Planning type | Goal | Example scenario |
Static Plan based on the Forecast | “Freeze” the Forecast and use it for simulations or documentation | Decision in March to hire an employee starting in October; the Forecast is frozen and the salary is added from October |
Plan for the rest of the year WITHOUT presets (Static Plan based on Actuals) | Plan the rest of the year without carrying over old assumptions | A Plan is created in March; Jan/Feb are filled with Actuals, and from March planned income and expenses are added manually |
Plan based on the previous year (copy an existing Plan) | Plan the new year based on a development similar to the previous year | The 2025 annual budget is created by taking over the Actuals of 2024 and then adjusting them (e.g. salary increases, investments) |
Plan for a full year based on a blank template | Create a completely new Plan without previous-year or Forecast values | A startup in its first fiscal year creates a blank Plan from June and enters all budgets from scratch or imports them via Excel/Google Sheets |
Dynamic Plan (Scenario) based on the Forecast | Create a Scenario that adjusts automatically to the Forecast | Simulation of a price increase from July; the Scenario plans higher revenue from July, and changes in the Forecast carry through automatically |