Why was this page created?

It is of the utmost importance that the terms used in planning are the same as those used in analysis. Barrier-free bridges between analysis and planning are usually the contribution margins. However, in an economic sector such as agriculture, prices are extremely volatile and yields can vary considerably. However, if you compare your planned figures with past results, you can avoid building castles in the air.

Operational planning has many more facets than can be covered here on this website. The website can only spark your interest in exploring operational planning. That is why I am referring you to my PDF “i Business Management - Basics, Indicators, Examples.” As a programmer, I promise that it covers topics you won’t find in theoretical works.

It is favourable to analyse a company in relation to the connected business planning. This avoids any barriers between analysis and planning. For example, you can use the same loan list for the past as for the future.

Students may find the analysis challenging. However, their planning is relatively straightforward later on because the lists are presented in the same way. Entrepreneurs will also enjoy calculating future full costs once they have reported figures for the past.

At the beginning of the planning process, it should be clear what will be compared. If you want to compare alternative developments of the company, this can be expressed like this.

In this mode, you begin by calculating the current year, after which you can start exploring the alternatives. You may then plan an 'optimised' variant with only a few investments.

The examples show the following alternatives:

1. Making changes to the existing fattening pigs to improve their well-being.

2. Building an additional biogas plant on the farm.

3. Providing machinery services and holiday accommodation.

You may be interested in the 'year-after-year' scheme.

This method is particularly helpful in cases of financial difficulty or when companies are facing major changes to their business model, such as the transition from conventional to ecological production in agriculture. About 50% of cases calculated by consultants using JUP PS are done so using this method. With JUP PS, you can switch over. The year-after-year model is similar to dynamic planning. When switching, the programme must make significant changes to the loan lists. This is because, in the year-on-year scheme, each loan value must be based on the previous year.

Which year should you use for the "Current Actual" column? In textbooks, you will mostly not find any proposals of departure dates. However, in real practice, this is crucial. If you are not careful enough, you will calculate the repayments a whole year or more too early. This will result in incorrect loan listings. Consequently, you will lose your reputation with entrepreneurs and bankers.

You will find more on this important subject in the PDF 'i Business Management - Some Basics and Criticisms'.

The following diagram shows that many tables can be printed out in JUP PS. But is that necessary? For example, if you think you can do without the Current Actual and/or the Optimised Year columns, you can hide them.

Here is a diagram on stability. It compares the results of accounting with the calculated profits, deposits and withdrawals, and sums up the change in equity. 

It should be noted that this table can be used for all agricultural branches. In the case of horse rental, you will not find entries in each positions. For example, under 'veterinarian', you won't find a figure. This is why such costs are paid directly by the horse's owner.