> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.runway.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Budget vs. actuals
> Compare your planned budget with actuals—so you can track accuracy, spot trends, and refine future forecasts.
By default, when you create a scenario in Runway, it will inherit changes from the Main scenario. For example, this means a driver created in Main will get pushed to every branch.
In Runway, you can lock different versions of your budget as reference points by disabling updates from Main, allowing you to compare them to actuals as new data comes in.
This guide walks you through:
* Preparing your budget (by locking [scenarios](https://docs.runway.com/concepts/scenarios)).
* Setting up actuals using your `Last Close` date.
* Creating a BvA comparison using tables and charts.
## Step 1: Lock your budget
Your budget lives in scenarios—separate versions of your model representing different forecasts.
Before tracking BvA, you need to lock your budget scenarios so they don’t change. To do this:
1. Disable auto-updates from main to unplug the scenario from the main scenario:
* In the scenarios list, click the Settings icon next to your scenario’s name.
* Disable `Pull updates from Main`.
* This prevents changes from main scenario and integration syncs from affecting your budget.
2. Prevent user edits for added security (optional):
* Set `Editing` to `Disabled` in Scenario Settings.
* This blocks accidental changes from your team.
* If changes are needed later, you can temporarily enable `Editing`, make adjustments, then disable editing again.
## Step 2: Set up your actuals
Your planned budget now lives in a locked scenario, while actuals come from live data in your main scenario.
To ensure that actuals reflect finalized numbers:
1. Open main scenario.
2. Set `Last close` date to the end of the time period you’re analyzing.
* For example: To compare budget vs. actuals for January–March, set `Last close` to March.
* This tells Runway to pull actual values for closed months, while calculating future values using forecast [formulas](https://docs.runway.com/concepts/drivers/drivers-basics#driver-formulas).
## Step 3: Compare Budget vs. Actuals
You can analyze variances between budget and actuals using tables or charts.
### Option 1: Create a BvA table
1. Open a model or create a `Driver table` in any page.
2. Add the drivers you want to include in your BvA.
3. Click `Customize` (top right) → Select `Compare` → Choose budget scenarios.
4. The default view shows time-series values for each scenario. You can add `Variance` and `Variance %` to track the difference between budget and actuals.
5. You can also adjust the table layout to show scenarios as rows or columns.
**Customizing variance colors**
* By default, if actuals exceed budget, `Variance` and `Variance %` appear green. If actuals fall short, they’ll appear red.
* To customize variance color right-click on a driver, click `Format and display` → `Comparison color `and choose Positive variance is green or Positive variance is red
* The Comparison color menu is only available when Comparison view is on for a driver table
* Typically for expenses, Positive variance is red (lesser values are better) and for income, Positive variance is green (greater values are better)
### Option 2: Create a BvA chart
1. Create a `Driver chart` in any **page**.
2. Add the relevant drivers.
3. Click the `Compare` icon (top right) → Select budget scenarios to compare.
4. Choose a line or column chart to visualize trends.
