Driver Based Planning
Driver Based Planning Screen
The default planning screen is divided into three sections. The Method and X, X% are for Driver Based Planning. More planning drivers can be access in the Driver popup. The Baseline Plan column is the full-year estimate for the version being planned. The full-year estimate is compared to the full-year estimate of other versions to calculate the variance and percentage change in the account. The full-year estimate is phased across the planning months using a Phasing Driver. The actual months are shown in the grey columns. On the rows are the Planning Accounts depending on what is being planned, revenue, expenses, or balance sheet accounts.
For Expense Planning, expenses may be planned as positive or negative numbers. The expenses are then converted to negative numbers when submitted to the Profit and Loss report.
Driver Based Planning for Revenue Planning and Expense Planning is for a full-year estimate of the account which is then phased over the planning months. Driver Based Planning for Balance Sheet Planning is an estimate of the closing balance of the account. The movement is calculated from the opening balance less the estimated closing balance. There is no phasing for Balance sheet planning.
Version and Year Filters
The selected Version is the version that is being planned. There can be more than one plan version. The number of planned versions and the purpose of each planning version is set by the FPM Module Administrator.
Each version will have a start year and can include one or more future years that are to be planned. The planning start year and the number of years to plan is set by the FPM Module Administrator. This information can be viewed in the Version Parameters popup found on the toolbar.
Driver based planning is completed in 12-monthly increments. For Revenue and Expense Planning, the Planning Driver calculates a full-year estimate for the account. The full-year estimate is then phased across the remaining planning months within the 12-month period. Some Planning Driver Methods, allow data entry of the monthly amount and are the exception to the 12-month Planning Driver rule.
There is no phasing for Balance Sheet Planning. Most of the Planning Drivers for Balance Sheet planning calculate the closing balance to end of the year. The movement is calculated from the opening balance less the estimated closing balance. However, some Planning Drivers allow the Balance Sheet account to be planned as a movement.
The first planning year is made up of Actual and Planning months. Actual months are months that have passed. The value of an Actual month is derived from the trial balance that has been loaded by the FPM Module Administrator. Actual months are indicated by the grey colour monthly columns in the Monthly Phasing widget. The Phasing Drivers used in the first planning year considers, the year-to-date Actual and phases the remaining full-year amount over the remaining Planning months.
Months Filter
The Months filter changes the number of months that are displayed in the Monthly Phasing widget.
Planning Account Filter
The Planning Chart of Accounts is divided into three parts: Revenue Planning accounts, Expense Planning accounts and Balance Sheet Planning accounts. Depending on what is being planned, the Plan Account filter will show the accounts for the plan. Selecting a node in the Plan Account filter will show the accounts under the selected account node in the Driver and Phasing widgets.
Select Segments Filter
Planning is done by Business Segments. Depending on how ApliqoFPM is implemented, up to four Business Segments can be used for Revenue Planning, Expense Planning and Balance Sheet Planning. Different Business Segments can be used for Revenue Planning, Expense Planning and Balance Sheet Planning. If a Business Segment is not used, then the non-applicable business segment is used for that Business Segment. The segments that are being used for planning is defined by the FPM Module Administrator.
The FPM Module Administrator can create Business Segment Groups that reflect how the organisation is to plan. The Select Segments filter changes the Company filter and Business Segments filter to the relevant companies and planning business segments for the selected Segment Group. To start planning, select the segment group from the Select Segment filter. Then select the company and business segment that is to be planned from the Company filter and Business Segments filter. Planning is done at the lowest level of the Company and Business Segment hierarchy.
Comparison Filter
The Driver widget compares the full-year estimate with the full-year estimates of other versions. Variances and percentage change to the comparison version is calculated. The FPM Module Administrator defines what versions are to be compared for a given planning version. Multiple comparisons can be defined for the planning version. The Comparisons shown in the Driver widget can be changed using the Comparison filter.
Driver Based Planning
Driver Based Planning is using a driver that calculates the full-year estimate for the account. To set a Driver for an account, pick the appropriate Driver Method from the drop-down menu in the Method column. Many driver methods allow the Planner to change the base calculation by a whole amount or a percentage change. The amount of the change can be entered in the X, X% column. Important to note is that percentage changes are entered as whole numbers. A negative amount reduces the base amount.
In the above example, for account 5010 – Salaries, a driver method of “Previous Year Estimate plus X%” has been selected and a percentage change of -1%. The Baseline Plan result is 99% of previous year’s full year estimate.
There are five groups of Driver Methods that can be used for planning.
Driver Methods that set the full-year estimate for the account. The full-year estimate can be set as a full-year target using the Full Year Entry driver method. Or entered by month using the Entry per Month or Month Entry Per Item driver methods.
Drivers based on another version or estimate. The Previous Year Estimate plus X driver method uses the previous year’s full-year estimate for a given version. The Current Year Estimate plus X% driver method uses the full-year estimate of another version for a given year.
Based on another account or statistic. The % of Reference Account driver method uses another account within the same year and version for the basis of the driver method calculation.
Driver Methods that are based on the monthly moving average of the account. The moving average is calculated from the last Actual Month for the planning version.
Based on another module of ApliqoFPM. ApliqoFPM has separate sub-modules for Workforce Planning, Travel and Entertainment Expenses and Marketing Campaigns. The results of these modules must be linked to the account using the appropriate driver method for the sub-modules to form part of the plan.
For more information on specific Driver Methods go to Apliqo Settings > Planning > Planning Profiles and Methods > Planning Methods.
For Revenue and Expense Planning, the full-year estimate is phased across the Planning months for the year using a Phasing Driver.
There are three different types of Phasing Drivers.
Static Phasing Drivers are standard phasing drivers. The Even Phasing driver spreads the full-year estimate evenly over the planning months. The Working Days phasing driver spreads the full-year estimate based on the number of working days in the month.
Phasing based on another version’s monthly amounts. The Last Year Actual phasing driver phases the full-year estimate in the same proportions as the last full-year actual monthly amounts. The Current Year Budget phasing driver phases the full-year estimate in the same proportion as the Final Budget for the same year.
Custom phasing for the year. The Planner can enter the desired monthly phasing for the account.
For more information on specific Phasing Drivers go to Apliqo Settings > Planning > Planning Profiles and Methods > Seasonality.
The first planning year is made up of Actual Months and Plan Months. Actual months are months that have passed. The value of an Actual month is derived from the trial balance that has been loaded by the FPM Module Administrator. Actual months are indicated by the grey colour monthly columns in the Monthly Phasing widget. The Plan Months are the remaining months of the year that the remaining full-year estimate is to be phased across. The remaining full-year estimate is the full-year estimate calculated by the Driver Method less the year-to-date amount of the Actual months for the account.
Driver Popup
Some Driver Methods may have additional parameters that are used to calculate the full-year estimate. Additional parameters can be set in the Driver popup.
Across the top of the Driver Popup is the year, company, business segment that is being planned. If you are planning multiple years, the Year can be changed.
The next section is the Planning Drivers for the account. If the account does not have a Planning Method set, only the Planning Method field is available. Selecting a Planning Method will make available the parameters for the driver method.
In the example above, the % of Reference Account driver method has been selected. This has revealed the Reference Account, Reference Business Segment, the Input Value, the Phasing and Rounding Unit fields in the Driver popup. The Reference account can be selected from the drop-down menu. The list of Reference Accounts is set by the FPM Module Administrator. The Reference Business Segments can be selected. If the Reference Business Segments are not selected, then the reference amount is relative to the Business Segment that is being planned. The Input Value is the percentage of the reference account’s full-year estimate. Important to note is the percentage amounts are entered as a whole number. 60% of the Reference Account is entered as 60 in the Input Value field. The Phasing is how the full-year estimate is to be phased over the Planning Months. The Rounding Unit sets the significance of the monthly amount.
Depending on the Driver Method you may see the reference account’s planning drivers.
The Monthly Phasing section is the monthly amounts for the account. If the Driver Method is Entry Per Month, the monthly amounts can be entered here. Monthly amounts can also be entered in the Phasing widget in the planning page.
The final section is for any comments for the account being planned.
Monthly Detail Popup
If the Driver Method is Month Entry Per Item, the Detail Popup icon is available for the account.
The Detail Popup allows for the entry of itemised expenses or revenue and their expected monthly cost. For each Actual month the itemised expenses or revenue is overwritten with zeros as they no longer apply to the account.
Set Planning Driver Popup
The Set Planning Driver is a powerful tool to quickly set the planning drivers for multiple years, business segments and accounts.
The Set Planning Drivers popup is divided into three sections. Where the planning drivers are to be applied. How are the planning drivers being filtered. And the planning drivers that are to be seeded.
The first section is where the planning drivers are to be applied. This is a combination of the selected years, business segments and accounts. The current year, business unit and account consolidation that is being planned is the default year, business segment and account in the Set Planning Drivers process. Multiple selections can be made from the drop-down menu for the year, business segment and account. If a consolidated business segment or accounts is selected, the members of that consolidation will be evaluated by the Set Planning Driver process.
The second section is how the Planning Drivers are to be filtered.
There are three filter options.
Set All Drivers option will seed all the planning drivers for all combinations of years, business segments and accounts that has been selected in the first section of the Set Planning Drivers. The Set All Drivers option mode should be used with the most restrictive selection of years, business segment and account combinations.
Replace Existing Drivers option will seed the Planning Drivers for all combinations of year, business segment and account that already have a Planning Method or Phasing. This is the best option to convert the existing driver method to the Entry per Month driver method. The current monthly amounts will also be converted to maintain the full-year estimate of the account.
Filter by Version and Year option will seed the selected Planning Drivers for all combinations of year, business segments and account where the Reference Version and Reference Year has a Planning Driver already seeded. This filter is best used with the Previous Year Estimate plus X or Previous Year Estimate plus X% as only accounts in the previous year that have a non-zero movement need to be planned with this Driver Method. In this case the Filter Year would be the previous year to the year being processed. The Filter Version would be the same planning version that is being planned. If you are using the Previous Estimate plus (X, X%) driver method in the first plan year, the Filter Year should be the first plan year and the Filter Version should be the “Previous Year Actual” version. For the Current Year Estimate plus X and Current Year Estimate plus X% driver methods. Only accounts in the reference version that have non-zero movements need to have this driver method seeded. The Filter Version should be the version used by the Current Year Estimate plus (X, X%) driver method. The Filter Year should be the same as the year being planned.
The final section is what Planning Drivers are to be seeded for the years, business segments and accounts that are evaluated by the Set Planning Drivers process.
The primary Planning Drivers: Method, Phasing and Rounding Unit appear at the end of the Set Planning Driver popup. The drivers are defaulted to No Change. This means the Set Planning Driver process will not change the existing planning driver. Depending on the Method, additional Planning Driver parameters may appear. These can be seeded if required.
In the Set Planning Driver popup, there are Driver Methods and Phasing Drivers that are not Planning Drivers that are available in the Planning page or the Driver popup.
Clear Method and Clear Phasing clear the Driver Method and Phasing for the combination of Year, Business Segment and Account being evaluated.
Use Filter Version and Year Method and Use Filter Version and Year Phasing seeds the combination of Business Segment and Account being evaluated with the same Method and Phasing that is used in the Filter Version and Year. The Filter mode, Filter by Version and Year must be selected to seed these Planning Drivers.
Use Default Driver for the Account and Use Default Phasing seeds the Default Method and Phasing that is defined for the account. If no default method or default phasing is defined for the account, then the existing driver method and phasing is maintained. The default method and default phasing for the account is set by the FPM Module Administrator.
Convert Popup
The Convert popup will change the existing Driver Method to the Entry per Month driver method. The monthly amounts will be maintained and can be changed once the account has been converted.
Submit Plan
Once the Planning Drivers have been set for the year and business segment, the Plan needs to be submitted. The Profit and Loss report is completed when the Revenue Plan and Expense Plan have been submitted. The Balance Sheet and Cash Flow reports is completed when the Profit and Loss report is completed, and the Balance Sheet Plan has been submitted.
Click on the Submit Plan button on the toolbar to submit the Plan.
In the Submit Plan popup, the Year, Company, and Business Segments are defaulted to the current year, company and business segments being planned. More than one year can be submitted by selecting the years to be submitted in the Period From and Period To drop-down menu. Any node in the Business Segment hierarchy can be selected from the Business Segment drop-down menu and submitted. If the Business Segment is not used the NA Business Segment is used.
Workflow
Workflow can be used to keep track of the progress of the planning cycle for Revenue Planning, Expense Planning and Balance Sheet Planning. At the start of the planning cycle the Workflow status is set to Not Started. This is done by the FPM Module Administrator. When planning for the business segment has started the workflow should be changed to In Progress. When the plan has been submitted, the workflow status should be changed to Submitted. The plan needs to be submitted separately to the Workflow as described above. Once submitted the results can be rejected. If the business segment’s results are rejected, the workflow status can be marked as Rejected. The plan needs to be reviewed in the Planning Module and submitted again. Once the plan has been published the workflow status can be set to Approved.
The Workflow button shows the status of the Business Segment being planned. To change the Workflow Status, click on the Workflow button on the toolbar.
In the popup select the Years, and the Business Segments and the Status the workflow is to be set to. Click on Set to change the workflow status.