Monthly Roll Forward (Forecast)

 

🔄 Monthly Roll Forward in PlanGuru

In PlanGuru, Actual Results refer to months of realized financial performance within the first projected year of your scenario.

• Historicals = prior years’ results.

• Actuals = current year results, month by month.

This distinction matters because each has its own functionality in PlanGuru.

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1️⃣ Why Use Actuals?

Actual results can be used to:

• Perform Budget vs. Actual variance reporting.

• Replace projected amounts with realized values in a Rolling Forecast.

 

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2️⃣ Importing or Entering Actuals

You can load actuals into PlanGuru using:

• QuickBooks Online integration

• Xero integration

• Excel import

Alternatively, actuals can be manually entered:

• Go to the Actuals tab.

• Enter monthly values directly.

 

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3️⃣ How Actuals Work

• Imported/entered actuals live in the Actual Results tab.

• They are a stand-alone dataset.

• Projection methods are not available here, since actuals are realized values, not forecasted ones.

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4️⃣ Using Monthly Roll Forward

To incorporate actuals into your forecast:

1. Go to Utilities.

2. Select Monthly Roll Forward.

3. Choose a new Forecast Month.

Example:

• If you set February as the Forecast Month:

  • January projections are replaced with January actuals.

  • Projections from February onward are updated based on realized performance.

⚠️ Important: Rolling forward will overwrite your original projections for past months.

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5️⃣ Preserving Your Original Budget

To avoid losing your original plan, use the Archive Budget feature:

• Archiving saves a copy of your original full-year budget.

• You can maintain access to that static budget while still running rolling forecasts.

🎥 Watch the Archive Budget tutorial for details.

 

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6️⃣ Best Practice Workflow

If using PlanGuru for both budgeting and forecasting:

1. Archive your budget for the year before rolling forward.

2. Each month:

   • Import actuals.

   • Push them into your forecast via Monthly Roll Forward.

   • Perform Budget vs. Actual reviews using reports or the Advanced Reporting Excel Add-in.

This ensures you have both:

• A static original budget.

• A dynamic rolling forecast updated with actuals.