Load and clean the source data

Import the source using Power Query and make the data types explicit before loading it to the semantic model.

• Date → Date
• Department → Text
• Account → Text
• Type → Text
• Amount → Decimal or Fixed Decimal

Create a dedicated Date table

DateTable =
ADDCOLUMNS(
    CALENDAR(
        MIN(FactData[Date]),
        MAX(FactData[Date])
    ),
    "Year", YEAR([Date]),
    "Month Number", MONTH([Date]),
    "Month", FORMAT([Date], "MMM"),
    "Year Month", FORMAT([Date], "YYYY-MM")
)

Relate DateTable[Date] to FactData[Date] using a one-to-many relationship.

Create the Total Actual measure

Total Actual =
CALCULATE(
    SUM(FactData[Amount]),
    FactData[Type] = "Actual"
)

This measure automatically responds to filters such as date, department and account.

Create the Total Budget measure

Total Budget =
CALCULATE(
    SUM(FactData[Amount]),
    FactData[Type] = "Budget"
)

You now have two reusable base measures for cards, charts, matrices and further calculations.

Create absolute variance

Variance =
[Total Actual] - [Total Budget]

For revenue, a positive variance may be favourable. For costs, the interpretation can be the opposite.

Create variance percentage

Variance % =
DIVIDE(
    [Variance],
    [Total Budget]
)

Format this measure as Percentage. Using DIVIDE() safely handles zero or blank budget values.

Add year-to-date measures

Actual YTD =
TOTALYTD(
    [Total Actual],
    DateTable[Date]
)

Budget YTD =
TOTALYTD(
    [Total Budget],
    DateTable[Date]
)

Variance YTD =
[Actual YTD] - [Budget YTD]

If your financial year does not run January to December, adapt the model to your organisation's fiscal calendar.

Build the KPI row

Add four card visuals across the top of the page:

• Total Actual
• Total Budget
• Variance
• Variance %

Create the monthly Actual vs Budget trend

Add a line chart with:

• Axis → DateTable[Year Month]
• Values → [Total Actual]
• Values → [Total Budget]

Use a solid line for Actual and a lighter or dashed treatment for Budget.

Add variance by department

Use a horizontal bar chart with Department on the axis and Variance as the value.

Conditional colours can help users distinguish favourable and adverse departments quickly.

Create the detailed variance matrix

Add Department and Account to the rows, then show:

• Total Actual
• Total Budget
• Variance
• Variance %

This lets managers move from summary to detail without leaving the page.

Add useful slicers

Useful options include:

• Financial year
• Month or period
• Department
• Entity

Avoid adding filters simply because the fields exist. Every slicer should support a real management question.

Reconcile before publishing

Validate the report against known source totals before management relies on it.

• Reconcile total Actual
• Reconcile total Budget
• Check a known department
• Check a known month
• Validate favourable/adverse logic
• Test slicer interactions