Plan Budget Summary table

The Plan Budget Summary table is the topmost table on the budget tab of a plan and summarizes funds that you expect to spend in the plan and the programs it contains. The Plan Budget Summary table monitors finances for the entire plan.

Plan Budget is the total budgeted amount.

In total view, the Plan Budget Summary table displays the total budget for the plan's entire life; detailed view separates it into increments of the currently-selected fiscal year. Change the fiscal year on the Summary tab if necessary.

Program Allocations shows the total budget of all the plan's programs.

The Forecast Total is all predicted spending across the plan.

The Committed Total is all the money spoken for in the plan up to this point. Even though the money is not yet spent, the committed total represents costs that will occur even if the plan is terminated.

The Actual Total is all funds spent so far on the plan. IBM® Marketing Operations calculates the actual amount spent through the invoice functions. This total is likely to be much lower than the others due to time lags between planning expenses and actually paying bills.

The Remaining column

In each row, the Remaining column is the difference between the Plan Budget and the entry in the Amount column. For example, IBM® Marketing Operations calculates the forecast remainder by subtracting the forecast total from the Plan Budget.

Although calculated by a simple subtraction, the Remaining column provides high-level information and potential warnings about the financial state of the plan's budget. The remaining column summarizes how much money has already been allocated or planned for use, how much remains for additional spending, and how much you could recover if you canceled unfinished efforts.

In the Program Allocations row, the Remaining column represents additional money the plan owner has left to distribute to existing or not-yet-created programs. If the total allocation of funds to child programs exceeds the total budget of the plan, the remainder is negative and the plan will need more funding to successfully complete the programs.

In the Forecast Total row, the Remaining column indicates the amount of money the plan owner will have left if current forecasts are accurate. If the figure is negative, the plan will need more funding to succeed at expected costs.

In the Committed Total row, the Remaining column indicates how much money the plan owner will have left if the plan and all its programs and projects are canceled. The plan owner needs to understand how much money can be returned if associated programs do not continue to execute, in the event that budgets are tightened.

In the Actual Total row, the Remaining column represents the real balance that the plan owner has at the current time. This figure can be useful for monitoring cash flows, though it is likely lower than the forecast total or committed total remainder due to the time lags between planning expenses and paying bills.

This topic specifically references the Plan Budget summary table. Programs and projects also have a Budget Summary table with the same layout and information about their respective Budget tabs.