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Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Machine Learning Predictive Forecaster: Lever Sheets

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The machine learning predictive forecaster in Workday Adaptive Planning allows users to leverage machine learning to make predictions for financial planning and analysis. After setting up the initial requirements for a predictive forecaster, including name, sheet, forecast version, start period, end period, accounts, reference data and algorithm users may choose to add a lever modeled sheet to enhance the prediction.

Step 1: Understanding Lever Sheets

First determine the forecast sheet to use. Next review the levels, accounts, and dimensions of the forecast sheet that will be incorporated into the lever sheet. Identify the smallest timer period represented by the forecast sheet. 

Lever sheets are designed to hold regressor data that influences the machine learning forecasts. These sheets can be used only with specific algorithms and the values that are inputted into a lever sheet directly impact the algorithm;s calculation, which is reflected in the forecast sheet. 

Step 2: Create Lever Sheet

Navigate to Modeling > Level Assigned Sheets > New Sheet > Modeled Sheet (blank modeled sheet) 

Under Columns and Levels add in a field called Account as a text field. You can also add in dimensions if those dimensions exist on the forecast sheet. Next, drag the timespan into the last row. Lastly, choose settings under sheet properties and select the time stratum with the smallest time period. 

Step 3: Entering Data

Lever sheets contain data that influence the machine learning forecasts for a specific sheet. The values entered in the lever sheet modify the algorithm’s calculations by levels, account, time period, and dimensions (if applicable). Choose the sheet used for levers and make sure the same version as the forecasted data is selected. Next choose add row and enter account, level, and dimension. Repeat to add all necessary rows. Enter data in the timer periods between start and end. Save the sheet. 

When creating the predictive forecaster make sure to select the lever sheet that aligns with your forecast. Only the algorithms AutoFit, Orbit DLT, and Prophet allow lever sheets to be added. This additional sheet can help users create an even more fine tuned prediction for data on standard or cube sheets.

Revelwood is an award-winning, Platinum Solution Provider for Workday Adaptive Planning. We build solutions for the Office of Finance that minimize your risk by seamlessly incorporating business analytics into your everyday thinking. By combining the software with our best practices and out-of-the-box applications, we help businesses achieve their full potential with Workday Adaptive Planning.

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

Workday Adaptive Planning User Interface Changes 2025 R1 

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Write-back for OfficeConnect

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: New Feature – Long-Running Processes in Workday’s 2024R2 Release

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How We Solve Problems Using Workday Adaptive Planning

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This post is the first post in our new blog series on how we solve problems using Workday Adaptive Planning. Each blog post focuses on a real-world client experience where Revelwood was presented with a unique or thorny problem.  We’ll explain our approach to how we solved it.

Revelwood Client: A medical technology company that works with clinicians in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada.

Problem: Personnel / headcount planning

Scenario: This company had unique requirements for the allocations and formulas in their personnel model. Personnel needed to be partially allocated based off of a monthly headcount by department, and then further allocated quarterly based on global assumptions.

How We Helped: Our team determined that this client needed to have a granular, clear view into how the company’s explosive growth was impacting its personnel needs. We built a personnel model to give the FP&A team – and senior management – the ability to track the timing of new hires and forecast the company’s personnel needs globally. This model – and Workday Adaptive Planning in general – is saving the company a significant amount of time.Do you have a challenge you’d like to leverage Workday Adaptive Planning for? Reach out to us – we can help!

Read the posts in our series, How We Solve Problems Using Workday Adaptive Planning

Using Workday Adaptive Planning to Model Revenue and Expenses

Workday Adaptive Planning for Budgeting and Forecasting for a SaaS Business Model

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Workday Adaptive Planning User Interface Changes 2025 R1 

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As part of the Workday Adaptive Planning 2025 Release in March 2025, Workday will be making changes to the user interface. These changes will impact Sheets, Matrix Reports, Dashboards, and Scenario Management. The goal of these changes is to adopt a user interface that is consistent with other Workday products. There will also be changes to parameter sizing and visualization of various layouts. The aforementioned changes are designed to optimize screen space and enhance the product’s usability. The User Interface will be forcibly changed in ALL instances by Workday when the 2025 Release rolls out in March (The target date is 3/8/2025). 

Make the Switch Now

Workday has provided users the opportunity to get ahead of these interface changes before they are enacted in March. The settings can be found within the administration section of Adaptive Planning, under the system portion, in visual preferences pictured below. 

In Visual Preferences, you will see the user interface section where you can check off the latest updates seen below.

It is recommended and could be very beneficial for users to make these changes manually now so they can adjust and get used to them before Workday forces the changes. If the user wishes they can deselect these options and revert back to the old interface but again, the changes will be forcibly enacted come March so it may be best to make the switch and keep the changes.

Revelwood is an award-winning, Platinum Solution Provider for Workday Adaptive Planning. We build solutions for the Office of Finance that minimize your risk by seamlessly incorporating business analytics into your everyday thinking. By combining the software with our best practices and out-of-the-box applications, we help businesses achieve their full potential with Workday Adaptive Planning.

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Write-back for OfficeConnect

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: New Feature – Long-Running Processes in Workday’s 2024R2 Release

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Machine Learning Predictive Forecaster

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Using Workday Adaptive Planning for Headcount Planning

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This post continues our series on how we use Workday Adaptive Planning to solve problems. Each blog post focuses on a real-world client experience where Revelwood was presented with a unique or thorny problem.  We’ll explain our approach to how we solved it.

Revelwood Client: This global SaaS company has an easy-to-use platform for blockchain and crypto operations. The company enables exchanges, custodians, banks, trading desks and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through patent-pending SGX & MPC technology. 

Problem: Personnel / headcount planning

Scenario: The company wanted a detailed personnel model to manage headcount and deliver up-to-date, easy-to-understand information. 

How We Helped: Revelwood created a purpose-built personnel model for Workday Adaptive Planning and integrated it with HiBob, a human resources (HR) software platform. Workday Adaptive Planning pulls the HR actuals directly into the model. This integration automates a task that otherwise would be manual, tedious and frequent. The SaaS company can now see headcount information and data on each employee – including historical information – in Workday Adaptive Planning.

Do you have a challenge you’d like to leverage Workday Adaptive Planning for? Reach out to us – we can help!

Read the posts in our series, How We Solve Problems Using Workday Adaptive Planning

Using Workday Adaptive Planning to Model Revenue and Expenses

Workday Adaptive Planning for Budgeting and Forecasting for a SaaS Business Model

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Workday Adaptive Planning for Incorporating Foreign Transactions

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This post continues our series on how we use Workday Adaptive Planning to solve problems. Each blog post focuses on a real-world client experience where Revelwood was presented with a unique or thorny problem.  We’ll explain our approach to how we solved it.

Revelwood Client: A privately held biotech company striving to accelerate the leap to a more nature-positive era for agriculture by solving performance and delivery challenges of traditional chemical and biological crop protection. 

Problem: Inaccurate and Cumbersome Foreign Transactions

Scenario: The company is headquartered in Massachusetts, with offices and operations in North Carolina, Florida, Brazil, Italy and Switzerland. Their Workday Adaptive Planning system needed to incorporate different statutory requirements on a state and country basis in a detailed manner. With its previous Excel-based system, the company was able to factor in payroll taxes, Social Security and other details for the United States, but they had to use an assumed percentage for other countries.

How We Helped: Revelwood created a purpose-built model for payroll that incorporates a wide range of scenarios and details. For example, employees in Brazil get a lunch stipend and other payments. Italy has 14 pay periods instead of 12 pay periods. The new model in Workday Adaptive Planning models payroll differences by state, region and country. By incorporating country-level details, this biotech company gets a much more detailed – and accurate – view of payroll, and ultimately, current cash flow.

Do you have a challenge you’d like to leverage Workday Adaptive Planning for? Reach out to us – we can help!

Read the posts in our series, How We Solve Problems Using Workday Adaptive Planning

Using Workday Adaptive Planning to Model Revenue and Expenses

Workday Adaptive Planning for Budgeting and Forecasting for a SaaS Business Model

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Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Write-back for OfficeConnect

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There is a lot to be excited about with Workday Adaptive Planning’s new release. From changes in the Adaptive Planning interface itself, to updates with Workday’s OfficeConnect Excel plug-in, there is something that will benefit every user. Today we will be focussing on OfficeConnect and the new write-back to Adaptive Planning capability. 

Getting Started

To get started with the new write-back feature, it is important to make sure that your OfficeConnect plug-in is updated and the most recent version is installed. If up to date, you will be able to see a write-back section under your OfficeConnect ribbon on Excel. Write-back will not initially be available to every user in the Adaptive Planning instance. It must be enabled. This can be enabled by going to the “Administrative” permission set and selecting the “Write-back from external sources” check box.

Functionality

This new feature allows you to update your planning data without leaving Excel. This makes it super easy for users who are comfortable with Excel and have not fully gotten acclimated to Adaptive Planning. Using OfficeConnect allows the user to use common Excel capabilities such as formulas and copy/paste functions.

Once you are in OfficeConnect and have a report built out, it is important to know which cells can be edited for write-back. You must select a range of columns or rows with a valid leaf level intersection and a time roll-up cannot be included such as a quarter or year.

Once you have your columns and/or rows that you would like to use for write-back, you could go ahead and hit “Write-back” in the OfficeConnect Ribbon. This will now highlight the editable rows yellow. You can now make edits directly on this sheet and it will transfer directly over to Adaptive Planning. Cell contents turn blue to show that an edit has been made. Lastly, all you need to do is hit submit and you have successfully completed a write back.

Once you have made changes, you can go ahead and submit. After submitting you will realize that the values have changed. You can proceed to exit write-back mode by just hitting the write back button again.

Revelwood is an award-winning, Platinum Solution Provider for Workday Adaptive Planning. We build solutions for the Office of Finance that minimize your risk by seamlessly incorporating business analytics into your everyday thinking. By combining the software with our best practices and out-of-the-box applications, we help businesses achieve their full potential with Workday Adaptive Planning.

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: New Feature – Long-Running Processes in Workday’s 2024R2 Release

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Machine Learning Predictive Forecaster

Top 5 Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks from 2024

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Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: New Feature – Long-Running Processes in Workday’s 2024R2 Release

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A game-changing feature has been introduced in the latest Workday 2024R release: long-running processes. This new report empowers administrators with planning center permissions to monitor and manage processes that have been running for 30 seconds or longer.

Why is this important? 

Processes that linger in the background for extended periods can create bottlenecks, hindering the overall performance of your instance. With the long-running processes feature you can easily identify and address these slowdowns, ensuring your models run smoothly. When necessary, you can cancel these lengthy processes and reschedule them for times of lower traffic.

Key Benefits

This feature is beneficial for users encountering delays or performance issues with specific tasks. By providing a straightforward way to cancel these lengthy processes, you can enhance efficiency and maintain optimal performance levels.

How It Works

The long-running processes report is located in the Planning Center’s new Process Dashboard section. The long-running processes report provides a list of processes exceeding the 30-second mark, along with the usernames of the individuals who initiated them.

Modeling➜Model Management➜Planning Center➜Long-Running Processes

Types of Processes Included and Able to be Canceled:

  • Sheet loads
  • APIs
  • Admin updates
  • Excel exports
  • Imports

For instance, if you notice a large import task is dragging down performance during peak usage times, you can cancel it to allow regular processes to continue unhindered. After canceling a process, it will no longer appear in your list, providing a clear overview of your ongoing tasks.

Additionally, if you choose to cancel a process, you may want to reach out to the user who initiated it, informing them of the action taken and suggesting they try again during off-peak hours.

With the long-running processes feature, Workday is enhancing the administrative experience, allowing for better resource management and improved performance. Make the most of this new tool to keep your workflows efficient and responsive!

Revelwood is an award-winning, Platinum Solution Provider for Workday Adaptive Planning. We build solutions for the Office of Finance that minimize your risk by seamlessly incorporating business analytics into your everyday thinking. By combining the software with our best practices and out-of-the-box applications, we help businesses achieve their full potential with Workday Adaptive Planning.

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Machine Learning Predictive Forecaster

Top 5 Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks from 2024

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Archived Versions For Data Freeze 2024R2

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Using Workday Adaptive Planning to Model Revenue and Expenses

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This post continues our series on how we use Workday Adaptive Planning to solve problems. Each blog post focuses on a real-world client experience where Revelwood was presented with a unique or thorny problem.  We’ll explain our approach to how we solved it.

Revelwood Client: A multi-site healthcare organization that provides human services programs at 174 sites provides individualized and compassionate services to people facing challenges with developmental disabilities, mental illness, substance abuse disorders and homelessness. The company has approximately 2,200 employees.

Problem: An Inability to Model Revenue and Expenses

Scenario: The healthcare organization had a manual, spreadsheet-based process for budgeting, planning, forecasting and reporting. The process impeded long-term budgeting and made forecasting on a strategic level problematic. 

How We Helped: The organization wanted to several big improvements from its Workday Adaptive Planning environment. One key area of focus was a Revenue Expense model. Revelwood built a custom model that enables the organization to create variable models that reveal why certain things happen. They can conduct what-if scenarios such as reducing expenses by a desired margin to see how it would impact the organization’s revenue objectives. This enables them to understand how revenue and expense structures would be impacted by changes at its sites.

Do you have a challenge you’d like to leverage Workday Adaptive Planning for? Reach out to us – we can help!

Read the posts in our series, How We Solve Problems Using Workday Adaptive Planning

Workday Adaptive Planning for Budgeting and Forecasting for a SaaS Business Model.

Home » Workday

The Hidden Value of Strategic Planning: Gaining Operational Efficiencies

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Effective financial planning and analysis (FP&A) is a cornerstone for any business looking to navigate uncertainties and capitalise on new opportunities. However, inefficiencies stemming from outdated processes and disconnected systems often prevent organisations from fully realising the potential of their planning efforts.

The Challenge of Operational Inefficiencies

Many organisations rely heavily on manual processes and outdated spreadsheet models, leading to several issues:

  • Time-Intensive Data Management: Manual effort to import and cleanse data from diverse source systems diverts focus from higher value activities and usually limits the timeliness and granularity of information available for planning.
  • Rigid and Error-Prone Models: Spreadsheet planning models require large amounts of ongoing manual updates with a high risk of broken links and formulas, hindering adaptability to business changes.
  • Collaboration Bottlenecks: Stakeholders from different parts of the organization struggle with aligning inputs and assumptions, causing delays and errors.
  • Ineffective Reporting: The burden on finance teams to generate and distribute reports on behalf of the wider business, limits the agility of performance analysis.

These inefficiencies not only drain resources but also reduce the strategic value of planning processes.

Embracing Modern Solutions

Cloud-based planning systems, like Workday Adaptive Planning, address these pain points by automating and streamlining processes. Here’s how:

  • Automated Data Integration: Integration tools pull data automatically from various systems, ensuring consistent and timely inputs without manual intervention. This improves data accuracy, granularity, and the ability to refresh models more frequently.
  • Flexible and Scalable Models: Modern systems allow automatic updates when new dimensions (e.g., new customers, new products, new business units) are added. This reduces the risk of errors and enables scenario planning in real-time.
  • Real-Time Collaboration: Stakeholders can work concurrently on shared models with controlled access, with key assumptions shared across the business. Automated workflows and audit trails simplify tracking and approval, fostering alignment across departments.
  • Dynamic Reporting and Analysis: Self-service tools empower users to create and explore reports without relying on finance teams. Features like drill-downs and dynamic dashboards enhance insight and transparency.

Benefits of Modernising FP&A

By addressing inefficiencies, businesses can unlock significant value:

  • Increased Planning Agility: More frequent and dynamic planning cycles enable better responses to market changes.
  • Improved Decision-Making: Enhanced collaboration and timely insights ensure decisions are based on the latest, most accurate data.
  • Greater Strategic Focus: Automating low-value tasks allows FP&A teams to focus on insights and driving actions.

A New Paradigm for Planning

As Dwight D. Eisenhower wisely said, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” Rather than simply generating a new budget or forecast, the planning process fosters collaboration, encourages forward-thinking, and aligns stakeholders with strategic goals. Modernising this process through advanced planning solutions empowers organisations to thrive in a fast-changing business environment.

Learn more about gaining operational efficiency by embracing strategic planning. Download the white paper, Removing Operational Inefficiencies to Unlock the Value of Planning.

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