15 Things You Can’t Do in Excel for Budgeting #4
You can’t have a "watch box" -- an on screen running total comparison of the budget versus other benchmarks.
Most of the organizations we talk to tell us that even before the budget process begins, the President or Senior Staff has some type of target in mind. It might be as simple as keeping costs flat versus the last year… or taking a 1% haircut from last year’s Budget or whatever it might be. What you want to do is put that target right on the screen so people won’t forget about it, and so that can see – in real time – the impact of the decisions they’re making against that target. They might want to increase spending in one area, but take it down elsewhere all the while keeping track of the target.
Having more than one comparison on the screen in Excel just isn’t practical. The screen gets too busy and confusing. Apart from that, loading those comparisons in and setting up the variance calculations run a high risk of human error. So that’s why this type of “watch box” isn’t normally part of a budget template – although it should be.
To see a “watch box” in action, click on the video. As always, comments are encouraged.
Lawrence Serven
Founder
XLerant, Inc.
www.XLerant.com