Free Tool · Interactive

Variance Screen Calculator

A report that explains 40 variances explains nothing. Enter your lines with the range each one normally moves within, and the screen separates the few that are genuinely signal from the many that are just a business being a business. Nothing is sent anywhere, the maths runs in your browser.

Filter 1: Materiality
In dollars, tied to decisions rather than to a percentage. A variance that cannot change an action you would actually take does not deserve investigation, however large the percentage looks.
Filter 2: The Lines and Their Normal Range
Line Type Budget Actual Normal range ±%
Normal range is how much the line usually swings month to month for ordinary reasons, estimated from history. It is the whole foundation: without it, every variance looks equally suspicious. Leave a row blank to ignore it.
Reset to example numbers
What actually needs a person
1 to investigate

The month, screened
Line Variance Variance % Normal range Material Signal Verdict
Within normal range
Outside normal range
Material dollars
1Monitor. Large but normal.
1Investigate. This is the signal.
Immaterial dollars
1Ignore.
2Note, low priority.

Where the attention goes
Investigate

The trap this avoids
Reading by dollar size alone

Size against signal
Each line's variance: its size against its normal rangeEach dot is one line of the report: across, the size of its variance in dollars, with the materiality threshold at $20k; up, the variance as a multiple of the line's normal range, outside it above 1. 1 to investigate, 1 to monitor, 2 to note, 1 to ignore. COGS is the second largest variance on the report, and it is only noise.Revenue: −$90,000, −3.75% against a normal range of +/- 1.5%. Investigate.COGS: +$25,000, +1.74% against a normal range of +/- 2.5%. Monitor.Payroll: +$2,000, +0.67% against a normal range of +/- 1%. Ignore.Marketing: +$18,000, +15% against a normal range of +/- 6%. Note.Freight: +$18,000, +30% against a normal range of +/- 8%. Note.$0$20k$40k$60k$80k$100k0×1×2×3×4×5×Variance against its normal rangeSize of the varianceCOGSInvestigateMonitorNoteIgnoreEach line's variance: its size against its normal rangeEach dot is one line of the report: across, the size of its variance in dollars, with the materiality threshold at $20k; up, the variance as a multiple of the line's normal range, outside it above 1. 1 to investigate, 1 to monitor, 2 to note, 1 to ignore. COGS is the second largest variance on the report, and it is only noise.Revenue: −$90,000, −3.75% against a normal range of +/- 1.5%. Investigate.COGS: +$25,000, +1.74% against a normal range of +/- 2.5%. Monitor.Payroll: +$2,000, +0.67% against a normal range of +/- 1%. Ignore.Marketing: +$18,000, +15% against a normal range of +/- 6%. Note.Freight: +$18,000, +30% against a normal range of +/- 8%. Note.$0$25k$50k$75k$100k0×1×2×3×4×5×Variance against its normal rangeSize of the varianceCOGSInvestigateMonitorNoteIgnore
  • Investigate
  • Monitor
  • Note
  • Ignore
  • The largest variance that is only noise

COGS is the second largest variance on the report, and it is only noise.

The thinking behind this tool: Which Variances Deserve Your Attention →
It works through a real month where the second largest miss in the report is noise, and the line that matters is not the biggest number on the page.

The hard part is not the screen, it is the normal range. Establishing a defensible band for each line, and keeping the report to exceptions once the bands exist, is where this changes how a month actually gets read. Start a conversation →