How to get to the variance reports

Once you entered your actuals, go to the report tab in the top menu. Select the report you have entered actuals for and click the 'Show actuals' checkbox.

Understanding the variance reports

These reports follow the exact same structure as the normal forecast reports. Every account is identical - there is just new, additional actual information being displayed.  

Every single row now has a duplicate row underneath for the actual values. This includes account, section and group totals. As you drill into each account line you will see more and more detail until you get the component level of your plan. You'll see the % variance at every level. Use the percentage variance to quickly find areas of the business that are performing better or worse than expected. 

You can also use the quarterly and yearly dropdown to roll up the months and see totals for these periods.

How is the percentage variance calculated?

This is calculated based on the difference between the initial forecast value and the actual value. The percentage will show a + or a - in front of it to show the actual data being either larger or smaller than the initial forecast. The value can also be red or green. Red represents a bad change for the business and green represents a good change.