2 - Allocations and collaboration

In this tutorial, you build a revenue plan, set a top-down $30M target distributed by prior-year weights, then build a bottom-up sales plan with a sub-category adjustment, a trend distribution, and a segment-wide uplift.

Prerequisites#

Complete 1: Introduction to Fabric Planning before starting this tutorial.

Set the top-down target#

In this part, you set a top-down 2026 revenue target and let Plan distribute it across regions, categories, and sub-categories using the prior-year mix. You then lock specific quarters to control how additional target increases are distributed.

1. In the Planning ribbon, select Totals and enable Column Grand Total on the left. A grand total column appears showing full-year 2025 actuals. Enabling Column Sub/Grand Total makes it easier to input a single value and have it distribute across the row and column hierarchies.
2. In the Planning ribbon, select Number > Copy from another series > 2025 Gross Revenue. Enter 2026 Target as the title and select Create. The column is pre-populated with 2025 values.

3. Double-click the Grand Total cell of the 2026 Target column, enter $28.5m, and select the check mark. Plan allocates the values entered proportionally to all regions, categories, and subcategories based on the 2025 revenue mix.

4. Expand the column hierarchy to quarters. Select the Q1 row total cell of the 2026 Target column, select the distribution icon, and select Lock all children. Repeat for the Q2 row total cell. Locked cells turn grey. Locking the children prevents the next data input from distributing into Q1 and Q2.

5. Double-click the grand total cell of the 2026 Target column, enter $30m, and press enter. The additional $1.5m distributes only across Q3 and Q4, as Q1 and Q2 are locked.

6. Select the Q1 total cell, select the distribution icon, and select Unlock all children. Repeat for the Q2 total cell. Unlocking the children once allocation is complete ensures the next allocation or change also applies to Q1 and Q2.

Build a bottom-up sales plan#

In this part, you build a bottom-up sales plan by adjusting individual sub-categories and applying bulk edits across regions and categories. This complements the top-down target with granular, ground-level input.

1. In the Planning ribbon, select Number > Copy from another series > 2025 Gross Revenue. Enter 2026 Sales Plan as the title and select Create. The column is pre-populated with 2025 values.

2. In the footer, select the Settings icon and set rows per page to All. This action displays all the dimension categories on a single page with a scroll bar.
3. Hover near the Americas row, select the row gripper, and select Collapse > Region to collapse to region level. This action collapses the row hierarchy and displays only the regions.

4. Expand Americas > Beverages and locate the Energy & Sports row.
5. Double-click the grand total cell of the 2026 Sales Plan column for Energy & Sports and append 8% to the existing value. Press Enter. The totals roll up to Beverages → Americas.

6. Select the Energy & Sports grand total cell, select Distribute to column with trend, and drag the slider to 4%. The annual total distributes across quarters following a 4% growth trend—Q1 receives the smallest share and Q4 the largest.

7. In the Planning ribbon, select Bulk Edit and configure the options as follows:

8. Q3 values for the selected regions and categories increase by 8%.

Add collaboration columns#

In this part, you add comments and a status column to the sales plan. These collaboration features let planners document assumptions and track review progress directly in the sheet.

1. Select and right-click the grand total cell of the 2026 Sales Plan column for Energy & Sports under Americas → Beverages. Select Add Comment, enter “8% uplift agreed with the Americas sales lead. Annual total distributed across quarters with a 4% growth trend”. Select Post.

   

2. In the Planning ribbon, select Comments > Settings. Enable Comments Column and select Save. A comments column appears in the grid.

3. Double-click the comments cell for the Americas row. Enter “Sales Plan reviewed and ready for submission”, type @ to tag a team member, and select Post.

4. Collapse the column hierarchy. In the Planning ribbon, select List > Single Select to add a dropdown field..
5. Enter Status as the title, select Options > Preset, select Process Status, and select Apply, then Create. The Status column appears in the grid.
6. Set the Status cell for the Americas row to In Progress.

Set up an approval workflow#

In this section, you configure a two-level approval workflow and verify it by submitting a change for review.

1. In the Model ribbon, select Approval.
2. In the approval workflow configuration, select the edit icon next to Level 1. Rename to Regional Manager. Select the first-level approver.
3. Select the edit icon next to Level 2. Rename to Finance Director and select the second-level approver. Select Next.

4. In approval workflow settings, enable Reset on Rejection and Teams Notifications. Select Submit.

5. The Regional Manager and Finance Director columns appear in the sheet.

6. Expand Asia Pacific and double-click the Beverages cell in the 2026 Sales Plan grand total column, then append 10% by entering "+10%" in the formula bar. Press Enter.
7. In the Regional Manager column for the Asia Pacific → Beverages row, select Submitted from the dropdown. The Finance Director column automatically updates to Pending, confirming the submission has been routed for approval.