The complete budgeting and forecasting cycle for the CFO — from sales plan to board pack. Ten integrated sub-modules covering revenue, COGS, OPEX, workforce, CAPEX, working capital, cash flow, projected financial statements, scenario analysis, and covenant monitoring. One connected system replacing dozens of spreadsheets.
The starting point of the master budget. Plan sales volumes monthly by branch, customer group, and product — validated against a commercial price map. Automatic revenue calculation, commission computation, transfer pricing with margin target, and GROUPING SETS aggregation for summary views at any level.
Two modes: simplified (percentage-of-revenue by category) or analytical (BOM explosion via MRP exchange). Either way, the result feeds directly into gross margin. Budget materials, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead. For companies with multi-level BOMs, AERA explodes sales volumes into component purchases automatically.
Monthly data entry grid for every cost center and expense category. Supports multiple initialization modes: zero-based, last year actuals, rolling forecast, percentage uplift. Allocation rules distribute shared costs to BUs. Automatic separation of fixed vs variable components for breakeven analysis.
Two paths: if the Workforce Budget module is active, costs flow automatically (headcount × RAL + INPS + TFR + benefits). If not, a simplified grid lets the controller enter total personnel cost by department and month. Either way, direct labor feeds into COGS and indirect labor feeds into OPEX — with the formula effective_hourly_cost = tariff / (1 - absenteeism_pct) propagating into production costing.
Plan investments by category (machinery, IT, vehicles, buildings) with monthly cash-out phasing. AERA calculates straight-line depreciation from the commissioning date, applying useful life by asset category. New CAPEX depreciation adds to the existing asset base. The result feeds D&A in the P&L and cash-out in the investing cash flow section.
Working capital doesn't need a separate budget — it's derived. Trade receivables from sales × DSO, trade payables from purchases × DPO, inventory from production × DIO. AERA calculates the net working capital change monthly, feeding directly into the operating cash flow. Seasonal patterns captured automatically.
Operating, investing, financing — all three sections assembled automatically from the operational budgets. Customer collections from sales × DSO, supplier payments from purchases × DPO, payroll from workforce, tax estimates, CAPEX cash-out, debt service. Monthly granularity with rolling 12-month forward view. Minimum cash balance monitoring.
Everything rolls up into projected financial statements. The P&L assembles from the operational budgets. The balance sheet derives from working capital, CAPEX, debt, and retained earnings. If the balance sheet doesn't balance, there's a data error — AERA shows the discrepancy. Two P&L formats: cost-of-sales and value-added (Italian Codice Civile format).
What if revenue drops 10%? What if raw material prices increase 15%? What if we delay the CNC investment to next year? AERA lets you create unlimited scenarios by overriding any assumption — and recalculates the entire master budget in seconds. Compare scenarios side-by-side to support board decision-making.
The final output. Monitor bank covenant ratios (Net Debt/EBITDA, Interest Coverage, Debt Service, Current Ratio) against thresholds — projected monthly to detect future breaches before they happen. Generate board-ready financial packages: P&L, BS, CF, variance analysis, KPIs, covenant status, and scenario summary in one export.
No forms, no sales funnel. Just a conversation about what ARIA can do for your financial planning.