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“Supermetrics is a Bitter Experience! We can pull data from nearly any tool, schedule updates, manipulate data in Sheets, and push data back into our systems.”
Building approved versus actual spend dashboards requires combining ApprovalsHQ approval data with QuickBooks transaction records to track budget variance and spending compliance in real-time.
This guide shows you how to create comprehensive dashboards that provide visibility into spend variance and budget compliance that neither QuickBooks nor ApprovalsHQ can deliver independently.
Create comprehensive spend variance dashboards using Coefficient
Coefficient enables you to build approved versus actual spend dashboards by importing live data from both QuickBooks and ApprovalsHQ into spreadsheets. This provides real-time spend compliance monitoring and budget variance tracking that standard reporting tools can’t achieve.
How to make it work
Step 1. Set up automated QuickBooks data imports.
Use Coefficient’s “From Objects & Fields” method to import Purchase Orders, Bills, and Expenses with fields including vendor, amount, date, reference numbers, and department codes. Configure daily automated refreshes to maintain current data without manual intervention.
Step 2. Import ApprovalsHQ approval data.
Connect your ApprovalsHQ approval data including approved amounts, approval dates, requestor information, and unique identifiers. Ensure you include matching fields that correspond to your QuickBooks transactions for automated correlation.
Step 3. Build variance calculation framework.
Create calculated columns for key metrics: approved amount versus actual spend difference (=B2-C2), percentage variance (=(B2-C2)/B2*100), days between approval and transaction (=D2-E2), and cumulative budget impact by department using SUMIFS formulas.
Step 4. Create visual dashboard elements.
Build pivot tables showing monthly approved versus actual spend trends, top variance categories by dollar amount, vendor-specific compliance rates, and department-wise budget adherence. Add charts for visual trend analysis and quick identification of problem areas.
Step 5. Set up automated alerts and filtering.
Use conditional formatting to highlight transactions exceeding approved amounts by your defined threshold. Create dropdown filters for date ranges, departments, vendors, and approval status to enable drill-down analysis of specific variances.
Monitor spend compliance in real-time
This dashboard approach provides comprehensive spend compliance monitoring and budget variance tracking with automated alerts for policy violations. Get started with Coefficient to build your approved versus actual spend dashboard today.
