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- Financial Planning & Analysis
- Who it's for
- Cost center planning
Cost center planning
Organizations that review spending by cost center can build budget plans from line descriptions, categories, quantities and unit rates. The Budget vs Actual page ranks the differences and opens the lines behind a cost center.
How Financial Planning & Analysis is set up for you
Named ownership
Assign each plan to a team member and organization.
Line review
Use actual amount and variance on each line to find the spending question.
Approval
Finance Leader reviews the plan in in review and uses the approval action when ready.
Organizations that review spending by cost center can build budget plans from line descriptions, categories, quantities and unit rates. The Budget vs Actual page ranks the differences and opens the lines behind a cost center.
Choose a budget plan for one organization and term. FP&A Planner enters a Software line and a Personnel line under named cost centers, then compares each planned amount with its actual amount. Keep the plan version visible so the same cost center in a later revision does not confuse the review.
Open Budget vs Actual and ask Finance Leader to follow the highest ranked difference into its plan lines. The line description, category, quantity and rate should explain the planned amount. If a cost center spelling splits the summary, correct the source line before using the result. Agree who supplies actual amounts and reconcile them to the original accounting source.
Once the lines are ready, put the plan in review and have Finance Leader use Approve Plan. Reviewer checks the decision and Succeeded operation receipt against that plan. A repeat approval attempt should produce Skipped while leaving the plan Approved. This gives the pilot a clear test of both a valid decision and a refused repeat.
Features to start with
Roles on the team
- FP&A Planner
- Owns plan preparation and cost center variance review.
- Finance Leader
- Decides whether a plan in review can become approved.
- Period Owner
- Validates and posts accounting periods after reviewing their documents.
Set up Financial Planning & Analysis your way.
Start free, then use Proto to change fields, steps and approvals before your team goes live.