# Budget vs actual, by area, without chasing anyone

> Budget by entity and area, AI forecasts, financial plans and Management control: ERP actuals vs plan, with variances down to the account.

Updated: 2026-10-02 · Author: Santiago Viglione (Fibady) · https://www.fibady.com/en/product/budgeting

Fibady holds the group's annual budget by entity and by area (sales, operations, people, marketing), compares it automatically with the actuals coming from the ERP and explains every variance down to the account. Each area owner loads and follows their part; the CFO and CEO see the whole.

## How is the budget loaded?

From Excel with Fibady's template, by copying last year with adjustments, or line by line. The structure is the same as the P&L, so actual and budget compare with no extra mapping. You can keep several versions (approved budget, quarterly forecast) and compare between them.

## How do I build a forecast with AI?

Fibady builds forecasts two ways: with simple rules — sales +5% a month, costs like last year — or with AI from your history, which proposes the figures for you to review line by line before saving. Forecasts live in financial plans that bring P&L, balance sheet and cash together in one model, and once a plan is approved you lock it so nobody changes it by mistake.

## Can area owners take part?

Yes, and that is how our customers use it: the COO loads operations, HR loads people, the CEO reviews and signs off. Each area has an owner and the sign-off is recorded in Fibady. Permissions are per company, module and page (81 keys in the role editor), so everyone sees their own and the right people see the consolidated view. A signed budget stays frozen until someone with permission revokes the sign-off.

## How do I explain budget variances to the management committee?

With Management control, Fibady's plan vs. actual comparison of any two series: actual vs plan, plan vs plan or plan vs actual. Actuals compare on their own, with variances by line, area, business unit, company or group. On the accounting side you see the P&L, the balance sheet and the bridge from profit to cash, which explains why the cash variance is not the profit variance; on the bank side, direct cash flow of one series against another. And two views: Detail, for the controller, and Summary, for management, with a headline, the waterfall, the top 10 variances and the month-by-month variance. The starting figures are those of [financial reporting](/product/financial-reporting), already checked by the Control Center.

## Can I plan headcount and its cost?

Yes: Fibady's People module holds headcount with total employer cost per person, the org chart by area and manager, and hiring, raise and leaver scenarios attached to a plan, with monthly, annualised and payback impact. It is planning and cost, not payroll. It is a sensitive page: its permissions are never granted by a blanket rule. It was built with the HR team of a customer with 13 entities.

## How Fibady does it

- Budget by entity, area and account, with versions, an owner per area and recorded sign-off
- Automatic actual vs budget and vs forecast, absolute and percentage variance by line, area, business unit, company or group
- Financial plans with P&L, balance sheet and cash; lock the approved plan
- 1:1 rule: an accounting entry never counts in two budgets; the app flags collisions as you build
- Sign-off and revocation: a signed budget is frozen
- Projection rules with 6 methods and "why this number?" on every cell; AI forecast from history, reviewed before saving
- Management control: two-series comparison, profit-to-cash bridge, Detail and Summary views (headline, waterfall, top 10 variances, month-by-month variance)
- Multi-user with area permissions; review and approval flow
- Dynamic metrics linked to Google Sheets (customers, ARPA, price × quantity)
- People: headcount with employer cost, org chart and hiring, raise and leaver scenarios with monthly impact on the plan

Fibady connects to more than 25 ERPs, with a live API for [Odoo](/integrations/odoo), [Holded](/integrations/holded), [Tango](/integrations/tango), [SOS Contador](/integrations/sos-contador) and [EternumPRO](/integrations/eternumpro); if your ERP has no connector, you export the journal to Excel and Fibady adapts it, or you use the API. If you are comparing with a dedicated planning tool, see [Fibady vs Cube](/compare/fibady-vs-cube).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I budget in one currency and compare in another?

Yes. The budget is loaded in the entity's currency and compared in the group's at the rate you define.

### Does it support rolling forecasts?

Yes: create a new version each quarter and compare actual, budget and forecast on the same screen.

### Can the AI build the forecast for me?

It can propose one from your history. You review and adjust it before saving; nothing goes into the plan without your approval.

### What is Management control in Fibady?

A comparison of any two series (actual vs plan, plan vs plan or plan vs actual) across the P&L, balance sheet, the bridge from profit to cash and direct cash flow. It has a Detail view for the controller and a Summary view for management, with a headline, waterfall, top 10 variances and month-by-month variance.

### Does the AI agent explain variances?

Yes. Ask "why did we miss the marketing budget in April?" and it answers with the accounts and entries behind it.

### Does the People module run payroll?

No. People is planning and cost: headcount, org chart and hiring, raise and leaver scenarios with their monthly impact. Payroll stays in your payroll system.

Book a demo: https://www.fibady.com/en/demo