How to use Planning in Finplan?
Learn how to use Planning in Finplan to compare planned and actual income and expenses, month by month, and track how your net worth evolves.
Want to compare what you planned to spend or receive with what actually happened, month by month? Finplan has a screen just for that: Planning.
In this article, we will explain how the planned vs. actual grid works, how to set a planned amount per category and how to follow the evolution of your net worth.
What is Planning?
It is a grid that compares, for each income and expense category, how much you planned and how much was actually realized in that month.
Besides the categories, the grid also shows the Monthly balance, the Exchange rate variation, the Net result and the accumulated Net worth.
How to access Planning?
Open the Planning menu (called Planejamento in the app). At the top of the screen there is also the "Manage categories" shortcut, which takes you straight to the categories screen.
How does the Planned vs. Actual grid work?
Each month is split into two columns: Planned and Actual. The rows are your income and expense categories, each one with the icon and color you have already set.
Categories without a match go into the "Others" row, which cannot be edited directly.
The Actual value is calculated automatically from the transactions you have already recorded in that month. Only the Planned value can be edited.
How to set a planned amount?
1. Click the "Planned" cell of the category and month you want;
2. Type the amount, or even a calculation such as "100+50", which Finplan works out for you;
3. Press Enter to confirm, Tab to confirm and move to the next cell, or Esc to cancel.
If you click outside the cell without pressing anything, the typed value is also saved automatically.
How to copy or comment on a value?
Right-click a cell to open a menu with the options "Copy value" and "Add comment" (or "Edit comment" and "Delete comment", if one already exists).
The comment is useful to remember the reason behind a specific value, such as a one-off expense you already knew would be out of the usual pattern.
How to navigate between months?
Use the arrows next to the period at the top of the grid to move forward or back one month at a time. When you open the screen, Finplan already shows the previous, the current and the next month.
What happens if I set a planned amount to zero?
If you delete the value of a cell and save it as zero, Finplan removes the planning for that category and month instead of keeping a zero value. The cell goes back to being empty.
How is Net worth calculated in Planning?
The Net worth row starts from your current total balance and projects how it evolves month by month.
It adds up the net result of each month, that is, income minus expenses plus exchange rate variation, on both the planned and the actual side.
If you already have an active net worth goal with a deadline within the period shown, Finplan displays its progress right in the month header.
If you still have any questions, just reach out to us through Finplan support, by email or on WhatsApp.
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