The Variance report in Farm Focus includes values, quantities, and percentages to help you identify key areas of variance between plans and actuals. The view can be customised to suit your needs.
When to use the report:
At the beginning of the year to identify whether your plan is realistic compared to historical performance.
Throughout the year to determine whether you’re tracking according to plan or need to update it.
Compare different budget scenarios or the previous year’s actuals.
To identify areas where you are over or under your plan and understand the reasons why.
How to create the report:
Go to Reports > Variance
Select the two plans you want to compare. Column A should have the main Plan that you are wanting to use as your baseline.
Choose the relevant Revision month and date range.
Select Payment date to include all items that have been paid within the selected timeframe OR select Accrual view to include all items that have been invoiced within the selected timeframe. Learn more about Accrual reporting here.
Click Apply to display the report.
TIP: the date range defaults to mirror the start and end months of your financial year.
Viewing options:
You have two main options to view the Variance report:
Hide rows with no data: to condense the report and remove any irrelevant information
View Quantity columns: you can select to view a Quantity column if you wish to see the variance of quantities. This is relevant for items such as milk solids, or livestock numbers purchased and sold.
How is the Variance calculated?
If you click on the information icon on the Variance report it will give you an explanation of how the Variance in Farm Focus is calculated. It is similar to the variance calculation that existed in Cashmanager RURAL.
Calculation = (Column A / Column B) x 100
If Column A is greater than Column B the percentage will be > 100%
If Column A is less than Column B the percentage will be < 100%
If Column A and Column B are equal, the percentage will be 100%
Variance Viewing:
a. Variance column will show the dollar ($) amount, the Quantity variance, and the Variance percentage (%).
b. Any variances that are less than $1000 will not show a percentage as seen as immaterial.
c. Any variances that are over 999% will be capped at 999%.
YTD Variance
Farm Focus also has a Year-to-Date Variance report. This report will focus on one particular month for your selection and then the year-to-date variances. This report can be used to easily identify key variances in an up-to-date view and be able to take action earlier to rectify any concerns.
It has the same viewing options as the Variance report and also the Payment Date and Accrual view options.