Overview
When working with Castaway you will regularly encounter three terms: Projected, Budget and Forecast. This article explains what each term means, how data is organised around them and how they relate to one another.
Summary
| Report on | Type | Data Layers |
| Projected | Live view of your data | Combined projected and actuals data layers, determined by the Active Actuals Month (AAM) selection, with your projection starting from your opening balances |
| Budget | Snapshot | Your actuals and projected data locked in place for reporting and comparison, typically done at the start of the period without actuals |
| Forecast | Snapshot | A secondary snapshot updated with your latest actuals and projected data part of the way through the budget cycle |
Projected
Projected is the live view of your data at any point in time, this is the default view. When you run any report in Projected mode, actuals values for past periods are shown together with the latest future numbers taken directly from the element data entry screens. The boundary between actuals and projected data is determined by your Active Actuals Month (AAM) setting.
The Projected view updates automatically as you import new actuals or make changes to your elements. Think of it as your latest view of the truth.
The Snapshots - Budget & Forecast
Snapshots are a locked copy of your Projected data saved at a specific point in time. Once saved, a snapshot is not affected by changes to your projected data or Active Actuals Month. Castaway supports two snapshot types per financial year: Budget and Forecast. Both are functionally identical in how they are created and stored - the distinction is in how and when they are used, and how they are labelled in variance reports.
Budget
The Budget is a snapshot saved at the start of the financial year, representing the official plan for the coming year. It generally does not change once set. For at least the first part of the year you would typically run variance reports comparing Actuals against Budget.
Forecast
The Forecast cannot be saved until at least one Budget has been saved first.
The Forecast is intended as a second snapshot saved later in the financial year, reflecting updated targets and expectations as business conditions change. It allows you to revise your goals without overwriting the Budget, so you can run variance reports against either the Budget or the Forecast. In practise, you can use this secondary slot however you need to.
Uses
| Snapshot Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Start of year planning | Save a Budget to lock in your official plan for the year and use it as the comparison point in variance reports. |
| Mid-year reforecast | Save a Forecast once business conditions have changed to revise your targets without overwriting the Budget. |
| Scenario tracking | Use the two snapshots to track two different scenarios, a baseline versus stretch target, or a business as usual view versus a BAU plus strategies view. |
| Year end | Save a Forecast towards the end of the year to preserve your current Budget for ongoing variance reporting while you begin building and saving a new Budget for the coming year. |
Further Reading
- Saving a Budget or Forecast
- Correcting a Saved Budget or Forecast
- FAQ: My Budget / Forecast is the Same as my Actuals Data?
If you need any assistance please contact our support team at: support@castawayforecasting.com