Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Report Parameter Behavior

May 14, 2025 by Julia Seelin

Recent updates to reporting tools in 2025 R1 of Workday Adaptive Planning streamline the creation and management of report parameters. These updates offer key benefits such as:

Consistent parameter creation across level, dimensions, and attributes, and
Automatic inclusion of new values as they become available.

This eliminates the need for manual updates and ensures reports are always up-to-date.

Users should review existing reports to take advantage of these improvements, potentially eliminating outdated attributes like “values only” filters, which were previously used to exclude uncategorized members.

This feature only applies to all new reports. For any existing reports, you need to manually update the available parameter choices and save them to reflect the latest functionality. If you don’t make any changes, the feature will only apply to new reports.

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.

Cube Sheet Restrictions in Workday Adaptive Planning

April 2, 2025 by Cameron Burke

Cube sheets in Workday Adaptive Planning often include a wide range of filters such as dimensions, accounts, attributes, and others. However, not all options under each filter are relevant for every model. By taking advantage of the cube sheet restrictions feature in Workday Adaptive Planning, you can hide or limit unnecessary filters, simplifying the sheet and improving usability.

The restrictions function offers powerful customization options. Users can configure a sheet to display different accounts for the actuals version versus the forecast version, specify accounts tied to specific dimension values, filter accounts to appear at different levels, and more. This flexibility helps tailor cube sheets to your needs while keeping them efficient.

It’s important to note that cube sheets have a 15,000-row limit. Using restrictions to limit intersections on the sheet prevents unnecessary rows, ensuring optimal performance and maintaining clarity in your data.

How To Add Cube Sheet Restrictions

1. Go to Modeling -> Level assigned or user assigned sheets -> Select the cube sheet you want to add restrictions to.

2. Click Restrictions

3. Click Add New

There are two elements of a cube sheet restriction. The first is selecting what dimension determines what you want to restrict and the second is what dimension will be restricted.

In this example, if you create a Level/Site-Dimension restriction, you can specify which sites to be able to select for any given set of levels.

Here, I am checking off just Sites 1, 2, and 3 to be shown for the Operations level.

For the Marketing level, I want sites 4, 5, and 6 to show, but not 1-3 or 7-9. Click the save icon in the top left corner.

Now, when I filter this cube sheet by the Operations level, only sites 1-3 are available to select from the dropdown. When I go to the Marketing level, only sites 4-6 are available.

Top 5 Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks from 2024

January 2, 2025 by Revelwood

Did you have a favorite Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks post from 2024? We took a look at our analytics and figured out which tips & tricks published in 2024 were the most popular. Take a look:

1. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Importing with Ease

One of the key features of Workday Adaptive Planning is the ability to import data in mass efficiently, saving time and reducing errors. Read this blog post for a step-by-step guide to the import process. We provide detailed information on accessing import templates and correcting errors seamlessly within Workday Adaptive Planning.

2. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: A Practical Guide to Shared Formula Import

The shared formula import file in Workday Adaptive Planning saves time and gives users the ability to apply formulas to any account by version and by level. Read this blog post to learn a process that will efficiently allow Workday Adaptive Planning users to create large templates from scratch for importing mass quantities of shared formulas.

3. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: How to Filter Data for Sage Intacct Integrations within Adaptive Staging Tables

There are many times when importing data into the staging tables for Intacct integrations that you might be looking for just a subset of data. Importing everything from Sage Intacct to Workday Adaptive Planning takes time. If you filter your retrieval in the staging area, you can save time on the import. That enables you to spend your time on more impactful activities.

4. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Capital Summary Sheet – New & Existing Depreciation

The capital summary sheet provides a snapshot of an organization’s capital assets and their depreciation within an overview of CapEx by asset type and level. This sheet allows the user to see the total depreciation, which is broken down by new depreciation and existing depreciation, as well as fixed assets.

5. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Linked Accounts with Link Filter

Linked accounts serve as the backbone of financial modeling in Workday Adaptive Planning. They establish connections between different elements of your financial structure, enabling seamless aggregation and analysis of data across various dimensions. By linking accounts, you can bring data from different models to align for your organization’s reporting and analysis needs.

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

December 11, 2024 by Luke Griffie

What is an archived version in Workday Adaptive Planning?

Archived versions allow the user to calculate and store the values of all calculated and linked accounts in a plan version. This freezes the values and stops them from recalculating as you make future changes to the original model. There is an Archive version checkbox within plan versions that allow for this robust data freeze seen in the screenshot below.

Before archiving a version, you will receive the following warning message.

This feature allows you to modify actual version data, linked account configurations and model structures—such as levels and custom dimensions—without compromising the integrity of leaf-level data in archived versions. The archived version will maintain the calculations and all corresponding data from the point of archiving.

The new archived version checkbox within modeling and versions replaces the calculate formula values checkbox and locked version. Workday Adaptive Planning plans to eventually retire calculate formula values by the 2026R1 update.

In the screenshot below you can see that upon archiving a version, Adaptive Planning will provide you with any errors within the newly archived version.

Example/Use Case

A prime example of when Archived Versions for Data Freeze comes in handy is in a plan version with actuals overlay. Prior to Workday Adaptive Planning adding archived versions feature, you would select calculate formula values in the plan version with actuals overlay. The problem with this option is upon restating actuals data, it reflected the changes made in the actuals portion that was only meant for the plan portion of data in the version. With archive version, you are now able to restate actuals without impacting actuals overlay and save the calculations from the original output.

Additional Thoughts

Metric and system accounts are not included in archived versions meaning they still calculate. The user can make changes to the original version/ model without impacting the archived version. It will archive the leaf intersection data, not the rollups. You gain improved performance and increased confidence with historical versions. It solves for the restatement of actuals by storing actuals overlay data in the archived plan versions. It won’t change if you make changes in the original model. Actuals overlay data gets stored directly in the plan version. This prevents a restatement of actuals from impacting the archived version. Link account values will be stored at the time of archive and won’t change in the archived version regardless of any changes going forward in other versions.

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Data Validation Rules in Modeled Sheets

October 16, 2024 by Brian Colucci

In the dynamic world of financial planning and analysis, accuracy and reliability of data are paramount. Workday Adaptive Planning offers robust tools to help organizations achieve precise financial modeling. One feature is the implementation of data validation rules in modeled sheets. These rules act as guardians, ensuring that only accurate and reliable data makes its way into your financial models. In this blog, we will explore the steps to effectively use data validation rules in modeled sheets within the Workday Adaptive Planning platform.

Step 1: Accessing Modeled Sheets

To get started, log in to your Workday Adaptive Planning account and navigate to the modeled sheets. Modeled sheets are the foundation of your financial modeling, allowing you to organize and input data in a structured manner. Once selecting a modeled sheet, the user will have the option to select “Data Validation Rules.”

Step 2: Understanding Data Validation Rules

Data validation rules serve as checks and balances for the data entered into your modeled sheets. These rules help prevent errors and inconsistencies, ensuring the integrity of your financial models. Before setting up rules, it’s essential to understand the different types available, including range checks, conditional statements, and formula-based validations.

Step 3: Creating a New Data Validation Rule

To create a new data validation rule, go to the “Modeling” tab and select “Modeled Sheets.” Choose the specific sheet you want to apply the rule to and click on “Sheet Settings.” Under the “Data Validation” section, click on “New Rule.” Here, you can define the rule type, criteria, and actions to be taken if the data doesn’t meet the specified conditions.

Step 4: Defining Rule Criteria

Clearly define the criteria for your data validation rule. For example, you may want to set a rule that restricts a certain expense category from exceeding a specified percentage of the total budget. Use the available options to set conditions, thresholds, and parameters that align with your financial modeling requirements. Additionally, you can use the expression builder tool to assist with building your expression.

In this example, let’s use the expression builder to build a validation expression that will prevent a user from adding an employee to a Personnel file with a higher salary than 100,000. To do this, we will use the column selector to pick the Pay Rate column in the personnel model, then equals, and less than function.

Step 5: Configuring Actions

In the data validation rule setup, you can configure actions that will be triggered if the entered data violates the specified criteria. Options include warning messages, preventing data entry, or even triggering a workflow for further review. Selecting critical prevents users from submitting invalid data, while selecting warning allows submission but presents a warning message. In our example, let’s select critical to prevent users from adding employees with salaries over 100,000.

Step 6: Testing and Iterating

Once you’ve configured your data validation rules, it’s crucial to test them with sample data. This iterative process allows you to fine-tune rules and ensure they are effectively catching errors without hindering the data entry process unnecessarily. Let’s test our rule in our Personnel model. To do this, let’s return to our Personnel modeled sheet and enter an invalid value.

My invalid data is highlighted in red. If I attempt to save this data, I am prompted with the following message:

This is because we selected the critical action for this rule.

Step 7: Monitoring and Maintenance

Regularly monitor the performance of your data validation rules. As your financial models evolve, update and refine the rules to adapt to changing business requirements. Periodic maintenance ensures that your rules remain effective in safeguarding data accuracy.

Data validation rules in modeled sheets with Workday Adaptive Planning empower organizations to maintain the accuracy and reliability of their financial models. By following these steps, you can harness the full potential of data validation rules, contributing to more robust financial planning and analysis processes within your organization.

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Linked Accounts with Link Filter

August 14, 2024 by Revelwood

Understanding Link Filters

Link filters fall under linked accounts as filters for any dimensionality you have for the model. You can bring in data for specific dimensions you want to see applied to your planning accounts and exclude those you do not. This is especially useful for CapEx and OpEx models where dimensions such as asset type and contract type are used.

Linking Asset with Link Filter to Income Statement

Let’s use the CapEx model as an example. To have the CapEx model reflect on the GL accounts we will have to do a Link. To link the model data to the GL we will have to navigate to:

Modeling > GL accounts > “Expense Depreciation – Furniture & Fixtures.” Within that account details > Type = Link > Add

Select the corresponding model you want to reference as well as the account.

Link the Monthly depreciation with the corresponding asset class in the link filter. In this case, we will apply the filter of Asset Class: “Furniture & Fixtures.” If there is an existing depreciation, link that as well from the capital summary sheet. The GL Account will show the total depreciation amount from the respective capital planning models for just assets with the class “Furniture & Fixtures.”

With linked accounts and link filters, data can be managed efficiently from different models and allows for more flexible and consistent reporting.

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Data Organization with Microsoft Power Query

November 1, 2023 by Brian Colucci

In the world of business, data analysis and interpretation are essential to creating effective, well-informed decisions. However, messy and unorganized data can create serious roadblocks in this process, leading to inefficiencies, and lost opportunities. Fortunately, Microsoft Power Query is a powerful tool designed to eliminate the headaches and tedious tasks related to creating clean and accurate data. The first step is to organize your data.

What is Microsoft Power Query?

Microsoft Power Query is in Excel under the data tab under the “Get and Transform Data” group option. It is designed for data transformation that can also be used for other Microsoft applications such as Power BI and Power Automate. The tool allows users to connect to various data sources, transform data into the desired format, and load it into their preferred destination in ways that native Excel functions such as formulas and pivot tables cannot.

Benefits of Using Microsoft Power Query

Data from Multiple Sources: Power Query acts as a one-stop shop for you to connect to a wide range of data sources, including databases, spreadsheets, web services, and more. This means you can gather data from multiple sources in one place for analysis.

Data Transformation: With Power Query’s intuitive interface, you can easily clean, reshape, and transform data without writing complex code. It offers a range of functions and transformations to suit your needs.

Automation: Power Query enables automation of data extraction and transformation processes. This reduces manual errors and saves time, especially when working with large datasets.

Reusable Queries and Data Volume: The tool saves a history of previous queries for future use. This allows users to reuse processes for similar datasets, saving time and effort. Additionally, queries can import copious records of data that would not fit into a standard Excel worksheet.

Data Connection: Updates from the source data are seamlessly integrated into your Power Query process. This ensures that your analysis is always based on the most up-to-date information.

Data Organization with Power Query

1. Data Connection

To start organizing and cleaning data using Power Query, you need to establish a connection to your data source. In this example, the data is in an Excel worksheet as a table.

Loading the table can be done via the “From Table/Range” option in Excel or the relevant data source connector in other Microsoft applications.

2. Data Import and Preview

Once your data source is connected, Power Query displays a preview of your data. This step allows you to review the data’s structure and make initial decisions about what needs to be cleaned or transformed.

3. Removing Duplicates

Duplicate data can skew your analysis. Power Query provides a simple way to remove duplicate rows, ensuring that your data is clean and accurate. To do this, highlight the desired columns and select “Remove Rows” and the “Remove Duplicates” option.

4. Filtering Data

You can filter data based on specific criteria. This can be helpful when you need to focus on a particular subset of your data. Find the drop-down menu above each column header to easily filter your data.

5. Data Transformation

Power Query provides a wide range of transformation options. You can perform tasks like splitting columns, merging data, renaming columns, and more. These transformations help you reshape the data to fit your analysis needs. To rename, simply double-click the column header and type the desired name.

6. Reporting

After making the desired changes to your data, return the data back to excel by selecting the “Close & Load” option and selecting “Close & Load To.” Then select the desired output in the following window.

Additionally, Pivot tables can be used to retrieve data directly from Power Query. This can be helpful when the data set does not fit in a native Excel spreadsheet. To do this, select “Close & Load” in Power Query, and select “Close & Load To.” From the following dialogue box, select “Only Create Connection.” Now you can insert a Pivot Table using an external data source and select your query.

Microsoft Power Query is an indispensable tool for professionals working with data. Whether you’re dealing with financial records, customer information, or any other dataset, Power Query simplifies the process of data organization and cleansing, saving you time and ensuring data accuracy.

Check back soon for our next blog post on Microsoft Power Query. We’ll share tips on using Microsoft Power Query to cleanse your data.

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

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Using Display Fields in Modeled Sheets

October 26, 2023 by Robert Nordhagen

Modeled sheets in Workday Adaptive Planning often have no monthly data that displays on the sheet. To see the monthly calculations you must go to row details and create a report or create a separate sheet (standard or cube). However, you can see the calculated amounts in the sheet display by using the Display Column feature.

In this demo data, we see a typical Personnel modeled sheet. Notice there are no months. None of the calculated accounts such as Salary, FICA and Bonus are shown in a monthly display.

A screenshot of a computer

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However, the Salary column is shown and is the Salary that was loaded. Assume this file was loaded in January 2023 and now it is August 2023. We can go to the columns definition of the modeled sheet editor and select Display Columns:

Which displays all the calculated accounts in a selection:

Bring over Personnel Salary and we see the following options:

Leaving the default options, we refresh the modeled sheet display to see a new field, Personnel Salary:

Personnel Salary is showing the monthly salary cost. Notice for those making $120,000, the new field is displaying $10,000 for the monthly salary. We can change the parameter, “Number of time periods in Rollup Range” from 1 to 12 as shown:

And the result is the monthly salary is now displaying the annual salary:

To see how the different parameters affect the display consider the following scenarios.

1. Display 1 Year before Reference Time Period
2. Display Year Containing Reference Time Period
3. Display 1 year after Reference Time Period

To see the current time period, set the parameter and see the result:

To see the 1 year later time period, set the parameter:

A screenshot of a computer screen

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Note: the Start of plan is Jul 2023. So, Year After Reference Time Period is Jan – Dec of 2024.

Here, we can see that the salaries have increased by 3% which is the annual raise percentage. By switching from 1 month to 12 we get:

These numbers represent the calendar year (Jan – Dec) after the reference period.

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

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

How To Add Cube Sheet Restrictions

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

1. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Importing with Ease

2. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: A Practical Guide to Shared Formula Import

3. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: How to Filter Data for Sage Intacct Integrations within Adaptive Staging Tables

4. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Capital Summary Sheet – New & Existing Depreciation

5. Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Linked Accounts with Link Filter

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

Example/Use Case

Additional Thoughts

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

Step 1: Accessing Modeled Sheets

Step 2: Understanding Data Validation Rules

Step 3: Creating a New Data Validation Rule

Step 4: Defining Rule Criteria

Step 5: Configuring Actions

Step 6: Testing and Iterating

Step 7: Monitoring and Maintenance

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

Understanding Link Filters

Linking Asset with Link Filter to Income Statement

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

What is Microsoft Power Query?

Benefits of Using Microsoft Power Query

Data Organization with Power Query

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

Read more Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks:

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