Accounting · head to head
Causal vs Netvisor
Causal
Accounting
Formula-based financial planning and modelling, now sold as Lucanet xP&A
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Netvisor
Accounting
Finnish cloud accounting and payroll with pricing built from a base fee plus per transaction charges
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Netvisor has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Causal causal was acquired by Lucanet on 31 October 2024 and the independent brand has been retired in favour of Lucanet xP&A, so the roadmap, support and pricing you buy are Lucanet’s and not the ones the product built its reputation on.; Netvisor pricing is a base fee plus a charge per sales invoice, per purchase invoice, per payslip and per other transaction, so a company with high document volumes pays a bill that scales with trading activity and cannot be budgeted as a fixed monthly cost.
- They diverge on capability: Causal covers Variable-based modelling, Netvisor covers Finnish general ledger.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Causal and Netvisor actually diverge.
Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Causal
- Variable-based modelling
- Dimensional breakdowns
- Scenario and range inputs
- Actuals integration
- Interactive dashboards
- Version history
- Spreadsheet import
- Workforce and headcount planning
Only in Netvisor
- Finnish general ledger
- Value added tax reporting
- Bank connections
- Electronic invoicing
- Purchase invoice workflow
- Sales invoicing
- Payroll
- Incomes register reporting
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Causal
- A finance team whose three-statement Excel model has become too fragile to change safely before every board meetingnot Netvisor
- A company that needs to show a range of outcomes rather than a single forecast, with uncertainty modelled directly in the driversnot Netvisor
- A budget owner outside finance who should adjust hiring or spend assumptions and see the effect without being given edit access to the master spreadsheetnot Netvisor
- A group already running Lucanet for consolidation and reporting that wants planning on the same platform rather than a separate toolnot Netvisor
Netvisor
- A Finnish company whose accounting firm works in Netvisor and wants the client approving purchase invoices in the same systemnot Causal
- A Finnish employer needing payroll that handles collective agreement terms and reports to the incomes register on timenot Causal
- A business receiving and sending structured e-invoices with Finnish counterparties that require themnot Causal
- A Finnish accounting practice standardising clients on one system with a shared role model rather than one instance per clientnot Causal
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Causal
- Causal was acquired by Lucanet on 31 October 2024 and the independent brand has been retired in favour of Lucanet xP&A, so the roadmap, support and pricing you buy are Lucanet’s and not the ones the product built its reputation on.
- Self-serve pricing is gone: the old causal.app pricing page now redirects to a Lucanet solution page, so what was a transparent product you could sign up for is an enterprise sales conversation with no published rate.
- The variable-based model is a genuine departure from spreadsheet thinking, so an accountant fluent in Excel must relearn how to express a model, and the team members who could previously all edit the forecast often cannot at first.
- Deep Excel compatibility is limited by design; complex existing workbooks with macros, circular references or heavy lookups do not import cleanly and have to be rebuilt, which turns a tool evaluation into a modelling project.
- Consolidation, statutory reporting and multi-entity currency handling are weaker than in dedicated corporate performance management suites, so a group with several legal entities usually needs Lucanet’s other modules alongside it, raising the real cost well past the planning tool alone.
Netvisor
- Pricing is a base fee plus a charge per sales invoice, per purchase invoice, per payslip and per other transaction, so a company with high document volumes pays a bill that scales with trading activity and cannot be budgeted as a fixed monthly cost.
- It serves Finland, so the tax and payroll logic is useless to entities filing elsewhere, and a Nordic group ends up running a different system in each country even where they belong to the same corporate family.
- The interface, help material and support operate in Finnish, so a foreign owned subsidiary needs a Finnish speaking bookkeeper or accounting firm to operate it and cannot supervise it directly from head office.
- Finnish payroll requires collective agreement terms to be configured correctly, and getting holiday pay, supplements and shift rules right is specialist work usually done by a partner, so payroll implementation is a paid project rather than a setup wizard.
- Because most deployments come through an accounting firm, the practical service you receive depends on that firm's competence with the product, and changing accountant can mean changing system or inheriting a configuration nobody documented.
Pricing, plan by plan
Causal
On request- Lucanet xP&A (formerly Causal)$undefined/year
- Variable-based planning models with dimensions and scenarios
- Actuals integration from accounting, CRM and warehouse sources
- Interactive dashboards for non-finance stakeholders
Netvisor
Free- Starter$25/month
- Basic accounting, 1000 transactions, invoicing, payroll for 1 person
- Basic$25/month
- Basic accounting plus invoicing, 2.06 euros per invoice item, unlimited users, email support
- Core$25/month
- All Basic features, invoices included in monthly cost
- Professional$25/month
- All Core features, broadest software interface, budgeting, reporting, forecasting, purchase and sales orders
Which should you pick?
Choose Causal if
- You need variable-based modelling.
- You also want dimensional breakdowns.
Choose Netvisor if
- You need finnish general ledger.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want value added tax reporting.
Questions people ask
- Is Causal or Netvisor better?
- Neither clearly leads. Causal starts at On request and Netvisor at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Causal or Netvisor?
- Netvisor has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Causal and Free for Netvisor.
- Does Causal or Netvisor run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Netvisor for free?
- Yes. Netvisor has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Causal starts at On request.
- What is Causal best used for?
- Causal is most often used for a finance team whose three-statement excel model has become too fragile to change safely before every board meeting, a company that needs to show a range of outcomes rather than a single forecast, with uncertainty modelled directly in the drivers, a budget owner outside finance who should adjust hiring or spend assumptions and see the effect without being given edit access to the master spreadsheet, a group already running lucanet for consolidation and reporting that wants planning on the same platform rather than a separate tool. Of those, a finance team whose three-statement excel model has become too fragile to change safely before every board meeting and a company that needs to show a range of outcomes rather than a single forecast, with uncertainty modelled directly in the drivers are not what Netvisor is typically brought in for.
- What can Causal do that Netvisor cannot?
- Causal covers Variable-based modelling, Dimensional breakdowns, Scenario and range inputs, Actuals integration. Netvisor covers Finnish general ledger, Value added tax reporting, Bank connections, Electronic invoicing.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Causal: Does Causal still exist?
The product does, as Lucanet xP&A. The independent Causal brand and self-serve offering have been retired following the October 2024 acquisition.
Netvisor: Is Netvisor usable outside Finland?
Not as a compliance system. The value is the Finnish tax, banking, e-invoicing and payroll logic. Companies filing elsewhere should look at the local product in the Visma range or another local vendor.
Causal: What does it cost now?
Nothing is published. The former pricing page redirects to Lucanet, and the product is quoted as part of the Lucanet CFO Solution Platform.
Netvisor: Why is the pricing structured per transaction?
It reflects a Finnish market convention where the accounting firm's fee also scales with document volume. It means a low volume company pays very little and a high volume one pays a great deal, so estimate your annual invoice and payslip counts before comparing headline prices.
Causal: Can I import my existing Excel model?
Simple workbooks import. Models with macros, circular references or heavy lookup chains have to be rebuilt around named variables, which is the real migration cost.
Netvisor: Can my accounting firm work in it with me?
Yes, that is the intended model. The practice and the client share one instance with different roles, so the firm does the bookkeeping while you approve purchase invoices and issue sales invoices.
Causal: Is it a replacement for a consolidation tool?
No. It plans and forecasts. Statutory consolidation and multi-entity reporting sit in Lucanet’s other modules.
Netvisor: Does it handle payroll for collective agreements?
It supports Finnish collective agreement based payroll, but configuring the specific agreement terms correctly is expert work normally done during a paid implementation. Do not assume payroll is switched on the same week as accounting.
Netvisor: What about the incomes register?
Reporting earnings to the national incomes register within the statutory deadline is built in, which is one of the main reasons Finnish employers use a local product rather than an international one.
Netvisor: Is it a full ERP?
It includes inventory and fixed assets alongside the ledger, which covers a good deal of a small distributor's needs, but it is a financial management system rather than a manufacturing or full supply chain ERP.
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