Accountio / Templates / Software selection / Demo script

Software demo script template for finance systems

Make every shortlisted vendor show the same real finance work, with your data, in the same order and against the clock, so you score what the system does and not the slides. This software demo script template is one Word document with demo rules, the sample data to send, a scoring panel and ten timed scenarios.

Finance teams and practices
Free
In the pack
Finance software selection kit
Files
5, Excel and Word

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What the script looks like

Demo script template
What the script coversSection in the script
How every demo runs
✓
Rules for every demoYour scenarios in your order, no slides after the first 10 minutes, standard product only, and one of your team takes control at least once
What you send the vendor
✓
Sample data we send the vendorA chart of accounts extract, 10 supplier invoices with a duplicate, 5 expense claims, a bank statement and a trial balance for two entities
Who scores
✓
PanelFinance lead, accounts payable, IT and an approver from the business, each with a focus
Paying suppliers
✓
1. Supplier invoice to paymentInvoice capture, coding, purchase order matching, the duplicate, approval on a phone, bank detail changes and the payment file
Expenses and sales
✓
2. Expenses, 3. Sales invoice to cashReceipts on a phone, an over-policy claim, credit notes, allocating one payment to two invoices and reminders
Bank and close
✓
4. Bank reconciliation, 5. Month-end closeBank rules, unmatched items, reversing accruals, prepayments, reconciliations with evidence, revaluation and period locking
Groups and reporting
✓
6. Several entities, 7. ReportingIntercompany recharges and eliminations, a consolidated profit and loss, a new report built by finance and scheduled reports
Controls, data and tax
✓
8. Controls and audit, 9. Integrations and data, 10. Tax and e-invoicingUser access, the audit trail, segregation of duties conflicts, journal imports, failed connections, a full data export, a tax return and an e-invoice
What was not in the edition shown
✓
Questions at the endThree closing questions on add-ons, partner set-up time and simpler scope
Each vendor's best and worst
✓
Panel notesStrongest and weakest scenario for each vendor

When to send it

A demo script is the list of scenarios a vendor must show you, in a set order and time. Send it to each shortlisted vendor with your sample data at least ten working days before the demo, after their answers to your request for information are in. Use this one when:

  • You have shortlisted two or three vendors and need to see them on equal terms
  • Past demos showed polished slides and features you never used
  • Your panel includes people outside finance who approve invoices or claim expenses
  • You run several entities or currencies and need to see intercompany work, not hear about it
  • You want scores for every scenario on the day, not a general impression a week later

How to use the software demo script template

  1. Fill in the type of system and your organisation. Cut any scenario you don't need, such as several entities for a single company.
  2. Prepare the sample data. Use real but anonymised invoices, claims and a bank statement, including the duplicate and the over-policy claim.
  3. Name the panel. Give each person a focus, so every scenario has someone who knows what good looks like.
  4. Send it ten working days ahead. Send the same script and data to every vendor on the shortlist.
  5. Score on the day. Each panel member scores every scenario from 1 to 5 the same day. Enter the average in the selection workbook.

Questions

What is a software demo script?

A document that tells a vendor exactly what to show in a demo, in what order, with what data and in how long. Every vendor follows the same script, so the panel compares like with like.

What is a scripted demo?

A demo where the buyer sets the scenarios instead of the vendor. In this script the vendor uses your sample data, shows only the standard product in the edition proposed and says when something is an add-on, custom work or on the roadmap.

How long should a software demo be?

Long enough to run every scenario you need. The ten scenarios in this script add up to just over two hours, plus 10 minutes of questions at the end. Each scenario has a time limit, and when time runs out you move on and score what you saw.

What sample data should you give a software vendor?

Data that tests real work: a chart of accounts extract with your dimensions, supplier invoices including a foreign currency one and a duplicate, expense claims including one over policy, a month's bank statement and trial balances with intercompany balances.

How do you score a software demo?

Each panel member scores each scenario from 1 to 5 on the day, before the next demo. Record the average for each vendor and use it in the weighted scoring.

Also in the finance software selection kit

Selection workbookRequest for informationReference call questionsImplementation readiness checklist

See the whole pack →

Who it's for

Finance teams and accounting practices running demos for new finance software.

Last checked

Checked in November 2026.