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:

   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.