💰 Finance & Accounting

Budget-vs-actual variance analysis in Excel

💰 Finance & AccountingMicrosoft 365 CopilotBeginner★ Popular

Task · Variance analysis
Time saved · 1-2 hrs per month (estimate, not measured)

Steps

1. Format your data as an Excel table saved in OneDrive/SharePoint
2. Open Copilot in Excel
3. Enter the prompt
4. Check any formulas and totals Copilot adds

Prompt / template

Add columns for variance and variance % between Budget and Actual, then highlight lines over ±10% and $5,000. Summarize the top 5 drivers.

Source · https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot-excel
Last checked · 2026-10-16

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