Set and manage baselines
A baseline is a point-in-time snapshot of your forecasted values for a focus area. Once set, it becomes your plan of record, the reference point for tracking how actual spending or realized benefits compare to what was originally planned.
Costs and benefits have separate baselines. You set a baseline for all cost items or all benefit items in a focus area using the cost/benefits toggle on the Funds tab. Setting a cost baseline does not affect the benefit baseline, and vice versa.
Setting a baseline doesn't lock or freeze your data. You can continue updating forecasts and entering actuals after a baseline is set. The baseline simply preserves what your forecasts looked like at the moment you saved it, so you can measure variance over time.
Before you begin
Before you can set a baseline:
Your focus area must have cost or benefit items with forecast values entered for the period you want to baseline. A baseline copies existing forecast values. If no forecasts exist, the baseline will be empty.
Your user group must have the Manage baselines permission enabled. If you don't see the baseline button, contact your administrator to check your group permissions.
When to set a baseline
Set a baseline when your team has agreed on a financial plan and wants to lock in the current forecast as the official plan of record. Common moments to set a baseline include:
After planning approval: when leadership has signed off on the budget and forecast for a focus area.
At the start of a fiscal year or quarter: to establish the starting point for variance tracking in the new period.
After a significant re-forecast: when plans change enough that the team wants a new reference point for future comparisons.
How baseline values are calculated
When you set a baseline, Focus will build the baseline from two sources:
Past months: the baseline uses actual values.
Current and future months: the baseline uses forecast values.
This means a baseline reflects what actually happened (for closed months) combined with what you're projecting (for months still ahead). If you set a baseline before entering actuals for past months, those months won't appear in the baseline or on the trend chart.
Set a baseline
Navigate to the focus area where you want to set a baseline.
Select the Funds tab.
Select Costs or Benefits using the toggle in the upper left corner of the tab, depending on which baseline you want to set.
Select Baseline forecast above the items grid.
Select Set.
In the modal, choose the time period by selecting a Start date and End date. The modal defaults to the full fiscal year, but you can narrow it to a specific range.
Select Set to confirm.
Note:
Setting a baseline applies only to the selected focus area. Child focus areas are not included. Set baselines separately for each focus area that needs one.
You can only have one baseline at a time for each view. Setting a new baseline replaces the previous one, and there is no baseline history. Make sure your current forecast and actual values are up to date before setting a new baseline.
How baselines appear in charts
After setting a baseline, you'll see it reflected in the charts on the Funds tab:
Cost trend chart: the baseline appears as a purple line plotted alongside the forecast line and actuals. This lets you see at a glance where your current plan and actual spending have diverged from the original plan.
Variance indicators: summary tiles and charts show the difference between your baseline and current forecast or actuals, helping you identify where spending is tracking above or below the plan of record.
Monthly data table: baseline values appear alongside forecast and actual values for each month, so you can compare all three on a per-period basis.
Delete a baseline
If you no longer need a baseline (for example, if it was set in error or is no longer relevant), you can delete it.
Navigate to the focus area where you want to remove the baseline.
Select the Funds tab.
Switch to the Costs or Benefits view for the baseline you want to delete.
Select Baseline above the grid.
Select Delete.
Confirm the deletion.
Deleting a baseline cannot be undone. If you need to restore it, you'll need to set a new baseline, which will capture the current forecast values, not the values from the deleted baseline.
Baselines and CSV imports
Baselines interact with CSV data in a few important ways:
Baseline rows in CSV exports: When you export funds data with Download current data, clear the Baselines checkbox to exclude baseline rows from the export. If you include baseline rows and try to re-import the file, the upload fails with a validation error.
Baselines cannot be set via CSV: Baselines can only be set through the Focus UI. The CSV import tool is used to create or update cost and benefit items and their forecast/actual values, but not to set baselines.
Re-importing after a baseline: If you update forecasts via CSV import after setting a baseline, the baseline is not affected. It continues to reflect the values from when it was set.
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