Scenarios

Budgeting Scenario Steps

Please click here for the steps to create proposed amounts for the next fiscal year and click here for the steps for making budget adjustments in the current fiscal year.

The Budgeting module can store multiple scenarios, though generally, a single scenario will be sufficient for the same year.  However, special circumstances may require multiple scenarios based on different assumptions.  For example, you may wish to create a scenario for "Assuming Levy Passes" and another "Assuming Levy Fails".  

Please note that once a scenario is promoted, any successive scenario that is promoted for the same year will remove a prior scenario's proposed amounts. For example, you create a FY23 scenario for HS proposed amounts and promote it. You then promote a FY23 scenario containing elementary proposed amounts. The HS proposed amounts will be removed from the FY23 proposed amounts grid (and if currently in FY22, also be removed from the next year proposed field on the expenditure accounts) and the elementary proposed amounts will be loaded on the proposed amounts grid.  To prevent removal of a same year scenarios proposed amounts, we recommend creating separate worksheets (i.e. HS and Elementary) within the same fiscal year scenario instead creating separate scenarios.  

Each scenario consists of one or more budgeting spreadsheets.   A district may choose to use a single spreadsheet containing all accounts, or create a separate sheets for different management areas.  For example, you might create a sheet for the high school, each elementary building and athletics.  Each principal or supervisor could work on their own portion of the budget.  Once the budgets are completed they can be loaded back into the system. 

Once a scenario is completed and approved, a scenario can be "promoted" to the proposed amounts on the budget and revenue accounts.

Create a Scenario

From the main menu, you will want to select 'Budgeting' and click on 'Scenarios'. Click 'Create' to create the Scenario and use 

  1. To create a scenario, click on
    1. Enter a name for the scenario.  
    2. Enter a description of the scenario.
      1. NOTE: There is no limit to the number of characters, numbers or spaces you want to use in the name.
  2. At this point, you can either save the scenario by clicking on  and create budgeting spreadsheets at a later time; or continue on by creating budgeting spreadsheets for this scenario using the  option.

Clone a Scenario

Scenarios can be cloned from a previous year to create the new year budget scenario or a different variation on the current fiscal year.

  1. Click on  to view the Scenario that will be cloned.
  2. Click  to clone the current Scenario.
    1. Enter a name for the scenario.  
    2. Enter a description of the scenario.
      1. NOTE: There is no limit to the number of characters, numbers or spaces you want to use in the name.

3. When the Scenario is cloned, ensure the field name for Proposed Amounts is updated to the correct fiscal year on the Budgeting Sheets.
           a. Click on  to edit a specific spreadsheet in the scenario.
           b. Review/Change the column header for Proposed amounts to include the Fiscal Year of the new Scenario. This should be formatted as PA-YYYY (ex. PA-2021 for Fiscal Year 2021).
           c. Click Accept to save the changes.

4. At this point, you can either save the scenario by clicking on  and update amounts in the budgeting spreadsheets at a later time; or continue on by using edit to modify the proposed amounts. Additional Budgeting sheets can also be created within the scenario using the  at the bottom of the scenario window.

Creating spreadsheets for a Scenario

When editing a scenario, click on  at the bottom of the screen to create a budgeting sheet for the scenario.

  1. Select the type of Budgeting Sheet: Budget or Anticipated Revenue.
  2. A predefined set of properties are displayed.  From there, you can add or remove the properties you would like included on the spreadsheet.  


  3. Click on 'Configure Filters' tab if you would like to filter data being extracted.
      

  4. To save the spreadsheet, enter a name under 'Sheet Name'.  Click on to save your budgeting sheet to the scenario.  A 'Confirm Sheet Creation' box will appear.  Click on  to add the new spreadsheet to your existing scenario.



4. The new budgeting sheet will be displayed under the Budgeting Sheets table.  Click on  to save the changes made to the scenario.

Entering Proposed Amounts

You have two options on how to enter proposed amounts:

  1. Edit: Click on  to enter your proposed amounts within the Scenario
  2. Download: Click on to download your spreadsheet into EXCEL and then upload updated spreadsheet.

Initial Amounts vs Adjustments

When entering Initial budgets the amount entered should be what the user would like as the Initial Budget amount on the account.

When entering Adjustments the amount entered should be what the user would like the new Expendable amount to be on the account. The system will calculate the difference between the initial amount and the entered amount and then create an adjustment for the difference. For Example, if the Initial Budget was 500.00 but the new Expendable amount should be 0.00, then the Adjustment entered in the Proposed Amounts grid should be 0.00. When applied, the Adjustment on the account will be -500.00.


Edit Spreadsheet within the Budgeting Scenario

This option allows you to enter the proposed amounts without having to open the spreadsheet in EXCEL.

  1. Click on  to view the scenario.
  2. Click on  to regenerate the sheet.  This option is helpful if you made changes to the existing sheet (add/remove properties, change account filters, etc).  Regenerate will update the sheet with the new changes, thus overriding the previous sheets settings.  Existing proposed amounts will be removed.

    Any YTD or FYTD figures in a budgeting sheet will be shown as of when the budgeting sheet was created. In order to "refresh" the figures to the current date, the sheet would need to be regenerated.


  3. Click on  to edit a specific spreadsheet in the scenario 
  4. Enter in your proposed amounts. The spreadsheet will provide a column for your proposed amounts. 'PA-YYYY'.  Proposed amounts can be ‘next year’ amounts or ‘current year’ amounts depending on the fiscal year used.  For example, if my current FY is 2019:
    1. My Next Year Proposed Amounts column header needs to be PA-2020
    2. My Current Year Proposed Amounts: column header needs to be PA-2019
    3. For the example below, the PA-2019 is used to enter proposed amounts for FY2019. You can enter each amount manually or, in my example below, use a calculated formula (highlighted in yellow), to mass-calculate a percentage.  
  5. Once completed, click on 'Accept' the save the changes to the spreadsheet.

Download Scenario Spreadsheets to Excel

This option allows you to download the spreadsheet to your computer.  This may be advantageous if you intend to email spreadsheets to district staff in charge of entering their proposed amounts on the spreadsheets.

  1. Click on  to view the scenario.
  2. Click on    to download a specific spreadsheet in the scenario to your computer. Save the spreadsheet (and optionally email the spreadsheet to someone).  Open it in EXCEL.
  3. Enter in  proposed amounts. The spreadsheet will provide a column for proposed amounts. 'PA-YYYY'.  Proposed amounts can be ‘next year’ amounts or ‘current year’ amounts depending on the fiscal year used.  For example, if my current FY is 2019:
    1. My Next Year Proposed Amounts column header needs to be PA-2020
    2. My Current Year Proposed Amounts: column header needs to be PA-2019
    3. For the example below, the PA-2019 is used to enter proposed amounts for FY2019. You can enter each amount manually or, in my example below, use a calculated formula (highlighted in yellow), to mass-calculate a percentage.  
  4. Once completed, save the changes to the Excel spreadsheet.  If someone else is entering the proposed amounts, have them email the spreadsheet back to you and save it on your computer.

      

  5. Next, upload the saved spreadsheet by clicking on  to edit the Scenario you want to upload the spreadsheet into.
  6. Click on to upload and replace the existing budgeting spreadsheet. A confirmation box is displayed stating it will overwrite the existing spreadsheet.


  7. A 'Budgeting Scenario' box will then be displayed.  Click on  to upload the saved spreadsheet on your computer.


    NOTE: This will create one Budgeting Worksheet per upload. If the excel spreadsheet has multiple sheets, the upload will use the first sheet.
  8.  Next, click on .  The existing budgeting sheet has now been updated.
  9. Click on to save the changes to your scenario.

Upload spreadsheets for a Scenario

This option is to upload outside spreadsheets that were not created from budgeting sheets within a scenario. This option is the "Upload" button at the bottom of the Scenario next to the "Create" option. Please note that budgeting sheets created this way cannot  be regenerated with current accounts/amounts if this Scenario is Cloned and will need to be recreated manually to upload. If the Excel workbook has multiple sheets, only the first sheet will be uploaded.

  1. When editing a scenario, click on at the bottom of the screen to upload a budgeting sheet for the scenario.
  2. Enter the Sheet Name and Description. 
  3. Click on  to upload the saved spreadsheet on your computer.
  4. Click to upload the spreadsheet to the Scenario as a new budgeting sheet.

Please see the Budgeting Walkthrough section for Upload for Report Definitions (.json files) that can be used to generate reports with Budget & Revenue data that include the proper headers. The outside spreadsheet must contain account code dimensions in separate columns with column headers that match the standard Budgeting Sheet headers as well as the Proposed Amounts header PA-YYYY (where YYYY is the fiscal year).  

Example Budget Spreadsheet with headers

Fund

Func

Object

SCC

Subject

OPU

IL

Job

PA-YYYY

Example Revenue Spreadsheet with headers

Fund

Receipt

SCC

Subject

OPU

PA-YYYY

Promote a Scenario

  1. Click on  to promote all spreadsheets in the scenario to proposed amounts.   A 'Confirm Promote' box will appear warning that if any existing proposed amounts exist, they will be replaced with the new figures. Click on 

NOTE: Promoting a scenario will replace any existing proposed amounts for the fiscal year in the proposed amounts grid for both expenditure and revenue accounts.


  1. Once the amounts have been promoted, they will be available to view under the Proposed Amounts option under Budgeting.

    Please keep in mind the Proposed Budgets grid may contain multiple years proposed amount figures.  Please ensure the correct fiscal year is selected in order to review the proposed amounts for that year.

      Click on Proposed Amounts for more information about the 'Proposed Amounts' option under the Budgeting menu.

Delete a Scenario

  1. Search desired scenario to delete.
  2. Click on  to delete the scenario.  Click on 'delete' to confirm deletion.