Reading the variances and the cash bridge
A variance is always read in the same direction: what it does to profit. And cash is not explained by a balance but by a bridge, account by account, that lands to the cent on the client's bank balance.
What it is for
Step ④ Result of the Monitoring module compares the actual figures of the trial balance with the plan at the same date. At the top, four indicators — Revenue, EBITDA, Profit before tax and Cash — give the actual figure, the variance and the plan; clicking the amount opens Where does this amount come from?: the trial balance accounts and the plan's journal for revenue, the line-by-line make-up for a subtotal, the cash read for the bank balance. Below, three views: Overview, Variances and Cash — and, on a closing trial balance, The plan against reality.
The Variances view compares each line year to date, since the start of the financial year, and for the period alone. The variance is the effect on profit: positive when it is favourable (higher income, a lower expense). It is significant when it reaches both of the file's thresholds: €2,000 and 0.05% of the plan by default, which can be changed in the Monitoring settings (step ①, Change the settings).
The Cash view shows the actual bank balance against the plan, its projection to year-end, and the bridge: from the plan's cash to actual cash, through balance-sheet differences, group by group — then the customer payment period and the working capital requirement.
Steps
- Open Monitoring, step ④ Result. Read the four indicators; click an amount for Where does this amount come from?.
- Overview: the revenue and profit charts, and “To look at” — the significant variances, the suspense account, the customer payment period.
- Variances: significant lines carry the word significant. Open a line's Detail: ① The accounts, ② Where the plan figure comes from, ③ Volume and rate, ④ Comments (internal or visible to the client) and ⑤ Suggested question — Keep the question, then Send to the client.
- Cash: read the bridge, expand a group to see its accounts.
Worked example · Boulangerie Dupont SRL
At 31 August 2027, sales are 0.05% below the plan and €2,000.00 more in purchases has been paid:
| Year to date at 31 August 2027 | Plan | Actual | Variance | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 144,000.00 | 136,800.00 | -7,200.00 | -0.05% |
| Cost of sales | 46,080.00 | 48,080.00 | -2,000.00 | -0.04% |
| EBITDA | 72,080.00 | 62,880.00 | -9,200.00 | -0.13% |
| Profit before tax | 67,877.23 | 58,677.23 | -9,200.00 | -0.14% |
Cost of sales is an expense: higher in the actuals, its variance is unfavourable. It reaches the threshold in euros, not the one in percent (-0.04% of the plan): it is not significant; revenue is. At the top of the step, the Profit before tax indicator shows €58,677.23, with -€9,200.00 against a plan of €67,877.23.
The cash bridge starts from the plan's bank balance, €98,665.38, adds the effect of each group — here EBITDA, -€9,200.00, the other groups being zero — and lands exactly on the actual bank balance, €89,465.38.
Pitfalls
What it changes · 2027
Source
Fiplan convention (ecarts.ts, tresorerie.ts, indicateurs.ts): the variance is the effect on profit (income: actual − plan; expense: plan − actual); it is significant when its absolute value reaches both the threshold in euros and the threshold as a percentage of the plan, set per file; the bridge is the difference between the plan's and the actual balance-sheet balances at the same date, grouped, with no adjustment line; it lands to the cent on actual cash.