Actuals¶
Actuals are realized historical values that ground forecasts in real data. They are ingested from source systems, reconciled against forecasts, and used to compute variance and realization rates.
Who this is for¶
End User Admin Executive
Prerequisites¶
- A ValuePact account with active projects or initiatives
- Defined value metrics with baselines and targets
- Access to a data source or permission to enter data manually
Overview¶
Actuals close the loop between forecast and reality. Without accurate actuals, benefits tracking, value realization, and executive dashboards cannot function.
Data sources¶
Actuals can be ingested from multiple sources:
| Source | Integration type | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Salesforce | Native integration | Hourly sync |
| HubSpot | Native integration | Hourly sync |
| Jira | Native integration | Daily sync |
| ServiceNow | Native integration | Daily sync |
| ERP / CSV | Manual upload or SFTP | On demand |
| API | Custom push via ValuePact API | Real time |
To configure a source:
- Navigate to Administration > Integrations.
- Select the source system.
- Authenticate with least-privilege credentials.
- Map source fields to ValuePact metrics.
- Set sync frequency and start the connection.
Ingestion¶
Automatic ingestion¶
Connected systems push data on their configured schedule. The platform validates each row:
- Tenant ownership
- Metric ID existence
- Value type compatibility
- Date range validity
Invalid rows are quarantined in Actuals > Reconciliation for manual review.
Manual entry¶
- Open the account's Actuals tab.
- Click Add Actual.
- Select the metric, date, and value.
- Enter the source (such as "Q3 financial review") and optional notes.
- Click Save.
Bulk upload¶
Upload a CSV with columns: metric_id, date, value, unit, source, notes. The system validates metric_id against the account's value model and rejects unknown IDs.
Reconciliation¶
Reconciliation matches actuals to forecast periods and computes variance:
- Open Actuals > Reconciliation.
- Review unmapped rows and map them to metrics.
- Review mapped rows with variance flags.
- Accept, edit, or reject each row.
- Click Commit to publish actuals to benefits tracking.
Reconciliation status indicators:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Matched | Actual is linked to a forecast period |
| Unmapped | Metric ID is missing or unknown |
| Out of range | Value exceeds 200% of forecast |
| Stale | Actual is older than 90 days |
Variance analysis¶
Once reconciled, actuals trigger variance analysis:
- Period variance = actual - forecast for the period
- Cumulative variance = sum of period variances to date
- Variance % = period variance / forecast
Variances exceeding 10% or $10K trigger alerts to project owners and initiative sponsors.
Example¶
Actuals for the "Labor Efficiency" metric in Q2:
| Date | Source | Value | Forecast | Variance | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2026 | Payroll system | $95K | $100K | -$5K | On track |
| May 2026 | Payroll system | $102K | $100K | +$2K | On track |
| Jun 2026 | Payroll system | $110K | $100K | +$10K | Alert triggered |
The positive drift in May and June suggests the project may exceed its annual target.
Permissions required¶
| Role | Permission | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Admin | Configure integrations and mapping rules | Organization |
| User | Enter and edit actuals | Assigned accounts |
| User | Reconcile and commit rows | Assigned accounts |
| Executive | View variance dashboards | Organization |
actuals:write to enter or reconcile; actuals:read to view.
Limits and guardrails¶
Limit A maximum of 50 rows per bulk upload request.
Limit Actuals older than 12 months are archived automatically but remain queryable.
Limit Reconciliation must be completed within 7 days of ingestion to avoid stale-data warnings.
Troubleshooting¶
Issue: Actuals ingestion shows 'tenant mismatch'
Cause: The integration credentials belong to a different tenant, or the source record lacks a tenant identifier. Resolution: Verify the integration connection in Administration > Integrations. Ensure the source system tags records with the correct tenant ID.
Issue: Reconciliation shows many 'unmapped' rows
Cause: The source field names do not match the metric IDs in ValuePact. Resolution: Update the field mapping in the integration settings, or rename the CSV columns to match metric IDs exactly.
Issue: Variance alert fires for a known seasonal dip
Cause: The forecast does not model seasonality. Resolution: Edit the forecast in Value Studio > Forecasts and apply a seasonal adjustment factor, or add a note to the variance explaining the seasonality.
Related pages¶
Escalation path¶
For integration or sync issues, contact your admin or integration owner. For persistent variance anomalies, escalate to Value Engineering via your customer success manager.