FP&Ai Podcast Ep. 15: How to Use AI to Document a Revenue Planning Process

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why should you document a revenue planning process before building the model?

Finance teams often move straight into Excel, Power BI or an FP&A platform when asked to build a revenue model. The risk is that important dimensions, filters or levels of analysis are only discovered after the model has already been built.

Donovan recommends first understanding how the revenue planning process works, agreeing the required level of granularity, identifying the relevant dimensions and KPIs, and documenting the process before development begins.

Podcast timestamp: 0:04

2. What should be documented in a revenue planning process?

The process should capture the key steps, the people involved, the required inputs, the expected outputs, the relevant KPIs and metrics, and any important requirements or risks.

For a revenue planning process, this could include sales volumes, pricing information, discount drivers, approvals, revenue outputs, rebates, logistics costs and the information required by management.

Podcast timestamp: 1:52

3. What dimensions should be considered when designing a revenue model?

The dimensions depend on how the organisation plans and analyses revenue.

Donovan explains that finance should establish whether planning needs to take place by customer, product, geography or sales representative, as well as the level at which actual results need to be imported for comparison with the plan.

Podcast timestamp: 4:13

4. How can AI help document a finance process?

AI can significantly reduce the manual effort required to document a process.

KPI Management Solutions uses a custom GPT-based WBS chatbot that asks structured questions about the process, roles, company standards, outputs, deliverables, tools and systems. It then uses this information to create structured process documentation.

Podcast timestamp: 6:06

5. Can a recorded meeting be used to document a revenue planning process?

Yes. Donovan explains that a finance professional could record a meeting with the commercial team while they discuss how the revenue planning process works.

The discussion can cover the process steps, roles, tools, outputs, duration, KPIs and risks. This information can then be used as a detailed prompt for the AI chatbot to generate the documentation.

Podcast timestamp: 8:15

6. What questions does the WBS AI chatbot ask before documenting the process?

The chatbot asks for the information it needs before generating the process documentation.

This includes the process being documented, the people or roles involved, any company-specific standards, the expected outputs or deliverables, and the tools or systems being used.

Podcast timestamp: 10:01

7. What outputs can the AI chatbot create?

The chatbot can create a structured Work Breakdown Structure that separates the process into individual steps and identifies the relevant roles, outputs and supporting notes.

Donovan also demonstrates asking the chatbot to create an Excel version, which can then be downloaded for further review and management.

Podcast timestamp: 12:07

8. How are Excel and Smartsheet used in the process?

Once the AI-generated process has been downloaded into Excel, KPI Management Solutions transfers it into Smartsheet.

Smartsheet is then used to organise the process into a hierarchy, making it easier to review the overall revenue planning process, the responsibilities, outputs and individual steps.

Podcast timestamp: 13:47

9. Can the AI chatbot suggest KPIs for the revenue planning process?

Yes. The WBS AI chatbot can suggest KPIs and identify different KPI types.

Examples shown in the episode include percentage of revenue plans approved on the first pass, revenue versus plan and percentage discount leakage. Donovan also explains that the process can include integrations, such as importing actual results from an ERP system into Prophix.

Podcast timestamp: 15:24

10. How does process documentation help when building the revenue model in Prophix?

The documented process provides an agreed foundation for the revenue model.

Once the business has confirmed the steps, drivers, dimensions, inputs, outputs, KPIs and approvals, the model can be built in Prophix with a clearer understanding of what it needs to support.

Donovan explains that the next video will show how the documented process can be used as the basis for building the revenue model in Prophix.

Podcast timestamp: 17:23

Key Takeaways

• Understand the revenue planning process before building the model.
• Define the required dimensions and level of granularity early.
• Identify the key roles, inputs, outputs, approvals, requirements and risks.
• Agree the KPIs and metrics that need to be measured as part of the process.
• Use a structured methodology, such as SIPOC, to understand the process before moving into detailed design.
• Use AI to capture process information from manual input, existing documents or recorded meetings.
• Let the chatbot ask clarifying questions before generating the final process documentation.
• Use the AI output to create a structured Work Breakdown Structure with clearly defined steps, roles and outputs.
• Download the process into Excel and use Smartsheet to organise, review and manage it.
• Use the documented and agreed process as the foundation for building the revenue model in Prophix.

🎧 Presented by

• Donovan Moses

About FP&Ai

FP&Ai helps finance teams transform planning, reporting, forecasting, consolidation, analytics, automation, and decision making through modern finance technology, AI, and best practice processes.

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