Import from QuickBooks for Plan vs. Actual Analysis

New! Users who started their Premier plans by importing categories from QuickBooks can now do an easy Plan vs. Actual comparison of their Sales Forecast and Profit and Loss.

NOTE: An existing Premier plan must show "Actual" and "Variance" tables and charts in order for a plan vs. actual comparison to occur. If your existing 2006 Premier plan does not show this feature, you can convert it to the new format. Click here for details.

Simply follow these steps to import real data from your QuickBooks file into the "Actual" tables:

1. Open the QuickBooks file from which you wish to import actual data.
2. Open the existing Business Plan Pro File into which you wish to import actual data.
3. Click the Import button in Business Plan Pro.
4. Choose QuickBooks, and click Next.
5. Choose "Import QuickBooks historical data for months and years in my plan that have already passed." and click Next. (Show me)
6. Check the boxes for "Sales and Cost of Sales for the Sales Forecast table" and "Expenses for the Profit and Loss table" and click Next. (Show me)
   
   NOTE: Although you can import additional table numbers from QuickBooks, the Plan vs. Actual comparison only applies to the Sales Forecast and Profit and Loss tables.
   
7. The dialog confirms that you are ready to import click Next.
8. The final dialog confirms the Import from QuickBooks is complete - Click Finish to close the dialog.

Congratulations! You can now compare your planned Sales Forecast and Profit and Loss numbers with actual numbers from QuickBooks (the difference between the two is also known as Variance Analysis). Business Plan Pro provides you with three different table views: 1st Year Planned, 1st Year Actual, and 1st Year Variance.

Go to your Sales Forecast table.

• The "1st Year Planned" tab will still show your original planned data. (Show me...)
  
  1ST YEAR PLANNED (SALES FORECAST):
  
• Click on the "1st Year Actual" tab to see the imported data for those same months from your QuickBooks file. (Show me)
  
  1st YEAR ACTUAL (SALES FORECAST):
  
  *NOTE: The QuickBooks "Actual" data import depends on your row labels the row labels in your plan must match the original categories in your QuickBooks file. If you added additional rows to your plan tables after your original import from Quickbooks, no corresponding Actual data will be imported for those rows.
  
• To see the difference between your plan and your actual numbers, click on the "1st Year Variance" tab. (Show me)
  
  1ST YEAR VARIANCE (SALES FORECAST):
  
• The Profit and Loss table also provides planned, actual and variance tab views.