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Running a Budget Variance Review

Step-by-step guide for reviewing budget versus actual results from the live Budget Manager & Variance route.

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Running a Budget Variance Review

This page shows you how to use the live budget variance route without pretending it is already a full budget-management suite.

Product: Beam Machine
Module: Reports / Budget Manager & Variance
Role: Accountant, Financial Controller, Budget Owner
Difficulty: Intermediate
Time: 5 to 7 minutes
Last Updated: 2026-03-10
Version: Current Beam Machine app build in this repo

Before You Start

  • You need a valid financialYearId in the URL, or the page will only show setup guidance.
  • You need underlying budget and actual data for the review to mean anything.
  • Read ../reports/03-reviewing-budget-variance.md if you need the wider route notes first.

Current build status: This route is live but partial. It needs financialYearId in the URL, shows Print, shows a disabled Export button, and shows CSV column guidance rather than a visible upload button.

What is a budget variance review?

A budget variance review compares what was planned against what actually happened. In Beam Machine, this route is currently a review screen first, not a full in-page budget setup workspace.

When do you use this?

Use this when management wants to know whether results are ahead of plan, behind plan, or materially off target.

If you rely on this page without a valid financial year, you will only get instructions instead of a working report.

Where to find it

Primary path: Reports -> Reporting -> Budget & Variance
Direct route: /dashboard/reporting/budget?financialYearId=<uuid>

How to run the review

  1. Open Reports -> Reporting.
  2. Click Budget & Variance.
  3. Confirm the URL includes a valid financialYearId.
  4. Stop if the page only shows instructions and no report table.

āœ… Checkpoint: A working page shows summary cards, the date toolbar, and the Budget vs Actual Variance table.

  1. If the page is only showing setup guidance, obtain the correct financial year identifier and reopen the route with ?financialYearId=<uuid>.
  2. Set Start date and End date in the toolbar.
  3. Click Print if you need a printer-friendly view.
  4. Ignore Export for now, because the button is disabled in the current build.
  5. Review the three summary cards:
    • Total Budget
    • Total Actual
    • Total Variance
  6. Review the detail table columns:
  • Code
  • Account
  • Type
  • Budget
  • Actual
  • Variance
  • Var %
  • Status
  1. Investigate the largest variances first instead of reading every row equally.
  2. Use the green or red status signals as a prompt, not as the final explanation.

How to use the CSV guidance honestly

  1. Treat the CSV note on the page as a format guide only.
  2. If another admin workflow is handling imports, prepare columns exactly as shown:
  • accountNumber
  • year
  • month
  • amount
  • notes
  1. Do not promise a visible upload control on this route, because the current page only shows the format guidance.

Common Questions & Issues

"I only see an instruction page"

Why this happens: The current route needs financialYearId before it can show the variance view.

Fix: Reopen the page with a valid financialYearId.

"I cannot choose the financial year on the page"

Why this happens: The current route does not expose an in-page financial-year selector.

Fix: Supply the correct financialYearId in the URL first. If you do not have one yet, create or confirm the financial year through the wider accounting setup process.

"I see CSV columns but no upload button"

Why this happens: The route currently shows import-format guidance only.

Fix: Treat the screen as a variance review page, not as a full upload console.

What's Next

Related Pages

SA Compliance Reference

  • Budget variance is a management-control review, not a statutory filing by itself. Use it to support governance, cost control, and performance review.

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