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Budget vs. Actual (Variance) Calculator

Corporate finance dashboard to track spending deviations. Calculates absolute and percentage variance with favorable/unfavorable indicators.

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Category Budget Planning
Item NameBudget ($)Actual ($)Diff ($)Diff (%)
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About

In corporate finance and project management, Variance Analysis is the quantitative investigation of the difference between actual and planned behavior. This tool is designed for FP&A professionals and managers to instantly spot budget leakage or revenue shortfalls.

Unlike simple spreadsheets, this utility highlights Favorable (Green) and Unfavorable (Red) variances automatically. A positive variance in Revenue is good, while a positive variance in Expenses is bad; this tool separates these concerns. It provides both the absolute monetary deviation and the percentage deviation, essential for executive reporting.

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Formulas

The core logic uses standard GAAP variance formulas.

1. Absolute Variance (Δ):

Δ = Actual − Budget

2. Percentage Variance (%):

% Var = Actual − BudgetBudget × 100

{
NULL if Budget = 0

Note: For Expenses, a negative variance is usually displayed as red (Overspending). For Revenue, a negative variance is also red (Under-earning), but the algebraic sign differs in interpretation.

Reference Data

ScenarioBudgetActualVariance ($)Variance (%)
Under Budget (Good)$10,000$8,000$2,00020.0%
Over Budget (Bad)$10,000$12,000-$2,000-20.0%
Revenue Miss (Bad)$50,000$40,000-$10,000-20.0%
Revenue Beat (Good)$50,000$60,000$10,00020.0%
Zero Variance$5,000$5,000$00.0%

Frequently Asked Questions

In many organizations, a variance is considered material (requiring explanation) if it exceeds a certain threshold, commonly +/- 10% or a specific dollar amount (e.g., $5,000), depending on the project size.
If the Budget is $0 but Actuals are incurred, the % Variance is mathematically undefined. In this tool, it is displayed as "N/A" or "New Spend" to strictly avoid infinity errors.
In standard reporting, "Positive" usually means "Good". For expenses, spending LESS than budget is good. Therefore, budget - actual is often used for expenses, whereas actual - budget is used for revenue. This tool tracks "Actual - Budget" but colors the output based on favorable/unfavorable logic.
Yes. Simply treat the "Budget" as your Revenue Target. If Actual > Budget, the variance is positive (Favorable/Green). If Actual < Budget, it is negative (Unfavorable/Red).