> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://smartbooks.gitbook.io/smartbooks-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://smartbooks.gitbook.io/smartbooks-docs/data-models/financial-planning.md).

# Financial Planning

Financial planning in Smartbooks leverages both static inputs (manual data entry) and dynamic inputs (formulas), allowing you to construct dynamic budgets and forecasts. In this section, we outline the essential setup steps you need to complete before building your financial model:

* **Defining the Data Model and Input Levels (Once):**\
  Go to the Financial Accounts section and determine what accounts you want to use in your planning model.
* **Creating the Planning Category (Yearly):**\
  Set up categories such as "Budget 2025" or "Forecast 2025" to organize your planning data on an annual basis.
* **Creating the Manual Input Screens (Once):**\
  Create the manual input screens by going to the manual input section in the settings
* **Creating the budget**

  Navigate to the manual input screen you just created by opening the manual input tab under the data and settings. 

Once these steps are completed, you'll be ready to start creating your model. In subsequent sections, we will explain how to perform manual data input and use formulas to build dynamic models.