In This Article

Overview

Accessing the Benefits Grid

Navigating the Benefits Grid

Benefits Grid Components

Recommendations for Configuring the Benefits Grid

Affected Areas

Related Articles

Overview

The Idea Benefits Grid is a detailed view within the WiredUp Ideas/Initiatives module that provides a comprehensive breakdown of an initiative's benefit calculations and performance. This grid view offers transparency into how benefits are calculated, showing monthly values, VDT breakdowns, and cumulative totals. It serves as a critical tool for understanding the financial and non-financial impact of initiatives, enabling users to track actual performance against targets and identify gaps in benefit delivery.

The Benefits Grid is the primary diagnostic tool when investigating benefit calculation issues or validating that an initiative is producing expected results.

Accessing the Benefits Grid

To access the Benefits Grid:

  1. Navigate to the Ideas/Initiatives module
  2. Select the idea or initiative you want to view
  3. Click on the burger menu icon on the left side of the screen
  4. Select Benefits ($) or Benefits (Non $) (if non-financial benefits are tracked)


  5. Click on the Grid button located at the top right of the Benefits page (the button toggles between "Chart" and "Grid" views)



1. Viewing Different Months:

  • Use the month selector at the top left of the Benefits page to change the displayed month
  • The grid will update to show values for the selected month
  • Historical and future months can be viewed based on the benefit duration

2. Switching Between Views:

  • Click the Grid/Chart button at the top right to toggle between the Grid view and Chart view
  • The button label changes based on the current view (shows "Grid" when in Chart view, and "Chart" when in Grid view)

3. Entering Actual Monthly Benefits (Manual Capture Only):

  • Click the Actual Monthly Benefit button at the top right of the Benefits page
  • Enter the date and value of the actual monthly benefit
  • Click Save to record the entry
  • Use the icons to add comments or delete benefit entries
  • These values will appear in the Benefit chart and on the "Benefit for Month" row in the Grid view

4. Setting Benefit Duration:

  • Click the stopwatch icon (⏱) at the top right of the Benefits page to configure benefit duration
  • Set the benefit start date (Manual capture, Stage date, or First forecast date)
  • Set the benefit end date (Manual capture, Based on start date, or Ongoing)
  • Configure whether to enable the Distribution Benefit

5. Downloading Benefits Data:

  • Click the Download icon at the top right of the Benefits page
  • The download will include the current benefit data based on applied filters and selected view

Benefits Grid Components

The Benefits Grid consists of several key sections that provide different perspectives on benefit data:

Summary Table

The Summary Table appears at the top of the grid and provides high-level benefit metrics for the selected month. This table consolidates all the key benefit calculations into a single view.

Tip: you can hover or click on the info icon on each line item to display the formula


Key Metrics Displayed:

  • Cash-In Forecast: Sum of all Cash-In forecast values for the month. These values are sourced from the Cashflow table 
  • Cash-In: Sum of the Cash-In actual values for the month. These are obtained from the Cashflow table
  • Cash-Out Forecast: Sum of all Cash-Out forecast values for the month. These values are sourced from the Cashflow table
  • Cash-Out: Sum of all Cash-Out actual values for the month. These values are sourced from the Cashflow table.
For more information on the Idea/Initiative Cashflow feature, please see this article: Idea/Initiative Cashflow


  • Benefit Per Day: Calculated based on the active benefit calculation method
  • Benefit For Month: The monthly benefit value (calculation varies by method)
  • Production Days: Days in the month (relative to each month, sourced from the calendar)
  • Ongoing Benefit: The monthly ongoing benefit delivered for the month
  • Target Benefit: The target benefit per month (calculation varies by method) 
  • Net Target Benefit: Target Benefit - (Cash In + Cash Out Actuals)
  • Annualized Benefit: The annualized benefit value (calculation varies by method)
  • Target Annual Benefit: the annual target benefit value (calculation varies by method) 
  • % of Target Improvement Achieved: % of benefit delivered vs Target Benefit that has been achieved
  • Variance vs Target Annual Benefit: Target Annual Benefit - Annualized Benefit


Note: For detailed explanations of how each metric is calculated under different benefit calculation methods, see the related articles:
Annualized Benefit Calculation Method 
Monthly Benefit Calculation Method.



VDT View Table

If the idea/initiative uses VDT Capture, the VDT View table displays the complete breakdown of the Value Driver Tree structure:


Structure:

  • Top Level: The Idea/Initiative Benefit Root/Outcome node of the VDT
  • Parent Nodes: Displayed in bold and can be expanded to see linked children
  • Child Nodes: Individual nodes that contribute to parent calculations
  • Node Types: KPI nodes, Constant nodes, Variable nodes, and Reference nodes


Special note on Variable nodes:
If the VDT includes a variable node, a breakdown of the variable node will be included on the grid. The Baseline, Target and Actual values shown on the VDT view for the variable node per month are sourced from the monthly calculated method KPI values from the values page in the KPI. If there are no monthly calculated method values to source, the values in the variance and benefit views of the VDT and on the Benefit Grid are shown as null/blank

For more information on the variable node, please see this article: Idea/Initiative VDT


Monthly Benefit Table

This table provides a month-by-month breakdown of benefit performance:

  • Benefit for the Month: The monthly benefit values delivered (calculation varies by method)
  • Forecast: Values for future months based on the forecast calculation method selected for the idea/initiative
  • Gap to Forecast: The difference between the Forecast and Benefit for the Month (for future months, the gap will be 0)

Cumulative Benefit Table

This table shows the accumulation of benefits over time:

  • Cumulative Benefit: Previous Month Benefit + Current Month Benefit
  • Cumulative Target Benefit: Previous Month Target Benefit + Current Month Target Benefit
  • Cumulative Net Benefits: Ongoing Cumulative Benefit - (Cash In + Cash Out Actuals)

Summary FY (Financial Year)

This section summarizes benefit performance for the current financial year:

  • Benefit FY: Total Benefits for the financial year

  • FY Forecast: Total Benefits forecast for the remainder of the current year

  • FY Gap to Forecast: FY Forecast - Benefit FY

Summary YTD (Year to Date)

This section summarizes benefit performance from the start of the year to the current date:

  • Benefit YTD Total: Total Benefits for the current year

  • YTD Forecast: Total Benefit Forecast for the remainder of the year

  • YTD Gap to Forecast: YTD Forecast - Benefit YTD Total

Recommendations for Configuring the Benefits Grid

  1. Configure Benefit Duration Before Viewing the Grid: Ensure that the benefit start and end dates are properly configured before analyzing the Benefits Grid.
  2. Select the Appropriate Benefit Calculation Method: Verify that the correct benefit calculation method (Annualized or Monthly) is selected at the site level before creating or analyzing initiatives.
  3. Choose the Right Capture Method for Your Initiative: Decide whether to use Manual Capture or VDT Capture based on the complexity of your initiative. Use VDT Capture for initiatives with multiple contributing factors that need automated calculation, and Manual Capture for simpler initiatives where direct entry is more efficient.
  4. Ensure All VDT Nodes Have Values: Before relying on the Benefits Grid for reporting, verify that all VDT nodes have the required values
  5. Set Up Production Days in the Calendar: Verify that the default calendar has production days configured correctly.
  6. Configure Cashflow Categories: Before Tracking Cash In/Out Set up cashflow categories (Administration > General > Cashflow Categories) before entering cashflow data. Properly configured categories ensure that Cash In and Cash Out values are correctly classified and displayed in the Summary Table.

Affected Areas

The Benefits Grid data is used across multiple areas of WiredUp. For comprehensive details on how benefits impact each area, see the main Idea/Initiative Benefits article.


Reports:

Dashboard Widgets:

Data Access:

For more detailed information, refer to the following related articles:
Idea/Initiative Benefits
Annualized Benefit Calculation Method
New Monthly Benefit Calculation Method
Idea/Initiative VDT