Using Custom Available Budget

The new "Custom Available Budget" option in Planful for Marketing enables administrators and end-users to customize the calculation of the Available Budget.

The Customize Available Budget Calculation feature introduces two levels of customization:

• For Administrators: Create standardized formulas for calculating Available Budget at the budget level, ensuring consistent logic across all primary views, including: Manage Page and its Drawer. This also eliminates manual workarounds and applies uniform logic without requiring spreadsheet exports or manual recalculations.

• For Non-Admin Users and Admin Users: Modify Available Budget locally on the Manage Page for analysis and reporting, without impacting global formulas.

Key Benefits

• Enable strategic alignment with configurable budget logic.

• Improve reporting accuracy with real-time customizations.

• Reduce manual effort with centralized and temporary customization options.

• Preserve data integrity with controlled customization access.

The Available Budget formula can only be set by admins on the Budget page.

To set or adjust the budget formula:

1. Navigate to Settings > Budget. The Plan Budget page appears.
   

2. To customize the available budget calculation, select either:

   1. Create Budget – to set up a new budget.

   2. Edit Budget – to modify an existing budget.

3. If you are creating a budget, the Custom Available Budget section will appear in the side drawer after you click Create Budget.  By default, you will see:

   1. The Forecast option disabled by default.

   2. Only two columns: Remaining Committed Budget (with a disabled/inactive checkbox) and Remaining Planned Budget columns (selected by default)
      

4. If setting up for the first time and  Forecast is enabled (or disabled), the default formula is:
   Available Budget = Total Budget - Actual Spend - Remaining Committed Budget - Remaining Planned Budget

   1. Mandatory and fixed operands:

      1. Total Budget

      2. Available Budget

      3. Actual Spend (always selected, except when (Total Budget - Forecast) is set

   2. Optional operands:

      1. Remaining Committed Budget: Selectable only when the Remaining Planned Budget is unselected.

      2. Remaining Planned Budget: Selecting this will also select and lock the Remaining Committed Budget.

      3. Forecast: Only available when both Remaining Committed Budget and Remaining Planned Budget are deselected.

         Notes:

         • At least two operands must always remain selected.

         • The subtraction operator (-) is fixed and cannot be altered.

5. Select the operands as needed.

6. Click Save & Close to set the customized formula.

7. If you skip setting the formula during budget creation, you can still update it later by navigating to:

   1. Settings > Budget > Edit Budget Details. The Edit Budget drawer will appear, where you can update the formula.
      

Supported Formulas for Customization with Examples

Based on the behavior of the operands when selecting, the following are the supported formulas that can be defined using the Customize Available Budget Calculation to show a customer how much money they have available to spend or allocate elsewhere, at each level of their marketing plan.

Notes:

• The budget-level formula is applied exclusively on the Manage page and within the Drawer page. The calculation for the Available Budget on the Plan Budget page is always and will be:

  • Available Budget = Total Budget – Actual Spend

• If the Forecast is not enabled, the Customize Available Budget Calculation section includes the following operands:

  • Actual Spend (default and mandatory)

  • Remaining Committed Budget (optional)

  • Remaining Planned Budget (optional)

  • In this case, the following formulas are supported for the non-forecast-enabled budgets:

    Formula	Ideal for
    Total Budget - Actual Spend - Remaining Committed Budget - Remaining Planned Budget (default)	Comprehensive default formula that provides visibility into actual spending, committed expenses, and planned future budget allocations. Example: Finance teams requiring detailed oversight of current and projected financial positions.
    Total Budget - Actual Spend	Appropriate for straightforward budget tracking, emphasizing actual expenditures against total budget allocations. Example: Operations teams managing daily or routine expenditures.
    Total Budget - Actual Spend - Remaining Committed Budget	Useful when tracking actual spend along with outstanding committed expenditures. Example: Procurement departments closely monitoring actual spend and pending purchase orders.

Where You See the Impact

The Customize Available Budget Calculation feature impacts the following areas:

Impact on the Manage Page (Segment, Goal, Campaign)

Customized available budget calculations directly impact how budget columns and calculations are displayed on the Manage Page (Goals, Campaigns, Expense Groups). The formula defined by the Admin on the Plan Budget page determines the columns that appear on these Manage Pages. For example, if an Admin sets the following formula:

Available Budget = Total Budget - Actual Spend - Remaining Committed Budget

The columns displayed on the Manage Page will align accordingly, reflecting this chosen calculation. Means the columns such as Actual Spend, Remaining Committed Budget, and collectively contribute to the calculation of Available Budget.

What Users Can Do on the Manage Page

Non-admin users (and even admin users) on the Manage Page can:

• View the columns defined by the administrator's global formula.

• Customize the budget formula temporarily, solely for reporting and viewing purposes, using the newly added Customize Budget Calculation option. Click here to learn more.

• See how selected columns influence the Available Budget.

Using the Customize Budget Calculation Option on the Manage Page

To use the Customize Budget Calculation option, do the following:

1. On the Manage Page, click the f(x) Customize Budget Calculation option. A dropdown menu will appear showing the current formula with operands pre-selected as columns.
   
   

2. Select or deselect operands as needed to view customized calculations. The columns' behavior is as follows:

   1. Actual Spend: Selected by default and cannot be deselected except when
      Total Budget - Forecast.

   2. Remaining Committed Budget: Selectable independently.

   3. Remaining Planned Budget: Selecting Remaining Planned Budget automatically selects (and locks) Remaining Committed Budget.

   4. Forecast: Available only when the Remaining Committed Budget and the Remaining Planned Budget are deselected.
      Preview the updated formula directly in the dropdown menu.
      
      

3. Click Apply.  
   
   
   You can see the columns update and immediately reflect these changes on the Manage page.
   

   Important Note:

   When customizing the formula, smart-cell functionality becomes disabled. To revert to the original budget-level formula and reactivate smart-cell functionality, click Reset and then Apply in the dropdown menu.
   

Impact on Drawer Page

The Allocations tab in the Drawer page of the Campaigns//Expense Groups/Goals always honors the original budget-level formula set by administrators.

Note:

Although all columns are displayed in the Drawer page, calculations strictly adhere to the original, administrator-defined formula, regardless of customizations made on the Manage page.

Example: If the administrator-defined budget-level formula excludes Remaining Planned Budget, the Allocation tab in the Drawer view will still display this column, but it won't be included in the Available Budget calculation.

For instance, if the Available Budget formula is: Available Budget = Total Budget - Actual Spend - Remaining Committed Budget

Then, the Available Budget for January would be: Available Budget =  500-200-29900 =-29,600. Despite the presence of the Remaining Planned Budget column, calculations strictly follow the defined formula.

Important Note:

Whenever the budget-level formula is modified on the Plan Budget page, it immediately updates the calculations shown in the Allocations tab within the Drawer on the Manage page.

Impact on Export and Import Functionality

Export Functionalities

• Export from Actions Menu (Manage Page)

  • Segment, goal, and campaign exports always use the default budget-level formula defined by the administrator on the Plan Budget page.

  • Any customizations made directly on the Manage page are temporary and reflect the same in exported files.

  • Exports include the columns that contribute to the Available Budget calculation.

• Export from Budget Tab (Create > Import/Export Data > Budget Tab)

  • JSON Exports:

    • Budgets exported in JSON format adhere strictly to the default budget-level formula. i.e., Available Budget = Total Budget - Actual Spend.

    • Customized formulas are not automatically transferred; manual adjustments are necessary after import.

  • XLSX Exports:

    • Exported budgets consistently apply the administrator-defined budget-level formula.

    • Segment tabs calculate the Available Budget using the standard formula:

      • Available Budget = Total Budget - Actual Spend

    • Campaign and Expense Group tabs reflect only the administrator-defined budget formula, excluding temporary customizations made on the Manage page.

Import Functionalities

• JSON Budget Import:

  • Imported JSON budgets revert to the default budget-level formula.

  • Customized budget calculations are not automatically applied upon import.

  • You must manually reapply any customizations to the budget formula after the import to achieve the desired consistency.

• Campaign and Expense Group Imports:

  • All imported budgets adhere to the default budget-level formula set by the administrator.

Important Notes:

• Any customizations made directly on the Manage page are temporary and reflect the same in exported files.

• Exports include the columns that contribute to the Available Budget calculation.