> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getnovaplan.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Expense Planning

> Plan operating and vendor spend by account, department, and vendor.

Expense Planning models your operating spend the same way Headcount models people: plan lines are the unit, the engine forecasts each line across your window, and the result derives 1:1 into the GL. One plan-line-month posts one GL row, tagged so you can always reconcile planned expense back to its source line.

## How to Use It

<Steps>
  <Step title="Seed the grid">
    Start with one click instead of an empty table. Seed plan lines from trailing-twelve-month actuals (one growth-on-base line per real non-headcount account and department combination), or copy the active plan lines from another budget version. Seeding is idempotent, so re-running only adds what is missing.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a method per line">
    Each line targets a GL account, a department, and optionally a vendor, with a forecast method (see the table below).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the baseline and assumptions">
    Choose where the line's baseline comes from, and set growth, seasonality, or driver rate as the method requires. Assumptions resolve most-specific-wins (a line-scoped value overrides a global default).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the forecast">
    The engine computes each line's monthly amount and derives it into the GL, where it shows up in [Budget Overview](/planning/budget-overview).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Forecast Methods

| Method              | How it forecasts                                                                                               |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Manual**          | You enter the monthly amounts directly in a month-grid editor                                                  |
| **Growth on base**  | A baseline grown at a rate, reshaped by a seasonality curve                                                    |
| **Driver**          | Tied to a business driver (headcount, a percent of recognized revenue, or per-unit custom counts) times a rate |
| **Vendor contract** | Drawn from a linked recurring-cost contract line, with frequency, escalation, and ramp periods                 |

## Baselines and Seasonality

A line's baseline can come from a trailing-actuals roll-forward, an uploaded budget, or zero, and you can mix baselines across lines. Seasonality curves spread an annual total across the year.

<Note>
  Growth-on-base preserves the annual total when you apply a seasonality curve, so reshaping the timing never silently changes the yearly number. Editing a system seasonality curve forks it to your own copy rather than changing it for everyone.
</Note>

## Vendor Contracts

The Vendor Contracts section (collapsed by default, since the plan-line grid is the primary surface) holds lean recurring-cost contract lines: an amount, a frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annual), an annual escalation, a status, and optional per-period ramp overrides. A plan line set to the vendor-contract method links to a contract line and draws its monthly amounts from those terms.

## What the Driver Types Mean

| Driver type         | The line's amount is                                                         |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Headcount**       | A resolved head count (company-wide or per department) times a per-head rate |
| **Revenue percent** | A percent of recognized revenue for a chosen metric                          |
| **Custom units**    | Per-month unit counts you enter, times a per-unit rate                       |

## Common Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The grid is empty. How do I get started fast?">
    Use Seed from. "From trailing-twelve actuals" creates one growth-on-base line per real account and department with recent spend; "From another version" copies an existing plan's lines. Both dedupe, so you can seed and then add lines by hand.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="If I reshape seasonality, does my annual budget change?">
    No. Growth-on-base normalizes the curve so the annual total is preserved. You are changing when the money lands, not how much lands.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is expense different from headcount cost?">
    Headcount cost is per-employee and lives in [Headcount](/planning/headcount). Expense Planning is for everything else: software, services, facilities, and other vendor or operating spend.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does expense participate in mid-year updates?">
    Yes. Expense plan lines derive into the GL, which the [Mid-year update](/planning/reforecast) and reforecast rules scan by department and account, so expense is covered without separate wiring.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## If the Numbers Look Off

* A growth-on-base line forecasts zero: its baseline resolved to zero. Confirm the account and department combination actually has trailing actuals, or switch the baseline to an uploaded budget.
* A vendor-contract line is flat or zero: confirm the plan line is linked to an active contract line and that the contract line's window covers the period.
* A driver line on revenue percent reads zero: revenue must be forecasted first, since the driver reads recognized revenue. Re-run the revenue forecast, then re-run expense.
* The GL did not move after editing a line: re-run the expense forecast so the derive bridge re-posts the line.