Skip to main content
Budget vs. actuals analysis compares a locked budget scenario with actuals from Main. Use it after monthly close to understand where performance differed from plan and which assumptions need attention.

​
Step 1: Lock your budget

Your budget lives in a scenario. Lock it before running BvA so later Main updates and team edits do not change the comparison baseline.
1

Disable updates from Main

In scenario settings, set Pull updates from Main to Disabled. This prevents Main changes and integration sync changes from updating the budget scenario.
2

Prevent edits when needed

If the budget should be read-only, disable editing in scenario settings.
Scenario settings for a budget scenario
You can also use a locked scenario as the budget baseline.

​
Step 2: Set up your actuals

Actuals come from Main and are governed by last close.
1

Open Main

Switch to Main.
2

Set last close

Set last close to the end of the period you are analyzing. For example, to compare January through March, set last close to March.
Last close marker moving through months
3

Review formulas

Confirm that actuals formulas are populating closed months and forecast formulas are taking over after last close.

​
Step 3: Compare budget vs. actuals

You can analyze variances in tables or charts.

​
Create a BvA table

1

Open a model or page table

Open a model or create a Driver table block on a page.
2

Add drivers

Add the drivers you want to include in the BvA.
3

Choose comparison scenarios

Click Customize, select Compare, and choose the budget scenario.
4

Review variance

In comparison view, Variance and Variance % are on by default. You can toggle comparison metrics from the same menu.
5

Choose layout

Show scenarios as rows or columns.
Driver table comparing budget and actuals scenarios

​
Customize variance display

Variance colors follow the driver’s comparison-color setting. For example, expenses usually use a setting where lower values are better, while income usually uses a setting where higher values are better. Variance respects the driver’s abbreviation setting, so thousands and millions display consistently with the rest of the driver table.
Comparison color setting for a variance driver

​
Create a BvA chart

1

Create a chart

Create a Driver charts block on a page.
2

Add drivers

Add the drivers you want to compare.
3

Compare scenarios

Click Compare and select the budget scenario.
4

Choose chart type

Use a line or column chart to show trends.
Chart comparing scenarios over time

​
What’s next