Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
Prerequisites: Version dimension exists (
skill:building-versions-and-planning-cycles). Calendar configured (skill:setting-up-calendar).
Budget & Expense Planning
When: annual budget, departmental cost plans, cost center budgets, simple OPEX.
Dimensions: Version, Month, Department (or Cost Center), Account (Chart of Accounts). Add Entity if multi-entity.
Structure: one input metric for actuals (imported), one for budget/forecast (manual input or formula-driven). Calculated metrics for variances and totals. Keep formulas flat; separate actuals from plan in distinct metrics.
Forecasting approaches: prior year with growth rate, manual input filtered to plan months, or IF-based mix per Version. No SWITCH engine, no method dimension.
Reporting: combine actuals and forecast in a single metric using Is_Actual. Table block with one row per account category. Views: Month (columns) × Department or Account (rows).
For prior-year growth formulas, see skill:choosing-formula-patterns for the correct modifier pattern.
Extend to full OPEX engine when: users need 3+ forecasting methods selectable per line (e.g. PY values, moving average, % of revenue, $ per headcount). Load #1 Architecture + #2 Engine.
Revenue Planning
When: revenue forecast, sales pipeline, ARR/MRR, bookings, growth-based projections.
Dimensions: Version, Month, Product (or Segment), Customer (or Territory). Add Entity if multi-entity.
Structure: use a transaction list for deal-level or booking-level data; aggregate into planning metrics. Keep driver assumptions (growth rates, conversion rates, churn rates) in dedicated input metrics. Separate actuals from forecast metrics.
Forecasting approaches: growth-based (prior year × rate), ARR/MRR waterfall (new + expansion - churn + prior), pipeline conversion (value × rate by stage), or bookings spread over contract duration with PRORATA.
Reporting: combine actuals and forecast using Is_Actual. Views: Month (columns) × Product or Customer (rows). Use calculated items for variance (Forecast vs Budget, YoY).
No dedicated advanced pattern exists yet. For complex multi-stage pipeline with probability weighting or territory-based capacity planning, build from these principles and skill:writing-pigment-formulas.
P&L & Variance Reporting
When: actual vs budget comparison, P&L statement, variance analysis from a single data source.
Dimensions: Version, Month, Account (with Category parent hierarchy), Department. Add Entity and Data Type if needed.
Structure: actuals metric (imported from GL or transaction list), budget metric (input), forecast metric (formula or input). Variance = Budget - Actual. Use Account.Category property to group into P&L lines (Revenue, COGS, OPEX). Use Operator property on Category (1 for revenue, -1 for expenses) to normalize signs.
Reporting: Table block with P&L line metrics as rows. Use calculated items for variance columns (Budget vs Actual, % variance). Views: Month (columns), filter by Version.
Mandatory: even for single-source P&L, create a DATA_* staging metric between raw input and the reporting output, and a *_Check reconciliation metric that verifies the staging total equals the sum of statement lines.
Extend to Nexus when: the P&L must consolidate data from multiple upstream apps (Revenue, OPEX, Workforce) and/or ERP, or when the request asks for a P&L reporting hub, nexus, or statement pipeline, even single-source. Load #4 Nexus. The Nexus sub-file covers P&L only; BS/CF can be adapted from the same pattern.
Multi-Currency
When: multiple entities with different functional currencies need conversion to a group reporting currency.
Simple approach: for a single app needing basic FX, create a local rate input metric and multiply amounts. No Hub engine required.
Extend to FX Hub when: the workspace has multiple apps sharing the same FX rates and entity-currency mappings. Load #3 FX Hub. Requires a Hub app (see skill:architecting-multi-application-solutions).
Extending an Existing OPEX Engine
When: adding or changing forecasting methods in an app that already has the driver-based engine structure (SWITCH on method ID, INP_Forecasting_Method, CALC_* per method).
Load #2 Engine only. Do not load #1.
