Defaults in Datarails help streamline financial reporting by automatically guiding your widgets, reports, and Excel files to pull the right data without additional filtering. They allow you to easily compare actuals against budgets and generate reliable year-end forecasts with minimal effort.

This article explains why defaults are important, how to manage them, and what best practices to follow.

Defaults Overview

While exploring multiple scenarios is valuable, most users consistently need to answer two essential questions:

1. How am I performing against my budget?

2. What will my numbers look like at the end of the year?

Defaults allow you to answer these questions quickly using widgets and Excel formulas. When your defaults are properly defined, you can use simple filters like:

• Scenario = Actuals and Budget → Answers the first question

• Scenario = Forecast→ Answers the second question

How to Maintain Defaults

• For budgets: You can assign one default Scenario cycle per year.

• For forecasts: You can assign one default Scenario cycle and one default Planning scenario per year.

You can only assign one Planning scenario per year. If you define "Mid" as the default planning scenario but it doesn't exist for a selected scenario cycle (e.g., 1+11), the result will be empty unless both cycle and Planning scenario are matched correctly.

Comparing or Analyzing Multiple Scenarios

To go beyond the defaults and analyze multiple scenarios or planning options:

For Budgets:

• Add one of the following fields to your widget or formula: Scenario Cycle, Scenario Details or Budget Cycle.

• These fields can be added to any part of the configuration: axis, data series, filters, DR.GET parameters, excel filters excel tables and dynamic ranges. 

• If added to filters, ensure any selection is made (e.g. Exclude the “null” value)

• All defaults are removed if you use Version Number or Version Name fields.

For Forecasts:

• Forecasts have two default filters:

  • Scenario cycle → can be bypassed by using Scenario Cycle, Scenario Details or System Forecast. 

  • Planning scenario → can be bypassed by using Planning Scenario or Scenario Details. 

• All defaults are removed if you use Version Number or Version Name fields.

Pro Tips:

 If you are using different fields to manage your Scenario Cycles and Planning Scenarios—and want these fields to override the default logic in your Excel files or widgets—simply include any of the following system fields in the Table screen:

• • Scenario_cycle- Invalidate the budget cycle default filter, and the forecast cycle default filter. 

  • Planning_scenario - Invalidate the Planning scenario filter. 

  • Scenario_details - Invalidate all filters. 

This way, you can continue using your own fields for scenario analysis.  

Default Best Practices

• Use separate files for different Planning scenarios (avoid having multiple Planning scenarios in the same file)

• Choose a Planning scenario that exists across all relevant Scenario Cycles

• Always work with system fields like Scenario Cycle, Scenario Details and Planning Scenario for consistency

• If needed, assign system names to custom fields in the table screen:

  • Example: if you have a field named Scenario_version, give it the system name Scenario_cycle so it behaves as expected in default logic

Summary

• Defaults help simplify answers to the most common planning questions using minimal filters

• You can define one budget cycle and one forecast/planning scenario per year

• To compare across scenarios, use system fields like Scenario Cycles, Scenario Details or Planning Scenario. 

• Avoid mixing multiple Planning scenarios in one file, and ensure your default values exist across the relevant cycles

• Use system names and fields wherever possible to ensure reliable default behavior

By maintaining and leveraging defaults correctly, you ensure reliable, fast answers to your most important planning questions—while keeping your reports flexible for deeper analysis.

Updated April 07, 2025 12:28