--- title: Create and compare financial baselines description: Create and compare financial baselines to get a snapshot of the project expenses and compare the planned costs with the actual expenses. locale: en-US canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-business-management/scenario-planning-in-spw/create-compare-baselines.html release: australia product: Scenario Planning in SPW classification: scenario-planning-in-spw topic_type: task last_updated: "2026-03-12" reading_time_minutes: 1 breadcrumb: [Manage financials for planning items, Portfolio Planning in Strategic Planning Workspace, Strategic Planning, Strategic Portfolio Management] --- # Create and compare financial baselines Create and compare financial baselines to get a snapshot of the project expenses and compare the planned costs with the actual expenses. ## About this task \[Omitted video\] Description: Create and compare financial baselines ## Before you begin Role required: sn\_align\_ws.spw\_financial\_user ## Procedure 1. Navigate to **Workspaces** > **Strategic Planning Workspace** and select portfolio plan. 2. Select a planning item from the Planning module. 3. Select the **Financials** tab. 4. Create or compare baselines.

Option	Description
Create a baseline	1. Select Create baseline button \(\[Omitted image "fin-create-baseline-button.png"\] Alt text: Create baseline button.\). Create financial baseline window appears with the Name field is auto-populated with current date. You can edit this field to name your baseline. \[Omitted image "fin-create-baseline-window.png"\] Alt text: Create financial baseline window with Name and Description fields. 2. In the Description field, enter a brief description to identify this baseline and select Save. A baseline is created capturing the planned costs and expense is captured. Note: You can [activate a scheduled job](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-business-management/scenario-planning-in-spw/baseline-scheduler-job.md) to automatically create financial baselines.
Compare baselines	1. Select the Baselines \(\[Omitted image "fin-baselines-tab.png"\] Alt text: Baselines tab.\) tab to view the list of existing baselines. 2. Select any two baselines and select the Compare baselines \(\[Omitted image "fin-compare-baselines-button.png"\] Alt text: Compare baselines button.\) button. Comparison view of the selected baselines is displayed. For more details, see [Using baseline comparison view.](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-business-management/scenario-planning-in-spw/using-financials-spw.md)

Option

Description

**Create a baseline**

1. Select **Create baseline** button \(\[Omitted image "fin-create-baseline-button.png"\] Alt text: Create baseline button.\). Create financial baseline window appears with the Name field is auto-populated with current date. You can edit this field to name your baseline. \[Omitted image "fin-create-baseline-window.png"\] Alt text: Create financial baseline window with Name and Description fields. 2. In the Description field, enter a brief description to identify this baseline and select **Save**. A baseline is created capturing the planned costs and expense is captured. **Note:** You can [activate a scheduled job](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-business-management/scenario-planning-in-spw/baseline-scheduler-job.md) to automatically create financial baselines.

**Compare baselines**

1. Select the **Baselines** \(\[Omitted image "fin-baselines-tab.png"\] Alt text: Baselines tab.\) tab to view the list of existing baselines. 2. Select any two baselines and select the **Compare baselines** \(\[Omitted image "fin-compare-baselines-button.png"\] Alt text: Compare baselines button.\) button. Comparison view of the selected baselines is displayed. For more details, see [Using baseline comparison view.](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-business-management/scenario-planning-in-spw/using-financials-spw.md)

**Tip:** You can migrate existing financials baselines of your projects or demands from Classic UI to Financials in Next Experience. For more information on how to migrate financial baselines of demands, see [Migrate financial baselines of demands to Next Experience](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-business-management/demand-management/migrate-fin-baselines-demands.md). For more information on how to migrate financial baselines of projects, see [Migrate financial baselines of projects to Next Experience](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-business-management/project-management/migrate-fin-baselines-projects.md).