08.03 Creating & Managing Planning Scenarios

What is a Scenario?

A scenario is a named container that holds a set of planning figures. You might have one called Budget FY2026, another called Q2 Forecast, another called Stretch Target. Each scenario is entirely separate — you can report over them side by side, or in isolation, and contributors can submit to one without touching any other.

FastClose ships with a default scenario, code BUD. The standard templates reference it automatically. You can use it for testing and, if your process only ever needs one scenario, for live submissions too. Most organisations create at least one properly named scenario for each planning cycle.

Creating a new scenario

1. Open FastClose Designer and open the template GL 06 Planning / Replanning This Year

2. In the Layout tab of the ribbon, click Scenarios.

   

3. The Scenarios dialog opens, listing any existing scenarios including BUD. Click Add Planning Scenario.

   

4. Enter two things:

   • Code — a short identifier used internally, for example REVBUD or FY26BDGT. Codes cannot contain spaces. This is what appears in scenario filter lists.

   • Caption — the human-readable name that contributors and report viewers will see, for example Revised Budget or Budget FY2026. Make this precise — once you have multiple scenarios in the system, ambiguity causes real confusion.

     

5. Configure submission restrictions if you want to control which users can submit to this scenario, or close off periods that have already been agreed. Leave these blank while you are building and testing; but tighten them once you go live for example adding restrictions on Year and potentially Period. (The Restrictions button only appears when you edit a scenario, not when creating a new one).

   

6. Click Save.

How FastClose locks dimensions after first submission

This is important and catches people out. When figures are first submitted to a scenario, FastClose records which dimensions were used. All subsequent submissions to that scenario must use the same dimensions. For example, if the first submission is made at Account + Department level, later submissions at Account-only level will be rejected.

You can see which dimensions are locked by opening the scenario in the Edit Scenario dialog.

There is also the Limit Dimensions checkbox which can be used to disable this locking behaviour if you need to change approach mid-cycle — though it's better to design this correctly upfront.

What you've learned

You can create named scenarios with proper codes and captions and understand how dimension locking works after first submission. Next, decide at what level of detail your planning will happen.