rapidly spin up and explore business scenarios.
“The ability to take a baseline and play through multiple different scenarios and get back to your executive teams with the implications quickly is really important. It’s an exciting time to be in finance, because we’re offering more value.”

 Sarah Riley, Head of Finance & Strategy, dbt Labs  

The result

Before Pigment, updating Google Sheets took days of team members’ time just to analyze progress against the plan. Now, dbt Labs has seamless data flow, particularly around workforce planning. That means they’re able to check in before the end of quarter to help teams hit their goals, rather than waiting until they’re near the finish line.

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