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Variance Analysis

Variance analysis is the process of comparing actual financial results against a budget, forecast, or prior period, quantifying the difference, and explaining what caused it.

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Revenue variance
Quarter to date • vs budget
Budgeted revenue1,000,000
Actual revenue900,000
Variance (adverse)(100,000)
Variance %-10%

What variance analysis is for

A number on its own tells you what happened. Variance analysis tells you whether it was expected, how far off plan it was, and why. It is how a finance team turns a set of results into a story a board can act on: not just that costs rose, but that they rose for a specific, identifiable reason, and whether that reason is temporary or here to stay.

The main types of variance

Favourable and adverse

A favourable variance improves the result, such as revenue above plan or a cost below it. An adverse variance worsens it. Favourable is not automatically good and adverse is not automatically bad; the cause is what matters.

Volume and price

A variance can usually be split into a volume component, from selling or using more or fewer units than planned, and a price or rate component, from each unit costing or earning more or less than planned. Separating the two shows whether a revenue miss was weak demand or discounting.

Timing and permanent

A timing variance reverses in a later period, such as spend brought forward or pushed back. A permanent variance does not. A board reacts very differently to the two.

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How variance analysis works

1
Choose the comparison
Actual against budget, against forecast, or against the prior period.
2
Quantify the variance
In both currency and percentage, so a small line and a large line can be judged on the same footing.
3
Flag the material variances
Against a threshold, so attention goes where it matters rather than to every rounding difference.
4
Explain the cause
Of each flagged variance in operational terms, not as a restatement of the number.
For the full how-to, see the budget vs actual guide

A simple worked example

One number hides the cause. Splitting the variance shows it.

Budgeted revenue for the quarter was $1.0m; actual revenue was $900k. That is a $100k adverse variance, or 10%. Variance analysis does not stop there. Splitting the gap shows units were 5% below plan, a $50k volume variance, and the average selling price was 5% below plan, a $50k price variance.

Variance analysis
Revenue vs budget
Budgeted revenue$1,000,000
Actual revenue$900,000
Variance (adverse)  10%($100,000)
Volume variance($50,000)
Price variance($50,000)
A 10% adverse variance, split evenly between a volume shortfall and a price shortfall.
What the split reveals
Discounting, not just soft demand

That is a different story from a pure volume miss. It points to discounting, not just soft demand, and therefore to a different fix. The single top-line number would have hidden that.

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Why variance analysis matters for reporting

Why it matters
The backbone of the board pack
It anchors the financial section of every board report.
Numbers become an explanation
Without it, a report is a table of numbers; with it, the board sees where the business diverged from plan, why, and what is being done about it.
Read, not skimmed
It is what separates a report the board reads from one it skims.
With Planir

Planir generates variance analysis from your live accounting data, quantifies the variances across your dimensions, and drafts the commentary explaining what changed and why. You review the reasoning, adjust where your business context dictates, and approve.

See board reporting

Explore other use cases

Planir is built for the planning and reporting cycles that funded, governed, and multi-entity businesses actually run.

Board governance

Board reporting

The financial foundation of every board pack, with variance analysis by dimension and forward projections your board can interrogate.

See board reporting
Investor obligations

Investor reporting

The financial section of every monthly and quarterly investor update, generated from your live data.

See investor reporting
Planning & forecasting

Budgeting and planning

Driver-based 3-way budgets and forecasts built from your live data, with every assumption documented and reviewable.

See budgeting and planning

Common questions

What is variance analysis?
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Variance analysis is the process of comparing actual results against a budget, forecast, or prior period, quantifying the difference, and explaining what caused it.
What is the difference between a favourable and an adverse variance?
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A favourable variance improves the result, such as revenue above budget or a cost below it. An adverse variance worsens it. The cause matters more than the label.
What is the difference between a volume and a price variance?
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A volume variance comes from selling or using more or fewer units than planned. A price or rate variance comes from each unit costing or earning more or less than planned.
What is a good variance threshold?
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There is no universal figure. Many teams flag variances above 5 to 10 percent of the budget line, or above a set currency amount, to focus attention on what is material.
Why is variance analysis important?
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It turns results into an explanation a board can act on, showing not just what changed but why, and whether the change will persist.

See variance analysis on your own numbers

Connect your accounting data and Planir quantifies the variances and drafts the commentary, ready for you to review.

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