Plan, forecast, and visualize scenarios on live data sources without duplicating datasets, rebuilding models, or relying on technical teams. By unifying planning, budgeting, and forecasting data with visualizations, you can:
In this article, you learn how to integrate planning data in intelligence sheets and visualize plans, budgets, and forecasts in real-time.
Visualizing simulations, budgets, and forecasts allows finance teams and operational stakeholders to move beyond static, historical reporting. By embedding live planning sheets directly into intelligence sheets, you build an interactive analysis environment where drivers can be manipulated on the fly and immediately reflected across your reports and dashboards.
Live data binding vs. static snapshots:
Unlike traditional BI dashboards that require batch refreshes or data pipeline execution, intelligence sheets establish direct data bindings to embedded planning sheets. Any input change, scenario simulation, or formula update instantly flows through to charts and KPI cards.
Semantic models vs. live sheet measures:
In a new intelligence sheet, select the Planning visual and choose the planning sheet to import data from.
This action embeds the selected planning sheet into the intelligence sheet.
Blend data from multiple sources by combining dimensions and measures from external files, semantic models, planning sheets, and PowerTable sheets into a single analysis.
Drag dimensions and measures from planning sheets and other data sources into the visualization to analyze them together in a single intelligence sheet.
Note
Use the blend feature in Infobridge to integrate native measures, measures from external sources, simulations, data inputs, and forecasts from planning sheets. Visualize the combined data using charts or create reports with matrix visuals in intelligence sheets.
After you embed a planning sheet, measures from the sheet, such as input values, formulas, simulations, and forecasts, appear under From Sheets in the Data pane.
In this example, you combine the Budget Simulation measure from the planning sheet with dimensions and measures from a source file. You then use the integrated data to create a breakdown waterfall chart and a pie chart.
As you run simulations on the planning sheet, the charts on the intelligence sheet update in real time to reflect the changes. In this example, you increase the IT budget to 8.5m; the variances and bars in the breakdown waterfall automatically update in response to this change.
Reduce the Infrastructure budget from 7M to 2M and observe how the pie chart proportions change.
Frequently asked questions about embedding planning sheets and visualizing budgets, forecasts, and simulations in intelligence sheets.
The planning visual embeds an existing planning sheet onto the intelligence canvas, so the plan item needs at least one planning sheet.
The sheet picker, Select an Existing Planning Sheet, lists every planning sheet available, and you can choose the correct one.
It's live and editable. Adjusting any cell value in the embedded planning sheet updates charts, KPI cards, table, and matrix visuals in an intelligence sheet.
Comparison 1 and Comparison 2 pull directly from the semantic model's stored base measures (Plan, Actuals). From Sheets pull a live field from the embedded planning sheet which reflects the scenario values currently entered on that sheet.
