Compare Budget Scenarios in PlanMaker 2026

Use Data → Analyze → Scenario manager to save different values for the same input cells. Generate a Summary to compare the results side by side. That summary is a snapshot: changing assumptions or saved scenarios does not automatically refresh it.

Scope and a safe starting point

This tutorial follows the English PlanMaker 2026 desktop documentation. FreeOffice and older editions were not verified. SoftMaker’s scenario overview notes a separate iOS availability restriction; do not assume mobile access is identical.

Work in a saved practice copy. Displaying a scenario physically replaces the contents of its changing cells, so preserve your starting values before trying another case. Do not use formula cells as changing cells in this exercise.

Build the six-row budget

Download the synthetic budget inputs, or enter the following in columns A and B. The CSV has input values and blank result cells; add the two formulas yourself. Save it as a spreadsheet document because CSV does not preserve scenarios or report sheets.

Cell	Label in column A	Value or formula in column B
B1	Budget item	Amount
B2	Revenue	5000
B3	Variable expenses	1800
B4	Fixed expenses	1200
B5	Total expenses	=SUM(B3:B4)
B6	Surplus	=B2-B5

B5 should show 3000 and B6 2000. The SUM reference explains the expense total. Only B2:B3 will vary between saved scenarios; fixed expenses in B4 remain a shared assumption.

The numbers are invented for practice, not a forecast or financial recommendation.

Save three named scenarios

1. Open Data → Analyze → Scenario manager. The classic-menu equivalent is Tools → Scenarios.
2. Click Add, name the scenario Baseline, and set Changing cells to B2:B3.
3. Click Next. In the list of changing cells, set B2 to 5000 and B3 to 1800. Check the address beside each value, then click Finish.
4. Add Best case with the same range, using B2 6000 and B3 1600.
5. Add Worst case, again using B2:B3, with values 4000 and 2200.

SoftMaker’s creation instructions document the Add/Next/Finish sequence and multiple changing cells. The interface mapping confirms the classic path.

Show and verify each case

Select a scenario in the manager and click Show. Check both inputs and both formula results against this table:

Scenario	B2 revenue	B3 variable expenses	B5 total expenses	B6 surplus
Baseline	5000	1800	3000	2000
Best case	6000	1600	2800	3200
Worst case	4000	2200	3400	600

Showing a case writes its saved values into B2:B3; it is not merely a preview overlay. The Showing scenarios documentation explicitly warns that previous changing-cell contents are replaced. Show Baseline again before making the first summary, so your working sheet returns to the original case.

If a result differs, inspect B2, B3, B4 and the formulas before editing scenarios. In this model a formula accidentally included in Changing cells could have been overwritten. Restore the formula from the practice table and correct the scenario’s input range.

Create a comparison snapshot

1. With the budget sheet active, open Scenario manager and click Summary.
2. Enter B5:B6 as the result-cell range, then confirm OK.
3. PlanMaker creates a new worksheet containing the comparison. Verify the three named scenarios against the table above. Check scenario names rather than assuming a particular report-column order.
4. In an unused area outside the generated table, record a note such as Snapshot A: fixed expenses 1200, plus the date you actually generated it. Save the workbook.

The summary documentation describes the new worksheet and warns that it does not update automatically.

Demonstrate the stale-summary trap

1. Save a checkpoint copy of the workbook containing Snapshot A.
2. Return to the original budget sheet and change B4 from 1200 to 1400. B4 is not a changing cell in these scenarios.
3. Show each scenario again. The live sheet should now produce these results:

Scenario	Revised total expenses	Revised surplus
Baseline	3200	1800
Best case	3000	3000
Worst case	3600	400

4. Inspect the existing summary. Its old numbers should still be there: the summary is not a set of live links to B5:B6.
5. After checking your saved checkpoint, delete only the obsolete generated summary worksheet in the working copy. Keep the budget sheet and its scenarios.
6. Return to the budget sheet, show Baseline, and generate Summary again with B5:B6. Label the new report Snapshot B: fixed expenses 1400, with its actual generation date.
7. Compare all three new surplus values with 1800, 3000, and 400 before using the report.

Recreating the summary is SoftMaker’s documented update procedure. Recalculating the workbook alone is not a summary-refresh method. Keep the old workbook copy if you need an audit trail rather than deleting your only record of earlier assumptions.

If you need to change a saved scenario

Editing B2 directly does not edit the value stored inside a named scenario. In Scenario manager select that case, click Edit, then Next to change its saved inputs. The management documentation explains these controls. Show the edited case to verify it, and regenerate the summary after any such change.

For example, with fixed expenses still 1400, changing Best case revenue to 6200 while retaining variable expenses 1600 should make its surplus 3200. This is a separate third revision; a Snapshot B report is stale again until regenerated.

If the manager appears empty, check that you are on the budget sheet rather than the generated report. If editing is unavailable under sheet protection, inspect the scenario’s protection settings before changing the model; this exercise assumes an unprotected practice sheet.

Testing note: The example results were independently calculated and the workflow checked against official PlanMaker 2026 documentation. Scenario creation, showing cases, and summary regeneration were not tested in the application; no native screenshots are supplied.