The budget comparison displays Planned, Posted actual and Actual minus planned for each account and month. The difference is an arithmetic comparison. Whether it is favorable depends on the account and the purpose of the plan.
For revenue, a higher actual amount can have a different business meaning from a higher expense amount. Read the account label and the plan assumptions before describing every positive difference as good or every negative difference as bad.
Check coverage when a variance seems unexpectedly large. The plan may cover a full month while posted actuals are incomplete, or a project comparison may include only confirmed allocated journals. An unissued document or unposted draft will not automatically fill that gap.
Trace material differences to posted source entries and retained budget assumptions. If the plan changed, select the intended saved version instead of mixing original assumptions with a revised forecast. When explaining a variance, state the company or project scope, account, month and version so the calculation is reproducible.
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