Financial Actuals Report
Overview
The Financial Actuals report compares your actual financial performance against your budget or forecast. It shows where you are on track and where you are over or under your targets.
Why this matters:
A budget is only useful if you track against it. The Financial Actuals report shows exactly where reality differs from your plan, so you can adjust before small variances become big problems.
What you can do with this report:
- Compare actual revenue to budgeted revenue
- Compare actual expenses to budgeted expenses
- Identify significant variances (favorable and unfavorable)
- Track year-to-date performance against annual targets
- Adjust forecasts based on actual trends
How to Access the Report
- Log in to your autoGMS dashboard.
- From the sidebar, click Financial Reporting.
- Select this report directly from the section list.
- Select Financial Actuals.
The report shows the current month compared to budget by default.
Note: This report requires a budget to be configured. If no budget exists, you will see actual figures only.
How Financial Entries Affect Financial Actuals
Financial Actuals includes the recognized expense effect of relevant Financial Entries.
| Financial Entry Type | Financial Actuals Treatment |
|---|---|
| Prepaid Expense | Included gradually based on its monthly recognition schedule |
| Expense Payable | Included as actual expense when recorded |
| Asset Purchase | Excluded from operating actuals |
| Capital Contribution | Excluded from profit-focused actuals |
| Account Transfer | Excluded |
Use Financial Entries to record these items before reviewing this report.
Reading the Report
Period Selection
Select the time period to analyze:
- This Month — Current month actuals vs. monthly budget
- This Quarter — Quarter-to-date actuals vs. quarterly budget
- Year to Date — YTD actuals vs. YTD budget
- Custom Range — Any period you specify
Report Layout
The report mirrors your Profit & Loss structure with additional columns:
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Category | Revenue or expense category |
| Actual | What actually happened |
| Budget | What you planned |
| Variance ($) | Actual minus Budget (absolute difference) |
| Variance (%) | Variance as a percentage of budget |
Understanding Variance Colors
- Green (Favorable): Revenue above budget, or expenses below budget
- Red (Unfavorable): Revenue below budget, or expenses above budget
For revenue: Actual > Budget = Favorable (green) For expenses: Actual < Budget = Favorable (green)
Example Report
Revenue Section
| Category | Actual | Budget | Variance ($) | Variance (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Revenue | £12,500 | £12,000 | +£500 | +4.2% ✓ |
| Parts Revenue | £7,200 | £8,000 | -£800 | -10.0% ✗ |
| Other Revenue | £300 | £200 | +£100 | +50.0% ✓ |
| Total Revenue | £20,000 | £20,200 | -£200 | -1.0% |
Service revenue is above budget (good). Parts revenue is below budget (investigate).
Expense Section
| Category | Actual | Budget | Variance ($) | Variance (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll | £7,800 | £8,000 | -£200 | -2.5% ✓ |
| Rent | £2,500 | £2,500 | £0 | 0.0% |
| Parts Cost | £4,500 | £4,000 | +£500 | +12.5% ✗ |
| Utilities | £580 | £600 | -£20 | -3.3% ✓ |
| Total Expenses | £15,380 | £15,100 | +£280 | +1.9% |
Payroll and utilities are under budget (good). Parts cost is over budget (investigate).
Net Profit
| Actual | Budget | Variance ($) | Variance (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Profit | £4,620 | £5,100 | -£480 | -9.4% |
Net profit is below budget due to lower parts revenue and higher parts costs.
Investigating Variances
Significant Variances
Focus on variances that are:
- Large in dollar terms — A £50 variance on a £100 budget is significant; £50 on a £10,000 budget is not
- Large in percentage terms — 20%+ variance usually warrants investigation
- Recurring — Same variance appearing month after month
Questions to Ask
Revenue below budget:
- Are sales down across all services, or specific ones?
- Did we lose a customer?
- Is there a seasonal factor?
- Did we have fewer working days?
Revenue above budget:
- Is this sustainable, or a one-time windfall?
- Should we revise the forecast upward?
Expenses above budget:
- Did prices increase (parts, utilities)?
- Did we have an unexpected expense?
- Is the budget unrealistic?
Expenses below budget:
- Did we defer spending we should have done?
- Are we understaffed?
- Is this a real saving or just timing?
Using the Report for Forecasting
Mid-Year Forecast Revision
If actuals consistently differ from budget, revise your forecast:
- Review YTD actuals vs. YTD budget
- Identify systematic variances (things that will continue)
- Adjust remaining months' forecast
- Create a revised annual projection
Example
Original annual budget: £240,000 revenue YTD (6 months): £110,000 actual vs. £120,000 budget
You are running 8% below budget. If this continues:
- Revised annual projection: £240,000 × 92% = £220,800
Methodology
Click the Methodology button in the report header to see exactly how the numbers are calculated, what data sources feed into the report, and what assumptions are made. This is useful when reconciling with your accountant.
Export Options
Click Export to download:
| Format | Best For |
|---|---|
| Sharing with management, board reports | |
| CSV | Further analysis, custom reporting |
Tips and Best Practices
-
Review monthly. Do not wait until year-end to discover you are off track.
-
Focus on material variances. Not every variance needs investigation. Focus on those that are significant in dollar terms.
-
Understand the cause before acting. A variance is information, not automatically a problem. Understand why before deciding what to do.
-
Update forecasts when reality changes. If your budget assumptions prove wrong, revise your forecast. A stale budget loses its usefulness.
-
Compare percentage and dollar variances. A high percentage variance on a small amount may not matter; a low percentage on a large amount might.
-
Keep notes on variance explanations. Document why variances occurred. This helps in future budgeting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I do not have a budget?
Without a budget, this report shows only actual figures. Consider creating a budget for more meaningful analysis — even a simple one helps.
How do I create a budget?
Budget creation may be available in your financial settings or through your accountant. The budget should align with your chart of accounts structure.
What is the difference between variance and forecast?
Variance is the difference between actuals and budget for periods already passed. Forecast is your updated prediction for periods still to come.
How often should I revise my forecast?
Review forecasts quarterly at minimum. Revise when actuals significantly differ from budget and you expect the difference to continue.
Should I compare to last year instead of budget?
Both comparisons are useful. Budget shows performance against plan; prior year shows growth or decline. Use both for a complete picture.
What if my budget was unrealistic?
Learn from it. Analyze why the budget was wrong and use that insight to create a more accurate budget next year. Meanwhile, revise your forecast.