Better budgeting with Business Analyze for SuperOffice
“We’re having our quarterly management meeting next Friday. Can you give an updated sales budget report?”
This sounds like a simple request, but if the thought of pulling the necessary facts and figures together sounds as much fun as pulling teeth, then there is help at hand.
Traditionally, budget reports are created by extracting SuperOffice sales data and making spreadsheet comparisons. This gets the job done, but it also take time. Figures change quickly and there’s no guarantee that what you present next Friday will be up to date. If a large deal closes, you want the tables and charts to reflect the real numbers.
The other way to report, is to use budgeting dashboards. Updated sales data from SuperOffice is pulled into graphs or charts and compared to budget for selected time periods, people or parts of the organization. Bring your PC into the meeting, login to Business Analyze, to share the reports.
Read on to find out how it works:
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Input your budget
Input budget per person under ‘budget’. People’s names and their place in the organization structure are based on information already entered in ‘company contacts’. You do not have to repeat the process.
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Compare actual to budget for a specific period
The graph ‘sales vs. budget’ will automatically update with your figures. Sales is composed of two elements: 1) the prognosis, which is total amount in the pipeline for the period, and 2) the amount that has been registered as ‘sold’. This is normally defined as the last stage of the pipeline.
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Check the long-term trend
Some salespeople can be overly optimistic and think they will sell more than expected. If you chart percent of budget achieved over a longer period, such as several months, it’s easier see if there is consistent under -budgeting or over budgeting and adjust forecasts accordingly.
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Spot the outliers
If there is a large variance between sales and budgeted, you probably want to do something about it. By clicking on the graphs, you can explore underlying data case-by- case. This makes it easier to review cases with sales reps. If the reports show you are well ahead of budget, share the excitement with your colleagues and enjoy the feeling of success a little longer.
What other tricks do you have to manage budgets? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch.
