Value Distribution and Spread in Budgeting and Business Planning Software

When working through a budget cycle, finance and operations teams need to be able to distribute values across different hierarchies and dimensions.

Speed and efficiency in the data entry process helps cut down the time it takes to finish a budget process. A good budgeting solution allows users to key in a value and the system automatically calculates its distribution based on user defined allocation patterns.

Board's cutting-edge data entry capabilities allows for great flexibility in data entry. In the short videos below, we demonstrate the top-down and bottom-up approach to value distribution, allocation models based value spread, cell freezing, and reverse algorithm.

At the very basic data entry functionality, Board allows users to simply override the content of a single cell and recalculate the vertical and horizontal totals to reflect the change. The change can also be made to the total cell and Board will apportion the amount across the cells, vertically or horizontally, making up that total based on the current distribution.

The cell-locking feature in Board allows users to select a range of cells and lock them so they are excluded from distribution. When a total is changed, Board will distribute values vertically or horizontally among the rest of the cells excluding the locked cells.

Board helps speed up data entry with copy and paste functionality over a cell or a range of cells. Users can also copy data from an Excel spreadsheet and paste it into Board's planning grid.

Other time saving data entry tips that we show in this video include using the > < to apply changes to subsequent cells, applying + or - percentage change, and using abbreviations such as K or M for thousands and millions.

This function speeds up data entry by allowing users to select a range of cells and modify their value, such as the total, add, subtract, multiply, divide, percentage growth, etc., impacting only the selected range.

The direct and reverse algorithm functionality in Board saves users a lot of time especially when there are a number of calculations involved. Board computes all the calculations necessary and applies the change in no time.

In the example we demonstrate in this video, the user makes a change to the budget vs actual variance and Board recalculates the budget according to the set distributions. Cell locking is also available in this case allowing users to make more targeted adjustments.

To support the planning and budgeting cycles, Board allows users to add notes, commentary, and attach files to any cell in the grid. The granularity of the level at which commentary can be stored can be customised by the system administrator.

Board allows storing of standard file formats such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, or PDF. Another useful attachment is audio files such as MP3 files that allow users to record commentary or detailed notes about their contributions to the planning process.