Comments made on sheets and cells carry over to new budget versions

Description

When users leave comments on any cell or sheet, the comments must be carried over into a new what-if scenario or version. This primarily applies to comments on actuals. System should give the user the option to migrate comments or not when creating that new version / scenario.

Example Use Case

Scenario: A global technology firm uses a software platform for budgeting and forecasting. Various users from different departments input cells comments on respective sheets. These include explanations about budget variations, assumptions, or outstanding items. Every time a new version of the budget is created, the comments were lost, which led to loss of significant insights and generated confusion about the historical actions.

Solution: With a planning system that allows comments made on sheets and cells to carry over to new budget versions, users are able to view and understand these comments even on new versions. This ensures the continuity of information sharing, even as budgets evolve over time.

Considerations

Having the option to carry over comments is valuable, but it is not always necessary. When rolling a forecast forward to a new month, it is critical to have comments as they provide context to the forecast data. However, if the goal is to create a new scenario of a budget, it may only be valuable to retail comments on actuals. Having options when creating that new version are helpful.

If you are working in a highly collaborative environment for planning, consolidation, or close, make sure to analyze the comments features in detail. Some systems on the market are incredibly simplified, with single box comment fields and no roll-forward or reporting capabilities.

Questions to Ask a Vendor

• Comment Transfer: How does your system handle transferring comments in cells and sheets to new budget versions? Does it allow us to pick which comments are rolled forward?
• Comment History: Does your software provide a way to view the history of comments and the changes associated with each budget version?