Context & Starting Point

A company operating in the Czech market was struggling with an inefficient planning and budgeting process. Dozens of Excel spreadsheet versions were created each month, compiled by sales representatives and forwarded to the finance team manually. Finance then had to review, consolidate, and again manually merge them into a single file.

This process was time-consuming, error-prone and often delayed critical management decisions. Any change to a plan triggered another round of emails and manual updates. Moreover, it was not clear who had the most recent version, and security for sensitive financial data was virtually non-existent.

The company leadership started looking for a way to simplify the process, make it more transparent, and actively involve sales teams in planning. The aim was to enable each sales representative to work on their plan directly within a secure system, with the leadership gaining immediate insight into the overall picture.

Project Challenges & Goals

The primary goal was to replace traditional Excel-based planning with a modern, centralized application that would:

• eliminate manual document consolidation and versioning;
• allow sales representatives to enter their plans independently, with the leadership simply approving them;
• ensure full data security with Microsoft 365;
• allow for automatic transfer of plans between months and their bulk editing;
• provide the leadership with an up-to-date view of plan performance and the ability to simulate different scenarios.

The company needed a system that was intuitive for end users, yet robust and secure enough to handle sensitive financial data.

Solutions

A comprehensive solution was created combining Power BI, Power Apps and a data warehouse in Azure SQL.
This solution merges technological stability with ease of use for everyday users.

The data warehouse unifies accounting and operational data from several systems, cleans them and provides a single data model for both reporting and planning.
To further enhance this setup, a Power Apps application was created and integrated directly into the Power BI report. Users can now enter and update plan values directly within the Power BI report with no need for extra tools.

The Power Apps component enables:

• independent plan entry by individual sales representatives;
• automatic transfer of values from the previous month;
• bulk adjustments (for example, increasing all values by a certain percentage or amount);
• recording of changes and management approval processes;
• secure storage of all data in Microsoft 365 with detailed access control;
• instant visibility of plan values in the Power BI report, allowing direct comparison of plan vs actuals.

The Power BI component provides visualization of the plan and actuals, allowing you to track deviations, evaluate performance and create “what if” scenarios.
This allows the company leaders to immediately see the impact of changes in plans on the overall budget and can better manage decision-making processes.

Results

The implementation dramatically streamlined the planning process.
The company cut approximately 60% of the time it previously spent preparing and consolidating budgets.
Plans are now available instantly, with real-time data visible across the system.

Also, their accuracy has improved due to the elimination of manual errors and enhanced cooperation between the sales and finance teams.
From a business perspective, individual accountability has increased – each sales representative prepares their own plan, reflecting the reality of their portfolio.
The company leadership gains an up-to-date, comprehensive view of target achievement, deviations, and performance trends across all regions.

From a security perspective, the company has eliminated all risks associated with versioning and sharing Excel files.
All data is now stored on a secure Microsoft 365 platform, and are accessible only to authorised persons.

What it Means for You?

If your company still relies on Excel spreadsheets for planning, budgeting, or forecasting, there is a more efficient way.
A solution combining Power BI and Power Apps enables you to:

• automate the collection and consolidation of plans;
• involve sales representatives in the process and enhance their accountability;
• increase data accuracy and security;
• get a real-time overview of target achievement.

In addition, Power BI allows you to instantly simulate the impact of changes – for example, cost growth, margin decline or price changes.
This makes planning a strategic management tool, rather than an administrative burden.

“Planning has become a piece of cake for us – sales representatives adjust their targets themselves, the management immediately sees the impact and we no longer spend days consolidating,” says the company's CFO.

Key Benefits

sales representatives create and manage their own plans, with leadership approval;

automatic transfer and bulk editing of plans;

60% time savings and improved plan accuracy;

secure environment within Microsoft 365 (single sign-on including MFA protection);

instant real-time visibility of plan and budget execution;

a modern planning system that can easily scale up with additional data sources.

Conclusion

Our modern planning solution built with Power BI and Power Apps has delivered significant time savings to the company, reduced error rates, and helped increase the engagement of the sales team. Instead of manual work with spreadsheets, users now have a simple, secure, and efficient tool for managing budgets. The company leaders can run the business based on accurate, up-to-date, and reliable data.‍

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Client:

Adyton s.r.o.

Specialisation:

Medical equipment and facilities

Services Provided:

Planning Power Apps application in Power BI reporting environment

Conclusion:

‍The modern planning solution in Power BI and Power Apps has delivered significant time savings, reduced errors, and better engagement from the sales team. Instead of manually working with spreadsheets, users now have a simple, secure, and efficient tool for managing budgets. Company leadership can thus run the business based on accurate, up-to-date, and reliable data.