At a glance
The context, the business need, and what the solution changes.
Business context
Financial planning, budgeting, FP&A, and management reporting
The need
Finance teams often need to keep Excel because it is where planning work happens, but disconnected spreadsheets, ERP information, dashboards, and formal reports can create competing versions of the same budget. The need was to connect these layers without forcing finance users to abandon Excel.
What the solution does
Budget One connects macro-enabled Excel planning with SQL-backed ERP and budget information, then reuses that governed financial foundation for Tableau dashboards and SSRS reporting.
01
Why this needed to exist
Budgeting often spans planning files, ERP records, analytical views, and formal reports. When each layer is maintained separately, the same budget can exist in competing versions.
Budget One focuses on connecting those layers around one governed financial information source while preserving Excel as the planning interface.
Excel needed to remain the planning interface, while ERP and budget information also needed to feed a common financial foundation that could serve analysis and reporting.
The challenge was integration and governance: connect planning, operational financial information, dashboards, and formal reports without creating separate truths for each output.
02
How the solution works
How it fits together
- ERP and budget information feed a shared SQL-backed financial source.
- Excel remains the planning interface for budgeting.
- VBA and macros automate the connected Excel workflow.
- Tableau uses the same governed information for analytical dashboards.
- SSRS delivers formal reports from the same financial foundation.
The solution is organized around a single source of truth. Excel remains the user-facing planning layer, while the underlying financial information is connected through a SQL-backed foundation so planning, dashboards, and formal reports refer to the same governed structure.
Macro-enabled Excel and VBA support the planning workflow and automation. ERP and budget data are integrated into SQL Server, Tableau uses the shared information for analytical dashboards, and SSRS provides formal reporting from the same financial foundation.
Supporting technologies
- Microsoft Excel
- VBA
- Macro-enabled Excel
- SQL Server
- Tableau
- SSRS
- ERP Data Integration
03
What changed
Budget One turns budgeting from a set of disconnected files and reports into one connected financial workflow. Excel remains the working environment for planners, while ERP data, budget data, Tableau dashboards, and SSRS reports use the same SQL-backed financial structure.
This gives finance and management one consistent version of the budget across planning, analysis, and formal reporting. It reduces the need to reconcile separate files, makes changes easier to trace across the reporting cycle, and lets teams keep the flexibility of Excel without giving up centralized control over the numbers.
