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Revelwood Offers Open Enrollment for Workday Adaptive Planning OfficeConnect

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We have expanded our Workday Adaptive Planning Open Enrollment training courses. We now offer a new class, Introduction to OfficeConnect.

The course is designed for report developers with minimal experience with Workday Adaptive Planning’s OfficeConnect. Participants will learn:

  • OfficeConnect terminology and navigation.
  • How to create an OfficeConnect report dynamically linked to a Workday Adaptive Planning instance.
  • How to work with relative and static time-elements enabling you to create rolling report periods.
  • How to use parameters and labels to enable creating either a tabular Excel report or one report with selection options. A report with selection options is mainly used with the Level element from Workday Adaptive Planning.
  • How to link selected elements from a previously created Excel report to the matching Workday Adaptive Planning data. This enables you to use all of the creative presentation already existing in the report.

Additionally, participants will see a demonstration of the connectivity between OfficeConnect and its associated Word and PowerPoint applications.

Learning from Revelwood’s Workday Adaptive Planning Certified Experts

Revelwood’s Open Enrollment training courses for Workday Adaptive Planning are conducted online by our seasoned, Workday-certified instructors. Their goal is to give you the technical skills needed to understand, use and master Adaptive Planning.

These instructor-led courses allow you to ask questions and get instant answers from your instructor. They also provide you an environment where you can learn from your classmates – unlike many online classes. Participants will come away from the courses with best practices and new tips and tricks. 

Workday Adaptive Planning OfficeConnect

Workday Adaptive Planning OfficeConnect enables users to easily create presentation-quality financial reports in Microsoft Office. With OfficeConnect, you can integrate your latest data from Workday into Microsoft Office. For example, you can connect your existing Microsoft Excel reports to Workday Adaptive Planning. You can also create new reports. Refreshing those reports is as simple as a single click – no more need to manually transfer data.

OfficeConnect gives you full connectivity between Adaptive Planning and Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint. You latest data in Adaptive Planning easily flows from financial reports to board books to management presentations.The OfficeConnect training courses are virtual (online) and occur on a regular basis. View our class schedule.

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Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: Editing Dimensions

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Both modeled and cubed sheets in Workday Adaptive Planning offer the ability to add dimensionality to the model to further enhance data visualization. Dimensions and their values are often needed to be updated and maintained. While this could be seen as an inconvenience, Adaptive offers a feature that enables the user to edit the dimension directly on a cubed or modeled sheet rather than having to navigate through modeling to the dimension home screen. 

If you navigate towards the back end of your cubed or modeled sheet and press on column and levels, you will see your dimensions. Select the dimension you want to enable the feature on, and check the “Edit dimension on sheet” checkbox circled in red. Save your changes.

To use the feature, navigate to the front end of the sheet you are working on. Hover over the cell you want to edit under the correct dimension column, and click the drop down arrow. You will then hit the “Edit Dimension” button that is circled in red. 

Next, the window below will pop up. Circled in red is the button to add a new dimensional value directly onto the sheet. This will also be updated on the main dimensions tab as well. Additionally, you have the ability to rename an existing dimension in this same window.

This feature is also available for text-selectors and follows the same process as dimensions.

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:

Cube Sheet Restrictions in Workday Adaptive Planning

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: The User Access Calculator

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

Home » Workday » Page 2

Selecting the Right Implementation Partner for Success with Workday Adaptive Planning

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Implementing a Workday Adaptive Planning environment can be the start of a transformative journey for the Office of Finance. Choosing the right implementation partner is as critical as selecting the software itself. 

Meet Your Team: Why Face-to-Face Interaction Matters

One of the most effective ways to evaluate a potential implementation partner is to meet their consultants face-to-face (or via Zoom!), ideally during the selection process. These consultants will be responsible for guiding your organization through a significant transformation, so it’s crucial to understand their experience, approach, and how they align with your company’s culture.

Request meetings with the actual delivery team members rather than just sales representatives. This will give you a clearer view of who will be working with you day-to-day throughout the design and implementation phases. You should try to get an understanding of the experience levels of the people you will be working with. Ask about the individual strengths of the team members. This can provide invaluable insights into the partner’s ability to understand your goals and translate them into a successful Workday Adaptive Planning implementation.

Ask the Tough Questions: Beyond the Basics

Choosing the right partner goes beyond just checking credentials and past projects. Ask questions that will give you a deeper understanding of their capabilities. Assessing their Workday Adaptive Planning knowledge is a must, but it’s equally important to explore their problem-solving skills and project management approach. How do they handle unexpected challenges? How proactive are they in mitigating risks and adapting to changes? Do they offer ongoing support after the initial implementation?

The answers to these questions will give you a sense of their readiness to handle the complexities and uniqueness of your project. A good partner should be able to anticipate and address issues that might arise, and they should have a structured yet flexible approach to achieving your objectives.

Trust Your Instincts with the Right Partner

Another critical factor is how well the partner’s team communicates with you during the selection phase. Are they responsive, transparent and professional? These qualities are often indicators of how they’ll operate once the project begins. Choose a team that communicates clearly, listens actively and demonstrates a genuine commitment to your project’s success. How invested are they in your success?

If there’s a natural rapport and an ease of communication, it’s a good sign that you’ll be able to work together effectively. On the other hand, if interactions feel strained or overly formal, it might signal challenges down the road.

Maximizing Your Opportunities for Success

Implementing a Financial Planning and Reporting system requires a substantial commitment of time and resources. By actively leading the selection process for your implementation partner, you establish a solid foundation for a productive collaboration and a smoother, more efficient project rollout. When you invest the time to carefully select the right partner, you’ll be well-prepared to manage the complexities of design and implementation and succeed with confidence.

Revelwood is an award-winning, Platinum Solution Partner for Workday Adaptive Planning. We’ve worked with Workday customers of all sizes, in every industry. Learn more about our Workday Adaptive Planning practice.

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Cube Sheet Restrictions in Workday Adaptive Planning

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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.

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: The User Access Calculator

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

Workday Adaptive Planning User Interface Changes 2025 R1 

Home » Workday » Page 2

Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks: The User Access Calculator

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Workday Adaptive Planning’s User Access Calculator is a powerful tool that allows administrators to manage and monitor user access within the platform efficiently. In this post, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of using the User Access Calculator to check someone’s access, ensuring that your organization’s financial planning environment remains secure and tailored to individual roles.

Step 1: Accessing the User Access Calculator

To begin, log in to your Workday Adaptive Planning account with administrator credentials. Once logged in, navigate to the administration in the global navigation menu, where you’ll find the User Access Calculator option. Click on it to open the tool.

Step 2: Selecting the User

Once inside the User Access Calculator, you’ll see a user-friendly interface with options to input user details. Start by selecting the specific user whose access you want to check. You can usually search for users by name or username to locate the individual in question.

Step 3: Reviewing Role-Based Access

Workday Adaptive Planning operates on a role-based access control system. The User Access Calculator provides a summary of the roles assigned to the selected user. Review the roles to understand the level of access the user has within the platform. Ensure that the roles align with the user’s responsibilities and the organization’s security policies.

Step 4: Exploring Module and Sheet Access

Beyond roles, the User Access Calculator allows you to delve deeper into module and sheet access for the selected user. You can select the level, account, version, and dimension values that you wish to check for access. By selecting the single coordinate option, the calculator calculates access across the specific intersections you have selected. 

Alternatively, you can calculate a user’s access across an entire dimension (level, account, version, etc.) by selecting the single dimension option and choosing an option from the dropdown. 

Navigate to the relevant sections to view a detailed breakdown of the modules and sheets accessible to the user. This step is crucial for fine-tuning access permissions based on specific business requirements.

Step 5: Analyzing Permissions

The User Access Calculator provides insights into individual permissions associated with modules and sheets. Analyze these permissions to ensure that the user has the necessary rights to perform their tasks. “Write” access refers to complete edit access while “Read” access refers to limited access. If adjustments are needed, administrators can use this information to modify permissions accordingly.

Effectively using the User Access Calculator in Workday Adaptive Planning involves a systematic approach to review and adjust user access. By following these step-by-step instructions, administrators can ensure that access aligns with organizational needs, roles, and responsibilities, ultimately creating a secure and streamlined financial planning environment for the entire team. Regular reviews and documentation will further enhance the overall management of user access within the platform.

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

Home » Workday » Page 2

How We Solve Problems: Improving the Performance of Workday Adaptive 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 company manufactures premium lighting and home accessories. It produces approximately 1,000 different designs that can be made in more than 25,000 ways as a standard product. 

Problem: Granular Details Impeded System Performance

Scenario: The company worked with an implementation partner to build a Workday Adaptive Planning solution for budgeting, forecasting and reporting. The implementation they built went to the nth degree of detail and granularity. That level of granularity resulted in the system performing poorly. It also required a high level of upkeep. 

How We Helped: The manufacturer engaged Revelwood for a health check, after which we revamped the company’s model. Revising the company’s model enabled ad-hoc analysis – a key aspect of forecasting that was impossible to do in the earlier instance. 

These changes had a big impact on the company’s next budgeting cycle. By revamping the company’s model, Revelwood enabled the manufacturer to do scenario planning – something they could not do in their earlier implementation of 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 for Headcount Planning

Workday Adaptive Planning for Incorporating Foreign Transactions

Using Workday Adaptive Planning to Model Revenue and Expenses

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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

Home » Workday » Page 2

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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