Period
- Requirement
- Required
- Example
- 2026-06
- Purpose
- Aligns budget and actual values
Upload planned and actual values to identify favourable and unfavourable variances across periods, categories, departments, regions, or business units.
VizMint turns budget tables into a visual variance report so managers can see where performance is above plan, below plan, or changing over time.
Supports structured .csv and .xlsx files. Public examples use synthetic data. Review VizMint’s current privacy and retention policy before uploading sensitive information.
Use the fixed preview below to switch between the source spreadsheet and a dashboard sample. Open the full demo in a new tab for every KPI and chart.
Budget vs Actual Dashboard
Interactive preview from the sample budget dataset
Switch preview
Total Records
48
rows in sample
Total Forecast
2,694,055
sum of Forecast
Total Actual
2,684,856
sum of Actual
Bin width 5,000 · 48 observations
Full dashboard with all KPI details and 6 charts is on the demo page.
Open full demoThe sample uses long-format rows with period, category, budget, actual, forecast, and metric type fields. Charts and KPI cards are generated from the same JSON dataset.
Sample totals from 48 records: $2,618,730 budget vs $2,684,856 actual ($66,126 variance, 2.5%), with favourable and unfavourable variance separated by metric type.
Find material variances and interpret them correctly for revenue, expense, headcount, or operational targets.
Financial reporting is useful only when every total can be traced to a defined period, category, and source row. A reliable analysis explains what a number includes, what it excludes, and which decision it supports.
The sample compares $2,618,730 budget with $2,684,856 actuals and separates favourable revenue variance from unfavourable expense variance.
The workflow is designed around clear field requirements, visible formulas, reproducible sample data, and results that reconcile to the spreadsheet.
A budget spreadsheet usually contains the answer to where performance is drifting, but variance is difficult to review row by row. A budget vs actual dashboard calculates differences and organizes them by month, category, team, or business unit.
The result helps decision-makers focus on material variances instead of manually scanning hundreds of cells.
Follow the same dataset from source rows to the generated dashboard preview. The spreadsheet table, KPI cards, and charts all come from one JSON sample, so every visible result can be checked against the source.
The source preview highlights the exact columns and representative rows used in the analysis.
| Period | Quarter | Category | Department | Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-01 | Q3 2025 | Product Revenue | Sales | 75,779 |
| 2025-07-01 | Q3 2025 | Subscription Revenue | Product | 50,294 |
| 2025-07-01 | Q3 2025 | Marketing Spend | Marketing | 19,106 |
| 2025-07-01 | Q3 2025 | Operating Expense | Operations | 39,832 |
| 2025-08-01 | Q3 2025 | Product Revenue | Sales | 72,076 |
The finished example is generated from the sample dataset rather than an unrelated mockup or stock image.
Bin width 5,000 · 48 observations
VizMint works best when every column has one clear heading and each row represents one consistent record.
| Column | Requirement | Example | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Required | 2026-06 | Aligns budget and actual values |
| Category | Required | Marketing | Creates category-level analysis |
| Budget | Required | 12000 | Stores planned value |
| Actual | Required | 13500 | Stores actual value |
| Metric Type | Recommended | Expense | Determines favourable or unfavourable interpretation |
| Department | Optional | Sales | Enables departmental comparison |
| Business Unit | Optional | Enterprise | Enables business-unit comparison |
| Region | Optional | West | Enables regional views |
| Forecast | Optional | 12800 | Adds forecast comparison |
| Currency | Recommended | USD | Identifies currency |
Sum of planned values.
Sum of actual values.
Difference between actual and budget.
Variance relative to budget.
Most positive variance after metric-type interpretation.
Most negative variance after interpretation.
Count of departments exceeding expense budgets.
Revenue categories below target, when applicable.
| Chart or Output | Required Fields | Business Question |
|---|---|---|
| Budget vs Actual Grouped Chart | Period or category, budget, actual | Where are results above or below plan? |
| Variance Trend | Period, variance | Is performance moving closer to plan? |
| Variance by Category | Category, budget, actual | Which categories explain the gap? |
| Variance Waterfall | Category, variance | How do individual variances create the total difference? |
| Department Comparison | Department, budget, actual | Which teams are over or under plan? |
| Forecast vs Budget vs Actual | Period, forecast, budget, actual | How do plans and expected results compare? |
Use clear headers, one record per row, consistent dates, and numeric values stored as numbers.
Select the CSV or Excel file using the page’s upload control.
For multi-sheet workbooks, choose the sheet containing the relevant data table.
Review the detected fields and map any column VizMint could not identify confidently.
Check dates, numbers, categories, missing values, and record counts before generation.
Create the supported dashboard, report, presentation, chart, or answer.
Review calculations and limitations, then save, share, or export using the options available in the active plan.
| Metric | Formula or Method | Required Fields | Important Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Variance | Actual − budget | Budget and actual | The sign alone does not indicate favourable or unfavourable. |
| Variance Percentage | (Actual − budget) ÷ budget × 100 | Budget and actual | Do not calculate when budget is zero. |
| Expense Favourability | Budget − actual | Metric type = expense | Actual below budget is usually favourable. |
| Revenue Favourability | Actual − budget | Metric type = revenue | Actual above budget is usually favourable. |
| Forecast Variance | Actual − forecast | Forecast and actual | Requires aligned periods and definitions. |
| Problem | Recommended Fix |
|---|---|
| Budget and actual periods do not match | Standardize month, quarter, or fiscal period labels. |
| Revenue and expense rows use the same interpretation | Add a metric-type column. |
| Zero budget creates misleading percentages | Display absolute variance and mark percentage as unavailable. |
| Reforecast values overwrite the original budget | Keep Budget and Forecast in separate fields. |
| Totals are duplicated | Remove subtotal rows before upload. |
| Department names vary | Normalize names before comparison. |
Available options depend on the live VizMint plan. The final page should list only verified capabilities, such as saving the analysis, downloading chart images, exporting PDF or PowerPoint files, creating a shareable link, refreshing with updated data, or removing branding on eligible plans.
Do not publish a plan comparison until product and billing owners confirm every feature.
VizMint analyzes exports; it does not replace the accounting, CRM, help-desk, HR, warehouse, advertising, or project-management system that produced them.
Upload a structured CSV or Excel file, review the detected fields, and generate the workflow-specific output described on this page.