Analyze Budget Data with Hierarchies: Product Group and Customer Filters

Summary

Hierarchies in Budget lets you filter and analyze your revenue and trade spend data using your company's product and customer organizational structure. Instead of selecting individual product groups or customers one by one, you can select a whole channel, brand, or region and instantly see the rolled-up totals for everything within it. The underlying data and calculations have not changed — this feature adds a smarter way to view and slice the same data you already work with.

When to Use This

• You want to review Budget vs. Latest Estimate vs. Actuals at a brand, category, or channel level rather than individual product group level.
• You want to select a customer channel (e.g., "Club") and automatically include all customers within it — without manually checking each one.
• You want to drill down from a top-level category into sub-categories or individual product groups using the expanded table view.
• You want to save a filtered view by hierarchy level as your default so it loads automatically when you open Budget.

Prerequisites

• Feature access: Both the HIERARCHY and BUDGET HIERARCHIES features must be enabled on your account. If you do not see a hierarchy tree in the Product Group or Customer filters, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or Customer Support to request access. 
• Hierarchy setup: Your Customer and/or Product hierarchies must be configured in Manage > Customer Hierarchy and Manage > Product Hierarchy before these options appear in Budget. See Manage Customer and Product Hierarchies.

Steps:

Getting to the Budget Module

1. Log in to Vividly.
2. Click "Business" in the main navigation.
3. Select "Budget".

Using the Product Group Hierarchy Filter

1. In the filter bar at the top of the Budget page, click the "Product Group" filter.
2. You will see your product hierarchy displayed as a tree — from top-level categories down to individual product groups. You should see parent nodes with expand/collapse arrows and child nodes nested beneath them.
3. Select the level you want to analyze. You can select a top-level category (to see everything beneath it aggregated), a mid-level group (e.g., a brand), or an individual product group.
4. Click outside the filter or press "Apply" to update the table.

Pivoting by Product Group (Hierarchy Tree View)

1. In the pivot selector, choose "Product Group" as your pivot.
2. The table will refresh and display your data organized by the product hierarchy tree structure, showing parent and child relationships.
3. Click the expand arrow next to any parent row to drill into its child product groups and see their individual values.
4. Click the collapse arrow to roll the view back up to the parent level.
5. Trade Spend and Revenue values roll up accurately through the hierarchy — each parent row shows the sum of all its child rows.

Using the Customer Hierarchy Filter

1. In the filter bar, click the "Customer" filter.
2. You will see your full customer hierarchy, including customer groups, individual customers, and any customers that are outside the hierarchy ("out-of-hierarchy" customers).
3. Select a customer group node (e.g., "Club") or an individual customer.
   • When you select a group, Vividly automatically includes all customers within that group. You do not need to check each one individually.
   • Example: Selecting "Club" automatically includes Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's (and any other customers within that group).
4. The table and export will show only data associated with the selected customers.

Saving Your Hierarchy Filter as a Default View

1. Set your desired hierarchy filter and pivot selections.
2. Save this configuration as your default view using the "Save as Default" option. NEEDS VERIFICATION: Exact label and location of the "Save as Default" control in the Budget UI.
3. The next time you open Budget, these filter and pivot settings will load automatically.

Expected Result

• Product Group filter & pivot: The Budget table shows data organized into your product hierarchy tree. Parent rows display aggregated totals; child rows display individual group values. You can expand and collapse levels freely.
• Customer filter: The table shows only data for the customers or customer groups you selected. Selecting a group includes all customers within it automatically.
• Trade Spend accuracy: Trade Spend and Revenue values roll up correctly at every level of the hierarchy. No manual aggregation is needed.
• Default views: Your filter and pivot selections are remembered and reload when you return to Budget.

Troubleshooting

Scenario 1

Issue: I selected a parent node in the Product Group filter, but no data appears or the total looks incorrect.
Likely cause: The selected parent group may not have products or sub-groups assigned to it, or the hierarchy may not be fully configured in Manage.
Fix: Go to Manage > Product Hierarchy and verify that products are assigned to the relevant groups. Ensure all items are placed within the correct hierarchy level.

Scenario 2

Issue: The Trade Spend value in Budget does not match what I see in Promotion Analytics 2.0 for the same hierarchy selection.
Likely cause: The views being compared may not be aligned. Budget Trade Spend (First Receiver view) should match Promotion Analytics 2.0 when both the Budget LE toggle is OFF (or you are looking at Actuals) and the same hierarchy selections are made in both views.
Fix: Confirm you are using the First Receiver view in Budget, that the LE toggle is set correctly, and that your hierarchy filter selection in both Budget and Promotion Analytics 2.0 is identical. If the mismatch persists, contact Support.

Scenario 3

Issue: I selected a customer group, but fewer customers than expected appear in the table.
Likely cause: Some customers may be in the "out-of-hierarchy" section and were not included in the selected group.
Fix: Go to Manage > Customer Hierarchy and verify that all expected customers are assigned to the correct group. Customers listed as "out-of-hierarchy" must be selected individually from the filter if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Has anything about my existing Budget data or calculations changed?
A: No. The underlying data and math are unchanged. Hierarchies apply simple aggregation (summing existing values) at higher levels. Nothing is recalculated.

Q: Can I still filter by individual product groups or customers the way I used to?
A: Yes. Selecting individual items still works exactly as before. The hierarchy tree is an addition, not a replacement.

Q: Do I need to be an Admin to use hierarchy filters in Budget?
A: No. Anyone with standard Budget access can use the hierarchy filters once the feature gates are enabled. Admins are responsible for setting up the hierarchy structure in Manage.

Related Articles

• Manage Customer and Product Hierarchies
• Budgeting 2.0: A Complete Guide
• Promotion Analytics 2.0 – Overview
• Manage: Overview