Use case · Scenario planning
Every what-if answered, with the whole plan behind it.
Cube runs scenario planning on one live model. Downside, base, and upside share the same actuals, and any assumption can flow through everywhere.
Price increase: 0%
Price increase: 4%
Price increase: 8%
The problem
The downside case is in FY27_Budget_v57_FINAL_final.xlsx. Probably.
Scenario planning by save-as turns every what-if into another version of the truth.
Version 57, and counting
Every case is a save-as. The folder fills with copies, and each one stops tying to the plan the moment it's saved.
Three cases, three sets of actuals
Each copy was cut from a different week's export, so the scenarios disagree before a single assumption changes.
Which version did the board see?
The file in the deck isn't the file being edited, and reconciling the two takes longer than the analysis did.
What-ifs, the save-as way
Every case is another copy, cut from a different week's export, and each one stops tying to the plan the moment it's saved.
Where the downside case lives today: another save-as in a folder full of copies.
Three sets of actuals, disagreeing before a single assumption changes.
What replaces it: every scenario sharing the same live actuals, differing only in drivers.
One model
How scenario planning works in Cube.
Every scenario starts from the same live actuals and differs only in the drivers you choose, so comparisons are honest by construction.
Cube
One model, every scenario. Cases share the actuals and differ only in the drivers you set.
The definition
What is scenario planning?
Scenario planning
Scenario planning is the practice of building multiple versions of a financial plan, typically a base case with downside and upside cases, so leadership can see how revenue, spending, and cash respond before conditions change, and agree in advance on the actions each case triggers.
In Cube, the cases share one model, so a driver change flows through the whole plan and every case still reconciles to live actuals.
One plan, three futures
What leadership sees
Live data
Three futures, one grid.
FY26 actuals are fetched live, and every case is compared against them in the same view, in Cube or in your spreadsheet.
| $K | FY26 · Actuals | FY27 · Base | FY27 · Downside | FY27 · Upside |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 26,400 | 30,800 | 29,600 | 32,000 |
| Operating expenses | 24,700 | 28,000 | 27,800 | 28,200 |
| EBITDA | 1,700 | 2,800 | 1,800 | 3,800 |
Charted
EBITDA, case by case.
The three futures against last year, in one chart. Each bar reconciles to the same set of actuals.
Why teams choose Cube
Any assumption, any scenario, everywhere.
Whole-company what-ifs
A scenario moves revenue, headcount, opex, and cash together, because everything shares one model with no module walls.
Drivers, scenario by scenario
Apply an assumption to every case or pin it to just one, so you control exactly how each future is built.
Cases you can defend
Every scenario starts from live actuals and traces to the source, so the debate is about the future, never the data.
Debate the future, not the data
Every case starts from live actuals and traces to the source, so the room argues about drivers and triggers, never about whose number is right.
Scenario controls
Each case, under control.
Scenarios diverge on purpose, never by accident. Cube gives each case its own controls inside the one model.
Formulas by scenario
Calculation logic can differ per case, so the upside can model an acquisition without touching how the base computes.
Imports by scenario
Load a data set into one case only, like a bottoms-up submission or a bank case, and the other scenarios stay untouched.
Locked actuals
Close a period and lock it. Actuals stay identical in every case, and no what-if can rewrite history.
Named, kept versions
Cases are named, saved, and comparable in the model, so the answer never lives in v57 of a workbook.
Adoption
Runs alongside what you already use.
Cube deploys next to your spreadsheets and source systems, and finance stays in control.
Finance-led setup
Configured by your team, guided by ours.
of sources
Hundreds of source systems, with pre-built connectors for major platforms.
Rip-and-replace
Your model logic and templates carry over. Cube runs underneath them.
Onboarding
Hands-on setup and a named contact through your first cases.
Runs alongside what you already use
Your model logic and templates carry over. Cube deploys next to your spreadsheets and source systems, configured by your team and guided by ours.
Cube in action
Ask the what-if. See the whole answer.
Scenarios stay live against actuals, and FP&Agents keep the comparison ready for the room.
A base case that stays current
Smart Forecasting seeds the base from your actuals and drivers, and rolls it forward as periods close.
Cases side by side
Downside, base, and upside in one view, with the driver differences called out.
Answers in chat
Ask what the downside does to cash, in Slack or Teams, and get the governed figure with the trace.
Price increase: 0%
Price increase: 4%
Price increase: 8%
One driver changed per case. Revenue, margin, and cash recalculated.
Ready before conditions change
Downside, base, and upside stay live against actuals, so when the market moves, the answer is already built.
Where you work
One model, on every surface.
Cube delivers the same governed numbers wherever the work happens. Explore the full story on Where You Work.
Cube Workspace
The browser app where finance builds the model, sets permissions, and publishes.
Excel & Google Sheets
Bi-directional sync: fetch live actuals into the sheet, publish plans back.
AI assistants via MCP
Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini answer from your governed numbers.
Slack & Teams
Ask a question in chat and get the governed figure back, with the trace.
PowerPoint & Google Slides
Decks with figures bound to Cube that refresh to the current numbers.
BI tools
Tableau, Looker, and Power BI read from the same model as the plan.
Use cases
The decisions scenarios are built for.
Fundraise timing
See when each case runs low on cash, built on the cash flow forecast.
Hiring pace
Flex the headcount plan per case and watch opex and margin respond.
Downside planning for the board
Walk into the meeting with the bad case already built, and the triggers agreed.
Bring your hardest what-if.
On the demo, we build the case on a live model and you choose the drivers.
Security & governance
Plan bold cases without leaks.
Cases on a need-to-know basis
A downside case stays with finance until you choose to publish it.
Read-only connections
Cube reads from your sources. It never writes back to the GL.
Every assumption logged
Who changed which driver, in which scenario, and when.
Published versions only
Leadership sees the cases you publish, never the drafts in progress.
Trace to the transaction
Every case opens.
Each scenario starts from the same actuals, and any figure drills to the transactions behind it.
| Jan 31 | AWS | January usage | NetSuite | $118K |
| Feb 28 | AWS | February usage | NetSuite | $122K |
| Mar 31 | AWS | March usage | NetSuite | $126K |
| + 9 more transactions | ||||
Walk into the board meeting with the bad case already built, and the triggers agreed.One model, every scenario · Cube
Plan every future from one model.
Book a demo and build a downside case on live actuals, with you choosing the drivers.
Personalized to your model and your stack.
