A scenario is another set of amounts on the same budget. The lines and accounts stay. Only the figures change.
Typically three: cautious, expected and optimistic.
The actual figures are the same in every scenario. They come from the bookkeeping. Switching scenario only changes the budget on screen, not what you have booked.
The first scenario is named Budget and is baseline.
Exactly one is baseline
Baseline is the plan Payfriend measures against.
The Variance figure on the sheet follows the scenario you are looking at
Alert on variance (the email when the month has ended) measures only against baseline
If you change baseline, you change what “variance” means in the alert. Make the plan you actually steer by the baseline. Leave the others as what-ifs.
Baseline cannot be deleted. Make another scenario the baseline first.
1. Switch scenario
Open the budget spreadsheet.
At the top it says Scenario and the name. Click, and pick another. Baseline has a badge.
Member and viewer can switch and look. They cannot create or edit.
A locked budget can still be viewed in every scenario. You cannot change them.
2. Create a scenario
You must be owner or administrator.
From the sheet: the menu next to the scenario picker → New scenario. Or Settings on the budget.
Give it a Name (e.g. Best case)
Starting point:
Empty scenario: every amount starts at zero
Copy the amounts from a scenario: you only change what differs
Create scenario
The lines are not copied. They belong to the budget and are shared. Only the amounts are copied.
3. Baseline, rename, delete
In the same menu, or under Settings:
Rename
Make baseline: this is now the plan the alert measures against
Delete scenario: only that scenario’s budgeted figures go. The lines and the booked figures stay
Problems?
Symptom | Cause | Fix |
Actual does not change when I switch scenario | It should not | Bookkeeping is the same. Only the Budget column changes |
The email does not match what I am looking at | Alerts use baseline | Make the visible scenario baseline, or look at baseline |
Cannot delete | It is baseline | Make baseline on another one, then delete |
Cannot create | Member/viewer, or the budget is locked | Owner or admin. Locked: Reopen |
Variance on the sheet looks wrong | You are on a scenario other than baseline | That is the point when you compare. The email still follows baseline |
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