Budgeting 2.0: A Complete Guide

 

Budget module overview.

What does it do?

The Vividly Budget Module enables CPG brands to create accurate, bottoms-up sales budgets and track performance against planned targets. It provides comprehensive visibility into revenue performance, trade spend effectiveness, and budget vs. actual comparisons to support strategic decision-making.

What benefits does it provide?

• Track spend across your business to understand performance against set budgets. This module helps brands gain strategic alignment on trade spend and sales expectations.
• Optimize inventory and ensure all teams work from the same data-driven plan.
• Performance Monitoring: Monitor Actual vs Budgeted sales to refine future spend.

Why would I use this?

To improve Budget accuracy, align trade spend with sales expectations, optimize inventory, and ensure all teams (sales, finance, supply chain) are working from the same data-driven plan.

What roles in a company would use this?

Sales, finance, demand planning, supply chain, and trade marketing teams all benefit from the module’s insights and Budgeting capabilities

How/when would I use this as part of my broader trade spend management function?

Use it to plan and simulate promotions, allocate trade budgets based on expected lift, and monitor actual vs. Budgeted results to refine future spend.

How/when would I use it as part of trade Budgeting?

Integrate promotional plans into sales Budgets to predict demand surges, avoid stockouts, and inform production and inventory decisions.

 

Data requirements.

What data does the Budget module need to function?

• Historical sales data (POS) - Weekly by Retailer and by SKU
• Shipment data with store counts/sales velocities
• Promotional calendars and trade spend data

Is deduction spend required?  

• Not required for basic Budgeting but recommended for full ROI analysis and reconciliation of planned vs. actual spend.

Is actualized deduction spend against promotions required?  

• Not required to generate a Budget but necessary for accurate post-promotion analysis and to improve future Budget accuracy.
  
  

Basic overview and navigation of the budget module.

Main Dashboard Components. 

Default View:

• High-level overview of key financial metrics, such as budgeted revenue, trade spend, and Latest Estimate based on Actual sales data (LE).
• Executive-level summary suitable for monthly financial reviews.
• Displays budgeted revenue against estimates and actuals.

Key Metrics:

• Budget: Financial plans from annual planning process. 
• Latest Estimate (LE): Combination of Actual data (what has sold), and latest forecast.
• Actuals: Real performance data from revenue and deduction uploads. 

Navigation Options:

• Filters: Drill down by customer, product group, and contact.
• Time Periods: Toggle between week/month views.
• Views: Switch between Retailer/Distributor/Other customer types.
• Comparison Types: Change comparison metrics via dropdown.
  
  

Key Interface Elements.

Detailed Views:

• Select Revenue, Trade Rate, or Trade Spend for detailed table and graph views.
• Pivot Options: Pivot by customer, product grouping, or contact to isolate variances.
• Variance Analysis: Use Diff (NET) & DIFF (%) views to identify large variances.
• Filtering: Cells with variance >25% are automatically highlighted (customizable in Account Settings).

Other Functions:

• Settings Gear: Access upload functions and configuration options.
• Export: Download reports and data for external analysis.
• Toggle: Switch between all promotions vs. approved/running/completed only.
  
  

Operating procedure.

Step 1: Data Upload Process. 

1. Uploading Budget & Latest Estimate Data:

   1. Access Upload Function. 
   2. Click the gear icon in the top right corner.
   3. Select "Upload Budget".

2. File Preparation:

   1. Prepare Excel file with required columns: Date, Customer, Product, Revenue Budget, Trade Budget. 
   2. Ensure data format matches requirements (MM/DD/YYYY for dates).
   3. Revenue and Trade Budget must be valid numbers or blank/null.

3. Upload Process:

   1. Drag-and-drop, or click into the box and select your file.
   2. Map file columns to correct Vividly headers.
   3. Wait for upload completion (may take time for large files).
      
      

Step 2: Data Validation & Review.

1. Post-Upload Verification: 

   1. Check data appears correctly in the main dashboard.
   2. Verify customer/product mappings are accurate.
   3. Review date allocations align with intended periods.
   4. Confirm totals match uploaded file values.

2. Common Upload Issues & Solutions: 

   1. January Zeroed Out: Check if 1/01/25 was used as upload date (allocates to December).
   2. Month Values Differ: Likely due to weeks-to-retail processing on retailer data.
   3. Distributor Values Differ: May be processed differently if AOB is configured**.

 

Step 3: Analysis & Reporting.

1. Variance Analysis: 

   1. Use filter options to drill down by specific dimensions.
   2. Toggle to Diff (NET) and Diff (%) views to identify significant variances.
   3. Filter by customer, product grouping, and contact for targeted analysis.
   4. Export data for detailed external analysis.

2. Performance Monitoring: 

   1. Compare Budget vs. Latest Estimate vs. Actuals.
   2. Track trade rate effectiveness across different periods.
   3. Monitor spend allocation across customer segments.
   4. Review promotional performance against planned lift.

 

Step 4: Ongoing Management.

1. Regular Maintenance:

   1. Daily: Monitor actual performance data as it loads.
   2. Weekly: Review variance reports and identify trends.
   3. Monthly: Comprehensive budget vs. actual analysis for financial reviews.
   4. Quarterly: Update forecasts and re-evaluate budget assumptions.
   5. Annually: Plan next year's budget based on learnings.
      
      

Common Issues and solutions.

1. Upload Failures:

   1. File Too Large: Break into smaller files under 15K rows.
   2. Mapping Errors: Ensure column headers match required format.
   3. Data Format Issues: Check date formats (MM/DD/YYYY) and numeric values.

2. Data Display Issues:

   1. Missing Data: Verify customer/product exists in system configuration.
   2. Incorrect Allocations: Review date formats and weeks-to-retail settings.
   3. Unexpected Calculations: Check AOB configurations for distributors.

3. Performance Issues:

   1. Slow Loading: Remove $0 values and reduce file size.
   2. Timeout Errors: Wait for completion - uploads may take significant time.
   3. Display Delays: Allow time for data processing after upload.
      
      

When to contact Support. 

• Upload failures after following troubleshooting steps.

• Data calculation discrepancies that can't be resolved.

• System performance issues affecting multiple users.

• Configuration changes needed for customer/product setup.