SI-GL-BT8 Profit and Loss Forecast (budget-based)

Applies to

• Product version: Velixo NX
• ERP: Sage Intacct
• Functional area: Financials, Budgeting, Other
• Plan: Free, Essentials, Professional, Advanced
• Template type: Production Report template

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Applies to
• Description
• Coverage
• Typical audience
• Features
• Preview
• Download this template
• Documentation
  • Filters
  • P&L structure
• User Guide
  • Using the report
  • Using the Control report
  • Understanding the Report Formula
• Customizing the template
  • Reviewing the Options sheet
  • Managing Account Structures
    • Adding New Account Group
    • Removing an Account category
    • Grouping Accounts Groups
    • Using of Account Code/Range
• Version history

Description

The SI-GL-BT8 Profit and Loss Forecast Report (budget-based) is a Velixo financial tool that can project a company's revenue, expenses and net profit over a future period. It provides valuable insights into a company's financial standing and can give clear understanding of expected financial performance, helping to make informed decisions regarding budgeting, resource allocation, and strategic planning.

Note: Two versions of this Report Template are available - one for organizations that use either the General and Services QuickStart template, and one for Not-For-Profit organizations).

The current version of this template is v.1.2.

Coverage

This workbook includes the following sample reports:

• Profit & Loss Forecast: the Profit & Loss forecast report, at the granularity of account categories, and reporting on Actuals and Budget data across MTD, YTD, and monthly movements.

• Control: a control report that can be used to confirm that the data is accurate and balances.

• Options: the report's settings sheet that is used for data validation lists and various lookups and configurations.

• Information: the information sheet of the report, used for storing useful details about the report such as code, version, and the article link in order to keep track of the origin of the report.

Typical audience

The typical users of this type of report are Finance professionals: Accountants, CFOs, Controllers 

Features

The following features are used by this report. To use this report, please ensure that your Velixo license includes all of them, (or contact Support or Sales):

• Financial functions
• List functions

Preview

Download this template

Download (General / Services QuickStart Version)	Download (Not-For Profit QuickStart Version)

Documentation

Navigating and utilizing the SI-GL-BT8 Profit and Loss Forecast Report (budget-based) is a very straightforward process, designed for simplicity, genericity and efficiency. The template comes pre-configured with generic account categories streamlining the reporting process with minimal user effort.

Filters

Located in the upper left of the sheet, the filters include:

• Location: lists all entities present in Sage Instance (excluding groups) including any custom group defined in the options sheet. For ease of use, Velixo shows you the Entity id that you may be familiar with along with the entity name. This Display name is configurable in the Options sheet.
• Department: lists all departments present in Sage Instance (excluding groups) including any custom group defined in the options sheet. For ease of use, Velixo shows you the Department id that you may be familiar with along with the department name. This Display name is configurable in the Options sheet. 
• As of (Period): a date field. Please use the last date of a financial period/month 
• Books: lists every type of books defined in your Sage Instance in a dropdown list. The report defaults to the Accrual book, but user can add more than one book by concatenating books in the filter value. For example: Accrual;GAAP will return amounts for those two books
• Budget ID: for usability purposes, Velixo lists all of your Budget Ids in a dropdown list. Should you want to select more than one, you can also concatenate them in the Filter value field.

P&L structure

Sections: Velixo has thoughtfully structured the P&L using multiple common sections that should be generic, by default. 

The following sections are used by default:

• Revenue
• Cost of Goods Sold
• Operating Expenses
• Non-Operating Expenses
• Other Income / Other Expenses
• Taxes

QuickStart Account Categories: Built on the foundation of Sage Intacct out-of-the-box account categories, the template is ready for use post-ERP implementation. 

Metrics: The report includes the following metrics :

• YTD (Actuals) vs Full Year (Actuals + Budget) vs Full Year Forecast
  • Col F: the turnover from the beginning of the period up to the date specified in the "As of" filter
  • Col G: the total of the Actual and Budget balance from Col K to V
  • Col H: the budget turnover balance for the full year
• Variance (YTD Actuals vs Full Year (Actuals + Budget)) 
  • Variance $: the amount difference between the YTD Actuals and the Full Year Actual + Budget totals
• Monthly Movement (Actuals or Budget)
  • Col K to V: the turnover for the period and can be the Actuals or Budget based on the date specified on the "As of" filter.

User Guide

Using the report

Now that we've covered the report overview, let's dive into a step-by-step guide on effectively utilizing the report.

• Set the Connection Name on the Options Sheet - crucial for all processes, set the Connection Name on the Options sheet by updating cell A2. Ensure it matches the name used during Velixo application login.

• Update the Options Sheet: As the foundation for filters on the Profit and Loss Forecast tab, keep the Options sheet up to date. It should always and automatically capture the latest dimensions and structures from your Sage Intacct instance; however, you can also customize it. 

• Choose Desired Filters - After updating the Options sheet, select desired filters for the report:
  • Location
  • Department
  • As of
  • Books
  • Budget ID

• Automatic Report Update - Selecting any filter will automatically update report balances. Begin analyzing the report with the latest data.

• Validation and analysis: ensure accuracy by verifying balances in the Control sheet. Confirm that differences for each total are zero.

• Variances Investigation: if discrepancies arise between data extracted at the account category and account code levels, conduct a thorough investigation to resolve any differences.

Using the Control report

Committed to upholding data integrity across the report and Sage Intacct, the Control sheet serves as a supplementary component to the primary Profit and Loss Forecast tab. Its purpose is to validate the data extracted by Velixo on an account category basis by cross-referencing it with the extracted balances at the account code level.

Given that the balances of the account codes aggregate to the account category, the Control sheet ensures the absence of discrepancies in the total for each account type. This verification process enhances the reliability and accuracy of the overall financial reporting template.

The Control sheet is divided into three sections:

• Account Code Balance Check: Extracting balances at the account code level to guarantee accurate capture and reconciliation of P&L balances with the account categories listed on the Profit and Loss Forecast tab. The Account code series is highly flexible, and users may adjust the settings to match their specific requirements at any time.
• P&L Balances: Displays total balances from the Profit and Loss Forecast tab for reconciliation with the Account Code balance section.
• Differences: Highlights reconciliatory differences between the Account code and account category sections, marked in red font for investigation

In this P&L summary report, it is crucial that the total balance matches the closing retained earnings for the chosen period. Also, we check for any differences at the overall P&L level, comparing it to the detailed account codes.

If any discrepancies in the report are displayed, it could be caused by a custom structure on the Profit and Loss Forecast tab, missing account categories, renamed account categories or any user customizations. 

To troubleshoot further, you could redownload and reconnect the report to your instance, verify that no account category row returns any error, and perform data validations by comparing this report with Sage Intacct's out-of-the-box financial reports. If you believe the report contains an error, please report it to Velixo Support.

Understanding the Report Formula

Velixo created the template using a combination of Excel functions and Velixo functions for Profit and Loss Forecast report. The report incorporates three primary formulas on the Profit and Loss Forecast tab:

• Account Group Validation
  1. In Column A, a validation formula was used to verify if the account group in Column C exists in Sage Intacct
  2. Invalid values (not in Sage Intacct) return as blank
  3. Ensure continuous use of this formula for any category additions or name changes; a correctly populated formula ensures accurate transaction amounts.

• Account Code Validation
  1. Column B contains a validation formula designed to retrieve mapped account codes to the corresponding QuickStart category in Column C. If no account codes are mapped to the specified QuickStart category in the ERP, it will return a blank value.
  2. The retrieved account codes serve as the foundation for the Transaction Amount calculation formula.
  3. This process exclusively applies to QuickStart categories. If an account group is specified in Column B instead, it will return a blank value, prompting the Transaction Amount formula to reference Column A for calculation purposes.

• Transaction Amount formula
  1. Used in all the transaction columns, this formula’s primary objective is to extract balances for the account categories from Sage Intacct
  2. Velixo functions, specifically SI.BUDGETTURNOVER and SI.TURNOVER, power these columns
  3. To facilitate flawless execution of Velixo functions, an IF statement is strategically placed. 
  4. The validation formulas for account codes and account groups ensures that any invalid inputs result in blanks. The IF statement discerns the validity of the input: if both columns A and B are blank, the transaction amount formula sets the amount to zero. Conversely, if the category is valid and has mapped accounts associated with it, or if the account group is valid within the ERP system, the balance is extracted using the Velixo function.

Customizing the template

Reviewing the Options sheet

The Options tab comprises Sage Intacct dimensions, and other attributes and structures used in the report. This information updates in real-time with Velixo app refresh, facilitating immediate integration of newly added ERP data into the report as filters.

This includes:

• Connection Name
• Location
• Department
• Books
• Fiscal Year Setup
• Budget ID

The Connection Name is subject to variation depending on the user input provided through the Velixo login portal. For convenience, users may add the connection name used on cell A2. This cell has been designated as a named range (Connection), ensuring its automatic application to all formulas throughout the sheet. 

Users can also customize Location and Department dimensions by adding their preferred custom values, using a list and ranges as described in this article.

To do so:

1. collapse the column groups for either the Department or Location. 
2. then simply input the desired values in the Group formula and Custom group name columns, highlighted in light blue for quick identification.

Managing Account Structures

The calculated transaction amounts are determined solely by the account codes mapped to the designated QuickStart category in Column C. This ensures the report is fully ready for use by anyone, 100% out-of-the-box, provided the account codes are accurately linked to the QuickStart category in Sage Intacct.

However, as outlined earlier in this document, users have the flexibility to tailor this report to their specific needs. It is not required but may be useful if the default QuickStart categories don't quite fit the requirements.

• Adding New Account Group

If users desire a structure beyond the provided account categories, they can leverage account groups set up in their ERP instance. However, caution is crucial to avoid overlap between account groups, preventing inaccuracies. Opting for a granular account category list ensures data is accurate.

Users have two options when adding new account structure:

1. Re-purposing an existing Account Category:

• Rename an existing account category line, replacing it with the desired custom account group.
• Ensure exact naming consistency with the ERP instance for Velixo to accurately return amounts.

2. Adding a Row in the Required P&L Section:

• Use Excel functions to add a new row in the desired section.
• Be cautious with formulas in newly added rows; copying from existing rows in the same section ensures accurate results.

• Removing an Account category

While users have the freedom to remove an account category, it's strongly discouraged if you intend on using other account categories in the future. Velixo templates make use of Velixo’s automatic hiding of rows with zero values, which has been configured on the Year-to-Date (YTD) Actual values.

This feature eliminates the need for manual deletions of account category rows and ensures the report remains fully dynamic should usage of account categories change over years or transactions get created against new account categories.

However, if you are certain that some of the standard account categories will not be used by your organization, then feel free to delete them:

• Utilize Excel's delete row function for removal, followed by thorough data validation and reconciliation on the report.
• Always validate data accuracy using the Control sheet.

The user can group multiple account groups into one to create a summary account. Velixo enabled this feature so that user can consolidate similar account groups and present them in the Profit and Loss Forecast report as one category.

• On column C of the Profit and Loss Forecast tab, user can list all the account groups and using the semi-colon ( ; ) delimiter to group them
• If needed, rename the account category on column E showing the consolidation of the account groups listed on column C

Note: User also have the ability to group QuickStart categories to form custom ones. However, currently, merging QuickStart categories with Account Groups is not feasible. This functionality will only be available if the QuickStart category aligns precisely with an account group. Although this is not recommended as it may lead to data inaccuracies.

As an additional feature, Velixo added the ability to use Account Code or Account Code ranges to extract the balance for the category.

• On column D of the Profit and Loss Forecast tab, users can list all the account code or ranges they wish to use or consolidate. Same as account groups, the semi-colon delimiter should be used as well for the groupings.
• If needed, rename the account category on column E showing the consolidation of the account codes listed on Column D

Please note that Account Group and Account Code cannot be used at the same time. If both have values, it will result into calculations errors for the transaction balances. If a structure is not used, make sure to leave one of them at least blank to not cause any errors.

Version history