Multi-Year Budget Creation Guide

Step-by-Step Process

Year 1: Your Initial Budget

Create your initial budget with all desired settings, row drivers, and data configurations
Save the budget once complete

Year 2 and Beyond: Duplicate and Modify

Duplicate Year 1 budget instead of starting from scratch
Open the duplicated budget and navigate to Advanced Settings
Change the year using the date dropdown to the following year and save

4. Adjust the budget numbers and assumptions as needed for the new year

Connecting Multi-Year Budgets

In Advanced Settings, modify the reference data settings:
- Prior Year: Set to reference the previous year's budget (not actuals)
- Two Years Prior: Will reference actuals from bookkeeping
- This connects the budgets into a true multi-year plan
Result: The reference column in Year 2 will now pull totals from Year 1 budget

Years 3-5: Extended Planning

For subsequent years, continue the pattern:

Year 3:
- Prior Year → Year 2 Budget
- Two Years Prior → Year 1 Budget (not actuals)
Year 4:
- Prior Year → Year 3 Budget
- Two Years Prior → Year 2 Budget
Year 5:
- Prior Year → Year 4 Budget
- Two Years Prior → Year 3 Budget

Managing Data Updates

Row Driver Refresh Options

When budgets are connected, changes don't flow automatically. Choose one of these methods:

Manual Refresh - Click the refresh drivers button on each statement (P&L and Balance Sheet)

2. Bulk Refresh - In Advanced Settings, check "Refresh all row drivers - Applied Once" and save (refreshes both statements simultaneously)

3. Auto-Refresh - Enable "Always refresh drivers when opening this budget" for automatic updates on open

Working Across Budgets over Multiple Years

Recommended workflow:

Open multiple browser tabs
Load a different budget year in each tab
Make changes in one budget and Save (no need to Save and Close)
Switch tabs, refresh drivers, and continue
Repeat as needed across all years

External Data Management

Connecting External Datasheets

For data spanning multiple years:

Create an external datasheet (Google Sheets, Excel, or Data Sheet) with data for all required months/years
Connect to each budget's datasheet - each budget will only reference dates within its year
Enable refresh settings:
- Manual: Click refresh button in datasheet when changes are made
- Automatic: Check "Auto-refresh datasheet on open" in Advanced Settings

Benefits for Rolling Forecasts

Maintain single source of truth in external sheet
Each budget year references appropriate date range
Supports rolling forecast methodology
Simplifies updates across multiple periods

Final Assembly

Creating the Complete Multi-Year Plan

Click the drop-down next to "Create New" and select "Multi-Year Group."

Now you can select the budgets you want to group. You will notice that you will only be able to group budgets from different years and will not be able to group same-year budgets.

After you save, you will see your new group budget appear in the group budget section.

Managing Multi-Year Budget Groups

Next to the group budget, you will notice a couple of options for managing your multi-year budget:

Manage Button: You can use this button to add an additional year to the group budget or switch out a previously selected budget.

Delete Option: If you click the gear icon, you will also see the option to delete the group budget. This will only remove the group budget and leave the budgets included in the group budget alone.

Set as Default: If you click the gear icon, you will see the option to set the Multi-Year group as the default budget or default forecast. The biggest benefit of grouping budgets is being able to set a group budget as your default, allowing you to build metrics and reports with multiple years of budget data without having to switch out the budget for each column.

We have added a 3 YR Financial Projection template to help showcase this feature and demonstrate how you might use a 3-year group budget in a report.

You will be able to edit the single budgets above that are included in the group budget, and those changes will roll over.

Multi-Year Budgets in Consolidations

Multi-year budgets can also be used for consolidations, allowing you to plan and analyze across multiple entities and multiple years simultaneously.

Best Practices

Duplicate rather than recreate to maintain consistency
Save frequently when making changes
Refresh drivers after updating reference budgets
Use external datasheets for complex multi-year assumptions

Troubleshooting Tips

If drivers aren't updating, check refresh settings
Verify reference periods are correctly set in Advanced Settings
Ensure external datasheets are properly connected
Remember that changes require a manual or scheduled refresh to propagate

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